Ax. INSTRUMENT OR SPRING TO BE APPLIED TO BOLTING MILLS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FACILITATING AND IMPROVING THE DRESSING OF FLOUR AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
AYTON, of Trowse, in the County of Norfolk, Miller, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
in and by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and, twenty-five, in the sixth year of the said Majesty's reign, did
give and grant unto me, the said James Ayton, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, His Majesty's special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority.
that I, the said James Ayton, my exors, admors, and assigns, by myself
and my deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, shall at any time agree with, from time to time
and at all times hereafter during the term of years therein expressed, shall
and lawfully may make, use, exercise, and vend my Invention of "Ax.
INSTRUMENT OR SPRING TO BE APPLIED TO BOLTING MILLS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
FACILITATING AND IMPROVING THE DRESSING OF FLOUR AND OTHER SUBSTANCES,"
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
in such manner as to me, the said James Ayton, my exors, admors, or assigns,
shall seem meet, and that I,' the said James Ayton, should enjoy the benefit
and advantage from time to time accruing and arising by reason of the said
Invention for a term therein mentioned; to hold and enjoy the said licence,
privileges, powers, and advantages therein-before granted unto me, the said
James Ayton, my exors, admors, and assigns, for and during the term of

page_text: fourteen years from the date of the now reciting Letters Patent, fully to be
complete and ended, according to the Statute in that case made and provided;
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I, the said
James Ayton, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the said
Letters Patent should be void.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Ayton, do hereby declare that my said Invention is herein set forth
and explained, reference being made to certain parts of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
But previous to describing the particular improvements I have invented, I
shall briefly explain the machinery now in use for bolting flour, meal, and
other substances. The bolting mill is that part of the machinery of a flour
mill to which the bolting cloth is fixed or applied for dressing flour and other
substances. It is generally composed in the way hitherto used of six bars of
wood united by arms passing through an axle, forming, when so combined, a
circle, whose diameter is generally twenty-two and a half inches at the upper
end or head, and tapered to twenty and a half inches at the tail or lower
end, but in some instances they are twenty-two and a half inches throughout,
in which case they are called equal reels, to distinguish them from the taper
ones. The bolting cloth is a cylindrical seive, and considerably larger in
diameter than the reel upon which it is fixed. At each end of the bolting
cloth a strip or band of leather is fastened to it by being neatly sewed; this
serves to strengthen the cloth, and the leather fixed to the head or upper end
of the cloth has a drawing string inserted in it for the purpose of confining or
fixing it over the rim at the head of the reel at the bottom of the bolting
cloth; six loops are attached to the tail leather; each of these loops is brought
to the end of each bar, drops into a notch made to receive it, and so fixes the
cloth at the tail of the reel. The reel is placed in an inclined position and
made to revolve rapidly within six bars of wood called beaters, fixed to the box
or case which contains and incloses the reel. These beaters are placed
paralel to the bars of the reel at equal distances around it (but in some cases
the upper bar is left out), and about half an inch distance from each bar of
the reel when they are placed opposite each other. The reel when set to
work is turned with great velocity, and the centrifugal force would throw out
to its utmost extent the bolting cloth were it not intercepted by the beaters,

page_text: whilst a constant stream of meal is entering the bolting cloth at the upper
end. The continual and repeated blows of the cloth against the beaters forces>
the flour through the meshes of the cloth, which without the action of the-
beaters would soon be clogged or choaked up. The-offal, consisting of bran,
5 pollard, and sharps, are, by the inclination of the reel, delivered at the tail end"
of the bolting cloth. The complete success of the operation. depends very
much upon. two particulars: first, the rapid and powerful vibration of the
bolting cloth; secondly, the equable- manner of its action upon the beaters...
Both of these requisites, according to the present mode of fastening the loops:
to the bars of the reel, are very imperfect, the only vibration (and which is
very trifling) being obtained: from the elasticity of the cloth, while from the
stretching of the leathers at the head and tail, and also the loops, with various
other causes, the cloth frequently takes an excentric position upon the reel,:
performs its work but slowly and imperfectly, and when going at a great rate,.
or not regularly supplied with meal, is sure to be partially injured or torn to
pieces. To obviate these inconveniences and improve the method of using
bolting cloths, I have invented my patent adjusting: instrument or spring, the
method of applying and using which will be explained by referring to the
Drawings 1 and 2; hereunto annexed.
Figure 4, in Drawing 2; represents a plan of my instrument or spring"
complete, and fit to be fixed by two screws to the iron axis of a bolting reel...
A is a cylindrical ring of iron. or other metal, into which are rivitted the six:
elastic steel arms or springs a, b, c, d, e, f. The extreme end of each is formed
into a broad hook to receive a loop fixed to the tail leather of a bolting. cloth..
These hooks are neatly rounded and made very smooth. to prevent the loops..
being injured when the spring is in action. B is a centre ring, which is also
cylindrical; this receives the ends of the two conical-pointed screws g and h; ·
which are secured in the outer ring A, and in this way form two centres of
a universal joint. i and k are two conical-pointed screws secured in the
centre ring B. These enter conical holes in the centre socket C exactly at
right angles with the screws 9 and h. The socket C is made. with a square
aperture in its centre to fit upon the square iron axis of a bolting réel, where
it may be made fast in any convenient part by the two fixing screws and m.
Figure 5 shews a side view of Figure 4, the same letters of reference being.
applied to the same parts wherever they can be seen. Figure 6 represents.n.
section of the universal joint, shewing the way the ends of the elastic arms of
springs are inserted. The section of this part is taken through the line D, E,
in Figure 4. When this instrument or spring is fixed upon the proper part of
the-axis of a bolting reel, and the loops at the tail_ leather of the bolting cloth.
•

page_text: are placed in the hooks at the extremity of the arms or springs instead of
being drawn into the notches at the ends of the bars of the recl; a very
constant and uniform tension will be kept upon the bolting cloth, so that
when set to work each part of it will strike the beaters with equal force; it
will preserve a proper degree of vibration, and thereby cause it to perform its
work in a safe, speedy, and highly beneficial manner. But in order to use
this instrument or spring in the most advantageous manner, I have applied
certain improvements to various parts of the bolting machine, which I shall
now describe, but I do not claim the sole right of using them, as they are not
intended to be secured by this Patent.
Drawing 1, Figure 1, represents a side elevation of a bolting machine, the
inclosing doors being removed, in order that the internal parts may the more
easily be seen. A, A, A, A, represent the bars of the frame upon which the
bolting machinery is placed. B, B, is a wrought-iron axis. Upon this the
maco C is fixed by a screw. a, a, a, a, a, a, are six semicircular arms of
iron, only four of which can be seen in this view. These arms are fixed to
and support a wooden cylindrical rim D, and thereby form a frame to fix a
nett upon, and when the meal enters in a stream it has the effect of spreading
or dispersing it equally over the upper and internal surface of the bolting
cloth. b, b, are two arms of iron fixed also to the mace C. Two similar ones
are fixed in the same mace at right angles; and D represents another mace
fixed on the same axis, having four bars or arms c, c, c, c, similarly placed
and fixed in it. d, d, represent two pieces of duck, five or six inches wide,
fixed at each end to the arms or rods b, b, and c, c. Two similar pieces of
duck are fixed also to the other arms, the edge of one being seen at e, e.
Each of these pieces is made to extend about an inch beyond the end of each
arm, and the whole constitutes a winnow, over which the bolting cloth is
drawn, and being made fast to the rim D by the running spring before-named,
the loops fixed to the tail leather are placed in the hooks of my patent
instrument or spring, and then the most perfect and equal tension will bo
effected upon the bolting cloth; and if the beaters are adjusted of a proper
distance from the cloth, thon the most beneficial effect will be produced. It
is well known that various circumstances occur which make it necessary to
adjust the beaters either nearer the bolting cloth or further distant from it, as
occasion may require. This adjustment is attended with considerable trouble
as the bolting machinery is at present constructed, and such trouble and loss
of time are the cause of very frequent neglect in that most important part of
the process. To remedy this inconvenience I adopt the following simple
means. Drawing 1, Figure 2, represents an end view of a bolting machine

page_text: corresponding with Figure One. E, E, is a cast-iron plate or ring let into a
recess formed in the tail board F, F, F. It is confined therein by the brackets
ffff, but is at liberty to move or turn concentric with the axis B of the
reel. Another plate or ring, exactly similar in every particular, is let into à
recess in the head board, a side view of which is seen at G, G, in Figure 1.
These plates have in each six grooves, as shown at g, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, in Figure 2,
equally distant from each other, and they are made eccentric to the centre of
the ring, and on the edge or periphery of the ring or platè a few teeth or cogs
are formed, which gear into a pinion H fixed upon a spindle I, which spindle will
be best seen at I, in Figure 1. A similar pinion is fixed on or near the other
end of the spindle I which gears into the cast-iron plate let into the head board,
and when the spindle is turned either way both the plates move simultaneously.
h,h,h,b,h,h, represent six radial grooves or slits made in the tail board, shown
by dotted lines in Figure 2. Six similar. slits or grooves are mado in the.
head board, and exactly opposite those in the tail board. iii, i, i, i, i repre-
sent six cylindrical bolts with square heads; the other ends being tapped are
screwed into the ends of each beater, the bolts being previously passed through
the excentric grooves of the circular plates and radial slit or grooves in the
head and tail boards. This method of combining the parts will be easily
understood by carefully comparing both Figures of Drawing 1. When a
winch is applied to a squared end, be it at the head or tail, as most conve-
nient, of the spindle I, Figure 1, the pinions fixed to it being geared into the
teeth of the cast-iron plates E, E, will turn them partly round, and these, by
their grooves acting upon the bolts i, i, &c., will cause the beaters to expand
or contract their distance from the cloth with the greatest ease and facility.
By this simple contrivance the distance of the beaters may be adjusted in an
instant, and by the use of a winnow instead of the common reel, as herein
described, the injurious effects of the reel bars upon the cloth will be avoided
most completely; as the, outer extreme edges of the four pieces of duck pass
within about three quarters of an inch of the beaters, there is always an
open space of eight or ten inches in the centre round the axle from the inner
extreme edges of the winnow; and as this part of the machinery of a bolting
mill. revolves with great rapidity, the pieces of duck set the air in: very
brisk motion, and this circumstance tends very powerfully to force the
5 flour through the meshes or interstices of the bolting cloth, while the instru-
ment or spring keeps the cloth in a constant state of tension and tremulous
vibration, thereby preventing any tendency that the flour may have to clogg
and fill up the interstices or meshes of the bolting cloth. Figure 8 of
Drawing 2 represents a side view of the winnow separated from the bolting
0 machine. The same letters of reference are applied to the same parts as in

page_text: Drawing 1. The instrument or spring is shewn fixed upon the axle B in a
proper place to have the loops of the bolting cloth applied to it.
And in order to identify and distinguish my Invention more particularly, I,.
the said James Ayton, do hereby declare that my Invention consists entirely
in the application of an instrument or spring as described and set forth in
Figures 4, 5, and 6, of Drawing 2. And although I prefer the method of
constructing the universal joint, and of making and combining the springs or
elastic arms as therein described, yet the same beneficial effect may be pro-
duced by using spiral springs attached to non-elastic arms fixed to a universal
joint, to which the loops of the bolting cloth may be applied, or in many
other simple ways known to workmen without departing from the principle
herein contained, namely, that of applying spring to give tension to the bolting
cloth, by the application of which the dressing of flour, meal, and other
substances will be greatly facilitated and improved.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ayton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
Inrolled the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-five.