IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, AND IN APPARATUS USED FOR THE SAME
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Watson, of Clipstone Street, Fitzroy Square,
in the County of Middlesex, Bread and Biscuit Baker, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, AND IN APPARATUS USED
FOR THE SAME."
Sealed the 6th November 1863, and dated the 18th May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Watson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th May 1863.
I, WILLIAM WATSON, of Clipstone Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County
of Middlesex, Bread and Biscuit Baker, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, AND IN
APPARATUS USED FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
According to my improved manufacture I perform the entire operation by
machinery, from the mixing of the flour or other ingredients to the final
deposit in the oven for baking; in describing which I will at same time detail
the apparatus or machinery and the improvements therein which I adopt.
The mixer consists of a horizontal cylinder (or it may be otherwise disposed)
with flanges at either end and a door at the upper part throughout its length

page_text: for introducing the materials, as also for the removal of the agitator or stirrer
of the mixer as required for carrying out part of my Invention. The cylinder
is supported on suitable feet, and at one end is enclosed for about a third of
its diameter by a fixed plate, which may descend below the flange and form
the base or foot at that end; the upper two-thirds of the cylinder end is closed
by a sluice door, which can be raised as required to form an opening for the
exit of the dough, as will be herein-after described. The other end of the
cylinder is fitted with a piston, which forms a close end for the cylinder during
the mixing; this piston can be traversed in the cylinder, in which it fits suffi-
ciently tight for the expulsion of the dough. An opening is made in the piston
for the passage of an axis to carry the agitator of the mixer, which axis is
carried by a bearing supported by a bracket from the flange of the cylindrical
chamber; the axis at the other end passes through an opening in the sluice door
fitted with a bearing fixed thereto, or the bearing may be separately supported
from the flange of the cylinder. The agitator of the mixer I make of a zig-zag
kind of form, occupying the diameter of the cylinder, the several limbs of
which extend across the diameter of the cylinder and are all in the same plane,
the angles at the extremities being all right angles, or nearly so.
It has no
central axis passing through it, being supported by a short axis at each end
fitting into square holes in the extreme limbs of the agitator, which increase
much in strength at those points. In order to strengthen and bind the several
radial limbs or blades together, I dispose tie rods in the direction of the axis,
but distant about one-third the radius from the centre. The absence of the
central axis prevents the dough collecting in the centre of motion. I incline
or bevil the limbs on both sides in opposite directions on opposite sides of the
axis in the manner of a screw, so that in rotating the agitator it forces the
dough from one end to the other of the mixer, and on being reversed carries
it in the opposite direction. The agitator is dropped in edgewise by a tackle
or otherwise at the door above, the ends of the cylinder being so adjusted that
the bosses of the end limbs of the agitator bear hard against the ends and
make the axis holes dough-tight; the end limbs are also in close proximity to
the ends, in order to scrape the adhering dough therefrom. The flour, water,
and other ingredients having been emptied into the mixer, motion is commu-
nicated to the agitator by winch handles at either end on the axis, or it may
be by wheel and pinion fitted thereto. The dough having been mixed, the
agitator and its axis are removed, and a long rack placed in the piston resting
in a bearing, substituted for the axis bearing, which is removed; a pinion is dis-
posed to take into the rack, the axis of which pinion is carried by bearings on
the flange, and if the machine is small, may be driven by crank handles on the

page_text: pinion axis, but if large, I use multiplying toothed gear and fly-wheel shaft
by communicating motion to which the piston will be forced forwards by the
rack, and the dough expressed as required; the same fly wheel may also be
made otherwise available when removed by placing it on the axis of the
5 agitator. The sluice door opens by means of a hand lever, and is so adjusted
as to emit the desired thickness of plastic dough, which is of a width propor-
tionate to the size of the machine. The dough, when expressed, is received
on an endless cloth moving on rollers and other supports, which is speeded to
travel at the same rate as the expressed dough; in emerging, the dough passes
under a duster (a perforated box containing flour, receiving a lifting and
dropping motion from a cam acting on a lever carrying such box), it then
passes under a smooth roller which smooths and reduces the dough to a uniform
thickness, and under two or three such rollers, if necessary. The thickness of
dough which is sufficient for the substance of a loaf then passes under a rotating
dividing cylinder, consisting of a series of dividing discs placed on a shaft;
these discs are thick in the centre, but thinned towards the edge at the peri-
phery, and present somewhat of a V form in a cross section taken from the
centre to the circumference; these dises are disposed on the shaft at distances
apart, according to the size of the loaf to be made; there are also dividing
edges placed between the discs (parallel with the shaft) separating the circum-
ference into equal parts, which are two, three, or more in number, according
to the size of the loaves to be formed and also to the diameter of the divider
itself. This divider is driven at a speed uniform with the endless cloth, down
upon which it presses and divides the plastic dough into loaves. It does not
actually cut the dough, the dividing edges being rounded, but simply presses
sufficiently deep creases in it to produce the subsequent separation required;
thus the breadth of dough is cut up into a greater or less number of loaves,
according to its breadth; after passing under the divider the divided dough
passes from the endless cloths on to trucks to be conveyed into the oven. The
cloth turns backwards under its carrying roller, from under which the trucks
are pushed forwards at same rate as the dough travels, and these move on
rails up to the oven mouth. The cloth dips a little at the delivery end, and
turns back under a very small roller, so that the drop of the dough on to the
truck is very slight, and all .moving at same speed it is readily carried away
unintermittently as it is made, and the truck or car, which may or may not be
of the length of the oven, is pushed forward on the sole until it occupies its
position therein.
Part of my improvements consists in the peculiar construction and arrange-
ment of the oven, which I construct of two, three, four, or more chambers one

page_text: above another, each of the width of dough delivered by the machinery herein-
before described; these chambers I make of cast or wrought iron, placed
between two brick walls, running from end to end of the oven, above the one
chamber and below the other; the flues traverse from end to end, the longitu-
dinal flues communicating alternately at opposite ends, so that the mouths of
the several baking chambers or ovens are alternately at opposite ends, and
must be filled in opposite directions. The fire and first flue is immediately
under the chamber, and is considerably narrower than the chamber, in order
to modify the heat thereof; the succeeding and upper flues are wider than the
lower one, but still considerably less than the width of the chambers, in order to
prevent excess of heat at the sides near the brick walls, which would other-
wise be apt to burn the bread at each side. When one chamber is full I shift
the truck-carrying rails to a higher one, and the next truck is carried into the
next chamber above, and so on until all the ovens are filled and the full batch
delivered. Between the fire and lower flue and the first chamber I construct
a cold air flue, which protects the chamber from the immediate heat of the
fire; the cold air traversing therein I admit to the fire near the door, and
supply it with air with the door or blower closed, and so keep the bakehouse
cool. The trucks or cars I make simply of two parallel angle irons, disposed
and braced together at a sufficient breadth, and mounted on four or more
wheels. The bottoms of the trucks I make of tiles or metal plates, which may
have any given pattern, so as to impart an impression to the bottoms of the
loaves placed thereon. The ovens are closed by doors that fall down and form
a sole or stock plate in front; the door being jointed to the sole of the door
frame in the manner of a butt hinge, forms a close joint both with the door
closed and a level surface with the sole of the oven when open. When baked,
the bread is withdrawn from the oven, and may be broken asunder and handled
and distributed as usual.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that the bread made and
baked according to my Invention is never once handled by the bakers or
attendants until it is baked into loaves, and until such time as that the
handling becomes of no consequence; being baked, it is of course absolutely
necessary to do so for distribution. I also adapt my mixer to what is termed
the expansion system of baking, that is, mixing the yeast with a small portion
of the dough first, and such first portion with a larger portion, and so on. For
this purpose I employ an agitator with a through axis and screw, and fix radial
arms therein which have bevilled sides, for the purposes before described. To
mix the small portion of dough I remove the greater part of these radial arms
and bring up the piston before mentioned, so as to form a small chamber suit-

page_text: able for such operation; at the subsequent operation I enlarge the mixing
chamber by withdrawing the piston, and so extend the chamber in proportion
to the bulk of the dough to be mixed. In expressing the dough from this
modified mixer I remove all the radial arms, and it may be the axis, when the
operation may proceed as before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Watson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WATSON, of Clipstone Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Bread and Biscuit Baker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Watson, Her special licence that I, the said
William Watson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Watson, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE
SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Watson,
my executors or administrators, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Watson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the three Sheets of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
According to my improved manufacture of bread I perform the operation

page_text: by machinery from the mixing of the flour and other ingredients to the final
deposit in the oven for baking, in describing which I will at same time detail
the several apparatus or machinery and the improvements therein which I
adopt. The mixer consists of a horizontal cylinder (or it may be otherwise
disposed) with flanges at either end and a lid at the upper part throughout its
length for introducing the materials, as also for the removal of the agitator or
stirer of the mixer at one part of the process which is necessary for carrying
out part of my Invention. The cylinder is supported on suitable feet, and at
one end is enclosed for about a third of its diameter by a fixed plate which
may descend below the flange and form the base or foot at that end, the upper
two-thirds of the cylinder end is closed by a sluice door which can be raised
as required to form an opening for the exit of the dough, as will be herein-after
described. The other end of the cylinder is fitted with a piston which forms
a close end for the cylinder during the mixing. This piston can be traversed
in the cylinder, in which it fits sufficiently tight for the expulsion of the dough.
An opening is made in the piston for the passage of an axis to carry the
agitator of the mixer, which axis is carried by a bearing supported by a
bracket from the flange of the cylindrical chamber, the axis at the other end
passes through an opening in the sluice door fitted with a bearing fixed thereto,
or the bearing may be separately supported from the flange of the cylinder.
The agitator of the mixer I make of a zig-zag kind of form, occupying the
diameter of the cylinder, the several limbs of which extend across the diameter
of the cylinder and are all in the same plane, and the angles at the extremities
are all right angles or nearly so, or it may be merely a number of parallel
bars united by longitudinal ties. It has no central axis passing through it,
being supported by short axes at each end fitting into square holes in the
extreme limbs of the agitator, which increase much in strength at these points.
In order to strengthen and bind the several radial limbs or blades together
I dispose tie rods in the direction of the axis, but the nearest distant about
one-third the radius from the centre; the absence of the central axis prevents
the dough collecting in the centre of motion. I incline or bevil the limbs on
both sides in opposite directions or opposites sides of the axis in the manner
of a screw, so that in rotating the agitator it forces the dough from one end
to the other of the mixer, and on being reversed carries it in the opposite
direction, such alternation being repeated as often as necessary. The agitator
is dropped into the mixer edgewise by a tackle or otherwise at the lid above;
the ends of the cylinder are so adjusted that the bosses of the end limbs of
the agitator bear hard against the ends and make the axis holes dough-tight;
the end limbs are also in close proximity to the end in order to scrape the

page_text: adhering dough therefrom. The flour, water, and other ingredients having
been emptied into the mixer, motion is communicated to the agitator by winch
handles at either end on the axis, or it may be by wheel and pinion or other
apparatus fitted thereto. The dough having been mixed the agitator and its
axis are removed, and a long rack placed in the piston, and disposed so as to
rest in a bearing, substituted for the axis bearing, which is removed; a pinion
is disposed to take into the rack, the axis of which pinion is carried by
bearings on the flange, and if the machine is small may be driven by crank
handles on the pinion axis, but if large I use multiplying toothed gear and
fly-wheel shaft, by communicating motion to which the piston will be forced
forwards by the rack and the dough expressed as required, the same fly wheel
may also be made otherwise available when removed by placing it on the axis
of the agitator. The sluice door opens by means of a hand lever, and is
adjusted to emit the desired thickness of plastic dough, which is of a width
proportionate to the size of the machine. The dough when expressed is
received on an endless cloth moving on rollers and other supports, which is
speeded to travel at the same rate as the expressed dough. On emerging the
dough passes under a duster (a perforated box containing flour, receiving a
lifting and dropping motion from a cam acting on a lever carrying such box),
it then passes under a smooth roller, which smooths and reduces the dough to
a uniform thickness, and under two or three such rollers if necessary. The
thickness of dough which is sufficient for the substance of a loaf then passes
under a rotating dividing cylinder, consisting of a series of cutting discs placed
on a shaft; these discs are thick in the centre, but thinned to a sharp edge at
the periphery, and present somewhat of a V form in cross section taken from
the centre to the circumference; these discs are disposed on the shaft at
distances apart according to the size of the loaf to be made. There are also
dividing edges placed between the dises (parallel with the shaft) separating the
circumference into equal parts, and two, three, or more in number according to
the size of the loaves to be formed, and also to the diameter of the divider itself.
The divider is driven at a speed uniform with the endless cloth, and held down
upon it, by which means the plastic dough is divided into loaves.
It does not
actually cut the dough, the divided edges being rounded, but simply presses
sufficiently deep creases in it to produce the subsequent separation required;
thus the breadth of dough is cut up into a greater or less number of loaves
according to the breadth. After passing under the divider, the divided dough
passes from the endless cloth on to trucks to be conveyed into the oven.
cloth turns backwards under the carrying roller, and from under which the
trucks are pushed forwards at same speed as the dough travels on the cloth,
The

page_text: the trucks moving on rails up to the oven mouth. The cloth dips a little at
the delivery end' and turns back under a very small roller, so that the drop of
the dough on to the truck is very slight, and all moving at same speed, it is
readily carried away unintermittently as it is made, and the truck or car,
which may or may not be of the length of the oven, is pushed forward on the
sole until it occupies its position therein.
Part of my improvements consist in the peculiar construction and arrange-
ment of the oven, which I construct of two, three, four, or more chambers, one
above another, each of the width of dough delivered by the machinery herein-
before described; these chambers I make of wrought or cast iron, placed
between two brick walls running from end to end of the oven, above the one
chamber and below the other; the flues traverse from end to end, the longi-
tudinal flues communicating alternately at opposite ends, so that the mouths
of the several baking chambers or oven are alternately at opposite ends, and
must be filled in opposite directions. The fire and first flue is immediately
under the lower chamber, and is considerably narrower than the chamber in
order to modify the heat thereof, the succeeding and upper flues are wider
than the lower one, but still considerably less than the width of the chambers,
in order to prevent excess of heat at the sides near the brick walls, which
would otherwise be apt to burn the bread at each side. When one chamber
is full, I shift the truck-carrying rails, say, to a higher one, the next truck is
then carried into the next chamber above, and so on until the ovens are full,
and the full batch delivered. Between the fire and lower flue and the first
chamber I construct a cold air flue, which protects the chamber from the
immediate heat of the fire. The cold air traversing therein I admit to
the fire near the door, and so supply it with air, at same time keeping the
door or blower closed, and so conducing to keep the bakehouse cool. The
trucks or cars I make simply of two parallel angle irons, disposed and
braced together at a sufficient breadth, and mounted on four or more wheels.
The bottom of the trucks I make of tiles or metal plates, which may have any
given pattern, so as to impart an impression to the bottoms of the loaves placed
therein. The ovens are closed by doors that fall down and form a sole or
stock plate in front of the door, being jointed to the sole of the door frame in
the manner of a butt hinge, and forming a close joint both when the door is
closed and open, and an even surface with the sole of the oven when open.
When baked the bread is withdrawn from the oven, and may be broken
asunder, handled, and distributed as usual.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that the bread made and
baked according to my Invention is never once handled by the bakers or

page_text: On this shaft is fixed a pinion f gearing into wheel g, mounted on the main
shaft F, which may be driven by a winch handle h or otherwise. The ingre-
dients having been placed in the mixer, and mixed and treated as before
described to form dough and bread, and after allowing sufficent time for the
dough to rise, as well understood, I express or force it out of the chamber A,
which is effected as follows:-I remove the short shafts c, c', from the
agitator D, D, and lift it out of chamber A, and then close and fix the lid a. I
now place a rack H, sec section, Fig. 6, in the piston C, which it fits into and
rests in a crutch bearing h', formed on the top of the outside bearing of
shaft c. The pinion d is fitted to slide on shaft ct, but to carry it round with
it by means of a feather. To communicate motion to the piston C, I move the
shaft E in the direction of its length, which has the effect of throwing a
pinion e¹ fixed thereon into gear with the rack H, and at same time throwing
pinion out of gear with wheel g, and wheel i into gear with pinion k, which
reduces the speed of rotation of shaft E, and the pinion e¹ taking into rack H,
imparts to it a longitudinal motion, and forces the piston C from its position
at one end of the cylinder A towards the other end, and thereby compressing
the dough in that chamber. To allow the dough to escape at the other end
of the cylinder A, the sluice door L is lifted up by a lever m to either of the
dotted positions 1, 2, shown, the first being suitable for the formation, say, of
two-pound loaves and the second being for the formation of four-pound loaves.
The gland or bearing n of the shaft c is previously removed and a solid plate
substituted for it to prevent the dough being forced out thereat. The sluice
door L being lifted and fixed, say, at the lowest position, the dough contained
in A by the pressure of the piston C will be forced out of the entire breadth
of the opening of the sluice door and of regulated thickness, which will be
contained in one uniform substance so long as any dough remains in the
chamber A. From this chamber the dough is received on an endless web M,
carried on rollers P and P', mounted on a suitable framework N, N. The
endless web M is further supported by a table Q, extending under the entire
breadth, supporting the weight of the dough, which forms a continuous slab,
so to speak. It travels at a uniform rate, the endless cloth M being driven
at the same rate of speed as the dough travels by its expulsion from the
chamber A. The cloth M is driven by a strap pulley fixed on the axis of P
and strap p, communicating with a rigger on the main driving shaft E, and in
its backward course underneath is rubbed in a tray containing flour to
prevent the dough adbering. After emerging from chamber A, and while
travelling on M, the dough is submitted to a dusting operation from a dusting
box R, mounted above on a fulcrum 7. This box or tray is the breadth of

page_text: the dough, and has a perforated bottom and contains flour, and preponderates
on its fulcrum so as to fall against a stop or rest r. It is agitated by means
of a double arm S, mounted on a rotating axis u, the arms coming in contact
with a truck roller t, mounted on the side of the dusting box R. The axis u
is driven by a strap from a rigger on same axis as P, and power is transmitted
thereto by strap riggers to an axis S', on which the divider T is mounted.
This divider consists of a series of cutting ridges arranged in circular and
longitudinal directions, the edges of which come down on the endless web, or
nearly so. This divider is driven at about the same speed as the dough, which,
on passing under it, becomes separated or nearly so into blocks of a given
size, say, for two-pound loaves, which was the size before mentioned as
arranged by the sluice door L. If for larger loaves the mass of dough should
be double the thickness, or another divider with larger cavities used. The
several shafts are fitted in bearings in the framework N, and otherwise
appointed as seen, which it is unnecessary to further describe. The divided
dough, which is prevented sticking to the divider by the flour dredged on it,
continues its course on the endless web M until it arrives at P", where the
divided dough Q is transferred to a trunk U, disposed underneath in readiness
for its reception. So soon as the dough begins to fall on to this truck the
truck also has a forward motion imparted to it, by a projection u on an endless
strap v coming in contact with a projection w on the under part of the truck.
This endless strap is mounted on suitable pullies, driven by a strap & from the
axis of P. The truck being mounted on wheels and suitable rails Y, travels
along with its load towards the oven, which, as seen in the side view and plan,
is immediately on end of the machine, so that as the truck is propelled
forwards it enters the oven with its load of divided dough or loaves, and as
the oven chamber is by preference just the size to contain one truck, the oven
door is closed, and the baking proceeded with. Another truck is similarly
disposed to receive the dough, and is carried forward into another chamber of
the oven, and so on. I prefer to rough or indent the bottoms of the trucks
(which are simply sheets of metal laid on the truck frames) as seen in the
plan, Fig. 2, so as to imprint the bottoms of the loaves; they should also
be dusted with flour to prevent the dough adhering thereto. The rails Y
are shifted for each oven chamber, so as to rest on the door of each and
conduct the truck thereto. The truck having received its load of dough
ceases to be propelled by the machine, but is pushed forward by hand into
the oven, which is closed, and another one prepared with the rails to receive
the next in succession.

page_text: Fig. 8 represents a front view, and Fig. 9 a longitudinal section of an oven
constructed according to my Invention.
W are the oven chambers, which have their mouths alternately in opposite
directions. They are formed between two brick walls X, X, the spaces being
divided off by iron plates 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, the spaces between
each pair of plates 3, 4, forming the flues to heat the oven chambers, while
below the plate 11 the furnace V is disposed. In order to protect the lower
oven from the immediate heat of the furnace I cover plate 11 with a thickness
of brickwork, or it may be both above and below, as seen at z, z, with an
air flue o through the middle, and of equal width with the fire, or nearly so.
Air enters at the back end of o, which is regulated as required by a sluice
door to limit the supply to the fire through that channel; a constant change
of air taking place in this channel assists in preventing the direct heat of the
furnace overheating the lower oven chamber. Z is the furnace door. The
flue from the furnace passes up in two branches (one on each side of air
flue o) at the end of the lower oven chamber, then along above it under the
second chamber, thence passing up at the end, and back under the third oven
chamber, and so on. To prevent excessive heat at the end of the oven
chambers I place fire lumps, as seen at 12, 12, to protect them, the metal
plates of the oven being so made (as seen in the section, Fig. 9,) as to hold
them in position. 13 is a water tank, to be heated from the waste head for
bakehouse purposes; 14 is a slide valve in the top of each oven chamber,
enclosed in a case except at the end that is not opposed to the draught of the
flues. These valves are opened by thumb rods when it is desired to allow
steam to escape from the ovens; 15, 15, are hollow box ends of metal, closing
the ends of the flues, by removing which the smoke flues may be easily cleaned.
These boxes being open from the outside are convenient for the insertion of
thermometers, as seen at 16, to see and ascertain the heat of the ovens at all
times. The escape of the flues to the chimney is at 17.
Figs. 10 and 11 represent a modification of the agitator or mixer, con-
sisting of a shaft J, in which a number of blades 1, 1, are fitted in screw sockets
or otherwise, so that they can be placed or removed. These blades are
inclined to the axis, as before explained, for the purpose of forcing the material
operated on towards the end of the vessel while mixing it, the motion being
reversed occasionally so as to reverse the direction of the thrust; by so fitting
the blades they can be more or less inclined to the axis as may be desired,
and furthermore, the chamber may be reduced to suit any size of batch less
than the full amount, by simply removing some of the blades at the end

page_text: next the piston C, and moving that piston up to contract the vessel to the
desired dimensions, the process may then be conducted as before described.
To remove the agitator J, l, altogether it is simply necessary to remove the
several blades and withdraw the shaft J at the end.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Watson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM WATSON. (L.S.)