IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN INTO FLOUR, AND UN
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas James Baker, of Farndon, near Newark,
in the County of Nottingham, Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN INTO FLOUR, AND
UN MA
Sealed the 31st January 1868, and dated the 9th August 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas James Baker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th August 1867.
I, THOMAS JAMES BAKER, of Farndon, near Newark, in the County of
Nottingham, Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN INTO FLOUR,
AND IN THE MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, first, in fixing a fan or blowing apparatus to the
top side of the running millstone, leaving about one inch and a half between
the upper edge of the fan blades, and the under side of the millstone
case. By the action of this fan air is drawn from the eye of the millstone case
and is thrown into the conical space enclosed between the millstone and the
conical portion of the said millstone case. It is obvious also that the result
of the action of the fan will be to lessen the pressure of the air at and within
the
eye of the stone, and to increase the pressure around the skirt of the stone.
The objects I accomplish by this pressure of air are keeping of the stones cool,
keeping the meal cool, and keeping the case perfectly dry, and aiding the

page_text: usual sweeps in keeping the cases free from what is called casings or hoop
meal.
My second improvement consists in the mode of withdrawing the air from
the case free from dust and meal. The meal discharged from between the
stones distributes itself on the conical surface of the case to or nearly to two
inches above the grinding surfaces. In any given pair of stones this point can
be ascertained by a simple experiment; above this point a very short distance
I place the bottom of a pipe deflecting into a recess the current thrown off by
the stones; this deflected air free from dust is carried away by a pipe leading
either to a common dust house or to the open air.
My third improvement consists, in inserting a brush or brushes in the top
of the meal spout having bristles of comparative coarseness, they throw the
meal against one side of the spout, by their elasticity they permit the meal to
pass and secure its distribution. A short way below the brush or brushes I
contract the meal spout so as by deflecting plates placed crossways to each
other a zig-zag flow of the meal through a contracted channel is secured;
underneath this contraction I-widen the spout to its ordinary-dimensions, and
deliver the meal in the ordinary manner...
My fourth improvement consists in balancing the running stone on a loose ball
on the top of the driving spindle. The bottom of the ball enters into a hollow
in the top of the driving spindle, the top enters.a_similar_hollow in the cross.
bar which carries the millstone commonly called the cockhead. The ball and
bearings are made of steel which may be hardened at pleasure.'
A
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas James Baker in the "Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th February 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JAMES BAKER, of Farndon, near Newark, in the County of Nottingham,
Miller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters,
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her: heirs and successors, igive, and grant unto me,
the said Thomas James Baker, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
James Baker, my executors; administrators, and assigns, or such others as. I,
the said Thomas, James Baker, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: .
should at any time agree with; and no others, from time to time and at ail
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 "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN INTO. FLOUR, AND IN THE
MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that
1, the said Thomas James Baker, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing, under my, or their, or one of their bands 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 1, the said Thomas James Baker, 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 :-
.
My improvements consist, first, in fixing a fan or blowing apparatus to
the top side of the running millstone, leaving about one inch, and a half
between the upper edge of the fan blades and the under side of the millstone
case. By the action of this fan air is drawn from the eye of the millstone
case and is thrown into the conical space enclosed between the millstone and
the conical portion of the said millstone case. It is obvious also that the result
of the action of the fan will be to lessen the pressure of the air at and within
the eye of the stone and to increase the pressure around the skirt of the stone,
The objects I accomplish by this pressure of air are keeping of the stones cool,
keeping the meal cool, and keeping the case perfectly, dry, and aiding the usual
sweeps in keeping the cases free from what is called casings or hoop meal.
My second improvement consists in the mode of withdrawing the air from
the case free from dust and meal. The meal discharged from between the
stones distributes itself on the conical surface of the case to or nearly to two
inches above the grinding surfaces. In any given pair of stones this point can
be ascertained by a simple.experiment; above this point a very short distance
I place the bottom of a pipe deflecting into a recess the current thrown off by
the stones; this deflected air free from dust is carried away by a pipe leading
either to a common dust house or to the open air,
My third improvement consists in inserting a brush or brushes in the top
of the nieal -spout having bristles of comparative coarseness, they throw the
nieal against one side of the spout, by their elasticity they permit the meal to
pass and. secure its perfect distribution. A short way below the brush or

page_text: brushes I contract the meal spout, so as by deflecting plates placed crossways
to each other a zig-zag flow of the meal through a contracted channel is secured;
underneath this contraction I widen the spout to its ordinary dimensions and
deliver the meal in the ordinary manner.
My fourth improvement consists in balancing the running stone on a loose
ball on the top of the driving spindle. The bottom of the ball enters into a
hollow in the top of the driving spindle, the top enters a similar hollow in the
cross bar which carries the millstone commonly called the cockhead. The
ball and bearings are made of steel which may be hardened at pleasure.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood, and more
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same, reference being
made to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan of my
Invention having part of the millstone case removed; Figure 2 is a corre-
sponding elevation shewing the recess 9 partly closed; Figure 3 is a sectional
elevation shewing the mode in which the. stone is balanced; Figure 4 is a
sectional elevation through the line A, B, Figure 1.
S is the millstone spindle having formed in the top thereof a hollow space
instead of the common balancing pivot or cockhead; into this space the
nearly hemispherical cup n is firmly placed; into the cup n is placed the
spherical ball n¹-fitting easily the cup n²; the exact counterpart of n is firmly
placed in a hollow in the driving bar n of the running millstone A. The
running millstone is shewn-in position balanced upon the ball n¹ in Figure 3.
The adjustments of the bed stone and its connection with the spindle are those
commonly adopted and well known. The running millstone A is placed within
the common conical millstone case b, its dimensions being altered at the top
so as to allow the fan c to work freely on the top of the running stone, and a
further space large enough to allow the air therein to acquire in some degree
the motion of the running stone. The fan c I make a flat plate having blades
projecting upwards; this plate is fastened to levelling wedges è secured to the
'top of the stone. The eye of the millstone I make of the usual dimensions.
The eye of the millstone case I make rather wider than
this is not essential. I have found it in practice however to be beneficial
to leave the air the most ample room to enter the millstone case and
properly to distribute itself therein, and freedom at the eye is one of the
conditions necessary thereto, my object being to keep the stones as cool as
possible by their being immersed in cold air continually renewed. In the side
of the millstone case, see Figures 3 and 4, I make an opening f, f¹, &c.
upwards from the. bottom exactly over the space in the floor by which the
meal usually escapes. In connection with and embracing this opening I make
common, but

page_text: the recess g; the form and dimensions of this recess are shewn in Figure 4,
the boundaries thereof being indicated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In
practice I have found that it is beneficial to have the dimensions of this recess
not less than those shewn in the Drawing. The continuation of this recess
above the numbers 5 and 6 forms the eduction pipe for the escape of air and
moisture; at the number 4 it is contracted in three dimensions till the usual
meal spout is formed at the bottom of the contraction. I divide the recess g
into two unequal portions by the shutter h, which is made adjustable, so that
the hole i therein may be raised or lowered until the bottom edge thereof shall
be clear of the line of flotation of the meal within the millstone case. It is
well known that the meal when thrown from the stones lies around the case
to a considerable height, the section of it forming a triangle, as seen in
Figure 3 at ; this height will vary with the velocity and diameter of the
stones and must be determined in each particular case. The hole i in the
shutter h is adjusted to this ascertained line. When an opening is made in
any case under a uniform pressure of air it is well known that the issuing
stream comes in every direction towards the opening. If the opening i is
unprotected underneath the air rushing through it will be charged with
particles of meal and dust brought up with it from below; to prevent this I
fasten in line with the lower edge of the hole i the plate 2 which projects into
the case until it all but touches the running millstone and extends a little
beyond the edge of the hole on either side. By means of this plate the upward
rush of air and consequently of dust and meal is prevented and only gaseous
matter escapes by the hole 'into the recess g. A considerable portion of air
passes into the lower portion of the recess g between the shutter h and the
back wall of the recess along with the escaping meal; to prevent this air from
escaping through the meal spout I place the series of brushes k, k², k³, &c.,
alternating these with the contracting plates m, m³, m³, until the pressure of
air is thoroughly counterpoised by the weight of meal held by the brushes.
When this pressure has been slightly exceeded I permit the meal to escape
through or past the brushes in the usual manner. To permit the air passing
into the lower portion of the recess to settle and deposit whatever dust it may
contain I-place the throttling plate p nearly opposite the line of the top of the
bed stone. This effect is aided by the air escaping.through the hole i above it
which as it revolves around the recess comes in contact with this ascending
current, and causes it to deposit whatever solid matter it might otherwise
carry away.
It is evident that the above details may be variously modified. For example,
the introduction of a current of air into the millstone case may be varied by

page_text: making a hermetical joint between the eye of the stone and the eye of the
millstone case, and 'forcing air in by a fan or other blowing, instrument. Such
an application would be so far defective that the air introduced would be local
and could not have the sweep around the case communicated by my apparatus
above described, and would only approximately serve the purpose of keeping
the case dry and the stones cool, yet it might serve to keep the meal
cool and relatively dry, and in combination with the other portions of my
Invention would thus have a very beneficial effect. I should regard such an
application as only a modification of my Invention.
The recess 9 and shutter 'h may also be variously, modified. The recess
may be enlarged. It may also be placed in a different position, and the offices
it fulfils may be separated. It niay be removed from the end of the millstone
case and a pipe lead the air into the upper portion thereof; that is to say,
above the throttling plate p, another pipe may lead the meal, &c. into its
lower portion, and provided that, the pipes so employed are properly placed
,alid constructed so that the air will be thrown from the upper one against the
side of the recess, and so give it a spiral winding round-it leaving a still column
in the middle, and that the meal. pipe falls at a sufficient angle, such a modi-
fication would simply be another arrangement of the parts shewn in the
Drawing. The 'recess may be broken into. two portions, and its lower and
upper offices separated, by passing the ducts which; lead to them from the
millstone case; each into its own recess. Such 'an. arrangement although
*necessarily defective as regards the lower portion of the recess and. the office
it performs: I should regard as a modification of my. Invention...
The shutter:h instead of baving a hole i of definite size, as above described
and shewn, may be made in two adjustable portions. This would admit both of
. adjusting the lower edge of the hole to the line of the flotation of dust and
meal, and would also admit of altering the size of the hole at pleasure to take
away more or less of the air in the millstone case. This also I should regard
as a modification of my Invention.
The dimensions of the meal spout may also be varied; and the position and
number of the brushes and contracting plates. These arrangements indeed
may be modified according to the views and taste of those employing them.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as of my. Invention,
Firstly, the use of the fan herein-before described and shewn, by which air
is thrown into the millstone case and kept at a pressure, and is also caused to
partake of the. rotation of the stone for the purposes of cooling the stones and
keeping the meal and millstone case relatively dry.

page_text: Secondly, I claim the apparatus herein-before described and shewn, by
which the material injected into the millstone case both by the stones and
fan is divided into two separate streams issuing from the millstone case by two
separate ducts one above the line of the flotation of the dust and meal and
entirely free therefrom, the other mingled with the meal, and the products of
the grinding through the meal escape, and the apparatus by which. such
division is effected and adjusted, as herein-before described and shewn..
Thirdly, I claim the recess herein-before described and shewn into which
the air and the products of the grinding are thrown, and in which a final
separation is effected between the meal and dust and the air and other gaseous
matter, the latter being permitted a free escape upwards, whilst the meal and
dust are detained by brushes and contractions so far as to prevent the escape
of air downwards.
I also claim the throwing of the upper current into the recess at a point at
which it can aid in preventing the upward escape of dust or meal, as herein-
before described and shewn.
Fourthly, I claim the mode of balancing the running stone herein-before
described and shewn, and any modification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas James Baker, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-eight.
THOMAS JAMES BAKER. (L.S.)
Witness,
WILLIAM ROBERTSON,
Engineer & Patent Agent,
17, Queen's Chambers, Market Street,
Manchester.