IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Edward. Gedge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th August 1869.-A communication from abroad by Chrétien Haffner,
of Thann, in the Empire of France.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No.
11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES," a
communication to me from abroad by Chrétien Haffner, of Than, in the Empire
of France, to be as follows:-
In the accompanying Sheets of Drawing forming part of this Provisional
Specification, Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a longitudinal elevation of the improved
machine, the subject of this Invention; Figure 2, Sheet 1, plan; Figure 2*
section of nipper detached; Figure 3, Sheet 2, side view of machine ;
Figure 4, transverse section; Figure 5, inclined wick bobbins, and Figure 6,
arrangement of head mould drawn full size. The tallow in fusion is poured
into the troughs or buckets A (see Figure 4, Sheet 2,) beneath which are
fitted the vertical tin moulds B, they are closed at the lower part by a bottom
(or head mould) C, which may rise and fall with gentle friction. The whole
is contained in a cold water tank D, which rapidly cools the moulds, the water
is renewed at will according to the indications of a thermometer with float.
When the tallow is well set by means of a crank E, a pinion, toothed wheels G,
and four vertical racks H, fitted to a horizontal platform I (see Figure 3, Sheet 2),
a series of hollow vertical rods J are raised upwards penetrating the moulds'at

page_text: their lower part and lifting all the bottoms or head moulds at once, whieh
causes all the candles to pass out at the top. The wick L is delivered in
continuous length from as many bobbins M as there are moulds, the bobbins
being placed under the machine, see Figure 1, Sheet 1. The wick enters the
hollow rod, then the bottom piece C, and from thence passes to the mould B.
When one cast has set, the movement upwards of the candles K draws out the
wick L (Figure 4, Sheet 2), for the next moulding, and when that is in its
turn completed the wick is cut above, and so on continuously. With a
longitudinal and moveable arrangement of the nipper P (Figure 4) lined with
fustian the candles are held as they leave the machine, so that the wick beneath
remains in the axis of the moulds for the next lot to be run, and also so that
the bottom piece which moulds the head of the candle may easily detach itself
and descend without drawing it with it. To facilitate the construction and
repair of the machine the trough is first placed so that its holes are vertically
above those at the bottom of the tank; each of the moulds is then introduced
from below, screws upwards into the bottom of the tank, and is tightened by a
shoulder a (see Figure 4, Sheet 2), the upper part B of the moulds is thus easily
guided and introduced into the corresponding hole of the trough, and a mould
may easily be withdrawn and replaced without interfering with the other, and
even without interrupting their work. It may happen that in consequence of
the strains the machine has to bear and the elasticity of its parts, the arrange-
ment of the mould, the moveable bottom or head mould, the hollow tube, and
the hole by which this is let into the platform, are no longer exactly vertical,
which will cause breaking and tearing of the tin moulds. To obviate this
inconvenience the said arrangement is jointed (see Figure 6, Sheet 2.) The
moveable bottom piece or head mould is pierced longitudinally by a hole of
equal diameter with the wick; a small copper tube 9, primitively cylindrical in
its entire length, is soldered to the mould. The lower extremity of this copper
tube is inserted in an iron cap e, through a hole large enough to permit play.
Then with a conical tool the lower part of the copper tube is spread and opened
so that it cannot leave the cap, where it remains loosely jointed. The cap e is
thus at a variable height on the upper end of the bollow tube f, and instead of
placing a simple nut at the lower part of the hollow tube to fix it to the platform,
which would give it a tightness and stiffness, which is to be avoided, the lower
end of the tube enters into a slightly larger hole in the platform, and is there held
by two nuts, the one above the other, beneath the platform I. The surfaces
of these nuts which are in contact with the platform are slightly arched, which
also permits a slight oscillating motion. By a turn or two of the screw cap e the
relative length of the hollow rods may be increased or diminished, and irregu-

page_text: larities in the height of the moveable bottoms or head moulds be made to
disappear, so that they may completely attain the upper end of 'the moulds.
The nipping arrangement is as follows:-Between the two pair of nippers
A, A', and B, B', (see Figures 2 and 2*, Sheets 1) is fitted a longitudinal rod c,
to which a half turn may be given by means of the handle D'; this rod carries
cams E', which are vertical or horizontal according to the position of the rod.
When the cams are horizontal they drive apart the nippers A' and B; in this
dividing movement the nipper A' draws with it the nipper B', and presses it
against the nipper B; the nipper B carries with it the nipper A and presses
it against the nipper A¹; this is effected by means of transverse bolts H', the
head of each bolt being held in the inner side of the nippers A and B and.
the stem, penetrating without friction through the nippers which are on the
other side of the rod, as shewn in the Drawing. These stems are threaded at
their ends and receive two nuts well tightened against each other to keep
them secure. In this way A and A¹ come closer together, B and B' also
tighten, and thus the candles are held; the head moulds may lower, the
moulding of another batch be commenced, and when the tallow has set the
wicks are cut and the nippers loosened in order that the candles be taken off
the machine. To release the nippers one quarter turn in an opposite direction
to the first is given to the rod, the cams E' become vertical, the nippers A, A¹,
and B, B, loose and come apart by means of small spiral springs K' on the
tightening bolts H³, the entire arrangement of nippers rises in pivoting round
the horizontal axles L', and if too heavy to lift a counterweight may be used.
Instead of threading the bobbins carrying the wicks on a horizontal rod fixed
beneath the platform, which if one bobbin is empty necessitates the removal
of all that follow it to the end of the rod before it can be replaced, it is
proposed to apply to this machine an arrangement of bobbins analogous to
those which work in spinning and weaving and vertical bobbins M, or bobbins
inclined as at Figure 5, Sheet 2, in the direction of the lower opening of the
hollow rods. The vertical bobbins may be simple spindles planted in a holy
board l, and in this case longitudinal rods must be fitted to guide the thread in
winding off the bobbins. The small board 2 will have rollers n, so that the
whole of the bobbins may be advanced and retired during the working. of the
machine in order to change those which have been emptied. The new wick
must be sewn to the end of the preceding one.

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