Samuel Blatchford

“ In a roller grinding-mill, a disintegrating cylinder connected at its two ends by belts with the rolls, in combination with independently and vertically adjustable supports connected by transverse pivots with the boxes sustaining the ends of the cylinder, in the manner described and shown. ”

“ Heretofore, in roller mills, one roll of a pair has been driven from the other by means of spur gearing, or by means of friction caused by the pressure btwe en the rollers. The transmission of movement through spur gearing has, however, the disadvantage that, through the unavoidable inequality of the intermeshing, an unequal movement of the rollers ensues, which results, according to experience, in the rapid loss of 'true,' and in unequal wearing away of the rollers. Besides this, the disagreeable rattling of spur gearing, and the rapid wearing away of the gears themselves, is a disadvantage. ”

“ A belt from one of these pulleys passes around a tightening pulley at the upper right-hand corner of the machine, thence around a pulley on the upper left-hand roll shaft, thence around a pulley on the lower right-hand roll shaft, and thence back to the driving pulley; and by this belt one roll of each pair is driven. From the other pulley, on the other side of the machine, a belt is arranged in a similar manner, so as to drive the other two rolls of the pair. ”

“ It has been found by experiencet that when the rolls are driven by gearing a great deal of noise and a jarring of the parts of the apparatus and trembling of the mill-floor result, and this jarring and trembling in turn cause an unevenness of operation or grinding, and a rapid and uneven wear of the rolls. ”

“ To accomplish their ready separation, I place just in front of each sliding box, Q, a rotating cam or eccentric, Y, which, when turned in one direction, permits the box to be advanced, but, when given a partial revolution about its axis, forces and holds back the same. The meal, after being crushed by the rollers, sometimes packs or cakes together, and for the purpose of regranulating the same it is passed through a disintegrator. ”

“ It was also old, and very common in machine shops and factories of various kinds, to provide an individual machine with a countershaft mounted directly in the machine frame, the counter-shaft being driven by a belt from the line-shaft, and the machine by a belt from the counter-shaft. ”