IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BARLEY AND RICE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew White Gibson, of Belfast, in the County of
Antrim, Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF BARLEY AND RICE."
Sealed the 10th December 1861, and dated the 18th June 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew White Gibson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th June 1861.
I, ANDREW WHITE GIBSON, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Miller,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BARLEY AND RICE," to be as follows, that is to say :--
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of machinery or
apparatus for grinding or manufacturing barley or rice, and the improvements
are based to a certain extent upon an Invention of a similar kind for which
Letters Patent were granted to me, dated April 28th, 1854, No. 962.
Under one modification or arrangement the mill is driven from a cone
pulley, which gives motion by means of an endless band to a second pulley,
arranged beneath it. Ou the shaft of this pulley is a worm, which gears with
a worm wheel on a vertical shaft, and gives motion thereto; the shaft has
fitted to it three horizontal discs or plates; these discs are perforated round
the margins to admit of studs or other adjustable details being fitted therein.
One of the discs is fitted on the shaft at the upper part, and the studs arranged

page_text: in it give motion to a horizontal slide working to and fro in the spout of the
mill, which conveys the grain from the hopper or source of supply into a
receiver beneath. The spout has fitted to its lower part a secondary spout or
sliding piece, which moves freely up and down the exterior of the spout. This
sliding spout is connected to a hand lever, which is centered on a contiguous
part of the framing, and by means of a slotted guide, through which a stud in
the lever projects, the sliding spout may be fixed to any required position.
The receiver fitted beneath the spout into which the grain falls is of a funnel-
shaped figure at the lower part to convey the unmanufactured grain into the
mill. The admission of the grain into the mill is regulated by means of a
slide, fitted in the contracted part of the hopper, and actuated by means of the
second or central disc on the vertical shaft. The studs or other details in the
upper and central discs are so arranged that the slides are opened alternately
to admit the grain first to the spout and then from the receiver to the mill,
one being opened while the other is closed. The lower disc on the vertical
shaft has a stud or cam fitted in it, which at each revolution of the shaft raises
a lever, so as to bring it into contact with a projection on a slide fitted on the
periphery of the mill case. This slide in one position covers a series of
openings, which are formed in the mill case, and when the slide is actuated by
the disc these openings are uncovered; the slide is closed by its projecting part
coming in contact with a stud or other equivalent detail fixed to a convenient
part of the framing; thus, with the rotatory movement of the mill the slide is
actuated with an intermittent motion, so as to admit of the manufactured grain
falling down to the sifters below, which are actuated from below. These
sifters separate the grain from the dust, and both are conveyed down to their
proper receptacles. In this way the preparation of barley or rice is effected in
a rapid and very satisfactory manner, and without requiring the intervention
of manual labour.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Andrew White Gibson in the Great Seal Patent Office on 3
the 18th December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
WHITE GIBSON, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Miller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord 3
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of

page_text: Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Andrew White Gibson, Her special license that I, the said
Andrew White Gibson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Andrew White Gibson, my executors, administrators,
or 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF BARLEY AND
RICE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Andrew White
Gibson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and scal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 Andrew White Gibson, 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 accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of machinery
or apparatus for grinding or manufacturing barley or rice, and the improve-
ments are based to a certain extent upon an Invention of a similar kind for
which Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date the Twenty-eighth
day of April, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, numbered 962.
Under one modification or arrangement the mill is driven from a cone
pulley, which gives motion by means of an endless band to a second pulley,
arranged beneath it. On the shaft of this pulley is a worm, which gears with
a worn wheel on a vertical shaft, and gives motion thereto; the shaft bas
fitted to it three horizontal dises or plates; these discs are perforated round
the margins to admit of studs or other adjustable details being fitted therein.
One of the discs is fitted on the shaft at the upper part, and the studs
arranged in it give motion to a horizontal slide working to and fro in the
spout of the mill, which conveys the grain from the hopper or source of supply
into a receiver beneath. The spout has fitted to its lower part a secondary
spout or sliding piece, which moves freely up and down the exterior of the
spout. This sliding spout is connected to a hand lever, which is centred on a
contiguous part of the framing, and by means of a slotted guide, through

page_text: which a stud in the lever projects, the sliding spout may be fixed to any
required position. The receiver fitted beneath the spout into which the grain
falls is of a funnel-shaped figure at the lower part to convey the manufactured
grain into the mill. The admission of the grain into the mill is regulated by
means of a slide fitted in the contracted part of the hopper, and actuated by
means of the second or central disc on the vertical shaft. The studs or other
details in the upper and central discs are so arranged that the slides are
opened alternately to admit the grain first to the spout, and then from the
receiver to the mill, one being opened while the other is closed. The lower
disc on the vertical shaft has a stud or cam fitted in it, which at each
revolution of the shaft raises a lever so as to bring it into contact with a
projection on a slide fitted on the periphery of the mill case; this slide in one
position covers a series of openings, which are formed in the mill case, and
when the slide is actuated by the disc, these openings are uncovered; the slide
is closed by its projecting part coming in contact with a stud or other
equivalent detail fixed to a convenient part of the framing; thus, with the
rotatory movement of the mill the slide is actuated with an intermittent
motion, so as to admit of the manufactured grain falling down to the sifters
below, which are actuated from below. These sifters separate the grain from
the dust, and both are conveyed down to their proper receptacles. In this
way the preparation of barley or rice is effectual in a rapid and very
satisfactory manner, and without requiring the intervention of manual
labour.
And in order that my said Invention of "Improvements in Mills for the
Manufacture of Barley and Rice" may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings
which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain modi-
fications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out in
practice, that is to say:―
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is an elevation of a barley
or rice mill arranged according to my improvements; and Figure 2 is a plan
corresponding to Figure 1. The mill is supported on the horizontal beams A;
which are arranged parallel to each other; on these beams are fitted the
pedestal bearings of the main driving shaft B; on this shaft is a pulley, which
is driven by means of an endless belt, deriving its motion from any convenient
prime mover. The shaft B is squared at the central part, on which is fitted a
vertical grinding stone of the ordinary kind. The stone is fitted within a
casing C, to which rotatory motion is given, but at a reduced velocity. Keyed
on the shaft B is a pinion D, which drives the wheel E on the shaft F; this

page_text: shaft is arranged parallel to the main shaft, and is carried in pedestal bearings
on the beams A. On the inner end of the shaft F is a pinion G, which gives
motion to the wheel H, and through it to the casing C, the wheel being fast
to the tubular boss of the casing. The grain is fed from a hopper above into
the spout or tubular duct I, on the lower part of which is arranged the sliding
spout or pipe J. This moveable part J is connected by links to the forked
ends of the hand lever K, which is fitted with a pinching serew, to admit of
its being fixed within any part of the traverse of the segmental slot in the
guide L, which is fast to one of the pillars M. Between these pillars is
arranged the receiver N, the lower part of which forms a hopper com-
municating with the casing C of the mill, the capacity of the receiver N being
increased or diminished by the raising or depressing the movable spout J.
through the lever K, so as to adapt the quantity of grain to be operated upon
to the working power of the mill. The hopper of the receiver N opens into a
shoot O, which carries the grain through the cylindrical eye P of the rotatory
casing C, where it is subjected to the grinding action of the stone, which rubs
the grain against the casing C. The passage of the grain through the feed
pipe I and the throat of the hopper N is regulated by self-acting slides, which
opens and shuts alternately, to admit the grain from the feeding hopper, and
allow it to pass into the shoot O. On the horizontal shaft Q is arranged the'
conical pulley R, which by means of the endless belt gives motion to the lower
pulley S on the shaft T. This shaft has on it a worm, which drives the worm
wheel U on the lower end of the vertical shaft V, supported in any convenient'
manner. At the upper end of the shaft V is a disc W, the margin of which
has a series of holes formed in it, in two of these holes are fitted two studs X
and Y. These studs alternately come into contact with the lateral projections
on the sliding bar Z, which is connected to the slide a fitted in the duct I. As
delineated in Figure 2 of the accompanying Drawings, the stud X, which
is longer than the other in order to reach the shorter projecting catch on the
bar Z, has moved the bar outwards, and opened the slide a. As the disc W
moves round the shorter stud Y comes in contact with the longer projecting
catch on the bar Z, and causes it to move inwards and shut the slide a; this
action is alternate with the slide b, which is arranged in the hopper of the
receiver. N, and is actuated from the disc c in the same manner as the disc W,
the studs being so placed as to move the slides in and out alternately. Thus,
when the lower slide 6 is open the upper one is shut, so that nothing beyond
the measured quantity of grain can be admitted to the mill, and the supply is
always uniform. The grain is discharged from the casing C at regular
intervals by means of a self-acting arrangement connected with the lower

page_text: disc d on the shaft V. This disc has an adjustable roller e fitted in a slot
formed in it, and as the disc rotates the roller comes in contact with the tail of
the sliding rod f, which is carried in a guido fixed to the contiguous beam A.
As the roller moves round with the disc it presses the sliding rod inwards, so
that its extremity, which forms an inclined plane, comes in contact with the
projecting part g of a sliding cover h, fitted to the periphery of the casing C,
and which has slits or openings made in it, so that when pushed back these
openings coincide with those in the casing. After the roller e passes the tail
of the sliding rod f, the rod returned to its normal position by the helical
spring fitted upon it. The prolongation at the outer end of the rod f, in
conjunction with the roller e, causes the inner end of the rod to press back the
slide h, and so open the apertures made in the casing C, and allow the grain
to fall through these openings into the hopper beneath, which form a con-
tinuation of the casing i that encloses the mill. Another mode of arranging
the movement of the slide h is by means of an adjustable cam or wedge piece,
fitted in a slot in the disc d, and as the disc revolves the cam comes in contact
with a jointed rod, which is fixed on the beam A. As the cam moves round
with the disc it presses up the end of the jointed lever, which has a corre
sponding effect on the inner end of the lever next the case, and causes it to
come in contact with the projecting part 9 of the slide cover h, fitted to the
periphery of the casing C. After the jointed lever passes over the came it
returns to its normal position by its own weight, being made heavier at the
end next the disc. The effect of the contact of the lower end of the lever with
the projecting part of the slide g is to press back the slide cover, and so open
the apertures made in the casing C, which are covered by the solid parts
of the slide h. In this way the slide h is pushed open three or four times
before the end of the jointed lever passes over the inclined plane on the disc
d, and this is necessary in order to let out the manufactured grain, which one
revolution of the casing C is not sufficient to accomplish. The apertures in
the casing C are closed by a projection on the opposite end of the slide h
coming in contact with an inclined plane or other equivalent therefor fitted to
the beam A on the opposite side of the casing. The time which the grain is
allowed to undergo the process of manufacture in the mill varies from ten to
thirty minutes, according to the quality, and this is regulated by the position
of the belt on the conical pulleys. The grain as it falls through the openings
in the casing C is conveyed by the hopper i to the sifters j, which are
suspended by links jointed to brackets peuding from the beams A. The
lower part of the sifter is connected by a rod to the crank shaft ?, the
pedestal bearings of which are arranged on beams forming a part of the lower

page_text: framing. The crank shaft is driven from a pulley on the main shaft B,
which by means of the endless belt m gives motion to the pulley n on the
shaft. The reciprocatory motion thus imparted to the sifter separates the
dust and other impurities from the grain, and the cleansed grain falls into a
suitable receptacle, whilst the dust and impurities are conveyed into a separate
receiver. In this way the operation of treating or grinding barley or rice is
accomplished in a very rapid and satisfactory manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts
forming a mill suitable for grinding or operating upon barley or rice, as
herein-before described, and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any
modification of the said arrangement.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing the casing C, in
which the stone is enclosed, with a sliding cover or covers operating by self-
acting means, so as to admit of the intermittent discharge of the grain there-
from, as herein-before described, and shown in the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification of the said arrangement.
In witness whereof, I, tho said Andrew White Gibson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.
ANDREW WHITE GIBSON. (L.S.)