Improvements in Machines for Separating Light and Heavy Substances, Chiefly Designed for the Purification of Semolina, Middlings, and the like.
Year: 1886

page_text: Improvements in Machines for Separating Light and Heavy
Substances, Chiefly Designed for the Purification of Semolina,
Middlings, and the like.
We, HEINRICH SECK, of Dresden, in the Empire of Germany, Engineer, and
HENRY SIMON, of 20 Mount Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR SEPARATING LIGHT AND HEAVY SUBSTANCES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR
THE PURIFICATION OF SEMOLINA, MIDDLINGS AND THE LIKE to be as follows:-
"
1
Our invention. relates to machines for the separation of light and heavy
substances, chiefly designed for the purification of semolina, middlings and the
like.
Our said invention comprises various improvements hereinafter described, which
are more especially applicable to machines of the class described in the specification
of former Letters Patent dated 19th March A.D. 1884, No. 5155 and 13th October
A.D. 1884 No. 13,502.
In carrying our said invention into practice, instead of providing for drawing or
sucking up the air laden with particles of flour and dust through only one of the
filtering surfaces of the endless filtering cloth by means of an exhaust-fan, as
heretofore, we provide for drawing or forcing the said air through both the
filtering surfaces of the said endless cloth. In this manner the air is filtered or
purified twice instead of only once, and the filtering cloth is more effectually
cleaned.
We sometimes arrange the exhaust-fan or fans in the space enclosed by the
endless filtering cloth and cause the air laden with particles of dust or the like to
be drawn through the lower filtering surface of the endless cloth and forced
through its upper surface. In some instances, in order to avoid any deleterious
pressure in the space enclosed by the filtering cloth, which extends from side to
side of the machine, suitable openings are provided in the side walls of the
machine, through which openings part of the air will escape instead of being.
forced through the upper portion of the filtering cloth. Moreover the said space is
80 divided by partitions that the air which is drawn into the said space will not
come in contact with the air which is being forced out, that is to say, so that the
го

page_text: space communicating with the inlet of the exhaust-fan will be separated from that
communicating with the outlet of the said fan.
The inclined grooves or channels described in the said former specification
No. 5155 for the removal of the heavier particles, instead of being arranged to
conduct the same to one or both sides of the machine, are arranged to deliver into
a trough or chanuel in the centre of the rocking sieve. These troughs or channels
are inclined, and suitable means are provided for causing the material to be
moved down the same.
To prevent the bending or bulging of the sieve and at the same time clean the
same or keep open its meshes, we arrange beneath the said sieve, a kind of grate
or net-work formed of wood or metal rods or bars or of wire, or of any suitable
material, such as twine, rope, leather or india-rubber stretched in a frame.
This apparatus is connected with the sieve in such a manner that it partakes of
all the movements of the sieve and remains in contact therewith, thus also acting
as a support to the silk if the latter should become slack. We further impart to
this frame or support a second independent to-and-fro movement of such extent
that it will sweep the under surface of the silk for a distance equal to that between
two bars, rods or meshes, and thus liberate or disengage from the meshes of the
sieve, any flour grit or other substance which may stick therein.
We provide for fastening or securing the silk or gauze of the sieve to the
rocking frame thereof and at the same time stretching the said silk or gauze, as
follows, that is to say;-In the wooden frame, over which the gauze is to be
stretched we form a groove or channel which is semicircular or V-shaped or of
other suitable shape in transverse section. When the gauze is laid upon the
frame we place above this groove a movable bar, and we provide adjusting screws
for pressing the said bar down upon the gauze until the latter and the said bar are
forced into the said groove, thus clamping the said gauze tightly at its edges and
stretching the same.
When two conveyors arranged side by side are employed, as set forth in the
said former specification No. 5155, for transporting the material falling from the
lower end of the hopper or casing, and it is desired to provide for conducting
the material at will to one or the other of the conveyors, which operate in separate
spaces, we employ, beneath the discharge opening of the said hopper or casing, a
sliding box having a reversible inclined wall or partition, which, when the box is
in its proper position, forms the prolongation of one or the other of the lateral
walls of the hopper and extends down to the top of the partition wall separating
the two conveyor-spaces, so that, when either of the said spaces is opened or
uncovered, the other space is covered or closed. The delivery of the material
descending from the hopper into either of the said spaces, can thus be ensured by
drawing out the slide box from under the hopper and adjusting the said inclined
partition as required.
We have found that, under certain circumstances, it is more advantageous to
cause the filtering cloth to move longitudinally of the machine instead of trans-
versely as heretofore. It will especially be more advantageous to do so in
connection with the fans inside the rotating filter as above described.
We sometimes further provide for the more effectual cleaning of the filtering
cloth and combine therewith the cleaning apparatus hereinafter described to act
on that part of the surface of the filter which is cut off or set apart for the
purpose.
Instead of using several beaters as described in the said former specifications,
we use leather or india-rubber flaps cut into the shape of fingers, and provide for
lifting the same by means of cams acted upon by springs. The advantage of these
flaps is that their action is much more gentle and at the same time more effective
than that of the beaters heretofore used, by reason of the nature of the material
and the multiplication of beating parts, and they do not injure the material of
which the filtering cloth is made as much as those heretofore used. We sometimes
fix the said leather or india, rubber flaps or beaters on a rotating shaft,

page_text: We employ this mechanical arrangement either with or without the devices
described in the aforesaid specification No. 13,502.
In some cases we find it very advantageous to simply close up, by means of
channelled pieces certain parts of the surface of the silk, that is to say, a series of
these channelled preces are arranged with the silk between them. These channelled
pieces are placed either longitudinally or diagonally with regard to the frame
carrying the silk.
Some of the material lifted by the air coming up through the silk, is deposited
on these receptacles or channelled pieces, as the air currents rising through the
open parts of the silk deposit some of the heavier matters laterally into the
channels.
The advantage of this arrangement is that the whole surface of the silk remains
open to inspection which is not the case if it is covered by channelled. pieces
arranged in the different manners described in the said former specifications.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicants.

page_text: Middlings, and the like.
We, HEINRICH SECK, of Dresden in the Empire of Germany, Engineer, and
HENRY SIMON of 20 Mount Street, Manchester in the County of Lancaster, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
Our invention relates to machines for the separation of light and heavy
substances, chiefly designed for the purification of semolina, middlings and the
like.
Our present improvements are more especially applicable to machines of the
class described in the Specifications of former Letters Patent dated 19th March
A.D. 1884 No. 5155 and 13th October 1884 No. 13502.
In such a machine we arrange the fan or fans in the space enclosed by the
endless filtering cloth in such a manner that the air laden with particles of dust or
the like is drawn through the lower filtering surface of the endless cloth and
forced through its upper surface. In some instances, in order to avoid excess of
pressure within the filtering cloth we provide openings through the sides of the
machine, to allow part of the air to escape.
The inclined grooves or channels described in the said former specification
No. 5155 for reception of the heavier particles carried by the air currents instead
of being arranged to conduct these particles to the sides of the machine, are
arranged to deliver into a trough or channel extending along the middle of the
rocking sieve.
To prevent the bending or bulging down of the sieve and at the same time to
clean it or keep open its meshes we arrange beneath it a frame carrying strips of
leather, india rubber, or such like material which, projecting upward, bear against
the under side of the sieve.
This frame is connected with the sieve in such a manner that it partakes of all
the movements of the sieve and remains in contact therewith, and it has also an
independent to and fro movement so that its strips sweep the under surface of the
silk and thus clear its meshes.
We
Ve secure the silk or gauze of the sieve to its rocking frame and at the same
time provide for stretching it in the following manner: In the wooden frame we
form a semicircular or V shaped groove or channel and by means of screws we
press a bar down upon the gauze, forcing it into the groove, thus stretching the
gauze and clamping it at its ends.
When the fans are arranged within the filter cloth, it is generally more advan
tageous that the cloth should move longitudinally and not transversely as described
in the previous Specification.
For the purpose of cleaning the filtering cloth, we use as beaters, leather or
india-rubber flaps cut into the shape of fingers which are raised and let go by
cams and are acted upon by springs so as to strike the cloth.

page_text: · In some cases we find it very advantageous to divide the vibrating sieve by
longitudinal or diagonal channels arranged with the silk between them.
Some of the material lifted by the air passing up through the silk is deposited
in these channels as in the grid of channels which are arranged above the sieve
but there is an advantage in thus dispensing with the grid because the whole
surface of the sieve remains open to inspection and accessible for cleansing.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a vertical longitudinal section of the
machine on line X X of Fig. 2 which is a vertical cross section, partly in elevation.
Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively longitudinal and transverse sections of the vibrating
sieve made with longitudinal channels.
The general construction and mode of operating of the kind of machine to which
these improvements relate being generally known need not be further described.
The principle of action is, shortly, as follows: The substances to be separated pass
from the hopper E on to a vibrating sieve E through which a current of air
ascends; the light particles are drawn up towards an endless filter cloth B running
over rollers 6 61 6 and lodge on its surface while the air filters through it. The
filter cloth is freed from the particles by a beating arrangement as it passes from 61
to 6' where it is subjected to air pressure from within outwards. The particles
that do not rise up to the filter cloth are more or less diverted laterally by the
spreading air currents and become deposited in the inclined troughs ; forming a
grid over the vibrating sieve. The particles that pass through the sieve E fall into
troughs below provided with conveying worms by which they are removed.
The rotation of the worms and the driving of the working parts are effected by
pullies and belts in the usual manner. This is the generally known construction
of such machines, to which are applied the following improvements.
The fans C¹ are, according to the present invention, arranged within the endless
filter cloth B, so that while they act directly as exhausters upon that part of the
filter which is presented towards the sieve E, they act directly with blast on the
part of the filter cloth between 6 and 6" from which the dust is to be removed.
The fans C¹, of which there may be one or several as shewn, are provided as usual
with side suction openings C³. The discharge opening of each fan is separated
from the suction openings by the casings D so that the space formed inside the
filter cloth is divided into two chambers, the one subjected to the suction action
and the other to the blowing action of the fans. For regulating the auction, the
bottom of the chamber enclosing the fans C¹, Figs. 1 and 2, is arranged with
openings that can be closed more or less by slides o moved by levers that can be
turned more or less by the external handles m.
The cleansing of the continuously travelling filter cloth B from the adhering
particles is effected in the known manner by the beaters i. These are flexible flaps
of leather caoutchouc or such like material which, by means of cams and springs,
are at intervals jerked against the filter cloth in order to cause the particles
adhering to it to fall into a trough in which is a conveying worm g. The fans C¹
at the same time blow against the inner surface of the part of the filter cloth that
is travelling past the beater. The filter cloth may be made to travel in either
direction as is shown in Fig. 1 travelling in the direction opposite to that of the
material upon the vibrating sieve. The top of the machine is closed but part of
the air delivered by the fans is allowed to escape through side openings o².
The channels arranged transversely to the vibrating sieve, to which the grid of
channels is attached are inclined so as to deliver the material that falls into them
into the central channels j¹ 1 Fig. 2, which moving with the sieve deliver the
particles at its lower end. The channels might be arranged in a longitudinal
direction, the particles caught by them being in like manner delivered at the end
of the machine.
As shewn in Figs. 3 and 4 the sieve E may consist of strips of perforated
material alternating with channels such as ; arranged longitudinally to deliver at
the end of the sieve. Or such channels might be arranged obliquely from the
middle to deliver at each side. By thus making the channels or troughs in the

page_text: sieve itself and not as separate pieces above it, the whole surface of the sieve is
rendered easily accessible.
Beneath the sieve E is a frame Ee which moves with the sieve and has also an
independent movement. Strips n of leather, caoutchouc or it might be of wood
let into transverse bars of this frame aid in supporting the sieve and prevent it
from bulging down. They also effect a continuous cleansing of the under surface'
of the sieve, the brushes which are usually employed for that purpose being thus
dispensed with.
The framing E carrying the cross bars with their strips n is carried by the
frame of the sieve and therefore moves with it but at the same time the framing E
receives a second motion independent of that of the sieve by means of the
mechanism shewn at the right hand end of Fig. 1, so that the strips n move
relatively backwards and forwards under the sieve E. For this purpose the
framing of the sieve carries two chain wheels q q¹ which vibrate to and fro with
the sieve and are caused to revolve by a strap or otherwise. Over them passes a
chain q³ one link of which has lateral projections which, by the rotation of q, come
to bear against arms e' projecting downwards from the frame E and move this
frame to the left hand until, by the rotation of q, they escape the arms e* and
passing downward with the wheel q¹ they come to bear against longer arms el
projecting down from Ee and so move Ee back to the right until they escape again
at the wheel q. The strips n are thus made to rub to and fro on the underside of
the sieve pressing the particles up out of its meshes, which are thus kept clear,
while the strips at the same time support the screening surface sufficiently to
prevent it from bulging when loaded with material.
For fixing the silk of the sieve E when it is drawn tight in the longitudinal
direction and fixed at the ends, setting screws P, Fig. 4, are screwed down so as to
press bars p³ into grooves in the framing and so nip the silk at its side edges:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim in respect of apparatus for separating light and heavy substances as in the
purification of semolina is:-
1. Arranging the fan or several fans within the travelling filter cloth substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth.
2. Arranging the transverse grooves or channels above the sieve inclining towards
longitudinal channels in the middle of the sieve, substantially as described.
3. Providing under the sieve a frame which moves with the sieve and also moves
to and fro relatively to it, with upwardly projecting strips that support and rub
against the under surface of the sieve substantially as described.
4. The construction of sieve in strips of perforated fabric alternating with
troughs or channels, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
Dated this 25th day of October 1886.