IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING AND DRESSING FLOUR OR REDUCED GRAIN
Year: 1858

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Mills at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st March 1858.
I, THOMAS MILLS, of Partick, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer and Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING AND DRESSING FLOUR OR REDUCED
GRAIN," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates, in the first place, to the arrangement and construc-
tion of dressing machines with vertical spindles, the reduced grain in its rough
undressed condition being fed into the machine at the top of the dressing
cylinder, whilst the dressed flour is taken off laterally lower down. The main
vertical spindle has upon it a long wooden cylinder or drum, to which the
brushes or working dressers are attached in the usual manner. The top of
this brushing drum is fitted with a horizontal plate or disc, upon which the
reduced grain primarily falls as it is being fed in from a shoot to be dressed.
From this plate the reduced grain is spread off all round by the centrifugal
action, so as to be brushed between the exterior of the brushing drum and the
interior of a permeable cylinder of wire cloth which encircles the brushing
drum. Under this action the finest flour is passed through the upper part of
the wire cloth cylinder, and it falls thence into an annular chamber sur-
rounding the cylinder. This external cylinder is a solid casing fifted with an

page_text: inclined bottom terminating on one side in a discharging shoot, so that the
fine flour is thus carried off to its proper receptacle. The coarser part of the
ground or reduced grain descends lower down in the dressing cylinder, and
the "seconds" or coarser flour is similarly brushed through the lower part of
the dressing cylinder, and discharged by a second annular casing and shoot,
and this process goes on through as many stages as may be desired; corre-
sponding receptacles and shoots being fitted up to suit the qualities to be pro-
duced, whilst the bran finally passes off from the interior of the dressing
cylinder by a central shoot. Dressing machines of this kind are extremely
simple in their details, and they are very easily driven, whilst the work done is
peculiarly good, and the production great. Such machines may either be used
as primary dressers or as dressers for secondary purposes. In working them
in combination with horizontal or inclined dressers, the rough meal or reduced
grain is fed into the upper end of the inclined silk-dressing cylinder, this end
of the cylinder being fitted with a grating or coarse sieve for the removal of
nails and large foreign matters, and the vertical dresser or "silk assister," as
it may be designated, is fitted up at the other end of the silk cylinder. The
fine flour is taken off through the silk of the cylinder, and is conveyed away
by a screw traverser to a proper shoot, whilst the "seconds," "thirds," and
bran" are discharged at this end of the cylinder. The "sharps" and
" overheads are ground over by a pair of stones fitted up on the upper end of
the vertical dressing spindle, and they are then dressed in the silk assister
along with the seconds, thirds, and bran which are supplied to the assister
outside the stones, the thirds, bran, and overheads being taken off at the lower
part of this vertical dresser. A vertical assister or separater may also be used
to pass the rough meal through prior to its passing through the horizontal or
inclined silk machine, the broad bran being taken off from this primary
separator, and removed by creepers to a vertical assister at the other or lower
end of the silk cylinder, where it is treated along with the second and thirds.
Grinding may be carried on by attaching stones upon the vertical assister
spindle under various modifications. Several pairs of stones with intermediate
assisters may be put on one line of vertical shafting, or several pairs of stones
may be combined to work in concert with these general arrangements out of
the same vertical line by using belt gearing.
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