CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING OR CLEANING GRAIN, AND IN SEPARATING EXTRANEOUS MATTERS THEREPROM
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by IIer
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of August, in the twelfth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, adiñors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors,
adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING OR CLEANING
GRAIN, AND IN SEPARATING EXTRANEOUS MATTERS THEREPROM," being a commu-
nication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
These improvements in dressing or cleaning grain, as communicated to me
by my Foreign Correspondent, refer particularly to the dressing of wheat and
rye, so as to prepare them for the operation of grinding. The nature and
advantages of this Invention will be clearly understood by the following
remarks, which I give in the language of the Inventor, as an introduction to
the more detailed description of the means of carrying out the Invention,
which will hereafter be given.
On an examination of the wheat berry, it will be found to possess two
distinct coverings, which are separated by a soft glutinous substance, which I
denominate the cuticle. Enclosed beneath these coverings is the mealy part
or farina. The external covering, which I denominate the "bran," possesses
no nutritious property, but exhibits in a mild form the "bitter" principle,
adequate for the purposes of fermentation. This covering runs in parallel lines
along the length of the berry, serving as a conductor of moisture to excite
the germ to life. The interior covering constitutes the "fat-forming principle,"
and encloses the farina in lines that cross at right angles, producing the
cellular formation. This covering is both sweet and nutritious, and supplies
to the farina beneath it, when pulverized or reduced to flour, its essential
strength and flavor. Hitherto this valuable portion of the wheat berry
in the ordinary mode of flouring was nearly all lost for human consumption
by being separated with the bran from the flour, but by my discovery that
portion which is valueless as food, namely, the "bran," is effectually got
rid of, together with all the filth known to adhere to the outer covering,
whilst the nutritious property of the berry for the support of human life
is wholly retained in the flour in a clean, healthy, and manageable form.
The process by which this result is accomplished depends for its action
upon the following properties of the berry, which in my researches I found
it to possess. The "bran" or external covering has a strong affinity for
moisture, whilst the internal part of the berry possesses the power of repelling
moisture for a time. I was thus enabled to soften the external covering, whilst
the inner remained firm and hard. When the corn is brought to this state I
apply mechanical force, so as to produce a violent attrition of grain against
grain, as well as against the surfaces of the rubbers or mechanical agents

page_text: employed, and then the softened covering yielding to the superior friction of
the hard surfaces, the desirable and important result is obtained, namely,
a perfect separation of the bran from the berry without the slightest injury
to the form of the berry, or the flouring properties of the same; a result
which has hitherto baffled the ingenuity of the miller. The great desideratum
in the manufacture of flour has always been to make the greatest possible
yield of pure meal to the barrel, and to avoid the cutting up or grinding
of the bran with the farina, which when done would speck the flour, and
thereby lessen its value. This deterioration of the value of the flour is wholly
avoided upon my system, for the bran being separated from the kernel
before grinding, the difficulty cannot occur. Superadded to this fact in the
thorough removal of the outer covering, all other impurities peculiar to the
grain are necessarily removed with the bran, and a pure healthy state of the
berry is obtained for flouring. Efforts have been made to avoid the specking
of the flour (by grinding up the bran) by the expedient of toughening
the wheat by steam, &c., and grinding it with the hull or bran on; but to
these there are two material objections, first, an increased liability to sour
when ground in a moist state; second, a much greater loss in the yield
of flour, as it is a well known fact that the damper the wheat is when
ground, the more flour is incorporated with the offal. My system completely
obviates all these difficulties. I first remove or separate the bran from
the wheat by the application of moisture, in the form of water or steam,
which the outer coating, as before described, promptly absorbs, the absorption
proceeding no further, because a repulsion of moisture then takes place
at the inner covering of the berry, and in this condition and at this juncture
I cause the wheat to pass between rubbers, having revolving and stationary
friction surfaces of metal or other material, after the manner of millstones,
smut machines, &c., by which means it is subjected to the most active
and inergetic friction of grain against grain until the bran (as it will with
great rapidity) becomes detached from the berry.
The order in which the several parts of the process are performed is as
follows: First, 1 construct a vapor chest of suitable size, with a series of
revolving hexagonal wire gauze conductors, through which I pass the corn
from the granary. Into this chest I communicate the vapour to the desired
extent, which coming in contact with the corn is readily absorbed by it; or I
construct a tight box, and by means of a conveyor pass the corn through a
column of water, and when the wheat is sufficiently saturated (from thirty to
sixty seconds is sufficient for this purpose) I pass the wheat to the attrition
box, where the moistening process is succeeded by attrition, and when the

page_text: bran becomes sufficiently disengaged from the corn I drive it off by a current
of atmospheric air. The corn I then convey to a hot-air chamber of a similar
construction to the vapour chest, it being provided with revolving gauze
conductors through which the corn is made to pass to evaporate any super-
abundant moisture that the corn may have taken up, a current of hot air
being introduced into the chamber for that purpose. The corn is then
subjected to another attrition in its dry state in a similar attrition box, to
disengage the small filaments of bran that may still adhere, and after passing
through another fanning process it is delivered into the hopper of the
mill in its purest and healthiest form ready for pulverization.
The advantages to be derived from this system of preparing wheat for
grinding may be stated as follows (viz.) :-First, the removal of all impurities
and brown specula which detract from the quality of the flour. Second, the
saving of nearly all the meal that ordinarily becomes incorporated with the
several varieties of offal, and consequently an increased yield of the best
quality of flour. Third, an increased speed in grinding with the same
amount of power, the prior removal of the bran rendering the stones less
liable to choke and heat when driven at a great speed. Fourth, a superior
quality of flour for hot climates, the bran, which by the common mode of
grinding is necessarily to some extent incorporated with the meal, being
mainly the cause of the flour souring in hot climates. Fifth, a considerable
saving of time in dressing the meal produced from the prepared wheat,
In the accompanying Drawing the apparatus for carrying out this Inven-
tion is shewn in partial sectional elevation, the arrangement being suited for
a building containing five stories. A, A, is the vapor chest, in which is
mounted a series of hexagonal or other shaped wire gauze conductors a, a, set
at an incline, the top one of which receives the wheat, rye, or other grain to
be unbranned from a hopper b, passes it forward to a lower conductor, from
whence it falls to a still lower one, and so on is passed out of the vapor
chest A into a hopper c. These conductors a, a, are made to revolve slowly
by means of straps and pullies, as shewn, rotary motion being communicated
thereto from any first mover through the driving shaft d. This slow motion
of the wire gauze conductors admits of the wheat or other grain or seed
being thoroughly exposed to the action of the steam contained in the vapor
chest, and supplied thereto by a pipe e, and thus the cohesion of the outer
skin or bran of the grain with the flouring part thereof is in a great degree
destroyed, as before mentioned. The grain when in this state leaves the
vapour chest, and falling into the hopper centers the attrition box B, where it
is intended to receive an amount of friction just sufficient to separate the bran

page_text: from the seed. The peculiar construction of the attrition box will be clearly
understood on referring to the sectional representation. Its friction surfaces
are formed of cast iron, and consist of a concave and convex cone placed one
above the other, and spreading out laterally into a flat base; the concave
is the "runner" or top surface, and the convex the stationary or bed surface.
These cones are formed at different inclinations, so as to allow of a greater
space between them near their apex than at their base, the object being to
permit a free entrance of the grain between the friction surfaces and a gradual
and equable distribution of the grain as it descends, so that each seed shall
receive the requisite amount of friction for removing the bran before passing
out of the attrition box. The runner which is shewn in plan view at B¹ is
mounted on a vertical shaft f, connected by any suitable gear with the driving
power of the mill, and as it rotates the runner, the seed falls down the
eye of the runner, and is drawn in between the friction surfaces and rubbed
grain against grain, until the outer coat or the bran is removed; the seed
then escapes at an opening in the side of the attrition box, down a vertical
channel 9. This escape is regulated by a sliding gaté or shutter which, the
more it is depressed, admits of a greater amount of friction being put on the
grain. On the contrary, if too much friction is given, the gate must be raised,
to allow of a greater escape of the grain. At the bottom of the channel g
the grain meets with an ascending current of air passing up an inclined
channel h, which is connected with the case of a rotating fan or blower C.
By means of this blast of air a large portion of the bran and other extraneous
matters is separated from the seed, which falls down the channel 1, into a
horizontal conducting pipe i. In this pipe an Archimedean screw is mounted,
the blade thereof being in contact with the under side of the pipe. Rotary
motion is communicated to the screw, and as the grain descends the channel h,
it is pushed forward into a box . In this box is mounted one of a pair of
pullies, for actuating an endless chain of scoops or buckets k, which are
intended to carry the grain upwards. As soon, therefore, as the grain is
propelled by the screw into the box *, the buckets which rotate simultaneously
therewith (one driving band and pulley being common to both) the grain is
carried upwards and discharged down a trough at the top of the building into a
hopper l. The hopper 1 is in communication with a hot-air chamber D, which
is provided with wire gauze cylinders or conductors, similar to those in the
vapor chest. Heated air is introduced into the chamber D by a pipe m,
and as the grain is turned over by the revolution of the gauze cylinders, the
moisture imbibed in the vapor chest is driven off, and the grain is delivered
in a dry state into a hopper n leading to a second attrition box E. This box

page_text: is for the purpose of polishing the grain and completing the removal of the
bran, if any should be still adherring to the grain. It is constructed in a
manner very similar to the box C, and its runner is actuated by any conve
nient arrangement of gearing. The grain after it has undergone the polishing
operation is delivered out of the box into a vertical channel o, whence it
descends an inclined channel p, and encounters a second blast of air from tho
case of a fan or blower F in connection with the inclined channel The
p.
remaining bran and other foreign matters, such as garlic, which is frequently
mingled with wheat, is thus driven off, such foreign matters, by the attrition
and drying to which they have been subjected, having lost a great portion
of their specific gravity, and become much lighter than the corn or other grain
under operation. A trough 7 attached to the lower end of the channel p
conducts the grain by the hopper r to the mill G where it is ground
into flour. The meal should, as soon as delivered from the grinding surfaces,
be bolted," the "hopper box" usually employed in mills being dispened
with to prevent the meal from absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. A
convenient mode of obtaining the steam and heated air for carrying out the
above-described process is shewn in the Drawing. It consists of a cast-iron
furnace H, which carries at its upper part a shallow boiler s, wherein steam
for the vapor chest is generated. The steam is passed off to the chest by
means of the pipe e before mentioned.
с
t is a worm or twisted pipe placed
within the furnace for the purpose of being highly heated. This pipe is open
at one end to admit air through it, and at its other end it is connected to or
forms part with the pipe m before mentioned, which conducts the heated air
to the chest D. It will be obvious that any other suitable means may be
adopted for obtaining the steam and heated air if thought desirable. I would
also remark, that to ensure the proper amount of friction in the attrition
boxes, and the speedy delivery of the grain, it may be well to provide the
friction surfaces with shallow radial grooves (as shewn in the Diagram at B³),
which shall have the effect of turning the grain over and urging it forward.
As the object in using the friction surfaces is merely to rub the grain, care
should be taken in setting the "runner" that sufficient space is left between the
friction surfaces to allow the grain to pass through the attrition boxes without
being crushed or broken.
Having now described the nature of the Invention as communicated to me
by my Foreign Correspondent, and the means of carrying the same into
practical operation, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim the dressing or cleaning of wheat, rye, and
other grain requiring such operation, by the application thereto of friction

page_text: while the grain is in a moist state, and the after application of a current
or currents of air and dry heat for the purpose of separating extraneous
or foreign matters from the grain and rendering the same fit for the operation
of grinding. I also claim the arrangement of apparatus, as shewn in the
Drawing, for effecting the unbranning of wheat, rye, and other grain, and
separating extraneous matters thereofrom.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Alfred Vincent Newton came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.