IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
60, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS." A communication
from abroad by Andreas Mechwart, of Buda-Pesth, in the Kingdom of
IL
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th January 1882.
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents 66 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER
MILLS." [A communication from abroad by Andreas Mechwart of Buda-Pesth in
the Kingdom of Hungary and Austro-Hungarian Empire.]
This Invention relates to improvements in roller mills, and consists mainly in so
arranging the adjustable rollers that when thrown out of action the feed rollers of
the hoppers shall cease to act.
The Invention applies equally to mills with one or two pairs of grinding or
crushing surfaces.
In arranging a four-roller mill according to this Invention, the two pairs of rollers
are set horizontally, the one immediately above the other. Supposing the rollers to
the right to be the fixed rollers those to the left are mounted in bearings carried by
vertical swinging frames which are hinged together by the passing through them of
a horizontal shaft having its bearings in the main fraining.
This shaft is formed with a pair of short throw cranks which are embraced by
the swinging frames, and the outer ends of these frames are supported by bori-
zontal bolts which pass through the main framing and carry coiled springs for
holding the adjustable rollers in contact with the fixed rollers.
In order to draw back the adjustable rollers the crank shaft is turned, and the
swinging frames are thereby caused to move back their rollers from the fixed
rollers.
To ensure the suspension of the feed at this moment the following contrivance is
provided:
The feed roller connected with the feed hopper in the usual manner carries a
spur wheel which gears into a spur pinion carried by a short shaft mounted in a
rocking frame which has for its fulcrum the axle of the feed roller.
Keyed to the short shaft is a band pulley which receives a band from a pulley
on the axle of the upper adjustable roller.

page_text: The rocking frame carrying the driving pulley is counterweighted and pendent
from it is a chain which is secured to the crank shaft before mentioned. On
turning this crank shaft to withdraw the adjustable crushing rollers, tension will
be put on the chain, and the counterweighted frame tipped so as to slacken the
driving belt and thus stop the driving of the feed roller.
On turning the crank shaft to its normal position, the crushing rollers will again
assume their working position, and the chain being simultaneously slackened the
counterweighted frame will tighten the driving band, and the action of the feed
roller will be resumed. The grain will then full into the bite of the first pair of
crushing rollers which may deliver the meal as it is formed to the second pair of
crushing rollers when a second crushing is desired.
The upper pair of rollers will be smooth rollers, and the lower pair will be grooved
helically.
To facilitate the removal of the rollers from the mill the bearings of all the
rollers will be made with a vertical division and so situate that on their caps being
removed no impediment will exist to the removal of the rollers.
In adapting the Invention to a two roller mill the arrangement of parts requires
modification. The adjustable roller is mounted in a frame which has its fulcrum
in rear of the fixed roller and extends beyond the adjustable roller to receive the
pressure of an elastic buffer the lowermost plate of which carries a loop that
embraces the crank of a transverse crank shaft. By turning this crank, as in the
first described arrangement, the roller is raised into and dropped out of work.
Keyed to this crank shaft is a cam upon which bears the bowle of a rod pendent
from a rock lever having for its fulcrum the axle of the feed roller.
This lever carries the bearing for a short shaft on which is mounted a driving
pulley and a spur pinion. The driving pulley receives a band from a pulley on
the axle of the adjustable roller and the spur pinion gears into a spur wheel on
the axle of the feed roller. In this case as in the former, on turning the crank axle
to withdraw the adjustable crushing roller, the driving band will be slackened and
the feed arrested; the rock lever carrying the driving pulley dropping by reason of
a smaller radius of cam on the crauk shaft coming under the bowle of the rod
which supports the rock lever in its position.
It will be obvious that a tension pulley on a rock lever may be used for
tightening the belt, that lever being supported by a rod with a bowle bearing upon
a can on the crank shaft. lu such arrangement the driving pulley will be
mounted on the axle of the feed roller.
Again, the rock lever which is supported by the rod and cam may be adapted to
work a belt fork and slip the driving belt from a fast to a loose pulley and thereby
arrest the feed, when the adjustable crushing roller is thrown out of action.
In adapting a cut off feed to a mill having two pairs of crushing rollers in a
horizontal line, the feed roilers of the two hoppers are geared together by two
intermediate pinions, the shaft which carries one of these intermediate pinions being
driven through a band and pulley from the axle of one of the crushing rollers.
The shaft carrying this band pulley and intermediate wheel is cranked so that
by turning it the pinion will be thrown out of gear.
From other cranks on this shaft depend chains which are connected with
weighted levers that hold the adjustable crushing rollers to their work. On the
turning therefore of the crank shaft, these weighted levers will be raised, and the
adjustable rollers will be moved from the fixed rollers simultaneously with the arrest
of the feed.
In order to facilitate the driving of the crushing rollers at different surface speeds
it is proposed to increase the diameter of the rollers which are to receive the greatest
surface speed. This will facilitate the arrangement of the driving gear.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on tho
4th July 1882.
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents GG Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex Mechanical Draughtsman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER
MILLS." A communication from abroad by Andreas Mechwart of Buda-Pesth in
the Kingdom of Hungary and Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This Invention of improvements in roller mills consists mainly in so arranging
the adjustable rollers that when thrown out of action the feed rollers of the hoppers
shall cease to act.
The Invention applies equally to mills with one or two pairs of grinding or
crushing surfaces.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig: 1 shews in front elevation
partly in section a four roller mill arranged according to this Invention, and
Fig: 2 is an end elevation of the same, the framing and the enclosing case
being broken away parts to render more clear the construction of the mill.
In these views A is the main framing in which are mounted two pairs of
rollers B, B¹, C C' the same being enclosed in a case D to prevent the dust and stive
from becoming diffused in the surrounding atmosphere.
The two pairs of rollers are set horizontally, the one pair immediately above the
other. The rollers B. C. which are to the right are the fixed rollers, being mounted
in bearings in the framing A.-and the rollers B'. C. to the left are the adjustable
rollers. These latter rollers are mounted in bearings, carried by vertical swinging
frames E. E. which are hinged together by the passing through them of a horizontal
shaft F having its bearings in the main framing A.
This shaft is formed with a pair of short throw cranks f. which are embraced by
the swinging frames, and the outer ends of these frames are supported by horizontal
bolts c. which pass through the main framing and carry coiled springs e¹ for holding
the adjustable rollers up to their work. The outer ends of these bolts are screwed
to receive nuts e* which serve to regulate the pressure of the springs.
In order to control the position of the adjustable rollers relatively to the fixed
rollers when the mill is adjusted for use, the swinging frames E'. E. are provided
with adjustable stops e³ which are screwed into the frames and project beyond
their inner face, in line with the side frames, when therefore the springs e'. are
compressed to put the requisite pressure upon the rollers B. C. the stops of the
swinging frames will come into contact with the main frame and thus hold back the
adjustable rollers from close contact with the fixed rollers.
In order to draw back the adjustable rollers when required it is only necessary
to turn the crank shaft F. in its bearings. This is effected by means of the hand
lever F. which is fitted with a spring catch for taking into a notched sector on the
main framing. By the depression of this hand lever the swinging frames are caused
to move back their rollers from the fixed rollers.
To ensure the suspension of the feed at this moment the following contrivance
is provided. G. is the feed roller connected with the feed hopper G. in the usual
manner and carrying a spur wheel g. This pinion gears into a spur pinion h.
carried by a short shaft . mounted in a rocking frame H. which has for its fulcrum
the axle of the feed roller G. Keyed to the short shaft '. is a band pulley h².
which receives a band from a pulley b. on the axle of the upper adjustable
roller B'.
The rocking frame H carrying the driving pulley h. (by which rotary motion is
communicated to the feed roller G) is counterweighted, and pendent from it is a

page_text: chain 3 which is secured to the crank shaft F. It will now be understood that on
turning this crank shaft to withdraw the adjustable crushing rollers as above
explained tension will be put on the chain ³, and the counterweighted frame H
will be tipped so as to slacken the driving belt b₁. This slackening of the belt will
stop the driving of the pulley h². and consequently the rotation of the feed roller G
and the feed of the grain will cease.
On turning the crank shaft to its normal position the crushing rollers B. C.
will again assume their working position, and the chain . being simultaneously
slackened, the counterweighted frame H will tighten the driving band and the
action of the feed roller G will be resumed. The grain will then fall into the
bite of the first pair of crushing rollers B. B'. which may deliver the meal as
it is formed to the second pair of crushing rollers C. C'. when a second crushing is
desired.
The Drawing represents the upper pair of rollers as smooth rollers and the lower
pair as helically grooved, and this is the arrangement generally preferred, as it
affords the advantage of producing flour of superior quality, the bran being less
torn and the meal less specked with minute portions of bran than when two pairs
of fluted rollers are used.
To facilitate the removal of the rollers from the mill the bearings of all tho
rollers are made with a vertical division as shewn best in Fig: 2 in contradistinction
to the ordinary horizontal division. These bearings are so situate with respect to
the framing which carries them, that on the caps of the bearings being removed, no
impediment will exist to the removal of the rollers.
In adapting the Invention to a two roller inill the arrangement of parts requires
modification as will be seen by reference to She-t II. of the Drawings where Fig: 3
is a front elevation and Fig: 4 a side elevation of a two roller mill with the
Invention for stopping the feed applied thereto.
In these Figures B is the fixed roller mounted in the main framing and B¹ is the
adjustable roller mounted in a frame E which has its fulcrum in rear of the fixed
roller and extends beyond the adjustable roller to receive the upward pressure of
an elastic buffer c. the lowermost plate of which carries a loop that embraces
the crank f. of a transverse crank shaft F mounted in bearings in the main
framing A.
By turning this crank as in the first described arrangement the roller B². is raised
into and dropped onto and out of work.
Keyed to the crank shaft F is a cam f1. to the concentric portion of which is
fitted a hand lever F¹ for turning the crank shaft. Upon the working of this cam
bears the bowle of a rod f2. pendent from a rock lever H having for its fulcrum the
axle of the feed roller G.
This lever carries the bearing for a short shaft h. on which is mounted a driving
pulley and a spur pinion h. The driving pulley receives a band b. from &
pulley b on the axle af the adjustable roller B₁ and the spur pinion gears into
a spur wheel g. on the axle of the feed roller G of the hopper G'. In this case as in
the former, on turning the crank axle to withdraw the adjustable crushing roller
the driving band will be slackened and the feed arrested; the rock lever H carrying
the driving pulley dropping by reason of a smaller radius of the cam, on the crank
shaft coming under tho bowle of the rod f2. which supports the rock lever in its
position.
It will be obvious that a tension pulley on a rock lever controlled by the crank
shaft may be used for tightening the belt b². An arrangement of this kind is
shewn in Sheet III. at Fig: 5 where f'. is the cam on the cam shaft F. Bearing
upon this cam is the bowle of a rod f. pendent from a rock lever H having for its
fulcrum the axle of the feed roller. This lever is weighted at one end and carries
at its opposite end a tension pulley h. which bears upon the driving band b' of the
pulley on the axle of the adjustable roller. In this instance the driving
pulley is mounted on the axle of the feed roller and so long as the band b' is
held tight upon this pulley by the pressure of the tension pulley h. the feed roller

page_text: will continue in action. Immediately however on the turning of the crank shaft to
withdraw the roller B¹. the weighted lever H will be tipped by the action of the
cam on the pendent rod f2, and the driving band will be slackened and the feed
stopped.
Again the rock lever which is supported by the rod and cain may be adapted to
work a belt fork and slip the driving belt from a fast to a loose pulley and thereby
arrest the feed when the adjustable crushing roller is thrown out of action.
This modification is illustrated at Figures 6 and 7 Sheet III. where Fig: 6 is an
end elevation and Fig: 7 a front elevation of so much of a two roller mill us will
serve to explain the means for driving the roller of the feed hopper.
In this example the shaft which carries the driving pulley . is fitted also with
a loose pulley 3. for receiving the driving band from the pulley of the adjustable
roller B when the feed is to be arrested. A pinion h', on this shaft gearing into a
wheel serves to transmit motion as in the first described arrangement to the feed
roller G.
H is a bell crank constituting a belt shifter, its pendent limb being fitted with
prongs to embrace the driving belt. Attached to the horizontal limb of this belt
shifter is a vertical rod f. carrying a bowle which bears upon the cam f¹ keyed to
the crank shaft F.
So long as the larger radius of the cam is presented to the bowle of the rod f2.
the belt shifter will retain the position shewn in the Figures, the belt being ou
the fast pulley.
When however the roller B¹. is drawn out of action by the turning of the crank
shaft, the smaller radius of the cam will be presented to the bowle and the crank
lever H losing the support of the rod f, will by its own weight drop into the
dotted position of Fig: 6 and thereby stop the feet by shifting the belt from the
fast to the loose pulley.
In adapting a cut off feed to a mill having two pairs of crushing rollers in a
horizontal line the arrangement shewn in Sheet IV, is employed Fig: 8 being a
side view of the four roller mill and Fig: 9 an end view of the same. In these
Figures the feed rollers G. G. of the two hoppers are geared together by two inter-
mediate pinions g. and g¹. The pinion g. is mounted loosely on the shaft F which
has its bearings in the side frames. The pinion g. carries a pulley 2 through
which it is driven by means of a band from a pulley b on the axle of the fixed
crushing roller C.
The shaft F is cranked so that by turning it the pinion g, will be thrown out of
gear and the rotation of the feed rollers will be arrested.
From other cranks on this shaft depend chains which are connected with
weighted levers I. I. for holding the adjustable crushing rollers to their work.
These rollers are carried by pairs of pendent rocking levers I'. furnished at foot
with a notch or socket to receive a short limb of the weighted levers I which have
a tendency to thrust outwards the lower ends of the pendent levers and thus hold
the rollers up to their work. On turning the crank shaft F by means of a hand
lever F with it is fitted, these weighted levers will be raised and the adjustable
rollers will be moved from the fixed rollers simultaneously with the arrest of the
feed.
To prevent the clogging of the grain in the hoppers, swinging rakes are provided
as shewn at K. K. These rakes hang from a horizontal shaft K'. and are caused
to swing to and fro in the hoppers, by means of tappet cams k. on the axle of the
pinion g. which cams as they rotate, alternately drive the rakes to the right and to
the left and thus remove any tendency which the grain may have to clog in the
hopper and thereby interfere with the free flow of grain to the feed rollers.
"
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in Roller
Mills as communicated to me from abroad and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I clain.—
First The arrangement of four roller mill as described with reference to Sheet I.

page_text: of the Drawings, wherein the means used for throwing the adjustable rollers out of
action is caused to throw out of action the driving mechanism of the feed roller for
the purpose above set forth.
Second: The arrangement of two roller mill as described with reference to
Sheet II. of the Drawings wherein the adjustable roller is carried by arms having
their fulcrum in rear of the vertical plane of the axle of the fixed roller and is
controlled by a crank or excentric shaft the axial motions of which serve to tighten
and slacken the belt through which motion is transmitted to the feed roller.
Third: The modified arrangements described with reference to Sheet III. of the
Drawings for driving and arresting the motion of the feed roller on the throwing
out of action of the adjustable crushing roller.
Fourth The arrangement of four roller mill as described with reference to
Sheet IV. of the Drawings, in which the rollers of the two feeds are actuated from
a pinion mounted on a crank shaft, the turning of which, to throw its pinion out of
gear, throws also the adjustable crushing rollers out of action, by reason of the rock
levers in which they are mounted being controlled by weighted levers connected
by chains to the crank shaft.
In witness whereof I the said Alfred Vincent Newton have hereunto set my
hand and seal the Fourth day of July in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.