An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Mixing Flour and similar Substances.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 15th July, 1896-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Mixing Flour and similar
Substances.
I, HUBERT BECKER, of 17 Breitestrasse, Berlin in the German Empire, Master-
baker, 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 :---
In bakeries it is often necessary, in preparing various kinds of baked goods, to mix
certain kinds of flour, for instance fine wheat flour with rye or other flour, in order to
make a certain definite kind of cake or bread. Hitherto it has been customary to mix
the flour in large troughs or compartments, in which the different kinds of four are
simply poured and then mixed with a spade. In these places the people mixing the
flour have to move about with naked feet, in order to turn over and efficiently mix the
meal with the help of a spade. The meal so mixed with a spade, remains for weeks in
this state, till used up; the meal, which is fully exposed to dirt and dust, being then
removed as required for baking. Even on these daily occasions, when a man takes
some of the meal away, he steps about in it with his naked feet, which indeed is
not to be avoided. Such an arrangement is to be utterly condemned not only
from an hygienic, but also from a practical point of view; and it can be superseded
by my apparatus, which enables flour of as many kinds and relative quantities as
may be desired, to be perfectly mixed in a most simple and rapid manner, and
the chief object of which is to mix only the quantity for a day's requirements,
taken from the flour bags, so that only clean flour is used.
This object is attained by the apparatus hereafter described, by putting the
different kinds of flour into certain "filling boxes" or hoppers, all of which lead to one
large (so-called) reservoir box. At the bottom of each hopper, a mixing apparatus
or distributer revolving about a horizontal axis is conveniently arranged, which
receives the flour and, consequent from its rotation, throws it downwards. It is
not absolutely necessary that the axes of the several distributers should be in a
horizontal position; they can with equal advantage be in a perpendicular or
slanting direction. The only condition necessary is that the axis of another mixing
arrangement, situated in a lower box, should be placed at a certain definite angle
relatively to the axis in the hopper. The flour which is thrown down by this
distributer, then falls on the lower mixing device revolving in the lower, or
reservoir box. By this it is thrown on a sieve or screen which is placed under
it. In order to enable perfect mixing, and this is a most important consideration-
in order to prevent the sieve from getting choked, brushes are fixed to the
under side of the lower revolving device, which brush over the sieve and prevent
the flour from accumulating thereon.
On the accompanying drawing I have shown a form in which this apparatus can
be made, Figure 1 being a section, and Figure 2 a plan thereof.
This apparatus may be varied according to the number of different kinds of flour
desired to be mixed, the one shown in the drawing, for instance, being made with
four hoppers c, which can all discharge into the lower box d. In these hoppers c
which are conveniently made funnel shaped, a horizontal shaft, (as can be seen in the
drawing) is arranged for each pair of the hoppers and on this shaft the distributer
is fixed which carries down the flour. In the case in question this distributer consists
of a number of arms or blades a which are of such a width that when the apparatus is
at rest no flour can fall through.

page_text: In the lower chamber d I arrange a revolving device consisting of a number of
radial arms provided underneath with brushes m and keyed or otherwise attached
to the shaft so as to be capable of rotating therewith. Upon rotating the device b
the brushes will cause the flour to fall through the sieve or screen s.
The driving is performed by a shaft which passes through the apparatus and is
supported within bearings p. It is furnished at one end with a crank handle k and at its
opposite end with a toothed wheel gearing with other toothed wheels 2' and 2", which
are keyed or otherwise attached to the shafts g. Thus by turning the crank k the four
distributers in the hoppers are caused to rotate. At the same time a movement of the
part b with its axis fis produced by a bevil wheel o on the axis which gears with a
bevil wheel o' fixed to the end of the axis f; so that when the crank k is turned the
part b is also made to revolve.
In order to produce still more perfect mixing in the case of a greater number of
hoppers or filling boxes, the structure could be so arranged that all the hoppers,
together with their distributers revolving therein, could be made to rotate around
their vertical axes when in use, but in a contrary direction to that of the mixing
apparatus b situated in the lower box.
Also, in this lower box d, instead of a single revolving device ba number of smaller
such (corresponding to the number of hoppers) can be arranged each of which would
revolve around a vertical axis.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A method for use more particularly in bakeries, of mixing different kinds of flour,
which method consists in subjecting these to the action of distributers revolving in
a certain direction, and subsequently to that of a further mixing device or apparatus,
the latter rotating in a plane which forms an angle with the plane in which the former
rotate.
2. A modification of the method described in the first claim by means of which each
of the distributers may be caused to revolve both on its own axis as well as to rotate
about the axis of the lower revolving device but in a contrary direction to that of this
latter.
3. To use the method claimed in the first claim, a machine characterised by
arms or blades a serving as distributers and revolving around their horizontal axes,
said distributers being situated at the outlets of the hoppers c, the number of
which corresponds to the number of different kinds of flour to be mixed; and one
or more revolving mixing devices b rotating within the reservoir box d and around
a vertical axis situated below the distributers as described.
4. A method of arranging the machine claimed in 3, characterised by arranging the
hoppers e in such a way, that they all open into one common lower box or compart-
ment, and discharge the flour into it; a sieve or screens being placed in this latter
box, below the revolving device or devices 6 through which the flour must pass.
5. In a machine for carrying out the methods described in Claims 1 and 2, the
application of the cleaning brushes m at the bottom of the rotating mixing device b to
produce the removal and passage of the flour, from and through the sieve or screen s.
Dated this Fifteenth day of July 1896.