AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR SEPARATING MIXED, POWDERED, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus Bryant Childs, of No. 16, Mark Lane,
in the City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR SEPARATING MIXED, POWDERED, OR OTHER
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 28th October 1868, and dated the 1st May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus Bryant Childs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st May 1868.
I, AUGUSTUS BRYANT CHILDS, of No. 16, Mark Lane, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR SEPARATING MIXED, POWDERED,
OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
The substance known as "non-explosive gunpowder," which is gun-
powder mixed with a certain quantity of some incombustible powdered
substance, cannot be used until the particles of this incombustible or
non-explosive substance are removed or separated from the particles of-
gunpowder, and the chief object of my Invention is to afford the means

page_text: for effecting this separation or removal in a more perfect and expeditious
manner than has heretofore been found practicable.
The nature of the said Invention consists in subjecting the mixed
materials to the combined action of a wire cylinder and screw conveyors,
so as to effectually and expeditiously separate the particles of gunpowder
from the material with which it is mixed. The cylinder, which is formed
of wire guaze, silk, or other suitable material, is arranged in an inclined
position and revolves in suitable bearings. I fix a helix or screw, which
extends about two-thirds the entire length of the said cylinder. At
about equal distances apart in this cylinder, at its periphery and in a
longitudinal direction, I fix angular pieces of wood or metal, which I
term "lifts," whereby the mixed material is carried partly around the
cylinder, and is then allowed to fall to the bottom. The separation of
the particles is thus facilitated, and as the material is worked by the
action of the screw towards the end of the cylinder these "lifts "
scour the surface of the grains of powder, removing whatever dust may
adhere to them. At the end of the screw part of the cylinder, and
upon a spindle running through the same, I fix one or more discs of
wood or metal, arranged with a considerable space between their
peripheries and the cylinder of wire gauze. I prefer to employ two
of these discs, and I fill up the space between the same and the
cylinder with a ring of cloth, canvas, or other suitable material, which
intercepts all stive or floating dust which the action of the screw
produces in the machine, but which allows the gunpowder to pass
between it and the wire cylinder. The gunpowder is carried past these
partitions or discs by the action of the screw into the lower end of the
inclined cylinder, and is there met by more "lifts" constructed as
before described. A further scouring of the particles then takes place,
and the separated powder passes out through this lower end of the said
cylinder into a hopper, and thence into proper receptacles provided for
the purpose. The glass, dust, or whatever medium is used for rendering
the gunpowder non-explosive falls into a separate chamber arranged
in the body of the machine. The said machine is preferably fed by
self-acting feed rollers arranged in the hopper at the head or upper
end of the cylinder.
My improved apparatus or machine is also well adapted for separating
flour from the bran and for other like purposes, as from the peculiar
action of the screw combined with the wire cylinder a very large surface

page_text: is travelled over by the material operated upon, a large screening
surface being thus obtained in a small machine requiring very little
power to work it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Augustus Bryant Childs in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
BRYANT CHILDS, of No. 16, Mark Lane, in the City of London,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, Her special
licence that I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Augustus Bryant
Childs, 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, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain..
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR SEPARATING MIXED, POWDERED,
OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Augustus Bryant Childs, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of 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 I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, 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 accompany.
ing Sheet of Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-

page_text: The substance known as "non-explosive gunpowder," which is gun-
powder mixed with a certain quantity of some incombustible powdered
substance, cannot be used until the particles of this incombustible non-
explosive substance are removed or separated from the particles of
gunpowder, and the chief object of my Invention is to afford the means
for effecting this separation or removal in a more perfect and expeditious
manner than has heretofore been found practicable.
The nature of the said Invention consists chiefly in the combination
of a wire or other open cylinder and a screw conveyor which operate
together so as to effectually and expeditiously separate the gunpowder
from the material with which it is mixed. The cylinder, which is
formed of wire gauze, silk, or other suitable material, is arranged in
an inclined. position and revolves in suitable bearings. In the said
cylinder I fix a helix or screw which extends about two-thirds the
entire length of the same. At about equal distances apart in this
cylinder at its periphery and in a longitudinal direction, I fix angular
pieces of wood or metal which I term "lifts," whereby the mixed
material is carried partly around the cylinder and is then allowed to
fall to the bottom. The separation of the particles is thus facilitated,
and as the material is worked by the action of the screw towards the
end of the cylinder these "lifts" scour the surface of the grains of
powder, removing whatever dust may adhere to them. At the end of
the screw part of the cylinder, and upon a spindle running through
the same, I fix one or more discs of wood or metal arranged with
a considerable space between their peripheries and the cylinder of
wire gauze. I prefer to employ two of these discs, and I fill up the
space between the same and the cylinder with a ring of cloth, canvass,
or other suitable material, which interrupts all stive or floating dust
produced by the action of the screw in the machine, but which allows
the gunpowder to pass between the discs and the wire cylinder. The
gunpowder is carried past these partitions or discs by the action of
the screw into the lower or exit end of the inclined cylinder and is
there met by more "lifts" constructed as before described. A further
scouring of the particles then takes place, and the separated powder
passes out through this lower end of the said cylinder into a hopper
and thence into proper receptacles provided for the purpose; the glass,
dust, or whatever substance is used as a medium for rendering the
gunpowder non-explosive falls into. a separate chamber arranged
in the body of the machine. The said machine is preferably provided

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved machine
showing the same as I construct it for separating the glass or other dust
from non-explosive gunpowder; Figure 2 is a transverse section on the
line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line y, y,
Figure 1; Figure 4 is an end view of the said machine. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The outer case or box a is constructed of wood or other suitable
material and of any required size. The cylinder 6 which is formed of.
wire gauze, silk, or other material of a similarly open texture, is attached
by the arms 6 to the shaft c, which is fitted to turn freely in the
bearings c. The helix or screw d, which may be made of sheet brass,
copper, or other suitable material, is arranged in such relation to the
cylinder that as the latter rotates the powder in the cylinder is carried
towards the lower or exit end of the said cylinder. The "lifts "e which
extend from end to end of the first compartment ₁ of the cylinder bare
preferably formed of brass or copper, and arc slightly twisted or inclined
in such a manner that the powder lifted by them is caused to fall towards
the exit end of the cylinder. I have shown the cylinder or drum provided
with six of these "lifts," but any desired number of them may be employed.
The bopper finto which the powder to be separated is introduced is
fixed upon the case or box a, and is provided with a tube or spout f¹ to
convey the powder into the cylinder. The fluted roller is driven by
the belt f, which passes over the pulley f* fixed on the roller spindle f*,
over the guide pulleys g, and the pulley on the shaft or spindle c.
The second compartment 6 of the cylinder or drum b is separated from
the first compartment 6' by the wooden discs 6³, which are made smaller
in diameter than the interior of the cylinder, the annular space between
the periphery of the discs and the surface of the cylinder being filled
by the rings h, which are formed of cloth, canvass, or other material
that will catch the floating dust but will yield sufficiently to allow the
powder to pass from the compartment 6' to the compartment 62. The
box or case a is also separated into two compartments a', a², by a
partition a³, which is provided with a ring i of canvass, cloth, or other
suitable material to prevent the passage of the floating dust from one

page_text: compartment to the other. The second compartment 6 of the cylinder
is also preferably provided with lifts similar to those in the first
compartment, the scouring of the powder being thus continued till the
same leaves the cylinder at its open end, whence it is conducted down
the hopper to any suitable vessel or receptacle. The glass or other
non-explosive substance which is expelled from the cylinder through the
wire gauze or other material is collected in the two compartments a¹, a³,
and may be readily removed therefrom to be stored for further use: The
brush which extends from end to end of the cylinder serves to prevent
the clogging of the wire gauze or other substance, the said brush being
made adjustable by the nuts ¹ or by other suitable means. The
imachine when at work is supported in an inclined position, and
adjustable feet or blocks may be used, which will allow the inclination
to be varied as desired. The cylinder may be rotated by the handle 7,
or by other suitable means.
My improved machine, though chiefly designed for removing the
glass or other protective substance from the "non-explosive" gunpowder,
may also be advantageously employed for mixing or combining such
substances with the powder by substituting for the wire gauze or other
similar covering of the cylinder a solid covering of brass, copper, wood,
or other material which will not cause the powder to explode by its
frictional action upon the same.
My improved apparatus or machine is also well adapted for separating
flour from the bran and for other like purposes, as from the peculiar
action of the screw in combination with the wire cylinder and lifts
a large screening surface is obtained in a small machine requiring very
little power to work it.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how
the same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice,
I claim,―
First. The cylinder b, provided with the "lifts" e, c', and operating in
combination wilh the screw conveyor d, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Second. Constructing the said cylinder with partitions 6* which leave
an annular or other space for the passage of the powder, and providing
the said partitions with a ring of cloth or other suitable material to
prevent the passage of floating dust through the said space, substantially
as set forth.

page_text: Third. The cylinder b, (provided with the "lifts" e, e',) the screw
conveyor d, and feed roller f combined and operating together
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this 30th day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight