Improvements in Mincing or Chopping Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 13th July, 1893-Accepted, 26th Aug.,
1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION,
[Communicated from abroad by LOUIS GENEVOIS, of 30, Via Olivella, Naples, in
the Kingdom of Italy, Perfumer.]
Improvements in Mincing or Chopping Machines.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in machines mincing or chopping suet,
fat, meat, skins, and other substances.
According to this invention, the machine consists of a suitable casing within
which are arranged two parallel shafts carrying cutting blades and discs, which are
separated from each other by collars and firmly secured to the said shafts. The
cutting blades and discs are so arranged that the blades on one shaft are situated
opposite to the discs on the other, and vice-versa. The two shafts are revolved by
suitable means from a main shaft and in such a manner that the speed of one shaft
A row of Y-shaped
is greater than that of the other, and in a contrary direction.
movable pieces or stationary cutting blades is arranged between and below the
parallel shafts, each piece or cutting blade alternating with a disc or with a
revolving cutting blade. As the parallel shafts revolve, the revolving cutting
blades and discs thereon pass between the Y-shaped pieces or stationary cutting
blades and thus effect the shearing or cutting of the substance under treatment,
which, after being completely minced, is received upon combs or slotted plates
situated in proximity to the revolving shafts. A steam inlet arranged beneath the
before mentioned combs or slotted plates, may advantageously be provided for the
purpose of preventing clogging of the combs, and to permit of the rapid cleaning.
of the machine after work without the necessity of taking it to pieces.
By this invention a large and rapid production of perfectly chopped or minced
substances is ensured, without previously cutting up the substances prior to their
being fed into the machine.
This machine is not only intended for mincing or chopping meat, but also for
rough fats for the manufacture of margarine, stearine, candles, soaps, etc.; fats for
the manufacture of lard, pomades, etc.; fish, fruit, vegetables, flowers; and for all
substances containing adipose tissues in their cells.
1
CNmber 1800
ERNEST DE PASS.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mincing or Chopping Machines.
1, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with mincing or chopping
machines which are used in several industries for cutting up or chopping suet, fat,
It has been found in practice
tallow, grease, meat, skins, and other like materials.
that raw fat or tallow delivered from slaughter houses or butchers' shops gives,

page_text: >
when properly chopped, a larger and better yield, which is produced with a less
expenditure of fuel than is possible when the material is not previously chopped. By
accurately testing this class of materials when divided or chopped by the machines
heretofore used, it will be readily ascertained that the chopping is more or less
incomplete, this fact being shown by the comparative difference in the quantity of
margarine, tallow, or other products which remain in the refuse or residue, and it
is only by the application to said refuse or residue of the said treatment and by
resorting afterward to chemical agents that the margarine and other products may
be wholly extracted.
In order to extract a percentage of margarine as large as possible, when shamble-
tallow is treated, or when prepared unmelted tallow of good quality is employed,
or even in the treatment of the common or ordinary tallow, a practical machine is
necessary, which will rapidly and completely chop either the gross tallow or the
suet to the requisite degree, without requiring a preliminary cutting or chopping of
said materials.
To provide a chopping machine having the capacity of accomplishing these results
is the main purpose of the present invention.
I proceed to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings
in which
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in vertical section, showing a chopping machine
designed according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same, made upon line x, x, of
Fig. 4.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section made
upon line
Y, Y, of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section made
upon line 2, 2, of Fig. 1.
This improved mincing or chopping machine consists of a housing or casing Z,
provided externally with two supporting brackets a, on which rest the bearings of
the main shaft A, which is provided with fixed and loose pulleys B and C. Said
shaft A is provided with a suitable fly wheel D, to equalize its movement and
between the two brackets a projecting from the front of the housing Z, and
supporting the main shaft A, are two independent worms E and F, both rigidly
mounted upon said shaft. These worms have both opposite and different pitch, or,
in other terms, the one is a right hand and the other a left hand thread, and the
obliquity of one to the axis of the main shaft is considerably greater than the
obliquity of the other. Both worms being rigidly mounted upon the said main
shaft, they will rotate in unison and with the speed of the shaft.
Upon the front and rear walls of the housing Z are formed or mounted projecting
boxes or supports i, i, in which rest the journals of shafts I and J, said journals
being slightly reduced in diameter, as compared with the bodies of the shafts, in
order to prevent longitudinal play of said shafts. The supporting boxes i, i, are
arranged transversely in the housing Z, beyond the outer face of which they
project sufficiently to receive worm-gears G and H, having substantially the same
diameter and gearing, respectively, with the worms E and F. By reason of the
difference in pitch of the said worms, the worm-gears will receive from the main
sbaft A a differential speed of revolution. While this is a matter subject to more
or less variation, I prefer, as the result of practical experiment, to differentiate
said worms in the ratio of one to five, thereby giving to one of the two shafts
driven by said worms a speed five times greater than that of the other shaft.
Upon the shaft I, which is represented in the drawings as being that having
the greater speed, 1 rigidly mount three blades K, K, K, substantially equal
intervals being formed between the said cutters and between the latter and the two
ends of the shaft on which they are mounted. Upon the same shaft I are also
mounted twelve discs L, equal in thickness to the blades K, or substantially so,
and separated from each other and from the blades K by means of rings M of
suitable thickness. These rings are fourteen in number, and at each end of the
said shaft, outside the outer disc L, is placed a thicker ring N, the purpose being

page_text: to clamp the blades K, discs L, and rings M together and render the entire
series practically rigid with the shaft.
Upon the other parallel shaft J are mounted twelve blades, designated in the
drawings by the reference letters O and P. These twelve blades are substantially
similar in form and proportions but are arranged in four different groups or gangs,
each group having three of said blades. The members of each group are arranged
upon the shaft J at substantially equal intervals, and the four groups of said
blades are, when said groups are considered individually, placed at substantially
the same distance one from another, one of said groups being placed at, or near,
each end of the shaft J. The members in each group also are so placed that two
thereof shall have practically simultaneous action, while the third member has
operation a little in advance of said two members.
The blades last named are indicated by the reference letter O, and the single
member, which lies between and acts in advance of the said blades O, is denoted
by the letter P. Each of the twelve blades 0-P, upon shaft J, is arranged
substantially in the same plane of revolution with one of the twelve discs L, on
the shaft I, and by means of this arrangement the blades K upon said shaft I
are caused to alternate with, or have their planes of revolution in the intervals
separating the several groups or gangs of blades O, P, as shown in Fig. 4.
Moreover, the shaft J is provided with three discs Q, which are arranged upou said
shaft in substantially the same planes of revolution with the three blades K upon
the parallel shaft I. The several blades O-P, and discs Q are separated from
each other by means of rings R, of equal thickness, fourteen of such rings being
provided beside two thicker rings S, placed at the ends of the shaft J and pinned
thereto, in order to rigidly clamp the blades O, P, and discs Q rigidly upon the
shaft. By the arrangement thus far described it will be seen that the blades K
of the one shaft are placed in the same vertical planes with the discs Q of the
other shaft, while the blades O-P, of the shaft last referred to lie in the same
vertical planes as the discs L on the shaft carrying said blades K.
Between the two parallel shafts 1 and J are arranged Y-shaped blades or
cutters T, their central stems from which the arms of the blades diverge being
provided with notches at their lower ends, to enable them to be detachably
straddled upon a supporting bar U, which lies parallel with the axis of the shafts I
and J, and substantially midway, though considerably below the horizontal plane,
of said shafts. The ends of the diverging arms of said Y-shaped blades are
bevelled off to rest loosely against the peripheries of the rings M and R, the
thickness of said arms being substantially equal to the similar dimension of said
rings. By this arrangement the ends of the said diverging arms are brought
between the discs L and Q, and as those have a diameter exceeding that of the
rings M and R, any lateral displacement of said blades will be effectually
prevented. The inclination of the diverging blades T, between which the discs L
and Q, and the blades O, P, and K pass, causes a shearing cut between the edges
which act in unison. The blades K are mounted upon the shaft having highest
speed of revolution, and by these blades the material is slashed and chopped into
pieces and at the same time is carried around by the slow moving blades O, P.
When said material is chopped to the required degree, it is stopped, or held, by
the comb plates V and W, which are arranged substantially in the horizontal plane
of the axes of the shafts I and J and supported upon the interior of the housing Z
by brackets X and Y. Said comb plates extend from the end walls of the housing
to the adjacent sides of the shafts I and J, respectively, or as near the same as is
consistent with the proper action of the machine. Said comb plates are provided
with slots of a length and width to permit the free passage of the blades K on the
shaft I, and the groups of blades O, P, on the shaft J. Upon the edges of said
comb-plates notches are also provided for the discs L and Q, as shown in Fig. 4.
Steam may be introduced into the interior of the housing Z by any well known
The discs and blades carried by the shafts I and J may be of varying
means.

page_text: thickness, and variation in this dimension; the degree of fineness to which the
chopping is carried will be correspondingly varied. The housing Z is formed in
two parts, the upper portion forming a removable cover and being provided with a
hopper of the ordinary kind.
By employing this machine, a large quantity of perfectly chopped material may
be rapidly obtained without having been previously cut. whereby the expense of
preparatory machines or preliminary labour may be avoided. Moreover, the rapid
working of the machine gives the advantage of employing fresh raw materials and
of manufacturing a fresh chopped product without the lapse of sufficient time for
decomposition to take place; or for the meat to become stale.
This mincing or chopping machine is not only intended for the treatment of raw
tallow for the manufacture of margarine, or of stearine, in candle or soap works, etc.,
but also for the treatment of grease for refined lard, pomatum, and other purposes,
of meats in pork butcheries, of fish, for the extraction of fish-oil, of fruits for
making preserves, cider, and wine, of vegetables for manufacturing conserves, of
flowers and similar substances for making perfumes, of distillery products, of skins
and tan-yard scraps for manufacturing glue, and, generally, of any material
contained in cells of adipose tissue.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim.
1. In a mincing or chopping machine, the combination with a suitable housing,
of two shafts carrying suitable cutting devices and provided with worm gears, and
a main shaft having two worms of different and opposite pitch, gearing with said
worm-gears, whereby the cutting devices upon the respective shafts operate at
different speeds, substantially as described.
2. In a inincing or chopping machine, the combination with a suitable housing,
of two parallel shafts, one having a plurality of blades separated from each other by
a series of discs and acting in succession, and the other shaft having a plurality of
groups or gangs of blades with discs arranged on said shaft between the groups, a
series of Y-shaped cutters, or blades, arranged between said shafts and mechanism
for driving said shafts in opposite directions and at different speeds, substantially as
described.
3. In a mincing or chopping machine, the combination with two parallel shafts
having suitable blades and dises mounted thereon, of Y-shaped cutters or blades,
having their diverging arms arranged between said shafts and their central stems
detachably mounted upon a support lying below the said shafts and parallel with
their axes, substantially as described.
4. In a mincing or chopping machine the combination with two parallel shafts
each having suitable blades, of a series of Y-shaped cutters, or blades, the
diverging arms of which are arranged between said shafts with their ends supported
thereby intermediately of the blades, the central stems of said Y-shaped cutters or
blades being notched to straddle a supporting bar arranged centrally between, but
below the plane of the axes of said shafts, substantially as described.
5. In a mincing or chopping machine, the combination with a suitable housing,
of two parallel shafts one having blades arranged separately at uniform intervals
with a series of discs between said blades, and the other shaft having a plurality of
groups of blades and intermediate discs, a series of stationary cutters or blades
arranged between said shafts, and comb plates arranged substantially in the same
horizontal plane with the axes of the two shafts and extending from the end-walls
of the housing to the adjacent sides of the shafts, suitable slots and notches being
provided for the blades and discs, substantially as described.
6. In a mincing or chopping machine, the combination with a suitable housing
of two parallel shafts arranged therein and having cutting devices mounted thereon,
a series of Y-shaped cutters, or blades, the diverging arms of which are arranged
between said shafts, and a main shaft having two worms of different and opposite

page_text: pitch gearing with worm gears upon the parallel shafts, substantially as
described.
7. The improvements in mincing or chopping machines substantially as
herein before described and shewn in the annexed drawings.
Dated this 13th day of July 1893.
ERNEST DE PASS.