IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lorentz Albert Groth, K.G.V., Civil Engineer and Pro-
prietor of the Scandinavian Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A.
Groth & Co., 97, Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C., for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES."
A communication from abroad by Louis Claude Adolphe Motard and
Charles Eugene Motard, trading as A. Motard and Co., of Berlin, in the
German Empire.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lorentz Albert Groth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd November 1881.
"
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH, K.G.V., Civil Engineer and Proprietor of the Scan-
dinavian Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A. Groth & Co., 97, Finsbury
Pavement, London, E.C. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF CANDLES." A communication from abroad by Louis Claude Adolphe
Motard and Charles Eugene Motard, trading as A. Motard & Co., of Berlin, in the
German Empire.
In the methods heretofore employed for the manufacture of candles, after they
are removed from the moulds and separated from the runners they are cut to length
on a special machine, and it often happens that in the breaking off of the super-
fluous pieces the candles themselves are broken at the ends, or that they are broken
by the powerful vibration of the cutting machine, so that a considerable percentage
must be thrown aside as useless; besides which, the candles lose their gloss in the
cutting machine, because dust and small pieces of stearic acid adhere to the
outsides thereof, so that the candles have to be submitted to a subsequent process
of polishing.
These inconveniences are completely removed by the improvements forming the
subject of the present Invention, and which consist in the combination of the
candle machine with a specially constructed cutting machine, and in certain
alterations to the former arising.therefrom.

page_text: A sliding guide is applied to the gutter or trough of the candle machine, which
serves for the filling in of the material. In this sliding guide runs a support
through which passes a vertical shaft carrying at its lower end, close over the
casting moulds, a circular saw, and above the circular saw an endless screw, which
latter gears with a toothed wheel. On the axis of this tooth wheel a cord is
wound as the saw rotates, this cord is stretched over a staple fixed at the end of
the machine, towards which the saw with its support is to move, and by this means
the support is moved automatically from one end of the machine to the other. On
each side of the machine is placed a toothed rack connected with the plate which
carries the wick tubes. These toothed racks are moved by a pinion on turning a
crank handle whereby the wick tubes slide up and down in the moulds. "The
production of the candles takes place in the following way- -After the material
filled into the candle moulds by the above mentioned gutter has cooled down; the
candles are raised by winding up the toothed racks until a projection on the guide
of the plate carrying the wick tubes pushes against an adjustable stop which can
be placed higher or lower by means of a screw spindle. A pawl, adjustable in the
direction of its length by means of a screw, prevents the return of the winding
apparatus by taking into a ratchet wheel. A draw chain is now hooked on to a
hook placed at the end of the sliding guide, and a strap is thereby brought on to
the fast pulley of a pair of a pair of fast and loose driving pullies, whereby the circular
saw is rotated by means of a flexible shaft formed of wire spirals, and by the corre-
sponding winding on of the before mentioned cord, the sliding guide is drawn
forward and runs through the guides. The candies are thereby immediately cut
off over the casting moulds to the length (corresponding to the position of the
before mentioned stop) in which they set fast and are protected from-any-external-
influence, so that they have all the same length at the same weight.
Immediately the support of the circular saw reaches the end of its rood it pushes
the draw chain from its hook, and a weight on the strap guide is allowed to act so
as to bring the driving strap on to the loose pulley and this stops the saw.
support can now be set in a second machine and the draw chain be connected
therewith.
The
After the cut off candle ends are removed, a clamp apparatus is turned over into
position over the candles, and the before mentioned stop being drawn back by
treading on a pedal, the plate carrying the wick tubes is now wound up completely
and the candles slide through clamps in the clamping apparatus, whereby the wicks
are drawn upwards in an exactly central direction. By turning the crank handle
back the wick tubes are moved downwards again, the moulds are filled afresh, and
after which the wicks of the candles held in the clamp apparatus are cut to
length.
In order to facilitate the release of the flexible transinission shaft from the
circular saw support, the former is connected firmly to a box in which, from the
underside, the axis of the circular saw gears by means of a square formed thereon.
Both ends are coupled together by a socket and spring click.
By drawing back this spring click the socket coupling is released easily from
the axis of the circular saw, and the support is thus quickly and easily disconnected
from the driving pullies, which is important.
A strong spiral spring is placed between the draw chain and the strap guide in
order to compensate for the difference in the distances from the common driving
pullies to each separate machine which are arranged in rows or in a circle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Lorentz Albert Groth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd May 1882.
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH, K.G.V., Civil Engineer and Proprietor of the Scan-
dinavian Patent Office, under the Firm of L. A. Groth & Co., 97, Finsbury
Pavement, London, E.C. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF CANDLES." A communication from abroad by Louis Claude Adolphe
Motard and Charles Eugene Motard, trading as A. Motard & Co., of Berlin, in the
German Empire.
In the methods heretofore employed for the manufacture of candles, after they
are removed from the moulds and separated from the runners they are cut to
length on a special machine, and it often happens that in the breaking off of the
superfluous pieces the candles are themselves broken at the ends, or that they are
broken by the powerful vibration of the cutting machine, so that a considerable
percentage must be thrown aside as useless.
Besides which it is well known that the gloss of candles, whether made from
tallow, stearine, paraffin, or other composition, is greatest when they leave the
casting process, and that every further manipulation they are subjected to reduces
this gloss and leads to loss by breakage. It is also important that the wicks of the
candles should be held as exactly central as possible, that the quantity of wick
required should be reduced to a minimum, and that candles should be produced in
the casting machine of equal length and equal weight, so as to render any further
manipulation unnecessary.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate a machine now universally adopted, and
known as the "American machine," with the improvements forming the subject of
this Invention applied thereto, the result being a machine in which the incon-
veniences above enumerated are completely obviated and the desired advantages
are attained, the machine delivering 12 completed article ready and suitable for
sending out. The first part of the improvements relate to the combination with
the machine of a cutting apparatus, which after the cooling of the cast material
effects the cutting off of the candles automatically. The second part relates to an
adjusting apparatus, by means of which the desired length of candle can be secured
with the utmost exactness before the casting, so that within certain certain limits
candles of various lengths can be cast in the same moulds.
The gutters or troughs A, A, of the candle machine, which serve for the filling
in of the material, are furnished with guide grooves a. In these guides runs a
support or carriage D, through which passes a vertical shaft b carrying at its lower
end close over the casting moulds a circular rotating saw c, and above the circular
saw an endless screw B, which latter gears with a tooth or worm wheel C. On the
axis of this tooth or worm wheel a cord e is wound as the saw rotates; this cord is
hooked over a staple d fixed at the end of the machine towards which the saw
with its support or carriage 1 is to move, and by this means the said support or
carriage is moved automatically from one end of the machine to the other. On
each side of the machine is placed a toothed rack connected with the plate which
carries the piston or wick tubes; these toothed racks are moved by a pinion on
turning a crank handle L, whereby the wick tubes slide up and down in the
moulds.
The adjusting apparatus E arranged at one side of the machine consists of two
bars, between which an adjustable stop f can be moved up or down by means of
a traversing screw, and be adjusted to the divisions of a scale on the said bars.

page_text: The method of working is as follows-After the material filled into the candle
moulds by the above mentioned gutters A, A¹, has been cooled down sufficiently by
the action of cold water, the candles are raised by winding up the pistons by means
of the toothed racks until a guide projection g on the base plate F carrying the
piston or wick tubes pushes against an adjustable stop f, which can be placed higher
or lower by means of a screw spindle, as above mentioned. A pawl h, adjustable
in the direction of its length by means of a screw, prevents the return of the
winding apparatus by taking into a ratchet wheel i. The carriage D being placed
at one end of the casting trough A and the cord e hooked over the staple d, a draw
chain G is hooked on to a hook or pin Z placed at the end of the guide groove, and
a strap H is thereby brought on to the fast pulley m of a pair of fast and loose
driving pullies m, n, whereby the circular saw is rotated by means of a flexible
shaft formed of wire spirals and coupled to the shaft b, and by the corresponding
winding up of the before mentioned cord e the carriage D is drawn forward and
runs through the guides a. The candles are thereby cut off immediately over the
casting moulds to the length corresponding to the position of the before mentioned
stop, so that they have all the saine length and the same weight, being mean-
time held fast and protected from any external influence in the said moulds.
Immediately the support or carriage D of the circular saw reaches the end of its
course, it pushes the draw chain G from its hook or pin l, and a weight J on the
strap guide is allowed to act so as to bring the driving strap H on to the loose
pulley n, and thus to stop the saw. The support or carriage D can now be placed
over the adjoining casting trough A¹ or set in a second machine, and the draw
chain_G_be.connected-therewith.
After the cut off candle ends are removed, a clamp apparatus K is turned over
into position over the candles, and the before mentioned stop f being drawn back
by treading on a pedal p, the plate F carrying the piston or wick tubes is wound
up completely, and the candles slide through clamps in the clamping_apparatus,
whereby the wicks 8 are drawn upwards in an exactly central direction. By turning
the crank handle L back the piston or wick tubes are moved downwards again till
the projection f comes over the guide projection g, the moulds are filled afresh, and
after the mass is cold the wicks of the candles held in the clamp apparatus are cut
to length.
In order to facilitate the release of the flexible driving shaft from the circular
saw shaft b the former is connected firmnly to a box P, into the under side of which
the axis of the circular saw gears by means of a square formed thereon. Both ends
are coupled together by a socket and spring click u. By drawing back this spring
click the socket coupling is released easily from the axis of the circular saw, and
the support or carriage is thus quickly and easily disconnected from the driving
pullies, which is important. A strong spiral spring is placed between the draw
chain G and the strap guide M in order to compensate for the difference in the
distances from the driving spindle R to each separate machine.
The machines may be arranged in various ways according to the space available
for example, in a row of groups of four, as shown in Fig. 5, or in a circle, as in
Fig. 6. Any machines of the above mentioned system may be provided with the
parts herein before described and illustrated in the Drawings without deranging any
part of such machines, as it is only necessary to add to each machine the arrange
ment of guide grooves a and the adjusting apparatus E, with one driving spindle R
for each group of four or more machines; by these means the cost of the alterations
per machine becomes very small in comparison with the advantages effected by the
improvements.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and the manner in which
the same is to or may be carried into effect, I would have it understood that what
I claim is,
First. The combination with candle machines of a cutting apparatus formed of
horizontally rotating circular saw C, which being carried by a support or carriage I
running in guides a, a, moves forward the said support or carriage D by means o

page_text: a driving apparatus connected with the axis b, so that the candles still remaining in
the moulds are cut off at the ends to exactly equal lengths, as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Second. The stopping apparatus for the partial elevation of the candles out of
the moulds, arranged in such manner that a guide piece y connected with the wick
tube base or sole plate F comes against a stop adjustable on a rod or bar, ag
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Third. The means for preventing the backward movement of the lifting apparatus,
consisting of a pawl which is adjustable lengthwise by means of a screw, as
herein before described and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Fourth. The coupling between the circular saw support or carriage and the
flexible shaft K, arranged in such manner that by drawing back the click spring u
from the lower flange of a socket P the connection can be released, as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Fifth. In the machine described, the means of stopping the driving apparatus
automatically by the action of the support or carriage D on the draw chain H, as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Sixth. The employment of a spring Qin the draw chain G for the purpose of
enabling the same cutting apparatus to be employed for several machines without
changing the position of the driving apparatus, as hereinbefore described and illus-
trated in the Drawings hereto annexed.
Seventh. The arrangement of candle machines in rows or radially for the purpose
of employing one and the same circular saw support or carriage, and one driving
apparatus for all the machines of a group, as hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the Drawings hereto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lorentz Albert Groth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of May, in the year of our Lord Onc
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH. (L.S.)