An Improved Process and Apparatus for Converting Whole Grain into Bakers' Dough by a Single Operation.
Year: 1896

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c., Act, 1883), as allowed by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 8th day of May 1897.
Date of Application, 4th July, 1896-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1996
An Improved Process and Apparatus for Converting Whole Grain
into Bakers' Dough by a Single Operation.
A communication by AUGUSTE DESGOFFE and OCTAVE AVEDYK of 20 Avenue
Brugman, Brussels in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineers.
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND M.I.M.E., of the Firm of W. P. Thompson & Co.,
of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the County
of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick
and 322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex Patent Agent 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 :-
This invention has for its object to obtain bakers' dough direct from whole
grain in a single operation without previous milling. Among the numerous
advantages of this arrangement mention may be made more particularly of the
following-
1st. The suppression of the cumbersome mechanism and the costly manipulation
of the mill;
2nd. A raw material which may easily be preserved indefinitely in a wholesome
condition instead of flour which very easily deteriorates;
3rd. And more particularly the preservation in the bread of all the nutritive
qualities of the wheat comprising that of the bran which by this improved apparatus
is reduced into such impalpable fragments that it mixes in the dough under the
same conditions as the other parts of the wheat in such a way that it is impossible
to distinguish it and thus imparts to the bread very superior nutritive qualities
without interfering with its digestibility.
The operation whilst being performed in a single apparatus is composed in fact
of two distinct phases-
1st. The absolute disintegration of the grain previously soaked; and
2nd. The kneading and the smooth working of the paste thus obtained.
In order to be able to cope with these two manipulations, the apparatus is
composed of two distinct parts which, whilst fixed on one and the same shaft and
receiving consequently the same movement, operate on the same parts of the dough
in succession, but without any interruption, so that the soaked grain enters at
one end of the apparatus and dough perfectly kneaded emerges at the other end.

page_text: The apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a vertical section through the axis of the apparatus with the male
helix of the kneading and working device shown in side elevation;
Figure 2 is a view in perspective on a reduced scale of the whole apparatus;
Figure 3 is a detailed view on an enlarged scale of the male and female helices
of the disintegrator; and
Figure 4 is an end view of the kneader or worker with its helices indicated in
dotted lines.
Apart from the driving mechanism of the machine which may be easily understood
by reference to Figure 2, the apparatus is composed essentially of the disintegrator A
and of a kneader B which will each be separately described.
THE DISINTEGRATOR A.
This part of the apparatus is essentially composed of a casing C (female part)
rigidly fixed on a frame and of a long hollow mandrel D (male part) entering into
the casing C. An opening is arranged in the upper rear part of the casing C to
connect with the feed hopper E (Figure 2) by which opening the wheat enters
directly from the hopper in order to pass from end to end between the male and
female parts of the apparatus.
The casing C which is perfectly cylindrical on the outside is slightly tapered on
the inside and this conical or tapered surface is provided with a series of main
female helices having parallel spirals and presenting the section of a slightly
truncated cone in such a way as to have two faces instead of a single one. Between
two main consecutive helices are arranged throughout the casing the spirals of a
secondary helice less elevated than those of the main helices but also truncated.
The heights of the two series of helices continue diminishing from the one end
(feed) to the other end (discharge) and gradually become of equal height in such a
way that at the discharge end there are no longer main and secondary helices but
a single series of helices the spirals of which continue diminishing regularly. An
inspection of Figure 3 will sufficiently explain this arrangement.
. The mandrel D which revolves with the shaft F of the apparatus is provided
with male helices the spirals of which are directed in a contrary direction to those
of the female helices of the casing that is to say that if the female helices are
pitched to the right the male helices are pitched to the left.
The male helices also consist of a series of main helices the spirals of which are
higher than those of the main helices of the female part, the pitch or distance apart
of the spirals of the male part being proportional to the kind of grain on which it
is desired to operate. For wheat, a distance apart of the spirals of 6 millimetres
has been found to work perfectly. Between the spirals of the main helices
throughout the mandrel the spirals of two series of secondary helices are arranged
when it is a question of treating wheat at about 2 millimetres apart. From the
feed end the second helix is mounted on the slope of the spirals of the main helix,
which follows it immediately and gradually separates therefrom as it approaches
the discharge, and the same as with the female part the height of the spirals goes
on diminishing from the feed to the discharge so that at the discharge end there
are no longer main and secondary helices but a single arrangement of parallel
helices which continue diminishing uniformly to the discharge. As the body of
the mandrel remains cylindrical from one end to the other, and the spirals of the
helices diminish in height, it follows that their base diminishes in width, and affords
space for the spirals for the two series of secondary helices, one of which was at
first mounted on the slope of the main helix. The points of the spirals are also
truncated as with the female helices so that each presents two inclined faces.
Fig. 3, shows this arrangement in a sufficiently clear manner.
Experience has shown that the best inclination to give to all the helices
indiscrimiuately is preferably 17° 40' calculated as starting from a perpendicular.
to the axis of the helices, an angle which corresponds to an equal pitch at the

page_text: diameter. The profiles of the different helices will be similar triangles, the rear faces
of the male spirals (feed end) forming an angle of 45° with the vertical, and the front
faces (discharge end) having a batter of 1 These inclinations are reversed for
female helices, that is to say, that it is the front faces which form an angle of 45°
with the vertical, and the rear faces a batter of 10. The triangles representing the
longitudinal sections of the male helices, and those representing the longitudinal
sections of the female belices will have therefore their similar sides parallel.
Experience has shown that these arrangements and profiles of the helices form
intervals between the spirals which become filled completely, without vacancies or
accumulations and that the substance emerges therefrom in absolutely homogeneous
and continuous bands or strips.
THE KNEADING DEVICE B.
This part of the apparatus is formed of a box having a semi-cylindrical bottom
and composed of two parts bolted together. The lower half is of semi-circular
section and on its front face is provided with an opening G for discharging the
dough; the other half has the form of a rectangular box open at the top in order
to allow free access of air to the interior of the box. The shaft bearing the mandrel
of the disintegrator is prolonged into the interior of the kneading box thus formed
and carries a helix H, the body of the box being provided with a counter helix.
The spirals of the helix H which are also preferably pitched to 17° 40' like those
of the helices of their disintegrator are much higher and further apart than these
latter; this is of course necessary seeing that they serve for kneading and working
the dough, whilst the former served for crushing the grain.
It follows that the kneader can hold much more dough, than the crusher can
furnish in one revolution; the dough remains therefore, for some time in the
kneading machine in order to be there worked for a considerable space of time.
In order to render this kneading more energetic the spirals of the helix of the
kneader are provided with a series of notches J, thus forming beaters on the helix
which beat the dough during its movement. The spirals of the counter helix have
only little depth at the part lying in the lower cylindrical part of the box whilst in
the upper part they have more depth and project much more in order that they may
never become stopped by the dough and they thus constantly allow air to enter
by the upper orifice of the box. Although the aëration of the dough during the
kneading or working is eminently useful it is not absolutely indispensable and
its suppression when it is deemed possible to dispense with it, allows of the
kneading and working machine being made less bulky and the helix and counter
belix being replaced by a more simple apparatus such as for instance a kind of flat
rasp terminating the mandrel D and working in conjunction with a fixed surface
provided with planes inclined in an opposite direction to those of the rasp,
an opening in the centre of the fixed surface allowing the dough to escape.
In order to prevent any heating of the various parts of the apparatus, both the
hollow mandrel D and also the casing C are constantly traversed by streams
of water which flow through pipes and openings arranged in the shaft F and in the
casing C. The direction of these jets of water is sufficiently indicated in the
drawings by arrows, their entrance being shown at K and their discharge at L.
The apparatus works in the following manner :-
A sufficient quantity of soaked grain is poured into the hopper E, and engages
immediately between the spirals of the main male helices which serve to cause the
grain to advance towards the interior of the apparatus. During this advancement
the grains are crushed partly by their friction one with another and partly by their
contact with the sharp slopes of the secondary helices. In proportion to the
advancement, the number of slopes increases, seeing that the main and auxiliary
helices separate, and the grain, thus triturated and crushed, arrives at the end of
the grinding apparatus in a state of paste, the molecules of which are impalpable,
and in which the brau is no longer recognizable. This paste is then received by the

page_text: kneading and working device in which it is kneaded for a considerable time between
the helix and the counter helix, beaten by the wings formed by the recess J and
aërated during all this time of kneading in such a way that on its discharge from
the apparatus it is ready to receive the yeast.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A process for the transformation of whole grain into bakers' dough in a single
-operation, consisting in crushing the previously soaked grain between the spirals of
a series of male and female helices having their spirals arranged in an opposite
direction one to the other and in forcing the dough thus obtained to pass without
interruption between the spirals of a kneading helix fixed on the same motor shaft
in order to be there worked with or without the free access of air into the dough,
substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. An apparatus for carrying out the herein described process, characterized by
several series of male and female helices converging from the feed end to the
discharged end, and all preferably pitched to 17° 40' to a perpendicular from the
axis, some of which helices serve at the commencement to cause the grain to
advance, and others to decorticate it, until both together, because of their
convergence, unite or assist in reducing the grain and the bran to an impalpable
paste which is then seized by a kneading and working device fixed on the same
shaft as the male helices of the crushing apparatus; substantially as hereinbefore
described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 3rd day of July 1896
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.