IMPROVE- MENTS IN SUGAR CANE MILLS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Norman, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SUGAR CANE MILLS."-A Communication from abroad by
Thomas Hutchinson, residing in Porto Rico.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Norman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th April 1871.
I, JOHN NORMAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE MILLS" (which Invention has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Thomas Hutchinson, residing in Porto
Rico,) to be as follows, that is to say :—
This Invention has for its object the constructing of sugar cane mills
in a stronger, more durable, and more convenient manner than hercto-
fore, and is more particularly applicable to the ordinary type of mill
with three rollers.
Each frame check of the improved mill is made in a separate piece
from the bed frame, and of cast iron, malleable iron, or, as is preferred,

page_text: of steel. Horizontal surfaces are formed at the lower parts of each
cheek to receive the brass bearing blocks of the two lower rollers, which
can in consequence be rolled into or out of their places instead of having
to be lifted, as in ordinary mills. The middles of the checks rise up
and are enlarged at their upper parts to receive the bearing blocks
of the upper roller and it is one advantage of the construction that
the lower rollers can be got. nearer together, which is better for the
action of the mill. A massive cap, by preference of malleable iron, is
placed over each check, and is made broad enough to extend over the
bearings of the lower rollers, whilst massive lateral retaining bars, also
by preference of malleable iron, are placed vertically against the checks
fore and aft, and are secured by strong horizontal bolts. The lateral
retaining bars are checked at their tops into the caps and at their
bottoms into the projecting sides of the checks, and they bind all the
parts firmly together. In some cases the lateral retaining bars are also
checked into sockets in the bed frame and are wedged therein, whereby
some of the horizontal thrust is taken off the bolts. The rollers are
made without the usual flanges, but are fitted with their ends working
close to the checks, which last are faced on their inner sides at the
parts meeting the roller ends.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Norman in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 5th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
NORMAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Norman, Her special licence that I, the
said John Norman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Norman, my executors, 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,

page_text: should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE MILLS"
(a communication to me from abroad by Thomas Hutchinson, residing
in Porto Rico), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Norman, my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands 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 montlis
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Norman, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say :—
The said Invention has for its object the constructing of sugar canc
mills in a stronger, more durable, and more convenient manner than
heretofore, and is more particularly applicable to the ordinary type of
mill with three rollers.
And in order that the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to and representing two
modifications of the improved mills.
Figuro 1 is a plan; Figure 2 a transverse vertical section; and
Figure 3 a sectional side elevation of one modification of the improved
sugar cane mill.
The machine comprises a massive rectangular cast-iron bed frame 1
on which are fixed, two frame checks 2, these cheeks being in separate
picces from the bed frame and of cast iron, malleable iron, or, as is
preferred, of steel. Horizontal surfaces 3, 3, are formed at the lower
parts of each check 2 to receive the brass bearing blocks 4, 4, of the
two lower rollers 5, 5, which rollers can in consequence be rolled into
or out of their places instead of having to be lifted as in ordinary mills.
5 The middles of the checks 2 rise up and are enlarged at their upper
parts 6 to receive the bearing blocks 7 of the upper roller S, and it is
one advantage of the construction that the lower rollers 5, 5, can be
got nearer together than ordinarily, which is better for the action of

page_text: the mill. A massive cap 9, by preference of malleable iron, is placed
over each check 2, and is made broad enough to extend over the
bearings 4, 4, of the lower rollers 5, 5, whilst massive lateral retaining
bars 10, 10, also by preference of malleable iron, are placed vertically
against the checks 2 fore and aft, and are secured thereto by strong 5
horizontal bolts 11, 12. The lateral retaining bars 10, 10, are checked
at their tops and at their bottoms to fit upon and clasp the caps 9, and
the laterally projecting parts of the bottoms of the checks 2 and they
bind all the parts firmly together.
In a second modification shown in transverse vertical section in 1
Figure 4, the lateral retaining bars 10, 10, are also checked into sockets
13 formed in the bed frame 1 and are wedged therein, whereby some
of the horizontal thrust is taken off the bolts. In some cases the
rollers 5, 5, 8, are made without the usual flanges but are fitted with
their ends working close to the checks 2, which last are in such cases 1
faced on their inner sides at the parts meeting the roller ends.
Having thus particularly described the said Invention and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself
to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
believe to be novel and claim as the Invention secured to me by the 2
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The arranging or combining together of the parts of sugar cane
mills in the improved manner, substantially as herein described and
delineated.
2. The applying of the steel or malleable iron checks 2 as herein-before 2
described.
3. The combining of the lateral retaining bars 10 with the caps 9 and
chocks, so as at each side of the machine to unite the bearings of the
three rollers in one binding arrangement as lierein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Norman, have hereunto set 3
my hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
JOHN NORMAN. (L.S.)