New or Improved Means for Cutting up Meat and similar Plastic or Yielding Substances.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 27th June, 1890-Accepted, 9th Aug., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means for Cutting up Meat and similar Plastic or
Yielding Substances.
I, THOMAS WILLIAMS, the Younger, of 45 Myddelton Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to new or improved means for cutting up or mincing meat
and similar plastic or yielding substances.
It consists essentially of a plate or disc, one face of which is provided with a number
of grooves or channels converging towards and leading into an orifice or aperture
preferably formed in the centre of such plate.
The grooved or channelled face of the said plate or disc is ground or faced,
so as to bring the edges of the grooves or channels therein to a sharp angle or cutting
edge, and a knife is disposed to revolve in cutting contact with the channelled face of
the said plate.
The said plate or disc is situate at or near the end of a casing or cylinder,
containing a rotary spindle upon which the said knife is mounted, and a device for
propelling or forcing the meat or other substance introduced into the casing or cylinder
into the grooves or channels in the plate. As the before mentioned knife revolves, it
severs from the mass those portions which have entered the said grooves or channels,
the sharp edges of which, in conjunction with the edges of the knife, have a scissor
like cutting action upon the meat. The severed portions, as the knife rotates, are slid
along the grooves towards the before mentioned aperture in the plate into which they
converge or lead, and upon reaching such aperture are forced therethrough by the
action of the propelling or forcing device within the casing. If desired a pipe may
be connected with the aperture in the said plate or disc, and the cut meit force.l
onwards through this pipe into skins or other receptacles.
The form of machine which I prefer to employ for carrying out my invention
consists of the ordinary cylindrical mincer casing provided with a suitable feed
hopper.
At or near the delivery or front end of this casing, and closing the same,. is
situate the grooved or channelled plate.
The knife, which rotates in cutting contact with the sharpened edges of the grooves
therein, is preferably of "star" form, and is mounted upon the axis or spindle of a
forcing screw, rotating within the casing and supported in bearings at its rear end.
The interior of this casing is provided with the well known arrangement of grooves
or flutes to prevent the rotation of the meat with the forcing screw. The proper
adjustment of the knife and plate in relation to each other is effected by a flanged
ring or collar, screwing upon the exterior of the casing, and bearing with its flange
upon the said plate or disc; by means of this screw collar, the plate, (which is free to
slide within the casing), may be brought closely against the knife-it is obvious
however that other means may be employed for maintaining or regulating the proper
adjustment of the knife and channelled plate. I prefer to provide the aperture in the
olate into which the grooves or channels converge, with an interior screw thread, and
crew therein a filling pipe.
The meat or other substance fed into the casing through the hopper, is caused by the
orcing screw to enter the grooves or channels in the plate, and those portions which
have entered such grooves or channels are severed froin the rest of the mass by the
cissor like action of the revolving knife and sharp edges of the grooves, the cut
ortions then passing down such grooves towards the outlet aperture in the plate, and
77

page_text: being forced through such aperture, and pipe connected therewith, by the action of the
forcing screw as before explained.
I prefer that the grooves or channels formed in the face of the plate, should deepen
as they approach the outlet orifice therein this construction facilitating the escape of
the cut portions of meat from such grooves.
If desired a preliminary cut may be given to the meat before it reaches the grooved
or channelled plate, by means of fixed and revolving knives, situate between the
forcing screw and the knife which rotates in contact with such plate..
Dated this 14th day of February 1890.
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON, Fels. Inst. P.A.,
Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means for Cutting up Meat and similar Plastic or
Yielding Substances.
1, THOMAS WILLIAMS the Younger, of 45 Myddelton Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what
manner the saine is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to new or improved means for cutting up meat and similar
plastic or yielding substances.
The type of machine most generally employed at the present time, and usually
considered the most effective, is that wherein the meat is cut or minced by means of a
knife or knives revolving in cutting contact with the inner face of a perforated cutting
plate closing the delivery end of a casing or cylinder.
The meat is caused by means of a forcing screw within such casing to enter the
perforations which extend through the said cutting plate, and such portions as have
entered them are severed from the rest of the mass by means of the said revolving
knife or knives, the cutting taking place between the edges of the knife and the edges
of the perforatious which act conjointly somewhat after the manner of a pair of
scissors.
Now I have found in practice that machines of this type present objectionable
features, they are hard to work on account of the great power required to force the
meat into and through the small perforations in the cutting plate, (for if a cutting
plate with large perforations is employed the meat will be cut too coarse,) the perfora-
tions are liable to clog, and if it is desired to use the machines for simultaneously
cutting and "filling," auxiliary forcing mechanism must be employed on the outer
side of the perforated cutting plate, the obstruction afforded by such plate to the
passage of the meat preventing the action of the forcing screw within the casing from
heing utilized for simultaneously "filling” also.
Now my invention is designed to remove these objections, and, for this purpose,
consists essentially in dispensing with the aforesaid perforated cutting plate, and
substituting therefor a cutting plate of peculiar and novel construction which I shall
now proceed to describe.
According to my invention the cutting plate consists of a metal disc provided upon
one face with a number of grooves or channels which converge towards or lead into
a delivery orifice or aperture extending through the plate. The grooved or channelled
face of the said plate is ground or faced true so as to bring the edges of the grooves
or channels therein to a sharp angle or cutting edge, and a knife or equivalent
device is disposed to revolve in cutting contact with such grooved or channelled face
the edges of the revolving, knife and the edges of the grooves or channels imparting a
perfect scissor cut to the substance passing between them.
The machine to which my invention is applied may be of the well known con-
struction, and comprise a cylinder or casing at or near the delivery end of which the

page_text: above described cutting plate and revolving knife or knives are situate, and a forcing
screw: or equivalent device within the casing for forcing the meat or other like plastic
or yielding substance to be cut up against the grooved or channelled face of the
said cutting plate. As fast as the meat enters the said grooves or channels it is
severed by means of a succession of perfect scissor cuts taking place as before explained
between the sharp edges of the knife and grooves, the severed portions slipping along
the said grooves towards and passing through the before mentioned aperture in the
cutting plate. I prefer in order to facilitate the escape of the cut ineat that the.
grooves or channels should deepen as they approach the said outlet aperture.
If it is desired to employ the machine for simultaneously cutting and "filling,".
the outlet aperture may lead into a filling pipe or nozzle suitably secured upon the
outer or plain side of the cutting plate. This outlet aperture being of large size as
compared with the perforations in an ordinary perforated cutting plate, and the cut
meat having free access to the same at all times along the grooves or channels what-
ever the position of the revolving knife, the forcing device within the casing will
suffice to propel the cut meat into skins without necessitating the employment of an
auxiliary forcing device upon the outer side of the cutting plate.
In the accompanying drawings:-
11
:
Figure 1'illustrates in sectional elevation a machine embodying my invention.
Figures 2 and 3 are detached views in elevation and transverse section of the
grooved or channelled plate.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are detached views in elevation and edge view of the rotating.
and stationary knives.
1
a is the casing of the machine provided with the usual hopper band well known
internal spiral or longitudinal ribs c. d is a forcing screw upon the axis e. of
which is mounted, so as to rotate therewith, the "star". knife f, which revolves
in cutting contact with the grooved: or channelled face of the cutting plate g.
prefer that the axis e of the forcing screw should taper slightly and be of square
or polygonal section where it enters the "star" knife f, the aperture. in which is
of corresponding shape, (see figures 1, 4, and 5,) as this arrangement will prevent
the said knife from being placed on the axis e in the wrong position. h is a
stationary knife extending across the casing between which and the rear edges i
of the "star" knife-f a préliminary cut is given to the meat under operation
before it reaches the cutting plate g. jj are short longitudinal grooves in the
casing a which receive the extremities of the stationary knife hand the lugs or
projections g of the cutting plate g, and prevent such knife and plate from rotating.
The stationary knife h may be dispensed with if desired, but I prefer to employ
the same as rendering the machine easier to work. kk are the grooves or
channels formed in the inner face of the cutting plate g and leaving between
them the ribs l. I prefer to subdivide these grooves or channels as they
approach the circumference of the cutting plate g by means of shorter ribs thus
obtaining an extra number of cuts without unduly narrowing the outlets of such
grooves and thereby impeding the exit of the meat. m is an outlet aperture or
orifice extending through the cutting plate g, towards and into which the grooves k
converge and lead. I prefer that these grooves & should for reasons before given
deepen as they approach the outlet orifice m as shewn in figure 3.
n is a pro-
jecting flange surrounding the outlet aperture m on the outer or plain side of the
cutting plate g, onto which flange is screwed (when the machine is to be employed
for simultaneously cutting and filling,) the filling pipe or nozzle o. p, (figure 1,)
is a retaining ring screwing onto the exterior of the casing a, for maintaining the
cutting plate g in place and securing the adjustment of the same and of the knives f
and in relation to one another.
The meat or other plastic or yielding substance to be cut up is introduced into the
machine through the hopper b, and carried forwards by the rotation of the forcing
screw d to the cutting plate 9, receiving during its passage a preliminary cutting
between the stationary knife and the rear edges i of the revolving "star" knife f
As fast as the meat is forced into the grooves or channels in the cutting plate g it is

page_text: severed by the perfect scissor action which takes place between the edges k' of the
grooves and the edges f' of the knife f, the severed portions passing along the
grooves to the outlet aperture m; and being forced therethrough and along
the filling pipe o into skins or other desired receptacles by the continued action of
the forcing screw d.
Although I prefer to employ and have shewn in my drawings the grooves k k as
straight and radial I do not limit myself to this precise arrangement and construction
since it is obvious that tangential curved or angular grooves might be employed.
It will also be obvious that a rotating cutting plate and stationary knife might be
substituted for the stationary cutting plate and revolving knife described and
illustrated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
t
1. In a mincing machine, the hereinbefore described means for cutting up meat
and similar plastic or yielding substances consisting of a plate, the face of which is
constructed with grooves or channels converging towards or leading to an outlet
aperture, combined with a knife or equivalent device disposed in cutting contact
with the grooved or channelled face thereof substantially as described.
2. In a mincing machine comprising a casing a and a forcing device d contained
therein, the 'cutting. plate g constructed with grooves or channels & in its inner face,
and an outlet aperture m, and disposed in cutting contact with a knife f substantially:
as and for the purpose described and illustrated.
3. For the purpose set forth, the cutting plate 9 constructed with grooves or
channels and an outlet aperture m, around which outlet aperture m is secured a
filling pipe o, in combination with a knife disposed in cutting contact with its
grooved or channelled face substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 27th day of June 1534.
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON, Fels. Inst. P.A.,
19, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.