IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS.
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur William Lovell Reddie of the Office for Patents
66 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex Patent Agent for an Inven-
tion of IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS. A communication to liim from
abroad by Henry Ferdinand Saint Requier of Paris in the Republic
of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur William Lovell
Reddie at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th July
1882.
و"
ARTHUR WILLIAM LOVELL REDDIE of the Office for Patents, 66 Chancery Lane
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS
[A communication to him from abroad by Henry Ferdinand Saint Requier of Paris
in the Republic of France.]
This Invention relates to a novel construction of roller mill and is specially
intended to be used in the conversion of wheat into flour, the object being to effect
the complete crushing of the wheat or other substance by a single passage through
the crushing rolls.
Hitherto in roller mills the grain has been fed to the rolls in a layer or stream
'several grains deep, the result being that a mass of particles, instead of every
individual particle, is subjected to pressure. This is proved to be the case by the
fact that what is termed by the millers a "cake" issues from between the rolls.
These broad and thin cakes composed of compressed particles, require to be
disintegrated afresh.
These defects necessitate the repassing of the same materials through the
apparatus, until the final granulation is effected.
The operation is complicated, time is lost, and power and labour are wasted.
The present invention reinedies these defects by reducing the work to the
simplest form, the reduction of the wheat or other goods being effected by a single
crushing operation, a matter of much importance when treating so delicate a
substance as wheat. This novel and important result is attained by the lengthening
out and thinning of the stream of grain to be crushed, and by the regular and
mathematical distribution of the granules, or semolina, over the entire breadth of
the said stream.

page_text: The essence of the invention consists in passing between the crushing rolls all
the granules, and all the particles of wheat, individually and separately, so that
each may come into contact with the crushing surfaces.
The apparatus by which these ends are attained consists essentially of three
hoppers, two grooved rollers and a pair of crushing rolls. The first hopper delivers
the grain in regulated quantities and constitutes the general feed hopper. The
other two hoppers spread out the grain each in its turn by a double distributing
action. The granulous stream is spread over twice its former breadth on issuing
from the grooves of the first distributing roller which is situate within the second
hopper, and again when it leaves the grooves of the second distributing roller
which is situate within the third hopper.
The first named roller draws in the grain delivered by the first hopper, the
second roller thins out that which the first roller has drawn in, and finally the
lower crushing roll, which is twice the diameter of the second feed roller, again
thins out to double the breadth the stream of grain which had been thinned out by
the second roller.
The rollers are grooved helicoidally; the size of the grooves being proportioned
to the coarseness of the goods to be treated, and those of the second roller being of
finer gauge than those of the first.
The second roller is double the diameter of the first, to afford sufficient surface
for the doubly divided out grain to lodge in, and spread over. These two rollers
serve to distribute the grain; the roll serves at the same time to distribute and
crush it. The hoppers regulate the stream and divide it, the rollers and the lower
crushing roll draw it out and lengthen it.
Thus the matter to be crushed is regularly distributed in every sense over the
crushing roll, and so that each unit of the mass is brought in contact with the two
crushing surfaces.
It should be remarked that the grain is not allowed to fall into the bite of the
crushing roll, but is quietly drawn in by the lower crushing roll, in a nearly hori-
zontal direction, so that the crushing may take place without anything occurring
likely to derange the order of the particles of the broad thin stream of grain.
Means are provided for regulating the feed from the first hopper, and the bearings
of the crushing rolls are carried in supports in such a manner as to allow the rolls
to yield should any foreign body accidentally pass between them, and their pressure
may be regulated by a combination of rock levers and adjustable counterweights.
The apparatus is fitted below with a shute or hopper for collecting the meal as it
issues from the rolls, which latter are provided with suitable scrapers, access to
which is afforded by a door in the front of the casing. The roller mill is preferably
duplicated and completely enclosed in a casing which allows it to be worked
without direct communication with the external air, and a glazed panel permits the
working to be observed. The crushing rolls may be grooved or smooth, according
to the nature of the grain or other substance to be crushed.
By this mill the conversion of wheat into flour may be finished at one operation,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Arthur William Lovell Reddie in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th January 1883.
ARTHUR WILLIAM LOVELL REDDIE of the Office for Patents 66 Chancery Lane
in the County of Middlesex Patent Agent "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER MILLS
a communication to me from abroad by Henry Ferdinand Saint Requier of Paris
in the Republic of France,
This Invention relates to a novel construction of roller mill for crushing grain
and other substances and is specially applicable to Mills to be used in the conversion
of wheat into flour the object in view being to effect the complete crushing and
disintegration of the individual grains of wheat or other substance at a single
passage through the crushing rolls.
Hitherto in roller mills the grain has been usually fed to the bite of the rolls in
a layer or stream several grains deep, the result being that a mass of particles
instead of every individual particle is subject to pressure
That this compression in a mass takes place is proved by the fact that a "cake"
or "galetti" issues from between the rolls, and these broad and thin cakes composed
of compressed particles, require to be disintegrated afresh.
This disintegration is effected by means of another special apparatus. The
defects above mentioned require that the same materials shall be repeatedly
passed through the apparatus until the final granulation or reduction is
accomplished.
The whole operation is complicated and involves loss of time and waste of power
and labour.
The present invention remedies these defects by reducing the work to the simplest
form; the reduction of the wheat or other goods being effected by a single
crushing operation a matter of much importance when treating so delicate a
substance as wheat.
This result is obtained by lengthening out and thinning the stream of grain to
be crushed, and by the regular and mathematical distribution of the granules or
semolina over the entire length and breadth of the said stream in such a manner
that the grains of wheat or semolina shall be each individually and separately
submitted to the action of the crushing rolls.
The novel construction and arrangement of apparatus by which this result is
effected is represented in side elevation partly in section in Fig. 1 of the
accompanying drawing. The Roller Mill therein represented is composed of a
double set of duplicate parts, one set on either side of the dotted central
line 1. 2.
Referring now to the set of parts shown in section to the right hand of the
Figure, A is the principal feed hopper fitted with the usual slide B operated by a
hand wheel C for exactly regulating the supply of grain or other substance to be
delivered onto the roller D which works within a small casing or hopper d from
which small hopper the grain or other substance is delivered onto a second roller E,
twice the diameter of the roller D and like it, arranged to work within a casing or
hopper e as clearly shown in the drawing.
These rollers D and E are grooved helically as shown in Figures 2 in plan
view and cross section; the grooves on D being of a size proportioned to the
coarseness of the substance under treatment and those on E being of finer gauge
than those on D.

page_text: The grain delivered in a regulated thin stream from the first hopper A is
deposited in the deep helical grooves of the roller D and delivered quietly and
regularly onto the sloping wall of the casing or hopper d, whence it falls upon the
roller E which as above stated is about twice the diameter of the roller D and has
finer grooves. This second roller E spreads out or thins the grain which comes
from the roller and delivers it onto the sloping wall of the hopper e to be carried
by the roll F in the manner to be presently explained, into the bite of the crushing
rolls F G.
The roller E is driven at the same speed as the roller D but its diameter is
doubled so that it affords a larger surface for the grain to lodge on and the stream
of grain is consequently thinned out or lengthened.
These rollers D and E it will be seen serve specially for the distribution and
thinning out of the grain. The roll F serves both for the continued distribution
or carrying forward of the grain in the desired way and also for the crushing
thereof.
The several hoppers regulate the flow of the particles and serve to distribute
them breadth wise in a uniformly thin stream; the rollers D and E and the
roll F serve to lengthen or thin out the said stream in the direction of its length.
The crushing roll F is about twice the diameter of the second distributing or
thinning roller E, and is so situated with respect to the mouth of the hopper e that
the grain shall flow quietly onto its surface, instead of falling thereon, and the
particles are consequently not disturbed but remain in their separate regularly
spaced positions, and are in this condition brought swiftly under the action of the
pair of crushing rolls F and G.
It should be remarked that the proper working of the system is greatly dependent
on the manner in which the grain from the small hopper e is delivered onto the
roll F, and also on the position of the point at which the actual crushing takes
places in respect to the delivery of grain onto the roll F. In both cases it is
essential to so arrange these parts that the transfer of the thinned out grain to the
bite of the rolls, and the actual crushing operation shall be effected without
materially deranging the order of the particles in the stream of grain or other
substance. Without such an arrangement at this point clogging might take
place, and render the previous thinning out of the grain in the manner described
nugatory.
The action which takes place by this arrangement of distributing hoppers de
and rollers D E may be illustrated in metaphor by supposing the stream of grain
to be a continuous web or tissue in which case the hoppers d and e would produce
the woof of the stream, and the rollers D E and roll F would draw out or produce
the warp.
The fixed hoppers work upon the breadth of the stream, while the movable
rollers and the roll F operate on it lengthwise.
It is by the aid of the hoppers that each unit or particle is placed side by side,
and by the action of the rollers and roll F that these units or particles
uninterruptedly follow one another in practically unbroken continuity.
The grain or other substance under treatment is thus in every sense equally
spaced and distributed and in that condition is subjected to the action of the
crushing rolls so that each particle individually is brought in contact with the two
crushing surfaces.
Referring now to the description of the mill as shewn to the left hand of fig: 1
HH are the grease box bearings for the journals of the duplicate distributing
rollers D and E, and I is the fixed bearing of the duplicate roll F.
The pressure to be put on the journals of the crushing roll G is regulated by
means of the adjustable bearing K, the system of levers L M N, and the
counterweight P; as will be readily understood, O is a shute which receives the
crushed grain or other substance as it is stripped from the rolls F G by the
scrapers TT
The distributory hoppers' d e and the bearings H for the rollers D and E are fixed

page_text: to side pieces R forming part of the general framework V. The front part of the
casing at X can be removed to allow of access to the scrapers TT
The two halves of the apparatus are separated by a partition Y, and the main
hopper A may be also divided into two, so that grain of different kinds may be
ground or crushed in the two parts of the machine without mixing the ground
products
Z is a glass inspection cover which completes the closing in of the apparatus
while allowing of the working parts being inspected.
The rolls FG may be grooved or plain according to the nature of the substances
under treatment.
By the use of this apparatus wheat may be completely converted into flour in a
single passage through the crushing rolls, and recourse need not be had to the mill-
stone for the further reduction of the fine particles.
This roller mill requires little power to drive it, and is capable of producing a
greater yield of flour in a given time than any so called "similar" machines.
It may also be observed that with regard to the chemical composition of so
delicate a substance as wheat a single crushing or disintegrating operation is less
liable to change or modify the essential constituents of the grain, than a series of
successive operations which are applied always to the same substance, and end by
exhausting and changing it.
Having now set forth the nature of the said Invention of "Improvements in
Roller Mills " as communicated to me by my Foreign Correspondent, and having
explained in what manner the same may be carried into practical effect, I wish it
to be understood that I claim :-
In a roller mill the construction and arrangement of apparatus consisting of
hoppers distributing rollers, and crushing rolls substantially as herein above
described with reference to the Drawing, for equally distributing and thinning out
the particles of grain or other substance to be crushed or disintegrated, and for
individually transferring such particles to the nip of the crushing rolls without
shock or displacement, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Arthur William Lovell Reddie have hereunto
set my hand and seal the twenty fifth day of January in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
ARTHUR W. L. REDDIE (L.S.)