An Improved Method and Means of Mixing Butter and Margarine and Analogous Substances.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 4th July, 1890-Accepted. 16th Aug., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method and Means of Mixing Butter and Margarine
and Analogous Substances.
We CHARLES GIBSON and ARTHUR LILLEY both of Metropolitan Chambers
63 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London Engineers and EUGEEN JEAN MAAS
of 564 Mile End Road London in the County of Middlesex Provision Merchant do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved method and means of mixing butter and
margarine or other like or analogous substances which it is desired to thoroughly mix
and amalgamate and our method is as follows :-
We arrange and construct and apparatus which acts as a kind of pump the
substances to be mixed being pressed under the head of the plunger or piston then
forced or lifted up towards the top of the cylinder or casing and forced into same
again whereupon the plunger or ram comes down on it and again squeezes it out this
operation being repeated until the substances are sufficiently mixed when such
compound is removed from the apparatus and fresh substances supplied thereto to be
mixed as before by pressure.
The apparatus consists of a piston or plunger actuated in any well known or suitable
manner so as to give it a reciprocating motion for instance by a crank and horizontal
overhead beam (as in the well known "beam-engine") driven by any convenient
motive power or by hand.
This head or plunger fits tightly in a casing advantageously square but it may be
of other forms if desired and a strong slab of slate or other suitable material forms the
endi.e. the bottom of the casing upon which the butter etcetera is squeezed.
Openings are arranged around the bottom of the casing just on a level with said
bottom through which the butter etcetera is forced by the pressure of the plunger and
is received by a series of buckets or receptacles which we term "lifters" each of which
moves in a tight fitting casing such lifters being each connected to the aforesaid beam
or other actuating mechanism which move same up and down with the plunger such
lifters being arranged a little lower down than the level of the bottom of the plunger
and a stop or abutment is provided just over each of several slots or openings towards
the top of the casing between the plunger and the lifters.
Thus when the lifters are raised up--just as the plunger has passed up clear of these
slots the lifters force the butter etcetera through the higher slots aforesaid and then
the plunger comes down again and squeezes the butter etcetera again against the
bottom and forces it again into the "lifters "this operation being repeated until the
materials are sufficiently mixed.
Suitable openings or other means are provided for gaining access to the bottom of
the casing to remove the materials when sufficiently mixed and for cleaning purposes
etcetera.
If desired slots or openings may be provided through which the material when
finished may be forced by the plunger out of the apparatus such openings or passages
being closed while the mixing is going on.
It will be obvious that our method of mixing butter and the like substances can
be carried out by a variety of means without departing from the nature of this
invention.
1000
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: An Improved Method and Means of Mixing Butter and Margarine
and Analogous Substances.
We CHARLES GIBSON and' ARTHUR LILLEY both of Metropolitan Chambers
63 Queen Victora Street in the City of London Engineers and EUGEEN JEAN MAAS
of 564 Mile End Road London in the County of Middlesex Provision Merchant 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 relates to an improved method and means of mixing butter and
margarine or other like or analogous substances which it is desired to thoroughly mix
and amalgamate and for which purpose we proceed' as follows:-
We arrange and construct an apparatus which acts as a kind of circulating pump
the substances or mass to be mixed being pressed under the head of the plunger or
piston then forced or lifted up towards the top of the cylinder or casing and forced
into same again whereupon the plunger or ram comes down on it and again squeezes
it out this operation being repeated until the substances are sufficiently mixed when
such mixture or compound is removed from the apparatus and fresh substances
supplied thereto to be mixed or amalgamated as before by pressure.
The apparatus consists of a piston or plunger actuated in any well known or suitable
manner so as to give it a reciprocating motion for instance by a crank and horizontal
overhead beam (as in the well known "beam engine") driven by any convenient
motive power or by hand.
This ram head or plunger fits tightly in a casing advantageously square but it may
be of other forms if desired and a strong slab of slate or other suitable material forms
the end i.e. the bottom of the casing upon which the butter etcetera is squeezed and
also a similar slab may be arranged on the plunger head.
Openings are arranged around the bottom of the casing just on a level with said
bottom through which the butter etcetera is forced by the pressure of the plunger and
is received by a series of buckets or receptacles which we term "lifters" each of which"
moves in a tight fitting casing such lifters being each connected to the aforesaid beam
or other actuating mechanism which move same up and down with the plunger such
lifters being arranged a little lower down than the level of the bottom of the plunger
and a stop or abutment is provided just over each of several slots or openings towards
the top of the casing between the plunger and the lifters.
Thus when the lifters are raised up-just as the plunger has passed up clear of these
higher slots-the lifters force the butter etcetera through the higher slots aforesaid and
then the plunger comes down again and squeezes the butter etcetera again against the
bottom and forces it again through the lower slots into the lifters "this operation
being repeated until the materials are sufficiently mixed.
Suitable openings or other means are provided for gaining access to the bottom of
the casing to remove the materials when sufficiently mixed and for cleaning purposes
etcetera.
If desired slots or openings may be provided through which the material when
finished may be forced by the plunger out of the apparatus such openings or passages
being closed while the mixing is going on.
It will be obvious. that our method of mixing butter and the like substances can
be carried out by a variation of the foregoing means without departing from the
nature of this invention.
And in order that our invention may be the more easily understood and readily
carried into practice we will proceed to further describe same with reference to the
drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS,
Figure 1 shows a side elevation of an apparatus arranged and constructed according
to our present invention-one side being arranged to open on a hinge for gaining
access to the interior of the main mixing chamber and such side being shown
"
opened "the view being taken in the direction of the arrow a Figures 2 and 4.
Figure 2 is a plan of the machine or apparatus.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on line 2-2 Figure 4.
Figure 4 is a horizontal cross section on line 1-1 Figure 3.
The drawings represent a small hand driven machine and will serve to illustrate
our invention as we make no claim to the manner of actuating such machine or
apparatus.
a is the main mixing chamber and consists of four side walls a arranged in a
square in which the plunger b fits closely-being in fact a square piston.
In each of the four side walls a an opening or slot a' is arranged just above the
bottom c of the main mixing chamber ax and also in each of the said four side
walls a a second slot or opening a² is arranged.
Each pair of slots or openings a¹ and a respectively open into and form the
communication between the main chamber a* and an auxiliary chamber d having
a kind of piston or as we term it a lifter" ex therein-there being one such
chamber d'arranged on each side wall a thus there are four of these chambers d
arranged on the sides of the main mixing chamber a*.
Each lifter ex fits closely the casing forming its chamber d and each lifter has
rigidly fixed thereto two rods or connections e which also serve as guide rods and
each such pair of rods e are connected together near their top part by a cross pin el
which again carries the connecting rode fixed to the crosshead y which actuates
same.
This crosshead -to which the connecting rod & is also rigidly fixed-travels up
and down in a suitable guide frame formed by two uprights and cross bar =¹ and
this crosshead y is actuated so as to give the desired travel by any suitable means
such as a crank and connecting rod el connected thereto. and to the rod b', said
crank being fixed on the same axle or shaft as the spur wheel w which is actuated
by revolving the spur wheel (by hand) by means of the crank handle u all as
shown for the sake only of describing a workable machine.
The rods or connections e fit tightly in the openings-through which they work up
and down in the top of each chamber d and the lifter ex may have a lower
framework exx attached thereto to act as guide, etcetera.
The underside of the plunger may have a slate or marble or similar surface b×
provided on the underside thereof and also the bottom e may have a similar surface c*
on the top side thereof.
For gaining access to the machine one of the side walls a (and chamber d attached
thereto) is mounted on hinges f and is firmly held in its proper position while the
mixing operation is going on by a strong screw bolt g which screws into the bole h
provided for same see Figures 1 and 2.
By withdrawing this bolt g and disconnecting the rod e" from the crosshead y the
chamber d and wall a move outwards on the hinges and so form a door which
when opened as shown in Figure 1 and also as shown "opened in dotted lines in
Figure 2-thus permit free access to the interior of the chamber a*.
The butter and margarine or other mass or substances of a similar or analogous
character which it is desired to mix are placed in a heap upon the surface c of
the bottom c and the door is then shut and firmly secured by any suitable fastening
such as the screw bolt
9.
b
The machine is then started and the plunger & descending presses the mass and

page_text: squeezes same out through the openings a' in the side walls a-at this moment the
lifters ex are already just below the level of the bottom of the said openings a¹ and as
the plunger b descends further so also the lifter ex continues to descend in each
chamber & until the plunger bis at the bottom and has squeezed all the mass out of
the inain chamber a* through the four respective openings a¹.
The plunger then begins to move upwards and at the same time the four
"liftersex move upwards each carrying about a fourth of the whole body of the
mass under treatment until such substance in each chamber, d comes in contact with
the underside of the top d¹ of said chamber d whereupon it is squeezed ont of said
chamber d through the opening a back into the main chamber ax-the plunger b
having already passed apwards clear of the openings a so that the mass is now all
squeezed back again into the main chamber ax beneath the plunger which
immediately thereafter again descends and again squeezes the mass out through the
openings a at the bottom as before this being repeated sufficiently to mix the mass
under treatment according to the nature and requirements thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A machine for mixing butter and margarine or the like substances in which a
plunger such as in the main mixing chamber acts in combination and in conjunction
with one two or more "lifters" such as ex working in one two or more auxiliary
chambers such as d substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed.
2. We claim the side chambers such as d each such chamber d having a
* lifter"
such as ex working therein and having the top and bottom openings a¹ and a² doubly
connecting same to the main mixing chamber a substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed.
3. We claim a machine for mixing butter and margarine or other analogous
substances having a plunger in a main central mixing chamber and a number of
auxiliary chambers around same each having a "lifter" therein substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
4. We claim the improved method of mixing by pressure butter and margarine
while in a cold state by squeezing such substances under the head of a plunger and
so forcing same out of the main mixing chamber into smaller auxiliary chambers
from which latter it is forced back again into the opposite end of the said main
chamber and repeating the operation until the process of amalgamation or mixing is
complete substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
TI
1000
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Patentees.