AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR WORKING AND PREPARING PEAT FOR FUEL
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st June 1870. A communication from abroad by Charles Luxton,
of Hudson City, County of Hudson, State of New Jersey, United
States of America.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR WORKING AND
PREPARING PEAT FOR FUEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new and useful improvement in machines
for working peat and preparing it for fuel, and consists in operating a
series of revolving cutters or knives in combination with a stationary
bed and conveyer wings for carrying the peat to and from the cutters,
the whole enclosed in a suitably constructed cylindrical casing as herein-
after more fully described.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 represents a top view of the
machine with the cover turned back.
section of Figure 1 on the line x, x.
of Figure 2 on the line y, y.
sponding parts.
Similar
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal
Figure 3 is a vertical cross section
letters of reference indicate corre-
A is the platform or bed plate upon which the machine is supported.
B is the shaft upon which the knives and wings are fastened. The
shaft is revolved by means of gear wheels C, D, and belt on the wheel E
or in any other suitable manner. The cylindrical casing or shell is
made in two parts G and H. The former is made fast to the bed:
plate A, and the latter is hinged to the part G, as seen at I, I, so that
the operating parts may be readily exposed to view, as seen in Figure 1.
J is the hopper attached to or forming part of the cover H through
which the peat is introduced. K represents a series of cutters or knives
fastened on the shaft in any suitable manner so that they cannot turn
independently of the shaft. These cutters are separated by the collars L
and kept at a proper and uniform distance apart so that they engage
with the vertical slots n in the bed piece M. These slots in the bed
leave vertical studs or teeth o of rectangular form in their cross section
but tapering edgewise, as seen in Figure 3. A side view of the cutters
is also seen in this Figure. By making the bed piece M with the
slots n and studs o as seen the cutters may be revolved in an opposite
direction from that indicated by the arrow for cleaning or washing
the machine or other purposes. Directly beneath the hopper or orifice
J and firmly attached to the shaft is a spiral wing P so placed as
to convey or force the peat towards the cutters. After the peat has
passed through the cutters there is another spiral wing R, which
receives the comminuted peat from the cutters and forces it from
the machine through the orifice S in a broad sheet, as indicated in
Figure 3. By this machine the peat is operated upon as it is taken
from the peat bed and delivered in a finely comminuted state in a
sheet suitable for drying. The sheet is cut up before drying into
suitable sized pieces for convenient handling after being dried. The
machine is driven by steam, water, or other convenient motive power.
The top part of the casing is fastened down to the other part by a
means of pins or screws through the lugs T, or in any other suitable
manner.

page_text: This is a simple, cheap, and efficient machine for preparing peat for
fuel, and its advantages over the complicated and expensive machines
now in use for that purpose must be obvious to all who are acquainted
with the subject.