AN AUTOMATIC SELF REGULATING FEED FOR MILLS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, EDWIN SLOPER BEAVEN 5 Boreham Terrace Warminster Wilts, Maltster do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN AUTOMATIC SELF REGULATING
FEED FOR MILLS to be as follows:-
Instead of the ordinary feed of mills in which the corn grain or seed is
commenced to be delivered into the mill immediately the mill starts or is controlled
by an attendant-This Invention provides that the corn &c can only be fed into
the mill when the mill has attained, and so long as it shall maintain, sufficeient
velocity to treat the said corn &c in an efficient manner: the improvement
consisting in making the feeding apparatus of any mill constructed with roller or
rollers to be automatic and self regulating. This is attained by means of a roller
which has a number of projections rising above its surface, which projections are
used for throwing the corn grain or seed into the mill.
The roller revolves in a receptical attached to the bottom of the hopper
of the mill. In the front of, and at a sufficient distance above the bottom
of, the receptical is the lip forming the bottom edge of the opening through which
the corn &c is delivered into the mill and over the said lip the grain has to be
thrown.
The feed on first starting of the mill and until the crushing, bruising or grinding
rollers or roller have attained sufficient velocity to work effectually will deliver no
corn &c over the said lip into the mill, but will carry all corn &c brought forward
back into the receptical and hopper. On the velocity of the mill increasing
sufficiently for it to commence working efficiently, the feed will commence to throw
a regulated quantity of corn &c into the mill and will continue to do so as long as
the mill continues at that velocity. If the velocity increases an increasing
quantity will be thrown into the mill, according to the rate of increase in the
velocity of the roller or rollers of the mill, but if the velocity diminishes the
quantity delivered will decrease and the corn &c will cease to be deliverd into the
mill when the velocity has decreased so far that the said corn &c is not treated
efficiently.
The opening between this roller and the mill can be constructed as a fixture or
controlled by a slide, but if fitted with a slide, it is so arranged that the bottom lip

page_text: of the opening cannot be lowered sufficiently for corn &c to be delivered into the
mill until the proper velocity is attained, so that the feed is automatic. The sole
use of the slide is to regulate the quantity of corn &e delivered into the mill after
it has attained full velocity in case the motive power applied is less than that for
which the mill is constructed,
In the Drawing attached-
A A are the rollers which crush, bruise or grind the corn, grain, or seed.
B is the roller with projections on its surface, which can be driven from the
same spindle as A or from an independent source.
C is the receptical in which the roller B revolves in the direction indicated by
the arrow.
This receptical is contracted by the partition J which nearly touches
the roller B, so that no corn &c can pass into the rollers A before the roller B has
attained the required-velocity.
D is the hopper from which the corn &c descends into the receptical C.
F is the lip of the opening E, This lip F is raised sufficiently above the bottom
of the receptical C and is placed at a sufficient distance from B as that B must
attain a sufficient velocity before it can throw any corn &c into the mill over the
-said. lip F and through-the-said.opening E.
G is the slide-referred to which can be raised by a contrivance on the outside of
the hopper through the slot H, if the motive power is not sufficient to drive the
mill with full feed.
--
I is a curved plate placed so that all the corn &c falls on the rollers A and
cannot escape until it has gone through them.
I claim for the above invention that it is novel in rospect of
1st Constructing the feeding part of mill (constructed with roller-or-rollers)_with_
an apparatus which shall deliver no corn, grain, or-seed into the said mill until the
said mill has attained-a-velocity sufficient to prepare and treat such corn &c in an
efficient manner, so that the feed is automatio;-and-thon_that_the_quantity
delivered shall increase and decrease with the velocity of the mill so that the feed
is self regulating.
2nd Constructing the feeding apparatus of mill (constructed with roller or rollers)
so that the feed brought forward shall be delivered back into the hopper if the
mill has not attained, or does not maintain, sufficient velocity to do its work in au
efficient manner.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, EDWIN SLOPER BEAVEN, 5, Boreham Terrace, Warminster, Wilts, Maltster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AUTOMATIC SELF
REGULATING FEED FOR MILLS, being a communication to me from abroad by
William Andrews, and Arthur Ward Beaven, (trading as Andrews and Beaven),
Engineers, Christchurch, New Zealand, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in the feed mechanism of mills whereby
the supply of corn, grain or seed to the rolls is automatically regulated.
In the following description of this invention reference is made to the letters of
the drawing accompanying the provisional specification, such drawing being a sido
elevation, partly in section, of the said feeding mechanism and the grinding or
squeezing rollers arranged in connection therewith.
In the mechanism ordinarily employed for feeling corn, grain or seed to mills,
the feed commences immediately the mill is set in motion, or, the same is con-
trolled by hand thereby necessitating the employment of an attendant, both of
which courses are accompanied by many disadvantages which are, however, obviated
by the improved mechanism constituting the subject of this invention.
The said improved mechanism consists of a roller or rollers arranged at the
bottom of the hopper, or, in a receptacle at the lower part of the same, in connection
with a check lip as hereinafter described.
The description of this invention is hereinafter confined to the employment of
one feed roller only, but when more than one are employed they are all constructed
and arranged in a similar manner. The roller has a number of projections rising
above its surface, which projections serve on the revolution of the roller to throw
the corn, grain or seed over the check lip into the mill. In the front of the said
roller and at the desired distance above the bottom of the hopper or receptacle is
the check lip herein before mentioned, which lip forms the edge of one side of the
opening through which the corn, grain or seed passes to the grinding rollers. The
said lip is either constructed as a fixture or made to slide so that the height thereof
may be adjusted in accordance with the weight of the grain or seed being treated,
or the velocity at which the mill is travelling or for any other reason.
The feeding roller is arranged in connection with, and driven by, the mechanism
employed for driving the grinding rollers, in such a manner that at the starting of
the mill and until the grinding rollers have attained sufficient velocity to work effec-
tually, the feeding roller, which revolves in the direction indicated in the drawing
herein before referred to, does not revolve with sufficient velocity to throw the corn,
grain or seed over the said lip, and the corn, grain or seed striking the lip remains
in the interior of the hopper or receptacle. On the velocity of the mill increasing
sufficiently for it to commence working efficiently the feeding roller will commence
to throw a regular quantity of corn, grain or seed into the channel leading to the
grinding mill and it will continue to do so as long as the mill continues at that
velocity, but, when the velocity increases the feed will be proportionately increased

page_text: and if the velocity be diminished the quantity delivered to the grinding rollers
will be decreased until it ceases altogether, when the velocity has decreased so far
that the corn, grain or seed cannot be properly treated by the grinding rollers.
In the drawing hereinbefore referred to A. A. are the rollers for crushing,
bruising, or grinding the corn, grain or seed which rollers are hereinbefore termed
the "grinding rollers," B. is the feed roller, which is driven in the manner herein-
before mentioned, C. is the receptacle in which the roller B. revolves. This
receptacle is contracted by the partition J. which nearly touches the roller B. in
order to prevent any grain passing to the rollers A. independently of the roller B.,
D. is the hopper. F. is the check lip of the opening E. leading to the grinding
rollers A. and the same is placed at a sufficient distance from the roller B. to prevent
the revolution of the latter throwing the corn, grain or seed over the same before
the mill has attained the requisite velocity. The upper part of the said lip F. is
shown in a form of a slide at G the height of which may be regulated by any
suitable means, but, by preference, through the slot H., this will be found to be
exceedingly convenient for lowering the lip when the motive power is not sufficient
-to-drive-the mill with full feed. I is a curved plate so placed that all the corn,
grain or seed is caused to fall on to the rollers-A-and-is-prevented from escaping