IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO MORTAR MILLS AND OTHER MACHINES OF THE LIKE NATURE FOR GRINDING OR PULVERIZING
Year: 1869

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, Engineers,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO MORTAR
MILLS AND OTHER MACHINES OF THE LIKE NATURE FOR GRINDING OR
PULVERIZING."
Sealed the 6th May 1870, and dated the 26th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fletcher, senior,
John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 26th
November 1869.
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, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO
MORTAR MILLS AND OTHER MACHINES OF THE LIKE NATURE FOR GRINDING OR
PULVERIZING," to be as follows:-
The nature of our Invention consists in certain self-acting machinery
for discharging the contents of the trough of mortar mills and other

page_text: machines of the like nature when the sand or other minerals or
materials are sufficiently ground, pulverized, or macerated. This self-
acting machinery consists of an endless chain or belt of scoops or
scrapers passing around toothed pulleys. This endless chain or belt
works in a spout supported on trunnions resting in bearings fixed to the
framing of the machine or to other supports. The spout is placed a
little above the edge of the revolving trough in which the sand or other
material is ground. The endless chain or belt is driven when required
by a pair of bevel wheels, one of which is connected by a clutch box to
the shaft on which it is mounted, and by a toothed chain and pulleys,
one of which is fixed on a shaft coinciding with the trunnions of the
spout. On this shaft is another toothed pulley for driving the shaft
around which the endless chain or belt passes. So long as the mill is
working the spout with the endless chain or belt is held above the
trough, but when the sand or other mineral or material has been
sufficiently ground the attendant moves the clutch box before referred
to into gear, and lowers one end of the spout to bring the scoops or
scrapers nearly in contact with the bottom of the trough which continues
to revolve, and the scoops or scrapers then discharge the contents into
any suitable receptacle that may be placed under the upper end of the
spout.
The gearing above described for working the endless chain or belt
may be varied according to the particular purpose to which our improve-
ments are applied, and the endless chain or belt can be set and held at
any angle so as to remove the surface of the material in the revolving
trough without disturbing the sediment.
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 25th
May 1870.
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, Engineers, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third 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 licence that we, the said John
Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, our
executors, 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, 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
AND APPLICABLE TO MORTAR MILLS AND OTHER MACHINES OF THE LIKE NATURE
FOR GRINDING OR PULVERIZING," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said John Fletcher, senior, John Fletcher, junior, and William
Fletcher, our exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next
aud immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that wo, 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) :-
:-
The nature of our Invention consists in certain self-acting machinery
for discharging the contents of the trough of mortar mills and other
machines of the like nature when the sand or other minerals or materials.
are sufficiently ground, pulverized, macerated, or mixed.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation we will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, which represents our Invention applied to a mortar
mill constructed in the manner described in the Specification of Lettera
Patent granted to us on the Fifteenth day of August One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-cight, Number 2519, but we wish to observe that our

page_text: present Invention is equally applicable to other mortar muis anⱭ
machines of the like nature.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the discharging apparatus,
and Fig. 3 is an elevation of part of the same.
a is the foundation plate; b, the centre axle; c, the side standards;
e, the revolving trough, which may be supported on antifriction rollers
or in a V shaped annular groove or on a flat surface with a flange; i,
the upright shaft for giving motion to the trough e; and r, the beams to
which the ordinary scrapers are connected in the usual manner; v is an
endless belt or chain of scoops or scrapers passing around the toothed
pulleys fixed to the shafts and ³; the shaft ³ revolves in stationary
bearings fixed to the sides of the spout 10, and the shaft o³ revolves in
adjustable bearings, the position of which can be varied by regulating
.screws to keep the endless belt or chain to the proper tension. The spout 10
is supported on trunnions resting in a bearing to fixed to the foundation
plate a, and in the bearing w³ fixed to the beam r or to other suitable
supports. The bottom of the spout is placed a little above the edge of
the revolving trough e. The endless chain or belt is driven in this
instance by the bevel wheel i fixed on the upright shaft i. The boss of
the wheel is provided with clutches, and the sliding half clutch box t³
is connected to the shaft i by a key and groove; this half clutch box is
moved up and down by the lever x. The wheel gears into the wheel y
fixed to the horizontal shaft y', to which is fixed a toothed pulley y;
the toothed chain y³ passes round the pulley y' and drives the toothed
pulley loose on one of the trunnions of the spout wo; to the pulley to³
is fixed a similar pulley 10', which gives motion to the shaft by the
toothed chain wo³ passing around the pulley * on the said shaft. The
scrapers are made of thin metal blades screwed to bridles rivetted to
the toothed chains which are driven by the toothed pulleys v¹; the blades
have slots, through which the screws connecting them to the bridles pass
for adjusting them.
The Drawing represents the parts in the positions they occupy when
the inner end of the spout wo is depressed until it nearly touches the
bottom of the revolving trough e, and it is held in this position by the
locking handle, which screws on a stud passing through the segmental
slot in the bracket a fixed to the framing, the scrapers v, which are now
supposed to be moving in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, carry
the material from the trough e up the spout w, from the upper end of

page_text: It is
which it falls into any suitable receptacle or on to the floor of the
building. As soon as the contents of the trough e have been discharged
the attendant by slackening the locking handle brings the spout w into a
horizontal position, as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 1, he then disconnects
the two parts of the clutch box, and the sliding half is held up by a
tightening handle x', which binds against the boss of the lever x.
evident that the gearing for giving motion to the scrapers may be
considerably varied, and the shape of the scrapers may be modified
according to the material that has to be discharged from the trough. In
discharging liquids from the trough scoops or buckets may be required
instead of scrapers, and the spout wo may be set and held at any angle
by the handle and segmental bracket ', so as to remove the surface
of the material in the trough without disturbing the sediment.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described a
convenient mode of performing the same, we wish to remark that we do
not intend to limit ourselves to the details given, as they must be modified
according to the particular purpose for which the apparatus is intended.
We claim the application of self-acting machinery for discharging the
contents of the revolving trough of a mortar mill or other machine of
the like nature for grinding, mixing, or pulverizing.
In witness whereof, we, tho said John Fletcher, senior, John
Fletcher, junior, and William Fletcher, have hereto set our
hands and scals, this Twenty-fourth day of May One thousand
eight hundred and soventy.
eight hundred and seventy.
JOHN FLETCHER, SER. (L.S.)
JOHN FLETCHER, JUN. (L.S.)
WILLIAM FLETCHER.
(L.S.)