IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING AND PRESSING SUGAR INTO CUBES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, "
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING AND PRESSING SUGAR INTO
CUBES." A communication from abroad by William Jasper and Stephien
Boushey, both of San Francisco, California, United States of America.
Sealed the 8th November 1878, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 29th April 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th April 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING
AND PRESSING SUGAR INTO CUBES." [A communication from abroad by William
Jasper and Stephen Boushey, both of San Francisco, California, United States of
America.]
My said Invention relates to machinery for cutting and pressing sugar into
cubes, and comprises an arrangement of knives or cutters in a rectangular form,
with a series of pressers within each rectangular space.
When the cutters are pressed down into a mass of sugar in the mould the sugar
will be divided and pressed into a number of solid compact cubes by the combined
action of the reciprocating cutters and the operation of the pressers.
The object of the said Invention is to divide and press a mass of sugar into
cubes or blocks of proper size ready for the drying process or machinery at one
operation.
For carrying this Invention into practice a set or gang of cutters is arranged
upon a plate or frame, to which a proper movement is given by means of a lever
connected with a reciprocating plate by a link. These cutters are formed of thin
metal blades or plates intersecting and crossing each other at right angles, so as to
include and form a series of rectangular spaces of the size required for the cubes

page_text: to be made.
Within each space is placed a rectangular block or presser, which has
no movement, but is held in a fixed position, with its lower face in the same plane
as the bottom of the bed-plate of the machine, so that when a mould is introduced
beneath the aforesaid cutters the face of the pressers will rest upon or be in contact
with the mass of sugar in the mould. Each of these pressers is held by means of a
rod and nut, and by means of this arrangement the said pressers can be adjusted,
with reference to the bottom of the bed-plate, by loosening or tightening the nuts,
and thus lowering or raising the presser rods.
The cutter plate is connected with the reciprocating plate by the said rods made
adjustable in a vertical direction by nuts, and the cutters have a reciprocating
motion out from the machine and back again between the stationary pressers for a
distance equal to the depth of the mould. One movement of the aforesaid lever
down and up therefore forces the cutters into the mould and withdraws them again,
leaving the sugar divided and pressed into a number of cubes.
The moulds used to hold the sugar in the machine and present it in a proper
manner to the action of the cutters are composed of a tray, a metal rim, and a
removable frame, which is made of the same height as the size required for the
cubes, and is held in place between the rims. This frame confines the sugar in
place in the mould while receiving the pressure of the cutters, and is removed from
the mould when it is drawn out from the machine in order to allow the tray with
the cubes of sugar upon it to be brought into contact with the atmosphere of the
drying room or chamber, and the moisture of the cubes to be thus more rapidly
evaporated.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
November 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING
AND PRESSING SUGAR INTO CUBES." A communication from abroad by William
Jasper and Stephen Boushey, both of San Francisco, California, United States of
America.
The said Invention relates to machinery for cutting and forming sugar into
cubes, and it consists,―
First. In an improved machine, in which the sugar is distributed in its moist
state from a feed box or hopper, and formed into a block or slab of uniform density
upon a tray or plate, and is presented to cube-forming mechanism that cuts, and at
the same time presses the cubes into shape, and is afterwards conveyed from the
machine by a belt or apron to receive the necessary drying before being handled.
Second. In means for throwing and distributing the moist sugar evenly and in
uniform density upon the plates or trays, which present it to the cube-forming
mechanism.
Third. In an improved cube-cutting and pressing mechanism for cutting or
separating the slab of sugar into cubes of uniform size, and giving them sharp
edges and smooth faces with an uniform density.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine.
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the centre of the said
machine.
Figure 3 is a side elevation.
Figure 4 is a detail view of the cutter and presser plates.
Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of the box or feed hopper and the parts there-
with connected for distributing the sugar upon the plate or tray, and for trimming
and cutting the edges and surface of the slab, and regulating its thickness as it
passes out from beneath the hopper.
A, A, represent the side frames of the machine, in which the shafts and working
parts are held; and a, a, the rods that bind and hold them together. B is the feed
box or hopper containing the moist sugar; C, the plates or trays fed along beneath
the hopper to receive the sugar, and carry it to the cutting mechanism; D is the
cutter plate or knives; E is the presser plate; and F, the endless belt or apron for
conveying the trays or plates from the feed box to the cube-forming mechanism,
and carrying the finished cubes out of the machine.
2
The conveying mechanism consists of the pulleys G, G, at each end of the frame,
around which pulleys the chains, belts, or aprons F, F, are stretched, and the
ratchet wheel H at the side of the machine (Figure 3), that is moved intermittently.
by means of the pawl h, the rod I, the lever J, its rod i, and the cam K on the
shaft L, the rotation of this cam giving the proper backward and forward move-
ment to the pawl rod I, and causing the shaft ; to rotate at intervals in one
direction. The shape of the cam and its adjustment is such that the ratchet wheel.
and its shaft is moved forward a fixed distance at every upward movement of the
cutter D, while the knives are clear of the sugar. At the rear end of the machine
is placed a roller carrying an endless belt or apron X in line with the chains or
conveying belt F, F, which belt receives the plate or tray with its finished sugar;
cubes, and carry it from the machine to the drying room or apparatus.
The trays or plates C, C, are held in a rack at the front end of the machine, and
the lowest one of the pile is introduced beneath the feed box B as fast as the pre-

page_text: ceding one has received its sugar and is drawn through by the belt. Each tray
has a set of lugs or projections upon its bottom that are caught by the chain or the
fingers on the belt, and the plate thus carried along to the cube forming, part of the
machine.
The cube-cutting apparatus consists of the cutter D supported by the cross
head d between the standards k, k, of the frame, and reciprocated by the action of
the rods m, m, and their rocking levers M, M, secured upon the rock shaft N, to
which shaft an intermittent movement is given by means of the groove cam O upon
the gear wheel P, and the lever Q fixed to the shaft and carrying a friction roller p.
The form of this cam O is such that the shaft and its rocking levers m, m, act to
lift and press down the cutter at regular intervals, which is determined by the
movement of the tray or slab of sugar carried along beneath it, as when the cutter
has been brought down upon the slab, pressed into the sugar, and lifted again, the
slab must be moved forward a proper distance while the cutter is held up to bring
a new portion of the uncut slab beneath the cutters.
The cutter D is formed of a set of rectangular plates or blades b, b, intersecting
and crossing each other at right angles so as to include within themselves a series
of rectangular spaces c of the size required for the cubes. The height of these
spaces c is somewhat greater than the width of the cube in order to accommodate
the pressers e, e, and allow their required vertical movement to compress the sugar.
Each of the spaces surrounded by the cutters b, b, has within it a presser block or
plate fixed to the end of a short vertical rod f, that is suspended from the presser
plate E, and works through a hole in the top of the cutter plate. The plate E
carrying these pressers is supported by the cross head R, and the intermittent reci-
procating movement to bring the pressers down upon the cubes is provided by the
action of the connection rods r, r, and the rocking levers S and S¹ secured upon the
rock shaft T that receives its intermittent movement from the cam U and the
levert secured upon the shaft T. Both this shaft and the one N below it are
operated from the gear wheel P, and their movements are so timed and regulated
that the cutter D is first brought down upon the slab of sugar and pressed into it,
and while it is held in this position, so that each cubical space between the knives
encloses the quantity of sugar for each cube, the pressers are brought down with a
strong pressure upon the top of the cubes for a short distance, and the pressers
being so held and resting upon the top of the sugar cubes the cutters are raised up
and begin to move in advance of the presser, until as they continue to rise the top
of the cutter plate strikes against the presser plate above it, when they are both
lifted together clear of the sugar.
The means provided for distributing the sugar in an uniform mass upon the plate
or tray, and for cutting and trimming off the faces and edges of the slab is shown
in the detail views (Figure 5), where the side of the feed box at the bottom is
broken away to expose the interior. This mechanism consists of a shaft V pro-
vided with short projecting arms w, w, and having a rapid motion continually in
one direction, by which the sugar in the bottom of the box is broken up and sepa-
rated into an uniform mass of crystals, and by the centrifugal action of the shaft
the crystals are thrown and distributed upon the plates or trays as they pass beneath
the feed box.
The curved planer W is situated at the opening in front of the box, and its
height above the plate or tray is regulated by means of the hand wheels u, u,
which have upon their ends the pinions x, x, engaging with the racks upon the
face of the planer.
The curved end of the planer operates upon the slab or mass of sugar as the
plate or tray is drawn beneath it, and the upper surface of the slab is trimmed and
planed off, and the surplus sugar retained within the feed box, by the curved planer,
and carried up and over again to the discharge opening of the feed box by the
action of the shaft V and its radial arms. The planer is made of a curved shape
to bring its cutting edge in a proper horizontal position below the centrifugal shaft
that it may have the proper cutting or planing effect upon the surface of the sugar

page_text: as the plate or tray is drawn beneath it.. The vertical sides and edges of the sugar
slab are trimmed and planed off in a similar manner by means of the rotating
cutting discs Y, Y, placed within the mouth of the box, and rotated by means of.
the pulleys y, Y. These cutters also cause the sugar to feed down along the edges
of the plate and prevent the mass from adhering to the sides of the box.
The trays or plates after passing from beneath the distributing and planing appa-
ratus are carried to the table z under the cutters and supported by it while the
cubes are formed. This table is adjustable vertically toward and away from the
cutting plate by means of the bolts and nuts z, z, at the sides of the frames, and by
this means the space between the face of the sugar slab and the bottom of the
cutters is regulated, and the pressure both of the knives and the pressers upon the
sugar is adjusted, according to the thickness of the slab. In the operation of this
machine the cutter plate is brought down upon the slab of sugar presented upon the
trays or plates, and its blades are passed through the mass until they strike the
plate beneath, and at the end of this movement the pressers are moved down upon
the surface of the enclosed cubes, and a strong pressure is given by them to the
sugar; and when this takes place the cutters are first raised to clear them from the
sugar particles that may adhere to the blades while the pressers are held down to.
keep the cubes in place upon the tray, and prevent the first upward movement of
the cutters from disturbing or throwing their edges out of shape while yet in a.
moist state. But the continued movement upward of the cutters causes them to
strke against the presser plate E, and then they both rise to their highest position
and remain at rest until the tray or plate with the slab is moved forward a distance
equal to the width of the cutter plate.
The forward cutting edge or blade at the next descent will enter the last cut in
the slab, and the second series of cubes shall be formed without any surplus or
waste left in the slab. This downward movement of the cutters is so timed with
respect to the motion of the endless carrying belt that the cutter begins to descend
just before the tray reaches the end of its movement, and the cutters are thon
pressed against the sugar slab as it reaches the end of its travel.
The effect of the operation of our improved machine above described is to give
all the cubes an equal pressure before they are released from the moulds or spaces
between the cutter knives, and they are thus turned-out with smooth faces and
sharp edges, and of uniform density.
The curved planer is made adjustable vertically to regulate the height of the
slab, either by means of the small shafts with pinions upon their ends, which gear
into rackets secured to the planer, or by any other suitable means whereby the
cutting edge of the planer is held at any required distance above the face of the
tray or plate.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim,
First. A machine for cutting and pressing sugar into cubes consisting of the
following parts or elements, namely, a feed box or hopper to hold the sugar, a dis-
tributing mechanism to form it into a slab or block of uniform density, and with
even sides and faces upon a tray or plate; the means for conveying the said tray
or plate from the feed box and presenting it to the cutting mechanism; an inter-
mittently vibrating cutter composed of a series of blades crossing and intersecting
cach other at right angles, a series of intermittently reciprocating pressers working
within the cubical spaces between the cutter blades, all constructed, combined, and
operated together, substantially as set forth for the purposes specified.
Second. The construction and arrangement upon a cutter plate having an inter-
mittent reciprocating movement imparted to it of a set of cutters 6, 6, crossing and
intersecting each other at right angles to enclose a series of rectangular vertical
spaces, substantially as herein described and specified.
Third. In combination with the cutter plate formed of blades or cutters enclosing
rectangular vertical spaces, the pressers e, e, having an intermittent reciprocating

page_text: movement within said spaces, substantially as described for the purposes set.
forth.
Fourth. The reciprocating presser plate E, constructed and arranged to operate
in combination with the other parts of the said machine as above described.
Fifth. In combination with the cutter plate D, formed of blades or knives enclosing
rectangular spaces and pressers e, e, having an intermittent reciprocating move-
ment within said spaces, the adjustable table arranged in the said machine, sub-
stantially as herein described and specified for the purposes set forth.
Sixth. In the said machine the feed box or hopper B for distributing the sugar
upon the plate or tray C, and forming it in a slab of uniform density, with even
and smooth sides and edges, the same consisting of the box B, the rotating shaft V,
with its arms w, w, the adjustable planer W, and the rotary cutting discs Y, all
constructed, combined, and operated, substantially as herein described for the pur-
poses set forth.
Seventh. In combination with the feed box B, the rotating centrifugal shaft V,
with projecting arms or rods w, w, for throwing the sugar by centrifugal action
upon the plates or trays C passing beneath it, and for ensuring in the said machine
a uniform density throughout the slab of sugar upon the plate c, substantially as
herein described for the purposes set forth.
Eighth. In combination with the feed box B, the planer N, adjustable to and
from the plate C, for the purpose of regulating the thickness of the slab or block
of sugar, and for giving it a smooth and even surface, the said planer being con-
structed and arranged to operate in the said machine, as herein described and
specified.
Ninth. In combination with the feed box B, the rotating, cutting, or shaving disc
Y, Y, arranged to co-operate with the other parts of the said machine, as and for
the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
HE