AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING OR PREPARING MEAL
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Nightingale Palmer, of Lansdowne
Road, Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING OR PREPARING
MEAL." A communication from abroad by Friedrich Wegmann, of
Naples in the Kingdom of Italy.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Nightingalo
Palmer at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 6th March 1874.
I, THOMAS NIGHTINGALE PALMER, of Lansdowne Road, Dalston, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING OR PRE-
PARING MEAL," a communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved machine for treating or pre-
paring meal, in which the meal to be operated upon is fed into a hopper
having an opening at each side for the meal to pass through, the meal
being gradually fed from the said hopper by two wooden feeding rolls.

page_text: Under these feeding rolls are two pairs of squeezing rolls. One roll of
each of the pairs of squeezing rolls has its bearings in the frame of the
machine, while the other has its bearings in a movable lever, which by
means of other levers and weights presses the said roll against the
squeezing roll, which has its bearings in the frame of the machine, by
which means all the rolls revolve at the same speed and substances
harder than the coarse meal to be operated upon can pass through whole.
Both pairs of squeezing rolls are operated by a driving pulley attached
to one of the main squeezing rolls, motion being communicated to the
other pair by means of toothed gearing. The spindles of the main
squeezing rolls carry strap pulleys, from one of which a strap passes to
another pulley mounted between the feeding rolls. The said strap pulley
by means of a pinion gearing into two larger toothed wheels drives the
said feeding rolls.
The flow of meal from the hopper is regulated by two slides, one at
each side of the said hopper, the said slides being adjusted by screws.
For removing any meal which may adhere to the squeezing rolls I
employ scrapers supported on fulcrums, the said scrapers being by means
of levers and weights pressed against the said rolls with any required
pressure. Those parts of the said scrapers which press against the
squeezing rolls I prefer to make of glass or similar wear resisting
material.
The squeezing rolls are to have a surface consisting of material con-
taining so much silica as not to color the meal or flour. I prefer to
make them of iron coated with china and finely turned with diamond
tools.
The meal being fed from the hopper by the wooden feeding rolls is
next passed between the squeezing rolls, from which it passes out in
small flat cakes of the required firmness, which is regulated by the
weights on the levers of the adjustable rolls according to the consistency
of the coarse meal and the quantity of the same passing through the
rolls.
The smooth pressed meal passes from the machine either to an archi-
medean screw or into a box, and is after intense sifting at once turned
partly into flour ready for use, and partly, without any further operation
as heretofore, into clean fine bran.
'

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Nightingale Palmer in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
NIGHTINGALE PALMER, of Lansdowne Road, Dalston, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Nightingale Palmer, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas Nightingale Palmer, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Nightingale Palmer, 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 "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING OR PRE-
PARING MEAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Nightingale Palmer, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 Thomas Nightingale Palmer, 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 following statement, reference being had to the accom
panying Drawing forming a part of this Specification..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Wi
1

page_text: rolls.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross section of the hopper.
:
Like letters indicate like parts in all the Figures.
The meal to be operated upon is fed into the hopper, which has an
opening at each side for the meal to pass through, the meal being.
gradually fed from the said hopper by two wooden feeding rolls o' and o".
Under the said feeding rolls are two pairs of squeezing rolls d, a,
and c, e.
The rolls a and c have their bearings in the frame of the
machine, while the rolls d and e have their bearings in movable levers
having their fulcrums at f. The said levers by means of other levers
g.g", and g, and weights / press the said rolls d and e respectively.
against the rolls a and c, by which means all the rolls revolvė at
the same speed, and substances harder than the coarse meal to be
operated upon can pass through whole. Both pairs of squeezing rolls
are operated by a driving pulley b attached to the roll a, motion being
communicated to the roll ċ by means of gearing as shown in Figure 4.
From 200 to 300 revolutions per minute is a suitable speed. The
spindles of the rolls a and c carry strap pulleys (see Figure 4), from
one of which a strap passes to the pulley m, the spindle of which carries
a toothed pinion gearing into two larger toothed wheels n' and n", which
operate the feeding rolls o', o".
The flow of the meal from the hopper is regulated by two slides p', 2",
(Figure 3), the said slides being adjusted by screws.
For removing any meal which may adhere to the squeezing rolls I
employ scrapers (as shown in Figure 5) supported on fulcrums k. The
said-scrapers are pressed against the squeezing rolls with any required
pressure by means of levers and weights i. Those parts of the said
scrapers which press against the squeezing rolls I prefer to make of glass
or similar wear resisting material.
The squeezing rolls are to have a surface consisting of material con-
taining so much silica as not to color the meal or flour. I prefer to
make them of iron coated with china and finely turned with diamond
tools.

page_text: The meal being fed from the hopper by the wooden feeding rolls it is
next passed between the squeezing rolls, from whence it passes out in
small flat cakes of the required firmness, which is regulated by the
weights on the levers of the adjustable rolls according to the consistency
of the coarse meal and the quantity of the same passing through the
rolls.
The smooth pressed meal passes from the machine either to an archi-
medean screw or into a box, and is after intense sifting at once turned
partly into flour ready for use and partly without any further operations
as heretofore into clean fine bran.
The advantages of this machine are that as no cellular fibres are torn
the power usually applied therefor is saved; that on account of the
complete separation of the bran the germ, and the membrane particles
the flour itself is finely ground, pure, and ready for use, and owing to
the separation of the cells containing the cereals the flour so produced
will not even during fermentation lose its color, rendering it very
suitable for export or for storing.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to mc
by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First. One or more rolls a or c and corresponding rolls d or e, the
latter being pressed against the former automatically, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The application of squeezing rolls having a surface consisting
of material containing so much silica as not to color the meal or flour,
and so as to have the hardness required for the purpose set forth.
Thirdly. The scrapers as described and shown in Figure 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Nightingale Palmer, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and
seventy-four.