Improvements in Mills or Machinery for Producing Semolina and the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 25th Apr., 1889-Accepted, 26th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mills or Machinery for Producing Semolina and
the like.
A communication from abroad by GUSTAV ADOLPH BUCHHOLZ, of Leipzig, Empire of
Germany.
1, JAMES UNDERHILL ROBERTSON of Central Buildings in the City of Liverpool
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a method of and apparatus for the gradual
reduction of grain instead of grinding it into impalpable dust.
The working parts of the apparatus consist essentially in two surfaces one of
which is cylindrical and almost in rolling contact with the other, both surfaces being
grooved in a direction parallel or nearly so with the periphery or circumference of
the roller, the other surface, complimentary or otherwise with the rolling surface,
has a rapid motion at right angles or nearly so to the grooves, that is in a direction
parallel with the axis of the roll.
In practice I prefer to have two rollers with a double concave between them, the
upper part of the double concave being wedge shaped so as to divide the grain in
the hopper above towards each roll, while preventing any from lodging upon it.
The grooves in the two rollers are preferably very shallow and about the diameter
of a grain of wheat or other grain to be ground in width. The grooves in the con-
caves can be wider and deeper at the top than at the bottom. It is immaterial
whether the grooves in the rollers be absolutely at right angles to the axis or
slightly spiral.
The mode of action is as follows:-The grain descending into the large grooves of
the concave, and the latter reciprocating very rapidly in front of the roller, the
edges of the grooves of the roller shave off pieces of the grain; as the grain gets
smaller it keeps ou descending and gets into shallower portions of the grooves, con-
sequently it again comes under the shaving action of the roller until at length it
escapes from the bottom of the concave as semolina.
I prefer the roller and concave to two plane surfaces on the ground that I can give a
motion of rotation to the roller which feeds the grain forward and downward, and
thus materially prevents forming fine flour or dust, whereas when it is merely the
weight of the grain that takes it down, the grain is very apt to choke in the grooves
and be worn away to dust instead of being as in the case of the roller and concave
evenly shaved away into semolina.
I have mentioned that the grooves are wide at the top, and become gradually
narrower to the bottom. This however, is not absolutely necessary. The grooves can
be parallel throughout, and the concave can be made adjustable vertically, relatively
to the rolls, so that the two surfaces can be brought slightly nearer each other at
the bottom than at the top. In this way the same effect is produced as if the grooves
in the concave diminished in depth towards the bottom.
Dated this 25th day of July 1888.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mills or Machinery for Producing Semolina and
the like.
A communication from abroad by GUSTAV ADOLPH BUCHHOLZ, of Lеipiz, in the Empire
of Germany.
I, JAMES UNDERHILL ROBERTSON of Central Buildings in the City of Liverpool,
County of Lancaster, Merchant, 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 :-
!
The object of the invention is a machine which when employed for the reduction of
grain will so treat the material as to, in the shortest time possible and with as little
re-handling of the stock as possible, separate out the semolina and germ from the bran.
If possible the bran should be completely separated from the other portions of the
stock before any reduction of the semolina to flour takes place, and by actual trail of
machines possessing the general characteristics of that which is the subject of this
application, it has been found that with a free delivery of the semolina from the
machine, almost without reduction, it is possible to obtain large, clean, and shell-like
particles of bran from which almost every trace of starchy material has been broken
or cut away, nearly the entire starchy part of the grain being obtained in the form of
semolina and with an almost total avoidance of "break flour."
The invention therefore consists in a peculiar construction of machine for cracking
or reducing grain or other material, which will first be described fully with
reference to the accompanying drawings, reference being had to the claims for the
pointing out of the novel features.
Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine constructed in accordance with the
invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view in a plane transverse to the cracking or
reducing members.
Figure 3 is a plan view taken below the feed mechanism and showing the
reciprocating members in section.
Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view in a plane parallel with the cracking or
reducing members.
Figure 5 is an end view, to a much larger scale than the other views, of portions
of meeting faces of two adjacent cracking or reducing members.
Figure 6 is an end view of the machine.
The frame or casing 1 is represented in the main diagrammatically; it may be of
any suitable form. In its ends are vertical slots, through which pass the necks 2 of
bars 3 and the journals 4 of rollers 5. The bars 3 are formed with a cross-section as
shown in Figure 2. On opposite sides are concave working faces which partially
surround the rollers 5. The concave faces of members 3 and the whole exterior of
members 5 are grooved in planes substantially at right angles to the axis of the
rollers 5. The groovings are made of suitable width and depth according to the
material to be treated and to the effect which it may be desired to produce thereon.
As shown in Figure 5, the space between the surface of each roller and its corre-.
sponding concave on the member 3, gradually tapers downward to a line about
horizontal with the mathematical axis of the roller, and thence downward the working
surfaces may be equi-distant. Preferably the upper end of the concave stops
sufficiently short of the vertical radius of the roller to allow the material to be fed on
the descending side of the roller. The rollers 5 may, as shown in Figure 4, be
cylindrical throughout (excepting for the groovings thereon), or, as shown in
Figure 3, they may slightly taper. In Figure 3 the taper is greatly exaggerated
in order to be apparent to the eye. In either case the partly enclosing concaves of
the members 3 are made of such form as to correspond with the curve of the roller.
The members 3 and 5 are, by the mechanism to be presently described, so operated
that the rollers 5 are rotated toward the concaves of the bars 3, whereby material fed 5

page_text: above the rollers will be carried down between the working surfaces. As the material
passes down, the bars 3 are reciprocated in planes parallel with the axes of the
rollers, so that the adjacent surfaces of the members 3 and 5 will at one end of their
stroke present to the descending grain or other material, a series of gradually
tapering channels formed by the grooves which are then directly opposite each other.
This allows the grain to enter freely, and it is assisted in so doing by the rotation of
the rollers. As soon as the channels are filled however, the next reciprocation of the
bars 3 carries all of the sharp edges of the grooves of each member directly across the
adjacent grooves of the opposing member, cracking and cutting the grain and
separating the starchy material from the bran. The return stroke of the bar 3 again
brings the several channels opposite to each other, allowing the material which has
been cracked and broken to fall lower in the grooves for further treatment, and
presenting at the upper part the same series of channels to receive a new charge of
grain which again is treated in the same manner. The rollers 5 not only act as described
in accelerating the feed, but they assist materially in discharging from between
the working surfaces, all material which has been sufficiently treated.
The tapering form of cracking or breaking roller shown in Figure 3, is
possibly superior to the cylindrical forin in that the return stroke of the reciprocating
bar not only brings the grooves of the working surfaces opposite to each other, to
form channels, but actually separates the working surfaces slightly, so as to facilitate
the discharge of material which has been treated.
The driving shafts 6, which are journalled in the ends of the frame, receive
motion in opposite directions through pulleys 7 and belts 8 at one end, and com-
municate motion to the rollers 5 by means of chains or bands 9, and sprockets or
pulleys 10, 11, in such a manner that the alternate rollers 5 rotate in opposite
directions. Besides their bearings in the ends of the frame 1, the ends of the roller
spindles or shafts are provided with bearings 12, on a T-bar, 13, carried by
brackets 14, and their motion is thus steadied. The same brackets have bearings for
a shaft 15, which has a main operating lever 16 connected to one end, and a series
of crank arms 17 each connected to one of the links 18 jointed to the longitudinal
reciprocating bars or cracking members 3. The operation of lever 16 is effected
in any manner, and is so timed with relation to the rotation of rollers 5 as to
ensure the complete breaking or cracking of the material before its discharge, and
to ensure the complete separation of the semolina from the bran.
The bars 3 have their necks connected to hangers 19 which hang from eccentrics 20
in shafts 21, arranged on each end of the machine. The shafts 21 carry segment
racks 22 within which mesh worms 23 of a shaft 24 having a hand wheel 25 for
operating it. By this means the bars 3 can all be simultaneously raised or lowered
at both ends by turning the single shaft 24.
It is immaterial what kind of feed device be employed. In view of the positive
feed by the rollers 5, however, in Figure 2, a feeding device has been shown, which
will only allow the amount of stock to be fed to the roller that it may be desired to
handle. The feed rollers 26 are constantly driven by belt and pulley from the rollers 5
(see Figure 4), while adjustable sides 27 regulate the amount of material to be
supplied by these feed rollers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a machine for cracking or breaking grain or other material, the combination
with a reciprocating bar or member having a concave surface grooved, substantially
at right angles to its line of motion, of a similarly grooved roller rotating against
said concave surface.
2. The combination of a reciprocating bar or member having on its opposite faces
concave surfaces grooved in lines substantially at right angles to the line of movement,
and similarly grooved rollers rotating against said concaves on opposite sides of said
bar or member.

page_text: 3. The combination of the concave reciprocating members with the rotary members,
the adjacent faces of the two members being grooved and correspondingly tapering,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 24th day of April 1889
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.