Improvements in the Action and Construction of Continuous Feed Centrifugal Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 30th June, 1891-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Action and Construction of Continuous Feed
Centrifugal Machines.
JAMES HARRISON CARTER of 82 Mark Lane, in the City of London, Milling
Engineer & BERTRAM CHATTERTON of 44 Rye Hill Park, Peckham Rye, in the
County of Surrey, Milling Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our said invention relates to machines in which centrifugal force is utilized to
separate liquids from solids, as instanced in the drying of wheat, all kinds of grain
and granular bodies generally.
In the machines hitherto used for that purpose, there has been no absolute
control over the material operated upon and no power of varying the action of the
machine to suit the varying conditions of the material.
Our machine is constructed on the following plan. A spindle is supported upon
two bearings, and to it is keyed a cylindrical revolving drum, open at one end.
Inside the latter is placed another drum filling up all the interior space, and having
on its outside a screw or helix. The axis of this is a sleeve, supported by suitable
bearings on the spindle of the first mentioned drum, which can be rotated
independently.
The feed is introduced in the centre, on the outside of the interior drum, it passes
down a conical interior surface, and is delivered on to the inside of the outside
drum; thence it is wormed along, at a rate which depends upon the difference in
the number of revolutions of inside and outside drums, from the one end to the other
of the outside drum, and then flies off and is caught in an exterior fixed casing
fitted with worms or other means for carrying away the dried product.
The outside case is perforated with suitable holes which allows the liquid portion
of the feed to escape.
Another plan is to have the interior worm eccentric to the outside drum, and
only of about of the inside interior space in diameter. In the remaining 1, a
In this plan,
worm or other conveyor may bring the feed to the back of the drum.
as in the former, the time during which the feed is in the mill depends upon the
difference in velocity at the outside of the rotating drum, and the tip of the worm
blade.
Instead of a continuous worm on the inside drum, a series of spirally placed pegs,
plates, metallic or other bristles may be employed.
In order to prevent damage to particles being dried, or otherwise separated from
fluids the outside drum may be made slightly conical, so as partially to relieve the
worm, or regulator of end thrust during the process of regulating the movement of
the particles being acted upon by centrifugal force.
This machine may be made with either a horizontal, vertical, or inclined axis.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1890.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Action and Construction of Continuous Feed
Centrifugal Machines.
We JAMES HARRISON CARTER of 82 Mark Lane in the City of London and
BERTRAM CHATTERTON of 44 Rye Hill Park Peckham Rye in the County of
Surrey both Flour Milling Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our said invention relates to machines in which centrifugal force is utilized to
separate liquids from solids, as instanced in the drying of wheat, all kinds of grain,
and granular bodies generally.
In the machines hitherto used for that purpose there has been no absolute control
over the material operated upon and no power of varying the action of the machine
to suit the varying conditions of the material.
Our machine is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1. shows the machine partly in section and partly in elevation.
Fig. 2. is a plan of the base plate on which the machine rests, showing the
construction of the lower spring bearing.
Fig. 3. is a plan of the interior disc through which the wheat passes.
In these A is a fixed spout through which the grain, or other material to be
acted upon, passes; it then falls on to the centre of a rotating disc B which is
keyed to a vertical rotating shaft J. This shaft is supported in a spherical
bearing K which can move in all directions in its seating. The standard L takes
the weight of the whole rotating part of the machine. The shaft is steadied in the
lower bearing M which is held centrally in the base plate by the compression of
3 springs N. Surrounding the rotating shaft.J is placed a sleeve I which has bushed
bearings and capable of rotating on it. To this sleeve I is keyed another disc C.
To the disc B is rivetted or otherwise connected a conical drum D having on its
outside a metallic helix or screw E. To the disc C is attached a perforated sheet
metal conical drum F. The shaft and sleeve are rotated at a high speed
independently by the two pullies O & P. The inside or outside drum may rotate
the faster of the two.
The whole machine is surrounded by an outside case which is supported upon
columns bolted to the base plate.
Now the action of the machine is as follows. The wheat or other grain passes
through suitably made passages in the upper rotating disc as shown in section in
Fig. 1. and plan in Fig. 3. and is thrown out by centrifugal force and falls on to
the lower rotating plate and then passes out between the two drums. Whilst
passing between the drums it is subjected to the separating action of centrifugal
force.
It is an essential thing that the drums should be a little conical, as the radial
and outward centrifugal force can be resolved in two directions, a force at right
angles to the surface of the drum and a sliding component parallel to it; the latter
of which tends to make the grain pass along the drum.
The function of the interior rotating helix is to regulate the outward movement
of the grain and to assist the sliding component of the centrifugal force. A conical
drum requires much less power to drive because the helix has very little more work
to do than that of regulation.
Instead of a continuous worm on the inside drum a series of spirally placed pegs,
plates, metallic or other bristles may be employed; and pegs, plates or bristles
placed other than spirally will do, but the spiral form gives the best result and
gives a fixed rate of flow to the material. By altering the speeds of the sleeve and
interior shaft, the rate of delivery of material may be changed and consequently
the time during which it is under the action of centrifugal force. In the centrifugal

page_text: separating machines now used for separating water from grain, the time the material
occupies in going through them is only momentary, with this machine the time may
be varied as desired, usually from 10 to 60 seconds. The grain on leaving the
machine may be collected by attaching to the fixed outside case a circular deflecting
piece of sheet metal which will allow the grain to fall on to an elliptical reciprocatory.
trough placed around the fixed case in a sloping position. The reciprocatory
motion helps the material to travel to the lowest extremity of the trough, whence
it may be spouted away.
The separated water or other liquid collects on the plate G and thence passes
down one of the columns which support the outside case and away at H.
The machine may be constructed with a horizontal or inclined axis.
Another plan is to have the interior worm or helix eccentric to the outside drum
and only of about of the inside interior space in diameter. In the remaining
a worm or helix, if the axis of the machine be horizontal, may bring the feed to the
back of the drum. In this plan as in the former, the time during which the feed
is in the mill depends upon the difference in velocity at the outside of the rotating
drum and the tips of the helix of the inside drum.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1st. The herein described process whereby through the differential speed of two
drums a constant and fixed rate of delivery is given to the grain or other material
acted upon.
2nd. That by varying the differential speed the time the grain or other material
is in the machine being acted upon by centrifugal force, is also made to vary.
3rd. The arrangement of spherical bearing and spring as herein described
whereby inequalities in the balancing of the machine described in our Provisional
Specification may be neutralised.
Dated this 24th day of June 1891.
JAMES HARRISON CARTER.
BERTRAM CHATTERTON.