CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUR MILLS
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LUKE
IIEBERT, of Paternoster Row, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of August, in the sixth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Luke
Hebert, His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Luke Hebert, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Luke Hebert, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUR MILLS;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the said Luke Hebert, shall cause
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Luke Hebert, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
My improvements upon flour mills consist in certain new combinations of
mechanism by which the operations of the ordinary grinding and dressing
apparatus are simultaneously performed by a single machine of great simplicity,
and in the various modifications of the same; but the most prominent feature
in the management and the process of those modifications which I shall first
describe is this, that the meal as it is projected from the peripheries of
the grinders is destributed upon a surrounding annular plane formed of wire
gauze, which is fixed to the lower or stationary grinder, while to the upper or
rotative grinder are attached brushes, which as they revolve sweep over
the wire gauze, causing the flour to fall through it, and the bran, pollard, or
other particles that are too gross to pass through the same to be swept
over the surface in spiral or curved lines, till by the continued centrifugal
action of the brushes they are projected through a hole at the circumference
either out of the machine or on to another and coarser tissue of wirework for
making any further separation of the residue of the meal that may be desired.
Now, flour-making machines constructed upon the plan thus briefly developed,
admit of considerable modifications of their parts without sensibly impairing
their utility, and they are applicable to machines of any required size, whether
they be impelled by elemental or animal power, or of whatever material they
may be constructed, the last observation especially applying to the grinding
surfaces, which may be either metal or stone.
In the annexed Sheet of Drawings, Figures 1 to 10 are illustrative of a
machine which is adapted to the power of one man, although it may be
advantageously made of a larger or smaller size, according to the same plan.
Figure 1 exhibits a front elevation of the machine, and affords an outline of
the principal arrangements; thus a is a cast-iron hopper or receptacle for the
corn or other substance to be ground; b, a cranked handle fixed on an axis c,
which gives motion to a bevilled wheel d, that actuates a bevilled pinion e fixed
upon a vertical axis f. The revolution of this axis puts into operation the
grinding and sifting mechanism (herein-after explained) which is contained in
the dome or circular box g, whence are discharged the flour into the drawer
h, and the residue into the drawer i; j is a fly wheel fixed to the axis c.
Figure 2 exhibits a plan of all that part of Figure 1 which is below the
dotted line k, l, the portion above that line being too obvious to need a plan
cf it. In this Figure as in all the Figures 1 to 10, where the same parts

page_text: are shown under different views, the same letters of reference indicate
the same parts.
Here it is seen that the circular box g is fastened to the
pedestal by means of lugs and screw bolts at m, m, and likewise is shown the
sectional shape of the supports n, n, to the axis c, and their connexion
with the hopper a. o is a circular plate covering the tubular neck of the
hopper, and surrounding the axis f; under the circular plate is a slide p,
worked by a screw externally, so as to enlarge or diminish at pleasure the
feed hole q; at r, on the top of the circular box, is a small trap door for
inspecting the interior of the box, to which it is fastened by a turn-buckle.
Figuro 3 affords a vertical section of Figure 1 in the direction of the dotted
lines s, s, on the latter, and therefore gives a lateral internal view of the
machine. The pedestal or case t, t, I preferably make of cast iron, and of
the form represented, the four sides of which may be cast in one piece, or
separately, and afterwards be joined at the corners by lugs, screws, and rivets,
but the drawers h, i, i, I prefer of wood. The latter drawer, it will be
noticed, is divided into two compartments, i being for the bran, and i' for the
pollard, &c. On the open area of the top of the pedestal t, t, I fix what I
term the wire bed, which is a strong circular frame of cast iron, the diame-
trical section of which is given at u, u, u', u', u, u, which will be best under-
stood by reference to a plan of it given by Figure 6, where the wire gauze is
intended to be represented as fastened down over it, the dotted lines denoting
the upper edges of the frame, and the small circles the heads of the tacks
that hold down the wire gauze. In order that these tacks may hold very
firmly, small holes are drilled in the cast-iron bed, and filled up with wood, so
as to admit the tacks only by severe compression. One-third of the number
shown in the Drawing are quite sufficient, when the machine is of the size
represented by the scale upon the Drawing. On the solid centre u', u', of this
wiro bed is fixed the stationary grinder v, v, by means of small screw bolts
passing through each. The upper or rotary grinder w, w, is firmly attached
by means of screw bolts to a central piece x, x, the upper of which is formed
into a socket, and bored out so as to fit tightly and truly the vertical axis f,
which is driven, as before mentioned, through the intervention of the wheels
e and d and the axis c, by the winch b. It will be seen by reference to the
Drawing that the bolts y, y, which fasten the upper grinder to the central
piece a, a, also connect the brush bearers z, z, and that to the latter are fixed
the brushes a, a, by means of set screws. These parts are more distinctly
shown on the plan marked. Figure 4, and the position which the brushes may
be made to assume at pleasure by means of the set screws is also illustrated.
Supposing the rotation to be in the direction of the arrow drawn, the position

page_text: of the brushes delineated is calculated to keep the meal longer under their
operation than if they were placed in a radial position; and if they be inclined
in a reverse direction, they have a tondency to sweep the material off the
wires with greater expedition. In some cases, however, I employ brushes of
a semicircular form, as shewn by the Diagram marked Figure 5. Two of
these brushes, therefore, complete the circle, and cover entirely the annular
plane of wire gauze underneath the numerous tufts of hair (represented by the
little circles,) having the effect of distributing the meal with great uniformity,
and in very minute quantities over the area of the gauze, and of preventing the
offal from escaping too soon from their operation. Brushes of this kind are of
course flexible by the same means as those previously described. The slide
p, q, to the feeder, already noticed under Figure 2, is shown in section in
Figure 3. Under this is a short cylinder r, which conducts the corn through
the holes d, d, in the central piece a into the eye c of the grinders. Here the
grain being reduced to meal is thrown out by the centrifugal force all around
their peripheries on to the wire gauze, over which it is continually swept by
the rotation of the brushes until the flour has passed through the meshes of
the gauze into the drawer h, and the offal has been swept through the aperture
*, whence it falls on to an inclined plane f, which is a screen of coarse wire
gauze (fourteen apertures to the lineal inch), that permits the bran to slide
down over its surface into the compartment i of the lower drawer, and causes
the pollard, &c. to pass through the screen into the compartment ¹ of the same
drawer. Plans of the drawers h and i, i, are given by Figures 7 and 8. To
regulate the distances between the grinders, in order to grind finer or coarser,
the vertical axis f is made hollow or tubular, and there is fixed inside of it a
solid spindle g, around which revolves against hard steel collars. These
parts are exhibited separately in Figure 8 on a large scale. The spindle g is
fastened at the lower end by a screwed nut to the centre of the wire bed, and
the upper end is filed square at h, on to which is fitted a hard steel collar í,
having a square smooth hole for that purpose; but the outside of this collar is
round, to fit the inside of the hardened top of the tubular axis f, and receive
the friction thereof; the hard collar is also provided with a small flange,
which lies on the edge of the tubular axis f. Above this the spindle passes
through a circular brass plate k (which lies on
then screw-tapped to receive the regulating handle I. The action of these
parts is as follows:-The spindle being a fixture, when the handle I is turned
or screwed downwards it forces down the axis through the medium of the
brass plate and the hard steel collar, and the limit of this action is the forcing
the upper grinder (fixed to f) into contact with the lower one; but on turning
the top of the pinion e), and is

page_text: the regulating handle the contrary way, the upper grinder is permitted to
recede from the lower, which effect is produced when at work by the resist-
ance of the substance that is being ground, and when not at work, forcible
contact of the grinders is prevented by the elastic pressure of the brushes
against the fixed plane of wirework. The top of the brass plate is engraved
with the representation of two arrows proceeding in opposite directions, one
of which is marked "finer," and the other "coarser, to direct the operator
which way to move the handle according as he may desire to regulate it. As
in some cases I find it to be preferable to regulate at the bottom of the axis,
and have a solid axis instead of a hollow one, I subjoin my method of effecting
those objects with reference to Figure 9.
In this case the solid axis f¹
passes through the centre of bed u', u', next to which is fixed a hard steel
washer. Under this is placed a hard steel collar with a square hole, sliding upon
a squared part of the axis, and turning round with it, and against this square-
holed hard collar the regulating handle I operates, so as to draw down the
upper grinder or give it liberty to rise from the causes before mentioned. The
material which I decidedly prefer for the grinding surfaces is that pure kind
of pig iron or steel from which much cutlery and other small articles of hard-
ware are made by casting, such metal being variously denominated as "mal-
leable cast iron," "natural steel," "virgin steel," &c. I cast them with the
principal grooves or furrows in them, of a similar kind to those usually cut in
millstones, and as represented in Figure 10; and after casting, while in a hard
state, I grind and turn the surfaces to true planes, and then cut fine parallel
grooves upon the lands (or upper surfaces,) by means of very hard-pointed
turning tools operating by a slow motion, with the aid of the slide rest, by
which process I obtain very efficient and durable surfaces.
Having now explained all the necessary details of a hand machine, I proceed
to notice those deviations from them which I prefer in constructing machines
of greater dimensions, referring the reader to Figures 11 to 19, which are
descriptive of a machine designed for a force of about one horse. In this the
square frame of the pedestal is made of wood to cheapen and facilitate the
structure.
Figure 11 is a front elevation, and Figure 12 a plan of the machine;
Figure 13 is a vertical section through the dotted line,, made on; Figures
11 and 12; Figure 14 is a plan of the wire bed, representing three-
fourths of the circle covered with the wirework, and the remaining one-
fourth is exhibited in a separate Figure (17) to show that the wire work is in
this instance fastened on to quadrantal frames of wood, and are removable at
pleasure in the manner of drawers, so as to permit the meal or other ground

page_text: matter to descend at once from the grinders unsifted into its receptacle. The
grinding surfaces too are in this instance formed into octants, as shown by
Figure 15, and they are afterwards so united as to complete the circle-by
screwing them down to a common bed, as seen in Figure 14. Figure 16 is a
transverse section of Figure 15 through the dotted line X .
X";
but on a sufficiently large scale to mark clearly the form of the grooves
which I prefer, these being not sufficiently intelligible upon a plan. Figure 17
has already been adverted to in connection with Figure 14. Figure 18
is a plan, exhibiting the backs of the circular series of brushes, the brush
bearers, their attachment to a common central plate, and the feeding
apertures leading to the eye of the grinders; Figure 19 shows a single brush,
with the hair upwards. Now, in these Figures 11 to 19, the before-mentioned
letters of reference are not regarded; but a new set is applied to these
generally and individually. Thus, in all these Figures where the same parts
occur, a represents the spindle; b, an adjustable step for the toe; and c, the
bearing to the head of the spindle; d, d, d, d, the wooden external frame to
the machine; e, e, curved cast-iron bars bolted to the corners of the wooden
framing at their lower ends, and at their upper bolted to the crown plate f;
g is the wire bed frame, screwed against the top of the square wooden frame,
the centre g¹, g¹, forming the support to an intermediate circular plate h, bolted
thereto, and adapted to receive the eight octants which constitute the lower-
most grinder, and to which they are screwed through the holes of the lugs
i, i, (see Figure 15), the small end of the octants at j passing under a over-
hanging groove formed in the plate h for that purpose, and the outer edges of
the octants are adjusted by wedging up and screwing down until they are
brought to a true plane all around. The plate h does not extend externally
to the edge of g', but forms therewith at its edge a rebate on which are
lodged the inner curves 1, 1, of the quadrantal frames of wirework k, k, while
the outer curves m, m, of these frames lay upon the flat plate n, n, which
surrounds the wire bed, over which they are drawn out when it is required to
remove them, as before noticed. On to this plate n, n, are cast four equidistant
triangular blocks o, o, o, o, of the depth of the thickness of the wired frames;
the blocks serve to support the circular curb p, p, (made of wood) that sur-
rounds the brush chamber, and this latter carries the top floor or cover q, q,
(of wood) and likewise the feeding hopper r, the curb being fastened to the
cover by bolts passing through them and the blocks o; o. To the spindle a is
fixed a central piece s, s, (similar to that in the hand machine), which carries
the rotative or upper grinder as well as the brushes, as is sufficiently manifest.
To the under side of the central piece arc fixed the octants of the upper

page_text: grinder, in the same manner as those described appertaining to the lower.
The various details of these parts are sufficiently made out by the several
explanatory Figures already noticed to require any elucidation beyond what
they afford. It remains, therefore, merely to observe, that in order to
accomodate the prolongation of the spindle a to the bottom of the machine,
the flour is received into two separate receptacles, one of which, behind the
axis, is seen at t; the flour is conducted into them where they separate by
inclined boards placed together thus A; and the inclined screen is likewise
provided with a similar simple contrivance to shoot the bran on either side
For
clear of the axis, the pollard falling into the box u, and the bran into v.
getting easy access into the interior for adjusting or oiling the spindle and step,
there are shutters at w, w, fastened merely by dogs and turn-buckles, and for
examining and regulating the interior of the brush chamber there are large
slides at x, x, grooved into the wooden cover q. It may also be remarked
that the inclined screen may be provided with wire of various meshes, so as to
separate the offal into a greater variety of sorts, and these may be conducted
into as many distinct receptacles.
I now proceed to describe a third modification of my Invention, in which
the ordinary mill stones (in lieu of metal) are introduced, and to which is
adapted an additional and novel kind of dressing apparatus, for the purpose of
extending the latter operation and dividing the meal into a greater variety
of products.
Figure 20 represents a vertical section; a is the axis, the toe of which is sup-
ported in a step formed in a bridge or cross bar b, seen only in section; c, the
upper or running stone, fixed to the axis by a socket d, which is connected to
cross irons or ("horns") and bolts imbedded in the stone. Over the outside of
the hoops which bind this stone is fixed, by means of adjusting set screws, a
broad ring of cast iron c, which carries the projecting bearers of the brushes;
fis the bed stone, provided in the centre with a proper brush and stuffing box
to steady the axis and case its friction. This bed stone, it will be observed, is
partly sunk into a central cavity 9, 9, of the wire frame bed. The other parts
of the latter, as well as the wire frames, are formed as in the previous example.
The corn is supplied and regulated by an apparatus of the usual kind (as
designated by the Drawing), so as to shake determined uniform quantities into
the feeding hopper h, whence it falls into the eye of the stones by which it is
ground, and the resulting meal being thrown upon the wirework is brushed;
the flour falling through the fine wire gauze is received into receptacles at i, j,
the residue which passes over the wires descends a hole k at the circumference
through a narrow shoot on to a quadrilateral plane of wire gauze m, n, o, p,

page_text: covering the four compartments wherein those letters, are inscribed, the wire
gauze being of such varied textures as will enable the residual meal. to be
divided into the several sorts stated in the Drawing, or into any others that
may be desired. The dressing or brushing of the meal is performed by. an
endless series of brushes q, q, attached to a flexible band r, r, which is caused
to revolve slowly (one or two feet per second) by the rotation of two cylinders
8, s, the axis of one of these cylinders which passes to the outside of the
machine being provided with a pulley, which derives its motion by means of
suitable cords and pullies from the axis a, one of which is shewn at t.
A fourth modification of the principle of my Invention (I use this word
principle in the sense it is understood by workmen) is shown in Figures 21
and 22, the former being a vertical section, and the latter a plan. In this
machine the grinders are of the form of two concentric cones, the lower or
interior one a is fixed to the centre of the wire bed, and the upper or exterior
cone 6 is extended upwards, so as to form a hollow axis c, to which motion
being communicated, the upper grinder and the brushes. d connected thereto
by the carriers e and made to revolve, the corn from the hopper f passes
through the feed holes g, g, is received into the angular. space made between
the cones wherein it is ground; thence it is projected upon the wire gauze h;
where the action of the brushes causes the flour to fall into the receptacle i,
and the offal to descend through the discharge hole k at the periphery into the
receptacle beneath. Thus is made a very compact and efficient hand machine.
A fifth modification of the "principle" of my Invention is represented by
the Diagrams marked Figures 23 and 24, of which Figure 23 may be regarded
as a longitudinal and vertical section, and Figure 24 as a transverse and
vertical section. a, a, is the axis, supposed to revolve in plummer blocks
at the extremities, and supported in a suitable frame. To this axis is fixed
a solid mass of well-seasoned wood b. turned to the figure of a frustrum of a
cone; on to this are fastened a series of brushes c, c, and against the smallest
end of the frustrum is fixed a hard metallic grinder having grooved teeth upon
its circumferential surface d, d. Next to this grinder is fitted another mass
of wood c, e, and on to this I fix a second series of brushes f, f, and to the
end of this frustrum I fix a second grinder g, of less dimensions but of the
same shape as, and with coarser grooved teeth than the former. In this
manner I produce a continuous conical surface, alternately consisting of
grinders and brushes, which it is obvious may be extended indefinitely, if
desired. Now the internal grinders d, g, revolve against corresponding external
grinders h, i, which are fixed to transverse bars k, l, that form the skeleton
of a conical frame; to the bars k, k, are also fixed a series of rings 1, 7, 1,

page_text: adapted for fixing the wire gauze m, m, m, thereto, of such varied textures
as will suit the millering operations designed. This combination of alternate
sifters and grinders is supported by upright bars and partitions that will
conveniently allow the several products to be deposited in separate receptacles
beneath, in the manner of the common cylindrical dressing machine. To the
smaller end of this machine I fix a moveable cap n, the corn is admitted
through a hole o, and enters the crevice between the grinders 9 and i, which
grind it coarsely and deliver it on to the first wire gauze m, whereon it is
brushed; the first product of flour is thus separated and deposited in the bin
beneath inscribed "fine flour," while the coarser meal passes onward to the
grinders d, h. The produce of the second grinding is, in like manner to the
first, thrown on to the next degree of wire, and from this point the process is
precisely the same as in the ordinary dressing machine, and therefore requires
no more elucidation than is exhibited in the Diagrams.
Having now explained by several examples the nature of my "improve-
ments in flour mills," I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not claim
all the various parts of the mechanism described as of my exclusive Invention ;
but I decidedly claim the combinations of those parts, as set forth in the
several flour-making machines I have described, and all imitations or modifi-
cations of them, whether the same be applied to the grinding and dressing of
wheat or to the reduction and separation of other substances. I, however,
especially claim every modification of a mill and dressing machine, whereby
the ordinary operations of a mill and dresser are conducted upon continuous
surface, or wherein the meal as it is projected from the peripheries of the
grinders is received upon a surrounding wire gauze on which the dressing is
conducted.
I also claim the mode described of separating the wirework instantaneously,
so as to take the gross product of the grinding altogether instead of separating
it into its constituent parts; likewise the forming of grinders, or substitutes
for mill stones, of sectors of a circle instead of entire, as explained by the
" octants."
And lastly, the dressing machine described at the bottom of the machine in
Figure 20, not only in its combined state, but as a separate machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said Luke Hebert, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of February, in .tho
year of our Lord 1836, the aforesaid Luke Hebert came before our said Lord
the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-six.