IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN, AND FOR REDUCING GRANULAR SUBSTANCES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gustav Adolph Buchholz, of Montague Place,
Clapham Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN, AND FOR REDUCING
GRANULAR SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 9th October 1863, and dated the 18th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gustav Adolph Buchholz
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th April 1863.
I, GUSTAV ADOLPH BUCHHOLZ, of Montague Place, Clapham Road, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN, AND FOR REDUCING
GRANULAR SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements on the apparatus for which
I obtained Provisional Protection, dated November 19th 1862, No. 3113.
The first improvement relates to the hulling machine, and consists in
making it of a hollow conical case lined throughout its length with converging
blades of iron or steel. These blades are spaced out by filling pieces, and set
longitudinally of the case so as to present their cutting edges to the grain to
be hulled. Within the case I fit a conical runner similarly provided with
blades on its periphery. This conical runner is of considerably less length
than the case to allow of its being set in the more contracted portion of the

page_text: case as the blades are worn away. By driving the runner alternately in oppo-
site directions the sharpness of the blades will be ensured. The grain to be
hulled is fed in at the small end of the case, and finds its way out with the
bran at the other end.
For breaking down the hulled grain so as to prepare it for the operation
which reduces it to semoline, I propose instead of using the crushing rollers
described in the Provisional Specification above referred to, to groove one
roller longitudinally and the other transversely.
The last improvement relates to the reducing machine, whereby the hulled
and crushed grain is reduced to semoline. It may be described as a conical
mill, the cutting surfaces of which are furnished like the hulling machine with
iron or steel blades. The depth of the conical runner is considerably less than
the conical case to allow of its being adjusted higher in the case as the blades
wear away, and the diameter of tho runner is reduced. The blades are
secured in their places by rings inserted in notches cut in the face of the
blades. The same means is also employed for securing the blades in the
hulling machine, the case of which may with convenience be made in sections
to facilitate the clothing of the working surface. The conical mill with its
vertical adjustment, and capable of operating with the same efficiency when
driven in either direction, is applicable to the reduction of a variety of sub-
stances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Gustav Adolph Buchholz in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GUSTAV
ADOLPH BUCHHOLZ, of Montague Place, Clapham Road, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Gustav Adolph Buchholz, Her special license that I, the said
Gustav Adolph Buchholz, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Gustav Adolph Buchholz 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

page_text: lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN, AND FOR REDUCING
GRANULAR SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Gustav Adolph Buchholz, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Gustav Adolph Buchholz, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tlie
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements on an Invention for reducing
granular substances, for which I obtained Letters Patent, dated November
Nineteenth, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, No. 3113.
The first part of the present Invention relates to an improvement in the
hulling machine, and consists in making it of a hollow conical case, which is
provided at certain parts throughout its length with converging blades of iron
or steel. These blades are set on edge, and are spaced out by thin filling
pieces of paper, cardboard, or thin wood, and are arranged longitudinally in
the case so as to present their cutting edges to the grain to be chulled. By
experiment I have found that the best result is obtainable by fitting a portion
only of the inner surface of this conical caso with these converging blades,
the other portions of the case being made up of wire gauze or perforated
metal, which will act as a sieve for the bran or skin that is removed from
the grain by the action of the steel blades thereon to fall through. Within
this case is fitted a conical runner provided at its periphery with longitudinal.
steel blades set radially around the runner. This conical runner is made of
considerably less length than the case in which it is placed, to allow of its
being moved up longitudinally therein into the more contracted portion of the
case as the blades are worn away, and the diameter of the runner consequently
decreases.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1, Sheet I. is a plan view of a hulling.
machine constructing according to the first part of the Invention; Fig. 2 is a
longitudinal vertical section of the same; and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical
section taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2.
a, a, is the conical case, to which a slow rotary motion is communicated-by

page_text: means of the toothed gearing a*, a*, a*, as will be readily understood by
inspecting the Drawing. The conical case a, a, is formed of four longitudinal
bars a', V-shaped in cross section, and bolted at their extremities to end
plates a³, which carry bollow trunnions c, on which the case turns. The oppo-
site spaces between the four longitudinal bars are filled up respectively by the
-spaced-out steel blades a³ and the wire gauze or perforated plates a', which
latter are backed by transverse segment bars a bolted to the longitudinal
bars a¹. The blades a are secured in their places, a backing of lead being
cast upon them, and the blocks thus formed are affixed to the bars a¹ by screw
bolts, or in any other convenient manner. Within the conical case a is
mounted the conical runner 6, which is by preference composed of sections-
keyed on to a shaft 62. This runner 6 carries at its periphery a covering of
steel blades 6, which are spread out by filling strips, and extend from end to
end of the runner. These blades are made by preference in short lengths as
shewn at Fig. 2, and notched at their ends to receive the annular lip cast on
the ends of the conical sections, and the corresponding annular lip cast upon
the clamping plates 63, used to secure each section of blades in position. The
shaft b' of this runner is mounted in bearings carried by the hollow trunnions
c, c, of the case a, which with its appendages is supported in an adjustable
frame d. This frame is at one end supported on the pin or stud d', Fig. 2,
and at the other end suspended from an adjusting screw d³, provided with a
hand wheel d, which bears upon a bracket carried by a fixed pillar. By
turning the band wheel, the screw d may be screwed up or down for the pur-
pose of adjusting the inclination of the conical case and runner b. The outer
end of the shaft 6 is stepped into a block 6, to the opposite end of which is
adapted the horizontal screw 6, furnished with a hand wheel that takes a posi-
tion between the block 6 and a transverse fixed bar of the framing. By
turning therefore the hand wheel, the screw 65 will be made to impart an
endway motion to the runner, thereby adjusting it as required in the case a.
On the opposite end of the shaft 63 is keyed a toothed wheel e, which gears
into and is driven by a similar wheel e¹ on the axle of the driving pullies f.
From this arrangement of gearing it will be seen that the runner 6 will be
driven at a very considerable speed, while the conical outer case will be driven
in the same direction, but at a slower speed.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The grain to be operated upon is
placed in the hopper g, from which it descends down the pipe g¹. This pipe
projects into an annular chamber formed in the upper end plate a³, and having
openings in its inner end, which connect it with the interior of the conical case a.
The grain thus discharged into the case a passes along the case until it comes

page_text: under the combined action of the blades a³ and 6', whereby it will be subjected
to considerable friction due to the rapid rotation of the conical runner 6. The
bran and skin will thus be rubbed off, and pass out of the machine through
the wire gauze a' as the casing a rotates, while the cleaned grain will ulti-
mately escape at the other end of the casing, and pass down the spout into
any suitable receptacle that may be placed there for the purpose. In using
this apparatus it is advisable to drive the runner alternately in opposite direc-
tions, so that the sharpness of the blades may be maintained, the wearing down
of one angle of the blade tending to sharpen the opposite angle.
In order to break down the hulled grain so as to prepare it for the opera-
tion which reduces it to the form of semolina, I propose, instead of using the
crushing rollers described in the Specification of my former Patent above
referred to, to groove one roller longitudinally and the other transversely.
In Sheet II., Fig. 4 is an end view; and Fig. 5 a partial plan view of one
of the rollers. It will be seen that in this roller the grooves are made longi-
tudinally or parallel with the axis of the roller; Fig. 6 is an end view, and
Fig. 7 a plan view of the other roller, in which the grooves are made trans-
versely, and extend circumferentially round the roller, so that the grooves of
the two rollers work at right angles to each other. Rollers grooved in this
manner are readily made, and act more efficiently than the ordinary crushing
rollers.
The last improvement relates to the reducing machine, whereby the hulled
and crushed grain is reduced to semolina. It may be described as a vertical
conical mill, the cutting surfaces of which aro furnished like the hulling
machine already described with iron or steel blades spaced out by strips of
cardboard, paper, or thin wood placed between them.
Fig. 8, Sheet III., represents the machine in vertical section. In this
instance the conical case a is bolted to a bed plate carried by standards, and it
is lined throughout with steel blades. The conical runner 6 is keyed to a
vertical shaft c, which rests on a step carried by an adjusting screw d. The
depth of the conical runner b is considerably less than that of the conical case a,
to allow of the runner being raised higher in the case as the blades wear away,
and the diameter of the runner becomes reduced. This movement is effected
by means of a hand wheel on the screw d, acting in the manner described
with reference to the hulling machine. The blades of the runner are secured
in their places by means of notches or recesses cut at the opposite ends of
the blades as shown in the Drawing, which recesses receive annular lips cast
upon the base of the cone, and on the clamping cap f, between which the
blades are firmly clipped. A similar arrangement is adopted for securing the

page_text: blades of the case. For the purpose of causing the grain to work downwards
with regularity diagonal grooves are cut in the edges of the steel blades both
of the runner and the casing as shewn in the Figure.
The grain to be operated upon is supplied to the hopper g, from whence it
descends down the tube g¹ to the dish h, from which it falls on to the
runner, and passes down between the rubbing surfaces, and ultimately escapes
below through an orifice i in the bottom of the case a. The conical mill with
its vertical adjustment, as shewn in the Drawing, is capable of operating with
the same efficiency when driven in either direction, and is applicable to the
reduction of a variety of substances.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Apparatus for Hulling Grain, and for Reducing Granular Substances, and
having 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 claim the
improved construction and arrangement of apparatus above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gustav Adolph Buchholz, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Tenth day of October, in the year of our.
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
GUSTAV ADOLPH BUCHHOLZ.
(L.B.)