AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SEEDS OR STONES FROM RAISINS AND OTHER DRIED FRUIT
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting. Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SEEDS OR STONES FROM RAISINS
AND OTHER DRIED FRUIT."-A communication from abroad by William
Emerson Baker, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 5th February 1867, and dated the 7th August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners 'of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th August 1866.
I, WILLIAM. ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SEEDS OR STONES
FROM RAISINS AND OTHER DRIED FRUIT," a communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists (in its simplest form) of a stamp-like handle, in the
plane surface of which are inserted at uniformly small distances apart (say
one-twelfth of an inch from centre to centre) numerous small wires projecting
from the face of the stamp about one-fourth of an inch, and of a yielding stamp
bed, preferably of rubber. To operate with this apparatus a rasin is placed on

page_text: .
the rubber bed, and the stamp is then thrust upon the said rasin, the wires
perforating the skin and pulp, but not the seeds or stones, which being hard
are carried before the blunt points of the wires through the skin of the fruit,
and are embedded in the rubber, the pulp of the fruit being impaled on the
wires. On removal of the stamp from the bed the stone will be found adhering
to the rasin, but projecting therefrom so that it can be scraped off, and then
the fruit can be removed from the wires. To this simple apparatus may be
added mechanism for working the stone scraper and the fruit clearers. To
make a machine which shall operate rapidly and continuously the rubber bed
is made in the form of a roll, and the perforating wires are set in another
roll, both being adjusted so that the ends of the wires shall just press against
the rubber, and it is best to have the rolls so connected as to revolve towards
each other and at the same surface speed. In connection with these rolls
there should be a hopper to be filled with the fruit from which the stems and
foreign substances are removed, the hopper being arranged to shake or other-
wise devised to deliver the fruit into the bite of the two rolls, there being in
connection with the hopper a guard which will prevent too many rasins from
falling between the rolls at the same time. In connection with the wired
cylinder is the seed scraper, and the set of fruit clearers' or strippers, both
being stationary. As the rolls or cylinders revolve the fruit failing between
them is impaled on the wires, and the seeds are forced out as before
described. In the continued rotation the seeds are brought against the
scraper (which is adjusted so as almost to touch the ends of the wires); an
are of course removed. The clearers are thin pieces of metal, the points of
which are best made to fit in grooves turned in the toothed cylinder between
the rows of the wires, so that the points of the clearers come even with the
surface in which the wires are set, the bodies of the clearers increasing in
size so that they extend beyond the ends of the wires, thus forming wedges
by which the fruit is forced off from the said wires by the rotation of the
cylinder in which they are set. Under the toothed cylinder:separate boxes
are provided to receive the seeds and the seedless fruit.
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 6th February 1867.

page_text: Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the
said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and 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 "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS OR MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SEEDS OR STONES FROM RAISINS AND
OTHER DRIED FRUIT," upon. the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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. William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of my said 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 Sheet of Drawings
forming a part of this Specification:-
This Invention consists (in its simplest form) of a stamp-like handle, in the
plane surface of which are inserted at uniformaly small distances apart (say
one-twelfth of an inch from centre to centre) numerous small wires projecting
from the face of the stamp about one-fourth of an inch, and of a yielding
stamp bed, preferably of rubber. To operate with this apparatus a raisin is
placed on the rubber bed, and the stamp is then thrust upon the said raisin,
the wires perforating the skin and pulp, but not the seeds or stones, which
being hard are carried before the blunt points of the wires through the skin of
the fruit, and are embedded in the rubber, the pulp of the fruit being impaled
on the wires.. On removal of the stamp from the bed the stone will be found
adhering to the raisin, but projecting therefrom, so that it can be scraped off
and then the fruit can be removed from the wires. To this simple apparatus
may be added mechanism for working the stone scraper and the fruit clearers.

page_text: To make a machine which shall operate rapidly and continuously the rubber
bed is made in the form of a roll, and the perforating wires are set in another
roll or cylinder, both being adjusted so that the ends of the wires shall just
press against the rubber, and it is best to have the rolls so connected as to
revolve toward each other and at the same surface speed. In connection
with these rolls there should be a hopper to be filled with the fruit from which
the stems and foreign substances are removed, the hopper being arranged to
shake or otherwise devised to deliver the fruit into the "bite" of the two rolls,
there being in connection with the hopper a guard, which will prevent too many
raisins from falling between the rolls at the same time. In connection with
the wired roll or cylinder is the seed scraper, and the set of fruit cleaners or
strippers, both being stationary. Separate boxes are provided under the
cylinders to receive the seeds and the seedless fruit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal central section of a machine embodying
this Invention, and Figure 2 is an end view of the same. Like letters indicate
the same parts in each of the Figures.
In the roll or cylinder a are set the impaling wires b, the ends thereof in
the rotation of the said cylinder impinging upon and slightly embedding in
the surface of the other roll or cylinder c; the latter is covered with or com-
posed of elastic material, preferably vulcanized rubber, and is provided with
means by which it can be adjusted towards and from the cylinder a, so that
the ends of the wires may be set just to puncture through the skin of the fruit.
In the operation of the said machine the rolls a and c are turned toward each
other at the same surface velocity by the impact of the wires 6 with the sur-
face of the roll c. To guard against tearing the fruit by failure of the two
cylinders to revolve at about the same surface speed, the said rolls are geared
together as shown more clearly in Figure 2. The machine being operated so
as to cause the rolls a and c to turn toward each other, and raisins being
presented to the action of the two rolls the said raisins are seized in the "bite"
of the latter, and are forced by the bed or soft surface roll c upon the wires b
while the seeds remain at the ends of the wires and are embedded into the
soft surface of the roll c. In the continued rotation of the rolls the seeds
remain at the wire ends till removed by contact with the scraper d, which
extends across the cylinder a, just clearing the ends of its wires b. The raisins
may be supplied by hand, or a suitable hopper e may be constructed to contain
a' quantity of fruit, and arranged to supply the same regularly to the machine
in numbers suited to its capacity; the hopper e has a shaking discharging

page_text: bottom and spout f; the angle at which the bottom f is set, and by which the
discharge of the fruit is regulated can be varied by means of the adjusting
cord 9, the bottom f being pivoted at h to a rocking shaft i. The hand wheel j
by which the machine is operated is provided with a cam k arranged to act
on a projection from the bottom f, so that in connection with the counteracting
spring a sufficient side shake or vibration is given to the said bottom to
supply raisins to the machine and to drop them into the proper position to be
seized by the rolls; the wires 6 are arranged at uniform distances apart, and
in regular rows around the roll or cylinder a, and between these rows are set
a series of clearers or strippers m, which as the cylinder a revolves wedge off
and remove the impaled pulp from the wires; the said pulp falls into a suit-
able receptacle placed to receive it. The series of strippers m is kept with
the points of the same closely in contact with the body of the cylinder by the
spring ; these strippers turn with the shaft on which they are mounted, and
it is advisable to have slight grooves turned in the surface of the cylinder a to
receive and steady the points of the said strippers.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practise, I claim,-
The employment of closely set wires 6 in combination with a bed or presser c,
for the purpose of forcing out of raisins or similar dried fruit the seeds or
stones thereof by the impalement of the pulp of the fruit on the said wires.
Also in combination with the said wires and bed of a seed remover or a pulp
remover, or both, arranged to operate substantially in the manner set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London, W.C.