IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John
Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County' of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES."—
A communication from abroad' by Chrétien Haffner, of Thann, in the
Empire of France.
Sealed the 8th September 1864, and dated the 14th March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th March 1864.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11,
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said. Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES," (a
communication to me from abroad by Chrétien Haffner, of Thann, in the
Empire of France,) to be as follows:-
The continuous manufacture of candles by machinery is effected as
follows:-The tallow in fusion is poured into troughs, beneath which are
fitted vertical tin moulds, closed at the bottom by a piece which shapes the
head of the candle, and rises and falls with slight friction within the moulds,
the whole being contained in a reservoir of cold water. When the tallow has
set in the moulds the bottom pieces or head moulds are raised all together by
means of a series of hollow vertical rods acted upon by a crank and lifting
rails or carriage, and thus the candles are pushed out of the moulds. They

page_text: are then seized by nippers and held while the continuous wicks (which pass
from bobbins beneath the machine through the vertical rods, through the
pieces which shape the head of the candles, and thence through the moulds)
are cut, when the same operation is renewed, and so on continuously.
In order to manufacture candles of different lengths in the same machine,
it is proposed to adopt the following improvements:-The moulds which are
to produce shorter candles will be of the same length as the others, and be
similarly arranged; but the movable pieces which shape the head of the candle
will only descend a certain distance down the mould, and be raised by means
of tubes fitted to them, and acted upon by a lifting rail or carriage, made
independent of the main one. The lifting of the small rail or carriage will
only begin when the main one has already partially ascended, for which purpose
the main lifting rail or carriage will have in its centre a cavity, the bottom of
which when the rail has risen to a certain height will butt against ribs on the
small lifting.rail, which will then also begin its upward movement, and thus
when the lifting rails or carriages have arrived at the end of their upward
journey the heads of all the candles will be at the same height above the
cold water tank. The main rail in lowering will draw down the smaller one
by means of bolts and nuts, and moveable screws will be placed at the
bottom, so that the extent of the lowering may be regulated at pleasure. By
raising and lowering the screws just mentioned, and lengthening or shortening
the bolts uniting the two lifting rails or carriages by turning the bolt nuts,
the length of the candles may be varied at will. In consequence of this
increase in the number of moulds the machine requires greater power, and
therefore it is proposed to adopt the following arrangement of toothed gearing,
namely, to place an endless screw at each end of the longitudinal shaft, so
that by turning its crank the endless screws will act on pinions placed at the
ends of two transverse shafts, which pinions will gear into vertical racks
fitted to the carriage or lifting rail, which may thus be raised with little
power.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington &
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS. Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her.
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time-and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANU-
FACTURE OF CANDLES," (a communication to me from abroad by Chrétien
Haffner, of Thann, in the Empire of France,) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
sta
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
Σ reference being had to the Sheet of Drawing hereunto annexed and
forming rt of this Final Specification, in which Figure 1 shews a longitudinal
elevation of the improved machine the subject of this Invention; Figure 2, views
of-nipper detached; Figure 3; plan view of the machine; Figure 4, side view;
Figure 5, transverse section; Figure 6, arrangement of head mould drawn full
size; and Figure 7, arrangement of screws. The tallow in fusion is poured into
the troughs or buckets A, beneath which are fitted the vertical tin moulds B, they
are closed at the lower part by a bottom or head mould C which may rise and
fall with gentle friction. The whole is contained in a cold water tank D.
which rapidly cools the moulds. The water is renewed at will according to
the indications of a thermometer with float. When the tallow is. well set
by acting on the crank E¹; a series of hollow vertical rods are raised upwards,
penetrating the moulds at their lower part and lifting all the bottoms at once,
which causes all the candles to pass out at the top. The wick L is, delivered
in continuous lengths from as many bobbins.M as there are moulds, the
bobbins being placed under the machine, see Figure 1.. The wick passes over

page_text: guides m, enters the hollow rod, then into the bottom piece C, and from thence
passes to the mould B. When one cast has set the movement upwards of the
candles K. draws out the wick L, Figure 4, for the next moulding, and when that
is in its turn completed the wick is cut above, and so on continuously with a
longitudinal and moveable arrangement of the nippers P, lined with fustian; the
candles are held as they leave the machine, so that the wick beneath remains
in the axis of the moulds for the next lot to be run, and also so that the bottom
piece which moulds the head of the candle may easily detach itself and descend
without drawing it with it.
I will now describe the improved details which form the subject of this
Patent: To facilitate the construction and repair of the machine instead of
screwing the moulds from the top downwards on the bottom of the cold water
tank and placing over them the cast-iron trough or bucket pierced with as many
holes, the inconveniences of which were that great time was lost in fitting the
moulds into their holes in consequence of the uncertainty in which one remained
as to the mould which would cause the obstruction, further if one mould was
accidentally broken, bent, or cracked it was necessary to unsolder the trough
from its hundred moulds, replace the defective tube, and recommence the toil-
some work of refitting and soldering the hundred moulds to the hundred holes.
In this improved method of construction the trough is first placed so that its
holes are vertically above those at the bottom of the tank. Each of the moulds
is then introduced from below, screws upwards into the bottom of the tank,
and is tightened by a shoulder a, the upper part 6 of the moulds is thus easily
guided and introduced into the corresponding hole of the trough, and a mould
may easily be withdrawn and replaced without interfering with the others, and
even without interrupting their work, temporarily stopping the hole in the
trough which corresponds with the defective tube with a cork being quite
sufficient. More regularity and spring in the play of the machine is obtained
as follows:-It may happen that in consequence of the strains the machine has
to bear and the elasticity of its parts, the arrangement of the mould; the move-
able bottom or head mould, the hollow tube and the hole by which this is let
into the platform, are no longer exactly vertical, which will cause straining,
breaking, or tearing of the tin moulds and other parts. To obviate this incon-
venience the said arrangement is jointed. The bottom piece or head 'mould of
the said arrangement will be seen in reference to C, Figure 6, (in section which
is of natural size,)-to be pierced longitudinally with a hole equal in diameter to
that of the wick. A-small copper tube 9, Figure 6, primitively cylindrical in
its entire length is soldered to the mould. The lower extremity of this copper
tube is inserted in an iron cap e through a hole large enough to permit play,

page_text: then with a conical tube the lower part of the copper tube is spread and opened
so that it cannot leave the cap where it remains loosely jointed. The cap eis
thus screwed at a variable height on the upper end of the hollow tube f, and
instead of placing a simple nut at the lower part of the hollow tube to fix it to
the platform, which would give it a tightness and stiffness which is to be
avoided, the lower end of the tube enters into a slightly larger hole in the
platform and is there held by two nuts, the one above and the other beneath
the platform I. The surfaces of these nuts, which are in contact with the
platform are slightly arched, which also permits a slight oscillating motion.
The object of..the screw cape is as follows:-As the platform is drawn upwards
by the four racks at its four corners it follows that by reason of the elasticity of
the cast iron, and of the resistance, always a little irregular, of the materials,
that the platform may slightly bend at some point, principally in the middle of
its length, and that the candles corresponding with such part do not come out
so high as the others. By a turn or two of the screw cap e the relative length
of the hollow rods may be increased or diminished, and irregularities in the
height of the moveable bottoms or head moulds be made to disappear, so that
they may completely attain the upper end of the moulds.
I will now describe the nipping arrangement (see Figure 2). Between
the two pairs of nippers A, A¹, and B, B', Figures 2, 4, and 5, is fitted a
longitudinal rod C, to which a half turn may be given by means of its
handle D¹; this rod carries cams E, which are vertical or horizontal, according
to the position of the rod. When the cams are horizontal they drive apart
from each other the nippers A'.and.B. In this dividing movement the
presses it against the nipper B,
nipper A³ draws with it the nipper B', and
the nipper B carries with it the nipper A, and presses it against the nipper A¹,.
this is effected by means of. transverse bolts H¹, the head of each being held
in the inner side of the nippers A and B, and the stem penetrating without
friction through the nippers which are on the other side of the rod, as shewn
in the Drawing. These stems are threaded at their ends and receive two
nuts I well tightened against each other to keep them secure. In this
way A and. A come closer together, B and B also tighten, and thus the
candles are held, and the head moulds may be lowered, and another batch be
commenced. When the tallow has set, and the wicks are cut, the nipper
must be loosened in order that the candles may be taken off the machine.
To release the nippers, one quarter turn in an opposite direction to the first.is
given to the rod, the cams E become vertical, the nippers A, A¹, and B, B',
loosen and come apart by means of small spiral springs R' on the tightening
bolts H.
The entire arrangement of nippers rises in pivoting round the

page_text: horizontal axles L', and if too heavy to lift, a counterweight may be used, the
cords or chain of which would pass over pullies fixed to the ceiling, and be
.attached to the nippers near the handle. Instead of threading the bobbins
carrying the wicks on a horizontal rod fixed beneath the platform, which if one
bobbin is empty necessitates the removal of all that follow it to the end of the
rod before it can be replaced, I apply to the machine air arrangement of bobbin
analogous to those which work in spinning and weaving, such as the vertical
bobbins M, or bobbins inclined in the direction of the lower opening of the
hollow rods. The vertical bobbins may be of two sorts, simple spindles planted
in a small board l, and in this case longitudinal rods must be fitted to guide
the thread in winding off the bobbins, or small tin tubes closed at one end may
be used on which the wick will be wound, and which will afterwards be turned
over on to the spindles, which will then serve as pivots, on which the bottom
of the tubes will rest, and the bobbin will unwind in turning. The wick may
also be wound on tubes of strong papers, which will only have to be placed on
the spindles set in the small board as above stated, and all these arrangements
form part of this Invention. The small board 7 will have rollers or castors n,
so that the whole of the bobbins may be advanced, and retired during the
working of the machine in order to change those which have been emptied.
The new wick must be sewn to the end of the preceding one. Besides the
easy regulation of the heights or elevations, the screw cap e presents another
incontestable advantage in facilitating construction, inasmuch that without
them it is necessary to empty the small tube in the interior of the hollow rod,
and half turn down the edges of this rod. As regards candles of different
lengths, the machine is explained as follows:-The moulds a¹, a", which
should produce the shorter candles, are of the same length and placed in the
same manner as the others, except that the head moulds 6, 61, descend
only to a certain level, as may be seen by reference to Figure 5. These
moulds and the tubes c¹, c", to which they are adapted are raised by means of
a small and special carriage d, d, d, quite independent of the large carriage
e, e. The small carriage d is raised by or with the large one, and this last is
raised by the rack wheel and pinions detached at the principal side. But the
elevation of the small carriage does not take place until the large carriage has
accomplished a part of its ascension. It will in effect be observed that the larger
or principal carriage has in its centre a cavity f, f, the bottom of which
arriving at a certain height pushes against the points 9, 9, of the small carriage,
and the ascension of this latter begins. The bolts h, h', are fixed vertically at the
bottom of the larger carriage by means of shoulders and screws, and their rods
pass touching into the small carriage, and carry nuts on their upper ends.

page_text: As the large carriage rises the bolts h, h¹, slide in corresponding holes pro-
vided in the small carriage, then the bottom of the large carriage arrives
against the small carriage, and this latter is raised in its turn, and thus the
candles of the shorter moulds rise after those of greater length. By means
of this retard when both carriages have reached the end of their ascension the
heads of all the candles are at the same height, and above the cold water tank,
as may be seen by reference to Figure 5. On descending the large carriage
draws the smaller with it by means of the nuts i, 1. At the end of their
course both carriages touch and rest against the screw keys K, K¹, the
height of which is regulated at pleasure. In rising or lowering the (the
screw K¹, and giving a sufficient length to the bolts 6, 61, in raising or
lowering), the nuts I, I¹, of these bolts, which are threaded in a sufficient
length, one can vary the length of the candles made in the moulds a¹, a¹¹;
although it is not shown in the Drawing, it will be useful to employ double
nuts. As the augmentation of the numbers of the moulds necessitates a greater
strength in the moving gearing, I have provided for the want by a change in
the system of gearing. As regards the increase in the number of moulds,
hitherto the number has been limited from two causes. First, the space taken
up under the old system of nippers, then the power required for causing the
candles to quit their moulds. The first obstacle has disappeared by the
employment of nippers, as herein previously described, as by their introduction
space in width is saved, and it has become possible to establish in the centre of
the machine two new rows of moulds parallel to the two others. The second
obstacle has disappeared by the adoption of an endless screw in place of the
racks and pinions as previously used. At Figures 1 and 4, a³, a', will be
seen an endless screw at the extremities of the longitudinal shaft b³, carrying
the handle E¹, a³, d*, nippers on two transverse shafts e¹¹; at the ends of each
of these shafts will be found pinions f, f, which gear into a vertical rack
g', 9", which are adapted to the carriage. By this disposition of parts on
turning the shaft handle with the same speed it will be found that much less
power is required to lift the carriage, a little longer time will be required for
the operation (as one always loses time in speed when one gains in power),
but in this case such loss of time will not be found of any importance.
Besides, by this disposition of the racks they are found with their backs adapted
in their full length against the slides fixed on the machine, and which confirms
to them an easier and more regular play.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention communicated to
me by the said Chrétien Haffner, and means by which it is carried into
practical effect, I would observe that I do not confine myself to the precise

page_text: details herein given, and illustrated by the annexed Drawing, as modifica-
tions may be made in the various apparatus to suit particular circumstances
without in any way departing from the principle of the Invention, which con-
sists in "Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for the Continuous
Manufacture of Candles," the exclusive use of which improvements, substan-
tially as herein described and illustrated, are claimed as of the Invention, so
communicated to me and protected by the herein in part, recited Letters
Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.B.)