IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE CRUSHING MACHINERY
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Buchanan and William Alexander Keay, both of
25, Bucklersbury, in the City of London, Engineers, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE CRUSHING MACHINERY."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Buchanan and
William Alexander Keay at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 2nd July 1880.
GEORGE BUCHANAN and WILLIAM ALEXANDER KEAY, both of 25, Bucklersbury,
in the City of London, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE CRUSHING
MACHINERY."
This Invention has for its object improvements in sugar cane crushing machinery,
and relates to a novel method of combining upon the same bed plate the cane
crushing mill and an horizontal steam engine for driving the rolls of this mill.
Heretofore when a cane mill has been combined upon the same base plate with an
horizontal steam engino, the arrangement has been such as to render it inconvenient
to employ a fly wheel of adequate size and weight, for either the fly wheel has
been placed between the horizontal steain engine and the cane crushing rollers, in
which case it cannot be of large size without cutting through the bed plate, or the
fly wheel has been on the outer side and the driving pinion upon the inner side of
the crank, so that the momentum of the fly wheel is transmitted to the rolls
through the crank, an arrangement which is liable to cause the fracture or twisting
of the crank or crank shaft even when a fly wheel of very moderate dimensions is
employed.
Now according to our Invention in combining an horizontal engine on the same
base plate with the mill, we arrange the fly wheel, which can be as large as may be
considered desirable, at the outer end of the crank shaft overhanging the bed
plate, and we fix the driving pinion upon the part of the crank shaft between the
Hy wheel and the crank. The pinion on the crank shaft drives a spur wheel
upon an axis which crosses beneath the engine, and imparts motion to the cane
crushing rolls by a pinion upon it gearing with a spur wheel fixed upon the neck
of the uppor roll.
By this arrangement the whole of the shafting and gearing and other heavy
moving parts are brought low down, thus dispensing with the necessity for
standards or framing to support the crank and intermediate shafts. The bearing
blocks for the journals may be cast with part of the bed plate. The whole of the
parts are easily accessible for the purposes of oiling, cleaning, and repairs.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Buchanan and William Alexander Keay in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 31st December 1880.
GEORGE BUCHANAN and WILLIAM ALEXANDER KEAY, both of 25, Bucklersbury,
in the City of London, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUGAR CANE CRUSHING
MACHINERY."
This Invention has for its object improvements in sugar cane crushing machinery,
and relates to a novel method of combining upon the same bed plate the cane
crushing mill and an horizontal steam engine for driving the rolls of the mill.
Heretofore when a cane mill has been combined upon the same base plate with
an horizontal steam engine, the arrangement has been such as to render it
inconvenient to employ a fly wheel of adequate size and weight, for either the fly
wheel has been placed between the horizontal steam engine and the cane crushing
rollers, in which case it cannot be of large size without cutting-through-the-bed-
plate, or the fly wheel has been on the outer side and the driving pinion upon the
inner side of the crank, so that the momentum of the fly wheel is transmitted to
the rolls through the crank, an arrangement which is liable to cause the fracture
or twisting of the crank or crank shaft even when a fly wheel of very moderate
dimensions is employed.
Now according to our Invention in combining an horizontal engine on the same
base plate with the mill, we arrange the fly wheel, which can be as large as may
be considered desirable, at the outer end of the crank shaft overhanging the bed
plate, and we fix the driving pinion upon the part of the crank shaft between the
fly wheol and the crank. The pinion on the crank shaft drives a spur wheel upon
an axis-which-crosses-beneath the engine, and imparts motion to the cane crushing
rolls by a pinion upon it gearing with a spur wheel fixed upon the neck of the
upper roll.
By this arrangement the whole of the shafting and gearing and other heavy
moving parts are brought low down, thus dispensing with the necessity for
standards or framing to support the crank and intermediate shafts. The bearing
blocks for the journals may be cast with part of the bed plate. The whole of the
parts are easily accessible for the purposes of oiling, cleaning, and repairs.
In order that our said Invention may bo most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2 is an end elevation; and Figuro 3
is a plan of sugar cane crushing machinery arranged in accordance with our

page_text: a driving pinion between it and the crank and a shaft lying across the engine has
already been explained.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim,—
The arrangement of the driving gear of a cane crushing mill, substantially in the
manner herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Buchanan, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
GEORGE BUCHANAN. (L.S.)