Improvements in Centrifugal Churns.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Nov., 1891-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1891 -
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Centrifugal Churns.
I, ROBERT EDWARD EVENDEN of St. Kilda in the Colony of Victoria, Nail
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to horizontally rotating centrifugal churns or
machines for manufacturing butter.
A churn constructed according to this invention consists of a circular vessel
mounted so as to be capable of rotation around a vertical spindle. Within the
circular vessel and secured to the vertical spindle is a pair of radial beaters which
may either be stationary or may be rotated in a direction opposite to the direction
of rotation of the circular vessel. The bottom of the vessel is furnished near its
periphery with an opening or openings provided with slides which may be operated
during the rotation of the vessel by a suitable cam mechanism so as to permit of the
escape of the buttermilk into a stationary pan.
The top and sides of the circular vessel are constructed to be easily removable
from the bottom, so that the butter which has formed in an annular wall against
the sides may be removed. The standards or brackets carrying the stationary pan
carry also the bearings of the driving shaft.
Dated this 16th day of January A.D. 1891.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Centrifugal Churns.
1, ROBERT EDWARD EVENDEN, of Barkly Street, St. Kilda, in the Colony of
Victoria, Nail Manufacturer, 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 :-
These improvements relate to horizontally rotating centrifugal churns for
manufacturing butter.
The churn consists essentially of a rapidly rotating circular dish or vessel,
adapted to circulate the cream and furnished with fixed shares or blades. The
operations of washing and drying are performed in the churning vessel which
for these purposes is provided with an interior screen through which the butter
globules will not pass, and with a valve whereby the buttermilk and wash-water
are drained off.
In order to make the construction of my churn and the method of operation
thereof fully understood, reference is had to the annexed sheet of explanatory
Irawings illustrative of the type of machine 1 prefer to use in practice. In these
drawings
Figure 1 is a part vertical section and a part side elevation.
Figure 2 is a plan view, Figure 3 detail of the valve gear, and Figure 4 an
alternative form of share having intermediate blades, while
Figure 5 shews part of the removable screen.
A is the pan or vessel, and B is a central vertical spindle secured to the boss B¹
carried by webs or bridge bars B2 extending from the buttermilk and wash-water
annular race C. D is the driving shaft, provided with a crank handle D¹. D' is
a bevel wheel gearing with the bevel, pinion B3 which is arranged to rotate the
pan A.
As an alternative arrangement a pulley may be fixed on a boss screwed

page_text: A¹ is
into or formed integrally with the pan or vessel and motion communicated thereto
by means of a cord or a belt. E is a hollow hub having arms E' springing there-
from and carrying the shares or diverting blades E2. E3 is a coupling nut.
an annular cover for the pan A, and A' is a drip groove. A³ is the buttermilk
and wash-water outlet port, and A' is a slide cover thereon having a race A at its
back. A is a screwed pin over whose upper end, this race passes, the position of
-the pin being capable of adjustment by a milled thumb nut A7. F is a casing
surrounding the pan A, its lower edge passing into the race C. C is an outlet
spout. G is the movable screen, a part only of which is shewn in Figure 2. It is
formed of perforated wood or metal made in sections and placed against the inner
surface of the pan.
The hub E fits the reduced part of the spindle B as shewn and may be rotated
around the same; it has a turned conical collar E fitting the lower hollow part of
the nut E³ and with it forms a friction clutch by means of which the said hub E
may be locked to the stationary spindle B and thus be prevented from being swept
round by the body of cream which revolves with the pan. Any device that will
effectively lock the part E to the part B may be used in lieu of the clutch gear
described. The cover A' and the casing F may be removed at will; the former is
secured to the pan by bayonet catches.
Once in every revolution of the pan the top end of the pin A passes
between the jaws of the race or guide A' and the position of the slide valve is
regulated accordingly.
In an alternative arrangement the spindle is secured in the pan or vessel and
both rotate, the shares being secured to an independent spindle or bracket and made
capable of being brought into the pan and lifted out of it as may be necessary.
If desired the shares I may be socketed pivotally on spindles secured to the radial
arms E and balanced so that when in motion their entering edge will press lightly
against the periphery of the pan.
It is evident that the construction of the apparatus might be modified in such a
way that the pan could be set on a horizontal axis instead of on a vertical axis as
shewn, and that the shares might be made to rotate in a direction opposed to that
in which the churn moves. The principle on which the operation of the machine
depends differs from that applied in churns hitherto known, in that in the old
system concussion and violent inixing have been the means by which the separation
has been effected, whilst in the present invention the separation is brought about
by diverting or deflecting a compact stream of cream in motion. As my invention
therefore marks a new departure in the art of extracting butter from cream, 1 do
not restrict the scope of the same to the particular construction of apparatus
described and illustrated since it is obvious that it may be varied in many ways.
The method of operation of the machine illustrated in the drawings is briefly as
follows,―
The pan is charged with cream to about two-thirds of its total capacity, and is
then rotated, the clutch being meanwhile screwed hard down to prevent the shares.
being carried round with the cream torrent. The speed of rotation of the pan must
be such as will give a peripheral velocity of about 500 feet per minute. When the
rotary motion has been continued for a short time, butter in particles or globules
appears in the cream as it passes the shares, the rotation being continued until all
the butter present has been separated. The machine is then stopped and its cover
removed to allow the butter-screens to be placed in the pan as near as possible to
its side, and the clutch nut E³ is loosened to allow the shares to revolve with the
pan. The cover A' is then again placed in position and the machine set in motion and
when the contents have again assumed the form of an annular wall, the valve A is
opened to drain off the buttermilk and dry the butter. The churning operation is
usually completed within three minutes.
When it is desired to wash the butter, wash-water in any desired quantity is run
into the pan during its rotation and this wash-water passing through the wall of
butter deposited on the screens washes it thoroughly. If desired or found advisable

page_text: the wash-water may be cooled before being used, in order to harden the butter.
Nozzles may be provided also through which a stream of cold or warm water may
be directed against the outer surface of the pan to regulate the temperature of its
contents.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A butter churn constructed arranged and operating substantially as herein-
before described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In a butter churn, the combination and arrangement with a rotary pan or
vessel in which the cream is placed, of fixed shares or blades arranged in the path
of the cream, substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
3. In a butter churn, the combination and arrangement with a rotary pan or
vessel in which the cream is placed, of shares or blades arranged to rotate at a less
angular velocity than the pan in the path of the cream, substantially as herein before
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
4. In a butter churn of the type herein before described, the combination and
arrangement of a strainer or screen with an escape valve or outlet for the waste,
substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
5. In a butter churn of the type hereinbefore described, the combination and
arrangements with a rotary pan or vessel having an annular cover, of intercepting
blades and parts and devices for attaching them to their spindle; substantially as
herein before described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
6. The combination and arrangement with a rotary churn pan or vessel such
as A, of a port or ports A³ furnished with a slide cover A' A', the regulating
device A and A, the annular race C and the external casing F, substantially as
herein before described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 20th day of November A.D. 1891.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.