IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES.
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Balk, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CRUSHING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES.'
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Balk at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
February 1855.
I, WILLIAM BALK, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CRUSHING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object so to arrange and combine crushing rollers
with other moving surfaces, in constructing machinery for crushing grain and
other substances, that the bearings of the axes of the crushing rollers may be
relieved from friction, and the crushing process be caused by rolling friction,
and this without depending on weight in the crushing rollers, as is the case
when employing edge stones; for which purpose revolving dises, plates, or
surfaces are combined with crushing rollers, and motion is given to the
revolving discs, plates, or surfaces, whilst the axes of the crushing rollers run.

page_text: free; each crushing roller, however, receiving surface pressure on opposite
sides of its axis, by two surfaces moving in opposite directions, or when one
surface is stationary, by the other pressing surface moving twice the distance
to that moved through by the central axis of the pressing roller.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Balk in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BALK, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Balk, Her special licence that I, the said William Balk, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Balk, 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, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING
GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Balk, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 William Balk, 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 thereof (that is to say):-
This Invention has for its object so to arrange and combine crushing rollers
with other moving surfaces, in constructing machinery for crushing grain and
other substances, that the bearings of the axes of the crushing rollers may be
relieved from friction, and the crushing process be caused by rolling friction,
and this without depending on weight in the crushing rollers, as is the case

page_text: when employing edge stones; for which purposes revolving discs, plates,
or surfaces are combined with crushing rollers, and motion is given to the
revolving discs, plates, or surfaces, whilst the axes of the crushing rollers run
free; each crushing roller, however, receiving surface pressure on opposite
sides of its axis by two surfaces moving in opposite directions, or when one
surface is stationary by the other pressing surface moving twice the distance to
that moved through by the central axis of the pressing roller.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
Figure 1 is a plan partly in section of a crushing mill, arranged according to
my Invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section; and Figures 3
and 4 are end elevations of the same.
a is the main axis, on to which is fixed the cast-iron cylinder b, on the ends
of which are formed discs or flanges c, c; d, d, is a lever frame which turns on
the centre e; this frame carries at its upper end two rollers f, f, turning in
brasses or steel bearings g, g, which slide in grooves in the frame d, so that
the rollers f, f, can slide to or from each other; h is a screw acting on the
back of the frame d, so as to hold the rollers f up to the discs c; i is a metal
hopper to which the slides k are attached. Two opposite sides of this hopper
fit against the sides of the rollers f, and there is a piece of metal across the
bottom of the hopper which rests close on and fits against the rollers f, f, so as
to prevent any part of the contents of the hopper from passing between these
rollers. The two ends of the hopper do not come down on to the rollers f;
but there is a space left between the edges of the ends and the rollers suffi-
cient to let the maximum feed pass, and these spaces are closed at will by the
slides k, which come down on and fit close against the rollers f. When the
slides are raised so as to let the material in the hopper descend, it passes
between the discs c, c, and the rollers f, f, and is crushed to an extent which is
regulated by the screw h. After being thus crushed, the material falls into
troughs 1, 1, which conduct it into the hollow or tubular part of the frame d,
from which it passes to the spout m, where it is discharged.
To the ends of the troughs 1 scrapers are attached which scrape the crushed
material off the discs c, and there are also scrapers attached to the frame d,
which scrape the under sides of the rollers f, f. The machine just described
may either be worked by hand or by a strap over the cylinder b.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the working parts of a machine somewhat

page_text: differently arranged. a is the axis on which is firmly fixed the disc b; c is a
disc which turns freely on the same axis; and d is a third disc, also on the
same axis, on which it can slide for a short distance, but cannot turn; e is a
nut which regulates the distance between the discs b and d, and therefore the
extent of the crushing; ff and f¹, f, are small rollers which are fixed in
a frame in a similar manner to the rollers f, f, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4; but
the frame which carries them is fixed in place of turning on an axis, as it
does in the machine first described. Over the rollers ff, and f,f¹, hoppers
are formed similar to the hopper already described; the hopper on one side
of the axis feeds the material to be crushed between the rollers f, f, and
the central disc c, and the hopper on the other side of the axis feeds the
material between the rollers f¹, f¹, and the discs 6 and d. This machine
may be driven by a band passing over the disc b. The crushed material
is discharged, and the discs and rollers are scraped 'as in the machine first
described.
Figure 6 is a vertical section of a machine similar to that last described,
but arranged horizontally. a is the axis; b, c, and d, are the discs; and e
is the nut; ff, ff, are the crushing rollers, of which there are six in each
tier, but this may be varied, as also the number of tiers. The crushing rollers
are mounted on radial arms which are attached to a collar on axis a. The
material to be crushed is fed into the hopper g, and falls on to the disc c
and is crushed by the rollers f¹; then the crushed material falls into the
trough h, from which it is brought under the lower rollers by scraper
attached to the radial axes of the crushing rollers; and when the rollers
have again passed over it, other scrapers discharge it through the holes i.
Figure 7 shows the manner in which I make the crushing rollers when the
material to be crushed is in large pieces; each roller is larger at its edges a
and 6 than at its centre c, where also the roller may be corrugated to assist it
in crushing the larger pieces.
Figure 8 is a side elevation, and Figure 9 is a cross section of another form
of apparatus on the same principle. a is an iron ring which is driven by a
strap which passes over it; b, c, and d are the crushing rollers which are
mounted in a frame in such a manner that the bearings of the rollers b and d
can slide to and from the centre of the ring a, but cannot move up or down,
and that the roller d can be set nearer to or farther from the line of centers of
the rollers 6 and d. The rollers move in the direction shown by the arrows,
and the crushing takes place at the points e and e', where hoppers are fixed in
the manner already described.
Having thus des cribed the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of

page_text: performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is, the combining
rotating crushing surfaces, as herein described, whereby the axes of the
crushing surfaces are releived from friction by reason of the crushing surfaces
receiving pressure on the sides opposite to those on which the crushing takes
place.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Balk, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
WM BALK. (L.S.)