Year: 1887

page_text: A communication from abroad by WALTER ELSWOOD COLEMAN, of Brooklyn, in the
United States of America, Inventor.
I JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 169 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of
the 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:-
This invention relates to the moulds used in that process of manufacturing soft
"moulded goods" or confections (described in the Specification of Letters Patent
No. 1159 of 1887), which consists essentially in depositing the prepared confectionery
in matrices formed in an elastic or flexible mould, allowing the castings to set or
harden, and then loosening or discharging them from the matrices by bending the
mould, the elasticity of the latter facilitating the removal of the castings.
The invention consists broadly, in a permanently formed flexible mould for the
manufacture of moulded goods of the kind already referred to, the mould being
provided with suitably shaped matrices in such manner that the inherent elasticity
of the whole or a portion of the mould will permit of its being bent, in order to
open or expand the matrices and facilitate the loosening or discharge of the castings
after they have set or hardened.
Previous to the invention, goods of this class were made by pouring the confection,
by hand, into temporary moulds or matrices especially formed for each occasion in a
bed of starch. That is to say, after levelling the surface of a quantity of starch
deposited in a suitable "starch board" or tray, a series of intaglio-impressions or
matrices were formed by forcing alto-relievo patterns, by hand, into the starch. The
confection material to be cast was then poured into the several matrices by hand, and
after it had set or hardened sufficiently, the whole contents of the starch board or
tray were sifted to separate the castings from the body of starch, that still
adhering to the castings being presumably removed by further subjecting the castings
to an air blast.

page_text: For various reasons the old method is slow and expensive. Owing to the nature
of the material in which the matrices are formed unusual care and skill must be
bestowed upon the operation in order to even approximate uniformity or perfection
in result. Uniformity in the size and shape of the castings is desirable in all this
class of goods, but especially when the castings are to bo coated with chocolate or
other comparatively expensive material, in which case imperfections or overflow not
only spoil the appearance of the product but also take up a disproportionately large
quantity of the more expensive material.
Again, the matrices although so difficult and expensive to produce, are only
available each for the formation of a single casting, so that, taking into consideration
the number of matrices that are formed in the starch and not used on account of
obvious imperfections and also the number of castings that are finally discarded in
practice for a similar reason, it will be seen that there are numerous disadvantages
attending the use of such starch moulds.
A second feature of the invention consists in cutting or splitting the side walls of
the matrices transversely in order to facilitate the discharge of the castings, especially
the discharge of the smaller round shaped castings which would otherwise be apt to
be retarded owing to the fact that such matrices are enlarged during the bending of
the mould in one direction only, necessitating the shaking of the mould in order to
dislodge them, and in some special patterns even creating sufficient lateral pressure
to compress the castings and impair their symmetry.
By thus splitting the side walls of the moulds transversely all possible danger of
lateral pressure or injury to even the most intricate and delicate castings is avoided.
It is obvious that the back or bottom portion of the mould is necessarily flexible
or elastic, and this is such an essential feature of the improved mould that when the
side walls of the matrices are split transversely as just described the flexibility
of the back or bottom portion of the mould may be relied upon entirely to
effect the loosening or discharge of the castings by bending the mould as before set
forth.
The invention therefore includes as the third feature a mould having a flexible or
elastic bottom or back provided with suitably shaped matrices the sido walls of which
are split transversely, which side walls may be either elastic or comparatively hard or
rigid.
Thus, the front of the mould may be vulcanized or otherwise treated until the side
walls of the matrices are rendered comparatively hard, or absolutely rigid side walls
might be used upon a suitable elastic or flexible bottom or back without deviation
from the essential feature of the invention which consists primarily in a permanent
mould for the manufacture of soft candies, which is capable of being bent in order to
loosen or discharge the castings.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a top view of my improved mould,
consisting of a sheet or plaque of suitable material or materials formed with a series
of matrices of various shapes suitable for the manufacture of fancy soft candies.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same inverted and bent so as to open the
matrices.
The body of the mould A, is preferably formed of comparatively soft elastic
caoutchouc, or of a combination of that and other substances; or any other suitable
elastic or flexible material may be used.
The matrices a, a are formed in any suitable or well known manner, and after the
rubber or other material has been vulcanized or otherwise treated to give it the
necessary consistency and firmness, the side walls of the matrices are preferably,
though not necessarily, cut or slit transversely to a suitable depth as indicated by the
lines b, in Figure 1, and by the inverted V-shaped spaces b, in Figure 2.
It is obvious that when the side walls of the matrices are split as described, the
bottom or back, B only, of the mould need be made elastic or flexible, although even
under these conditions a certain amount of resilience or elasticity is desirable in the
side walls of the matrices in order to insure a perfect fit or union of the parts when
closed.

page_text: The mould is used as follows:-the prepared material in a liquid or soft condition
is deposited in the matrices and the surplus removed by suitable means, the castings
are allowed to set or harden, and are then loosened by bending the mould thereby
opening the matrices sufficiently to permit of the removal or discharge of the
castings.
When inverted and bent, as shown in Figure 2, it will be seen that all of the
castings will have ample clearance and must necessarily be discharged,-the slitting
of the side walls of the respective matrices preventing their contracting the matrices
laterally when the mould is bent longitudinally, and causing all portions of their side
walls to recede fron the castings without pressure upon the latter.
If preferred the flexible or elastic bottom or back B may be applied to the matrice
in the form of a separate sheet or backing formed independently and secured to the
material constituting the side walls of the matrices in any appropriate manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me,
I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A permanent flexible mould for the manufacture of candies or confectionery,
formed with suitably shaped matrices for the purpose and substantially in the manner
described.
2. A permanent flexible mould for the manufacture of candies or confectionery,
formed with matrices the side walls of which are split transversely for the purpose
and
substantially in the manner described.
3. A permanent flexible mould for the manufacture of candies or confectionery,
formed with matrices of suitable shape the side walls of which are split transversely,
and with a flexible bottom or backing for the purpose and substantially in the manner
described.