Improvements in Apparatus for Bulking, Blending or Mixing, Re-distributing for Packing, Tea or the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Aug., 1898
Complete Specification Left. 19th May, 1899-Accepted, 1st July, 1899
Improvements in Apparatus for Bulking, Blending or Mixing,
Re-distributing for Packing, Tea or the like.
and
I, JAMES HENRY APJOHN, M.I.C.E., of Calcutta, in the Indian Empire, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention for improvements in apparatus for bulking, blending or mixing
and re-distributing for packing tea or the like, has for its object to mix tea or
other similar article so that the quality or blend of the resultant article shall be
the same; and consists in a funnel or inverted cone having an orifice at its bottom
or apex and into which the tea or the like is inserted, and an upright cone
having its apex in or near the orifice of the inverted cone and provided near its
base with guides or channels. The inclination of the conic surfaces is such
that the tea falls down by gravity.
In use the tea is delivered in regular streams into the top of the upper or
inverted cone from the different chests to be mixed and passes down through the
orifice at the bottom on to the lower cone from which it is distributed by the
guides or channels to be packed.
In one way of carrying out this invention the tea to be bulked or blended
being contained in a receptacle round the upper edge of the funnel is allowed to
escape into the funnel from a number of openings the receptacle the number of
which openings would generally agree with the largest number of packages the
particular machine is designed to bulk or blend at one operation.
The tea so escaping from the openings in the receptacle runs down the sides of
the funnel by the action of gravity converging to the opening at the bottom where
the several streams commingle and the required bulking or blending is effected.
Escaping from the orifice in the bottom of the funnel the tea falls on to the apex
of a cone similar in inclination of the periphery to the horizon to that of the
funnel above: By the action of this cone the bulked or blended tea is distributed
in all directions towards the circumference of the base of the cone and is guided
by suitable walls towards points on the circumference of the base at which points
it will be discharged ready for packing.
Dated this 19th day of August 1898.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Bulking, Blending or Mixing and
Re-distributing for Packing, Tea or the like.
I, JAMES HENRY APJOHN, M.I.C.E., of Calcutta, in the Indian Empire, do
bereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
Price 8d1

page_text: performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention for improvements in apparatus for bulking, blending or mixing
and re-distributing for packing, tea and the like, has for its object to mix tea or
other similar article so that the quality or blend of the resultant article shall be
the same, and then re-distributed in its mixed state to a number of packing boxes
the apparatus being so arranged that the proportions in which the tea is blended
or mixed will be under the control of the operator who can easily vary the pro-
portions without (if so desired) stopping the machine; and consists in a funnel
or inverted cone having an orifice at its bottom or apex and into which the tea
or the like is inserted, and an upright cone having its apex in or near the orifice
of the inverted cone and provided near its base with guides or channels. The
inclination of the conic surfaces is such that the tea falls down by gravity.
In use the tea is delivered in regular streams into the top of the upper or
inverted cone from the different chests to be mixed and passes down through the
orifice at the bottom on to the lower cone from which it is distributed by the
guides or channels to be packed.
In one way of carrying out this invention the tea to be bulked or blended
being contained in a receptacle round the upper edge of the funnel is allowed to
escape into the funnel from a number of openings in the receptacle the number of
which openings would generally agree with the largest number of packages the
particular machine is designed to bulk or blend at one operation.
The tea so escaping from the openings in the receptacle runs down the sides of
the funnel by the action of gravity converging to the opening at the bottom where
the several streams commingle and the required bulking or blending is effected.
Escaping from the orifice in the bottom of the funnel the tea falls on to the apex
of a cone similar in inclination of the periphery to the horizon to that of the
funnel above. By the action of this cone the bulked or blended tea is distributed
in all directions towards the circumference of the base of the cone and is guided
by suitable walls towards points on the circumference of the base at which points
it will be discharged ready for packing.
In the accompanying drawings:-Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus
showing a portion of the hopper broken away and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of
the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views showing the mechanism for delivering
the streams of tea to the apparatus.
The receptacle a is shaped like an inverted cone and has a hole at its apex c
and a cylindrical part 6 at its top. Some distance down the cone a is an internal
ring that extends completely round the cone. A cylinder bis hung centrally
within the receptacle a and an annular series of hoppers e each having secured
to their bottoms a semi-cylinder f into which they open are inserted between the
cylinders and and rest on the top of the cone and on the ring d. Working
loosely in each semi-cylinder f between the ring d and the bottoms of the hoppers e
is a disc wheel g having radial partitions that divide the wheel g into a number
of equal compartments the ring d serving to close the bottoms of the compart-
ments so long as their tops are open to the hoppers c. The ring & may also
have a brush surface in order to sweep against the radial partitions h. The
wheels g are mounted on shafts that extend above the cone a and are provided
with sprocket wheels 7 gearing with a chain m that is operated by a hand wheel o
on one of the shafts i.
Attached beneath the hole cat the apex of the cone a is a short cylinder p
containing the cone q whose apex is below the virtual apex of the receptacle a
and the inverted cone having a central opening. Directly below the cone q¹
is a distributing cone with its apex upwards. On the surface of this conc are
wedge-shaped guides s for the purpose of conducting the tea or other material
to the chests. At the lower end of the cone is a circular wall which converts the
spaces between the guides s into bins or pockets a provided at the bottom with
apertures controlled by any suitable form of valves or doors.

page_text: The method of working the apparatus is as follows:-The tea or other material
to be bulked or blended is placed in the hoppers e. Should it be desired to blend
in any particular proportions each tea to be blended is placed in the desired
number of hoppers for example one tea is placed in say 14 hoppers, another tea in
25 hoppers a third tea in 15 hoppers and so on making up the 64 hoppers shown.
The wheels are then rotated by the hand wheel o and the compartments of the
wheel fill with tea and discharge regularly into the cone a below the ring d. As
the streams from each of the openings meet at the exit they mingle together as
they flow out and are further mixed by the cones g and g¹ and the mixed material
falls on the apex of the distributing cone and slides down on all sides thereof
being guided into the respective bins or pockets by the wedge-shaped guides. The
mixed material is then drawn off into the packing cases by opening the valves
or doors at the bottom of the bins, the cases being placed if desired on any form
of vibrating or other packing mechanism.
In the drawings I have shown a distributing cone so divided as to have eight
bins for feeding the chests. The number of bins is a matter of taste and I do
not claim any particular number.
The shape of the guides on the distributing cones also is not an essential
feature of my invention and although I find the wedge-shaped the most con-
venient I do not restrict myself thereto.
If so desired the distributing cone may be made to revolve about its centre
so that the bins may be brought in succession to the same spot to be emptied.
This arrangement will obviate the expense of a number of packing vibrators as
one packing machine would be sufficient for the whole of the bins, if time is
not an object, instead of the number which would be necessitated were the
distributing cone a stationary one.
It will also be seen that in carrying out the principle of my invention it is
not necessary that the receiving hopper should take the form above described.
The essential features of my invention are that the various quantities of tea or
other material should be conducted from a number of openings down inclined
paths and converge and mix at a common centre. I can therefore instead of
using a single hopper divided into a number of compartments use a number of
hoppers controlled by suitable valves and connected with a common centre by
means of suitably inclined pipes or surfaces through or over which the material
being mixed would slide under the action of gravity.
The cylinder is hung from the beams A within the cylinder b surrounded
by the upper and lower platforms B and C. The upper platform B is partitioned
off to form compartments corresponding to the number of hoppers in the cylinder b
the tea being emptied into these compartments for examination prior to being
shovelled into the hoppers for bulking. An incline D is provided to facilitate
the transport of tea to the apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. An apparatus for mixing or blending tea or the like consisting of an
inverted hollow cone into which the tea is delivered in regular streams and
provided with a delivery opening at its bottom.
2. An apparatus for mixing or blending tea or the like consisting of an
inverted hollow cone with opening at the bottom, an upright cone having its
apex in or below the opening in the hollow cone and provided with guides or
channels.
3. An apparatus for blending tea or the like consisting of a hollow cone with
opening at the bottom, hoppers fixed at the top of the hollow cone, distributing
devices controlling the passage of the tea to the cone, an upright cone below
the hollow cone onto which the inverted cone discharges, and provided with

page_text: guides and bins at the bottom of the upright cone to receive the blended or
mixed tea.
4. In an apparatus for re-distributing for packing tea or other material which
has been bulked or mixed or blended the use of a cone-shaped distributor having
guides to conduct the material to be packed into suitable bins or pockets, such
bins or pockets being provided with openings (controlled by suitable valves or
doors) in their bottoms, whether such cone-shaped distributor be a stationary
or a rotary one, as described.
5. The combination and arrangement of the various parts forming a combined
apparatus for bulking blending or mixing and re-distributing for packing tea
or other material substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 19th day of May 1899.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.