Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Lengths or Sticks of Nougat and other Sweetstuff.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 30th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 30th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Lengths or Sticks of
Nougat and other Sweetstuff.
We GEORGE PROKOFIEW, Engineer and MORRIS STREIMER Manufacturing
Confectioner both of 51 Raven Row; Mile End Road London do hereby declare
the nature of our invention to be as follows:-
Our improved machine comprises a pair of rollers at one end between which the
sweetstuff is adjusted and is fed on to and along a board, and at the other end
of the machine is provided another pair of rollers which deliver the said
sweetstuff fed thereto by hand along a second board to two or more revolving
circular knives supported by a carrier likewise revolved in front of the last named
rollers.
The axis of the upper roller of the first named set is carried in slotted vertical
guides formed in the frame of the machine the said roller being supported by or
engaging with two guides whose bearing surfaces are formed eccentrically with
the said axis so that by turning the roller it is brought nearer to or removed
further from the lower roller according to the thickness of the sweetstuff and
likewise serves to adjust the width of the strip of sweetstuff and fixed by means of
set screws.
These rollers are driven by suitable gearing in the same direction the two pinions
engaging with the toothed wheels of the rollers being carried by a pivoted lever
whereby they may be disengaged for the purpose of shifting the upper roller. One
of the said guides is supported by a horizontal rod along which it can be shifted
nearer to or further from the other guide according to the width of the sweetstuff.
The upper roller of the second set is also supported in slotted guides so that it can
be shifted nearer to or further from the lower roller.
Between this roller and the revolving knives is a pivoted plate forming the
lower portion of the opening through which the sweetstuff is delivered to the
said knives the said plates being forced up by means of cams on the knife carrier
so as to grip the sweet stuff between it and the top of the opening whilst being cut.
The top roller is driven by a ratchet wheel and a pawl carried by a pivoted
lever operated by means of a rod in connection with a cam at the back end of the
machine. The said rod is connected to the pivoted lever so that it can be shifted
along the latter to increase or diminish the throw of the pawl and consequently
the amount of revolution of the said top roller. By this means the length of
sweetstuff fed to the knives to be cut off is regulated. The knife carrier is mounted
loosely on a shaft in gear with the driving mechanism which shaft carries a toothed
wheel in gear with pinions for revolving the circular knives. The knife carrier is
connected to a toothed wheel likewise loosely mounted on the said shaft and in
gear with a second shaft engaging by gear wheels with the former one.
In order to cut the sweetstuff into suitable widths we provide the driving shaft
with a circular knife, below which is a table upon which the sweetstuff is placed
to be operated upon by the said knife. By means of my invention the sweetstuff is
cut in a more even manner and with greater speed and economy than in machines
hitherto constructed.
As our improvements are capable of some modification without departing from

page_text: the principle thereof we do not restrict ourselves to the precise form or placement
of the parts thereof.
Dated this 30th day of December 1895.
J. B. FLEURET,
5 Hatton Garden, London, Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Lengths or Sticks of
Nougat and other Sweetstuff.
We GEORGE PROKOFIEW of 3 Highweek Road South Tottenham Middlesex
late of 51 Raven Row Mile End, London, Engineer and MORRIS STREIMER,
Manufacturing Confectioner of 51 Raven Row, Mile End Road, London 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 improved machine comprises a pair of rollers at one end between which the
sweetstuff is adjusted and fed on to and along a board and at the other end
of the machine is provided another pair of rollers which deliver the said
sweetstuff fed thereto by hand along a second board to two or more revolving
circular knives supported by a carrier likewise revolved in front of the last named
rollers.
The axis of the upper roller of the first named set is carried in slotted vertical
guides formed in the frame of the machine, the said roller being supported by
or engaging with two guides whose bearing surfaces are formed eccentrically with
the said axis so that by turning the roller it is brought nearer to or removed
further from the lower roller, according to the thickness of the sweetstuff and
likewise serves to adjust the width of the strip of sweetstuff, and fixed by means
of set screws.
These rollers are driven by suitable gearing in the same direction the two
pinions engaging with the toothed wheels of the rollers being carried by a pivoted
lever whereby they may be disengaged for the purpose of shifting the upper
roller. One of the said guides is supported by a horizontal rod along which it
can be shifted nearer to or further from the other guide according to the width
of the strip of sweetstuff. The upper roller of the second set is also supported in
slotted guides so that it can be shifted nearer to or further from the lower roller.
Between this roller and the revolving knives is a pivoted plate forming the
lower portion of the opening through which the sweetstuff is delivered to the said
knives the said plate being forced up by means of cams on the knife carrier so as
to grip the sweetstuff, between it and the top of the opening, whilst being cut.
The top roller is driven by a ratchet wheel and a pawl carried by a pivoted
lever operated by means of a rod in connection with a cam at the back end of the
machine. The said rod is connected to the pivoted lever so that it can be shifted
along the latter to increase or diminish the throw of the pawl and consequently
the amount of revolution of the said top roller. By this means the length of
sweetstuff fed to the knives to be cut off is regulated. The knife carrier is
mounted loosely on a shaft in gear with the driving mechanism which shaft
carries a toothed wheel in gear with pinions for revolving the circular knives.
The knife carrier is connected to a toothed wheel likewise loosely mounted on
the said shaft and in gear with a second shaft engaging by gear wheels with the
former one.
In order to cut the sweetstuff into suitable widths we provide
the driving shaft with a circular knife, below which is a table upon which the
sweetstuff is placed to be operated upon by the said knife. By means of our

page_text: invention the sweetstuff is cut in a more even manner and with greater speed and
economy than in machines heretofore constructed.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved
machine and Figure 2 is a front elevation the lower part of the supporting frame
being omitted. Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on line xx of Figure 2 and
Figure 4 is a similar section on line y y of Figure 2 Figures 5, 6 and 7 are details.
a is the frame of the machine the rear end of which is provided with slotted
guides a supporting a pair of rollers b b and the front end with similar guides a 2
supporting a pair of rollers c c¹. The circular knives d d' in front of these latter
rollers are supported by the carrier e journalled in bearings e¹ e 2 and the knives
are revolved by gearing ff1f2 operated by the shaft f3 and pinion f4, the
shaft 3 passing through and revolving within the hollow journal e 3 of the carrier.
The roller is supported by two guides g g' in which it revolves and whose outer
or bearing surface are eccentric with the axis of the roller, as shown in Figure 3,
the said surfaces engaging with circular bearing surfaces formed by the plates h h¹
loosely mounted on the periphery of the lower roller b'. The bearing surfaces of
the guides g g are recessed at 92 (see Figure 6) to receive a tongue h2 formed
on the bearing surfaces of the plates hh. In order to regulate the distance
between the rollers 6 b', the top one b and with it the guides 9 9' are turned
round thereby raising or lowering the axis of the said roller by shifting the
eccentric bearing surfaces of the said guides, which latter are connected together
by a rod i, capable of a sliding adjustment, for regulating the distance between
them, and are fixed in position by set screws.
The sweetstuff is delivered through the rectangular opening k provided in front
of the rollers cc', the lower portion of which opening is formed by a plate k¹
pivoted at 2 and which plate is forced up by cams e4 on the carrier e in order
to hold the sweetstuff firmly between it and the top of the opening during the
time it is being cut by the knives d d¹.
The rollers c c are driven by a ratchet wheel and a pawl 1 (Fig. 5) carried
by the pivoted lever 12 operated by means of a rod in connection with the
cam mounted on the shaft m at the rear end of the machine and operating
the gear wheels 18, 16, 17, and 18. The rod 13 can be adjusted along the lever 1ª
So as to increase or diminish the throw of the pawl and consequently the
amount of revolution of the roller c, the lever being marked with divisions
for setting the said rod.
The rollers b and c may also be similarly adjusted by marking their adjusting
rods 62 and c 2 with division lines, the screws 63 c3 fixing them in position.
The knife carrier is driven by a toothed wheel n mounted upon the end of the
journal or hollow shaft e 3 and in gear with a pinion n¹ mounted upon the lower
shaft o having at its other end a toothed wheel o¹ which is engaged with the
pinion f4 of the upper shaft f3 by means of the intermediate pinion o 2 see Figure 7
which is a cross section on the line w w of Figure 4 showing the said gear wheels
in dotted circles.
The machine is driven by a steam or other motive power engine operating the
belt pullies p' mounted on the end of the driving shaft p, the said shaft being
provided with a bevel pinion p 2 Fig. 4, in gear with a second bevel pinion p 3
mounted on the end of the shaft f3.
The rollers 6b which as well as c c¹ are ribbed on their peripheries, are driven
in the same direction by two pinions the latter of which is carried by the
pivoted lever r2 the said pinions engaging with the toothed wheels r3 and r4
mounted on the axes of the rollers 61 b, the gear wheels being shown by dotted
circles in this and all the views. The pinion may be disengaged from the
wheel 4 by unscrewing the nut r5 and pushing over the lever r2 to the right,
thus enabling the upper roller being shifted when the said pinions may be again
brought into gear. The wheel r is mounted on the end of the shaft m which is
operated from the driving shaft p by a pinion 5 (Fig. 5) on the said shaft gearing
with a toothed wheel 2 on the shaft m.

page_text: The sweetstuff is cut into suitable widths before being passed between the
rollers 66 by means of a circular knife s mounted on the driving shaft
P and
below which is supported a table t upon which the sweetstuff is placed to be cut.
The operation of the machine in its action upon the sweetstuff is as follows. A
cake of the sweetstuff after its manufacture is placed upon the tablet and pressed
forward towards the knife s to cut off the required width, a guide t¹ being adjusted
to the table at the requisite distance from the knife for this purpose.
The piece cut off is then placed in the inclined shoot t 2 which feeds it between
the rollers 6 61, the top roller having been previously adjusted to the desired
thickness of the sweetstuff, and the guide g¹ to the required width. The rollers 6 b¹
being driven in the same direction by the gearing as aforesaid draw the sweetstuff
between them on to the inclined trough t3 whence it is taken up by hand and
placed on the upper board or trough t4 leading to the final delivery rollers c c¹, it
being fed forward by means of an endless band u passing round the roller c' and a
small roller u supported by the board f4. The rollers c c deliver the stick of
sweetstuff to the knives dd, to be cut off to the thickness required for the
finished tablet or cake of nougat or other sweetstuff. This thickness or the length
cut off from the stick of sweetstuff is regulated by the revolution of the rollers c c¹
operated by the cam and gear wheels as before described.
The revolving knives d d' and carrier are covered by a circular metal guard, not
shown, provided with an opening for the delivery of the cut off tablet of sweet-
stuff and the periphery of the circular knife s should also be covered with a guard.
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. In machinery for cutting lengths or sticks of nougat or other sweetstuff the
use of a circular knife and a table and guide for cutting the sweetstuff to the
required width, a pair of rollers for rolling it to the required thickness, and a
second pair of rollers for feeding it to revolving circular knives arranged so as to
cut off a requisite quantity or length of the said sweetstuff substantially as described
and for the purposes specified.
2. In machinery as above claimed the combination with the roller 66¹ of the
eccentrically mounted bearing guides g g¹, plates h h¹, rods i and 62, shoot t 2 and
trough t 3 substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
C
3. The combination with the feeding rollers c c of the board t4, endless band u,
roller u¹, rod c 2, ratchet wheel 1, pawl, pivoted lever 12, rod 13, cam 14 shaft m
and gear wheels 15, 16, 17, and 18 substantially as described and for the purposes
specified.
4. The combination with the circular knives d d¹, of the carrier e, gearing f
f1f2, shaft f3, pinion f4, bearing ele 2, hollow journal e 3, cams e4, opening k,
pivoted plate, toothed wheel n, pinion n' shaft o, toothed wheel o¹, pullies p',
shaft P and bevel pinions p2 and p 3 substantially as described and for the
purposes specified.
5. The means for operating the rollers
comprising the pinions, pivoted lever
shaft m, pinion s¹ and toothed wheel s 2
purposes specified.
and adjusting their distances apart
2, toothed wheels r3 r4 nut r5,
substantially as described and for the
6. The improved machinery for cutting lengths or sticks of nougat or other
sweetstuff, combined arranged and operating substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of September 1896.
J. B. FLEURET,
5 Hatton Garden, London, Agent for the Applicants.