Improvements appertaining to Machines for Cutting or Mincing Meat and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 1st Oct., 1897-Accepted, 11th Dec.,
1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements appertaining to Machines for Cutting or Mincing
Meat and the like.
I, JOHN HUNT of Baldwin Street Iron Works, Bolton in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
That is to say-It relates to the class of machines for cutting or mincing meat and
the like, wherein a series of rotary cutters are mounted upon a shaft and caused to
revolve in contact with a pan rotating in the opposite plane, and consists in arranging
and mounting said rotary cutters in such a manner that the path they describe over
the pan is not concentric with the centre of rotation of said pan, but is of such a
zig-zag or irregular nature as will enable said cutters more certainly to come in
contact with, and so operate upon or treat, all or every part of the meat or the like
placed within said pan. Part of my said invention being also applicable for use in
connection with hand machines, or those wherein the rotary pan is not employed.
To attain this object I mount the rotary knives upon their shaft at an appropriate
angle other than a right angle to the axis of said shaft in order that their peripheries
in revolving will travel through paths of considerable width so that by arranging the
series of knives at certain distances apart from each other, which distance somewhat
corresponds to the width of the path through which the respective knives travel, all the
surface of the rotary pan beneath these knives will at one time or another be brought
into contact with one part or another of the series of knives, thus anything carried
by the pan must at some time during the operation of the machine, be operated upon
by the knives.
Instead of mounting the knives on the shaft as above described, they may be
mounted thereon in the ordinary manner, or at right angles to the axis thereof, and
similar results to those above described may be attained by imparting a lateral
movement to these series of knives as by having cam, crank or other mechanism
coupled thereto, to cause these knives to slide the desired distance backward and
forward upon their shaft, or the pan may have lateral motion imparted to it instead
of these knives being thus slided.
Again instead of the knives being made straight and arranged to be moved back-
ward and forward so as to cover at one time or another the whole surface of the pan,
such knives may have corrugated or zig-zag peripheries which may be formed by
bending the blades into this shape or it may be produced by separate blades of
appropriate shape being attached to suitably forined hubs or bosses.
In connection with the knives of the machines above described, I employ a
sharpening device which I mount upon the framework of the machine, so that it may
be appropriately brought into contact with each knife respectively or in succession as
may be desired, while in the case where the knives revolve in other than a straight
path the bearings carrying this sharpening stone or the like, are made to slide and
so, by spring or weight retracting means, be kept constantly in contact with the
knife it has to act upon, no matter what path such knife follows in its movements.

page_text: By employing this sharpening device the knives may be readily and quickly
sharpened by being caused to revolve in the usual manner.
As will be seen my invention as above described is applicable for use in connection
with machines operated by hand or by other power.
The arrangement of the knives upon their spindle so that they are at an angle to
its axis other than a right angle, may be advantageously followed in the production
of hand machines wherein no rotary pan is used, the said knives in such cases being
merely rolled over a table or the like on which the meat or other substances or matter
to be treated, is placed.
Improvements appertaining to Machines for Cutting or Mincing
Meat and the like.
I, JOHN HUNT of Baldwin Street Iron Works, Bolton in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, 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 :-
That is to say:-It relates to the class of machines for cutting or mincing meat
and the like, wherein a series of rotary cutters are mounted upon a shaft and caused
to revolve in contact with a pan rotating in the opposite plane, and consists in
arranging and mounting said rotary cutters in such a manner that the path they
describe over the pan is not concentric with the centre of rotation of said pan, but is
of such a zig-zag or irregular nature as will enable said cutters more certainly to
come in contact with, and so operate upon or treat, all or every part of the meat or
the like placed within said pan. Part of my said Invention being also applicable for
use in connection with 'hand machines, or those wherein the rotary pan is not
employed.
In the accompanying sheets of drawings which are illustrative of my invention: --
Figs. 1 and 2 are end and side elevations of a machine made in accordance with my
invention, the same being arranged to be operated by hand or manual power,
Fig. 3 is a view of the same as seen from above.
Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are similar views to figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, but are drawn
to a reduced scale and illustrate a machine. to be operated by power through a
driving belt.
Fig. 10 illustrates my cutters as mounted on a spindle to be manually reciprocated.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are drawings illustrative of modifications in the construction of my
improved knives or cutters and means for operating same.
Similar letters and figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the
several views.
To attain the object of my invention I mount the rotary knives a upon their
shaft b at an appropriate angle other than a right angle to the axis of said shaft b
in order that their peripheries (which are their cutting edges) in revolving will travel
through paths of considerable width so that by arranging the series of knives a at
'certain distances apart from each other, which distance somewhat corresponds to the
"width of the path through which the respective knives travel, all the surface of the
rotary pan c beneath these knives a will at one time or another be brought into

page_text: contact with one part or another of the said knives cutting edges by reason of said
pan c being rotated at a less or greater rate of speed (the former by preference) than
are these knives, thus anything carried by said pan c must at some time during the
operations of the machine be cut or acted upon by the knives.
Instead of mounting the knives a on the shaft 6 as above described, they may be
mounted thereon in the ordinary manner or at right angles to the axis of said shaft b
as shown by Fig. 7, the-hub a¹ to which said knives a are secured being arranged to
slide on a feather or key way on the shaft b and pressed endwise by the spring g so
that the cam surface a² of said hub a¹ will at all times be forced against the
antifriction roller d which is mounted upon the stud d¹ fixed to the framework f by
which means and by the irregularity or extensions and depressions on said surface a²
and by reason of the spring g keeping the surface u³ constantly in contact with the
roller d, as said shaft b rotates so also will the knives a be fotated, while these latter
will be slided upon their said shaft 6 by the cam surface a² from their positions
shown in broken lines into those shown by full lines of said fig. 7, the reversal of
this movement being effected by the force of the spring g as will be understood. Or
the order of this arrangement may be reversed, the cam surface may be formed on
the framework while the hub a¹ carries the antifriction roller d, and further the
return motion of the knives may be effected without the spring g by arranging the
cam surface on the framework or hub in the form of a cam groove to act in both
directions.
Or again any crank or like mechanism may be employed for transmitting the
desired reciprocatory motion to the knives a, or the pan c may be mounted to have
a lateral as well as rotary motion imparted to it, as will be readily understood.
Again instead of the knives a being made straight and arranged to be moved upon
their shaft b as described, they may have corrugated or zig-zag edges as shown by
fig. 8 and the zig-zag cutting edges may be produced by straight blades being
mounted in the hubs as shown by fig. 9.
As will be seen my invention as above described is applicable for use in connection
with machines operated by hand, as that shown by figs. 1, 2 and 3 wherein by the
turning of the handle h the shaft k is moved and by the wheels m n rotates the
knives a while the worm o and wheel p transmit motion to the pan c through its
vertical shaft 8, or same may be used with machines operated by other power as
through the pulley (see figs. 4, 5 and 6) t, shaft u, pulleys m n, worin o and wheel
the necessary movements are transmitted to the pan c and the knives a.
P
The arrangement of the knives a upon their spindle or shaft b so that they are at
an angle to its axis other than a right angle, may be advantageously followed in the
production of hand machines as shown by fig. 9, wherein no rotary pan is used, the
said knives a in such cases being merely rolled over a table or the like on which
the meat or other substances or matter to be cut or treated is placed..
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. In machines for cutting or mincing meat of the class described, the arrangement
of the cutting knives therein at an angle other than a right angle to the axis about
which they rotate substantially as herein specified.
2. In a machine of the class described, cutting knives constructed and arranged so
that their cutting edges will act substantially as herein specified.
3. In a machine of the class described, cutting knives mounted to have rotary and
reciprocatory motion imparted to them, and a pan arranged to rotate in connection
with same, said knives, their operating means and said pan being made to operate in
combination substantially as herein specified.
4. A machine for the purpose described consisting in a series of knives mounted
on a spindle at an angle other than a right angle to said spindle and handles formed
on said spindle substantially as herein set forth.

page_text: 5. The improved meat cutting or mincing machine herein described the same
being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 30th. day of September 1897.
J. HUNT
Per Samuel Hey,
Agent.