IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING MILLS
Year: 1880

page_text: "
En the FĿlatter of Letters Patent granted to James Higginbottom, of 51, Seel
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR
GRANULATING MILLS," bearing date the Ninth day of November 1880,
Number 4589.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATIONS proposed to be
entered and filed by the aforesaid James Higginbottom, to portions of the
Specification of the said Letters Patent, according to the Statutes in that
case made and provided.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, I, JAMES HIGGIN-
BOTTOM, of 51, Seel Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Royal Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November 1880, did grant unto me, the
aforesaid James Higginbottom, my executors, administrators, and assigns, the sole
privilege to make, use, exercise, and vend the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING MILLS," within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man,
during the term of fourteen years next ensuing, upon the condition, amongst others,
that I, the said James Higginbottom, my executors and 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: And whereas on the Ninth day of May 1881,
I, the said James Higginbottom, did file such an instrument in writing in the
Great Seal Patent Office: And whereas after the date of the application for the
said Letters Patent, and of the filing of said instrument in writing as my final
Specification in pursuance thereof, I have ascertained or been advised that the said
final Specification is too general and wide in its claims, and embraces inatter which
was not new at the date of said Letters Patent, to wit especially the first claim, and
I therefore propose to make a disclaimer and memorandum of alterations to remedy
these defects.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE therefore that I, the said James Higginbotton, by and with
the leave of Her Majesty's Attorney General, do hereby and for the reasons
aforesaid, and in order more clearly to define and limit the true nature of the said
Invention, and the means of carrying it into practical effect make the following
erasures and alterations.
After the word "that," line 41, page 3 of the copy of the Specification as printed
by Her Majesty's Printers and published by the Commissioners of Patents for
Inventions, insert the following disclaiming clause, "I make no claim to any
"dress in which the grooves or ridges on the one face are not parallel, or at a very
"small angle with those on the opposite face when in position, so as to have a
"squeezing rather than a tearing action on the grain, but that at the same time,"
I strike out lines 44 to 47 of page 3 inclusive of said printed copy.
I strike out the word "Second" in the 48th line of page 3 of said printed copy,
and substitute the word "First" therefor.
I strike out the word "Third" in the 52nd line of the 3rd page of said printed
copy and substitute the word " Second."
And I do hereby declare that the said Specification, as amended by the present
Diclaimer, shall read as follows:-
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HIGGINBOTTOM, of 51, Seel Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord Que
thousand eight hundred and eighty, in the forty fourth year of Her reign, did
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James
Higginbottom, Her special licence, that I, the said James Higginbottom, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Higginbottom, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRESS
FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING MILLS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I the said James Higginbottom, 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 James
Higginbottom, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This Invention consists in the use of spiral ribs and grooves for the grinding or
granulating of grain or other material, such spiral ribs and grooves being formed
on the grinding faces of a size and pitch suitable for the material being ground or
granulated.
The spiral ribs and grooves are especially applicable to mills having flat or
nearly flat, hard, close grained surfaces.
In carrying out this Invention I prefer to dispense with the angular or circular
"lands and furrows" as now commonly used in grinding and granulating mills.
It is well understood by millers that in ordinary mills the "lands and furrows" on
the one grinding face cross those on the other grinding face when in work at some
predetermined angle, and that a scissor-like or shearing action ensues between the
lands upon the two opposite grinding faces; also that the grinding face or faces
inust revolve at such a velocity as will cause the material being ground to pass

page_text: outwards and between the grinding faces by the action of centrifugal force. In
every case and with the slowest velocity it is possible to use, the shearing action of
the "lands and furrows" produces a very violent tearing and crushing effect upon
the material being ground or granulated between the faces. This violent tearing
or shearing action is very detrimental; as for instance when grinding or granulating
wheat, the shearing action not only causes the soft interior of the grain to become
pulverized into fine white flour, but also causes the outer skin and germ of the
wheat to become comminuted and cominingled therewith.
To obviate these grave defects I arrange spiral ribs and grooves on the grinding
faces in such a manner that as the grain passes (by the action of centrifugal force)
between the grinding faces, the ribs upon one of the grinding faces shall press with
a gentle cutting or squeezing action against the ribs on the opposite grinding face.
And I also arrange the spiral ribs in such a nanner as to give any desired degree
of squeezing or cutting action.
The result of such arrangement is that the grain or other material becomes
gently broken up into smaller pieces during its passage from the centre of the
grinding faces to the periphery. This result is of great importance in the
manufacture of wheat flour, because by the use of spiral ribs and grooves the soft
interior of the wheat may be broken up into a granulous condition without the
detrimental pulverizing of the outer skin and gerin as in ordinary mills.
The spiral ribs or grooves may be all of the same pitch, or they may be of a fine
pitch and size at the periphery, and gradually increasing in size and pitch towards
the centre of the grinding faces, or one of the grinding faces may have parallel or
annular ribs and grooves. The arrangements I prefer in practico are shown on the
accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1 represents the spiral ribs and grooves arranged.
upon the grinding faces for granulating wheat or other grain; Fig. 2 represents
a full size section through the grinding faces when in position for actual work;
Fig. 3 shows full size Drawing of the spiral ribs and grooves upon the revolving
and stationary grinding faces together with full size cross section across or through
the ribs and grooves; Fig. 4 shows various full size sections of spiral ribs and
grooves, suitable for granulating wheat in the various stages of the high milling
system. The same descriptive letters apply to all the Drawings.
A represents the revolving grinding face, which is shown in the Drawing to be
revolving in the direction of the arrow, or with the sun, as understood by millers;
B represents the stationary grinding face C; D represents a spiral rib and its
corresponding groove E, E, formed upon the revolving grinding face C¹; D¹ repre-
sents a spiral rib, and its corresponding groove E', E', formed upon the stationary
grinding face F, O, and F', O', are radial lines drawn through the centre of the
grinding faces.
I prefer to cut the spiral ribs so that when the grinding faces are brought
together and the point C on the stationary face is lying upon the point C on the
revolving face, then the point D' on the stationary face falls upon or nearly upon
point 1 of the revolving face, for the purpose of preventing the scissor like or
shearing action which ensues when ordinary "lands and furrows" are used.
I also cut the ribs C, D, and C, D', of such a spiral as will make the angles
F, C, D, and F, C, D', upon the grinding faces suitable for the material being
granulated or ground. As a rule the greater these angles are made the gentler will
be the cutting or squeezing action of the spiral ribs.
In forming the spiral ribs and grooves I proceed as follows:-I first prepare the
plain uncut grinding faces by an ordinary lathe, or by a grinding machine, or by
other well known means, in such a manner that the faces are left smooth and
perfectly true. The grinding faces may be either straight or inclined, but I prefer
to make them inclined toward the centre, as shown in Fig. 2, in such a manner
that when placed together they touch each other at their peripheries only. The
incline of the faces will depend upon the work to be done, and a suitable incline
for cracking and granulating wheat is from three quarters to one and a quarter
inches to the foot. I next place or mount the grinding faces in a suitable lathe or

page_text: machine for the purpose of cutting the spiral ribs and grooves thereon. The method
I prefer for cutting the spiral ribs is first to mount the smooth grinding face on an
ordinary lathe face plate; secondly, to apply a suitably shaped cutting tool to the
face; thirdly, to cause the cutting tool to travel across the grinding face at the
same time as the surfaces are revolving with or on the face plate. By this method,
which will be readily understood by an engineer, I succeed in cutting a true spiral
upon the grinding faces.
.
The pitch of the spiral can be varied to any desired degree by causing the
traverse of the cutting tool and the movement of the grinding surface to vary in
relation to each other. I prefer to cut the spiral ribs and grooves to the shape,
as shown on the sections at x, x, but they may be of any other form, either
angular, or angular_with_flat_tops, rounded or otherwise, and of any degree of
fineness or coarseness. For the granulating of wheat I prefer the pitch of the
spiral ribs to be about as shown on the full size Drawing at Fig. 3.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of performing the same, I
have to state that I make no claim to any dress in which the grooves or ridges on
the one face are not parallel or at a very small angle with those on the opposite
face when in position, so as to have a squeezing rather than a tearing action on the
grain; but that at the same time I do not restrict myself to the precise details
herein described or delineated, but what I believe to be novel and original, and
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,
First. The method of granulating or grinding grain or other material with spiral
ribs and grooves on the grinding faces, arranged to prevent the shearing and com-
minution of the bran and germ of the wheat or other grain, substantially as herein-
before described.
Second. The arrangement in grinding mills in which the two grinding surfaces
have substantially the same axis of grooves and ridges (whether curved or straight)
cut on each grinding face obliquely to the radius, and approximately parallel and
opposite those on the other grinding face when the two faces are in position in
such manner that as the grain passes, by the action of centrifugal force, between
the grinding faces, the ribs upon one of the grinding faces shall press the grain
with a gentle cutting or squeezing action against the ribs on the opposite grinding
face.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Higginbottom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two
Witness,
WP. THOMPSON,
Patent Agent,
Liverpool and London.
JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM. (L.S.)
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to the within named James Higginbottom,
to file in the Office of the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions, with the
Specification to which the same relates, the within written Disclaimer and
Memorandum of Alteration.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higginbottom, of 51, Seel Street, Liverpool, in
the County of Lancaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING MILLS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higginbottom at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th November 1880.
JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM, of 51, Seel Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING
MILLS."
This Invention consists in the use of spiral ribs and grooves for the grinding or
granulating of grain or other material, such spiral ribs and grooves being formed on
the grinding faces of a size and pitch suitable for the material being ground or
granulated, and it is especially applicable to mills having flat or nearly flat hard
close grained grinding surfaces.
In carrying out this Invention I prefer to dispense with the circular or angular
lands and furrows as now commonly used in grinding and granulating mills, because
their action is too severe upon the grain even when the acting grinding surface is
running at as slow a speed as it is possible to use. The speed of the grinding faces
must be great enough to cause the broken grain to pass outwards by the action of
centrifugal force, and with this speed the lands and furrows on the grinding faces
cross each other with such rapidity as to cause a violent tearing or crushing effect
upon the material between the faces.
To obviate this violent tearing action I arrange the spiral ribs and grooves on
the grinding faces in such manner that as the grain passes by the action of centri-
fugal force between the grinding faces, the ribs upon one of the grinding faces shall
press the grain with a gentle cutting or squeezing action against the ribs on the
opposite grinding face.
The result of such arrangement is that the grain or other material becomes gently
broken into smaller pieces during its passage from the centre of the grinding surfaces
to the periphery.
The ribs or grooves may all be of the same pitch, or they may be of a fine pitch
and size at the periphery, and gradually increase in size and pitch towards the
centre of the grinding faces.
One of the grinding surfaces could have the ribs circular, not spiral.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Higginbottom in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th May 1881.
JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM, of 51, Seel Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRESS FOR GRINDING OR GRANULATING
MILLS."
This Invention consists in the use of spiral ribs and grooves for the grinding or
granulating of grain or other material, such spiral ribs and grooves being formed
on the grinding faces of a size and pitch suitable for the material being ground or
granulated. The spiral ribs and grooves are especially applicable to mills having
flat or nearly flat hard close grained surfaces.
"
In carrying out this Invention I prefer to dispense with the angular or circular
"lands and furrows" as now commonly used in grinding and granulating mills. It
is well understood by millers that in ordinary mills the "lands and furrows' on
the one grinding face cross those on the other grinding face when in work at some
predetermined angle, and that a scissor-like or shearing action ensues between the
lands upon the two opposite grinding faces; also that the grinding face or faces
must revolve at such a velocity as will cause the material being ground to pass
outwards and between the grinding faces by the action of centrifugal force. In
every case and with the slowest velocity it is possible to use, the shearing action of
the "lands and furrows" produces a very violent tearing and crushing effect upon
the material being ground or granulated between the faces. This violent tearing or
shearing action is very detrimental, as, for instance, when grinding or granulating
wheat; the shearing action not only causes the soft interior of the grain to become
pulverized into fine white flour, but also causes the outer skin and germ of the
wheat to become comminuted and commingled therewith.
To obviate these grave defects I arrange spiral ribs and grooves on the grinding
faces in such a manner that as the grain passes (by the action of centrifugal force)
between the grinding faces the ribs upon one of the grinding faces shall press with a
gentle cutting or squeezing action against the ribs on the opposite grinding face.
And I also arrange the spiral ribs in such a manner as to give any desired degree of
squeezing or cutting action.
The result of such arrangement is that the grain or other material becomes gently
broken up into smaller pieces during its passage from the centre of the grinding
faces to the periphery. This result is of great importance in the manufacture of
wheat flour, because by the use of spiral ribs and grooves the soft interior of the
wheat may be broken up into a granulous condition without the detrimental
pulverizing of the outer skin and germ as in ordinary mills.
The special ribs or grooves may all be of the same pitch, or they may be of a fine
pitch and size at the periphery and gradually increasing in size and pitch towards
the centre of the grinding faces, or one of the grinding faees may have parallel or
annular ribs and grooves. The arrangements I prefer in practice are shown on the
accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1 represents the spiral ribs and grooves arranged
upon the grinding faces for granulating wheat or other grain; Fig. 2 represents a
full sized section through the grinding faces when in position for actual work;
Fig. 3 shows full size Drawing of the spiral ribs and grooves upon the revolving
and stationary grinding faces together with full size cross section across or through
the ribs and grooves; Fig. 4 shows various full size sections of spiral ribs and
grooves, suitable for granulating wheat in the various stages of the high milling
system. The same descriptive letters apply to all the Drawings.

page_text: •
A represents the revolving grinding face which is shown in the Drawing to be
revolving in the direction of the arrow, or with the sun, as understood by millers.
B-represents the stationary grinding face; C, D, represents a spiral rib, and its
corresponding groovo E, E, formed upon the revolving grinding face; C₁, D', repre-
sents a spiral rib, and its corresponding groove E', E', forined upon the stationary
grinding face F, O, and F', O' are radial lines drawn through the centre of the
grinding faces.
I prefer to cut the spiral ribs so that when the grinding faces are brought together
and the point C' on the stationary face is lying upon the point C on the revolving
face, then the point D' on the stationary face falls upon or nearly upon point D of
the revolving face, for the purpose of preventing the scissorlike or shearing action
which ensues when ordinary "lands and furrows" are used.
I also cut the ribs C, D, and CD', of such a spiral as will make the angles
F, C, D, and F', C', D¹, upon the grinding faces suitable for the material being
granulated or ground. As a rule the greater these angles are made the gentler will
be the cutting or squeezing action of the spiral ribs.:
In forming the spiral ribs and grooves I procced as follows:-I first prepare the
plain uncut grinding faces by an ordinary lathe, or by a grinding machine, or by
other well known means, in such a manner that the faces aro left smooth and perfectly
true. The grinding faces may be either straight or inclined, but I prefer to make
them inclined toward the centre, as shown in Fig. 2, in such n manner that when
placed together they touch each other at their peripheries only. The incline of the
faces will depend upon the work to be done, and a suitable incline for cracking and
granulating wheat is from three quarters to one and a quarter inches to the foot.
I next place or mount the grinding faces in a suitable lathe or machine for the
purpose of cutting the spiral ribs and grooves thereon. The method I prefer for
cutting the spiral ribs is first to mount the smooth grinding face on an ordinary
lathe face plate. Secondly. To apply a suitably shaped cutting tool to the face.
Thirdly. To cause the cutting tool to travel across the grinding face at the same
time as the surfaces are revolving with or on the face plate. By this method,
which will be readily understood by an engineer, I succeed in cutting a true spiral
upon the grinding faces.
The pitch of the spiral can be varied to any desired degree by causing the traverse
of the cutting tool and the movement of the grinding surface to vary in relation to
each other. prefer to cut the spiral ribs and grooves to the shape, as shown on
the sections.at x, x, but they may be of any other form, either angular, or angular
with flat tops, rounded or otherwise, and of any degree of fineness or coarseness.
For the granulating of wheat I prefer the pitch of the spiral ribs, to be about as
shown on the full size Drawing at Fig. 3.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of performing the same, I
have to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein described
or delineated, but what I believe to be novel and original and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,--
First. The use in mills in which both grinding surfaces bave substantially the
same axis of spiral ribs and grooves for the grinding or granulating of grain or
other materials, such spiral ribs being formed on the grinding faces of a size, shape,
and pitch, as may be best suited for the material being ground or granulated.
Second. The method of granulating or grinding grain or other material with
spiral ribs and grooves on the grinding faces, arranged to prevent the shearing and
comminution of the bran and germ of the wheat or other grain, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
A
Third. The arrangement in grinding mills in which the two grinding surfaces
have substantially the same axis of grooves and ridges (whether curved or straight)
cut on each grinding face obliquely to the radius, and approximately parallel to and
opposite those on the other grinding face when the two faces are in position, in
such manner that as the grain passes by the action of centrifugal force between the

page_text: grinding faces, the ribs upon one of the grinding faces shall press the grain with a
gentle cutting or squeezing action against the ribs on the opposite grinding face.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Higginbottom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM. (L.S.)
Witness,
JOSEPH J. ROYDEN,
Clerk to
Wm. P. Thompson & Co.,
Patent Agents,
Liverpool and London.