AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CONVERTING LOOSE GRANULAR SUGAR INTO CUBES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thirsy Louisa Wadsworth, Administratrix of the Estate
of Wedworth Wadsworth, deceased, of San Francisco, California, in the
United States of America, for the Invention of AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR CONVERTING LOOSE GRANULAR SUGAR INTO CUBES." A communication
from Wedworth Wadsworth, deceased.
Sealed the 29th December 1876, and dated the 9th November 1876.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Thirsy Louisa Wadsworth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th November 1876.
THIRSY LOUISA WADSWORTH, Administratrix of the Estate of Wedworth
Wadsworth, deceased, of San Francisco, California, in the United States of
America. "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CONVERTING LOOSE GRANULAR SUGAR
INTO CUBES." A communication from Wedworth Wadsworth, deceased.
The Invention of said Wedworth Wadsworth, deceased, relates to certain
improvements in machines for converting loose granular sugar into blocks, cubes,
or other solid form.
The Invention consists in the employment of a rotating wheel, drum, or cylinder,
the face or rim of which is provided with cavities or cells which form molds, in
and upon which the granular sugar is deposited from a hopper which is mounted
above the wheel, drum, or cylinder, and into which the sugar is compacted or
condensed by pressure rollers, which are so arranged as to press upon the rim or
face of the wheel as it rotates. The Invention also includes a system of pistons
which are automatically operated so as to force the condensed blocks or cubes out
of the molds and deposit them upon an endless belt; all as more fully described
in the following description.
i
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, Figure 2 a
longitudinal section, and Figure 3 a cross section representing a machine embodying
this Invention.
14
A represents a drum or cylinder, one end of which is closed by a head or solid
disk B, while the opposite end is open. The horizontal shaft C which supports this
drum extends outward from the center of the head or disk B, and is supported in
boxes on standards D, E, as represented. The outer face or rim of this wheel is
formed into cells or cavities f, f, of the desired shape to form molds which open
D

page_text: outward, a piston e forming the bottom of each cell or cavity, as herein-after
described. Over this wheel or drum I construct a frame consisting of the upright
end pieces F, F, the upper ends of which are connected by the horizontal cross
pieces G, G, one of which passes across on each side of the upper edge of the
wheels.
A strong upright H passes vertically across the open end of the cylinder, its
lower end being secured to the base upon which the machine is constructed, while
its upper end is secured to the middle of one of the cross pieces G. A short fixed
shaft I is secured to this upright so that it will project inside of the cylinder just
below its rim, and a friction roller J is placed upon this shaft so as to bear against
the under side of the rim as the wheel or cylinder rotates and receive the down-
ward pressure which is exerted upon the outer rim of the wheel by the pressure
rollers to be herein-after described. As before stated, a piston forms the bottom of
each cavity or cell. Each of these pistons has a rod or spindle j, which passes
through a hole in the inside shell of the cylinder and projects radially a short
distance inside of the shell towards its center, thus forming as many radial
spindles as there are pistons or cells. Each spindle has a button-shaped head
formed on its inner end, and a spiral spring i is coiled around the stem between the
shell and head, so that the pressure of the springs will force the spindles inward
towards the center of the cylinder and keep the pistons in the bottoms of the
cells.
A roller M is mounted inside of the molding cylinder on a horizontal shaft
which is secured to the upright below the center of the cylinder, so that the roller
when mounted upon the shaft will be eccentric to the interior of the cylinder.
This roller is large enough to depress the spindles of the pistons as they are passed
under it by the rotation of the cylinders, and thus cause the pistons to force the
condensed blocks of sugar from the molds so that they will drop into trays which
are carried upon an endless belt N below the wheel.
Above the wheel, and at one side of a vertical line drawn through its center, I
mount a hopper O between the horizontal cross timbers G, G, into which the loose.
granular sugar is deposited just as it comes from the centrifugal machine. The
lower side of this hopper fits closely to the surface of the molds, while the opposite
side is provided with a sliding gate P, which can be adjusted so as to provide any
desired size of opening for regulating the depth of sugar to be deposited in and
úpon the molds. Inside of this hopper, near its bottom, I mount a series of curved
plates Q, Q, upon a horizontal shaft R, which passes through the hopper, and is
driven by a belt connection with the power that drives the machine. These curved
plates are placed spirally around the shaft, and are rotated backward so that their
convex sides will be drawn over the molds or cells as the wheel rotates. These
plates, which I call the feeding and pressing plates, keep the sugar in the hopper
loose by their stirring action, and as their convex sides pass over the molds they
press the sugar into the cells and ensure their being filled, thus rendering the
action of the machine positive, and preventing the sugar from lodging or packing
in the hopper.
On the opposite side of a vertical line drawn through the center of the cylinder
I mount the pressing rollers S, S. Ordinarily I will employ a single pressing
roller, but two or even more can be used. These rollers are made of india-rubber
.or other yielding elastic substance, and mounted upon a transverse shaft which
bears in the cross timbers G, G. The bearings in which the journals of these
shafts rest are slotted, and a spring t, which may be made of india-rubber or steel,
is placed back of the journals. Set screws u serve to regulate the pressure of
these rollers by compressing the springs t.
It will thus be seen that as the cylinder is rotated the molds in its face or rim
will be passed under the hopper and be filled with the loose granular sugar by the
curved pressing and feeding plates. The gate P will be sufficiently raised to allow
a layer of sugar of a given thickness to lie upon the filled molds and pass out of
.the hopper. The molds then pass under the pressing rollers S, S, consecutively so

page_text: that the superposed layer of sugar is pressed into and condensed in the molds or
cells, thus producing a compact body in each mold. The further rotation of the
cylinder brings the piston rods which actuate the pistons in the bottom of the
molds under the roller M so that the piston is forced outward and the block or
cube of sugar is forced out of the molds and caused to drop into the trays on the
endless belt N. After the piston rods pass the roller M (the molds having been
relieved of their contents) the spiral springs i again restore the pistons to their
original position in the bottom of the mold. The operation is therefore continuous.
The wheel deposits the sugar in the trays on the endless belt while the endless belt
moves continuously and carries the trays to a point where they can be removed by
the workman.
Having described the Invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters
Patent is,―
1st. A sugar molding machine, consisting of a wheel, drum, or cylinder A, the
face or rim of which is formed into cells or cavities for molding the blocks or cubes
of sugar, hopper O for delivering the sugar to the cells or cavities, and one or more
pressure rollers S for compacting and condensing the sugar into the molds,
substantially as above described.
2nd. A circular rotating mold A supported as described in combination with the
supporting friction roller J, which is arranged to bear against the inner portion of
the cylinder and receive the downward pressure, substantially as above specified.
3rd. A circular rotating mold, consisting of the drum or cylinder A, provided
with the head or disk B at one end and supported by the horizontal shaft C which
projects from the center of said head, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
4th. In combination with a cylindrical rotating mold A having a piston e in the
bottom of each cell or mold, and each piston provided with a spindle or stem j and
spring, I claim the independent roller M mounted eccentrically inside of the
cylinder, substantially as and for the purposes described.
5th. The hopper O, having the spirally arranged curved plates or blades Q, Q,
mounted upon a transverse shaft R inside of it near its bottom, substantially as
and for the purposes described.
6th. The hopper O, having the sliding gate P at one side and provided with
curved pressing and filling plates Q, Q, arranged to be rotated at or near its
bottom in combination with the cylindrical rotating mold A, substantially as and
for the purposes described.
7th. In combination with the rotating cylindrical mold A and hopper O I claim
one or more pressing rollers S, S, mounted in adjustable bearings, and arranged to
condense the sugar into the molds after it passes out of the hopper, substantially
as above specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thirsy Louisa Wadsworth, Administratrix of
the Estate of Wedworth Wadsworth, deceased, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witnesses,
JNO. L. BOONE,
OLWYN T. STACY,
THIRSY LOUISA WADSWORTH. (L.S.)