IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING STONES AND MINERALS."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Smith, of Widnes Dock, near Warrington,'
in the County of Lancaster, Manager of the Limestone Crushing Mills,
and Edward Roberts, of Widnes Dock, aforesaid, Millwright, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING STONES AND
MINERALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Smith and Edward
Roberts at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 29th March 1864.
We, HENRY SMITH, of Widnes Dock, near Warrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Manager of the Limestone Crushing Mills, and EDWARD ROBERTS,
of Widnes Dock, aforesaid, Millwright, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING STONES AND
MINERALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for breaking
stones and minerals. For these purposes the stone or mineral to be broken
is acted on by means of lever jaws in the following manner:-There is a fixed

page_text: jaw and a moveable jaw of equal length, and the stone or mineral to be
broken is introduced in the space between the moving jaw and the fixed jaw.
The moving jaw is mounted on an axis about midway of the length of its
working face, and some inches back therefrom. The face of the moveable
lever jaw is inclined to or at an angle with the face of the fixed jaw, its lower
end coming nearer to the fixed jaw than its upper end, so that the widest
space between the two jaws is at their upper parts, and it is into this space
that the pieces of stone or mineral to be broken are introduced. The lever
jaw receives a short rocking motion on its axis, by preference by means of a
connecting rod actuated by a crank shaft, on which is a fly wheel. The crank
shaft receives rotatory motion from a steam engine or other power. Each
piece of stone when introduced into the space between the upper ends of the
two jaws is partially crushed by the upper ends of the lever jaws; then, as the
upper end of the lever jaw recedes the lower end will approach the fixed jaw,
and the stones between the jaws below the axis of the lever jaw will be
crushed or broken. The broken stone or mineral between the lower ends of
the jaws will at the next motion get away, and the partially broken stone or
mineral above will descend, so as to be completely broken by the lower ends
of the jaws.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Smith and Edward Roberts in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
SMITH, of Widnes Dock, near Warrington, in the County of Lancaster,
Manager of the Limestone Crushing Mills, and EDWARD ROBERTS, of Widnes
Dock, aforesaid, Millwright, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Henry Smith and Edward Roberts, Her special
licence, that we, the said Henry Smith and Edward Roberts, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry Smith
and Edward Roberts, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING STONES AND MINERALS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Smith and Edward
Roberts, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our or their hands and seals; or under the hand and seal of one of us or 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 Henry Smith, on behalf of myself and
the said Edward Roberts, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is
to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for breaking
stones and minerals. For these purposes the stone or mineral to be broken
is acted on by means of lever jaws in the following manner :-There is a
fixed jaw and a moveable jaw of equal length, and the stone or mineral to be
broken is introduced in the space between the moving jaw and the fixed jaw.
The moving jaw is mounted on an axis about midway of the length of its
working face, and some inches back therefrom. The face of the moveable
lever jaw is inclined to or at an angle with the face of the fixed jaw, its lower
end coming nearer to the fixed jaw than at its upper end, so that the widest
space between the two jaws is at their upper parts, and it is into this space
that the pieces of stone or mineral to be broken are introduced. The lever
jaw receives a short rocking motion on its axis, by preference by means of a
connecting rod actuated by a crank shaft on which is a fly wheel. The crank
shaft receives rotatory motion from a steam engine or other power. Each
piece of stone when introduced into the space between the upper ends of the
two jaws is partially crushed by the upper ends of the lever jaws, then as the
upper end of the lever jaw recedes the lower end will approach the fixed jaw,
and the stones between the jaws below the axis of the lever, jaw will-be
crushed or broken. The broken stones or mineral between the lower ends of
the jaws will at the next motion get away, and the partially broken stone or
mineral above will descend, so as to be completely broken by the lower ends
of the iewe

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews a side view, and Figure 2 a plan view of a. machine con-
structed in the manner we prefer for carrying out our Invention.
a.is the fixed jaw, and 6 the moveable jaw formed at the outer end of a
lever c, which turns on an axis at d; this axis is supported by the two side
plates or frames e of the machine. The fixed jaw a is also supported by these
side plates, and is supported in such manner that it can be set nearer to or
further from the moveable jaw; for this purpose it is supported by a pin or
axis at f near its upper end, and at its lower end a slot is formed through it,
through which wedges or filling pieces may be passed, the ends of the wedges
or filling pieces being received in slots in the side plates or frames e, and by
changing these wedges or filling pieces, the distance between the fixed jaw and
the moveable jaw can be varied; the working faces of the fixed and moveable
jaws are faced with steel plates 9, 9, which are inserted into dovetail grooves
therein, so that the working faces may be renewed when worn away; the
acting surfaces of these plates may be either plain or corrugated to sharp
angles in any suitable direction. The end of the lever c is connected by-the
connecting rod h to the crank i' on the shaft k; on this shaft. are two fly
wheels 1, 1, and also a driving pulley m, by which the shaft has motion
imparted to it. In order to afford a further means of varying the gauge to
which the stones or minerals are broken, the connecting rod h. may have a
number of holes at its lower end, where it is attached to the lever c, so that
the point at which the end of the lever c is connected to the rod may be
varied, and the end of the lever -c thereby raised or lowered, so varying the
opening between the fixed and moveable jaws. It will be seen from Figure 1
that the lower parts of the jaws that are below the axis of the lever care set
to come closer together than the upper parts of the jaws that are above the
axis, the stone or mineral will thus be twice acted on by the jaws for every
revolution of the shaft k, the stone or mineral being first acted on by the upper
parts of the jaws, and then further acted on by the lower parts of the jaws.
For this purpose the stone or mineral to be broken is introduced at n into the
space between the upper parts of the fixed and moveable jaws, and as the
upper parts of, these jaws approach each other, the stone or material between
them is partially crushed; when the upper end of the jaw b recedes from the
fixed jaw a the lower end of the moveable jaw approaches towards it, and

page_text: further crushes the stone or material that has been partially crushed by the
upper parts of the jaws.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
R. SALMON.
HENRY SMITH. (L.S.)