IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR CLEANING RICE
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR CLEANING RICE."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Peter M Kinley, of Charleston, in the United
States of America.
Scaled the 12th August 1859, and dated the 31st March 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st March 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR CLEANING RICE,"
to be as follows:-
Tho object of this Invention of improvements in mills for cleaning rice, is to
separate the thin skin or film which remains on the grain after the hull or
rough outside shell has been taken off and blown away, and to effect this
object, without breaking or bruising, and thereby lessening the market value
of the rice. The mill which is employed for this purpose and to which the
present Invention relates is composed principally of a pestle and mortar, and
the Invention consists in attaching the pestle to a rod which passes through
the bottom of the mortar, receptacle, or vessel containing the rice. To this rod,

page_text: with the pestle attached thereto, a reciprocating motion is imparted in a
vertical direction, power being applied from a crank to the rod, which extends
to the bottom and projects below the mortar.
The operation of the mill is as follows:- The proper quantity of rice being
put in the mortar or receptacle, rotary motion is communicated to the crank
shaft, which will give a reciprocating rectilinear motion to the pestle, the pestle
in its downward stroke (not being allowed to descend quite to the bottom of
the mortar) will cause the rice under it to receive considerable pressure, and
to be forced from beneath it towards the sides of the mortar, which will create
great friction between the grains, and will scrub off the skin, but will not strike
or beat it with sufficient force to break the grain. When it is sufficiently
cleansed, a draw-gate at the bottom of the mortar may be opened and the rice
allowed to run out.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton Her special license
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my-executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton my
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, excrcise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MILLS FOR CLEANING RICE," being a communication from Peter McKinley,
of Charleston, in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,

page_text: 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 I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention of improvements in mills for cleaning rice is
to separate the thin skin or film which remains on the grain after the hull or
rough outside shell has been taken off and blown away, and to effect this
object without breaking or bruising the grain, and thereby lessening the
market value of the rice. The mill which is employed for this purpose and
to which the present Invention relates, is composed principally of a pestle and
mortar, and the Invention consists in attaching the pestle to a rod, which
passes through the bottom of the mortar, receptacle, or vessel containing the
rice. To this rod, with the pestle attached thereto, a reciprocating motion is
imparted in a vertical direction, power being applied from a crank to the rod
which extends through the bottom and projects below the mortar.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one of the
improved mills, consisting of two mortars and their accessories; Fig. 2
is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken from
back to front through the centre of one of the mortars. A, A, represents a
strong frame of timber, consisting of posts and cross timbers of sufficient
strength to carry the working parts of the mill. B, B are the mortars which
are of the same form as thoso usually employed; they are supported on a
platform in the frame at a suitable height to admit of the working parts being
placed below them; each mortar has an opening at or near the bottom, closed
by a draw-gate, for the purpose of letting out the rice after it is cleaned. C,
(Fig. 3) is one of the pestles or stampers, made of cast iron or other proper
metal, and it may be either solid or hollow. D is a rod which passes through
the pestle, the latter being secured to the rod by a nut a, which fits on a screw
on the rod; this screw. and nut will admit of the pestle being adjusted to a
bigher or lower position on the rod according to the distance above the bottom
that it is desired to allow the pestlo to descend; the lower end of the rod passes
through a stuffing box b, in the bottom of the mortar (see Fig. 3) which box
keeps the rice from leaking out, and tho upper end of the rod works in a
guide c, placed across the top of the mortar. A crosshead is fixed on the lower
end, and is bored to fit and work on stationary guide bars, in order to keep the

page_text: pestle in line. E, E are levers, which are secured by pins or fulcra d, d, to
the back part of the frame; a pin or bolt e passes through the opposite ends
of these lovers, and also through the forked ends of a suspension rod f, which
is screwed at its upper end, and secured by nuts 9, 9, to a sill F, on the front
of the frame, one of the nuts being above the sill and the other below it; by
unscrewing or screwing these nuts, the forward ends of the lovers may be
raised or depressed. G is a shaft carrying fly wheels H, H, and having journals
fitting in bearings in the lovers E, E, directly under a line drawn through
the centres of the mortars; on each of the fly wheels H, H, there is a pin
h, which serves as a crank pin; I, I, are connecting rods provided with bearing
boxes at each end, one end of each being attached to one of the crank pins h, h
and the other end to the end of one of the rods D, D. J (Fig. 1) is a
pulley fast on the shaft G; this pulloy receives motion through a band K,
from a
pulley L, on the main driving shaft M, which rests in bearings on
brackets at the back of the frame.
;
The operation of the mill is as follows:-The proper quantity of rice being
put in the mortars or receptacles rotary motion is communicated from the
shaft M, to the crank shaft G, which will cause the crank pins h, h, to give a
reciprocating rectilinear motion to the pestles; this motion should be given at
the rate of about from 120 to 150 strokes per minute; the pestle, in its down-
ward stroke (not being allowed to descend quite to the bottom of the mortar).
will cause the rice under it to receive considerable pressure, and to be forced
from beneath it towards the sides of the mortar, which will create great friction
between the grains, and will scrub off the skin, but will not strike or beat it
with sufficient force to break the grain. When it is sufficiently cleansed,
the draw-gate at the bottom of the mortar may be opened and the rice allowed
to run out from the spout B', Fig. 3.
The method of operating the pestle or stamper as usually heretofore practised
is to have it very heavy, and to raise it to a considerable height by means of
lovers or lifters, or by a shaft of large diameter placed abovo the mortars, when
it is released and allowed to fall by its own gravity or weight; this requires
very heavy machinery, and can only be operated at a very low speed because of
the danger of breaking the lifters. It also breaks the grain by the great
percussive force with which the pestle strikes or beats it, and is also frequently
out of repair.
The advantages of the present improvement are, that in consequence of the
rapid motion of the pestle the rice is cleansed much more quickly and more
perfectly; also, that the rice can be drawn off. from the bottom of the mortar,
instead of being taken out by scoops from the top, which saves much time, and

page_text: avoids much inconvenience; also that the machinery for operating the pestle
is lighter, takes less power to drive, and is not so liable to get out of order;
also, that the pestle can be raised to any height above the bottom of the
mortar so as to give greater or less friction to the rice, as required. This
regulation of the pestle is effected by raising or lowering the suspension rods f,
which will raise or lower the shaft G.
Having now described the Invention of improvements in mills for cleaning
rice, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to
me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, mounting the pestle on a rod that passes
through the bottom of the mortar and receives a reciprocating motion from
any convenient prime mover, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.B.)