Improvements in and relating to Grinding, Granulating, Crushing, Decorticating and Abrading Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 11th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Grinding, Granulating, Crushing,
Decorticating and Abrading Machines.
I, ARMAND CONSTANT DENIS DUCHEMIN, of 137 Rue Haxo, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to grinding, granulating and crushing machines.
A machine constructed according to my said invention comprises two annular
plates or discs of equal or unequal diameters, to which a rotary movement round
two parallel axes is imparted.
The rotary movement of the two discs may take place in the direction or in
opposite directions; one of these discs may be stationary if desired.
The angular velocities of rotation of the two discs may be either equal or
different; in the machine hereinafter described the two discs have an equal or
nearly equal angular velocity, one disc carrying away the other by the friction
caused by the material placed between them, or, when there is no material to be
treated, by the friction between the two discs.
My improved machine comprises :-
(1.) A frame adapted to be fixed upon the ground and supporting the whole
mechanism.
(2.) A cover forming with the upper part of the said frame the casing for the
discs to prevent the granulated or pulverized materials from spreading. This
casing is provided with a pipe for the discharge of the materials.
The said cover of the frane supports the upper disc adapted to turn loosely in a
bored socket. This socket may be provided with a ring designed to compensate
for the wear without any necessity for replacing the disc. A nut supports the
upper disc which has a circular groove provided with a textile substance designed
to retain oil for ensuring the lubrication of the frictional surfaces.
(3.) A swan's neck fixed on one side of the cover of the frame and adapted to
slide upon the latter for varying the eccentricity of the two discs. This eccentricity
may be nil or very great according to the nature of the materials to be treated and
the object of the treatment of this material.
(4.) A vertical driving shaft carrying at its upper part the driving pulley. This
shaft is guided by two sockets on the swan's neck; upon its lower part is keyed
the lower of the two discs.
This shaft carries between the aforesaid two sockets a ring supported by a sleeve
which is raised by a helical spring. The sleeve cannot turn, being stopped by a
stud.
The adjustment of the distance between the two discs is effected by screwing up
or down a nut which causes the upward or downward movement of an interior ring
without turning it, owing to two pins sunk into the upper socket of the swan's
neck.
It will be understood that the two dises tend to approach each other by reason of the
force of the helical spring raising the shaft by bearing below the above-mentioned
ring through the medium of the interposed sleeve. In the same manner the nut
bears upon this ring through the medium of its interior ring. By reason of these
opposite forces the shaft is held at the height corresponding to the desired distance
between the two discs. If the nut is completely unscrewed the two dises, being
applied one against the other by the force of the said spring, can rub against each
other, and if any material is introduced through the central orifice of the upper

page_text: dise it will be projected by the centrifugal force between the two discs which will
tear it, grind it and reduce it to an impalpable powder, the said spring pressing the
two discs sufficiently to prevent them from separating.
By reason of the sliding movement of the two discs one upon cach other in
conjunction with the centrifugal force, the material passes outwards into the casing
where brushes collect it and project it into the discharge orifice.
I may use any arrangement whereby the characteristic principle underlying my
invention can be realized, including the arrangement which comprises a single
movable disc the axis of which is fixed or loose at the extremity of a crank or on
an eccentric placed at the end on a shaft receiving a rotary movement, and which
rubs upon or is held at a distance from another fixed or movable disc.
I may employ the described machine for decorticating any grains and gramineous
plants such as colza to obtain colza seeds for the manufacture of oils; for grinding
cereals, wheat, barley, rye, maize, rice, and the like; for grinding, granulating or
crushing any organic or mineral materials, such as colours, chemical products,
tinctorial materials, alimentary substances and the like; for reducing flat articles to
a certain constant thickness.
Dated this 11th d... of M 1900
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE, SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Grinding, Granulating, Crushing,
Decorticating, and Abrading Machines.
I, ARMAND CONSTANT DENIS DUCHEMIN, of 137 Rue Haxo, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to grinding, granulating crushing decorticating and
abrading machines.
A machine constructed according to my said invention comprises two annular
plates or discs of equal or unequal diameters, to which a rotary movement round
two parallel axes is imparted.
The rotary movement of the two discs may take place in the same direction or
in opposite directions; one of these discs may be stationary if desired.
The angular velocities of rotation of the two discs may be either equal or
different; in the constructions hereinafter described the two discs have an equal or
nearly equal angular velocity, one disc operating the other by the friction caused
by the material placed between them, or, when there is no material to be treated,
by the friction between the two dises.
These discs may be placed either horizontally or vertically, thus providing two
principal modifications of my machine, the first being characterized by horizontal
discs and a vertical main shaft, and the second being characterized by vertical
discs and a horizontal main shaft. These modifications although different as
regards their construction are based absolutely on the same principle; the operation,
is, so to speak, identical in the two modifications.
According to circumstances which occur in practice it will be advantageous to
employ one or the other of the constructional forms of the machine.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the machine having a vertical shaft.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the axis of the machine on a plane
perpendicular to that of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan of this arrangement.

page_text: Figures 4 and 5 are details of construction of the discs.
Figures 6 and 7 are respectively a longitudinal section and an end view of the
machine having a horizontal shaft and vertical discs.
The machine having a vertical shaft comprises:
(1.) A frame a adapted to be fixed upon the ground and supporting the whole
mechanism.
(2.) A cover 6 forming with the upper part of the said frame the casing for the
discs to prevent the granulated or pulverized materials from spreading. This
casing is provided with a pipe c for the discharge of the materials.
The said cover of the frame supports the upper disc d adapted to turn
loosely in a bored socket d'. This socket may be provided with a ring e which
when worn can be replaced by a new one without any necessity for replacing the
disc. A nut supports the upper disc d which has a circular groove provided with
a textile substance designed to retain oil for ensuring the lubrication of the
frictional surfaces.
(3.) A swan neck h fixed on one side of the cover b of the frame and adapted to
slide upon the latter for varying the eccentricity of the two discs. This eccentricity
may be nil or very great according to the nature of the materials to be treated and
the object of the treatment of this material.
(4.) A vertical driving shaft i carrying at its upper part the driving pulley .
This shaft is guided by two sockets on the swan-neck h; upon its lower part
is keyed the lower of the two discs, j.
This shaft carries between the aforesaid two sockets h' h² a ring k supported by
a sleeve which is raised by a helical spring 1. The sleeve k' cannot turn, being
stopped by a stud.
The adjustment of the distance between the two discs d and j is effected by
screwing up or down the nut m which causes the upward or downward movement
of an interior ring m¹ without turning it, owing to two pins m² and m³ sunk into
the upper socket of the swan-neck.
It will be understood that the two discs tend to approach each other by reason
of the force of the helical spring / raising the shaft by bearing below the above-
mentioned ring k, through the medium of the interposed sleeve k¹.
In the same
manner the nut m bears upon this ring k through the medium of its interior ring m¹.
By reason of these two opposite forces the shaft is held at the height corresponding
to the desired distance between the two discs. If the nut m is completely
unscrewed the two discs, d and j being applied one against the other by the force
of the said spring 1, can rub against each other, and if any material is introduced
through the central orifice of the upper disc d it will be projected by the centrifugal
force between the two discs which will tear it, grind it and reduce it to an impalp-
able powder, the said spring / pressing the two discs sufficiently to prevent them
from separating.
By reason of the sliding movement of the two discs one upon the other in
conjunction with the centrifugal force, the material passes outwards into the casing,
where brushes n collect it and project it into the discharge orifice o.
When the machine is to be used for granulating, the nut m is adjusted which
maintains a certain play between the discs; consequently the material interposed
is not further reduced when it reaches a certain size for which the machine is
regulated.
As before stated, Figures 6 and 7 are respectively a longitudinal section and an
end view of a modification of my machine having a horizontal shaft and vertical
discs.
This machine is substantially composed of a frame a', which is preferably fixed
upon a foundation of stone or masonry and provided in front with a vertical
circular cover b¹, bolted upon it. This cover closes the casing a cast in one piece
with the frame a', and in which are placed the grinding and granulating discs d¹
and . This casing a² has at its lower part a tube c¹ serving for the discharge of
the materials treated.

page_text: The cover 6 supports the front disc d¹ fitted loosely into a drilled socket d²
which is provided with a ring e', which when worn can be replaced by a new one
without necessitating the replacement of the disc d'. This disc is retained by a
nut screwed upon its screw threaded nave; in this nave is provided the orifice d³
through which the material to be treated is introduced. The disc d' presents also
an annular groove provided interiorly with felt gl, to retain the oil and ensure a
continuous lubrication of the frictional parts and also to prevent the materials from
coming into contact with them.
With the frame a', are cast in one piece two supports h¹ and h² forming bearings
wherein the horizontal shaft of the machine turns, which shaft carries the driving
pulley and also the rear disc j'.
The discs d' and may be eccentric one relatively to the other. For this purpose
the disc d' is made eccentric at will with regard to the cover 6¹ held upon the
casing a² by bolts a³ a³ placed at equal distances apart. Suppose these bolts to be
16 in number as in Figure 7. If they are removed from their places the casing
may be turned through,... or other convenient portion of a turn at will,
thereby modifying the relative eccentricity of the discs d¹ and j', and that with the
greatest facility because the holes in the cover and the casing a² will be exactly
opposite each other thus enabling the bolts a³ to be inserted in their places.
The shaft carries at its rear extremity a ring or collar k² fixed thereto by
means of a pin, and a second ring 2 externally screw threaded and in the interior
of which the shaft i can turn with little friction. This ring k² is provided with one
or more pins such as which are adapted to pass more or less into holes formed
in the bearing h². Upon the ring 2 is screwed a nut m', supported upon the
shoulder of this bearing and the rotation of which in one or the other direction
displaces this ring k² in the longitudinal direction; the latter allows of the move-
ment of the other ring k¹ and also the shaft i, upon which it is keyed so as to
permit of a greater or smaller separation of the discs d' and j₁ and of an easy
adjustment for the wear.
The shaft carries a pin 3 of hardened steel which is always in contact with one
of the extremities of a screw k engaging with a nut 12 attached to the main blade
of a spring and operated by means of a hand wheel & firmly attached to the said
screw.
The spring has the effect of keeping the steel pin and the extremity of the
screw in contact and thus ensure the perfect contact of the rings k¹ and k².
The tension of the spring / may be regulated at will by means of the screw k*;
this tension depending on the hardness of the material to be crushed or granulated.
A lubricator adapted to move in a slot of the main blade of the spring "
ensures the lubrication of the steel pin and the extremity of the screw /* forming
a pivot.
It may happen that materials foreign to those it is desired to treat are inadver-
tently introduced into the machine and that their hardness tends to deteriorate
the discs d' and j¹. The arrangement of the spring obviates this inconvenience,
for in this case it will bend and permit the discs to separate the desired distance
for allowing the foreign materials to be discharged.
Instead of a plate spring I may employ a spring formed of Belleville discs the
tension of which may be regulated by means of a hand wheel. Or I may employ
discs of india-rubber separated from each other by discs of sheet metal.
The horizontal arrangement of the shaft of the grinding and granulating machine
presents the advantage of having a stronger bed and greater stability than the
machine with a vertical shaft; moreover this arrangement dispenses with the use
of brushes for conveying the material treated into the discharge channel o'.
If the conditions under which the described machines operate are examined it
will be seen that owing to the eccentricity of the two discs d and j or d¹ and j',
supposing their angular velocities to be exactly equal, two points in contact taken
at any moment, one on each of the two plates, will not remain in contact by reason
to the eccentricity; they will be displaced relatively to each other and after a

page_text: revolution they will again come in contact, one of them will have described a
circumference the radius of which is equal to the eccentricity of the two discs.
In the normal operation of the machines this cannot be so, the driven disc
having always a delay, however small it may be, relatively to the driving discs so
that the discs or plates will be in the relative position as at the beginning only after
a considerable number of revolutions.
This mode of operating the discs one by the other may be utilized for producing
an impalpable powder.
In like manner as two points do not remain in contact two lines taken in contact
will be displaced parallel to themselves in order to be brought nearly in contact
again after a revolution.
Setting aside the angular movement of the two discs and considering only the
displacement of one relatively to the other it will be seen that it is precisely the
same movement as that of a muller operated by the hand of a workman.
When these machines are used for granulating, the two discs are constantly kept
at the same distance from each other so as to reduce the grains of material which
pass between the two discs, to the same dimensions, every particle of material of
smaller dimensions not being touched simultaneously by the two plates.
If soft materials are to be granulated, in which case the friction would not be
sufficient for causing one disc to be operated by the other, I may employ an
arrangement with an independent gear for driving the two discs.
The two discs may be made of the same material, or each of them of different
material; they may consist of natural stone, such as granite, hard limestone,
sandstone, millstone or the like, or of agglomerated materials like the millstones of
emery, agate, corundum, ruby, glass or the like, or also of metal, such as cast-iron,
bronze, steel, iron or the like. According to the purpose for which they are
designed the discs may be provided with circular grooves of the same dimensions
or decreasing from the centre to the circumference.
I may also make them by means of concentric rings or of a very thin spiral of
steel with interposition of softer material, such as indiarubber, gutta-percha,
gum-lac or the like connecting the rings or spirals, and such as is represented in
vertical section in Figure 4 and in plan in Figure 5.
These discs formed by a band of spring steel bent to a spiral and having inter-
posed a soft material, will be more especially employed for granulating soft or
organic materials.
The dimensions of the discs and their nature will be determined for each applica-
tion according to the nature of the material to be treated and the output of the
machine.
I may use any arrangement whereby the characteristic principle underlying my
invention can be realized, including the arrangement which comprises a single
movable disc the axis of which is fixed or loose at the extremity of a crank or on
an eccentric placed at the end of a shaft receiving a rotary movement, and which
rubs upon or is held at a distance from another fixed or movable disc.
I may employ the described machine for decorticating any grain and gramineons
plants such as colza to obtain colza seeds for the manufacture of oils; for grinding
cereals, wheat, barley, rye, maize, rice, and the like; for grinding, granulating or
crushing any organic or mineral materials, such as colours, chemical products,
tinctorial materials alimentary substances and the like; for reducing flat articles to
a certain constant thickness.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
First. In the construction of a grinding, granulating and crushing machine the
system constituted by two discs dj, Figures 1, 2, 3, of any suitable material, full
or annular, turning about two parallel axes at a fixed or variable distance, one
operating the other or operated separately, at equal or different velocities, for

page_text: reducing materials to impalpable powder, granulate, decorticate, grind or crush
them or make them of uniform thickness, the discs being horizontal and the upper
disc d mounted loosely in a drilled socket of the frame, and the lower disc
mounted upon the extremity of a vertical shaft i which can be raised at will to
determine the distance between the said discs, the shaft i being set in rotation by
any suitable means, substantially as herein before described and represented in
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing.
Second. As a modification of the machine described in the first claim the
construction represented in Figures 6 and 7, comprising two vertical discs d' and j
and a horizontal shaft i, in which machine the eccentricity of the discs is obtained
by a greater or smaller angular displacement of the cover which carries one of the
discs, the driving shaft which carries the other disc being constantly acted on by a
spring device, the tension of which is adjustable, for keeping this rotary disc at the
desired distance from the fixed disc, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 6 and 7 of the drawing.
Third. As a modification of one or the other of the machines described in the first
and second claims the construction comprising a horizontal or vertical turning
shaft, carrying at its extremity a crank or eccentric with a fixed or loose disc moved
by the same turning shaft and rubbing or not against a second fixed or movable
disc, substantially as above described and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. In the machines described in the first second and third claims a device
for continually lubricating the frictional parts and preventing the lubricating
material from becoming mixed with the materials to be treated, consisting of a
nut for suspending or retaining the upper or front disc, in combination with a
circular groove in the disc provided with a textile substance g or g' absorbing the
grease in excess and preventing its passage into the space where the treatment
takes place.
Fifth. The construction of the discs of bands of steel and a soft material inserted
into the convolutions of the bands, substantially as hereinbefore specified with
reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing.
Dated this 11th day of December 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.