IMPROVEMENTS IN SIFTING OR SEPARATING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SIFTING OR SEPARATING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN." (A communication from abroad by Henri Cabanes, of Paris, in the
Republic of France.)
Sealed the 26th November 1878, and dated the 13th June 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th June 1878.
"
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. IMPROVEMENTS IN SIFTING OR SEPARATING, AND IN THE MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." A communication from abroad by Henri
Cabanes, of Paris, in the Republic of France, Engineer.
This Invention relates to a machine to be employed for sifting (purifying and
separating) products and sub-products obtained by the conversion of cereals, or in
any processes in which it is required to treat granulous or farinaceous substances
composed of granules or particles of nearly equal volume, and differing ouly in
their density.
The Invention consists of a novel combination by means of which the objections
to mechanical separators of known construction are overcome, without however
impairing the efficiency of the means employed, or affecting the satisfactory
character of the results obtained, whilst the machine embodying the said Invention
combines moreover the advantage of being capable of being worked by hand with the
advantages of those machines which require power to drive them. In order to obtain
this result it was necessary to eliminate all the mechanical parts which, apart from
those required for the movement of the sifter or separator, are usually employed for
the compression and delivery of an abundant and effective supply of air, and which
consequently involve combinations of means of a costly character, subject to wear
[Price 6d1

page_text: on account of the high speed employed, and presenting moreover numerous
frictional surfaces liable to become heated, and involving the expenditure of
additional power.
An important feature of the Invention consists in means whereby a suitable
variable quantity of air is obtained by the action of the sieve or separator itself
without the employment of indirect mechanical appliances for the supply of air,
and without surplus and useless compression. This result is attained by the aid of
a single "auto-pneumatic" box delivering a steady supply of air at a uniform
pressure, and which is incapable of supplying air in a greater or less quantity
than the amount required, so that there is consequently no useless expenditure of
power.
In order to prevent the adherence of the substances operated upon, and the
consequent obstruction of the interstices of the separator, it is proposed to employ
a set of beaters of stretched cords, working automatically, and serving at certain
intervals, which may be regulated as required, to liberate the pores of the silk from
the obstructions caused by the heavier parts, which it is not intended that the air
elioukl lift, but which are effected by the motion imparted by the compressed air
and the movements of the separator to the substances under treatment. These
beaters act conjointly with and in the same upward direction as the compressed air,
so that a shock is produced which takes effect throughout the whole thickness of
the layer of substance under treatment, and at the same time the air, having always
the same elastic force, immediately removes the microscopic particles which adhere
by reason of their form to the equally microscopic irregularities in the apertures or
passages in the silk or leathers. By this arrangement the lighter parts, which at a
given moment might have been dragged down by the constant fall of the heavier
parts, are continually maintained at a distance from the surface of the sieve or
separator either by the action of the air or of the beaters, the shock imparted by
the latter being capable of being adjusted at will.
The escape of the air charged with the lighter or farinaceous portions causes
an evaporation, which requires to be provided for this purpose the auto-
pneumatic box is covered by a framework of wood, covered with sheet metal or
cloth on the upper side for the sake of lightness. This air-tight cover, which is
capable of being raised or lowered at will by means of hinges, is terminated at the
end of the frame in the form of a rectangular tube, which may be of any length, as
it requires to communicate according to the place in which the auto-pneumatic
separator is established, with a special case or receptacle, or with the passages of the
ordinary exhauster employed in all mills for the purpose of depositing the parts
which are heavier than the air which carries them, whether such parts are drawn
out of the tube by the general exhauster of the mill or whether the current of
escaping air produced by the auto-pneumatic box is caused to direct them to any
locality most convenient for the manufacturer.
This
The auto-pneumatic box, which forms an essential feature of the Invention, is
moved by springs and an eccentric shaft, which impart to it an oval motion.
box is composed of 4 unperforated sides and a bottom perforated with any con-
venient number of holes of any suitable size and shape. These holes are covered
internally with slips of leather or india-rubber cloth of larger diameter, and secured
at one side so as to act as valves. In addition to these holes there are provided in
the said bottom 4 transverse openings for the passage of the substance under treat-
ment, as herein-after described.
A chamber for containing and compressing air is formed in the centre of the box,
in which is a working or separating table, to which an alternate ascending and
descending motion is imparted by springs and the eccentric shaft before referred to,
whereby the said separating table is caused to move inside the auto-pneumatic box
and in an opposite direction to the latter. This table forms a detached false bottom
of the box, as herein-after described.
The valves in the bottom of the auto-pneumatic box are provided with slides
for the purpose of adjusting the size of the orifice through which the air is drawn.

page_text: Between the separating table and the bottom of the box are provided transverse
passages formed of leather or cloth connecting the openings in the table with the
4 openings formed in the fixed bottom of the box. These passages serve, 1st, to
guide the substance under treatment on the table to outlet hoppers situate at the
lower extremity of the said passages; and 2ndly, to prevent any admission of
external air or any escape of the air which has been collected and compressed in
the auto-pneumatic box. The eccentric shaft before referred to imparts notion to
all the working parts of the machine. The small hoppers direct the purified
products into shoots serving for the discharge of the said products.
Two transverse axes are employed, each provided with three arins, hooked at
their extremities to loops, which are attached to short tubes, through which gut
cords are passed, the latter being stretched over bars, which hold them up level with
the under side of a sieve, arranged as herein-after described. The cords are con-
nected at one extremity to a roller provided with a ratchet wheel and pawl for the
purpose of enabling the cords to be tightened. These cords are covered with wire
and carried over bars, and wound upon the roller before mentioned.
The axes are provided at one extremity with levers, one of which has a prolon
gation bent at right angles, and a stop is provided for the purpose of limiting the
extent of the vibration of the cords.
An endless chain, carried upon a toothed wheel and grooved wheel, imparts
motion to the axes by means of a tappet carried on a plate substituted for one of
the links in the said chain coming in contact as the chain is carried slowly round
the wheel with the prolongation on the lever, causing it to describe a small are of a
circle. This motion is communicated to the other lever by means of a connecting
rod and to the gut cords by means of the arms and tubular eyes, which describe an
arc corresponding to that described by the arins, and draw the cords down at the
two points where it is connected to the arms. As soon as the tappet on the chain
releases the projection on the arm, the elasticity of the cords causes them to fly up
suddenly, striking the under side of the stationary sieve and drawing all the parts
connected with them back to their original position until the tappet on the chain
comes again in contact with the prolongation, when the same movements aro
repeated, and so on in succession. The shock applied to the silk or leather by each
blow of the cords liberates the deposits, dust, or other particles adhering to it from
its under to its upper surface, and which might otherwise obstruct the pores. Tho
sieve before mentioned, which is fitted with silk or leather, rests upon a wooden
frame situate inside the pneumatic box forming the upper edges of the same.
The supporting frame of the sieve is covered with a strip of zinc shaped to an
obtuse angle. The inclined portion of this strip is provided with holes near the
upper part for the passage of the air which is compressed in the chamber of the
pneumatic box, and the said frame is bent over at the lower part throughout its
whole length in such a manner as to receive and fix a band or strip of leather or
cloth, which covers a rail fastened to the sides of the working table, constituting a
frame to the latter, and to which it is attached on all sides.
The perforated strip of zinc inay be replaced by a strip of cloth, allowing the
whole of the air to pass underneath, according to the nature of the work which tho
separator is required to perform.
A strip of leather or cloth forms a counter valve. This strip, when employed in
substitution for the strip of zinc, is placed upon a rail situate below the one on the
supporting frame and the beater mechanism."
The working table is supported upon legs passing through the auto-pneumatic
box, and jointed at their lower extremities to the ends of the springs secondly
mentioned.
A cover formed of cloth or canvas of suitable texture is fitted on to the upper
edges of the vertical sides of the sieve, and covers in the same for say five-sevenths
of its length, leaving open a space at one end between the head of the sieve and the
base of a hopper. The other end of the cover extends beyond the sieve, and
terminates in a rectangular tube of any required length, for the purpose of carrying

page_text: away from the apparatus the fine particles, dust, or lighter portions carried up by
the draft of air supplied by the pneumatic box, which having passed through the
silk or leather of the sieve and the layer of substance under treatment, is forced
out by the draft of air established at the end of the sieve.
An iron bracket made in two pieces transmits motion from the eccentric shaft to
the working table or reporter.
Supplementary blowers or bellows are employed in certain cases for the purpose
of increasing the supply and pressure of air in the pneumatic box. These supple-
mentary bellows, which form part of the box, and are capable of being removed
when desired, are provided with valves having adjustable openings for the admission
of air similar to the arrangement described with reference to the valves of the
pneumatic box itself. They are composed of two perforated bottoms, the lower one
of which is provided with valves and connected to the upper one by cloth or leather,
forming the sides of the bellows. The lower bottom is also secured to the stationary
part of the machine in order to obtain the requisite action.
t.
An arrangement of bars is provided to ensure the parallelism which should
always exist between the surface of the separator table and the sieve.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
December 1878.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SIFTING OR SEPARATING, AND IN THE MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," A communication from abroad by Henri
Cabanes, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
The said Invention relates to a machine which the inventor proposes to designate
"Cabanes Auto-pneumatic Sifter," to be employed for sifting (purifying and
separating) products and sub-products obtained by the conversion of cereals, or in
any processes in which it is required to treat granulous or farinaceous substances
composed of granules or particles of nearly equal volume, and differing only in
their density.
It has been ascertained that a considerable saving is effected by the employment
of mechanical separators, but their general use has hitherto been retarded from
various causes, among which may be enumerated the following, videlicet:-
First. The complicated nature of the machines as at present constructed renders
them very costly.
Second. The machines hitherto supplied being constructed with a view to cheap-
ness in first cost, in addition to being of a complicated nature, do not yield satis-
factory results.
Third. Many manufacturers have not sufficient motive power at command, without
which it is impossible to work the machines effectively as at present constructed;

page_text: there being no nechanical separators worked by hand capable of giving practical
advantages.
Now by means of the apparatus constructed according to the said Invention the
objections herein-before recited are overcome, without however impairing the
efficiency of the means employed or affecting the satisfactory character of the
results obtained. Moreover, the advantage of the apparatus being capable of being
worked by hand is combined with the advantages of those machines which require
power to drive them. In order to obtain this result it was necessary to eliminate
all the mechanical parts which, apart from those required for the movement of the
separator, are usually employed for the compression and delivery of an abundant
and effective supply of air, and which consequently involve combinations of means
of a costly character subject to wear on account of the high speed employed, and
presenting moreover numerous frictional surfaces liable to become heated, and
entailing the expenditure of additional power.
An important feature of the said Invention consis. in the means whereby a
suitable variable quantity of air is obtained by the action of the separator itself
without the employment of indirect mechanical appliances for the supply of air,
and without surplus and useless compression. This result is attained by the aid of
a simple "auto-pneumatic" box delivering a steady supply of air at a uniform
pressure, and which is incapable of supplying air in a greater or less quantity
than the amount required, so that there is consequently no useless expenditure of
power.
The dispensing with the mechanisın for producing a current of air necessarily
involves, first, economy in the construction; second, reduction of the mechanical
motivo power required, which has hitherto been so great as to prevent separators
from being practically worked by hand.
But although the ascensional action of the air collected and compressed in the
auto-pneumatic box passing through the layer of substances under treatment upon
the separator carries up the lighter portions of the same, yet the form of certain
parts, whether light or heavy, will cause them to adhere to the pores of the silk or
leather with which the frame is fitted, and unless removed would ultimately obstruct
the apertures which the surface of the sieve is required to present for the passage of
the grits, the operation would then be carried on under unfavourable conditions, since
the pressure of air (which should only take effect upon the lighter portions) cannot
be increased sufficiently to remove the obstructions, as such a degree of pressure
being too high would prejudice the separating or sifting process. This difficulty is
overcome by providing a set of beaters consisting of stretched cords working
automatically, and serving at certain intervals, which may be regulated as required,
to liberate the pores of the silk from the obstructions caused by the heavier parts,
which it is not intended that the air should lift, but which are affected by the
rolling or turning motion imparted by the compressed air and the movement of the
separator to the substances under treatment. These beaters act conjointly with and
in the same upward direction as the compressed air, so that a shock is produced
which takes effect throughout the whole thickness of the layer of substance under
treatment, and at the same time the air, having always the same elastic force, imme-
diately removes the microscopic particles which adhere by reason of their form to
the equally microscopic irregularities in the apertures or passages in the silk or
leathers. By this arrangement the lighter parts which at a given moment might
have been carried down by the constant fall of the heavier parts are continually
maintained at a distance from the surface of the sieve or separator either by the
action of the air or of the beaters, the shock imparted by the latter being capable of
adjustment at will.
The escape of the air charged with light or farinaceous particles causes an evapo-
ration, which requires to be regulated. For this purpose the auto-pneumatic box is
covered by a frainework of wood covered on the upper side with sheet metal or cloth
for the sake of lightnesss. This air-tight cover, which is provided with hinges so as
to be capable of being raised or lowered at will, is terminated at the end of the

page_text: frame in the form of a rectangular tube, which may be of any suitable length, as it
requires to communicate according to the place in which the auto-pneumatic
separator is established with a special case or receptacle, or with the passages of the
ordinary exhauster employed in all mills, for the purpose of depositing the parts
which are heavier than the air which carries them, whether such parts are drawn
out of the tube by the general exhauster of the mill or whether the current of
escaping air produced by the auto-pneumatic box is caused to direct them to any
locality most convenient for the manufacturer employing the apparatus.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section
of the sifter or separator; Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same taken along
the line 1, 2, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation; Figure 4 is a transverse section
taken along the line 3, 4, Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a plan of the legs or supports
of the separator.
A is an auto-pneumatic box moved by springs R and by a crank shaft E, which
impart to it an oval motion. This box is composed of 4 unperforated sides and a
bottom perforated with any convenient number of holes of any suitable size and
shape. These holes are covered internally with slips of leather or india-rubber
cloth of larger diameter, and secured at one side so as to act as valves. Indepen-
dently of these holes there are provided in the said bottom four transverse openings
for the passage of the substance under treatment, as herein-after described. The
interior of the box A forms a chamber a for containing and compressing air, and in
it is placed a working or separating table B, to which an alternately ascending and
descending motion is imparted by springs T and the shaft E, which cause it to move
inside the auto-pneumatic box A, and in an opposite direction to the latter. This
table forms a detached false bottom of the box A, as herein-after described.
In the bottom of the auto-pneumatic box A are provided numerous valves C, which
may vary with regard to their number, form, and dimensions, and are provided with
slides c for the purpose of adjusting the size of orifice through which the air is
drawn.
The openings in the table or separator B are connected with the four openings
formed in the fixed bottom of the box A by means of passages D formed of leather
or cloth. These passages serve, first, to guide the substance under treatment on the
table to outlet hoppers F, situate at the lower extremity of the passages D; and
secondly, to prevent any admission of external air or any escape of the air which
has been collected and compressed in the auto-pneumatic box A. The shaft E,
provided with cranks, imparts motion to all the working parts of the machine.
The small hoppers F direct the purified products into shoots G serving for the dis-
charge of the said products. Hare two transverse axes, each of which is provided
with three arms I hooked at their extremities to loops attached to short tubes J,
through which latter are passed gut cords K stretched over bars i, which hold them
up level with the under side of a sieve O. The cords K are connected at one
extremity to a roller ', provided with a ratchet wheel and detent, for the
purpose of enabling the cords to be tightened. These cords are covered with wire
and carried over the bars i and wound upon the roller i'.
The axes H are provided at one extremity with levers L, L', Figure 3, one of
which, videlicet, the lever L, has a prolongation / bent at right angles, and a stop l'
is employed for the purpose of limiting the extent of the vibration of the cords K.
An endless chain M, carried upon toothed wheels N, N¹, imparts motion to tho
axes E by means of a tappet carried on a plate substituted for one of the links in
the said chain, coming in contact as the chain is carried slowly round the wheel N
with the prolongation on the lever L, causing it to describe a small arc of a circle.
This motion is communicated to the other lever L' by means of a connecting rod m,
and to the gut cords K by means of the arms I and tubular eyes J, which describo

page_text: an are corresponding to that deribed by the arms L, L', and draw the cords down
at the two points where it is ected to the arms I. As soon as the tappet on the
chain M releases the ojection on the arm L the elasticity of the cords causes
them to fly up suddenly, striking the under side of the sieve O, and drawing all the
parts connected with them back to their original position, until the tappet on the
chain comes again in contact with the prolongation 1, when the same movements are
repeated, and so on in succession. The shock applied to the silk or leather by each
blow of the cords K has the effect of freeing it from dust or other particles or
deposits adhering to it, and which might otherwise obstruct the pores. N", Figure 3,
are the driving wheels of this mechanism. The sieve O, fitted with silk or leather,
rest on a wooden frame P situate inside the auto-pneumatic box A. This frame is
covered with a strip of zinc Q, shaped to an obtuse angle. The inclined portion of
this strip is provided with holes near the upper part for the passage of the air
which is compressed in the interior a of the pneumatic box A, and the said strip is
bent over at the lower part throughout its whole length in such a manner as to
receive and fix a band or strip of leather or cloth which covers a rail fastened to
the sides of the table B, constituting a frame to the latter, and to which it is
attached on all sides.
The perforated strip Q of zinc may be replaced by a strip of cloth, allowing the
whole of the air to pass underneath according to the nature of the work which
the separator is required to perform.
A strip S of leather or cloth forms a counter valve. This strip, when employed
in substitution for the strip Q of zinc, is placed upon a rail situate below one on the
frame P and the beater mechanism H; tare rails upon which the strip S of cloth
is applied.
The table B is supported upon legs U passing through the auto-pneumatic box,
and jointed at their lower extremities to the ends of the springs T.
A cover V forined of cloth or canvas of suitable texture is fitted on to the upper
edges of the vertical sides of the sieve O, and covers in the same for say about five-
sevenths of its length, leaving opon a space at one end between the head of the
sieve and the base of a hopper v. The other end of the cover extends beyond the
sieve, and terminates in a rectangular tube of any required length for the purpose
of conveying away from the apparatus the fine particles, dust, or lighter portions
carried up by the draft of air supplied by the pneumatic box A, which having
passed through the silk or leather of the sieve O and the layer of substance under
treatment, is forced out by the draft of air established at the end of the sieve O.
Motion is imparted from the shaft E to the table or separator B by means of an
arm X made in two pieces.
Supplementary blowers or bellows Y are employed in certain cases for the purpose
of increasing the supply and pressure of air in the pneumatic box. These supple-
mentary bellows (which form part of the box A, and are capable of being removed
when desired) are provided with valves having adjustable openings y for the
admission of air similar to the arrangement described with reference to the valves
of the pneumatic box itself. They are composed of two perforated bottoms, the
lower one of which is provided with valves and connected to the upper one by cloth
or leather, forming the sides of the bellows. The lower bottom is also secured to
the stationary part of the machine in order to obtain the requisite action.
Devices Z,, are provided for the purpose of ensuring the paralellism which should
always exist between the surface of the table B and the sieve O.
The said Invention is applicable to the separation of all substances for which
similar conditions to those herein-before referred to are required to be fulfilled, such,
for example, as flour, grits or groats, semolina, grain, or other granular substances,
including fine ores.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,

page_text: and therefore claim as the Invention secuted to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, is,-
First. The peculiar arrangement of the auto-pneumatic bo supplying air under
a uniform and steady pressure, substantially as berein-before described.
Second. The combination of the said auto-pneumatic box with the accessory parts
of the apparatus, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my Specifi-
cation set my hand and seal, the Ninth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-eight.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)