IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR GRINDING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR GRINDING."-A communication
T
Sealed tho 11th May 1860, and dated the 24th December 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th December 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR GRINDING," to be
as follows:-
The improved mills for grinding which form the subject of the present
application for Letters Patent consist principally of a pair of horizontal stones
or grinding surfaces, the lower one of which is moveable, and is made to
rotate on its axis while the upper one is stationary and is supported upon
suitable feet or standards connected with the casing that surrounds the lower
stone or runner. This casing is lined. inside with wood in order to prevent
the metal from coming into contact with the metal, and is provided with a
boss through which the spindle of the running stone passes. The stationary

page_text: stone is pierced with several holes which distribute a current of air from a fan
or blower throughout the narrow space between the grinding surfaces; the air
thus forced in and made to circulate round the stones may be exhausted or
drawn out by means of suitable apparatus and thereby accelerate the grinding
operation. The meal passes out through numerous openings in the case, to
which openings are adapted wooden spouts whereby the meal is delivered on
to a circular platform, to which rotary motion is communicated by any suitable
mechanism.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd June 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS, Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 MILLS FOR GRINDING," being a communication from Mr.
Cabanes, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, 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 Edward Newton, 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

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say).
The improved mill for grinding, which forms the subject of the present
application for Letters Patent, consists principally of a pair of horizontal stones
or grinding surfaces, the lower one of which is moveable and is made to rotate
on its axis, while the upper one is stationary and is supported upon suitable
feet or standards connected with or attached to the casing that surrounds the
lower stone or runner. This casing is lined inside with wood in order to
prevent the metal connected with the moving part of the mill from coming
into contact with the metal of the fixed part of the machine; the casing is
moreover provided with a boss through which the spindle of the running stone
passes. The stationary stone is pierced with several holes through which pass
currents of air from a fan or blower so that the air may be distributed
The air thus
throughout the narrow space between the grinding surfaces.
forced in and made to circulate round the stones may be exhausted or drawn
out by means of suitable apparatus and thereby made to accelerate the
grinding operation. The meal passes out through numerous openings in the
case, to which openings aro adapted wooden spouts whereby the meal is
delivered on to a circular platform to which rotary motion is communicated by
any suitable mechanism.
".
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of a
complete mill constructed according to the present improvements; Fig. 2 is
a partial plan view; and Fig. 3 a sectional plan of the same taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1. The improved mill is composed of a pair of stones, the
lower one A of which is moveable, and the upper one A' is stationary, and
is supported upon feet or standards connected with the casing C, which
encloses the lower stone or runner, and is covered by the wooden ring C¹.
The casing has a boss c' formed upon it, which serves as a stuffing box for
the vertical running shaft a. This shaft turns in a step m on the foundation
plate, and carries at its upper part the triangular piece B, which enters the
socket B, and carries round the stone A when the shaft a rotates.
Fig. 4, shews in plan view (seen from below) the arrangement of triangular
piece B, and its socket B'; this latter is made slightly pyramidal in order that the
triangular piece may enter it the more readily, and has also a slight cnlarge-
5.ment (at top) to receive the point upon which the runner A is balanced.
Cast iron pillars affixed to the foundation plate support the casing C, and
consequently all the fixed part of the mill. The foundation plate also carries
the bearings for the horizontal driving shaft D, on one end of which is mounted
the driving pulley d, and on the other end the bevil wheel E, which gears

page_text: into and drives another bevil wheel E', keyed upon the vertical shaft a, of the
runner. The stationary stone A' is perforated with a number of openings o, 0,
whereby the air from a fan or blower V, is conducted into and distributed
throughout the space left between the stones for the reception and grinding of
the grain. The fan is worked by means of the pulley v, (Fig. 1) driven by a
band from another v¹, on the vertical shaft a. The air thus forced in and
made to circulate around the stones may be afterwards drawn out by one or
more openings c, c, which communicate with the annular space F, and by
this means the work will be accelerated. The air may either be sent through
these openings c, of the stationary stone, or simply through the eye of the same;
for this purpose the passage from the air box Z, which surrounds the eye of
the upper stone, is divided into two parts by double partitions x, x, (see Fig. 2)
which are hinged at X, X, so as to admit of changing the direction of the
blast of air, according to whether the air is required to pass under the stones
or through the eye only; the passage leading from the ventilator must always
occupy the position represented at Fig. 2. The casing C is pierced with long
openings c, (Fig. 1), through which the ground corn or meal is made to fall
upon the whole circumference of a sort of fixed cone G (Fig. 1) which conducts
it upon the circular receiver R. This receiver is provided internally with a
toothed rack, and is driven by the pinion r, mounted upon the small shaft S,
to which motion is comunicated from the vertical mill shaft a by means of a
band passed round the pulley s. In order to form a joint as perfect as possiblo.
between the moveable receiver R and the cone G a band H is adapted which
extends down to the receiver, and the annular space F is also furnished with a
band H', which prevents any escape round the casing. The moveable blades /
round the casing (see Fig. 3) rest upon the receiver, and are so shaped as to.
allow the meal to pass, and thereby form a kind of pad or stuffing, and
complete the joint of the bands H, H'. In order always to leave sufficient
passage for the meal which passes out through the lateral openings P (Fig. 3)
wooden spouts P¹ are adapted to the casing for the purpose of facilitating
the outward passage of the meal on to the rotating platform R, which turns
in the direction of the arrows (see the plan view, Fig. 3). In order to regu-
late the supply of grain to the stones a moveable tube I is employed and is
suspended under the hopper K to the lever J, by means of two small rods;
this lever J rests on a fulcrum at j, so that by tightening up or loosening the
screw nut at its other extremity the inner end of the lever J will be made to
rise or fall and with it the moveable tube I, and the grain will then pass into
the space left between the tube I and the upper part of the runner.
Having now described this Invention of improvements in mills for grinding,

page_text: and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect as commu-
nicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First, the mode herein set forth of constructing, arranging and combining the
various parts of the machine, and also the mode of working the grinding
surfaces.
Second, the mode herein set forth of distributing and regulating the passage
of air to the grinding surfaces.
Third, the arrrangement and construction of the envelope or casing which
surrounds the runner, and the adaptation thereto of an annular chamber and
rotating platform to receive the meal as it is ground.
Fourth, I claim tho mechanism herein set forth for regulating the supply of
grain to the stones.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, tho Twenty-third day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.B.)