Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Hollow Candles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Sept., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by LOUIS JEAN BAPTISTE FOURNIER, commonly.
called FELIX FOURNIER, of 44, Boulevard Longchamp, Marseilles, France,
Merchant.]
Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Hollow
Candles.
I, ERNEST DE PASS of 78 Fleet Street in the City of London, Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in machines for the manufacture of
hollow candles, and is designed to obviate the disadvantages existing in previous
arrangements in which the parts of the candles to be left hollow are filled
by taper pins which serve both as cores and as ejectors for the candles from
the moulds.
•
Amongst these disadvantages may be mentioned the frequent splitting of the
candles, and the necessity for using an easily mouldable metal to avoid expense in:
the manufacture of the tapered pins, which are consequently liable to bend and form
eccentric passages or holes in the candles. Furthermore, the taper of the pins
having to be placed in the reverse direction to the cone of the candles, seriously
weakens the upper portions of the candles.
Now, according to the present invention, these disadvantages are almost entirely ;
obviated by employing two separate sets of parts, one set to act as core pins, and
the other set to act as pushers to eject the candles from the moulds, and by giving
to these core pins a prismatic form and regular section, they may be made in any
metal, and therefore with all the desired rigidity and exactness.
In one form of machine which I will describe by way of example, several boxes
of moulds are arranged to be actuated in succession. In connection with each box
of moulds is a plate carrying tubes in which the pushers are secured, and another
plate is provided with rods each carrying a block in which the core pins are secured.
The moulds are closed at their lower parts by the pushers which are formed
to correspond to the tips of the candles, and are perforated centrally for the passage
of the wick. When the pushers are at the bottoms of the moulds, they are
prevented by a shoulder from descending any lower.
For the manufacture of candles with three passages or holes, the pushers are
provided with three channels, through which pass three core pins which are free at
their upper parts and are secured at their lower parts in the aforesaid blocks. The
rods are adapted to work inside the tubes, and are movable relatively thereto.
The pushers, and the core pins whereby the shape of the passages or holes is
preserved, are thus capable of independent movement and the core pins do not
exert any pressure upon the thin parts to eject the candle.
Resting pieces are provided, upon which the pushers place the candles, while
leaving the core pins in the ends of the candles.
The plate on which the tubes are carried is supported by a rod on which are two
friction rollers embracing or engaging with a rib projecting on the outside of
a rotary drum, which is driven by a pinion on the driving shaft engaging a rack
around the under edge of the drum. The plate on which are the rods carrying the
core pins, is mounted on a rod also provided with friction rollers engaging a rib
projecting from the interior wall of the drum. The ribs are so shaped as to impart
the proper up and down movements to the plates and connected parts.
+

page_text: The moulds are surrounded by boxes which for the purposes of the moulding are
filled successively with hot and cold water by means of an automatic distributor
driven through suitable gearing from the driving shaft, and said boxes are
emptied by a cock operated by hand, their discharge pipe having fitted to it an
overflow pipe.
The wicks are wound on bobbins in the usual manner, and are guided by plates.
They pass along the rods carrying the blocks in which the core pins are secured,
and then pass centrally through the blocks, pushers, and moulds. The action of the
pushers in ejecting the candles from the moulds draws the wicks from the bobbins.
The tension of the wicks is regulated by spiral or other springs acting on them at
the time of their passing into the centre of the said rods.
Dated this 25th day of November 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Hollow
Candles.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, 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, reference being
had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
:-
This invention relates to machines for the manufacture of hollow wax candles, or
candles with holes, whereby the various inconveniences of the present methods are
obviated.
In machines heretofore employed, the portions of the candles which are to be
left hollow in the interior, are filled by taper pins which serve as cores, and so soon
as the candles have congealed, but while they are still somewhat warm, these core
pins are disengaged and withdrawn through the lower parts of the moulds. Then'
when the candles are cool, and shrinking has altogether ceased, the core pins are
raised, and as they can only enter for a certain portion of their length into the
candles, owing to the contraction of the openings, and as they are still further
pushed, they rise carrying with them the candles, which they eject from the moulds.
The pressure exerted by the core pins in the interior of the candles tends to split
them; this accident often occurs and is the cause of serious waste.
Furthermore, the necessity of using tapering core pins renders the employment
of stiff metal impracticable, because the manufacture of these tapering core pins
would be much too expensive if they had to be made otherwise than in a readily
mouldable metal.
Hence the core pins usually employed are flexible, and do not exactly preserve
the distance apart originally given to them. The holes which are made in the
candles are therefore frequently out of centre, and the candles become brittle
because, in this case, the walls present great inequalities in thickness.
Moreover the use of tapering core pins causes a still more serious inconvenience,
as the taper of the pins being, according to the arrangement of the machine, in the
reverse direction to the cone of the candle, the largest section of the holes
corresponds to the smallest diameter of the candle, and the result is that the walls
are considerably weakened at their upper portion. These defects are now almost
entirely overcome by this invention :--
1. By effecting the two distinct functions of the core and of the pusher by means
of two different parts, which functions, in the old machines, had to be fulfilled by
the core pins alone.
2. By giving a prismatic form and regular section to the core-pins, thereby

page_text: enabling them to be made in any metal, and consequently with all the desired
rigidity and exactness.
The invention further relates to a new wick tension device.
And in order that the invention may be readily understood, I will describe the
same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 shows the moulds, the core pins corresponding to the holes, and the
pushers, in three positions A, B, C, corresponding to three phases in the
manufacture of a candle in the machine; the portion of the figure to the right
being to a larger scale and showing, in section and plan, certain portions of the
moulds and connected parts.
Fig. 2 shows a machine carrying a suitable number of moulding boxes, arranged
around a centre, like the chambers of a revolver. The same series of operations
follow each other in each moulding box, therefore I will only describe the
operations for a single box, as these operations are reproduced identically in all
the others.
Figs. 3 and 4 show respectively, on a larger scale, the upper and lower parts of
the machine.
Fig. 5 shows partly in plan, and partly in horizontal section, a portion of the
table carrying a revolver-like series of moulding boxes.
Fig. 6 shows a detail for the tensioning of the wicks.
In Fig. 5, a represents the box or casing and the supports as seen from above;
b represents the box or casing alone, as seen from above; c, c, the places for
the boxes or casings in the upper plate; d, the plate carrying the pushers; e, the
plate carrying the core pins; f, the lower plate and the holes for the passage of the
wicks; the circular guide plate.
Referring to Fig. 1, the combination of the various parts constituting the
essential part of the invention will be readily seen. The moulds in which the
moulding of the candles is effected, are shown at 1. They are closed at their lower
parts by the pushers having the taper form corresponding to the tips of the candles.
These pushers are always pierced centrally at.3 (see also the detail m, Fig. 1), for
the passage of the wick. They are each carried by a thin tube 10, and when
they are at the bottom of the moulds, as shown in the position A, they cannot
descend any lower.
For the manufacture of candles having three holes, these pushers 2 are provided
with three symmetrical channels 7 (see m, Fig. 1), which are traversed by three
core pins 6 (see also the section p, Fig. 1). These core pins 6 are free at their
upper ends, and at their lower ends are secured in a block 8 carried by a rod 9.
The tubes 10 and rods 9 are capable of moving independently of each other.
In the position A the three core pins 6 are seen still in the previously made
candle 11. In this position the material is run into the moulds. The position B
shows the moulded candle 12 in the mould 1, and the core pins 6 brought back to
the lower position by traction exerted upon the rod 9 and the block 8. The
candle 12 may now be withdrawn from the mould. For this purpose the tube 10
and the rod 9 are caused to rise at the same time, thus bringing them into the
position in which the pusher 2 conducts the candle 12 on to the resting pieces 13,
while still leaving the core pins 6 engaged. By lowering the tube 10 with the
pusher 2, the parts are brought back to the position A, and the series of operations
can be recommenced.
These two independent movements of the pushers, and of the core pins, preserving
the shape of the holes, ensure a good manufacture, as the core pins have not
to exert, as in former methods of manufacture, any strain upon the thin parts of the
candles to eject the said candles from the moulds.
•
I have shown in Fig. 2, and in the following figures, a circular machine for
. carrying out the process just described, but no claim is laid to the means, by
themselves, about to be described, as these have formed the subject of a prior
application for patent: viz. 22378" The same letters and numerals designate the
parts hereinbefore mentioned.

page_text: The machine is a circular one, and is supposed to carry twenty boxes of twenty
candles each. To the left of Figs. 2, 3, 4, the tubes 10 are grouped upon a plate 14
carried by a rod 15; and the rods 9 carrying the core pins 6, are grouped upon a
plate 16 carried by a rod 24. These two plates are shown in their lowest position,
that corresponding to the position B of Fig. 1. At top, are seen the candles 11 of
the previous moulding, carried by the resting pieces 13, and only awaiting the cutting
of their wicks so as to be removed. The rising and falling movements of the rods 15,
and consequently of the tubes 10 carrying the pushers, are ensured as follows:
Each of the rods 15 carries two friction rollers 4 embracing or engaging a
projecting rib 17 on the exterior of a drum 18. This drum is revolved around
its axis 19 by means of a rack 20 fixed to its under edge and set in rotation by a
pinion 21 keyed on the driving shaft 22.
The outline of the rib 17 is such that, during one complete revolution of the
drum 18 in relation to the rod 15, this rod takes up and preserves the three
positions corresponding to the phases A, B, C, of one moulding operation. The
rods 24, corresponding to the plates 16, carrying the rods 9 pass inside the drum 18,
and carry two friction rollers 25 which embrace or engage a projecting rib 23 upon
the inner wall of the drum 18. The outline of this rib is such that, during one
complete revolution of the drum 18, the friction rollers 25, and hence the rod 24,
and with it the rods 9, are raised in relation to the tubes 10 so as to take up and
preserve, for the required time, the positions A, B, C of Fig. 1 the said positions
corresponding to the three phases of the manufacture. Around the moulds 1 are
the boxes 39 which, for the purposes of the moulding, must be successively filled
with hot water, and with cold water. Before moulding, the moulds are surrounded
with hot water, and after the moulding has been effected the hot water is replaced
by cold water to hasten the setting and the cooling of the candles. For this
purpose, the machine is provided with a hot and cold water distributor, which
works automatically in the following manner. The pipe 26 leads the hot water into
a distributing box 27, and this water enters the upper chamber 28 of said
distributor. A plate 29, rotated by the gearing 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, is furnished
with ports or holes 37 corresponding to the passages 38 which, at the required
moment, allow the hot water to enter the boxes 39 surrounding the moulds 1.
When the revolving plate 29 closes the passages 38 by its imperforate part, the hot
water is prevented entering the boxes 39. The continuously revolving shaft 30
sets in rotation, at the same time, the distributor plate 31 of a like distributing
box 32 superposed on the first, and into which the cold water enters by the pipe 41.
The escape orifice 60 conducts the cold water through the branch pipe 61 to the
same box 39.
The emptying of the box 39 is effected by hand, by means of the cock 40. On
the discharge pipe 47, the overflow pipe 42 of the boxes 39 is fitted.
On the bobbins 43 are wound the wicks 50 which are guided by the plates 44
and 45, and passing along the rods 9 traverse, in their centre, the blocks or plugs 8,
the pushers 2, and the moulds 1. The action of the candles ejecting the set candles
from the moulds, draws the wicks 50, the tension of which is regulated by the
springs 46 which press them against the rods 9, at the moment that they enter into
the central channel of these rods.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-The shaft 22 being geared up with
the motor immediately sets the drum 18 in rotation as well as the shaft 30 of the
two distributing plates of the hot and cold water distributor. What takes place for
one complete revolution of the drum 18, in relation to one of the twenty boxes will
now be described. The apparatus being, for instance, in the position shown to the
left of Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the pushers 2 are at the lowest point of their stroke, as
well as the core pins 6 and their supporting rods 9. This is position B of Fig. 1.
In this position, in which the moulding is effected, cold water is filling the box 39
surrounding the moulds 1. The distributor plate 31 must therefore present a port
above the passage 60 so that the cold water delivered through the tube 41 into the
distributor 32 can follow the course 60, 61, and fill the box 39,

page_text: The drum 18, rotating in the direction of the arrow, this position will be
maintained so long as the horizontal portions of the ribs 17 and 23 pass between
the rollers 4 and 25, and as it has been seen that to pass from position B to
position C, it was necessary to cause the rods 9 and tubes 10 to rise at the same
time, the two ribs 23 and 17 will, to the same degree, take up an inclined position
upon the surface of the drum 18 which will cause the rods 15 and 24 to rise
simultaneously into position C. At the same time the cold water is drawn off
through the discharge cock 40. To return to the position A, the tubes 10 alone
must descend, therefore during this movement of the drum 18, in relation to the
box 39, the rib 17 which controls the tubes 10, will descend upon the drum 18, the
rib 23 corresponding to the rods 9 remaining horizontal and in the upper part of
the drum 18. At this time the hot water is allowed to flow to the moulds 1, and
for this purpose, the continuously revolving shaft 30, brings an imperforate part of
the plate 31 above the passage 60 and the plate 29, brings a port above the
passage 38, thereby permitting the hot water, which enters the pipe 26, to pass
along the pipe 48 to the box 39. The moulding having been then effected the
rib 23 re-descends and thus brings the parts back to position B, the hot water being
at this time drawn off and replaced by cold water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A machine for manufacturing hollow wax candles, in which the two distinct
functions of core and pusher are performed by two different parts working as above
described.
2. In machines for manufacturing hollow wax candles, core pins of prismatic form
and of regular section, capable of being made in any metal, and therefore with all
the required rigidity and exactness, as set forth.
3. In machines for manufacturing wax candles, the use of the improved wick
tensioning device, substantially as described and as shown with reference to Fig. 6
of the drawings.
4. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the improved
machine for manufacturing hollow wax candles, substantially as herein described,
and as shown with reference to the annexed drawings.
Dated this 22nd day of September 1894.