Improvements in Apparatus for Roasting Coffee, Chicory, Malt, and other Material.
Year: 1888

page_text: :
Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 6th May,
1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 8th June, 1889
Improvements in Apparatus for Roasting Coffee, Chicory, Malt,
and other Material.
I, PETER PEARSON, of 9 Sandon Terrace, Upper Duko Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Chicory Manufacturer and Coffee Roaster, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to that class of apparatus for roasting coffee, chicory, malt,
and other material in which the coffee or other material to be roasted is placed within
a circular revolving pan which is carried centrally upon the upper extremity of a
vertical shaft or spindle driven or rotated by means of suitable gearing below.
In order that the coffee or other material during the process of roasting may be
constantly stirred and moved about on the flat bottom of the revolving pan and bo
rapidly moved from the central part towards the outside of the pan an arrangement of
scrapers" depending from the lower edge of an endless chain travelling over
pulleys or rollers mounted vertically in bearings near to the two extremities of a
horizontal arm or har standing over and extending across the middle of the pan
has heretofore been employed, but such apparatus as hitherto arranged has not been
found efficient for its intended purpose owing firstly to the unsatisfactory manner in
which the travelling endless chain and scrapers have been mounted causing an
uncertain movement and action of the scrapers upon the material in the pan and
secondly because the distance apart between the scrapers and the position in which
they have been placed or set relatively to the material is found to be unsuitable in
practice for efficiently stirring and effecting the required moving about of such
materials for instance as coffee.
Now according to my invention I employ a travelling pitch chain and horizontal
arm or bar as above mentioned and fasten to the lower edge of the chain the upper
ends of a series of metal scrapers arranged at suitable distances apart from each other
as hereinafter specified.
I make the two sides of the upper part of each scraper flat and so that the
flattened part may slide easily within an intervening space or groove formed between

page_text: a pair of vertically arranged metal guide plates fastened by means of overhanging
bearers or brackets so as to be parallel with the horizontal arm or bar on each side
thereof.
Projecting flanges may be arranged above and below the flattened part of the
scrapers to guide or hold them in the required position on the guide plates within
which they slide. As each of the scrapers successively leaves or emerges from the
end of the groove formed by the guide plates on either side of the horizontal arın or
bar it travels round the adjoining chain pulley and readily enters the groove on
the other side the ends of the guide plates being suitably formed or curved to receive
the entering scraper.
As applied more particularly for the purpose of stirring coffee during the roasting
operation I place the scrapers nearer together upon the travelling chain than has
heretofore been the practice that is to say in a pan of five feet in diameter which
1 should preferably cause to rotate at a speed of about sixteen revolutions per minute
I should place the scrapers about seven inches apart from each other and cause the
chain to make one complete journey or traverse whilst the pan made one and a half
revolutions.
Instead of setting the scrapers at right angles to the line of their travelling path
as is usual in such apparatus I arrange them to stand at an angle thereto so as to cause
the coffee or other material to be pushed outwardly or sidewise from the scrapers
instead of in front of them as heretofore.
The improvements in the arrangement of the chain and scraper apparatus as above
described permit of substances such as coffee and cereals and also other substances
such as powdered or granulated materials being roasted in a machine of the class
hereinabove referred to.
Underneath the revolving pan I arrange a metal chamber or box having a circular
opening through its top of slightly less diameter than the pan and within this chamber
or box 1 arrange a suitable number of gas jets preferably in circles or portions of
circles placed concentrically with but preferably at some distance from the centre_of
the pan.
The gas burners may be of the Bunsen or other suitable type.
products of combustion fill the chamber and the heat thereof impinges upon the
bottom of the revolving pan and imparts the required roasting effect upon the coffee
or other material therein.
The
The arrangement of apparatus as hereinabove described is equally applicable for
roasting coffee or other material by means of heat deflected from above the revolving
pan as by means of heat imparted underneath the pan in the manner just mentioned.
Dated this 13th day of December 1888
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent's Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Roasting Coffee, Chicory, Malt,
and other Material,
I, PETER PEARSON, of 9 Sandon Terrace, Upper Duke Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Chicory Manufacturer and Coffee Roaster, 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 that class of apparatus for roasting coffee, chicory, malt
and other material, in which the coffee or other material to be roasted is placed
within a circular revolving pan carried centrally upon the upper extremity of
a vertical shaft or spindle driven or rotated by means of suitable gearing below.
In order that the coffee or other material during the process of roasting may be
constantly stirred and moved about on the flat bottom of the revolving pan and be
rapidly moved from the central part towards the outside of the pan an arrangement
of scrapers depending from the lower edge of an endless chain travelling over pulleys
or rollers mounted in vertical bearings near to the two extremities of a horizontal
arın or bar standing over and extending across the middle of the pan has heretofore
been employed but such apparatus as hitherto arranged has not been found efficient
for its intended purpose owing firstly to the unsatisfactory manner in which the
travelling endless chain and scrapers have been mounted causing an uncertain move-
ment and action of the scrapers upon the material in the pan and secondly because the
distance apart between the scrapers and the position in which they have been placed
or set relatively to the material is found to be unsuitable in practice for efficiently
stirring and effecting the required moving about of such materials for instance as
coffee.
Now according to my invention I employ a travelling pitch chain and a horizontal
arm or bar as above mentioned and fasten to the lower edge of the chain the
upper ends of a series of metal scrapers arranged at suitable distances from each
other as hereinafter specified. I make the upper part of each scraper flat and so
that the flattened part may slide easily within an intervening space or groove formed
between a pair of vertically arranged metal plates fastened by means of overhanging
bearers or brackets so as to be parallel with the horizontal arm or bar on each side
thereof. Projecting flanges may be arranged above and below the flattened part of the
scrapers although I find in practice that a lower flange is not requisite as the weight
of the chain and scrapers is sufficient to hold the latter well down to their work-to
guide or hold them in the required position on the guide plates within which they slide.
As each of the scrapers successively leaves or emerges from the end of the groove formed
by the guide plates on either side of the horizontal arm or bar it travels round the
adjoining chain pulley and readily enters the groove on the other side the ends of the
guide plates being suitably formed or curved to receive the entering scrapers.
As applied more particularly for the purpose of stirring coffee during the roasting
operation I place the scrapers nearer together upon the travelling pitch chain than has

page_text: heretofore been the practice that is to say if in a pan of five feet in diameter (which
I should preferably cause to rotate at a speed of about sixteen revolutions per minute)
then 1 place the scrapers about seven inches apart from each other and cause the chain
to make one complete journey or traverse whilst the pan makes one and a half
revolutions. In other words I increase the number of the scrapers in order that the
material may be more rapidly moved away from the centre of the pan (where the
rotatory speed or movement of the material is slowest) than has heretofore been
the practice.
Instead of setting the scrapers at right angles to their travelling path as is usual in
apparatus hitherto employed I arrange them to stand at an anglo thereto so as to
cause the coffee or other material to be pushed outwardly or sidewise from the scrapers
instead of in front of them as heretofore.
The improvements in the arrangement of chain and scraper apparatus as above
described permit of substance such as coffee and cereals and also other substances
such as powdered or granulated materials being roasted in a machine of the class
hereinabove referred to.
The arrangement of apparatus as hereinabove described is applicable for roasting
coffee or other material by means of heat deflected from above the revolving pan
and also by means of heat imparted underneath the pan.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section and Fig. 2
a plan view of coffee roasting apparatus of the kind bereinabove referred to in which
a is the revolving pan carried on the vertical shaft and rotated by means of the
toothed gearing cccc. When the material is to be roasted by means of deflected
heat the revolving pan a may be supported on a metal carriage (such as is shewn in
in the drawings) provided with flanged wheels running on rails extending into a
furnace or roasting chamber of the construction shewn and described in the Specification
of my former Letters Patent No. 2363 of 1880. The wheel c¹ engages with or gears
into another toothed wheel (at the back of the furnace) carried upon a vertical motor
or driving shaft.
The details of construction of those parts of the apparatus to which my invention
more particularly relates are shewn enlarged at Figs. 3, 4 and 5.
dd are the scrapers having their upper flattened ends in the form of slide blocks i i
with flanges the slide blocks resting upon and being guided between a pair of
vertically arranged metal guide plates fastened to and held in the required position
by the adjustable bearers kk as shown. e is the endless travelling pitch chain to whose
lower edge the slide blocks ii are fastened by means of screw bolts and nuts
(preferably as shewn in Fig. 3) the pitch chain e receiving its motion from the gearod
wheels pp and pitch wheel fand being carried at its other end upon a second pitch
wheel which rotates upon an adjustable studs fastened in the slot g.
The studs is
capable of being moved so as to be adjustable to the varying length of the endless
chain such varying length resulting from the heat of the furnace during the roasting
operation cu the one hand and by subsequent cooling on the other.
A is the horizontal arın or bar standing over the centre of the revolving pan a. It
is supported at each end on side standards rising from the metal carriage below and
fits into notches or on to metal pins (its own weight and that of the mechanism it
carries being sufficient to hold it down in working position) and it may be readily
lifted and removed out of the way when the roasted material is to be withdrawn from
the pan.
n is a fixed scraper of the usual kind for the purpose of intercepting the material
in the corner of the pan a the scrapers dd when traversing that end of the bar h
nearest to the fixed scraper n not reaching the edge of the pan allowance having to be
made for contraction and expansion as already stated. At the other end of the bar h
the scrapers are arranged to nearly touch the side of the pan when travelling round
the pitch wheel the bottom adjoining corners of the scrapers dd being rounded off
to suit the curvature of the pan corner (as shewn in Figs. 1, 3 and 4).
The guide plates jj at that end m which the sliding blocks pass into are opened out
or curved so as to facilitate the entry of the scrapers therein. If thought desirable

page_text: the slide block and scraper d may be in two separate parts and fastened to each other
by means of set screws as shewn at the left of Fig. 4.
I do not wish to claim as part of my said invention the arrangement of apparatus
for imparting the roasting effect by means of gas jets applied underneath the revolving
pan referred to in my Provisional Specification.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In apparatus of the class hereinabove described for roasting coffee or other
material the use or employment in conjunction with an endless travelling pitch chain
of scrapers such as d d arranged to slide within the intervening space or groove formed
between a pair of guide plates in manner substantially as described and shewn in the
drawings for the purpose set forth.
2. In combination with travelling scrapers mounted and guided in the manner
indicated in Claim 1, setting the scrapers so as to stand obliquely or at an angle to
their travelling path as shown in the drawings for the purpose set forth.
3. In combination with travelling scrapers mounted and guided in the manner
indicated in Claim 1 for the purpose set forth arranging the distance of the scrapers
between each other and their travelling speed relatively or proportionally to the
diameter and speed of the revolving pan substantially as hereinabove specified.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London,
Agent for the Applicant.