AN IMPROVED COMBINED FLOUR DRESSING, BRAN CLEANING AND SEPARATING, AND MIDDLINGS PURIFYING MACHINE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Ashley, Scholey Ashley, and Thomas Ashley,
junior, all of Louth, in the County of Lincoln, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED COMBINED FLOUR DRESSING, BRAN CLEANING AND SEPARATING, AND
MIDDLINGS PURIFYING MACHINE."
Sealed the 30th March 1880, and dated the 6th October 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Ashley, Scholey
Ashley, and Thomas Ashley, junior, at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents on the 6th October 1879.
THOMAS ASHLEY, SCHOLEY ASHLEY, and THOMAS ASHLEY, junior, all of Louth,
in the County of Lincoln. 'AN IMPROVED COMBINED FLOUR DRESSING, BRAN
CLEANING AND SEPARATING, AND MIDDLINGS PURIFYING MACHINE."
Our Invention relates to an improved combined flour dresser, bran separator,
cleaner, and middlings purifier, whereby all these operations are performed in a
single machine instead of by as many distinct machines as usual.
The combined machine comprises a revolving flour dressing cylinder and drum
of improved construction, and which is also applicable in other flour dressing
machines, a revolving wire cylinder to separate and clean the bran, and a series of
riddles combined with an exhaust to purify the middlings, the whole enclosed in
a suitable casing and provided with screw conveyors, elevators, and shoots, as here-
after described.
The revolving wire cylinder into which the meal is first fed extends horizontally
above the whole length of the dressing cylinder. It is traversed by a longitudinal
shaft with radial prongs, arranged in the form of a screw, to clean the bran and
pass it along to the tail end where the coarse bran falls on to a separator.
The meal and very fine bran or pollard which passes through the meshes of the
wire cylinder falls on a screw conveyor, whereby it is carried to a shoot and
delivered to the centrifugal flour dressing cylinder. The latter is horizontal and
the beaters of the drum are longitudinal and not oblique, but are provided each
with a number of adjustable wings or vanes that are hinged or otherwise loosely
attached by one of their ends to a beater, and extend between it and the next in a
direction more or less nearly at right angles thereto, the degree of inclination of
Price Gdl

page_text: the said wings or vanes being capable of regulation in order to cause the meal to
be passed through more or less quickly according to its condition, thereby enabling
the machine to operate with equal advantage on hard or soft flours and to bo
readily adapted to suit the varying conditions resulting from atmospheric changes.
For this purpose the vanes or wings are hinged or attached by one end only to
the beaters, their other ends being free, and attached, those of each series, to a
longitudinal rod, and the several rods are all connected to a ring at one end of the
cylinder fixed on a sliding collar on the drum shaft, and operated by suitable
means for varying the inclination of the whole of the wings or vanes simul-
taneously.
This improved construction of drum, with longitudinal beaters and adjustable
inclined wings or vanes may also be used in flour dressing machines, which are not
combined with other machines.
The fine flour that goes through the silk cylinder falls on a screw conveyor as
usual, and the tailings, consisting of middlings and fine pollard, passes down a shoot
to another screw conveyor, and are thereby carried to an elevator by which they
are raised and delivered through a hopper on to a series of riddles and shoots,
arranged as follows, and all contained in one box mounted on springs and operated
by a crank-The riddles are inclined and placed directly above one another, the
middle one being the finest. Beneath each there is a shoot upon which the fine
middlings that passes through the meshes of the riddle falls, and is conveyed to
separate discharge spouts. The tailings that pass over the lower edge of each
riddle fall through a shoot on to the riddle next beneath, then pass through
rollers on to a screw conveyor which carries the reduced middlings into an elevator,
by which they are raised to the hopper and redressed and purified. At the same
time an exhaust fan draws air upwards through the meshes of the riddles to prevent
the grays passing through, and to carry away to a dust chambor at top the light
fluff and grays.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Ashley, Scholey Ashley, and Thomas Ashley, junior, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th April 1880.
"
THOMAS ASHLEY, SCHOLEY ASHLEY, and THOMAS ASHLEY, junior, all of Louth,
in the County of Lincoln. 'AN IMPROVED COMBINED FLOUR DRESSING, BRAN
CLEANING AND SEPARATING, AND MIDDLINGS PURIFYING MACHINE."
Our Invention relates to an improved combined flour dresser, bran separator and
cleaner, and middlings purifier, whereby all these operations are performed in a
single machine instead of by a number of separate and distinct machines as
usual.
The combined machine comprises a revolving flour dressing cylinder and drum
of improved construction, which is also applicable in other flour dressing machines;
a centrifugal wire cylinder to separate and clean the bran and a series of riddles
combined with an exhaust to purify the middlings, the whole enclosed in a suitable
casing and provided with screw conveyors, elevators, and shoots, as hereafter
described. The centrifugal wire cylinder into which the meal direct from the
stones is first fed extends horizontally above the whole length of the centrifugal
silk dressing cylinder. It is traversed by a longitudinal shaft with beaters, brushes,
and prongs arranged screw-wise to clean the bran and pass it along to the tail end.
The meal, and very fine bran or pollard which passes through the meshes of the
wire cylinder, falls on a screw conveyor, whereby it is carried to a shoot and
delivered to the centrifugal flour dressing cylinder. The latter is horizontal and
the beaters of the drum within it are longitudinal and not oblique, but are provided
each with a number of adjustable wings or vanes that are attached by one of their
ends to a beater, and extend between it and the next in a direction, more or less,
nearly at right angles thereto, the degree of inclination of the said wings or vanes
being capable of regulation in order to cause the meal to be passed through more
or less quickly according to its condition, thereby enabling the machine to operate
with equal advantage on hard or soft flours, and to be readily adapted to suit
the varying conditions resulting from atmospheric changes. For this purpose the
vanes or wings are hinged or attached by one end only to the front side of the
beaters, their other ends being free and attached, those of each series to a longi-
tudinal rod, and the several rods are all connected to radial arms or a ring at one
end of the cylinder fixed on a sliding collar on the drum shaft, and operated by
suitable means for varying the inclination of the whole of the wings or vanes
simultaneously. This improved construction of drum, with longitudinal beaters
and adjustable inclined wings or vanes, may also be used in flour dressing machines
which are not combined with other machinery. The fine flour that goes through
the silk cylinder falls on a screw conveyor as usual, and the tailings, consisting of
middlings and offals, pass down a spout to another screw conveyor, and are thereby
carried to an elevator by which they are raised and delivered through a hopper
onto a series of riddles and shoots, arranged as follows, and all contained in one
box mounted on springs and operated by a crank. The riddles are very slightly
inclined and placed directly above one another, and beneath each there is a shoot
upon which the middlings that pass through the meshes of the riddle fall, and are
conveyed to a pair of crushing rollers. At the same time an exhaust fan draws
air upwards through the meshes of the riddles to prevent the grays passing through
and to carry away to a dust chamber the light fluff and grays. The tailings that
pass over the lower edge of each riddle fall through a separate shoot onto the riddle
next beneath, and are finally discharged through a spout into a sack. By the
crushing rollers above mentioned the middlings are reduced, and they fall thence
onto a screw conveyor which carries the reduced middlings to an elevator by which
they are returned to the feed hopper to be redressed and purified by again passing
through the machine, this operation being repeated until the product is nothing
but flour and bran,

page_text: Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of the improved combined machine of
this Invention, and Figure 2 is a cross section thereof on line 1-1, Figure 1,
looking towards the tail end.
A is
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts wherever they occur.
the feed hopper supplying the meal to B; B is the centrifugal bran dusting and
separating cylinder clothed with wire cloth, preferably No. 22, and enclosing a
drum C, composed of beaters c, radial prongs c², and brushes c², and mounted on a
longitudinal shaft c³. A small fan on the tail end of this shaft draws a current of
air through the whole length of cylinder B to keep the meal perfectly cool whilst
passing through the meshes of the wire. E is the delivery spout for tailings
(coarse bran) from cylinder B discharging into a bag or other receptacle. F is the
conveyor beneath cylinder B, whereby the meal, &c., that has passed through the
meshes of cylinder B is conveyed to a spout C at the head of the machine to be
delivered to H. H is the centrifugal flour dressing cylinder. It is horizontal, and
is constructed in three segments, and varies in length according to the size of the
machine, and is clothed with silk placed inside the ribs of the cylinder frame, and
held thereto by steel strips so as to avoid obstruction within the cylinder, give
greater stability to the silk, and a better dressing surface. The cylinder is revolved as
usual by a pinion h gearing with a ring of teeth h¹ on the head of the cylinder. The
centrifugal drum within cylinder H is mounted on a horizontal shaft and driven
at a high speed as usual. The said drum is composed of longitudinal beaters I, each
lying from end to end in one plane radial to the axis of the drum instead of being
oblique, as is commonly the case; i, are adjustable wings or vanes, of which a
set (3, or more in number) is disposed between every or between every alternate
pair of adjacent beaters. The vanes or wings i of each set are attached by one of
their ends to the face of one beater of the pair, and their other ends extend nearly
to the other beater. These wings or vanes are about the same width as the
beaters I, and they are more or less oblique. These vanes may be made of sheet
iron and rigidly screwed to the beaters, the vanes themselves being sufficiently
flexible to admit of their more or less oblique adjustment, or they may be loosely
hinged; are longitudinal rods to which the vanes of the several sets aro con-
nected, and are arms radiating from a collar fitted to slide on the drum shaft,
and connected with a nut i received within a tubular and slotted part of said shaft
and working on a screw rod i likewise received within the tubular end of the
shaft, whereby collar ³ may be slid along the shaft, thereby moving rods i¹ longi-
tudinally and so regulating the degree of obliquity of all the vanes simultaneously.
The fine flour falls from the cylinder H onto a conveyor K, by which it is delivered
at outlet L. M is a spout, down which the tailings or offals from cylinder H pass
to a screw conveyor N on the same shaft as K by which they are conveyed to a
small clevator O, which raises and discharges the same through a hopper P onto
the uppermost of the purifier sieves R, R', R. There are 3 (more or less) of these
sieves fixed one above the other in one vibrating frame (not shown) mounted on
springs, as will be readily understood, and operated by a crank driven from a
pulley. These sieves are nearly but not quite horizontal, and they are clothed
with silk of such a number as will suit the work required. S, S', S³, are inclined
shoots, one beneath each sieve, by which the different grades of middlings that pass
through the meshes of the sieves are conveyed to gutters 8, all leading into one
spout that delivers the middlings to the crushing rollers. T are a second series of
inclined shoots, one beneath each of the shoots S, S¹, for conveying the tailings
from the first sieve R to the head of the sieve next below, and so on, the tailings
from the lowest sieve passing off by a spout into a bag or other receptacle. V is
an exhaust fan above the sieves drawing air up through their meshes and carrying
off the grays and fluffy matter to the dust collector U at top, consisting of a
chamber traversed by a screw conveyor, the top of the chamber being open and

page_text: covered with bunting to arrest the dust and allow the air to escape. W is a casing
containing a pair of small crushing rollers made of chilled iron and about 4 inches
in diameter. The different grades of middlings are conveyed to theso rollers, as
above mentioned, and are crushed or reduced by passing between them. The
reduced middlings then fall on a screw conveyor X by which they are carried to an
elevator (not shown) at the head of the machine, by which they are returned to
the hopper A to be again passed through the machine along with more meal.
Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, we declare that what we claim as our Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The combined bran separating and cleaning, flour dressing, middlings
purifying, rolling, and finishing machine, constructed, arranged, and operating sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
2nd. In a flour dressing cylinder the employment of a centrifugal drum, con-
structed of longitudinal blades or beaters and sets of adjustable vanes or wings, each
set extending more or less obliquely from one beater to the next, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth, whether such flour dressing cylinder does or does
not form part of a combined machine, such as that above described or any other.
3rd. In a centrifugal drum, constructed as herein specified, the combination with
the longitudinal blades or beaters and the adjustable wings or vanes extending
between adjacent beaters of the means, substantially as herein shown and described,
whereby the obliquity of all the vanes may be simultaneously regulated.
4th. The combination with superposed purifier sieves of shoots for taking off the
product of each sieve, and for passing the tailings to the next sieve, substantially as
shown and described.
5th. The combination of a flour dressing cylinder, constructed as described, and
of purifier sieves and shoots, arranged as herein specified, and operating on the
tailings from the flour dressing cylinder, substantially as shown and described.
6th. The combination of a flour dressing cylinder, constructed as described,
purifier sieves and shoots, arranged as specified, operating on the tailings from the
flour dressing cylinder, and of crushing rollers for reducing the middlings separated
by the purifier sieves, substantially as shown and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Scholey Ashley and Thomas Ashley, junior,
for ourselves, and on behalf of the said Thomas Ashley, have to this our
Specification set our hands and seals, this Third day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.