IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Hempsted, of Grantham, in the County
of Lincoln, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Hempsted at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th May 1874.
I, ROBERT HEMPSTED, of Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, SLICING, AND PULPING TURNIPS AND OTHER
ROOTS," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or
apparatus for cutting, slicing, and pulping turnips and other roots, and
relates, firstly, to a novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby

page_text: the machine may be readily and quickly arranged to work as either a
cutter, slicer, or pulper, as may be desired.
When the machine is arranged to act as a slicer the slicing blade and
other parts are arranged in the manner now commonly adopted, but
when it is desired to arrange the machine to act as a turnip cutter the
small knives are fixed to the back of the disc by means of the same bolts
which fasten the slicing blade to the front thereof. When however it
is desired to arrange the machine to act as a pulper the small knives
and the slicing blade are removed from the disc and a plate carrying the.
pulper knives is caused to occupy the space previously occupied by the
slicing blade and small knives, and is fixed to the disc by means of
the same bolts passing through the same holes used to fix the slicing
blade and small knives to the disc.
The Invention relates, secondly, to a novel mode of fixing the small
knives to the bar. For this purpose I form the small knives flat and
with their shanks standing at right angles to the direction of the knives
but in the same plane. Through each of the shanks I form a hole, and
between the shanks I place distance pieces formed with grooves or
recesses to receive the shanks of the knives, and with holes corresponding
with those in the shanks. I then pass a bolt through all the shanks
and distance pieces and by means of a nut firmly compress or bind them
altogether so as to form a bar. Some of the distance pieces are also
provided with lugs or projections, by means of which the bar of small
knives may be fixed to the disc when desired.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to a novel mode of mounting and fixing
the pulping knives. For this purpose instead of fixing the pulping
knives in the disc as heretofore I fix them to a plate having suitable
holes formed therein to receive the knives, which are driven into such
holes from the back of the plate; and in order to fix such knives in
position and prevent their being pushed out at the back of the plate
I fix another plate to the back of the first named plate, and bearing
against the back ends of the pulping knives, and the back plate is
provided with holes by which it can be fixed to the disc when desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Hempsted in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th November 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HEMPSTED, of Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Robert Hempsted, Her special license
that I, the said Robert Hempsted, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Hempsted, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, SLICING, AND PULPING TURNIPS AND OTHER ROOTS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Hempsted,
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 Robert Hempsted, 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 :-
The Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or
apparatus for cutting, slicing, and pulping turnips and other roots, and
relates, firstly, to a novel construction and arrangement of the parts
whereby the machine may be readily and quickly arranged to work as
either a cutter, slicer, or pulper, as may be desired.

page_text: When the machine is arranged to act as a slicer the slicing blade and
other parts are arranged in the manner now commonly adopted; but
when it is desired to arrange the machine to act as a turnip cutter the
small knives are fixed to the back of the disc by means of similar bolts
to those which fasten the slicing blade to the front thereof. When
however it is desired to arrange the machine to act as a pulper the small
knives and the slicing blade are removed from the disc and a plate
carrying the pulper knives is caused to occupy the space previously
occupied by the slicing blade and small knives, and is fixed to the disc
by means of some of the same bolts passing through some of the same
holes used to fix the slicing blade and small knives to the disc.
The Invention relates, secondly, to a novel mode of fixing the small
knives to the bar. For this purpose I form the small knives flat and
with their shanks standing at right angles to the direction of the knives
but in the same plane. Through each of the shanks I form a hole, and
between the shanks I place distance pieces formed with grooves or
recesses to receive the shanks of the knives, and with holes corresponding
with those in the shanks. I then pass a bolt through all the shanks and
distance pieces, and by means of a nut firmly compess or bind them all
together so as to form a bar. Some of the distance pieces are also
provided with lugs or projections by means of which the bar of small
knives may be fixed to the disc when desired.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to a novel mode of mounting and
fixing the pulping knives. For this purpose instead of fixing the
pulping knives in the disc as heretofore I fix them to a plate having
suitable holes formed therein to receive the knives, which are driven
into such holes from the back of the plate; and in order to fix such
knives in position and prevent their being pushed out at the back of the
plate I fix another plate to the back of the first named plate and bearing
against the back ends of the pulping knives, and the back plate is pro-
vided with holes by which it can be fixed to the disc when desired.
And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood
and readily carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying
Drawings more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 are two opposite side views of the disc of a machine
which can be readily arranged according to my Invention to be used

page_text: desired; rigure 3 is a sectional end view and figure is an cage VIEW
of the same.
Figure 5 is a side view of the slicing knife or blade.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 are detail views of the bar of small knives showing
the mode in which I make up the bar.
Figures 9 are detail views of one of the pulper knives separately; and
Figure 10 and 11 are a cross section and plan showing my improved
mode of fixing and mounting the pulper knives; and Figure 12′ shows a
slight modification in the form of the various cutters.
a is the disc of the machine to which the various cutters are fixed;
b is the slicing blade which is fixed to the front of the disc a by means
of bolts c passing through holes a' in the disc a. When however it is
desired to arrange the machine to act as a turnip cutter the small
knives e are fixed to the back of the 'dise a by means of similar bolts c
to those which fasten the slicing blade to the front thereof, such bolts
passing through holes a' in the disc a. When however it is desired to
arrange the machine to act as a pulper the small knives e and the slicing
blade bare removed from the disc a and a plate ƒ carrying the pulper
knives fis caused to occupy the space previously occupied by the slicing
blade b and small knives e, and is fixed to the disc a by means of some of
the same bolts c passing through some of the same holes a¹, a³, used to
fix the slicing blade band small knives e to the disc a. At Figure 12
I have shown the various cutters b, e, f, arranged in curved lines.
The second part of my Invention consists in a novel mode of fixing
the small knives e to the bar. For this purpose I form the small knives e
flat and with their shanks e¹ standing at right angles to the direction of
the knives but in the same plane, as shown; through each of the shanks e¹
I form a hole, and between the shanks I place distance pieces e² formed
with grooves or recesses to receive the shanks e¹ of the knives and with
holes corresponding with those in the shanks e'; the holes in the
shanks e¹ and in the distance pieces e² I form square, and I pass a square
bolt es through all these parts, and by means of a nut et firmly compress
or bind them all together so as to form a bar of small knives; some of
the distance pieces e² are also formed with lugs or projections e³, by
which the bar may be fixed to the disc a, when desired, by means of:

page_text: neans of fixing the pulper knives f to the disc a, in manner substantially
s herein shown and described.
And, Fifthly. I claim the mode herein described of fixing the pulper
knives f, and the employment of a plate f acting against the back ends
hereof when such pulper knives are fixed directly in the disc a.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Hempsted, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.