Improvements in Disintegrating Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 15th May, 1899-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Disintegrating Machines.
I, ARCHIBALD ANDERSON DICKSON, of Spadina Road, in the City of Toronto, in
the County of York, and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, Manu-
facturer, 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:-
This invention relates to machines or apparatus adapted to rapidly and
economically break up, disintegrate or finely divide those vegetable, animal and
mineral substances which have to be reduced to some predetermined degrees for
various purposes, the improvements being specially serviceable in the granulation
of cold, dry peat previous to compression and for similarly treating other
materials in which it is not desirable to unduly pulverize them, or in the case of
fibres existing therein, not to break them to any large extent, while still reducing
the mass to the desired degree of fineness.
These being the objects of my invention, I have to state that the principal
features of a disintegrating machine constructed according thereto, are a hori-
zontally-arranged rotary cylinder between the heads of which and concentric
with its shaft are longitudinal bars each of which have a number of beaters
loosely strung thereupon-side by side-so as to be able to turn completely
around upon the bars as pivots and thus deliver blows upon the material upon
tangential lines, while still yielding at each time of impact against solids, a
regulating screen through which the disintegrated material will gravitate towards
the point of delivery, and a peculiarly-arranged hopper and hood for directing
the feed of raw material and controlling the same during the operation.
To afford a full comprehension of the construction and operation of my inven-
tion, I will describe the same in detail, having reference to the accompanying
drawings forming part of this specification, and will then point out the novelty
in the claims.
In said drawings similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the
figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of the machine.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.
Figure 3 is a detail in perspective of one of the beaters, and
Figure 4 a detail of part of the screen.
The main framing consists preferably of two side pieces A, A, and two or
more connecting cross stays A¹, A', being bolted to a suitable bed-plate, or the
floor, and the side pieces carrying suitable journal boxes for the main breaker-
shaft B.
This shaft B carries the breaker-cylinder C (to be hereinafter more particularly
described), upon that portion of it which lies between the side-frames, and has a
driving pulley b, and a fly or balance wheel 61 mounted thereon at opposite ends.
D is a hood or casing supported by the framing in any suitable manner and
made concentric-for the whole or greater part of its surface-with the cylinder C
so as to effectually prevent the material or dust therefrom being thrown out at
the top of the machine.

page_text: The breaking cylinder C and its shaft are not set precisely midway between the
ends of the side frames, but so situated that a curved screen E-a portion only of
which is concentric with the cylinder-may be set underneath same and centrally
of the frame ends, and in such relation to the cylinder as to allow an increased
space between the periphery of the cylinder and the adjacent portion of the
screen at one end of the latter for the ready admission of the material to be
disintegrated, in the desired quantity, from a hopper. F located immediately
above. This hopper is stayed to the frame, and also to the hood D) so as to be
practically integral therewith. All of the framed parts are enclosed by boiler-
plate or other sheeting, so as to prevent the egress of dust, d, d, showing guides
or stays in the said frames for the end sheets.
The disintegrated material passes through the screen E, which forms the
bottom of the disintegrating chamber, into a suitable delivery hopper or chute G.
This screen is made up of a number of transversely-arranged bars 9, 9, (preferably
rectangular in section) which are held at their extremities to the framing-as
shown, or in any desired manner-washers 1, 1, being placed between the bars g, g,
to preserve the desired spaces for the disintegrated material to pass through.
This construction allows of ready variation in the gauge of the screen to suit
different materials and purposes.
The breaker-cylinder C is made up by preference of two solid end-discs or
heads c, c, supplemented for the purposes of strength and rigidity by a similar
centrally-situated disc e', all of which are firmly keyed to the longitudinal shaft B.
These dises are perforated near their rinis to support any suitable number of round
bars or rods, upon the whole inside length of each of which are strung-side
by side a series of beaters K, K, the bosses or eyes k, k, of which are simply
slipped upon the rods 2, so as not to bind but to be free to rotate completely
thereupon, the spacing of these breakers being effected by the projection of the
bosses, for some distance beyond the side of the beater-blade or finger proper.
As the rods come somewhat near together-it being desirable to make the
cylinder as close as possible--and the beaters would otherwise interfere, I make
their bosses project imore upon one side of the finger than upon the other, and
regulate these distances so that by reversing their order in slipping them over
alternate rods the fingers will be so spaced and hung that interference between
the series upon neighbouring rods will be prevented.
Of course, a short and a long finger may be carried by each boss and the different
series be made to alternate in practically the same manner, but I have found single
beaters arranged as I have described to fully answer the purpose. I may also
otherwise vary the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from
the principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.
The operation of my disintegrating machine will be so fully understood from
the foregoing and from the drawings, that I need only point out, as the salient
features and results, that during the rapid rotation of the breaker-cylinder the
beaters are at liberty to constantly revolve upon their own individual axes, and
deliver their blows upon the material upon lines tangential to the
cylinder proper at the side where such material passes downwards from
the feed-hopper, and as they resume their vertical hanging position by gravitation,
the disintegrated material is projected downwards through the curved screen and
thence delivered through the discharge hopper or chute. The perfect enclosure
afforded by my arrangement of the hood and feed hopper effectually prevents
the material from flying out of the machine, and retains every particle of the mass
in continual subjection to the disintegrating action of the beaters until the whole
is finely divided enough to pass through the screen.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a disintegrating machine, the combination with an enclosed framing

page_text: having proper inlet and outlet for material, and a screen forming the bottom of the
disintegrating chamber, of a rotary breaker-cylinder journalled horizontally
in the frame above the screen, and breakers so mounted on the cylinder as to be
capable of rotation upon their own axes during its revolution, substantially as and
for the purpose set forth.
2. In a disintegrating machine, the combination of a rotary breaker-cylinder
having breakers arranged in series at the periphery thereof, and arranged so that
each breaker may be free to rotate on its own axis as the cylinder revolves,—-a
curved screen set eccentric to the cylinder and forming the bottom of the chamber,
an enclosed framing affording bearings for the breaker-cylinder and supporting
the screen, a hood extending from the frame over the cylinder and forming
the top of the disintegrating chamber, a feed-hopper adapted to deliver the raw
material at one side between the cylinder and the screen, and a discharge-hopper
or chute below the screen, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
3. A rotary breaker-cylinder for disintegrating machines, composed, essentially,
of a central shaft, discs fixed upon such shaft, a series of parallel bars carried
by such discs, and beaters hung loosely side by side upon such bars so as to
be capable of yielding and rotating thereupon when delivering blows at a tangent
as the cylinder revolves, substantially as set forth.