AN IMPROVED NUTMEG GRATER
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
· Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
NUTMEG GRATER."-A communication from abroad by Henry Josiah
Griswold of Boston Massachusetts United States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd May 1867..
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED NUTMEG GRATER," a communication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention relates to the construction of an apparatus in which the
nutmegs to be grated or reduced are placed between a rotating cylindrical
grater and a spring presser, which are enclosed in a case or holder; and the
said Invention consists chiefly in the arrangement of the said grater and
presser within the case or holder, and in the peculiar construction of the latter.

page_text: The said case is formed with a cylindrical chamber to receive the grater, and
with a hollow neck or extension in which the spring presser is placed; the
said presser is so formed and arranged that one end lies in the proper position
to hold a nutmeg between it and the side of the grater, while the other end
rests against a removable cover which closes the aperture in the end of the
hollow neck. The presser is removed to allow the nutmegs to be introduced
into the said hollow neck; the grater is then turned by means of a suitable
handle while the powdered nutmeg escapes through an exit aperture formed
in the case.
The case or holder is preferably constructed of wood, the cylindrical
chamber for receiving the grater being in the centre, the hollow neck pro-
jecting on one side, and a handle, by which the case is held, on the other side
of the said chamber. The grater is formed of tin or other suitable metal and
is perforated and roughened in the usual manner. The said grater has a
central axis or spindle secured to circular plates which form the ends of
the grater; these ends work in contact with plates of brass or other suitable
metal which are fitted to the outside of the case or holder, and are connected
to the ends of the grater by screws which keep the said grater properly in
place in the chamber. A handle is attached to one end of the grater, and lies
at the side of the apparatus in a convenient position to be turned by one hand
while the case is held in the other hand. The presser has a concave disc at
the end near the grater, which disc is perforated or roughened in the same
manner as the grater to hold the nutmeg firmly while it is being reduced.
A spiral spring attached to the back of the concave disc extends through the
neck or extension of the case, and rests against the lid or cover of the
aperture in the same. This lid or cover is preferably formed with grooves or
channels partially around its circumference which correspond with projections
on the end of the neck; these grooves and projections are so arranged
that by turning the cover partially round it can be released or secured. This
end of the spring is provided with a foot or bearing to give it a better support,
and when the lid or cover of the said aperture is closed the spring presses the
nutmeg in contact with the roughened side of the grater, which being turned
on its axis quickly reduces the said nutmeg; the powdered or grated particles
passing away through the exit aperture which is formed in one side of the
cylindrical chamber.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office, on
the 1st November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 "AN
IMPROVED NUTMEG GRATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Robert Lake, 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 Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
forming a part of this Specification :-
The said Invention relates to the construction of an apparatus in which the
nutmegs to be grated or reduced are placed between a rotating cylindrical
grater and a spring presser which are enclosed in a case or holder; and the
said Invention consists chiefly in the arrangement of the said grater and
presser within the case or holder, and in the peculiar construction of the
latter. The said case is formed with a cylindrical chamber to receive the
grater, and with a hollow neck or extension in which the spring presser is
placed. The said presser is so formed and arranged that one end lies in the

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
b
Figure 1 is a side view of my improved apparatus; Figure 2 is a longi-
tudinal section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end view of the
said apparatus. Like letters indicate the same parts in each of the Figures.
The case or holder a is preferably constructed of wood, the cylindrical
chamber a¹ for receiving the grater 6 being in the centre, the hollow neck a³
projecting on one side, and a handle as by which the case is held being formed
or fixed on the other side of the said chamber. The grater b is formed of tin
or other suitable metal, and is perforated and roughened in the usual manner.
The said grater has a central axis or spindle c secured to circular plates b¹
which form the ends of the grater b. These ends work in contact with
plates d of brass or other suitable metal, which are fitted to the outside of the
case or holder a, and are connected to the ends of the grater 6 by screws e,
which keep the said grater properly in place in the chamber a'. A handle f
is attached to one end of the grater 6 and lies at the side of the apparatus in
a convenient position to be turned by one hand while the apparatus is held in
the other hand. The presser y has a concave disc h at the end near the
grater b, which disc is perforated or roughened in the same manner as the
grater to hold the nutmeg firmly while the same is being reduced.
A spiral
spring i attached to the back of the concave disc h extends through the neck
or extension a³ of the case a, and rests against the lid or cover j of the
aperture in the said neck. This lid or cover is preferably formed with grooves
or channels ¹ partially around its circumference, which grooves correspond
with projections k on the end of the neck a². These grooves and projections
are so arranged that by turning the cover j partially round it can be released
or secured. This end of the spring i is provided with a foot or bearing 1 to
give it a better support, and when the lid or cover j is closed the spring i
presses the nutmeg in contact with the roughened exterior of the grater b, as
shown in Figure 2. The grater being then turned on its axis quickly
reduces the said nutmeg, while the powdered or grated particles pass away
through the exit aperture m which is formed in one side of the cylindrical
chamber a¹.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I claim the holder a, grater b, with handle f,
concave disc h, spring i, and cover j, constructed, combined, and operating
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
THOS. N. PALMER,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
8, Southampton Buildings, W.C.