Year: 1887

page_text: 1 JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 169 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of
the Institute of Patent Agents 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:-
The invention relates more especially to the class of confections which are designated
as "moulded goods" consisting of a suitable paste or semi-liquid preparation cast or
moulded into forms and designs of various kinds.
Heretofore goods of this class have been formed by pouring the material by hand
into temporary moulds or matrices previously formed by hand in a bed of starch.
Briefly stated the operation has been, after levelling the surface of a quantity of starch
deposited in a suitable "starch board" or tray, to form in such starch à series of
intaglio depressions or matrices by forcing alto-relievo patterns into the starch.
The material to be cast was then poured into the several matrices by hand, and after
it had set or hardened sufficiently the whole contents of the starch board or tray
were sifted to separate the castings from the body of starch, that which still adhered
being presumably removed by further subjecting the castings to an air blast.
For various reasons the old method is slow and expensive. Owing to the nature of
the material in which the matrices are formed unusual care and skill must be bestowed
upon the operation in order to even approximate uniformity or perfection in result.
Uniformity in the sizes and shape of the castings is desirable in all this class of goods,
but especially when the castings are to be coated with chocolate or other comparatively
expensive material, in which case imperfections or overflow not only spoil the
appearance of the product but also take up a disproportionately large quantity of the
more expensive material.

page_text: Again, the matrices although so difficult and expensive to produce, are only available
each for the formation of a single casting, so that, taking into consideration the number
of matrices that are formed and not used on account of obvious imperfections, and also
the number of castings that are finally discarded in practice for a similar reason, it will
he seen that there are numerous disadvantages attending the use of such a process.
The object of the present invention is not only to obviate the difficulties indicated
but also to simplify, cheapen and expedite the manufacture of the mouldings or castings
herein referred to, and to accomplish all without the aid of specially skilled labor.
22
The more essential feature of the improved process consists in forming the castings
in permanent moulds composed of an elastic or semi-elastic material, and removing the
said castings after they have "set or hardened by bending the said moulds sub-
stantially as hereinafter set forth, in such manner as to cause the side walls of the
matrices to open or recede from the casting, when the latter will drop out, or may be
readily removed without injury to either matrices or castings.
The invention also includes the process hereinafter described of filling the matrices
and removing the surplus from the mould by passing the latter under a hopper
charged with the material to be cast and under a suitable scraper, or flexible side wall
of the hopper which prevents the undue escape of the semi-liquid material and levels
off the upper surface of the material thus detached and removed from the hopper.
Another feature of the invention consists in rendering the process continuous by
making the castings in matrices formed in an endless belt or mould by which they are
discharged during the passage around the supporting cylinder at one end of the
apparatus, the matrices thus emptied continuing onward until they again come under-
neath the feeding hopper and are again filled, conveyed around the cylinder and
emptied thereby, as before described. In connection with certain grades or qualities
of goods which cool or "set" rapidly this process of continuous uninterrupted working
is of importance; although in other grades of goods which require considerable time
to harden or "set" the process may be carried on by casting into elastic or semi-
elastic mats or sheets of moulds which, after being passed underneath the hopper and
filled may be conveniently set aside until the castings acquire the requisite degree of
hardness or elasticity when the castings may be removed from the matrices as before
stated by bending the moulds.
The castings produced by this process are perfectly uniform and true, and come
from their matrice in proper condition for "dipping or otherwise finishing.
I am aware that in the United States Letters Patent of Sowle No. 28,815, dated
June 19th 1860, a continuous system of cutting lozenges from a sheet of paste is shown,
in which the flat lozenges thus formed are deposited upon an endless belt from the
series of cutter dies arranged upon the periphery of a cylinder, the lozenges being
forcibly ejected by plungers situated back of the dies &c., but such process of manu-
facture is not the equivalent of the present invention, the essential feature of which
consists in the use of elastic moulds in which the material in a liquid or semi-liquid
condition, is cast and from which the castings are loosened and ejected by bending the
mould, the inherent elasticity of the moulds themselves effecting the discharge of the
castings, whereas in the Sowle machine the lozenges are not cast at all, but are forcibly
cut out of a sheet of material by rigid metal knives in the form of dies from which they
are removed by rigid plungers. There is absolutely no employment of elastic material
in the Sowle device except as a backing for the sheet of material from which the
lozenges are stamped out, and the elasticity in that case is rather utilized to force the
material into the dies than to remove it therefrom, as in my process of manufacture.
Aside from the obvious differences in apparatus and process it would be practically
impossible to produce by the Sowle apparatus the equivalent of the various intricate
forms of castings which I can produce by my process of casting in flexible moulds,
his dies and plungers (which are even used for printing or compressing the faces of
the lozenges) practically limiting his apparatus to the production of flat cakes of even
thickness.
Another leading distinction between the Sowle apparatus referred to and my
improved process consists in the fact that his process contemplates the use of paste

page_text: exclusively, and it would be impossible to mould a liquid or semi-liquid material in his
apparatus, whereas the present invention is especially designed for the purpose of
making castings from a liquid or semi-liquid material which runs into and
fills the moulds by its own gravity, no cutting or compression being used to shape
the castings, the surplus material being simply scraped off the face of the sheet of
moulds before the material has time to harden or set.
In the accompanying drawings I illustrate apparatus which may be employed in
carrying out the improved process of manufacture although I expressly disclaim any
intention of confining myself to the use of any special form of apparatus, the essential
features of the invention as herein before set forth being capable of employment and
adaptation in conjunction with various modifications in detail of construction of
apparatus.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an apparatus for continuously working
the improved process, the central portion being broken away. Figure 2 is a plan of
the same parts shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 a sectional view of a portion of the
semi-elastic mould bent and in the act of discharging the castings.
The mould A, is made of india rubber or other suitable elastic or semi-elastic
substance permanently formed with a series of matrices a.
The mould A, may be in the form of an endless belt or sheet, as shown, or it may
be in the form of a sheet or mat of suitable length for handling, the essential feature
being a sufficient degree of elasticity to permit of the discharge of the castings from
the matrices by bending the mould so as to stretch or open the matrices as illustrated
in Figure 3.
In carrying out the process the batch of candy or other confections to be used to
form the castings is put in a semi-liquid or soft condition into a hopper B, and the
mould A is then passed underneath its lower opening 6, the matrices a being thereby
filled with the material. The surplus material is removed from the face of the mould
and retained within the hopper by an india rubber dam or scraper bl.
To still further insure the removal of any excess of material from the face of the
mould A, it is preferred to pass the mould underneath a take-up roll C, the periphery of
which moves in an opposite direction to that of the surface of the mould and thereby
wipes off any remaining surplus and transfers it to a scraper c, which may be provided
with a trough c¹, for its reception.
Where the apparatus used is continuous, as illustrated in the drawings, the endless
mould is either made of sufficient length to effect the "setting" of the castings before
they reach the discharging cylinder D, or that end of the apparatus is situated in a
chill, or drying room, whereby the castings are quickly rendered fit to discharge, being
prepared in "batches" of a given quantity requiring a prescribed time to prepare ;
the endless mould may be made to accommodate a single "batch" within the matrices
situated at any one time above the table T, and after being filled that portion of the mould
may be allowed to remain upon the table until the next batch is ready, or until the
castings have set sufficiently to be discharged.
In this continuous apparatus it may be desirable to use an agitator E, of any
suitable construction, which will beat or jar the back of the mould A, as it passes
underneath in order to insure the discharge of any of the castings that may be inclined
to stick to their matrices from any cause.
A starcher S, may also be situated underneath the table for the purpose of dusting
the emptied matrices with starch preparatory to their again passing underneath the
hopper B.
It is obvious that the endless mould is not absolutely essential to the carrying out of
the improved process since (by way of illustration) it might be divided into several
sections, thereby forming mats or sheets which could be passed underneath the hopper
and scraper and laid aside until the castings were ready for removal, when the mats or
sheets might be bent or sprung out by any suitable means in order to effect the
discharge of the castings as herein before set forth and as illustrated in Figure 3.
Any suitable means for applying the necessary power and effecting the required
motions may be employed.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me, I declare
that what I claim is :-
1. The process herein described of manufacturing castings of candy or confectionery
from a fluid or semi-fluid material the said process consisting in depositing such
material in matrices formed in a mould of elastic or semi-elastic material, allowing the
castings to set or harden, and then loosening or discharging them therefrom by
bending the mould substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.
2. The process herein described of manufacturing castings of candy or confectionery
from a fluid or semi-fluid material the said process consisting in depositing the
prepared material in a suitable hopper from the lower end of which it is discharged
into matrices formed in a mould or sheet of elastic or semi-elastic material, removing
all surplus material from the face of the mould substantially as described, allowing the
resulting castings to set or harden and then loosening or discharging them from their
matrices by bending the mould substantially in the manner and for the purpose
described.
from a
3. The process herein described of manufacturing castings of candy or confectionery
liquid or semi-fluid material, the said process consisting in depositing the said
material in a suitable hopper from the lower end of which it is removed by an endless
belt of clastic or semi-elastic material formed with a series of matrices in which the
castings are allowed to set or harden and from which they are discharged by the
stretching of the said elastic mould as it passes over a curved surface substantially in
the manner and for the purpose described.