Improvements in Brushing and Sieve Cleaning Devices for Plan Sifters and other Sieving Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 6th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brushing and Sieve Cleaning Devices for Plan
Sifters and other Sieving Machines.
A communication by GOTTLIEB LUTHER, of Brunswick, in the Duchy of
Brunswick, in the Empire of Germany, Milling Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6 Bank Street, Manchester
both in the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham in the County of
Warwick, and 31 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the well known Plansifter machines hitherto marbles, beans and other like
bodies have been used to clean the sieves. These rapidly wear the sieves out and
the travelling brushes useful in other sieving machines have been hitherto
considered unavailable, as the driving mechanism is so difficult to apply in these
cases owing to there being numerous sieves one over the other.
Now this invention consists of a travelling brush on a very different principle
from those hitherto used, which consist of an endless band having the brushes
attached thereto. In my case I form a chain or string of brushes one behind the
other and so arranged that the shaking of the machine itself shall cause the
brushes to advance. The brushes instead of being in the sieve itself are in
the tray below the sieve. They consist of a rectangular handle preferably formed
of two flat laths having at one end a rubber roller pivoted therein. On each end
of the Ta brush projects sideways at an angle of from 120 to 150 degrees from
the line of the handle and on the top of the TI nail or screw another brush
pointing straight forward and spreading out somewhat on both sides so that it
shall brush the surface of the sieve almost the entire distance across of one of the
channels. The two side brushes press gently against the sides of the channel.
The channels are arranged with curves at the end in such manner as to guide the
roller on the handle of the brush aud thus cause each brush in succession to pass
round the end of one channel into the next the curves being formed to suit.
The mode of action is as follows:-
A gyratory movement being given to the sieve every particle on the sieve takes
the same movement and the brush is alternately pressed first towards one side and
then towards the other. The dithering of the tray causes the brush to jump up
and down and the main bristles standing out horizontally or pointing slightly
upwards strike the sieve and clean it. The friction being very much greater
against travel in one direction than against travel in the other the brushes rapidly
run round from one chaunel to another and being all tied together by chains or
strings at the centre of the Ts the tails or handles are free to curve and direct
the brushes in the right direction at each end. The side brushes alternately
pressed with greater and less force against the sides cause the brush to oscillate
considerably on its axis while being propelled forward. The brush is thus
enabled very effectually to brush the under surface of the sieve without much
wear and also at the same time to brush the material on the tray forward towards
the discharge orifices. In thus describing my brush I do not confine myself to the
exact shape for it is obvious that once give the idea of a brush in the tray below

page_text: the sieve free to travel and with the bristles pointing all more or less in one
general direction as regards the travel but at the same time mostly at an angle
with that travel it is very easy to design a great number of brushes which will
travel in this way and brush the two surfaces having more friction one way than
the other.
Dated the 2nd day of December 1895.
Improvements in Brushing and Sieve Cleaning Devices for Plan
Sifters and other Sieving Machines.
A communication by GOTTLIEB LUTHER, of Brunswick, in the Duchy of
Brunswick, in the Empire of Germany, Milling Engineer.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street, Manchester
both in the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham in the County of
Warwick and 322 High Holborn formerly of 31 High Holborn in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
In the well known Plansichter machines, marbles beans and other like bodies
have been used hitherto to clean the sieves. These rapidly wear the sieves out
and the travelling brushes useful in other sieving machines have been hitherto
considered unavailable as the driving mechanism is so difficult to apply in a
Plansichter having a number of superimposed sieves.
Now the invention consists in arranging the travelling brush to travel without
gearing and to be actuated by the actual movement or shake of the sieve itself.
It is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a single sieve and sieve bottom of a
Plansichter.
Figure 2 a plan of a channel showing four brushes travelling in that channel.
The entrance and exit for meal are not shown, as they form no part of the inven-
tion and can be of any required form. A is the sieve, B sieve bottom, C two thin
plates of wood carrying the brush D fixed to their upper surface and united
together by the solid portion E. F is an india-rubber roller for guiding the
brush on the sides of the channel especially the circular ends H. It will be
noticed that the brush projects sideways and upwards.
The mode of action is as follows:-
The sieve being given a rotary motion, the brush during the backward portion
of that motion comes against the sieve pricking into it and the sieve forms a
strong resistance to the backward movement of the brush. When however the
forward portion of the rotary motion takes place, the device goes naturally forward
in the direction of the arrow, the brush affording little friction but sliding over or
rather under the sieve. The india-rubber roller and the long shank prevent the
brush from turning round and going backward on its track but oblige the brush
when it arrives at the end of a channel to go round the bend. My correspondent
does not bind himself to the exact form of tail piece nor of brush nor to the
exact angle shown, as he has found that very numerous varieties of tail piece and
of brush will work, but the form delineated is the one which he has found in
practice to be that most useful. It is obvious that a brush of this nature can be

page_text: used to clean the surface on which it travels as well as the surface under which it
travels and also that a double brush can be used cleaning both surfaces at the same
time. In such case a brush can be placed both above and below the frame-
work C C, and the brush body supplied with a support, preferably springy near its
centre, whereby the lower bristles shall not be pressed flat by the weight of the
brush, but shall stand at an angle with the bottom of about the same slope as that
shown in Figure 1 in the case of the brush impinging against the top only.
a support is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and if Figure 1 be turned upside
down it will be seen at once how the bottom of a sieve below could be worked
with a brush of this nature having a rounded support such as set forth in the
dotted lines. For brushing the surface on which the brush travels, the brush
should be rather thicker and stronger than when brushing the surface above.
Such
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. The improvement in brushing and sieve cleaning devices for Plansichters and
other sifting machines, which consists in placing a free but guided brush on or
under the sieve with the bristles pointing only in nearly the opposite direction in
which it has to travel, whereby the rotary or reciprocating motion of the sieve
causes the brush to freely travel in its forward direction but to be impeded in its
backward motion by the sieve and thus cause a gentle brushing and shaking motion
to be given to the sieve substantially as described.
2. The combination with a reciprocating or rotary sieve of a free but guided
brushing device substantially as herein described.
Dated this 5th day of August 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.