IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR GRINDING CORN OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Staite Brown, of Cirencester, in the County of
Gloucester, Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR
GRINDING CORN OR OTHER SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 13th July 1858, and dated the 21st January 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Staite Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st January 1858.
I, JOHN STAITE BROWN, of Cirencester, in the County of Gloucester, Miller,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MILLS FOR GRINDING CORN OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in mills for grinding corn or other sub-
stances, relates to a novel mode of constructing or forming the grinding
surfaces of mills so that they may be rendered more effective and also more
durable than the ordinary stones usually employed in flour mills. One of my
improvements consists in combining metallic grinding surfaces with the ordinary
stone grinding, surfaces. In carrying out this part of the Invention I form the
central part of both the upper and lower grinding surfaces of metal, suitably
grooved or roughened, as is well understood, and round this metallic central
part I place sections of the ordinary French burr stone in such a manner as to
form a ring of any suitable width all round the central metallic grinding
surface. All the parts are firmly secured together so as to form a compact

page_text: whole, but I find it advantageous to leave openings between the central metal
surface and the stone outer ring for the purpose of admitting air between the
runner and the bedstone. The metal surface is so mounted in the frame that
holds the parts together so as to admit of its grinding surface being accurately
adjusted, when required, by means of adjusting screws at the back.
Another improvement relates to the mode of constructing the metallic grinding
surfaces, and consists in forming these surfaces of thin plates or blades of steel
provided with bevelled edges. These plates or blades are all of the same
height, and are set vertically on a flat bed plate. These steel blades may be
arranged in any convenient manner in sets, with their cutting edges placed or
ranged in proper directions, and having plain blocks of less altitude introduced
between the sets of cutting blades so as to form channels or ways for the
pulverized substance to pass out towards the circumference.
The use of the metallic surfaces is to cut up or coarsely reduce the corn,
grain, or other substance in the first instance, and from these metallic surfaces
the coarsely pulverized substance will pass to the annular French burr stone,
where it will be reduced to a fine flour, and be ultimately delivered at the
periphery of the stone in the ordinary manner.
SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Staite Brown in the. Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN STAITE
BROWN, of Cirencester, in the County of Gloucester, Miller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Staite Brown, Her special license that I, the said John Staite
Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Staite Brown, 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
MILLS FOR GRINDING CORN OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Staite Brown, by an instrument in writing

page_text: under my hand and seal, 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 John Staite Brown, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Mills for Grinding Corn or other
Substances," relates to a novel mode of constructing or forming the grinding
surfaces of mills, so that they may be rendered more effective and also more
durable than the ordinary stones or grinding surfaces usually employed in flour
mills. One of my improvements consists in combining metallic grinding
surfaces with stone grinding surfaces. In carrying out this part of the
Invention I form the central part of both the upper and lower grinding
surfaces of metal suitably grooved or roughened, as is well understood, and
round this metallic central part I place sections of the ordinary French burr or
other suitable stone, arranged in such a manner as to form a ring of any
suitable width all round the central metallic grinding surface. All the parts
are firmly secured together so as to form a compact whole, but I find it
advantageous to make or provide openings between the central metal surface
and the stone outer ring, for the purpose of admitting air between the runner
and the bedstone for the purpose of ventilating the grinding surfaces, so as to
keep them cool. The metal surface is so mounted in the frame that holds the
parts together, as to admit of its grinding surface being accurately adjusted,
when required, by means of adjusting screws at the back as will be hereafter
more fully explained.
Another improvement relates to the mode of constructing the metallic
grinding surfaces, and of applying or adapting them to the other parts. This
improvement consists in forming these surfaces of separate sections composed
of thin plates or blades of steel provided with bevilled edges.. These-plates or
blades are all of the same height and are set vertically on edge on a flat bed
plate. These steel blades when assembled and secured together in sets may be
arranged in any convenient manner with their cutting edges placed or ranged
in proper directions, and having plain blocks of less altitude introduced
between the sets of cutting blades, so as to form channels, furrows, or ways
analogous to those made in ordinary millstones.
4

page_text: The use of the metallic surfaces at the central part of the stones is to cut up
or nearly reduce the corn, grain, or other substance in the first instance, and
from these metallic surfaces the coarsely pulverized substance will pass to the
annular French burr or other stone which surrounds it, and will be reduced
by the stone grinding surface to a fine flour, and be ultimately delivered at the
'periphery of the stone in the ordinary manner.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn various views of millstones.
or grinding surfaces constructed, combined, and arranged according to my
improvements. Certain of the parts of which the grinding surfaces are
composed are also shewn detached, in order that their construction and the
mode of combining and applying them may be more clearly understood.
Fig. 1 in the Drawing is a vertical section, taken through the upper and
'under grinding surfaces, and shewing the mode of combining the stone and
metallic grinding surfaces, and of adjusting the latter; Fig. 2 is a plan view
´of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under grinding surface, shewing the
metallic and stone grinding surfaces combined; Fig. 3* is a vertical section of
the under grinding surface or bed stone shewn in plan at Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a
plan view; and Fig. 5 a side view of the metallic part of the upper grinding
surface or runner detached.
In Fig. 1, and also in Fig. 3 and Fig. 3, a, a, are the stone grinding
surfaces, which are grooved in the ordinary manner, and are made of an
annular form to receive in their circular central spaces the metallic grinding
surfaces b, b, which are combined with the annular stone grinding surfaces by
adjustable attachments, whereby the metal grinding surface is supported from
the iron ring or frame c, c, which is firmly secured to the stone ring at d, d.
The bed of the metallic grinding surface b, b, is provided with a vertical flange
6*, 6*, which extends all round, and has a number of openings made in it at
suitable distances apart, as shewn at 6, 61, in Fig. 5. These openings are
made at an oblique angle to the vertical flange b*, and serve for drawing in
'air as the plate b, b, is rotated, and the stone rings a, a, are thereby kept cool.
A number of holes 62, 6, are also made through the back of the plate, and
extend in an oblique direction to the face or grinding surface, which is kept
cool by the currents of air that are drawn through these holes as the runner
rotates. By these means the grinding surfaces are inore effectually ventilated
and kept cool than by the ordinary contrivances usually provided for the
purpose. Both the upper and lower metallic grinding surfaces are provided
at back with vertical adjusting screws e, e, whereby the metallic plates b, b, are
attached to or supported from the metal rings or frames c, c, which are fixed
to the annular stone grinding surfaces. Fig. 6 is a plan view and Fig. 7 a

page_text: side view of one of these metal rings or frames c detached. It will be seen
that it is a kind of cast-iron frame provided with vertical feathers or
projections c, c, which are made to fit into corresponding grooves or recesses
cut in the annular stone grinding surfaces a, a, and in which the metal frame
or ring c is secured by running lead into the grooves around the projections c*.
Holes f, f, are made in the metal ring or frame c, to receive the screws e, e, of
the metallic plates b, b, and these plates with the grinding surfaces attached
thereto, are adjusted and fixed by means of the adjusting and jam nuts g, g*,
as will be well understood.
The next improvement relates to the mode of constructing the metallic
grinding surfaces, and will be understood by referring to the several detached
Figures in the Drawing, which will also shew the mode of attaching or
securing the metallic grinding surfaces to the metal ring or frame c, c.
The metallic grinding surfaces' are by preference composed of a number of
thin plates of steel, having bevilled edges and combined together in sets of any
convenient number, and arranged in proper form to produce a suitable
grinding surface, as shewn in Fig. 8.
of one of the
Figures 8, 9,
In carrying out this improvement I take the required number of the thin
steel blades according to the thickness of the steel, and of suitable length, and
place them-on-their edges in boxes or troughs of the proper shape, and made
of sheet iron, and in which boxes or troughs the thin steel plates are secured
in any convenient manner, such as by passing pins through them, as shewn in
Fig. 8, which is a cross section drawn upon an enlarged scale
metal troughs, with the thin plates secured therein by a pin i.
and 10 are plan, side, and sectional views of one form of trough made to
receive the thin steel blades; Figures 11 and 12 are plan and side views of
another form of trough; and Figures 13 and 14 are plan and side views of a
block piece with a roughened, perforated, or grooved face. The three pieces
shewn detached in Figures 8, 11, and 13 will, when assembled and combined
together, and secured in their place on the face of the metal plate b, b, as
shewn in the plan view, Fig. 3, form what is termed a "quarter" or "harp."
The entire grinding surface being composed of any convenient number of
these assemblages or "harps." The troughs or boxes, with the steel plates
secured therein, are placed in grooves or hollows cast or made in the metal
plate b, as shewn at 1, 1, in Figs. 3 and 3. When the troughs or boxes with
their cutting edges are secured in these grooves, spaces, or hollows, the
projecting parts m, m, of the plate 6 will form the "furrows" of the grinding
surface. The troughs or boxes are attached to the metal plate b, b, by
means of screwed pins j, j, which project from the back of the troughs and
"

page_text: block, and pass through holes k, k, made in the plate b, as shewn in Fig. 3,
and are secured in their places by screw nuts, as will be well understood by
any intelligent mechanic.
An obvious modification of the above described mode of constructing the
metal grinding surfaces consists in forming the "quarters" or "harps" of
blocks of steel of suitable size and shape, and grooved, perforated, or
roughened on their face like that shewn at Fig. 13, so as to produce a cutting
edge. Figures 15, 16, 17, and 18 represent plan and side views of blocks
made in this way. They will be secured by pins and screw nuts in the same
manner as the troughs or boxes shewn at Figures, 8, 11, and 13, and as seen
at Fig. 3, and therefore need no further description.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Mills for
Grinding Corn or other Substances," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that although I
have shewn and described the arrangement or construction of parts which
I believe to be the best to effect the intended object; I do not mean or intend
to confine myself rigidly thereto, as they may doubtless be varied in some
particulars without departing from the nature and object of my Invention; and
I would further remark that what I consider to be new in the above described
improvements, and therefore desire to claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid, is,―
First, the combination of metallic grinding surfaces with stone grinding
surfaces, as above described.
Second, I claim the mode herein shewn and described of providing for the
introduction of air to ventilate and keep cool the grinding surfaces.
And lastly, I claim the mode herein shewn and described, of constructing
and applying the metallic grinding surfaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Staite Brown, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
JNO. S. BROWN. (L.S.)