Year: 1887

page_text: I, JOHN GEORGE HUDSON of the firm of Merilees Watson and Company, Scotland.
Street Iron Works, Tradeston, in the Counties of Lanark and Renfrew, North Britain,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention, which relates to improvements in mills for expressing juice from
sugar cane, has for its object to obtain a considerable yielding pressure on the rollers
of such mills without the use of hydraulic appliances which have hitherto been
frequently used for the obtainment of such pressure in such mills.
The present improvements consist of a framework which forms abutments or
receptacles for the outer ends of one or more pairs of toggles, the inner ends of the
same pairs of toggles being carried in similar receptacles or abutments formed upon
the head of a bolt or ram bearing either directly or indirectly upon the journals of
the rollers. The other ends of these toggles bear upon abutments formed in caps,
which caps in their turn are acted upon by springs either in tension or compression
and the pressure upon the toggles produced by the passing of the cane between the
rollers of the mill is by means of the ram or bolt communicated through the toggles
and received elastically by the springs against which the aforesaid cap acts.
J.. H. JOHNSON, DAY & JOHNSON,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Petitioner's Agents,.

page_text: I
i
Improvements in Sugar Mills.
I, JOHN GEORGE HUDSON, of the firm of Merilees, Watson and Company, Scotland-
Street Iron Works, Tradeston, in the Counties of Lanark, and Renfrew,, North
Britain, 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:
My Invention, which relates to improvements in mills for expressing juice from
sugar cane, has for its object to obtain a yielding pressure on the rollers of such mills
without the hydraulic appliances which have hitherto been frequently used for this
purpose.
In order that my Invention may be properly understood and readily carried into
effect, I have hereto appended six sheets of drawings in the several Figures of which
corresponding portions are marked with the same letters of reference..
On the annexed sheets of drawings I have shewn three systeins or modifications
under which my improvements may be carried into practice.
Figure 1, is a side elevation and Figure 2, an end elevation of a sugar mill
arranged according to the first modification of my said Invention.
In these Figures, the toggles and spring arrangements are shewn as carried upon
and by the holding down bolts A; which pass through the cap of the top bearing and
the head stocks of the mill down to the foundations thereof as shewn in dotted
lines. The cap-pieces B, of the upper bearing are formed with grooves a, to receive:
the lower ends of the lower pairs of toggles C, as shewn more particularly at Figure 1.
These grooves extend right across the head of the cap B, as shewn by the dotted
lines a, and c, Figure 2. Upon the upper part of the holding down bolts A, a cross-
piece D, is carried and held in position thereon by means of the nuts E. The upper
ends of the upper pairs of, toggles F, rest in grooves c, formed in the cross-pieces-D;
as more particularly seen at Figure 1. The upper ends of the lower toggles-C, and
the lower ends of the upper toggles F, rest against and are carried, by the middle
cross-pieces G, which are also formed with grooves corresponding to the grooves a,
inde, to receive these ends of the said toggles. Through the cross-pieces G, and G¹,
holes are formed on each sido of the centre of the cross pieces as shewn more
particularly at Figure 2. Through these holes the bolts I, and J, respectively pass)
that is to say, each bolt being retained by its head in the cross pieces G, and G',
respectively which is farthest from the outer end of the said bolt, that is to say the
head of the bolt I, is situated and retained by the cross piece G', whilst the tail or
body of the bolt passes easily or loosely through the cross piece G, and corre-
spondingly the head of the bolt J, is situated and retained in the cross-piece G,
whilst its tail or body passes easily or loosely through the cross piece G¹. On these
cross pieces G. and G₁, are cast discs or flat cups K, and against these the inner
and larger ends of the volute springs L, bear. The outer ends of these springs L,
rest against the washers M, and the whole arrangement is adjusted and tightened up

page_text: by the nuts N, on the ends of the bolts I, and J, respectively. From this arrange-
ment it will be seen that when the nuts N, are screwed up to bring the middle cross
pieces G, and G1, and the several toggles C, and F, together the effect of tightening.
the springs L, is to cause the requisite degree of pressure to bear upon the cap
pieces B, and to force it down upon the bearing of the top roll O, of the mill, and as
the upper cross-pieces D, are held securely at a fixed height by the nuts E, it follows
from this arrangement that when pressure is caused to act upon the top roll O,
upwards by means of cane passing through the mill, that the upper roll O, being
acted upon by the elastic pressure of the springs L, is not only free to move upwards
against that elastic pressure but the elastic pressure also causes it to return to its
former or normal position so soon as either a thinner layer of cane is passing through
the mill or when the mill may have become empty. The dotted portions in the
upper parts of Figures 1 and 2, show the toggles and springs in one of the positions
they occupy when the top roller O, has been raised by the passing of cane through
the mill.
At Figure 3, is shewn an end elevation and at Figure 4, a side elevation of a mill
constructed according to the second modification of my said improvements. In this
case the centre cross pieces G, and G¹, used in the first modification are dispensed
with and the lower toggles C, aro formed with long upper ends P, which constitute
levers against which the caps or discs K, acted upon by the springs L, bear as shewn
more particularly at Figure 3. The lower ends of the lower toggles C, bear against
the caps B, and the upper ends of the upper toggles F, bear against the cross
pieces D, as in the first modification but the inner ends of the toggles (, and F, bear
against each other as shewn, being so formed as to engage with each other. In the
upper part of each lever P, a hole is formed through which the bolts Q, pass, and on
the ends of the bolts Q, there are nuts N, and washers by means of which the
springs L, are tightened up against the cups K, and press against the levers P.
From this arrangement it will be seen that when the nuts N, are tightened the
requisite degree of pressure is brought to bear, upon the caps B, and that the upper
roll O, of the mill is therefore acted upon by pressure capable of yielding clastically
upwards and on returning the roll O, to its normal or to any other position corresponding
to the thickness of the layer of cane passing through the mill as hereinbefore described
in connection with the first modification.
At Figure 5, is shewn an end elevation and at Figure 6, a side elevation of a third
modification under which my improvements in the construction of sugar mills are
capable of being carried out in practice. In this modification each of the toggles C,
and F, respectively are formed with levers R, each of which levers projects out
horizontally as shewn at Figure 5. At the outer ends of the levers R, holes are
formed through which the bolts I, and J, respectively pass. The lower ends of the
bolts I, and J, carry caps S, which are formed with V- or knife-edges at their upper
sides by which they rest against the undersides of the lower levers R. At their
upper ends the bolts 1, and J, are furnished with nuts N, which on being tightened
compress the springs L, into their cups or discs K, which are also formed with knife-
edge bearings on their underside and press against the upper levers R. From this
arrangement it will be obvious that the upper roll O, of the mill is capable of being
acted upon by elastic pressure enabling the roll O, to yield in an upward direction
and to return to its normal position as herein before described with reference to the
first and second modifications. The dotted lines in Figure 6, shew the position of
the toggles, and springs and their connected parts when the pressure of cane passing
through the mill has to some extent raised the roll O.
It is to be observed that in each of the methods of carrying out my Invention,
illustrated in the annexed sheets of drawings, the action of the parts is such that at
the time the springs are least compressed, and therefore exerting their least pressure,
they are acting at the greatest mechanical advantage or leverage, and vice versa.
The compensating action described, enables the graduated pressure of the springs
to be converted into a uniform pressure on the roller or as nearly so as may be

page_text: desired, by the selection of springs of range and power suited to the proportions of
the toggle levers.
If the springs are so proportioned as to give an uniform pressure on the roller, the
effect will be.identical with that of a hydraulic cylinder as commonly applied, but by
preference I make the proportions such as to give a slowly increasing pressure as the
roll lifts.
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
In a sugar mill the use of "toggle" levers acted on by springs for the purpose of
obtaining a yielding and either uniform or variable pressure on one or more of the
rollers of such mill, substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn upon the
annexed drawings.