Improvements in Apparatus for Grinding or Reducing Oats, Barley, Corn, Peas, Beans, or the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 10th Apr., 1890-Accepted, 10th May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Grinding or Reducing Oats, Barley,
Corn, Peas, Beans, or the like.
I, JOHN WHITAKER of Catherine Villa, Rhosddu, Wrexham, in the County of
Denbigh, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The invention has for its object an apparatus for grinding or reducing oats, barley,
corn, peas, beans or the like in which the substance or material to be ground is passed
between the grooved or serrated and opposing surfaces of a roller (capable of
revolving) anti concaves, the latter being adapted to be easily removed in order to
facilitate or expedite repairs, renewals, etc. The apparatus will I believe be found
applicable for grinding or reducing locust beans, the pods of which are very tough,
great difficulty having hitherto been experienced in grinding them except at a very
high speed of rotation.
In carrying out my invention, the grinding roller is preferably conical and is provided
with grooves or serrations, which are preferably not parallel to the axis of rotation and
may be slightly curved transversely, if desired. The said roller rotates concentrically.
within a conical shell or casing which is made in two halves so as to form concaves.
These are provided on their concave surfaces with grooves or serrations but are
preferably straight, though not parallel with the axis. They are adapted to be
easily taken apart, in order to facilitate repairs and renewals, or enable others to be
substituted.
In the models I have constructed, I attach the concaves, aforesaid by means of bolts
or in other suitable manner to binged or pivoted frames or jaws supported by the
main frames of the apparatus. The ends of said frames opposite to the hinge or
pivots are clamped or connected together by a link or suitable equivalent and are
preferably provided with springs and an adjusting screw by means of which the
distance between the opposing surfaces of the apparatus may be regulated. By
detaching the said link the hinged frames can be opened out, and the concaves
can easily be removed by unscrewing the bolts by which they are fastened to
the said frames.
The mode of action is as follows:-
The seeds, beans, pods, etcetera, to be ground or reduced are placed within a
feeding hopper, preferably at the smaller end of the conical roller and concave and
are fed downwards{(preferably by a small feeding wheel or screw within the hopper)
to the opposing grinding surfaces. Here the material is operated upon by the
grooved or serrated surfaces aforesaid, and is delivered through an exit spout
at the side of the apparatus where the roller and concaves have the largest
diameter.
A suitable device is preferably employed for regulating the rate or amount of
feed. The ends of the concaves may be covered or boxed in by shields or plates
preferably bolted to the frame.
Dateil this 9th day of July 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Grinding or Reducing Oats, Barley,
Corn, Peas, Beans, or the like.
I, JOHN WHITAKER of Catherine Villa, Rhosddu, Wrexham, in the County of
Denbigh, 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:—
The invention has for its object an apparatus for grinding or reducing oats, barley,
corn, peas, beans or the like, in which the substance or material to be ground is passed
between the grooved or fluted and opposing surfaces of a roller (capable of revolving)
and concaves, the latter being adapted to be easily removed in order to facilitate or
expedite repairs, renewals, etcetera.
:
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus, partly in section.
Figure 2, an end elevation, and
Figure 3 a plan, with shute removed.
Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line A B, Figure 1.
In these-
A is a conical grinding roller mounted upon a shaft B, capable of rotating in
bearings C, which are supported on frames D. The said roller is provided with
sharp-edged grooves or flutings a (Figures 1 and 4) which are preferably made
slightly spiral. A' is the driving pulley and A2 a flywheel on the shaft B..
The roller rotates concentrically within a conical shell or casing E E' which is
also provided on its inner surface with sharp-edged grooves e whose cutting faces
look in the reverse direction to the grooves a. The casing E E' is made in two
halves E and E' which are capable of adjustment to and from each other, that is, to
and from the opposing surface of the roller A, and may also, when necessary or
desirable, he moved right away from the roller..
To this end the two halves E E' are secured respectively to two frames F F1 by.
means of bolts and lugs e² or otherwise. These frames are binged to the main
frame D as at, and their opposite ends are made capable of adjustment to and from
each other by means of an adjustable coupling device or clamp G G'.
This adjustable coupling device consists of a strap G which surrounds the ends of
the frame F F with its lower end bearing against the underside of the lower
frames F (as in Figure 4), and of an adjusting screw G¹ which passes through the
upper end of the strap and bears upon the upper side of the upper frame F. Springs g,
inserted between the opposing surfaces of the frames and a fixed part d on the main
frame D, tend to keep the two frames, with their half shells E and E', symmetrical
with the axis of the machine. By detaching the above coupling device the hinged,
frames can easily be opened out and the concave shells E E removed by unscrewing
the bolts f
The material is retained in the space between the roller and casing, by means of
fixed end plates H which are attached to the frame D by bolts h. Escape of material
at the junction of the two half-shells is prevented by flange pieces / attached to the
lower half shell E'.
:
J is the feed hopper which is preferably placed at the smaller end of the conical
casing above the orifice Figure 3. The rate of feed may be regulated by any
suitable device. In the drawing (Figure 1) I have simply shown a small rotatable
feed wheel K, which is placed in the throat of the hopper and is provided with a
series of deep grooves or blades k. L is the exit spout, which may bo placed to
discharge from any suitable point of the casing.
When it is required to adjust the space between the roller and casing with great
nicety, this may be accomplished by adjusting the roller longitudinally within its
bearings, by a device such as the following :-
:-
A collar M is mounted loosely on the shaft B between two collars m m, one of

page_text: which is removable to permit of the collar M being placed upon the shaft: or, both
collars m m may be fixtures, the collar M being, in this case, made in sections. The
collar M is provided on opposite sides with pins m' which are engaged by the
adjusting lever N. The latter is pivoted at one end as at n to a fixed part of the
main frame D, (or to a bracket on the end plate H or frame D) while its opposite
end is provided with a slot n' in which a flanged nut P is mounted. An adjusting
screw Pis journalled in fixed bearings p (which may be also mounted on the end
plate H or frame D) and passes through and works within the nut P, being provided
with a suitable hand-wheel p¹ by which it may be turned so as to move the lever to
one side or the other, and thus adjust the shaft B and roller A as desired.
The mode of action is as follows:-
The seeds, beans, pods, etcetera to be reduced are placed in the feed hopper J
and fed through the orifice j at the required rate. During the passage of the material
from the smaller to the larger end of the cone, it is gradually reduced by the operation
of the grooves or flutings a e, and is finally discharged from the spout L.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a machine for grinding or reducing corn, peas, beans or the like, the com-
bination of a rotatable grooved or fluted conical roller such as described and a
similarly grooved concentric conical casing surrounding said roller and divided
longitudinally into two parts which are adjustable to and from each other and the
roller and are provided at opposite ends respectively with suitable feed and exit orifices,
substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. In a grinding or reducing machine of the kind described, a hollow abrading
casing such as E El divided longitudinally into two parts, each attached to or formed
in one with a movable frame, the said frames being both hinged to the frame of the
machine upon an axis or axes approximately parallel to that of the casing and con-
nected at their outer ends by a removable and adjustable coupling device, substantially
as and for the purposes described.
3. The improved adjustable grinding or reducing machine constructed and
arranged as a whole substantially as described and as illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated this 9th day of April 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, and London, Patent Agents.