Improvements in Machinery for Measuring by Weight, and Dividing, Dough and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 4th Jan., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Measuring by Weight, and Dividing,
Dough and the like.
We, JOHN MILLER RALSTON, of 21 Melville Terrace, Edinburgh, in the
County of Midlothian, North Britain, Engineer, and DAVID ESPLIN THOMSON,
of Gillespie Street Works, Gilmore Place, Edinburgh, aforesaid, Engineer, 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 :-
Our invention has for its object to facilitate and expedite the operations of
measuring and dividing dough and the like into equal parts or portions of the
desired weight, thus obviating the necessity of handling the same during these
operations.
In order that our invention may be properly understood and readily carried into
effect we have hereunto appen-ied five explanatory sheets of drawings in the several
figures of which corresponding parts are marked with the same letters of reference,
and for brevity we have only described a single discharge orifice although it is
shown in duplicate in the drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation with one side frame removed to allow the mechanism
to be seen and the feeding tube shown in section.
Figure 2 is a front elevation.
Figure 3 is a back elevation.
Figure 4 is a plan.
Figure 5 is a section of the delivery nozzle and end of feeding tube.
Figures 6 and 7 are detail views drawn to an enlarged scale showing the
mechanism for weighing and dividing.
The dough to be weighed is placed in the hopper a, whence it is carried
forward through the feeding tube a' by means of the rotary screw or creeper a²,
or other suitable conveyer to the delivery orifice or nozzle a³, and deposited on the
rotating roller a¹ and cylinder a of the balance a. a is a relief or return tube
which equalizes the pressure on the dough whilst the nozzle is being contracted
by the falling of the slide or knife, the excess of dough returning by this relief
tube into the ordmary feeding tube. On the spindle of the conveyer a² is a bevel
wheel driven by the bevel pinion 2 fixed on the shaft 63; and also fixed on the
shaft is a tapered or cone pulley which is driven by a belt from the pulley 65
fixed on the driving shaft 6. To the driving shaft a pinion c is fixed, which
drives the spur wheel c¹ on the shaft c, to which is fixed a pulley c³, which drives
by a belt a pulley c* fixed on the shaft c. Fixed on the shaft is a pulley cº,
(Fig. 2) said pulley carrying a belt e' for removing the dough when divided, if it
should be required.
Diiven by the shat and sliding on a feather is a clutch d, which gears into a
clutch d' cast on cam d², on which there are projections d³, ds, and d³ (Figures 6
and 7). Attached to the cam d by means of the piu e is a connecting link e¹ con-
nected to the rocking lever 2 by the pin e³; and rocking on the shaft e¹. es
is a pin or detent fixed in the rocking lever . Joined to the rocking lever e
by means of the pin is a link/1 connected by the pin f" to the slide ƒ³

page_text: which works in the guides f and carries the knife f³. g is a shaft fixed in
suitable bearings, which carries the rocking levers g' and g². Fixed in g
is the trip or detent o³. Also working on the shaft g is the bell-crank lever g go.
Attached to the end 9 of the bell-crank lever by a pin 9 is the link g', which is
connected to the slide or knife 9; 9º is a spring fixed to g² and the framing. Fixed
on the rocking lever g² is a bracket h, having an adjustable pin ', which strikes a
projection 2 on the lever h³, the said lever 3 having fixed to it a projecting piece
or stop on which rests the knife slide 13. is a spring attached to and for
operating the lever ³. j is a clutch-rod working on a pin j' fixed in a suitable
bracket and which operates the clutch d. Attached to the rod j and to a pin ja
is a toggle joint and, the said joint having a roller which engages with the
cam d². Joined to the end of the clutch-rod is a lever to which is fixed a
spring, the said spring being fixed to the framing by suitable means.
k is a pin
or stop fixed in the clutch-rod 1, the said pin or stop k engaging with a trip lever
or catch rocking on a pin k², the projection k on the end of the lever being
operated by the projection d' on the cam d². is a spring fixed to the lever k¹ and
to the framing. is a cam working on the pin ', and on the side of the cam are
ins or projections 2 over which the pawl falls, the said pawl being fixed to the
projection d³ on the cam d². Fixed to the projection d' on the cam d² is a pawl or
lever m, which falls over the pin m' fixed in the bell-crank lever g. m² is a pawl
fixed on end of bell-crank lever g' by means of the piu m³. m is a continuation of
the paul m², and m is a projection fixed to the pawl m³, which falls into the
catch me, the said catch m³ being operated by the rod and the spring m³.
Working loose on the shaft 4 is a spur wheel, which gears into the spur
pinion fixed on the shaft c² (Fig. 4). Fixed on the sides of the spur wheel n are
the ratchet wheels n², into which the pawis m² fall. o is a rocking-lever working
on a pin, the said rocking-lever being operated by the magnet o. p is a catch
for keeping the lever g' in position by means of the detent 93, the catch p being
operated by the magnet 7, which is fixed to suitable brackets p² and p³. p and
are guides for the catch p.
Attached to the end of the lever balance a is a lever y pivoted on a pin q'.
Fixed to the end of the lever q is an adjustable pin or contact y², which on the
balance rising touches or makes contact by means of the projection g³ on the bell-
crank lever Aiso fixed to the lever is an insulated contact piece . Fixed
to the upright end of the bell-crank lever q there is also an insulated contact
piece and fixed to the hell-crank lever" y there is the adjustable balance
weight.
(Fig. 4) is an ordinary electrical switch for making and breaking contact, the
said switch being operated by means of the pin in the lever g.
s and are the wires for completing the circuit from the dynamo or battery
through the magnet, switch r, and the contact pins and projections".
t and are the wires for completing the circuit from the dynamo or battery
through the magnet pl and the contact pieces and g
u is the driving pulley, e the side traines, and the top framing.
In carrying our invention into practice the dough to be measured is placed in the
hopper a, and is drawn into the tube a', and conveyed forward by the rotating
screw or creeper a³, after which it is passed through the nozzle a³ and deposited ou
to the roller a and cylinder a³ of the balance a. When the desired weight or
quantity of dough is on the balance a it descends, and this causes the contact
pieces 2 and q³ to touch, thus completing the electric circuit, and the magnet o²
becoming energized, instantly draws down the lever o, raising the other end o³,
which lifts the red m². This operation raising the pin of at same time lifts the
pawl lear of the pin m'. The rod lifts the catch mº, and this allows the
pawl to fall into the ratchet wheel, which is driven at a constant speed by
the wheel a, which receives its motion from the pinion a. The ratchet wheel
moves the pawl and lever over towards the knife, and this movement by

page_text: means of the bell-crank lever g and link o' forces down the slide or knife 98 or
other suitable device and contracts the opening of the nozzle through which the
dough is discharged. During the time the opening in the nozzle is being contracted
the dough is being continuously forced through, but gradually reduced in section,
the additional weight of dough added to the balance after the first contact being
counterbalanced by the weight g' on the lever q, which has to be lifted by the
balance before the contact pieces q and q are made to touch, which on doing so,
completes the electric circuit, and the magnet p¹ becoming energized, instantly lifts
the catch p, which allows the levers g' and g² to be operated by means of the
spring 9, the projection on the end of the lever g2 falling against the face of the
cam 1. On the lever moving over, it carries with it the bracket h and pin h¹,
the pin h striking the projection h2 on lever . This releases the catch or stop h*,
which allows the slide 3 with the knife f to fall and sever the part of the dough
weighed from that of the main body. As the piece of dough is severed, it
instantly falls off the balance. The balance immediately recovers its initial
position and breaks the contacts, when all the parts return to their initial positions.
When the knife falls it brings down the rocking-lever e², the said lever e², by means
of the pin e, striking m, and moving the lever m² from the position shown in
dotted lines to that shown in full lines, thus lifting the pawl m² clear of the ratchet
wheel n². The rocking-lever e² at the same time lifts the cam d into such a
position that the projection d' (Fig. 7) comes into contact with the projection ³,
and lifts the lever k¹ clear of the catch or pin k in the clutch rod j. This allows
the clutch d to fall into gear with the clutch.d' cast on the cam d³, and as the
clutch d is driven at a constant speed it pulls round the cam d², which draws down
the lever e and lifts the knife back to its initial position, and permits the stop k* to
fall into its place and keep up the knife. At the same time when the cam d² was
Jifted the pawl m moved forward and caught on to the pin m¹. When the cam d²
was drawn down it pulled the bell-crank levers 98, 9 and the slide 98 into their
initial positions. Similarly the cam by means of the pawl 13 and cam 7 and
levers g' and g² brings the catch or detent g³ into its position in the catch p.
Immediately the knife-edge has been raised to the top of its stroke the cam d³
strikes the roller jo and straightens the toggle joint and js, disengaging the clutch
and at the same time allowing the catch to fall into position over the piu k, and
keep the clutch rod in its initial position.
The contracting and dividing mechanism may be controlled and operated by the
action of the balance without the electro-magnet as described, the balance by a
suitable connecting liuk when rising releasing the catch or detent which holds the
mechanism in its initial position, all the other movements being as described.
The construction of the mechanism is the same for two or more orifices, but each
set of the mechanism is automatically controlled by the dough operating a separate
weighing and dividing apparatus.
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. Automatically contracting the nozzle and reducing the section of the part of
the dough to be weighed by means of the weighing apparatus when the proper
weight has been fed to the said apparatus, substantially in the manner and by the
means herein before described and illustrated on the accompanying sheets of
drawings.
2. Automatically severing the part of the dough which has been discharged
through the nozzle from the main body when the required weight has been fed to
the said apparatus, substantially in the manner and by the means herein before
described and illustrated on the accompanying sheets of drawings.
3. Automatically engaging and disengaging the clutch mechanism through which
the dividing and contracting mechanism is returned to its initial position,

page_text: substantially in the manner and by the means hereinbefore described and illustrated
on the accompanying sheets of drawings.
4. Automatically equalising the pressure on the dough whilst being fed on to
the balance by means of the return or relief tube, substantially as described and
illustrated on the accompanying sheets of drawings.
Dated this 28th day of October 1895.
BOTTOMLEY & LIDDLE,
154 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicants' Agents.