AN IMPROVED MILL FOR GRINDING PAINT AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 16, Castle
Street, Holborn (City), London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MILL FOR GRINDING PAINT AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES." - A
communication from Charles Whitman Brown, of Boston, in the United
States of America.
Sealed the 26th September 1854, and dated the 26th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 26th July 1854.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn
(City), London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED MILL FOR GRINDING PAINT AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES,"
being a communication from Charles Whitman Brown, of Boston, in the
United States of America, to be as follows, viz. :-
It consists in hanging the top stone above the runner, whereby it is caused
at all times to accommodate itself to the runner, and keep level or parallel
therewith. The stone is hung by pivots and adjustable rods, and is free to
oscillate to a limited extent in any direction, similar to a mariner's compass;
the adjustable rods also serve to raise the upper stone to admit air between the
grinding surfaces. The material to be ground is supplied through an adjustable
hopper, having a throat of a depth somewhat greater than the thickness of the
top stone to the opening or eye. A flange extends all round outside the top of

page_text: the throat of the hopper. In this flange are cut a number of feniale screws,
to receive a corresponding number of male screws, which rest upon the top
stone and support the hopper.
Spiral blade feeders are used to force the material between the stones.
Above these feeders is a spiral or twisted blade, secured to the mill spindle,
and a little excentric thereto, used to feed the mass gradually down the hopper,
and to keep the mass open, to admit air into and among it. The furrows in
the face of each stone are arranged in two series; those of one series com-
mencing at the eye of the stone, running longitudinally towards the periphery,
and terminating in points at a short distance therefrom, and those of the
other series commencing at the periphery of the stone and running towards
the eye.
A trough surrounds the lower stone and receives the ground paint, scrapers
being fitted so as to prevent waste. The oil box consists of a hollow cylinder,
with an interior flange fitting to the spindle. The guide box is turned, to fit.
easily into the upper part of the oil box. There is a cavity between the
bottom of the guide box and the interior flange of the oil box which contains
the oil. The bottom of the oil box is packed by a stuffing box and revolves
with the shaft, but the guide box entering it causes oil to be carried up around
the shaft.
A trough surrounds the lower stone and receives the ground material, so
that none can escape except at the point of discharge, where it receives a
fixed oblique scraper, secured to a fixed standard, and to which are attached
two guards, for discharging and conducting the discharge of the ground
material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, Her special license that I, the said:

page_text: Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my execu-
tors, 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 "AN IMPROVED MILL FOR GRINDING PAINT AND OTHER MOIST
SUBSTANCES," a communication from Charles Whitman Brown, of Boston,
in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, by an instrument
in writing 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 Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say) :-
The mill, which forms the subject of this Invention, consists of two hori-
zontal stones, of which the lower stone is the runner, and is secured firmly to
the spindle, and the top stone is suspended above it. The first part of my
Invention consists in a certain method of hanging the top stone above the
runner, whereby it is caused at all times to accommodate itself to the runner,
and keep level or parallel therewith, notwithstanding any variation in the
line of the axis of the spindle; and at the same time provision is made for
conveniently raising the said stone, to admit air between the faces of the two
stones to cool them, if during the grinding process they should become
heated.
The second part of my Invention consists in the employment of an adjustable
hopper, fitted to the eye of the top stone, and having its elevation so controlled
by screws, or their equivalents, that the distance between the bottom and the
face of the lower stone or runner, which forms the space through which
the paint mass is fed between the stones, may be varied, and thus the volume
of feed regulated.
The third part of my Invention consists in the employment, in addition to
the spiral blade feeders sometimes attached to the sides of the mill spindles
for forcing the material to be ground down on the lower stone, of another
spiral feeder, placed excentrically upon the mill spindle, working within the

page_text: upper part of the opening in the top stone or the hopper, for the purpose of
feeding the mass gradually to the stones, and of causing a circulation of air
through it.
The fourth part of my Invention consists in a certain improved mode, herein-
after described, of furrowing the stones.
The fifth part of my Invention consists in attaching the trough which
receives the ground paint or material as it leaves the stones to the running
stone, so that it may rotate therewith. The attachment of this trough to the
running stone obviates the great difficulty, experienced in paint mills whose
lower stone is the runner, of keeping the paint from running over the sides of
the stone, and setting between the stone and the curb surrounding it, where it
soon makes a hard bed, which produces great friction on the runner.
The sixth part of my Invention consists in a peculiar arrangement and
combination of a scraper and guards, for discharging and controlling the
discharge of the ground paint or material from the rotating trough.
The seventh part of my Invention consists in an improved mode of providing
for the lubrication of the guide bearing of the mill spindle.
The accompanying Drawing represents my improved mill. Fig. 1 is an
elevation; Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken nearly at right angles; Fig. 3 is
a plan; Fig. 4 is a top view of the lower stone; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the
scraper and guards, with a section of a portion of the trough.
Similar letters
of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figures.
A is a bed plate, upon and some distance above which is supported, by
pillars B, B, a circular table C, of cast iron, upon opposite sides of which are
erected two standards D, D. These standards receive and form guides for
two vertical sliding rods a, a, the lower parts of which are screwed, and pass
casily through the table C; above and below which they are furnished with
nuts i, i, by which they can be adjusted and secured at various elevations.
The rods a, a, contain the bearings to receive the journals of two pivots b, b,
which are attached diametrically opposite each other to a circular frame or
ringe of metal, which surrounds the top stone E, and in which the said stone
is hung by pivots d, d, at right angles to the pivots b, b. The stono E is thus
hung in the same manner as the mariner's compass, and is free to oscillate to
a limited extent in any direction. In order to provide for a considerable vari-
ation in the clevation of the stone, I make in the rods a, a, several bearings e, c,
to receive the journals of the points b, b. The lower stone or runner F rests
upon and is secured to a flange f on the spindle G, and stands a short distance
above the table C. The bottom of the spindle rests in a step bearing 2 on the
bed plate A, and works in a guide box h, secured to the table C. The height

page_text: of the stone F is fixed, and the faces of the stones are adjusted at the proper
distances apart, to grind to the required degree of fineness, by raising or
lowering the rods a, a, as may be necessary; by means of the nuts i, i. The
suspension of the top stone by the adjustable rods a, a, enables another im-
portant duty to be performed, in addition to the adjustment of the stones to
grind at any degree of fineness, viz., the raising of the upper stone to admit
air between the faces of the stones to cool them off quickly when they become
heated, as they sometimes unavoidably will during the grinding process. In
grinding paint this is very important, as the heating of the stones is highly
injurious if the grinding be continued, and to some kinds of paint would be
almost entirely destructive; and if no facility were afforded for admitting air
freely between the stones, the grinding operation would require to be stopped
a long time, to enable them to cool every time they became heated, and much
delay would be the consequence; but when the stones are separated to some
distance apart, and plenty of air allowed to circulate between them, the time
occupied in cooling will be short. H is the adjustable hopper, by which the
paint mass is supplied to the millstones to be ground. The throat j of this
hopper is of a depth a little greater than the thickness of the top stone to the
opening or eye, in the centre of which it fits easily. A flange k extends all
round outside the top of the throat of the hopper, and in this flange are cut
a number of female screws to receive a corresponding number of male
screws 1, 1, which rest upon the top stone and support the hopper. By turning
the screws 1, 1, the hopper can be raised or lowered, to increase or diminish
the space between its bottom edges and the face of the runner F, and thus
regulate the feed; or, by allowing the hopper to come right down on the stone,
the feed may be entirely stopped. m, m, are the spiral blade feeders, such as
are frequently attached to the sides of mill spindles, for the purpose of forcing
the mass between the stones. Above these feeders m, m, is a spiral or twisted
blade x, which is secured to the top of the mill spindle and a little eccentric
thereto. This feeder extends nearly or quite to the top of the hopper, and
feeds the mass gradually down the hopper, and at the same time opens the
mass, to admit air into and among it, which is very desirable.
The furrows n, n, n', n', in the face of each stone are arranged in two series;
those n, n, of one series commencing at the eye of the stone, running longi-
tudinally towards the periphery, and terminating in points at a short distance
from the periphery; and those n', n', commencing at the periphery of the
stone, and running towards the eye in about the same directions as the
furrows n, n, and terminating at a short distance from the eye. The first-
described furrows n, n, receive the paint mass or other unground material,

page_text: and conduct it between the stones, and the others n', n'; deliver it ground.
This arrangement of furrows prevents the possibility of escape of any portion
without first passing across those parts of the faces of the stone between the
furrows, and ensures perfect grinding. N is the trough which surrounds the
lower stone and receives the ground paint. Its bottom is nearly level with
the top of the sides of the lower stone, and it is fitted closely to the stone
all round, and firmly secured, so that no paint can escape except at the proper
point of discharge, where it receives a fixed oblique scraper o, which is secured
to a fixed standard p, erected on the table C. This scraper fits to the interior
of the trough and nearly close to the sides of the stone. To the same
standard are attached two guards q and r, made of metal plate; the former
guard fitting nearly close to the periphery of the stone F, and preventing
the discharged material from running on to the periphery of and under
the stone F; and the latter, being arranged as represented in the Drawing,
for the purpose of preventing the material from being thrown off by centri-
fugal force as it is caused by the action of the scraper O to flow over
the trough, and both serving to conduct it downwards to a spout u, cast on
one side of the table C, down which it passes to any suitable receptacle.
L is the oil box for oiling the guide box h of the mill spindle, consisting of
a hollow cylinder, with an interior flanges, fitting to the spindle. It is
secured firmly to the spindle by a set screw t. The guide box h is turned to
fit easily into the upper part of the box L, while its upper part is surrounded
by a flange, which is bolted to the table C. There is a cavity between the
bottom of the guide box h and the interior flanges of the oil box, which
contains the oil for lubrication. The bottom of the oil box is packed by a
stuffing box v. The oil box revolves with the shaft, but the guide box entering
it causes a sufficient quantity of oil to be always carried up around that part
of the shaft within the guide box. The mill spindle receives motion by bevel
gearing from a horizontal shaft P...
.. I claim, '1rst, hanging the top stone. by pivots within a ring or frame c,
which is hung by pivots on the upright rods a, a, which are capable of ad-
justment by screws and nuts, or their equivalents, substantially as described,
whereby, while the top stone is free to accommodate itself to the lower stone
or runner, facility is at the same time afforded for raising it to allow the stones
to cool off, when necessary..
2d, the manner of fitting and adjusting the hopper, substantially as de-
scribed, for the purpose of regulating the feeding of the unground material
between the stones."
3d, the employment, in addition to the spiral blade feeders m, m, such as

page_text: are frequently employed in feeding mill stones, of an eccentric spiral blade x,
placed above the said blades m, m, and operating as set forth.
4th, making the faces of the stones with two series of furrows n, n,
and n', n', one series commencing at the eye and extending not quite to the
periphery, and the other commencing at the periphery and extending not quite
to the eye, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
5th, attaching the trough N, which receives the ground paint or material, to
the running stone F, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
6th, the peculiar arrangement and combination of the scraper o and the
guards 9 and r, as herein described and represented in the Drawings, for dis-
charging and conducting the discharge of the ground material from the trough
surrounding the runner F.
7th, the construction of the oil box L, so that it will receive within it
a portion of the guide box h, and will rotate with the spindle, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of January,
in the year of our Lord 1855.
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD.
A. E. LORADOUX DELLFORD.