Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Roasting or Popping Grain.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 8th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 6th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 6th May, 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Roasting or Popping
Grain.
We ALEXANDER WILLIAM GILLMAN and SAMUEL SPENCER both of the Castle
Brewery, St. George's Road Southwark in the County of Surrey, Consulting Practical
Brewers and Analytical Chemists do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
The invention has for its object improvements in that class of machinery or
apparatus for roasting or popping grain in which heated sand is employed to assist
the process.
According to our invention instead of employing a fixed cylinder to contain the
sand and a revolving wire gauze cylinder to contain the grain and which is provided
on its exterior with lifters to raise the heated sand from the fixed cylinder and drop it
through the wire gauze cylinder we employ a rotating sheet metal cylinder to contain
the sand and which cylinder is fixed to and revolves with the wire gauze or perforated
sheet metal cylinder, a wire gauze or perforated sheet metal screw or worm is fixed in
the interior of the inner cylinder and blades or lifters are fixed between the two
cylinders to raise the heated sand and allow it to fall through the inner cylinder and
the screw or worm and grain contained therein; these blades or lifters may be fixed
to the inner or outer cylinder or partly to one and partly to the other and they are so
arranged as to prevent the sand from accumulating at one end of the cylinder and to
secure the equal action thereof on the grain passing through the cylinder.
The rotating cylinders are not supported by a shaft or axis but by grooved rings
fixed around their ends which run on rollers or wheels.
The apparatus is mounted within a furnace the ends only projecting sufficiently far
to enable the supporting and driving means to be applied thereto outside of such
furnace. A toothed ring is fixed around one end of the rotating apparatus and a
toothed pinion is employed to drive the same.
The ends of the cylinder are closed by plates which have axial holes formed therein
for the reception of the feed tube and an exhaust or outlet tube for the steam and
vapours arising from the grain.

page_text: The end plate at the feed end of the apparatus is recessed a short distance within
the cylinder in order that the feed tube may deliver the feed into a portion of the
apparatus which is directly heated by the fire.
The plate at the discharge end of the cylinder is formed with one or more small
discharge apertures provided with covers or doors hinged to the periphery of the
inner cylinder in such manner that they will automatically open when approaching
the lower part of their revolution and close as they approach the upper part thereof.
The furnace is provided with two or it may be more apertures above the rotating
apparatus in order to facilitate regulation of the heat.
Dated July 8th 1886
ALEXANDER WILLIAM GILLMAN.
SAMUEL SPENCER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Roasting or Popping
Grain.
We, ALEXANDER WILLIAM GILLMAN and SAMUEL SPENCER both of the Castle
Brewery, St. Georges Road, Southwark, in the County of Surrey Consulting Practical
Brewers and Analytical Chemists do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention has for its object improvements in that class of machinery or
apparatus for roasting or popping grain in which heated sand is employed to assist
the process.
According to our invention instead of employing a fixed cylinder to contain the
sand and a revolving wire gauze cylinder to contain the grain which cylinder is
provided on its exterior with lifters to raise the heated sand from the fixed cylinder
and drop it through the wire gauze cylinder we employ a rotating sheet metal
cylinder to contain the sand which cylinder is fixed to and revolves with the wire
gauze or perforated sheet metal cylinder, a wire gauze or perforated sheet metal worm
or Screw is fixed in the interior of the inner cylinder and blades or lifters are fixed
between the two cylinders to raise the heated sand and allow it to fall through the
inner cylinder and the screw or worm and grain contained therein; these blades or

page_text: lifters may be fixed to the inner or outer cylinder or partly to one and partly to the
other and they are so arranged as to prevent the sand from accumulating at one end
of the cylinder and to secure the equal action thereof on the grain travelling through
the cylinder. The rotating cylinders are not supported by a shaft or axis but by
grooved rings fixed around their ends which run on rollers or wheels.
The apparatus is mounted within a furnace the ends only projecting sufficiently far
to enable the supporting and driving means to be applied thereto outside of such
furnace.
A toothed ring is fixed around one end of the rotating apparatus and a toothed
pinion is employed to drive the same.
The ends of the cylinders are closed by plates which have axial holes formed
therein for the reception of the feed tube and an exhaust or outlet tube for the steam
and vapours arising from the grain.
The end plate at the feed end of the apparatus is recessed a short distance within
the outer cylinder in order that the feed tube may deliver the feed into a portion of
the apparatus which is directly heated by the fire.
The plate at the discharge end of the cylinder is formed with one or more small
discharge apertures provided with covers or doors hinged at or near to the periphery
of the inner cylinder in such manner that they will automatically open when
approaching the lower part of their revolution and close as they approach the upper
part thereof.
The furnace is provided with one or it may be more apertures above the rotating
apparatus in order to facilitate regulation of the heat.
And in order that our said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect we will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.
68
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section. Figure 2 is a front elevation and
Figure 3 is a back elevation of machinery or apparatus constructed according to our
invention. In all the figures like parts are marked with similar letters of reference.
The invention relates to that class of machinery or apparatus for roasting or
popping" grain in which heated sand is employed to assist the process.
According to the present invention instead of employing a fixed cylinder to contain
the sand and a revolving wire gauze cylinder to contain the grain and by means of
lifters on the exterior thereof to raise the heated sand and drop it through the wire
gauze cylinder we employ a rotating sheet metal cylinder a to contain the sand which
cylinder is fixed to and revolves with the wire gauze or perforated sheet metal
cylinder a wire gauze or perforated sheet metal screw or worm c is fixed in the
interior of the inner cylinder band blades or lifters d are fixed between the two
cylinders a. b to raise the heated sand and allow it to fall through the inner cylinder b
and the worm or screw c and grain contained therein these blades or lifters à may be
fixed to the inner cylinder b or outer cylinder a or partly to one and partly to the
other, and they are so arranged as to prevent the sand from accumulating at one end
of the cylinder a and to secure the equal action thereof on the grain travelling through
the cylinder b. The rotating cylinders a. b. are not supported by a shaft or axis but
by grooved rings a' fixed around the ends of the cylinder a which run on rollers or
wheels e.
A ring of teeth a' is fixed or formed on one of the rings a¹ and a toothed pinion f
driven in any suitable manner is employed to drive the same.
The apparatus is mounted within a furnace g the ends only of the same projecting
sufficiently far to enable the supporting wheels or rollers e and the driving pinion f
to be applied thereto outside such furnace.
The ends of the cylinders a. b. are closed by plates as a which have axial holes
formed therein, that in the plate a being for the reception of the feed tube h and that

page_text: in the other being for the reception of an exhaust or outlet tube for the steam and
vapours arising from the grain.
The end plate a is recessed a short distance within the cylinder a in order that the
feed tube h may deliver the feed into a portion of the apparatus which is directly
heated by the fire.
The feed tube h is provided with a hopper h¹ which is supplied in any convenient
manner with the grain to be treated. Within the feed tube his arranged a feed
screw or worm which rotates with the cylinders a. b. and is constructed in the
following manner to facilitate regulation of the feed.
The feed screw or worm consists of a worm ; placed around an axis j¹ but not
connected thereto, this worm j is connected at one end to the end of the axis c¹ of the
worm or screw c and at the other to a flange connected to the axis j' which is
capable of being moved inwards or outwards by means of the screw k and hand
wheel. The axis is capable of sliding within the bearing formed for it in the end
of the axis c' but is controlled to rotate therewith. By these means the pitch of the
feed worm or screw ; and consequently the feed can be regulated by means of the
screw which may be used either to lengthen or shorten the distance between
the ends of the worm ; and consequently vary the pitch as may be required.
Other feeding arrangements may however be adopted.
•
The plate a is formed with one or more discharge apertures a provided with
covers or doors a hinged thereto, at, or near to the periphery of the inner cylinder b
in such manner that they will automatically open when approaching the lower part of
their revolution and close as they approach the upper part thereof.
The furnace is provided with one or it may be more apertures g¹ above the
rotating apparatus which apertures are provided with suitable dampers in order to
facilitate regulation of the heat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :-
1. The combination of rotating sheet iron cylinder a containing sand, wire gauze
or perforated sheet metal cylinder b, and screw or worm c, blades or lifters d, grooved
rings a¹, toothed rings a, supporting rollers or wheels e, driving pinion f, end
plates a, a, furnace g, feed tube h, exhaust tube i, discharge apertures a* and hinged
doors or covers a substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose
stated.
2. The combination of sheet metal cylinder a containing sand, wire gauze or
perforated sheet metal cylinder 6 and worm or screw e mounted in a furnace g said
cylinders being provided with end plates a³a, feed tube / exhaust tube i and discharge
apertures as, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
Dated this 6th day of April 1887.