IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR BREAD
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Pettigrew, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Baker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OR BREAD"
Sealed the 10th March 1857, and dated the 2nd January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Pettigrew, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd January 1857.
I, JOHN PETTIGREW, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Baker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates, in the first instance, to the manufacture and
preparation of dough or paste for making loaf bread, biscuits, and other
articles of farinaceous food; and, secondly, to the rolling and cutting or
severing such dough or paste into masses of the dimensions required for the
individual articles to be subsequently made therefrom. The necessary ingre-
dients, solid and fluid, of the dough are primarily deposited in a lorizontal
cylindrical chamber, through the centre of which is passed a central tube of
metal from end to end in its axial line. Through this central tube there there
is passed a longitudinal shaft, projecting at each end, where it is fitted with
actuating band pulleys. This shaft and its encircling tube are capable of
rotation together, the shaft being supported in end bearings for this purpose.
This shaft carries a helically or spirally disposed set of working lifters, so that
as it revolves these lifters scraping round against the internal periphery of the
chamber lift up and work the materials, so as to form them very effectively into
dough.

page_text: To aid in this process, steam, or lieated air, or liquid is passed by a suitable
stufling box into the actuating shaft, made tubular for the purpose. The shaft
is perforated laterally at intervals throughout its length, so that the steam or
heated matter supplied to it can penetrate into and heat the encircling tube.
The working chamber has a slot or thoroughfare formed along one side of it
from end to end, this slot during the working action being upwards. When
the ingredients are thoroughly amalgamated the chamber is turned over,
so that the newly made dough at once falls out into a proper receiver.
The bottom of this holder is inclined downwards on all sides towards the
centre like a hopper, and it has an outlet at its lowest part fitted with
discharging and severing rollers, four in number. Two of these rollers have
an endless band passed over them, and the stream of dough emerges between
the uppermost of the band rollers and a corresponding one on the opposite
side. A fourth roller is fitted with severing knives or cutters, arranged both
for dividing the stream of dough longitudinally and transversely. These cutters
press in their revolution against the stream of dough as it passes along with
and over the endless belt, thus severing the dough into masses of the required
dimensions. These masses are then removed, and baked and completed in any
convenient manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Pettigrew in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd July 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PETTIGREW, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Baker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Pettigrew, Her special license that I, the said John Pettigrew, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Pettigrew, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN

page_text: THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Pettigrew, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Pettigrew, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :--
My said Invention relates, in the first instance, to the manufacture and
preparation of dough or paste for making loaf bread, biscuits, and other
articles of farinaceous food; and, secondly, to the rolling and cutting or
severing such dough or paste into masses of the dimensions required for the
individual articles to be subsequently made therefrom. The necessary ingre-
dients, solid and fluid, of the dough are primarily deposited in a horizontal
cylindrical chamber, through the centre of which is passed a central tube of
metal from end to end in its axial line. Through this central tube there
is passed a longitudinal shaft, projecting at each end, where it is fitted with
actuating band pulleys. This shaft, and its encircling tube are capable of
rotation together, the shaft being supported in end bearings for this purpose.
This shaft carries a helically or spirally disposed set of working lifters, so that
as it revolves, these lifters, scraping round against the internal periphery of the
chamber, lift up and work the materials, so as to form them very effectively
into dough. To aid in this process, steam, or heated air, or liquid is passed by
a suitable stuffing box into the actuating shaft, made tubular for the purpose.
The shaft is perforated laterally at intervals throughout its length, so that the
steam or heated matter supplied to it can penetrate into and heat the
encircling tube. The working chamber has a slot or thoroughfare formed
along one side of it from end to end, this slot, during the working action, being
upwards. When the ingredients are thoroughly amalgamated the chamber is
turned over, so that the newly made dough at once falls out into a proper
receiver. The bottom of this holder is inclined downwards on all sides towards
the centre like a hopper, and it has an outlet at its lowest part fitted with
discharging and severing rollers, four in number. Two of these rollers have
an endless band passed over them, and the stream of dough emerges between
the uppermost of the band rollers and a corresponding one on the opposite. A
fourth roller is fitted with severing knives or cutters, arranged both for dividing

page_text: the stream of dough longitudinally and transversely. These cutters press
in their revolution against the stream of dough as it passes along with and
over the endless belt, thus severing the dough into masses of the required
dimensions. These masses are then removed, and baked and completed in any
convenient manner.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory Sheet
of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice..
Figure 1 on my Sheet of Drawings is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and
Figure 2 is a corresponding transverse section of one modification of my
improved machinery or apparatus, as arranged for the manufacture of bread.
The first operation of mixing the flour and water together in their proper
proportions, and kneading or intimately combining the same, is effected in a
horizontal cylindrical chamber. The mixing and kneading is performed by a
series of blades or lifters, which project radially from a central shaft to which
a rotatory motion is communicated. The blades of the kneading machine are
disposed in a particular manner, so that after the flour and water are mixed
together, and the compound assumes the form of dough, a portion of the blades
tends to urge the mass towards the centre of the kneading chamber, whilst
another portion of the blades forces the dough in an opposite direction. This
to-and-fro, reciprocatory, or compound motion is intended to imitate, as closely
as mechanical means will admit, the operation of kneading by manual power.
The horizontal cylinder or kneading chamber A is made of cast iron or other
suitable material, and is supported at each end in pedestal bearings, which are
carried upon iron beams B. These beams rest upon the walls of the building
in which the apparatus or machinery is arranged. A horizontal shaft C runs
from end to end of the cylinder A, and the journals of this shaft in the
elongated eyes D, which are made in the ends of the cylinder and form
the actual bearings of the shaft. The projecting parts or tubular journal collar
pieces D of the cylinder ends work in the brasses of the bearings E, and form
the journals of the cylinder A. The shaft C is made hollow throughout, and
has fitted at one end of it a stuffing box, through which is carried a steam pipe
F. The opposite end of the shaft C is furnished with a stop-cock, by means of
which the water of condensation may be drawn off from the interior of the
shaft. The kneading blades are attached to the shaft C by means of the radial
arms G; and these arms aro passed through the hollow shaft, and are secured
thereto by nuts. The screw blades H are fastened to the arms G by nuts or

page_text: other strong attachments, and these blades are set at an angle with the hori-
zontal shaft, and they are slightly curved in a helical or spiral direction. The
two screw blades II fitted at each end of the shaft are so arranged as to impel
the mass of dough towards the centre of the kneading cylinder, whilst the
intermediate radial blades I tend to propel it towards the end of the cylinder,
and at the same time they cut and mix the mass. The compound motion
of the mass of dough thus obtained produces a most effective kneading action.
A rotatory motion is given to the horizontal shaft C by means of a double belt
pulley arrangement; and the shaft is driven at each end in order to counteract
the tensional strain that would otherwise be thrown upon the shaft when
kneading a stiff plastic mass, if actuated at one end only. The belts are shifted
simultaneously from the two fast pulleys J on to the loose pulleys K by means
of a rod running along the side of the cylinder A. This rod has two forked
arms, between which forks the belts run. The shifting rod is actuated by
means of a lever, which comes up through the floor at one end of the cylinder.
By means of this arrangement the kneading cylinder is driven without straining
the shaft; and it may be instantly put out of or into gear by a simple move-
ment of the belt lever. The cylinder A is caused to rotate in the bearings F
by means of spur wheel gearing fitted at one end of the kneading cylinder,
and shown to the left of Figure 1 in my Sheet of illustrative Drawings. The
shafts of this gearing are carried in bearings in the cast-iron standards L, one
of which is set upon the floor on which the kneading cylinder is placed, and the
other upon one of the pedestal bearings F. The spindle M, which is turned
by means of a winch handle fitted to its squared end, has upon it a pinion N,
which gears with the wheel O; and upon the inner end of the spindle P of the
wheel O is a pinion Q, which gears with the wheel R cast on the end of
the cylinder A. The kneading cylinder is fitted upon an upper floor, the level
of which is shown by a line at the base of the left-hand side standard L,
Figure 1. The cylinder projects partly above the flooring and partly below it.
By means of the gearing just described, the cylinder may be turned round, so as
to bring the part which is shown uppermost in the Drawing below the level of
the flooring. The cylinder A has a longitudinal slot or opening made in it, in
which is fitted a moveable shoot or hopper S. During the mixing and knead-
ing operations this opening is kept at the upper part of the cylinder, as shown
in Figures 1 and 2 of my Sheet of Drawings. The cylinder is charged with a
due supply of flour through the slot or opening, the hopper S serving as
a channel to direct the flour and prevent waste. The requisite quantity of
water for mixing with the flour is admitted to the cylinder A from a vessel or
reservoir fitted in convenient proximity to the kneading chamber. The water

page_text: vessel is furnished with a float, from which a cord of chain is passed over
a pulley, and attached to an index or pointer which slides in a groove. A
graduated scale is marked on one side of the groove opposite the pointer, so
'as to indicate the precise quantity of water let into the kneading chamber.
The graduated scale of the water vessel commences at some distance above the
lower part of the vessel, so that the lower portion of the water which may
become foul by reason of the deposition of sediment is not allowed to flow into
the kneading cylinder. The impure water may be withdrawn from time to
time by means of a cork fitted at the bottom of the water vessel or reservoir.
The proper quantities of flour and water and other ingredients having been
placed in the cylinder A, the shaft C is put in motion, and the mixing and
kneading is effected by the action of the blades H and arms I upon the
materials. To facilitate the operation the interior of the cylinder may be
heated above the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere by admitting a
jet of steam, heated air, or fluid to the interior of the shaft C by means of the
pipe F. If heated air or fluid is used for this purpose it may be allowed to
circulate through the shaft by opening the stop-cock at the eduction end of
the hollow shaft. The rotatory motion of the shaft C is kept up until the con-
tents of the cylinder are thoroughly and sufficiently kneaded or incorporated
together. The hopper S is then lifted out of the slot or opening in the
cylinder A by means of cords or chains hooked or otherwise attached to. the
links at each end of the hopper. The cylinder A is now turned round upon
its axis by means of the winch handle and gearing until the longitudinal slot
or opening in the cylinder A is brought over a receiver, which travels to and
fro beneath the kneading cylinder. By this means the contents of the knead-
ing cylinder are discharged at once into the receiver. If the dough prepared
in the mixing and kneading cylinder has not been fermented, or in other
words, become spongy by the evolution of carbonic acid gas, then the dough
is allowed to fall from the cylinder A into troughs, where it remains until it
becomes sufficiently "light" or porous. These troughs are rectangular
wooden vessels fitted upon wheels for the convenience of moving to and fro.
The wheels are fitted upon an axle in the centre of the trough, so that its
end may be tilted up in order to facilitate the discharge of the dough there-
from. When the dough has remained in a quiescent state for the proper
time the trough is wheeled to the mixing cylinder, which is turned upon its
axis, so that the slot or opening is level or nearly level with the floor. One
end of the trough is tilted up, and the lower end brought to a level with the
opening in the cylinder; the dough is then allowed to slide down the inclined
plane into the cylinder, where it undergoes a second kneading. After this

page_text: operation it is transferred from the cylinder A to the receiver to be divided
into portions of an uniform and predetermined size. The receiver consists of
a rectangular wooden vessel T, the bottom of which slopes downwards towards
'the cutting or dividing machinery. The receiver is divided longitudinally by
a partition U, the lower part of which, as well as the sides of the receiving
vessel, are sloped inwards to contract the opening in the bottom of the receiver.
For the convenience of moving the dough receiver to and fro beneath the
cylinder A, it is mounted upon wheels which run upon iron rails or beanis V
extending across the building in which the machinery is arranged. The
receiver is supported upon six wheels, which travel upon the rails V, and the
upper part of the body of the receiver is carried by four flanged wheels W,
and the lower part upon two wheels X, one of which projects from one sidė
of the body and the other from the opposite side. "The receiving vessel T
being divided into two compartments or holders by the partition U, each of
these compartments is alternately charged with dough from the cylinder A.
The capacity or cubical area of the compartments or holders must be pro-
portioned to the contents of the mixing, and kneading cylinder. When the
kneaded dough is discharged from the cylinder A into the receiver T the
hopper-like or sloping form of the lower part of the receiver gives to the mass
a tendency to emerge from the opening' Y. The withdrawing and dividing of
the dough into portions of an uniform size is effected by means of a me-
chanical arrangement fitted below the receiver T in such manner that either
of the apertures or openings Y may be brought over the withdrawing and
dividing rollers. The openings Y of the compartments are closed when not
in use by sliding doors Z, formed of sheet iron or other suitable material.
The dough is withdrawn by means of the rotatory action of two rollers, which
revolve in the same direction, the dough passing between the rollers and
thence into a dividing cylinder. A vertical section of the dividing cylinder is
shown in Figure 3; its interior is divided into eight compartments of cor-
responding capacity by partitions, two of which are longitudinal and onc
vertical. The withdrawing and dividing mechanism is fitted in a rectangular
metal frame a. This frame is supported by brackets, which are bolted to the
under side of the rails S, on which the receiver travels. The supporting
brackets are shown in red lines in the Drawing in order to avoid confusing
the other parts of the mechanism. The bearings of the spindles of the two
drawing rollers 6 are fitted in two cheek plates, which form a part of the
frame a. These cheek plates have slots made in them, as shown in the end
view, Figure 2, and by means of the screw c the distance of the rollers & fromí
cach other may be accurately regulated. The spindle of the dividing cylinder i

page_text: is supported in like manner in the slotted side plates of the frame a, and by
means of the adjusting screws e it may be raised or lowered as required.
Motion is given to the dividing cylinder and drawing rollers by means of a
belt pulley on the spindle of the cylinder d, and the wheel g on the same
spindle drives the pinion h of the first drawing roller b. The second drawing
roller is driven in the same direction as the first by means of the intermediate
wheel i, which gears with the wheel g and with the pinion j, on the spindle
of the second drawing roller b. The dough as it is drawn down from the
receiver T by the rotatory motion of the rollers b is prevented from adhering
thereto by the action of the scrapers k, which serve also to direct the stream
of exuding dough into the dividing cylinder d. At one end of each of the
scrapers is a lever 1, to which a weight or spring is attached, so as to
regulate the pressure of the scrapers upon the rollers b. The stream of dough
as it descends into the cells or compartments of the dividing cylinder is cut
off, and is pressed into each compartment by means of a segmentally-shaped
presser or cutter m. The ends of the presser m are made to overlap the
dividing cylinder d, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 2, in order to
prevent the dough from being pressed out beyond the dividing cylinder. The
pressure of the presser m upon the dough is regulated by means of the
lever n, which is fast to the spindle o, carried by the brackets p. The centre
of the spindle o is connected to the presser m by means of the lever and
link q, and by means of a weight or spring attached to the lever n the
presser m is caused to bear with greater or less force against the cylinder d.
The adhesion of the dough to the drawing rollers b is further prevented, and
the operation of the presser and cutter m likewise facilitated by causing a
small quantity of flour to fall continuously upon the surface of the drawing
rollers 6 as they rotate. A supply of flour for this purpose is placed in the
spaces and s formed by the contraction of the bottom of the compartments
of the receiver T, the flour being allowed to fall gradually upon the rollers b,
so as to keep their surfaces continually dusted therewith. Brush rollers may
also be fitted in these flour compartments for the purpose of more effectually
and continuously bringing down the dusting flour. When a batch of dough
is to be made into loaves the compartment of the receiver in which the dough
is contained is brought over the drawing rollers, and the sliding door Z which
closes the mouth of the compartment is pushed back to allow of the egress of
the dough. The drawing rollers 6 and dividing cylinder d being put in
action, the dough as it is drawn downwards by the rollers 6 descends into the
compartments of the dividing cylinder. As the cylinder d rotates, the presser m
serves to press the dough into the compartment of the dividing cylinder, so

page_text: that the compartment shall be completely filled, and as the cylinder rotates
the presser cuts off the dough level with its periphery. When the filled
compartments of the cylinder d have passed the lower part of the presser m,
the segmentally-shaped pieces of dough fall on to a table beneath, where they
are received by attendant workmen, who shape them to the form of the loaf
by hand. The operation of bread making is finally completed by baking the
prepared masses of dough in the ordinary manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,--
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for the manufacture of bread, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of manufacturing bread by means of machinery
or apparatus, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of mixing, dividing, and kneading dough by
means of screw blades and radial arms or blades attached to a revolving shaft,
and giving the dough a reciprocatory working, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of raising the temperature of the kneading
chamber or cylinder by means of a current of steam, heated air, or water
flowing through a hollow shaft, as herein-before described.
Fifth, the system or mode of drawing the prepared dough from the receiving
vessel by means of rollers, and the mechanical arrangement for preventing its
adhering thereto, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the system or mode of dividing the dough into pieces of an uniform
size by means of a divided cylinder rotating in contact with a presser or other
mechanical equivalent therefor, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Pettigrew, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
JOHN PETTIGREW. (L.S.)