Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 13th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 14th Jan., 1887.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:
-
This Invention relates to apparatus for sorting or separating pulverulent or granular
materials according to the size or density of the particles or granules and it consists in
the employment of a current of air in combination with apparatus constructed and
operating as hereinafter explained.
The said apparatus is constructed with a tube or cylinder rotating on a horizontal
or slightly inclined axis. This cylinder is provided internally with longitudinal
shelves projections or blades either straight or arranged helically or otherwise
relatively to the axis of the cylinder. The materials to be sorted or separated are
introduced into the cylinder continuously or otherwise and as the latter revolves the
internal blades or projections continually carry up or elevate the materials in the
cylinder and allow them to fall back or down at or near the centre in thin streams.
A current of air produced by a fan or other suitable means such as the draught of a
furnace for example is caused to pass through the cylinder at the same time. The
speed or power of this air current is regulated according to the size and weight of the
grains or particles to be acted upon and all the sufficiently fine or light grains or
particles are thereby separated from the coarse or heavy parts and blown into a
chamber where they are regularly deposited according to their density. The materials
are introduced at one end of the cylinder and the coarse or heavy parts which are not
carried away by the current of air are delivered at the opposite end. The action is
continuous and sieves of wire gauze cloth perforated metal or the like are dispensed
with. This apparatus may be employed with great advantage in cement works but is
evidently applicable to the sorting or separating of granular or pulverulent materials
of all descriptions.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.

page_text: .
Improvements in Apparatus for Sorting or Separating Pulverulent
or Granular Materials..
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention which has been communi-
cated to me from abroad by Jean Baptiste Felix Trolliet of Paris in the Republic of
France Cement Manufacturer, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to apparatus for sorting or separating pulverulent or granular
materials according to size or density of the particles or granules and it consists in the
employment of a current of air in combination with apparatus constructed and
operating as hereinafter explained.
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 section and
figure 2 a transverse section of an apparatus constructed according to this invention.
This apparatus is composed of a tube or cylinder B of sheet metal or other suitable
material carried on a shaft A which may be arranged to rotate either horizontally or
in a slightly inclined position. The length and diameter of the cylinder B depend
upon the quantity and nature of the materials. The cylinder is provided internally
with longitudinal shelves projections or blades D arranged radially on the interior of
the cylinder and attached to the sides by any suitable means. About two inches is a
convenient width for these internal projections or shelves which are arranged helically
or otherwise around the cylinder at intervals of about four inches the number of such
projections or shelves being increased or diminished according to the dimensions of the
cylinder. Radiating arms keyed on the shaft A support the drum or cylinder B
and motion is imparted to the apparatus by a pulley E (figure 1) on the aforesaid
shaft.
The object of the projections or shelves D is to continually carry up or elevate the
materials to be sifted which are distributed throughout the entire length of the
cylinder and to allow them to fall back or down in thin streams from the upper part of
the cylinder. A current of air produced by a fan or other suitable means, such as the
draught of a furnace for example, is caused to pass longitudinally through the cylinder
at the same time, so that the lighter particles or granules are carried away and
deposited in different positions according to their size and density.
•
In order to obtain this result in a most effectual manner the cylinder B is caused to
partake of a suitable rotary motion and if required the axis of the cylinder may be
slightly inclined towards the outlet or discharging end. This enables the apparatus to
clear itself or deliver the materials automatically and to act with the utmost regularity.
By means of the current of air, the speed or power of which is regulated according to
the nature of the imaterials under treatment, all the fine or light grains or particles are

page_text: separated from the coarse or heavy parts and blown into a chamber where they are
regularly deposited according to their size and density, being thus sorted with a
degree of completeness depending only on the length or capacity of the said chamber.
The coarser parts are discharged from the cylinder in any suitable manner and may
be subjected to a crushing or grinding process if desired.
The combination of the shelves projections or blades placed in a revolving cylinder
in a longitudinal or slightly helical position, the said blades serving to maintain the
materials continually elevated and divided, and allowing them to fall back in thin
streams throughout the entire length of the apparatus, with a fan or blower in order
to sort or separate the materials constitutes an essential feature of the invention.
A separating cylinder arranged as illustrated in the drawing, being for example
about six feet long and eighteen inches in diameter, with fifteen shelves D, is capable
of treating about a ton and a half of cement per hour. These dimensions are merely
given as an example and may be varied according to the nature of the materials and
the scale on which the operation is to be performed.
The fans or blowers employed to produce the current of air may be arranged to act
either by pressure or exhaust, and in the case of cement works the draft of the
chimney may be conveniently utilized to produce the current. The source from
which the current is obtained has no influence on the result, provided that the power
or speed of the current is sufficient to produce the required effect. The strength
of the current must be increased in proportion to the weight and coarseness of the
materials.
A separating apparatus arranged and operating as hereinbefore described presents
numerous, advantages as hereinafter set forth, over the sifting apparatus ordinarily
employed.
In dealing with heavy materials such as cement, baryta, metallic oxides and the like,
when they have to be obtained in a fine powder the sieves made of brass, iron or steel
wire, all of which are equally liable to be choked, last a very little time, to say nothing
of silk.
A coarso
They require frequent renewal, say about once a month or nearly so.
sieve of strong wire or perforated metal is sometimes employed, over the fine sieve, in
order to prevent the coarser parts from wearing away the latter, but notwithstanding
this protection the fine sieves are found to be very liable to excessive wear and tear.
In order to repair a machine having say 150 or 200 bands of gauze or cloth the mill
and all parts connected therewith have to be stopped and this takes place every time
that the coarse grains coming through the sieve show that the latter is torn or
damaged. In many cases it is necessary to brush or clean the sieves or cylinders
several times a day. Various contrivances have been employed for effecting this, such
as brushes operated by hand or stationary or revolving brushes which wear out
rapidly or tappets or contrivances with counterweights for shaking the sieves in order
to assist their action by blows more or less frequently repeated and which generally
have the effect of ultimately loosening and displacing them.
The cost of the cylinder of a sifting or separating apparatus working according to
this invention is comparatively trifling, the chief expense is the fan and depositing
chamber. In hydraulic works the cost of the fan is not great. Once erected however
there is no occasion to incur further expenses or to readjust the apparatus when the
air current has once been properly regulated. By employing a long depositing
chamber the product is obtained in all gradations of fineness down to the most
impalpable powder according to the distance from the cylinder. These different
qualities of product may be removed either separately or together. The apparatus
acts with great regularity without any appreciable wear without stoppages or waste of
time and owing to the difference in density it is impossible for the coarse parts to get
mixed with the fine in the slightest degree.
The advantage of being able to sift materials in a damp or moist condition is of
great importance. Such materials are liable to choke the meshes of ordinary sieves
which require shaking and brushing in order to clear them. With apparatus acting
according to this invention it is simply necessary to increase the speed of the air to a

page_text: corresponding extent in order to treat such materials without difficulty provided of
course that they are merely damp or moist but not absolutely wet.
The motive power required to operate this improved apparatus is in-considerable.
A cylinder eighteen inches in diameter running at the rate of thirty revolutions per
minute has from about twenty to twenty five pounds of materials say cement for
example inside it at a time. This weight has to be raised only to the extent of about
nine inches in the apparatus which with its shaft weighs about 14 cwt. The
cylindrical sifting machines ordinarily employed are from 6 to 10 feet in length and
are usually about 3 feet in diameter. They are provided with a double cloth or
covering, require very strong supports and weigh about 7 cwt. They contain about
14 cwt of materials and the motive power required to drive them is greater than that
required for a fan producing a corresponding effect.
This improved apparatus is capable of dealing with coarsely or finely ground
materials by simply regulating the current of air accordingly without other modifi-
cation. This is an important advantage not possessed by machines with sieves and
the degree of fineness of the product can be obtained with precision by slightly
modifying the speed of the fan. The commercial value of certain products may be
doubled by increasing their degree of fineness. The value of cements, lime, plaster,
baryta, chalks, colours etc. may likewise be considerably augmented and the apparatus
may also be applied with advantage to the treatment of flour and like products."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :
An apparatus for sorting or separating granular or pulverulent materials consisting
essentially of a hollow cylinder revolving upon a horizontal or slightly inclined axis
and provided internally with shelves projections or blades acting in combination with
a current of air produced by a fan or otherwise whereby the dust or finer particles or
grains are blown into a chamber where they are deposited in order of density
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.