AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR GRINDING CORN OR GRAIN
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR GRINDING CORN OR
GRAIN." A communication from abroad by John Tompkins Noye, Richard.
Kirby Noye, and Elisha Hayward Noye, all of Buffalo, New York, United
States of America, Manufacturers of Mill Machinery.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd August 1881.
"
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY
FOR GRINDING CORN OR GRAIN." [A communication from abroad by John
Tompkins Noye, Richard Kirby Noye, and Elisha Hayward Noye, all of Buffalo,
New York, United States of America, Manufacturers of Mill Machinery.]
This Invention relates to a process of grinding or reducing grain to flour, and to
machinery or apparatus therefor of that class known as roller-mills, in which two
or more rolls revolve against each other at different peripheral rates of speed.
The said process consists essentially in passing the grain through a series of sets
of rolls, graded in respect to fineness of dress, and, through bolts intermediate
between each set and the succeeding set of rolls.
The novelty of the said machinery or apparatus consists chiefly in the peculiar
construction and arrangement of the grooves and ribs upon the rolls; also in the
means whereby the rolls are adjusted towards and from each other, and in a series
of such rolls graded in respect to fineness or number of grooves to the inch with
intermediate bolts, the several sets acting in succession of grade.
The object aimed at of reducing wheat to flour is to increase the proportion of
middlings and pure flour, and to leave the bran and germ in a condition most
favorable to their effectual and complete separation from the flour-forming
particles. Smooth-surfaced rolls flatten the germ and allow the bran to pass in a
[Prins 21

page_text: coarse unpulverized state, and to this extent accomplish the object; but they also
cause the middlings to cake or form into flakes or thin discs that will not pass
through the meshes of the bolt, and therefore are in the end unsatisfactory.
Grooved rolls having sharp edged ribs cut or tear the bran and germ into such fine
particles that a large proportion will pass through ordinary bolting cloth and
inevitably appear in the middlings and flour.
This Invention is designed to overcome these objections and to produce a
machine in which the starch and gluten of the berry shall be properly pulverized
without caking, while the tenacious portions constituting the husk and germ shall
pass through in a flattened or flaky condition without being much comminuted,
thereby greatly increasing the yield of middlings and improving the quality of
flour.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a frame and two rollers
having their journals supported in bearings resting on the said frame. One
bearing on each side is stationary, and another bearing on each side slides towards
and from the stationary bearings. The sliding bearings may be connected with
the frame by bolts passing through slotted holes in the bearings, or by tongues and
grooves as may be preferred. Adjusting screws work in a threaded lug secured to
or formed with the frame, and there is a spring surrounding each screw and
bearing with one end against a nut working on the screw, and with the other end
against the sliding bearing so as to press the roller journalled therein towards the
fixed roller. Adjusting screws pass through threaded holes in the sliding bearings
and press against the fixed bearings. These screws are preferably arranged in the
other screws, which are made hollow for the purpose.
These internal screws hold the bearings and the rollers journalled therein at a
certain minimum distance apart, and prevent the rollers from running in contact
with each other when the machine runs empty. The springs press the rollers against
each other, as far as the screws permit the rollers to approach each other, and at the
same time permit the movable roller to yield when a hard object of greater thickness
than the material to be reduced enters between the rollers. A feed-hopper of
ordinary and well known construction is arranged above the rollers. The rollers
are driven by gear-wheels or by pulleys and belts in such manner that the fixed
roller has a greater peripheral speed than the sliding roller. The rollers are
constructed of chilled iron, steel, porcelain, or other hard material. They are each
provided with spiral grooves running in the same direction and laid near together.
In one form of dress the ribs between the grooves are upon their advancing sides
of easy bevel, and upon the rear side of steeper bevel, the points or edges of the
Tibs being rounded and the longer sides of the ribs forming the active surface. In
another form the roller is provided with a dress composed of ribs rounded equally
on both sides, and the contiguous ribs meet at their bases in sharp angle, while in
another form the different ribs composing the dress are of the form last mentioned,
but separated at their bases by flat strips, the space between each pair of ribs
heing a groove having a flat bottom. The ribs are preferably applied spirally to
both cylinders, the ribs running in the same direction on both cylinders, so that
they will cross each other on the contiguous surfaces of the rollers and therefore
cannot intermesh. If desired however the ribs on one of the cylinders may be
arranged parallel with its axis. These rolls operate in a manner superior to the
smooth-surfaced and sharp-ribbed rolls heretofore known, for, unlike sinooth rolls,
they do not form the middlings into discs or flakes which require various and
intricate subsequent operations to reduce them to flour, nor do they cut or tear
the bran and germ into fine pieces or particles, as is the case with the sharp-ribbed¨
rolls; but while pulverizing the starch and gluten, they simply bruise and rub the
bran and gerin, bringing them to and leaving them in a form which insures their
passage over the tail of the bolt and therefore their elimination from the middlings
and flour. The dress may vary in number of grooves to the linear inch, and one
set of rolls capable of suitable adjustment will be sufficient for general work. I
prefer however a series of rolls graded in respect to fineness of dress. Each set is

page_text: composed of two rolls geared together so as to revolve with differential motion as
to their peripheries, and both rolls of each set have spiral grooves running in the
same direction from left to right. The grooves of the rolls in the first set may
number about twenty to the linear inch, measured circumferentially on the
periphery; the grooves of the rolls in the next set may number about twenty-
three to the inch, of the rolls in the next set about twenty eight, and 'of the
finishing rolls in the fourth set from thirty to thirty-two, that is to say, the range
of graduation which has been chosen to illustrate the Invention is from twenty
to thirty two; but the limit admits of more or less variation in either direction
toward or from a dress, numbering about seven or eight grooves to the linear
inch.
With wheat and other cereals it will be inadvisable to have more than fifteen
grooves to the inch, at least in the first pair of rolls, and the number of grooves
in any set should never be so great as to cause the ribs to lose their distinctively
rounded character or become so pointed as to cut the bran.
.
The practical operation is as follows:-The wheat to be converted into flour is
fed into the feed-hopper, and passes thence between the first set of rolls, the
product consisting of cracked or partly crushed wheat, and a considerable quantity
of flour is delivered to a bolt and the coarser grades and tailings from the bolting
operation are carried to the next pair of rolls, which have finer grooves than the
first rolls. The product of the said rolls is in turn passed through a bolt, and
so the operation goes on; by alternately cracking or grinding and bolting through
the series of machines until the desired product has been thoroughly separated
from the bran.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd February 1882.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY
FOR GRINDING CORN OR GRAIN." A communication from abroad by John
Tompkins Noye, Richard Kirby Noye, and Elisha Hayward Noye, all of Buffalo,
New York, United States of America, Manufacturers of Mill Machinery.
This Invention relates to an improved process for reducing or grinding corn or
grain, and to machinery or apparatus therefor of that class known as roller-mills, in
which two or more rolls or rollers revolve against each other at different peripheral
rates of speed. The said process consists essentially in passing the grain through
a series of sets of rolls or rollers, graded with respect to fineness of dress, and
through bolts arranged between each set and the succeeding set of rolls. The

page_text: novelty of the said machinery or apparatus consists chiefly in the peculiar
construction and arrangenient of the grooves and ribs upon the rolls, also in the
means whereby the rolls are adjusted towards and from each other, and in a series
of such rolls graded in respect to fineness or number of grooves to the inch, with
intermediate bolts, the several sets acting in succession of grade.
The object aimed at in the process of reducing wheat to flour is to increase
the proportion of middlings and pure flour, and to leave the bran and germ in
a condition most favorable to their effectual and complete separation from the
flour-forming particles. Smooth-surfaced rolls flatten the gern and allow the bran
to pass in a coarse unpulverized state, and to this extent accomplish the object,
but they also cause the middlings to cake or form into flakes or thin discs that
will not pass through the meshes of the bolt, and therefore are in the end
unsatisfactory. Grooved rolls having sharp-edged ribs cut or tear the bran and
germ into such fine particles that a large proportion will pass through ordinary
bolting-cloth and inevitably appear in the middlings and flour.
This Invention is designed to overcome these objections, and to produce a
machine in which the starch and gluten of the berry shall be properly pulverized
without caking, while the tenacious portions constituting the husk and germ shall
pass through in a flattened or flaky condition without being much comminuted,
thereby greatly increasing the middlings and improving the quality of the flour.
In the accompanying Drawing
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a grinding mill provided with these improve-
ments, and
Figure 2 is a plan or top view thereof.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 are end views of a roller, showing the several kinds of dress
with which the rollers may be provided. .
Figure 7 represents several sets of graded rollers with intermediate bolts.
Like letters of reference refer to similar parts in the several Figures.
A represents the frame of the machine, and B, B¹, two rollers, having their.
journals supported in bearings C, C", resting on the said frame A. The bearings C
are stationary, and the bearings C¹ are adapted to slide towards and from the said
bearings C. The sliding bearings C₁ may be connected with the frame A by
bolts c passing through slotted holes in the said bearings, or by tongues and grooves,
as may he preferred; D, D, are adjusting screws working in a screw threaded lug d
secured to or forming part of the frame A, and e is a spring surrounding each
screw D and bearing_at_one_end against a nut e² working on the screw D, and at
the other end against the sliding bearing C, so as to press the roller B' journalled
therein towards the fixed roller B. The said screws D determine the maximum
extent of rearward movement of the adjustable roller from the stationary roller;
E, E, are adjusting screws passing through screw-threaded holes in the bearings C
and pressing against the fixed bearings C. The screws E-are preferably arranged
in the screws D, which are made hollow to accommodate the said screws E,
as shown in Figure 3. The screws E hold the bearings C, C₁, and the rollers
B, B', jourṇalled therein at a certain minimum distance apart and prevent the
rollers from running in contact with each other when the machine runs empty,
that is to say, when no grain is being ground by the same. The springs e press
the rollers against each other as far as the screws E permit the said rollers to
approach each other, and at the same time permit the movable roller to yield when
á hard object of greater thickness than the material to be reduced enters between
the aforesaid rollers.
A feed-hopper of any ordinary or well known construction is arranged above
the rollers. The latter are driven by gear-wheels H, H', or by pulleys and belts,
in such a manner that the roller B has a greater peripheral speed than the roller B¹.
The said rollers are constructed of chilled iron, steel, porcelain, or other hard
material, and are each provided with spiral grooves running in the same direction
and laid near together, as shown most clearly in Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6. In the

page_text: dress, shown in Figure 4, the ribs between the grooves are upon their advancing
sides of easy bevel, and upon the rear side of steeper bevel, the points or edges
of the ribs being rounded, and the longer sides of the ribs forming the active
.surface.
In Figure 5 the roller is provided with a dress composed of ribs rounded equally
on both sides, and the contiguous ribs meet at their bases in sharp angles, while in
Figure 6 the different ribs composing the dress are of the form shown in Figure 5,
but are separated at their bases by flat strips, the space between each pair of ribs
being a groove having a flat bottom. The ribs are preferably applied spirally to
both cylinders, the said ribs running in the same direction on both cylinders so
that they will cross each other on the contiguous surfaces of the rollers and there-
fore cannot intermesh. If desired however, the ribs on one of the cylinders may
be arranged parallel with its axis. These rolls operate in a manner superior to
the smooth-surfaced and sharp-ribbed rolls heretofore known, for, unlike smooth
rolls, they do not form the middlings into discs or flakes, which require various
and intricate subsequent operations to reduce them to flour, nor do they cut or
tear the bran and germ into fine pieces or particles, as is the case with the sharp-
ribbed rolls; but while pulverizing the starch and gluten they simply bruise and
rub the bran and germ, bringing them to and leaving them in a form which
ensures their passage over the tail of the bolt, and therefore their elimination from
the middlings and flour.
The dress may vary in number of grooves to the linear inch, as will hereinafter
appear, and one set of rolls capable of suitable adjustment will be sufficient for
general work. I prefer however a series of rolls graded in respect to fineness of
dress, as indicated in Figure 7. The numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, respectively indicate
separate sets of rolls. Each set is composed of two rolls geared together so as to
revolve with differential motion as to their peripheries, and both rolls of each set
have spiral grooves running in the same direction from left to right.
The grooves of the rolls in the set No. 1 are assumed to number about twenty
to the linear inch, measured circumferentially on the periphery; the grooves of
the rolls in the set No. 2 to number about twenty-three to the inch of the rolls,
in set No. 3 to number about twenty-eight, and of the finishing-rolls in the fourth
set to range from thirty to thirty-two, that is to say, the range of graduation
which has been chosen to illustrate the Invention is from twenty to thirty two;
but the limit admits of more or less variation in either direction toward or from
a dress numbering about seven or eight grooves to the linear inch.
With wheat and other cereals it will be inadvisable to have more than fifteen
grooves to the inch, at least in the first pair of rolls, and the number of grooves in
any set should never be so great as to cause the ribs to lose their distinctively
rounded character or become so pointed as to cut the bran.
The operation is as follows:-The wheat to be converted into flour is fed into
the feed-hopper, and passes thence between the first set of rolls (No. 1). The
product consisting of cracked or partly-crushed wheat and a considerable quantity
of flour is delivered to a bolt N, and the coarser grades and tailings from the
bolting operation are carried to the next pair of rolls No. 2, which have finer
grooves than the rolls No. 1. The product of the rolls No. 2 is in turn passed
through the bolt O, and the operation is continued by alternately cracking or
grinding and bolting through the series of machines until the desired product bas
been thoroughly separated from the bran.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the saine, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The herein described process of reducing grain to flour, which process
consists in passing it through a series of sets of rolls, graded with respect to
fineness of dress, and through bolts arranged between each set and the succeeding
set of rolls.
Second. In a grinding mill the combination of the rolls geared to revolve at

page_text: different peripheral rates of speed, and having a dress composed of parallel grooves
with rounded dividing ribs, arranged substantially as above described and shewn
for the purposes specified.
Third. The combination of a series of sets of rolls provided with the grooved
dress above described, and graded with respect to fineness of dress with bolts
between each set and the succeeding set of rolls.
Fourth. A grinding roll or cylinder having a dress composed of a series of
rounded ribs with the advancing sides of easy bevel and the retreating sides of
sharper bevel.
Fifth. The combination with the roller mounted in sliding bearings, of the
adjusting screws for determining its maximum extent of rearward moveinent from
the stationary roller, and the springs for holding it against the said stationary
roller for the purposes specified.
Sixth. The combination with the roller mounted in sliding bearings of the
adjusting screws for determining its maximum extent of rearward movement from
the stationary roller, the springs for holding it against the said stationary roller,
as above described, and means for. adjusting the tension of such springs without
affecting the adjustment of the screws.
Seventh. The combination with the roller mounted in sliding bearings of the
adjusting screws passing through the frame and entering tapped holes in the
sliding bearings, and pressing against the bearings of the stationary roller to
determine the minimum amount of distance between the two rollers, for the
purpose specified.
Eighth. The combination with the roller mounted in sliding bearings of the
springs adapted to press it against the stationary roller, the adjusting devices to
determine its maximum amount of backward motion from the said roller, and the
adjusting devices to determine the minimum amount of distance between the
movable and stationary rollers, for the purposes specified.
Ninth. The combination with the roller mounted in sliding bearings of springs
adapted to press it against the stationary roller, and the adjusting screws passing
through the frame and entering tapped holes in the sliding bearings and pressing
against the bearings of the stationary roller, substantially as above set forth and
for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said. Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.