Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Mincing Meat.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by OLIVER DWIGHT WOODRUFF, of No. 6, High
Street, Southington, County of Hartford, Mechanic, and LEVI TRACY SNOW,
of No. 83, Dickerman Street, New Haven, County of New Haven, Manu-
facturer, both in the State of Connecticut, United States of America.]
Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Mincing Meat.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Figure 1, represents a side view of the machine complete.
Figure 2, delivery end view of the same.
Figure 3, central longitudinal section through the case showing the screw and
perforated plate in side view.
Figure 4, central longitudinal section cutting through the case, feed-screw and
perforated plate.
Figure 5, front end view of the feed-screw detached.
Figure 6, longitudinal central section of the case with the feed-screw and
perforated plate removed.
Figure 7, section on line x-x of Figure 4.
Figures 8, 9 and 10, modifications.
This invention relates to an improvement in machines for hashing or mincing
meat and other substances, and particularly to that class in which the machine
consists of a case with a hopper at one end for the introduction of the meat, and
having combined therewith a feed-screw arranged longitudinally through the case
to receive the meat at the hopper, and force the material forward through the case,
the case provided at its delivery end with perforations through which the material
will be forced, and particularly to the machines of this class in which a preliminary
cutting is produced within the case before the material being operated upon reaches
the perforated plate, and a final cut made upon the material at the perforated plate,
the object of the invention being to produce a machine simple in construction, and
which may be readily adjusted and conveniently cleaned, and the invention consists
in the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter described and particularly
recited in the claim.
A, represents the case, which is supported upon any suitable standard or bracket,
here represented as by legs B, projecting downward from the case. At one end
the case is constructed or provided with a hopper C, through which the material
to be operated upon may be introduced. Extending from the hopper the case is
preferably expanded so as to increase its diameter toward the other or delivery
end of the case.
The interior of the case is constructed with a series of spiral ribs a a, more or
less in number, the inclination of the ribs being from the hopper toward the
delivery end; these ribs form spiral grooves b, within the case, which grooves
terminate abruptly near the delivery or outer end of the case, and so as to form
shoulders e, these shoulders being in substantially longitudinal planes, and as clearly
seen in Fig. 6. Within the case a forcing device is applied, which is in the form
of a screw D, the shauk E, of the screw extends through a bearing F, formed in
the hopper end of the case, and as seen in Fig. 3, the shank being adapted for the
application of power thereto, here represented as by a crank G, so that the feed-
screw D, may be revolved within the case, the screw being concentric with the
interior of the case, and so that material introduced into the case through the
hopper, will be received upon the blades of the screw, and under the revolution of

page_text: the screw will be forced toward the delivery end of the case, as usual in this class
of machines. The periphery of the blade of the screw increases in diameter
according to the increase in the diameter of the case; and so that the edge of the
blade or spiral rib of the feed-screw will run substantially in contact with the inner
surface of the case. At the outer or delivery end, the feed-screw is recessed, the
recess tapering, that is, expanding in diameter from the inner end outward, and so
as to form a concentric chamber within that end of the feed-screw. The spiral
blade of the feed-screw terminates before it reaches the end. The end of the
feed-screw is of plain circular shape, and fits closely within that part of the case,
as represented in Fig. 3. A little back from the extreme end of the feed-screw a
series of openings H,. are formed, through from the outside of the feed-screw into
the chamber within, as seen in Fig. 4, and these openings stand in the plane of the
shoulders c, which form the termination of the grooves in the case. On the
periphery of this end portion of the feed-screw, spiral grooves I, lead from the
openings H, rearward into the groove formed by the blade of the feed-screw;
the pitch of these grooves I, is about the same as that of the blade of the feed-
screw, and the grooves form corresponding spiral ribs J between them, substan-
tially parallel with the spiral blade of the feed-screw, and so that under the
revolution of the feed-screw, the material being operated upon is forced along
through the case, the spiral ribs of the case co-acting with the spiral rib of the
feed-screw as. usual in this class of machines, but approaching the end of the feed-
screw the material follows the narrower grooves 1, of the feed-screw and the
grooves b; of the case, until the openings in the feed-screw are reached, when as
the further advance of the material is resisted by the side of the openings H, the
material will be turned through the openings toward the interior or chamber in
the end of the feed-screw, and as these openings H, form the termination of the
grooves I, they produce a shoulder d, opposed to the shoulders e in the case, and to
that portion of the ribs a, near the shoulders c, and the shoulders d, co-acting with
the shoulders c, and the ribs a, operate as cutters to cut from the mass that portion
of the material which shall have passed into the openings H, and so as to entirely
separate that portion of the material from the mass, and were there nothing to
prevent the material so cut from the mass, it would at once fall into the chamber
in the end of the feed-screw, and be delivered from the machine.
There is also a cutting of the mass produced by means of the ribs J, on the feed-
screw co-acting with the ribs in the interior of the case.
The cutting thus produced between the feed-screw and the case, is a preliminary
cutting, and preparatory to the final cutting of the material before it is delivered
from the machine.
The supplemental or final cutting is produced by means of a cup-shaped plate K,
arranged in the open end of the case, as seen in Fig. 4, the periphery of the plate
of a shape corresponding to and so as to fit closely against the wall of the interior
of the chamber in the end of the feed-screw, and as seen in Fig. 4. The openings H,
into the chamber in the feed-screw open directly upon the surface of the plate K.
The plate K, is perforated with numerous holes E, which extend from the periphery
of the plate into the interior of the plate; the plate is held stationary, or prevented
from revolving with the feed-screw, so that the feed-screw revolves upon the plate,
the openings H, in the feed-screw working over perforations e, in the cone.
result of this is that as the material passes through the openings in the feed-screw
and is cut from the mass, and more material advances, the material so cut passes
into and through the perforations e, in the plate, and the material so projecting
into the perforations of the plate is held stationary, while the feed-screw is revolved,
consequently the openings H, act in conjunction with the perforations e of the plate
as cutters, so as to again and finally cut the material, thence the material so finally
cut passes in to the recess in the outside of the plate, and is thence delivered from
the machine.
The
The supplemental cutting may be varied by making the perforations in the plate
larger or smaller. Preferably the openings H, through the end of the feed-screw

page_text: are under-cut, as represented at 1, Fig. 4, which form recesses between the plate
and the wall of the chamber in the feed-screw, so that the surface of the plate
exposed to the material delivered through the openings H, is greater than it would
be were the openings not so under-cut. This enables the number of perforations
through the plate to be increased over what otherwise might be.
To hold the perforated plate in its place stationary in the case, a notch 9: is
formed in its periphery, and a corresponding pin h, introduced into the case, as
seen in Fig. 2, the pin being stationary, and so that the pin forms a projection of
the case extending into the notchy, which when brought together, as seen in Fig. 2,
prevent the revolution of the plate.
It is desirable to make the plate adjustable with relation to the feed-screw, so
that the closeness of fit between the walls of the chamber in the feed-screw and the
periphery of the plate may be varied as occasion required. To accomplish this
object, the feed-screw is made tubular, and with a corresponding central opening
through the plate and through this opening and plate and through the tubular
feed-screw, a bolt L, is introduced, and so that the head M, of the bolt will bear
against the inside of the plate at the apex. The bolt extends through the feed-
screw or arbor, and is screw-threaded at its other end, and at that end a thumb-
nut N, is applied, adapted to bear against the head of the crank, and so as to draw
the plate into the chamber in the feed-screw to a greater or less extent, as occasion
may require, and at the same time the head of the crank bearing as it does against
the outer end of the bearing F, the turning of the nut operates to draw the feed-
screw more closely into the case, and thereby adjust its conical periphery with
relation to the corresponding interior surface of the case, so that the nut serves not
only as a means for adjusting the plate with relation to the screw, and the screw
with relation to the plate, but also operates to secure all the parts together, and
so that by the removal of the nut only, the parts may be separated.
To prevent disadjustment of the thumb-nut, the bolt and the thumb-nut are
made to revolve with the arbor, or feed-screw, while the plate remains stationary.
The bolt and arbor are connected by means of a stud i, on the bolt, setting into
a corresponding notch 1, in the feed-screw. This bolt not only serves for the
adjustment of the plate with relation to the chamber of the feed-screw, but also
serves to hold the plate in the case against longitudinal displacement.
While preferring the adjustment and holding of the perforated plate by means
of the bolt through the arbor, the plate may be otherwise held and adjusted,
as for illustration, as seen in Fig. 8, in which a screw-collar is applied over the
outer end of the plate and onto the end of the case, so that the flange of the
collar will bear against the outer end of the plate, and so that by turning the collar
to a greater or less extent, the adjustment of the plate longitudinally may be
produced, as well as the plate held in place.
While preferring to make the chainber in the end of the feed-screw and the
plate of conical shape, the cup-shape of the plate may be other than that of a
cone, for instance, it may be hemi-spherical, as seen in Fig. 9, with the same
result.
Again, the plate instead of being cup-shaped, may be flat, as seen in Fig. 10, and
perforated, the openings from the grooves of the feed-screw terminating against
the inner face of the perforated plate, and so as to work in connection with the
perforations of the flat plate the same as do openings of the feed screw against
the surface of the conical plate first described.
By this construction of machine, the preliminary cutting is most effectively
produced, and so that practically this preliminary work is the larger portion of
the cutting, so much and such effective preliminary cutting being produced, prepares
he material for passing through the perforations with very little power, and
as the preliminary cutting is direct, the machine works extremely easy, and requires
ut very little power for its operation when the amount of cut material is
onsidered.
The construction is extremely simple, so easily understood as to be readily taken

page_text: apart or re-adjusted, and because of its simplicity, it is easily cleaned, and further-
more the effect in practical operation is to deliver substantially all the material
which is introduced into the machine, the space within which the material can
possibly remain being so slight as to be inconsiderable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The combination of a case provided with a hopper at one end, the opposite
end open, the interior of the case constructed with spiral ribs and so as to form
grooves terminating near the open end of the case, a feed-screw arranged longi-
tudinally within the case, and so as to revolve therein, the periphery of the
feed-screw corresponding in shape to the ribbed interior of the case, the blades or
ribs of the screw forming grooves which terminate near the end of the feed-screw,
the end of the feed-screw beyond the termination of the said grooves fitting closely
within the case, a plate adapted to close the end of the case, its inner face corre-
sponding to and so as to fit closely upon the surface of the end of the feed-screw,
the plate perforated, and the screw constructed with openings from its grooves,
the said openings terminating upon the inner surface of said perforated plate,
substantially as described.
Second. The combination of a case provided with a hopper at one end, the
opposite end open, the interior of the case constructed with spiral ribs and so as to
form grooves terminating near the open end of the case, a feed screw arranged
longitudinally within the case and so as to revolve therein, the periphery of the
feed-screw corresponding in shape to the ribbed interior of the case, the blades or
ribs of the feed-screw forming grooves which terminate near the end of the feed-
screw, the end of the feed-screw beyond the termination of the said grooves fitting
closely within the case, the end of the screw concentrically recessed so as to form a
chamber within the screw, and the screw constructed with openings from its
grooves through into said chamber, and a cup-shaped plate held stationary in the
open end of the case, and serving to close that end, the exterior of the cup-shaped
plate corresponding to and so as to fit closely within the chamber in the end of
the feed-screw, the plate constructed with perforations through its sides into its
interior, and so as to co-act with the said openings through the feed-screw,
substantially as described.
Third. The combination of a case provided with a hopper at one end, the opposite
end open, the interior of the case constructed with spiral ribs and so as to form
grooves terminating near the open end of the case, a feed-screw arranged longi-
tudinally within the case, and so as to revolve therein, the periphery of the feed-
screw corresponding in shape to the ribbed interior of the case, the blades or ribs of
the screw forming grooves which terminate near the end of the feed-screw, the end
of the feed-screw beyond the termination of the said grooves fitting closely within
the case, a plate adapted to close the end of the case, its inner face corresponding to
and so as to fit closely upon the surface of the end of the feed-screw, the plate
perforated, and the screw constructed with openings from its grooves, the said
openings terminating upon the inner surface of said perforated plate, with means
substantially such as described for adjusting the said plate with relation to the
feed-screw, substantially as described.
Fourth. The combination of a case provided with a hopper at one end, the
opposite end open, the interior of the case constructed with spiral ribs and so as
to form grooves terminating near the open end of the case, a feed-screw arranged
longitudinally within the case, and so as to revolve therein, the periphery of the
feed-screw corresponding in shape to the ribbed interior of the case, the blades or
ribs of the screw forming grooves which terminate near the end of the feed-screw,
the end of the feed-screw beyond the termination of the said grooves fitting closely
within the case, a plate adapted to close the end of the case, its inner face corre-
sponding to and so as to fit closely upon the surface of the end of the feed-screw,

page_text: the plate perforated, and the screw constructed with openings from its grooves, the
said openings terminating upon the inner surface of said perforated plate, with a
bolt through the perforated plate and through the feed-screw, one end of the bolt
adapted to engage the plate, and the other end provided with an adjusting-nut, the
bolt constructed to engage with the feed-screw and so as to partake of its revolution,
whereby said plate may be longitudinally adjusted with relation to the feed-screw,
substantially as described.
Dated this 25th day of October 1802
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.