Improvements in or applicable to Sugar Cane and other Crushing Mills.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 8th June, 1893-Accepted, 8th July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Sugar Cane and other
Crushing Mills.
I, GEORGE FLETCHER, of Masson Works, Litchurch, in the County of Derby,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus for the purpose of automatically feeding the
rollers of a crushing mill with the substance to be crushed and is especially applic-
able to mills used in the second crushing process with two horizontal rollers placed
one over the other.
In carrying out my invention I employ a series of reciprocating forks which
move backwards and forwards on a feeding table, pushing the megass or substance
to be crushed before them to the grip of the rollers, these forks are so arranged
that they work alteruately. The reciprocating motion may be imparted to the
forks by connecting them to double ended levers attached to a rocking shaft which
can be worked by an eccentric or crank from the megass carrier shaft or otherwise..
The forks can be made to extend the whole width of the rolls, or they may be
divided into a series having a number of prongs in each, or each prong may be
separate, and in addition to working alternately may be arranged to work in a
following on manner that is, they may be worked by a number of cranks or
eccentrics on a counter shaft which instead of being opposite to each other to give
alternate motion are somewhat in advance of each other. The countershaft can
advantageously be made to revolve by means of a belt, gearing, or chain wheels
worked from the end of one of the roller shafts, or in any other suitable manner.
Or one fork may be placed over another, the prongs of one fork fitting in the
spaces between the prongs of the other fork.
"
In addition to the reciprocating motion of the forks they may also have a slight
vertical movement communicated to them to prevent the megass choking the forks.
One of the advantages of this arrangement is that the feed is regular instead of
being intermittent which is usually the case in the feeding arrangements hitherto
in use.
The megass or other material to be crushed is carried by an endless chain and
falls down a chute onto the feeding table as usual.
Dated this 8th day of September 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Sugar Cane and other
Crushing Mills.
I, GEORGE FLETCHER, of Masson Works, Litchurch, in the County of Derby,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
My invention relates to apparatus for the purpose of automatically feeding the
rollers of a crushing mill with the substance to be crushed and is especially
applicable to sugar cane mills used in the second crushing process with two
horizontal rollers placed one over the other.
In carrying out my invention I employ a series of reciprocating forks which
move backwards and forwards on a feeding table, pushing the megass or substance

page_text: to be crushed before them to the grip of the rollers, these forks are so arranged
that they work alternately. The reciprocating motion may be imparted to the
forks by connecting them to double ended levers attached to a rocking shaft which
can be worked by an eccentric or crank from the megass carrier shaft or otherwise.
The forks can be made to extend the whole width of the rolls, or they may be
divided into a series having a number of prongs in each, or each prong may be
separate, and in addition to working alternately may be arranged to work in a
following on manner that is, they may be worked by a number of cranks or
eccentrics on a counter-shaft which instead of being opposite to each other to give
alternate motion are somewhat in advance of each other. The counter-shaft can
advantageously be made to revolve by means of a belt, gearing, or chain-wheels
worked from the end of one of the roller shafts, or in any other suitable manner.
Or one fork may be placed over another, the prongs of one fork fitting in the
spaces between the prongs of the other fork.
In addition to the reciprocating motion of the forks they may also have a slight
vertical movement communicated to them to prevent the megass choking the
forks.
One of the advantages of this arrangement is that the feed is regular instead
of being intermittent which is usually the case in the feeding arrangements hitherto
in use.
The megass or other material to be crushed is carried by an endless chain and
falls down a chute onto the feeding table as usual.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a crushing mill provided with my reciprocating
feeding forks :
Figures 2 to 7 are views of details of the forks drawn to an enlarged scale:
Figure 8 is a similar view to Figure 1 but showing the forks arranged to have a
slight vertical movement in addition to a reciprocating motion:
Figure 9 is an elevation of the forks detached drawn to a larger scale.
Referring first to Figure 1, a is one of the mill standards and b, bare the
rollers supported thereby; e is the endless chain for elevating the megass and d
is the chute down which it then falls on to the feeding table e all the said parts
being of usual construction. indicates the reciprocating forks connected by
rods, g' to the double ended lever mounted on a shaft i on which it is caused
to oscillate by the rod j and the eccentric on the megass carrier shaft 7.
Figures 2 to 7 clearly illustrate the construction of forks which I have found
to work well in practice. They consist of a plate m shewn respectively in plan
and elevation at Figures 2 and 3 and a plate n shewn respectively in plan and
elevation at Figures 4 and 5, each of the said plates having prongs o and
hinge-lugs p formed thereon the latter being jointed to the rods g and g', Figure 1.
The plates are made of less thickness than the prongs so that when placed face
to face in the manner shewn in plan and elevation at Figures 6 and 7 respectively
the prongs o and hinge-lugs p of one plate will fit in between those of the other
plate and the plates when reciprocated by the eccentrick Figure 1 can slide
over each other in the manner illustrated in Figures 6 and 7.
I may employ a number of sets of the fork plates m and n arranged side by
side along the whole length of the rolls b; or a single set wide enough to
extend the said length as will be obvious. By this construction when the mill
is working the eccentric will through the medium of the rod, lever and
rods move alternately backwards and forwards over the feeding table e and
push the megass or other substance to be crushed (as it arrives from the chute d
between the rolls b, b.
In the arrangement illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 the prongs o are not con-
nected and all work independently of one another. For this purpose I connect
each prong to an eccentric (or a crauk) arranged on a shaft y supported in
a bracket on the chute standards, the shaft q being driven by a belt t from

page_text: the shaft of the top roll b. The prongs are supported at a point near the
rolls b by vibrating links u working on a pivot v in the mill standard a whereby
the prongs o in addition to a reciprocating movement have a slight vertical
motion imparted to them which prevents the megass from choking the forks.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The use in combination with a sugar cane or other crushing mill of forks or
prongs connected by plates arranged to reciprocate alternately substantially as
hereinhefore described, and for the purpose specified.
2. In a sugar cane or other crushing mill the combination with forks or prongs
designed to feed the substance to be crushed to the rolls, of a double lever such as h
for communicating a reciprocating motion to the forks, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The construction of forks for use in combination with sugar cane and other
crushing mills, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2
to 7 of the accompanying drawings.
4. In a sugar cane or other crushing inill the arrangement of prongs each
supported by a vibrating link near the rolls and operated by eccentrics,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 of the
accompanying drawings.
5. The combination with a crushing inill of the improved apparatus for
automatically feeding the material to be crushed to the rolls of the mill the said
apparatus being constructed arranged and operating substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 8th day of June 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.