IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING POMFRET OR LIQUORICE CAKES, ROLLS, STICKS, AND PIPES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF CONFECTIONERY
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wood, of Monkhill, near Pontefract, in
the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS
OF MANUFACTURING POMFRET OR LIQUORICE CAKES, ROLLS, STICKS, AND PIPES,
AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF CONFECTIONERY."
Sealed the 12th May 1863, and dated the 21st February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
February 1868.
I, WILLIAM WOOD, of Monkhill, near Pontefract, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING POMFRET OR LIQUORICE CAKES, ROLLS, STICKS, AND
PIPES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF CONFECTIONERY," to be as follows:-
In the Patent granted to me on the 11th February 1862, No. 356, for
"Improvements in the Process of Manufacturing Pomfret or Liquorice Cakes,"
I described processes for making Pomfret cakes from paste or dough in a drier
state than that ordinarily used. My present improvements in this part of the
process consist in the application of certain portions of the apparatus, described
in the Patent alluded to, to the manufacture of Pomfret cakes from paste
or dough of the consistency of that ordinarily used when the cakes are made
by hand. For this purpose I make use of a number of boards or plates on
which the paste is spread out, as a sheet of the desired thickness, lard, or other
suitable material being previously applied to the boards or plates to prevent
adhesion thereto, and also on the upper surface of the sheet to prevent
adhesion in the subsequent parts of the process. These boards or plates

page_text: having the material thereon are then placed on a moveable platform, and
passed in succession under reciprocating stamps and cutters, somewhat similar
to those shewn on Sheet 3 in the Specification of my previous Patent, No. 356;
the device of the cake is stamped on the sheet, and then the stamped part cut
out, or the stamps may work inside the cutters, which stamps first descend
and stamp the sheet, and then having risen the cutters descend and cut out
the stamped part. The boards or plates having the stamped and cut sheet
thereon are then placed in a heated room, or otherwise dried, when the cakes
are removed therefrom. In lieu of passing the board or plate and sheet of
material under reciprocating stamps and cutters, I sometimes pass the same
under rollers, one of which has the stamps mounted thereon, and the other
has cutters set therein, means being provided that the cutters shall register
with or correctly cut out the stamped part of the sheet. In cutting out the
stamped pattern, whether it be made in wet or dry paste, I sometimes make
the cutters of a hexagonal form, so that the sheet is entirely used up without
leaving a web.
My improvements in the formation of Pomfret cakes also consist in the use
of two rollers, on the surface of one of which recesses of the size and thickness
of the cakes are closely formed, and the device engraven therein; around the
other, which is plain, passes an endless band, bands, or sheet of metal or other
suitable material; this band is kept in close contact with the figured roll by
the plain roller, and the paste being placed in contact therewith is drawn
between the rollers, the pressure of which forces away all the material, except
such as enters the sunken moulds on the figured roller, and as this roller has had
lard or other suitable material previously applied to it to prevent adhesion
thereto, the formed cakes adhere to the endless band, bands, or sheet, which
are then carried onwards for a sufficient length through enclosed chambers or
spaces, and having a strong current of air heated or otherwise produced
therein; the cakes are thereby dried or set when they are disengaged from
the endless band, bands, or sheet.
My improvements in the manufacture of liquorice rolls, sticks, and pipes
Patent
consist in forming the paste or dough in the manner described in my
of 11th February 1862, No. 356, when making Pomfret cakes, and of a drier
consistency than at present used. This paste I prefer to form into a sheet or
band, and then form it into rolls or sticks, which can be conveniently done by
passing it between rollers having grooves formed round them transverse to
their axes, which cut up and mould the paste sheet or band into round or
other shaped strips, either by the highest points or cutting edges of the grooves
coming in contact, or by the grooves being made so as to pass into each other;

page_text: the strips, being removed from the grooves by scrapers, or by endless bands,
chains, or otherwise, are then cut into any desired lengths. I also form
liquorice paste into hollow pipes, a convenient mode of doing which is by
placing a fixed mandril or mandrils in the grooves between the rollers, and
using two sheets, one above and the other below the mandril or mandrils, or
by using corrugated sheets, which sheets are by the pressure of the rolls
welded or pressed together at their edges, so as to form a hollow pipe or pipes;
or in lieu of a fixed mandril or mandrils I use sticks or pipes, which, being
placed in the same position as the mandrils, are drawn in between the upper
and lower sheets, which, being welded or pressed together at the edges by the
rollers, enclose the sticks, rolls, or pipes previously formed; this mode of
covering or adding layers of material may be repeated, if desired. I also make
rolls or sticks of the dough or liquorice paste, which I prefer in the form of a
sheet or band by rollers, in which the grooves are parallel with their axes.
Pipes may also be made by grooves parallel with the axis by using two sheets,
in which case the upper and lower sheets are bedded into the grooves before
the sheets come in contact by other rollers having ridges fitting into the
grooves, whereby the sheets are corrugated crosswise, and then welded or
pressed together at the points of contact; other previously formed sticks or
pipes may, when desired, be dropped into the grooved sheets and embedded
therein. In both cases I make the grooves either rounded or of any other
desired form; and I prefer to engrave or configurate the surface of the grooves,
so as to produce any desired pattern, device, or name on the liquorice rolls,
sticks, or tubes.
Liquorice rolls are now sometimes made by forcing the paste out of a tube
or receiver through holes; my improvements in this part consist in making
such rollers hollow pipes, which I effect by placing a suitable mandril or core in.
each orifice, partially filling the same, one or several of such orifices being.
employed, so that the liquorice paste shall be forced out between the dio or
moulding orifice and the core or mandril. In lieu of a solid mandril or core,.
I sometimes place in each orifice a tube to act as a mandril or core, through
which any suitable material and of any shape may be drawn or otherwise
moved simultaneously with the liquorice paste passing outside the tube. These
pipes, whether hollow or filled, are, if desired, marked or figured on their outer
surfaces by passing between figuring rollers placed at the end of the nozzle or
orifice, and may then. be cut into lengths. These modes of making and
figuring liquorice rolls, sticks, and hollow or filled pipes, or coated rods, are
also applicable for manufacturing such articles from any other suitable con-
fectionery materials or combination of materials. When it is desired to make

page_text: the surface of liquorice cakes, rolls, or pipes, or other similar articles smoother.
and brighter, I find a convenient mode of doing so is by exposing the surfaces,
when the articles are in a dry state, to the action of steam for a few moments
and then re-drving them.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Wood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WOOD, of Monkhill, near Pontefract; in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Wood, Her special licence that I, the said William
Wood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Wood, 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 "I-
PROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING POMFRET OR LIQUORICE CAKES,
ROLLS, STICKS, AND PIPES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF CONFECTIONERY," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Wood, 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 Wood, 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
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
66
In the Patent granted to me on the 11th February, 1862, No. 356, for
Improvements in the Process of Manufacturing Pomfret or Liquorice Cakes,"
I described processes for making Pomfret cakes from paste or dough in a
dryer state than that ordinarily used. My present improvements in this part of

page_text: the process consist in the application of certain portions of the apparatus,.
described in the Patent alluded to, to the manufacture of Pomfret cakes from
paste or dough of the consistency of that ordinarily used when the cakes are
made by hand. For this purpose I make use of as many boards or plates of
any suitable material as will be sufficient for the quantity of paste prepared, on
which the paste is by. means of rollers coated with lard or oil, which I prefer
to be made of or coated with gutta percha, or otherwise spread out as a sheet
of the desired thickness,. a small quantity of lard. or other suitable material
being previously applied to the boards or plates to prevent too great adhesion
thereto, and also on the upper surface of the sheet to prevent adhesion in the
subsequent parts of the process; the stamps and cutters are also lubricated, as
hereafter mentioned, the relative quantities of lubricating material applied
being such that the sheet of paste will adhere to the boards or plates rather
than to the stamps and cutters. These boards. or plates having the material
thereon are then placed in succession on a moveable platform or endless cloth,
or carrying bands, arranged in the position of and actuated in the same
manner as the carrying wires L', shewn on Sheet 3 of my previous Patent,
No. 356, 1862, having projecting pins or pegs which fit into suitable holes
or recesses in the under side of the boards or plates, which are by the means
above alluded to passed under and stamped and cut by the reciprocating
stamps and cutters. By the first impression a row of devices is stamped on
one end of the sheet of material, which is then, by the movement given to the
board or plate carried as much forward as will bring a fresh part of the sheet
of material under the stamps; the part first stamped will then be under the
row of cutters which descend and cut out that part of the sheet stamped
previously, the row of stamps again descend at the same time, and form the
device on the portion of the sheet which is next to the first stamped part, a
small reciprocating oiling roller being after each impression passed under the
stamps and cutters as a further means of preventing any adhesion of the paste
to them. These operations are continued until the whole of the sheet of
material on the board or plate is stamped, and the stamped parts cut out. As
a modification of the above I sometimes place the stamps inside the cutters,
and cause them to descend first and stamp the device on the sheet, and then
the cutters descend as the stamps are rising and cut out the stamped parts.
When the sheet of paste is stamped and cut, the boards or plates having the
material thereon are placed in a heated room or current of air, and when the
cakes are sufficiently dry they are removed therefrom. In lieu of passing
the board or plate and sheet of material under reciprocating stamps and cutters,
I sometimes pass the same under rollers, one of which has the stamps mounted

page_text: thereon, and the other bas cutters set therein, means being provided that the
cutters shall register with or correctly cut out the stamped part of the sheet,
and also for suitable oiling apparatus to prevent the paste sticking to the
stamps and cutters. In cutting out the stamped pattern, whether it be made
in wet or dry paste, I sometimes make the cutters of a hexagonal form,
so that the sheet is entirely used up without leaving a web, but I nevertheless
prefer in such case that the device should be enclosed in the usual circular
rim, the hexagonal form being outside the rim.
My improvements in the manufacture of Pomfret cakes also consist in
moulding them in recesses in a similar manner to that shewn on Sheet 1 of my
Patent, No. 356, 1862, and in the use of a machine having two principal
rollers set therein, in and around one of which recesses are made close together,
wherein I form or place the figured dies or moulds, the surfaces of which are
sunk sufficiently to leave a space of the size and thickness of the cakes
required. For such dies or figured surfaces I prefer to use gutta percha;
around the other roller I pass an endless band, bands, or sheet of metal, or
other suitable material. This band is kept in close contact with the figured
roller by the plain one; the paste, of a suitable consistence, is then placed on
the band, where it is formed into an even layer of any desired thickness by
passing under a regulating straight-edge, and is drawn between the figured
roller and the endless band on the plain roller, the pressure forcing away all
the material except such as enters the sunken recesses or moulds on the
figured roller, and as this roller and its figured surfaces have had lubricating
material previously applied to them by means of an oiling roller or brush
revolving in contact with them, the material pressed into the recesses or
moulds is, after having passed between the rollers, drawn out of them by the
greater adhesion it has to the unoiled endless band or sheet, and is then carried
forward for a sufficient length through enclosed spaces or chambers, either
heated sufficiently or having a strong current of air heated or otherwise passed
through them, the speed of the endless band being so timed as to secure a
sufficient dryness of the cakes to allow of their being removed therefrom on
emerging from the enclosed spaces or chambers; the band or sheet returning
to the plain roller takes up a further quantity of paste, and the operations are
continued, the figured roller and its dies being continuously lubricated by the
oiling apparatus.
.
In lieu of making the figuring dies or moulds fixed in the recesses when
working with rollers and an endless band or sheet, I sometimes make them
moveable, or capable of being pushed in and out of the recesses, in a similar
manner to those shewn on Sheet 1 of my Patent, No. 356, 1862. These move-

page_text: able stamps being of a less diameter than the cakes required, being formed
without a rim, are fitted in suitable recesses, and have their surfaces sunk suffi-
ciently below the surface of the cylinder to contain as much paste as is
required for a cake; the surfaces of the dies having been oiled, the paste is,
by means of a screw pug mill or roller, in combination with a straight-edge to
remove the surplus forced into the recesses; the revolution of the roller con-
taining the charges of paste brings them opposite the endless band on the
plain roller, when the moveable dies are, by an inclined plane, as shewn in
my previous Patent, or by any other suitable means, pushed out of the recesses,
and thereby press the charges of paste on to the endless band of an enlarged
size, the rim or outer part of the cake being formed by such pressure to
allow of this being done. The plain roller and the endless band or sheet are
placed at about a quarter of an inch from the figured roller, so as to work
clear of it, and leave sufficient room for the expansion of the charges of paste
when pressed upon the band; the cakes thus formed adhere to the endless
band or sheet, and are then carried forward and dried in the manner pre-
viously stated.
In lieu of forming and drying the cakes on an endless band or sheet,
whether with fixed or moveable dies, I sometimes use boards, sheets, or plates
of any suitable size or material, which being passed between the plain and
the figured rollers, and otherwise treated in the same way as the endless sheet,
are, after passing between the rollers and receiving their deposit of cakes; also
in the same manner as the boards or plates firstly alluded to, placed to dry, as
previously explained.
In order to prevent any slip between the figuring rollers and endless bands
or sheets, or between the figuring rollers and the boards or plates, I connect
the rollers by toothed wheels, and on the plain roller fix pegs or pins which
take into suitable holes or recesses in the endless bands or sheets, or into the
under side of the boards or plates.
My improvements in the manufacture of liquorice rolls, sticks, and pipes
consist in forming the paste or dough in the manner described in my Patent,
No. 356, 1862, when making Pomfret cakes, and of a drier consistency than
at present used. This paste I prefer to form into a sheet or band, and then
form it into rolls or sticks by passing it between rollers having grooves formed.
round them transverse to their axes, which cut up and mould the paste, sheet,
or band into round or other shaped strips according to the shape of the grooves,
either by the highest points or cutting edges of the grooves coming in contact,
or by the grooves being made so as to pass into each other by forming the
projecting part on one roller opposite to a sunk groove in the other roller

page_text: the strips being removed from the grooves by scrapers or by endless bands,
chains, or otherwise, and then cut up into any desired lengths. I also form
liquorice paste into hollow pipes, a convenient mode of doing which is by
placing a fixed mandril or mandrils in the grooves between the rollers, and
using two sheets, one above and the other below the mandrils, or by using
corrugated sheets, which sheets are, by the pressure of the rolls, welded or
pressed together at their edges so as to form a hollow pipe or pipes, or in lieu
of a fixed mandril or mandrils I use sticks or pipes of any suitable material,
which, being placed in the same position as the mandrils, are drawn in between
the upper and lower sheets, which, being welded or pressed together at the
edges by the rollers, enclose the sticks, rolls, or pipes previously formed; this
mode of covering sticks or pipes by adding layers of material may be varied
or repeated, if desired. I also make rolls or sticks of the dough or liquorice
paste which I prefer in the form of a sheet or band, by passing it between
rollers in which the grooves are parallel with the axes; pipes may also be
made by grooves parallel with the axes of the rollers by using two sheets, in
which case the upper and lower sheets are bedded into the grooves before the
sheets come in contact by other rollers having ridges which fit into the
grooves, whereby the sheets are corrugated crosswise, and then welded or
pressed together at the points of contact. Other previously formed sticks or
pipes may, when desired, be dropped into the grooved sheets and imbedded
therein. Whether the grooves are made transverse or parallel to the axes of
the rollers, I make them either rounded or of any other desired form, and I
prefer to engrave or configurate the surface of the grooves so as to produce
any desired pattern, device, or name on the liquorice sticks or tubes.
When forming liquorice paste by any of the previously described modes into
rolls, sticks, or pipes, either solid or hollow, I apply suitable oiling or lubri-
cating rollers thereto in order to prevent the adhesion of the paste to the
working parts. Liquorice rolls are now sometimes made by forcing the paste
out of a tube or receiver through holes. My improvements in this part
consist in making such rolls hollow pipes, which I effect by placing a suitable
mandril in each orifice, partially filling the same, one or several of such
orifices being employed, so that the liquorice paste shall be forced out between
the die or moulding orifice and the core or mandril. In lieu of a solid
mandril or core I sometimes place in each orifice a tube to act as a mandril
or core, through which any suitable material and of any shape may be drawn
or otherwise moved simultaneously with the liquorice paste passing outside the
tube. These pipes, whether hollow or filled, are, if desired, marked or figured

page_text: on their outer surfaces by passing between figuring rolls placed at the end of
the nozzle or orifice, and may then be cut into lengths.
These modes of making and figuring liquorice rolls, sticks, and hollow or
filled pipes or coated rods are also applicable for manufacturing such articles
from any other suitable confectionery materials or combination of materials.
When it is desired to make the surface of liquorice cakes, rolls, sticks, or pipes, or
other similar articles smoother and brighter, I find a cheap and effective mode
of doing so is by exposing the surfaces by preference, when the articles are in
a dry state, to the action of steam for a few moments and then re-drying
them; this is conveniently effected by placing the boards or plates on which the
cakes are made and dried, with the cakes or other articles thereon, in a steam
chamber for a few seconds, or, when endless bands or sheets are used, by
passing them and the cakes or other articles through a steam box or chamber,
and drying off the surface moisture.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM WOOD. (L.S.)