Improvements in Oil Cake Forming Apparatus.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 18th Feb., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Cake Forming Apparatus.
I, ALEXANDER EUSTON, a Citizen of the United States, residing at 319, North
Fourth Street, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
wherein :-
Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved apparatus;
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same;
Figure 3 is a detail view of the same, on the same line of section, showing the
molding frame in another position.
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the same; and
Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view.
This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in oil cake forming
apparatus, the object being to dispense with the handling of the seeds from the
heater, or tempering kettle, to the machine which forms the seeds into a green
cake, preparatory to the extraction of the oil therefrom.
"
The method of forming a green cake say of linseed, is, as now most generally
practiced, to first pass the seeds through crushing rolls, after which the seeds are
introduced into what is known as the heater," or tempering kettle," where the
seeds are steamed and otherwise treated. The seeds are then taken from the
tempering kettle, placed in an open ended box, and the box slid along a table,
and the seeds deposited in a press which forms the green cake, the cake being
sufficiently compact for handling while it is being introduced into the hydraulic
presses.
66
After the seeds have been thus initially pressed into cake form, known as the
green cake," they are wrapped in cloth for the purpose of excluding the atmos-
phere, and preserving the shape of the cake when it is being pressed in the
hydraulic, or other, press for the extraction of oil.
In actual practice, this heater or tempering kettle referred to is about eighteen
feet high, and is filled with the seeds being treated. Unlike the common forms
of tempering kettles most usually employed, the heater which I prefer to use has
no jacketed bottom.
As stated before, after the seeds have been treated in the tempering kettle, they
are formed into green cakes, sufficiently compact for handling. My invention
relates to an apparatus designed to compress the linseed meal into cake form,
preparatory to the cake being introduced into the hydraulic presses.
One of the advantages of the use of my apparatus, is that the seeds are not
exposed to the air during the time they are being formed into cakes, but are
pressed into cake form at the time they leave the tempering kettle, after which
they are wrapped in cloth as usual, and then placed in the hydraulic press for
the purpose of extracting the oil, as is well known.
The special features of this invention reside, more particularly, in the novel

page_text: construction of the mold frame, and the arrangement and combination of its
co-operating parts, there being suitable mechanism employed for reciprocating
this mold frame under an opening in the heater, which mechanism may be of any
desired arrangement, I having shown a very simple train of gearing to effect this
reciprocatory movement.
In the drawings, A indicates a suitable base, on the ends of which are suitable
standards B, one of said standards carrying a box b.
C indicates ways supported upon standards B, said ways being provided with
bearings e in which is mounted a shaft d. Hangers also depend from these
ways, in which is mounted a shaft 6, whose other end is supported by the box b.
D indicates a sliding table mounted in ways C, which table has a rack e arranged
on its under side. This rack meshes with a gear wheel f mounted on shaft d,
said shaft being driven by a worm wheel g which is in mesh with a worm h on
shaft b¹¹.
On shaft 6, are mounted two idle pulleys, and one fixed pulley, the former
being lettered and j, and the latter . Two belts, not shown, run in opposite
directions on loose pulleys and j, which belts are controlled by a lever, or belt
shifter, not shown, for shifting one or the other of said belts to the tight pulley k
for transmitting motion through the train of gearing just mentioned, to the
table D, to move the same in one, or the other, direction, as desired.
Table 1 carries a mold frame E on its forward end, which frame is hinged to
the table, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, and which frame is prefer-
ably so arranged relative to the table that the upper face of said mold frame will
be on the same plane with the face of table D. The opening in this mold frame
is provided with distributing devices whose function is to prevent the material
being packed unevenly in the mold. These distributing devices are preferably in
the form of wires F, stretched across the top of the opening in the mold frame,
and arranged so as to co-operate with the packing device at an angle, in order
to give a shearing cut to the material as it is forced into the mold by the horizontal
revolving flights located above. These wires constituting the distributing device,
are arranged preferably as shown in Figure 1, that is, they are substantially fan-
shaped, but it is obvious that a different arrangement of these wires could be made
to operate with, perhaps, equal success, that is, the wires could be parallel or
crossed at an angle, or diagonally or transversely disposed, as desired. In stating
the function of these wires, I might say that experience has demonstrated the fact
that a mold frame having a clear and unobstructed opening, will be packed by
the flights unevenly, the flights carrying the material to one side of the mold
opening, and packing it more firmly there than it is packed at the other side. By
the presence of these distributing devices, however, the material carried by the
flights will be sheared or cut so that, when the material is in the mold, beneath
the wires, the flights have no further action thereon, that is, the flights have no
tendency to disturb the material in the mold opening by carrying it to one side
and packing it there more firmly than on the other.
The mold frame is, also, arranged with the side walls of its opening converging,
or tapering, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, so that, when the mold frame is lifted,
as shown by dotted lines in Figure 2, the cake will be left on the table D with
its corners intact. I have found that where the walls of the mold are vertical, the
act of lifting the mold frame would break the upper corners of the cake, leaving
them ragged and broken.
Table D with its carried mold frame E operates under a plate G, which plate
forms the bottom of the heater, or tempering kettle. Plate G is formed with the
opening H to one side of its center, the edges of which opening are preferably
beveled, as shown, to form cutting edges to shave the molded cake in its movement
under said opening. For convenience, I will say that I is the front beveled edge
of this opening, and J the rear beveled edge. There is, also, arranged in open-
ing H, and preferably near the edge J, a knife bar K arranged at an angle, as
shown in Figures 2 and 3. This knife bar is transversely disposed.

page_text: L indicates the walls of the tempering kettle or heater which are supported by
the plate G.
M indicates a vertical shaft, centrally arranged relative to the heater, and
preferably rotated by a suitable gearing, not shown. Shaft M carries flights N
arranged at an angle, as shown, said flights preferably operating on the plate G.
I will assume that the tempering kettle is filled with crushed seeds, and the parts
in the position shown in Figure 2, the flights rotating in the direction so as to
force the seeds through the opening H in the plate G. As the mold opening
passes the opening H, the seeds are forced into the mold opening in the mold
frame, and packed by the flights N, assisted by the weight of the superimposed
material. Figure 3 shows the mold frame receiving the seeds, the movement of
the table, however, carrying said mold opening beyond the opening H in its
inward movement, after which the belts are shifted so as to impart an outward
movement to the table, in which the mold opening again passes under opening H.
During the inward movement of the table D, the flights force the material down
between knife K and beveled edge J, so that, as the front edge of the mold opening
passes these points, the edge J compactly fills the front edge of the mold opening,
while, on the outward movement, the knife K and edge I fill the rear edge of the
mold opening. During this operation, the wires F cut and distribute the material
in the mold opening, so that it is evenly packed throughout. Beveled edges I
and J and the knife K level the material above the distributing devices, so that
the face of the green cake is smooth and even. When the table reaches its
upper
outer limit, the mold having been filled, the frame E is lifted, leaving the green
cake on the table, the curvature of the mold walls preventing the corners of the
cake from being broken, after which the cake is wrapped in cloth and placed in
the presses, as is well understood.
The cake thus formed is sufficiently compact for handling, and is not exposed
to the atmosphere between the time it leaves the tempering kettle and when it is
formed. Moreover, the cake being wrapped immediately after being formed, is
in better condition to retain its high temperature while being transferred from
the heater to the hydraulic presses. Again, the quantity of seeds used in forming
the cakes can be closely regulated, so as to make the resultant cakes uniform in
weight. No manual manipulation of the cake is required, except in its removal
from the molding apparatus to the hydraulic press, whereas, under the old practice,
the weight of the open ended box and its contained seed is handled back and
forth, making it very tiring to the operator.
I am aware that minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of the several parts of my apparatus, can be made and substituted for
those herein shown and described, without in the least departing from the nature
and principle of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle, of a mold frame, and
distributing devices extending across the mold opening in said frame, substantially
as described.
2. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle formed with an opening
through which the seeds are forced, of a mold frame adapted to be moved past
said opening, and wires arranged across the mold opening in said frame, substan-
tially as described.
3. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle formed with an opening
of a mold frame adapted to be moved past said opening, to receive a charge of
seeds in its opening, and wires across said mold opening, said wires being arranged
at an angle to the movement of the mold frame, substantially as described.
4. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle formed with an opening
in its bottom, of a table operating under said opening, a mold frame carried by said
table, distributing devices arranged across the opening in said mold frame, and

page_text: means for reciprocating said table and its carried mold frame, substantially as
described.
5. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle, of a bottom plate therefor
formed with an opening having beveled edges, a knife bar arranged across said
opening, and a mold frame adapted to co-operate with said opening, substantially
as described.
6. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle, of a bottom plate there.
for, which bottom plate is formed with an opening having beveled edges, a knife
bar arranged across said opening, flights arranged above said bottom plate, a
reciprocating table carrying a mold frame, and means for reciprocating said table,
substantially as described.
7. The combination with a heater or tempering kettle, of a bottom plate there-
for formed with an opening having beveled edges, flights operating above said
opening, a reciprocating table operating beneath said bottom plate, means for
reciprocating said table, a mold frame carried by said table, and distributing
devices arranged at the upper edge of the mold opening in said mold frame, sub-
stantially as described.
8. The herein described apparatus for forming oil cake, the same comprising
the following elements in combination: a heater or tempering kettle for the seeds,
which is formed with a discharge opening in its bottom; angled flights arranged
within the heater and above said discharge opening for forcing the seeds there-
through a table; means for reciprocating said table, and an open frame or mold
which is hinged to the table.
Dated the 9th day of December 1898.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Chartered Patent Agent, London,
For the Applicant.