IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR URINDING SAND AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and
William Fletcher, of the Firm of John Fletcher and Sons, of the
Eagle Foundry, Salford, in the County of Lancaster, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR URINDING SAND AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 26th January 1869, and dated the 15th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jolin Fletcher, senior,
John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th August
1868.
We, JOHN FLETCHER, senior, JOHN FLETCHER, junior, and WILLIAM
FLETCHER, of the Firm of John Fletcher and Sons, of the Eagle Foundry,
Salford, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR GRINDING SAND AND
OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:
Our Invention is applicable to mortar mills and other machines of the
like description, and consists in supporting the revolving trough of
mortar mills or mills for grinding sand or other substances upon anti-
friction rollers supported in stationary bearings, or mounted on radial
Price Sd.1

page_text: spokes which rotate around the central axle of the mill, and in guiding
the said axle in a centre bearing.
Another part of our Invention consists in raising and lowering the
grinding rollers simultaneously by means of a cross shaft with worms
or wheels gearing into wheels, the bosses of which form nuts for screws
connected to the horizontal axle of the grinding rollers.
These screws
are turned round alternately in one direction or the other by a friction
or other wheel on the driving shaft gearing into two carrier pinions fixed
to a swivel plate, whichi carriers gear alternately in the wheel on the
shaft with the worms.
Our Invention consists also in connecting each of the friction rollers
to the horizontal axle by a wedge and washer, and in protecting the
joints of the said axle and rollers by circular rings with projecting
flanges, which rings are fixed to the said rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and
William Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
FLETCHER, senior, JOHN FLETCHER, junior, and WILLIAM FLETCHER, of
the Firm of John Fletcher and Sons, of the Eagle Foundry, Salford, in
the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said John Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior,
and William Fletcher, Her special license that we, the said John
Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, our exc-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
John Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR GRINDING SAND AND OTHER SUBSTANCES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Fletcher,
senior, John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one
of our or their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to-be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Fletcher, senior, John
Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, do hereby declare the nature of
our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
Our Invention is applicable to mortar mills and other machines of
the like description, and consists in supporting the revolving trough of
mortar mills or mills for grinding sand or other substances upon anti-
friction rollers mounted on radial spokes which rotate around the central
axle of the mill, and in guiding the said axle in a centre bearing.
Another part of our Invention consists in raising and lowering the
grinding rollers simultaneously by means of a cross shaft with worms or
wheels gearing into wheels, the bosses of which form nuts for screws
connected to the horizontal axle of the grinding rollers. These worm
wheels are turned round alternately in one direction or the other by a
friction or other wheel on the driving shaft gearing into. two carrier
pinions fixed to a swivel plate, which carriers gear, alternately in the
wheel on the shaft with the worms.
Our Invention consists also in connecting each of the grinding rollers
to the horizontal axle by a wedge and washer, and in protecting the
joints of the said axle and rollers by circular rings with projecting
flanges, which rings are fixed to the said rollers.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked..
thereon.
Figure 1 is a plan of our improved machinery for grinding sand and

page_text: other substances; Figure 2 is an elevation of the same, sliewn partly in
section; Figure 3 is an end view, of the gearing for raising and
lowering the grinding rollers; and Figure 4 is an end view of the
opposite end of the machine.
The machine consists of the foundation plate a, the centre axle 6,
the two standards c, which support the upper cross beam d.
To a
flange projecting from the axle b is bolted the revolving trougli e, which
is provided with a false bottom f, put togetlier in two halves to facilitate
repairs, as usual. To the upper surface of the foundation plate is cast
a circular rail or rib a', and to the under surface of the trough e is
cast a similar rail or rib e'. The trough e is supported by the conical
antifriction rollers g resting upon the rail or rib a', and these rollers are
loose on the radial spokes g fixed in a boss g², which is loose on the
central axle b. The spokes are stayed near the rollers g by the ring g".
The parts marked g, g', g, and g³ constitute what is commonly called
in turntables a "live ring," that is to say, the rollers g revolve not
only on their axes but also around the central axle b. The trough e
is supported by the rollers g, and the axle 6 revolves in bearings in the
cross beam d and foundation plate a, but by making a footstep in the
plate a the trough may be supported partly by the rollers g and partly
by the footstep. The trough is turned round in the following manner:
To the main driving shaft h, which is driven by steam or other power, is
fixed the bevel pinion gearing into the wheel it on the upright shaft i,
to the lower end of which is keyed the spur wheel gearing into a
carrier wheel 23, which drives the wheel e fixed to the
trough e. In some cases the carrier wheel 23 may be
and the wheel made to gear direct into the wheel e².
of the machine is enclosed within the circular casing a fixed to the
foundation plate a; this casing excludes the dust from the lower parts
of the machine. A door is made in the casing to lubricate the rollers g.
The bearing or footstep in the plate a is lubricated from the top by a
pipe passing through the axle b. The grinding rollers j are loose on the
horizontal axle , the ends of which are guided in ribs c' cast on the
inside of the standards c; there is also a hole in the axle for the
central axle b to pass through. The rollers are secured on the axle
by the washers and wedges, which hold the rollers against the
shoulders 3 cast on the axle. The joints of the rollers between the
washers and shoulders 3 are protected from the dirt, sand, and
water by means of the flanges j', which are screwed to the rollers.
exterior of the
dispensed with,
The lower part

page_text: Near each end of the horizontal axle is a slot for the upright screws
to pass through; the upper ends of these screws pass through the worm
wheels m, the bosses of which form nuts for the screws ; these worm
wheels gear into the worms n' fixed on the cross shaft n. If it should be
found desirable to increase the pressure of the rollers j coiled springs may
be placed on the screws 1, which springs bear upon the horizontal axle
and become compressed when the rollers are raised by the resistance of
the material to be ground; and if it should be found necessary the
screws may be rigidly secured to the horizontal axle l The shaft 7 is
driven alternately in contrary directions to raise or lower the grinding
rollers in the following manner-To the end of the driving shaft / is
keyed the friction wheel gearing alternately into the friction wheels o
and o', both of which are loose on studs fixed in the plate p, which is
hinged to the end of the cross shaft n; this plate is provided with a
handle p', and it is held in position by the locking screw and handle p².
To each of the friction wheels o and o' is fixed a spur pinion marked
and q', the pinion q' gearing into the pinion n keyed on
respectively
the shaft n. By moving the plate 2 the wheels o and o' are brought
alternately into gear with the wheel h. By this arrangement when the
wheel his driving the wheel o', and the pinion q is gearing into the
pinion n, the shaft n revolves in the contrary direction to the shaft h,
and when the wheel o is in gear with the wheel the shaft n
revolves in the same direction as the shaft h, thereby turning the worm
wheels m in one direction or the other, as may be required for raising or
lowering the grinding rollers. When the grinding rollers are in the
required position the plate p is set so as to hold both the wheels o and o'
out of contact with the wheel h².
the uprights a which support the
secured the ordinary scrapers 7.
To the foundation plate a are fixed
beams 7, and to these beams are
The agitator is also fixed to one of
the beams 7. This agitator consists of a plate with three or other
convenient number of blades set at different angles reaching to near the
bottom of the trough e, consequently as the trough revolves the sand or.
other material is kept in motion or turned over so
surfaces to the action of the grinding rollers.
as to present fresh
Our improvements in mortar mills and other similar machines for
grinding sand and other substances possess the following advantages:-
The outer edge of the trough e being supported on rollers allows the
trough to revolve with very little friction and with great stability,

page_text: thereby preventing. the wearing away of the central shaft and footstep,
and the consequent waste of power and necessary repairs.
The means of raising and lowering the grinding rollers simultaneously
by machinery, and of keeping them fixed at a proper distance from
the bottom of the trough is of great benefit in grinding and mixing
refuse building materials, and in grinding sand dispenses with the
subsequent operation of sifting hitherto found requisite. The machine
may also be used as a mixer without grinding by raising the rollers j
sufficiently high.
The agitator is also very beneficial for turning over and varying
the position of the substances to be ground and mixed:
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the details given; but what we claim is,-
First. Supporting the revolving trough of mortar mills and other
machinery for grinding of the like nature upon antifriction rollers which'
are free to revolve on their own axes and around the axle of the
revolving.trough.
Secondly. Raising and lowering the grinding rollers simultaneously
in the manner shewn and described or by any equivalent 'means.
And, lastly. The mode of connecting the grinding. rollers to the
horizontal axle and of excluding the dirt, sand, and water from the
joints.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Fletcher, senior, John
Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, have hereto set our
hands and seals, this Eighth day of February, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-nine.