IMPROVEMENTS IN REDUCING SOLID SUBSTANCES TO POWDER, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1859

page_text: Sealed the 22nd November 1859, and dated the 3rd June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd June 1859.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REDUCING SOLID SUBSTANCES TO POWDER, AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication from abroad
by William James Cantelo, of Burlington, Burlington County, State of New
Jersey, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar system or mode of reducing to powder
certain substances which, on account of their peculiar nature and consistency,

page_text: cannot be effectually operated upon by ordinary grinding apparatus, and relates
also to a peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus for
accomplishing such reduction. The peculiar system or mode of reduction
consists in placing the ends of blocks of the material or substance to be reduced
opposite to and in contact with each other and presenting them simultaneously
and at the exact point or line of junction to the cutting edge of a circular or
reciprocating saw or rasp, so that the cut will be effected in the line of
junction, and will cause the simultaneous reduction of each of the blocks,
which after every through cut are again brought together in readiness for the
.succeeding cut. The apparatus which I propose to use for the purpose above
mentioned consists of an ordinary circular saw and saw bench, the latter being
provided with guide rails, between which slides, in a direction to and from the
saw, a box containing the two blocks of material to be operated upon. This
box is slotted transversely in the line of the plane of the saw to admit of the
saw.cutting through the blocks, and it is further provided with slides worked
by a right and left hand screw spindle, which slides, by turning the spindle in
a proper direction, approach each other, and force the contiguous ends of the
blocks of material together after each cut.
Although I have described one particular construction of apparatus to
be employed I do not confine or restrict myself to such particular con-
struction, as various other mechanical devices may be employed for carrying
out the main feature of my system, which is the bringing of the two con-
tiguous ends of the two blocks of material to be reduced, firmly in contact with
each other and in a line always with the plane or cutting edge of the
reducing tool.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send' greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,

page_text: the said John Henry Johnson,. Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN REDUCING SOLID SUBSTANCES TO POWDER, AND IN THE MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication from abroad by William
James Cantelo, of Burlington, Burlington County, State of New Jersey,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar system or mode of reducing to
powder certain substances which on account of their peculiar nature and
consistency cannot be effectually operated upon by ordinary grinding apparatus,
and relates also to a peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for accomplishing such reduction. The peculiar system or mode of
reduction consists in placing the ends of blocks of the material or substance to
be reduced opposite to and in contact with each other and presenting them
simultaneously and at the exact point or line of junction to the cutting edge of
a circular or reciprocating saw or rasp, so that the cut will be effected in the
liné of junction, and will cause the simultaneous reduction of each of the blocks.
which after every through cut are again brought together in readiness for the
succeeding cut. The apparatus which I propose to use for the purpose above
mentioned consists of an ordinary circular saw and saw bench, the latter being
provided with guide rails, between which slides, in a direction to and from the
saw, a box containing the two blocks of material to be operated upon. This
box is slotted transversely in the line of the plane of the saw to admit of the
saw cutting through the blocks, and it is further provided with slides worked
by a right and left hand screw spindle, which slides, by turning the spindle in
:

page_text: a proper direction, approach each other and force the contiguous ends of the
blocks of material together after each cut.
Although I have described one particular construction of apparatus to be
employed, I do not confine or restrict myself to such particular construction, as
various other mechanical devices may be employed for carrying out the main
feature of my system, which is, the bringing of the two contiguous ends of the
two blocks of material to be reduced firmly in contact with each other, and in
a line always with the plane or cutting edge of the reducing tool.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a longitudinal
vertical section of a reducing machine, constructed according to this Invention ;
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same; and Figure 3 is a plan corre-
sponding to Figure 1.
A is an ordinary circular saw, secured to the spindle B, which turns in
suitable bearings a, a', fitted to the opposite edges of the table or platform C,
which is supported by and secured to any suitable frame or pair of standards D.
On each edge of the platform is fitted a raised guide rail e, e, between which
guides is fitted to slide freely the box or frame E, its movement being in a
line or parallel with the plane of the saw, without having any lateral play.
A slot fis cut transversely in the box E, and this slot coincides with another
one in the table or platform within which the saw revolves freely. In order
to counteract the weakness of the box which would result from the slot f
it is proposed to strengthen it by securing two curved ribs h, h', to the back
of the box. A longitudinal slot is made in the back of the box to admit the
ends of the two slides G, G, which slides fit into the box, and are moved
along therein by the screw spindle H, which works through the ends i of the
slides, and turns in bearings m, m, secured to the opposite ends of the box.
One half of this screw spindle is formed with a right-hand thread, and the
other half with a left-hand thread, but both threads should be of precisely the
same pitch. It thus follows that on turning the screw spindle in one direction
the slides G will approach each other simultaneously, and on turning it in an
opposite direction they will simultaneously recede from each other.
It should be understood, however, that the materials to the reduction of
which this Invention relates are either of such a glutinous, fibrous, or in other
respects tough nature, as to prohibit the use of ordinary grinding mills.

page_text: Amongst such substances may be classed the animal matter forming the
residuum after the process of boiling tallow, and which is generally compressed
into cakes, in which state it is known in the trade as "graves" or "crackling."
The powder of this substance is extremely valuable for farm purposes, both as
a manure, and as food for live stock.
This Invention is equally applicable to the reduction of gutta percha, or of
scraps of leather, temporarily cemented together into masses or blocks,,
powdered leather being now extensively used in combination with other
substances for many manufacturing purposes.
This Invention will also be found to be admirably adapted to the economic
reduction of dye woods in substitution for the costly and cumbrous machinery
now employed for that purpose.
The following is the modus operandi of the improved reducing apparatus
claimed under the above in part recited Letters Patent :-The slides G, G,
having been moved to the two opposite ends of the box, by turning the screw
spindle H, the block of material to be reduced is placed within the box, and
the screw is then turned until the block is confined between the two opposite
slides G. The box E, with its appendages is now pushed forward by hand or
otherwise, and the block is severed by the saw, after which the box is drawn
back clear of the cutter; the screw II is again turned to an extent sufficient
to bring the severed ends of the block into close contact with each other, and
the box is again pushed forward, and the material acted upon by the saw, as
before, but in the exact line of junction of the two halves of the block; this is
continued until the whole of the block has been reduced by the teeth of the
saw, the resulting powder or sawdust passing down a shoot I to the ground or
into a suitable receptacle to receive it. It will be observed that when the
severed ends of the block are brought together after each cut the point of
contact must invariably be in line midway between and parallel to the sides or
edges of the saw. Not only, therefore, does the latter act as though cutting
through an undivided block, but each severed half of the block furnishes its
separate quota of powder removed by the saw.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for reducing solid substances to powder, as herein-before
described.

page_text: Second, the system or mode of reducing glutinous, fibrous, and other tough
materials to powder, by placing the ends of blocks of such material opposite to
and in contact with each other, and presenting them simultaneously and at
the point of junction to the edge of a rotatory or reciprocating saw or other
suitable cutter, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of December, One thousand eight-
hundred and fifty-nine..
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)