Improvements in and relating to Churns.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th July, 1899-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Churns.
We, NELSON JEROME TUBBS, of Knoxville, in the County of Knox, and State
of Tennessee, Inventor, and TOM JAMES LANDRUM, of 224, Sixth Street, Louis-
ville, in the County of Jefferson, and State of Kentucky, Merchant, both in the
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 is an improvement in churns, and the object of said invention
is to provide a churn which shall be compact, strong and durable, and in operation
will be economical in producing the greatest amount of butter with the least
waste of material, and with a minimum expense of power.
The following specification enters into a detail description of the invention,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and numerals
thereon which designate the different parts.
In the drawings, forming a part of this specification
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a churn constructed in accordance
with this invention
Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the air-pump, including the devices for
connecting the cylinder of said pump with the hollow piston-rod.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the churn.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the lower dasher.
With reference to said drawings, A designates the supporting-base of the
apparatus upon which the barrel or churn body B is mounted, and adjoining
the churn body is bolted to said base, or preferably formed integral therewith,
a socket C, in which is stepped a tubular standard D, supporting the operating
mechanism of the churn. The standard is secured in the socket by a set-screw c,
and firmly braced by the inclined rods d d, bolted at their lower ends to the
base and connected at their contiguous upper ends to a collar D', slidable upon
the standard and held adjusted thereon by a set-screw d¹. Supported upon the
upper end of the tubular standard 1) is a casting or frame E, presenting a socket e,
receiving said standard, a vertical bearing-arm e¹, connecting-portion e², and
vertically-disposed yoke e, the latter forming the bearings for the dasher-rod,
hereinafter described. The casting or frame just described is provided with
lateral webs, as shown, permitting said frame to be made as light as possible
consistently with the required strength, while the yoke portion has a boss e¹,
forming a-bearing on a line with the bearing e5 at the upper end of the vertical
arm el
A horizontal power-shaft F is journaled in the bearings and e5, and to its
inner end is keyed a large bevel gearwheel G, while to the outer end is attached
a crank H, by which power is applied to said shaft. The bevel gearwheel
meshes with a pinion g fixed to the sectional dasher-rod I, said dasher-rod being
hollow, for the purpose hereinafter explained, and is journaled in the bearing-
boxes carried by the yoke of the casting or frame E, while its lower end, is

page_text: stepped in a socket b at the center of the bottom of the churn body. The dasher-
rod is spliced on a line with the upper end of the churn body, the joint being
covered and held fast by a collar, which fits the rod snugly and is limited in
its downward movement by a pin ..
Secured to the lower end of the dasher-rod, and located a slight distance above
the bottom of the churn is a dasher, comprising a rectangular plate K, having
blades and flaring wings k¹, said wings being all disposed at the same angle
with respect to the rotation of the dasher. The vertical portions of the dasher-
blades are provided with openings ², and extending diagonally across the
underside of the plate K are tubes L which are closed at their outer ends and
at their inner ends open into the hollow dasher-rod; said tubes having perfora-
tions near their outer ends which discharge in the direction of the rotation
of the dasher. The lower end of the dasher-rod is conical and bears in a
corresponding recess in the socket 6 to reduce friction and prevent lateral dis-
placement of said rod. Adjustably mounted upon the dasher-rod is a second
dasher M, consisting of a hub m, from which extend blades m¹ disposed in like
manner to the blades of a rotary fan, the deflection of said blades being such
with respect to the rotation of the dasher-rod as to force the cream downward.
This dasher is held in an adjusted position upon the rod by means of a set-
screw m³.
Within the churn body, and at the sides thereof, are located boards N, which
are vertically disposed and are of such width as not to interfere with the rotary
dashers, said boards being provided at their inner edge with a vertical series
of openings n, and at their lower ends with openings ¹. These boards are held
in place by spurs o, at their lower end, and a spur o¹ at their upper end, said
spurs entering the churn, the upper ends of the boards being firmly held in
such engagement by a cross-bar 0, of spring-wire, the central portion of which
is curved in the segment of a circle to give the required resiliency and not
interfere with any desired adjustment of the upper dasher.
At the upper end of the frame E, which supports the driving mechanism of the
churn, is integrally formed a ring e, internally threaded to receive the open end
of a pump-cylinder P, which is screwed thereinto. The cylinder encloses the
reciprocating piston R carrying a leather or flexible packing r, and provided in
the periphery of the head with grooves 1 through which and past the flexible
packing r air passes into the rear end of the cylinder on the outstroke of said
piston. The piston is operated by a pitman-rod S, connected to a wrist-pin s
carried by a wrist-wheel S keyed to the upper end of the sectional dasher-rod I,
and turned by said rod through the intervention of the gearing mechanism
herein before described. The air-pump is for the purpose of forcing air into
the churn body, or cream and milk therein, during the operation of churning,
the air being conducted through the hollow dasher-rod and out through the
perforations below the lower dasher. To this end the pump-cylinder is con-
nected to the hollow dasher-rod by a bent pipe T, extending from the rear end
of said cylinder into a chamber formed in the center of the upper bearing
for the dasher-rod, the latter having opposite perforations, establishing com-
munication between the chamber and bore in the dasher-rod.
From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying draw-
ings, the construction, operation and practical advantages of the invention will
be readily understood; for, upon the rotation of the dasher-rod, by means of
the crank and interposed gearing, a thorough agitation and complete aeration
of the cream and milk is effected, the dasher keeping up a rapid circulation
forcing the cream against the side boards and through the openings therein,
while the quantity of air that is introduced into the bottom of the churn will
serve in connection with the lower dasher to cause a further or more complete
agitation. It will also be noted that by providing the side boards or breakers
with a vertical series. of holes the currents caused by the dashers are broken
into fine streams, which creates a greater agitation of the cream.

page_text: When the churning operation is completed, the frame E can be swung upon
its supporting standard to a position to one side of the churn body, after disjoint-
ing the sections of the dasher-rod and loosening the set-screw in the socket e;
this will give free access to the barrel and permit the breakers and lower section
of the dasher-rod to be readily removed for the purpose of scraping the butter
therefrom.
By the particular construction and arrangement of parts constituting our im-
proved churning apparatus, the said parts can be readily disconnected and stored
in compact form so as to occupy but a minimum amount of space, and also permit
of the apparatus being readily assembled when required for use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is: -
1. In a churn, the combination, of the supporting-frame presenting bearings
for the dasher-rod and driving shaft, the upper bearing for the dasher-rod forming
an air-chamber and the supporting-frame extending upward beyond said air-
chamber and provided with a threaded opening; a hollow dasher-rod having
an opening entering the air-chamber and extending above the latter, and bevel-
gears for turning the dasher-rod from the driving-shaft; together with a wrist-
wheel secured to the extended upper end of the dasher-rod, a cylinder screwed
into the threaded opening of the supporting-frame, a pipe connecting the cylinder
to the chamber, a piston working in the cylinder, and a pitman-rod connecting
the piston to the wrist-wheel, as herein shown and described.
2. In a churn, the combination, of a supporting-frame for the driving
mechanism, comprising a standard D and a frame or casting E, the latter con-
sisting of a socket e receiving the upper end of the standard, a vertical bearing-
arme extended upward from said socket, an arm c² projecting horizontally from
the arm, and a vertically-disposed yoke e³, having upper and lower bearings for
the dasher-rod, a central bearing on a line with the bearing of the arm e¹, and
an upper extension e, provided with a threaded opening horizontally disposed,
the upper bearing for the dasher-rod forming an air chamber below the plane
of the threaded opening; together with a jointed hollow dasher-rod extended
above the air-chamber and having an opening entering the latter, a wrist-wheel
fixed on the extended end of the dasher-rod, a cylinder screwed into the threaded
opening of the frame, a pipe connecting the cylinder to the air-chamber, a piston
working in the cylinder, and a pitman-rod connected to the piston and wrist-
wheel, substantially as shown and described.
3. In a churn, the combination with a barrel, of the boards or breakers N
provided with a vertical series of openings n and an opening at their lower
end; spurs and o projecting from the breakers, and a curved cross-bar engaging
the upper ends of said breakers; together with a dasher presenting a plate,
blades projecting upward from the plate and flared outward at their upper
ends, the vertical portion of the blades having openings therethrough, and
tubes on the underside of the plate provided with outlet openings at their outer
ends; a hollow dasher-rod carrying the dasher and connected to the tubes, and
means for forcing air into the hollow dasher-rod, substantially as shown and
described.