IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHOPPING SUGAR INTO LUMPS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Bradford McCrea, of Carlton Lodge, Ealing,
in the County of Middlesex, and Edward Alfred Cowper, of No. 6, Great
George Street, Westminster, also in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHOPPING SUGAR INTO LUMPS."
Sealed the 15th November 1878, and dated the 16th July 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Bradford McCrea
and Edward Alfred Cowper at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 16th July 1878.
FREDERICK BRADFORD MCCREA, of Carlton Lodge, Ealing, in the County of
Middlesex, and EDWARD ALFRED COWPER, of No. 6, Great George Street, West-
minster, also in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
CHOPPING SUGAR INTO LUMPS."
Our Invention relates to apparatus for chopping loaves or slabs of sugar into
Jumps of suitable size for ordinary use.
For this purpose we provide two sets of knives having chisel edges, arranged in
squares, and cause them to reciprocate, so that in their advance towards each other
they cut or chop a piece of sugar placed between them.
To prevent a crushing effect on the sugar as the knives advance into it they are
made capable of some lateral motion in each direction, so that whilst they act as
wedges, separating the sugar into pieces, these pieces are also free to move sideways
apart from each other. After the sugar is thus divided the knives retire between a
number of guiding bars, leaving the lumps of sugar free to fall or to be discharged
into a suitable receptacle.
It is convenient to arrange the machine so that the lumps of sugar after division
shall fall by their own weight, and so get out of the way of the fresh pieces of sugar

page_text: about to be fed in between the knives, for which purpose the knives may work
horizontally, the sugar to be chopped being fed in between them either by hand or
by an endless band, a chain, or by a pusher, or other convenient means, the
piece of sugar to be chopped resting on a stop or surface, which is removed when
the chopping has been effected. The pieces of sugar to be thus chopped are fed to
the chopping machine in the form of slices, slabs, or cakes which may have a thick
ness equal to one dimension of the finished lumps. When these pieces are formed
by cutting up a loaf of sugar a machine of similar construction to that above
described may be employed for the purpose.
The chopping apparatus may be worked by any convenient power by a treadle 1
with the foot or by a winch with the hand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Bradford McCrea and Edward Alfred Cowper in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 16th January 1879.
>
FREDERICK BRADFORD MCCREA, of Carlton Lodge, Ealing, in the County of
Middlesex, and EDWARD ALFRED COWPER, of No. 6, Great George Street, West-
minster, also in the County of Middlesex. IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
CHOPPING SUGAR INTO LUMPS."
"
Our Invention relates to apparatus for chopping loaves or slabs of sugar into
lumps of suitable size for ordinary use.
For this purpose we provide two sets of knives having chisel edges arranged in
squares, and cause them to reciprocate, so that in their advance towards each other
they cut or chop a piece of sugar placed between them.
To prevent a crushing effect on the sugar as the knives advance into it they are
made capable of some lateral motion in cach direction, so that whilst they act as
wedges, separating the sugar into pieces, these pieces are also free to move sideways
apart from each other. After the sugar is thus divided the knives retire between
a number of guiding. bars, leaving the lumps of sugar free to fall or to be
discharged into a suitable receptacle.
It is convenient to arrange the machine so that the lumps of sugar after
division shall fall by their own weight, and so get out of the way of fresh pieces of
sugar about to be fed in between the knives, for which purpose the knives may
work horizontally, the sugar to be chopped being fed in between them either by
hand or by an endless band, a chain, or by a pusher, or other convenient means, the
piece of sugar to be chopped resting on a stop or surface, which is removed when
the chopping has been effected. The pieces of sugar to be thus chopped are fed to
the chopping machine in the form of slices, slabs, or cakes, which may have a thick-
ness equal to one dimension of the finished lumps. When these pieces are produced.
by cutting up a loaf of sugar, a machine of similar construction to that above,
described may be employed for the purpose.
The chopping apparatus may be worked by any convenient power by a treadlo
with the feet or by a winch with the hand.
The sugar to be fed into the machine is first to be reduced to the form of slices
or slabs by any ordinary means, as, for instance, sugar loaves may be split down
the middle with a hatchet, and then be cut crossways by a common up and down;
chopping maching into thick slices of several inches in thickness, and then these
slices be again cut through parallel to the first split (as that is the direction of the
easiest cleavage) into slices, the thickness of one dimension of the finished lumps;
or in place of so treating the sugar loaves they may be sawn up at once into slices.
of the thickness of one dimension of the finished lumps; or the sugar may be made
in slabs or slices, ready for cutting up; or the sugar loaves may be prepared for:
cutting up into lumps, by hand chopping or any known means. Then when a slice
is dropped into the machine the simultaneous approach of the two sets of knives at
once splits it up into the proper sized lamps without crushing it or producing much
dust or powder, and without in any way giving the lumps an opaque white or.
chalky appearance, so that the finished lumps are of better shape, more bright and
sparkling in appearance than when cut with care by hand, and there is less dust
made.
The quantity that can be thus cut into bright finished lumps by one machine,
is far greater than can be cut by any other machine or by hand.
The arrangement of the two sets of knives is such that they are not fixed but are
free to move on their ends as on joints in either direction; they are pushed forward.
by a plate behind them, and are drawn back by plates that catch their heads,
whilst their front or chisel ends are capable of some lateral motion in each direction,
so that whilst they act as wedges in separating the sugar into lumps, the lumps are

page_text: free to move sideways apart from each other, the knives also partaking of the same
motion, and thus all crushing of the sugar is avoided, and the lumps are cleanly split
up by knives acting on each side of the slice, and on all four sides of each square
lump at the same time, thus producing a large number of finished lumps at each
⚫cut.
The knives at no time approach so close as to touch each other, but just penetrate
the slice of sugar from each side so as to split it up.
The machine, whether worked by power or by treadle, may or may not have
a mouth-piece provided with a flap or trapdoor for the slice of sugar to rest on
before entering between the knives; the power machine, Figures 1, 2, and 3
is shown with such flap as well as one below for the sugar to rest on whilst
being cut; the treadle machine, Figures 9, 10, and 11, has only a flap below for
the sugar to rest on whilst being cut.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 show the front elevation, plan, and end elevation respectively,
of a machine to be worked by power; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 show details of the
same.
The same letters refer to the same parts in each Figure.
In Figures 1 and 2 A, A, represent the knives caused to advance and retire by
the slides B, B, B, B, moving in guides fixed on the bed plate of the machine;
C, C, are horizontal and vertical bars supporting the front ends of the knives, but
permitting them to open when wedged apart by the sugar; the vertical bars also
enable the knives to be withdrawn from the sugar as they move backwards; D, D,
are frames with pins E, E, upon which the bars are threaded; F, F, being springs,
against which the end bars press vertically and horizontally when the knives are
wedged apart. The back ends of the knives are made with T shaped heads lot into
and supported by horizontal grooves placed in the face of the slides B, B, B, B; the
position of the back ends of the knives in the grooves in the slides is fixed by the
vertical bars G, G, which retain the T heads. The slides B, B, B, B, are moved
forwards and backwards by means of the cams H, H, having trucks I, I, running
on them, and mounted on the levers J, J, which turn on pins K, K, in the
framing.
The cams may be made as shown, each with a single face, and with the steel
springs L, L, and the india-rubber or helical springs M, M, to keep the trucks I, I,
close to the cam faces; or the cams may be made with a double face or groove cams
when the springs L, L, M, M, may be dispensed with.
N, N, are fixed guides to prevent lateral motion of the levers J, J; O is a shaft
carrying the cams H, H, and the cams T and X, and the fast and loose driving
pulleys P, P; Q is the feeding table from which the attendant feeds the machine.
Figures 1 and 4 show the mouth-piece R of steel, the edges of which may be
slightly raised so that a piece of sugar that may be rather too thick may be forced 4
down; S, S', are flaps, the upper one S supports the sugar when first fed in; it
opens at the right time to let the sugar fall down between the two sets of knives,
and then shuts to receive a fresh slice. The lower flap S¹ receives the slice of
sugar when it falls, and supports it whilst being cut by the knives, and then opens
to let the lumps fall out of the machine as the knives are drawn back.
The upper flap S may be entirely dispensed with if it is preferred to feed in
direct. The flap S is actuated by the cam T, levers U, U', connecting rod V, and
lever W. The flap S¹ is actuated by the cam X, levers Y, Y¹, connecting rod Z, and
lever Z¹.
Figures 9, 10, and 11 show the front elevation, plan, and end view respectively 5
of a machine to be worked by means of a treadle.
The same letters refer to the same parts in each Figure.
A, A, are the knives, caused to advance and retire by the slides B, B, B, B,
moving in guides fixed on the bed plate of the machine, they are moved by the bell-
cranked levers J, J, worked by the treadle H and the connecting rods I, I. The 5
backward movement of the slides B, B, B, B, is caused by the contraction of the
springs M, M, which are drawn out in the forward movement of the slides when

page_text: the treadle is forced down and the knives brought into action on the slice. of
sugar.
The arrangement of knives, guide frames, and bars is similar to that of the power
inachine. The distance to which the knives move forward may be regulated to
some extent to suit slices of sugar of unequal thickness by depressing the treadle
more or less, there being a piece of india-rubber H₁ fixed to the floor under the
treadle to act as a stop.
The slices of sugar are dropped through the metal mouth-piece R, which is
slightly raised at the edges, as shown. S₁ is a metal flap for supporting the slice of
sugar when dropped between the knives and being cut; when the knives have
entered the slice the flap S¹ is allowed to drop to allow the lumps to fall out of
the machine as the knives are drawn back. The flap S¹, when closed, is supported
by a trigger or spring catch Y, which is forced from under the flap by the pusher Z.
in the forward movement of the slides. It is raised as soon as the lumps
have fallen away by the weighted lever T, and is again supported by the
trigger Y.
The lever T is worked by the rod V attached to the treadle. A slot in the rod V
admits of the weighted lever falling freely when the flap S¹ should be closed, a
tail T to the lever T, regulating to some extent the time taken by the lever in
falling.
On the extreme backward motion of the slides taking place the weighted lever T
is allowed to fall, in consequence of the pawl that held it up being pushed away by
one of the slides, and the flap S¹ being by this means closed the machine is ready
to receive a fresh slice.
The lumps of sugar, when cut, may be allowed to run over a sieve or grating to.
separate what little dust may have been made from the cut lumps.
It will be evident that the before-described machines may, if desired, be adapted
for cutting the blocks or slabs of sugar into strips by providing on each side only a.
single set of parallel reciprocating knives.
Also the one set of knives may be stationary, and only capable of lateral separa-
tion; or for the knives on the one side of the sugar may be substituted abutment
pieces, capable of lateral separation, such pieces being arranged to face either the
knives or the spaces between them, and being either stationary or caused to recipro-
cate like the knives. They might be made to fit close together so as to form a
continuous surface when not moved apart from each other.
It is obvious that the knives, instead of being arranged in squares as described,
may be arranged in other figures, such as a rectangle, triangle, or polygon, so as to
cut the sugar into pieces of corresponding forms.
The knives are arranged so that when their cutting ends move laterally they
move away from the support or abutment of the piece of sugar, and those on each
side separate from the middle guide which is stationary, springs being provided at
the outer sides of each set to bring them back to their original position. The
knives, by preference, are a little wider apart at their back ends than at their
cutting ends, so that they do not tend to separate by simple end pressure.
Although we have described the knives as placed horizontally, or nearly so, they
may be placed at other angles, or vertically, in which latter case the piece of sugar
must be fed in horizontally, and the lumps or strips of sugar be pushed out
horizontally.
In place of the support for the piece of sugar whilst being chopped being
horizontal there may be two such supports at forty-five degrees or other angle, and
the piece of sugar may rest on both until the knives chop it.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we claim,―
First. The use in sugar-chopping machines of knives or cutters so arranged that
in addition to the requisite chopping motion they are capable of lateral motion to
and from each other, so that whilst the knives act as wedges in separating the

page_text: sugar into pieces, these pieces are also free to move sideways apart from each other,
substantially as herein described.
Second. The use in sugar-chopping machines of two opposite sets of advancing
and receding knives or cutters capable also of lateral separating motion, so that in
operating on opposite sides of a block or slab of sugar placed between them they
chop or break it into a number of small pieces, substantially as herein described.
Third. In sugar-chopping machines operating as set forth in the preceding
claims, arranging the reciprocating knives in squares or other figures so as to
separate the sugar into lumps of corresponding forms, substantially as herein
described.
Fourth. Constructing sugar-chopping machines with reciprocating knives capable
of lateral separation, arranged and operating substantially as herein described
with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Alfred Cowper, have hereunto set my
- hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
EDWARD ALFRED COWPER. (L.S.)