A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR ROASTING AND BASTING ARTICLES Att Don
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph William Schlesinger, of Red Grove House,
South Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR ROASTING AND BASTING ARTICLES
Att Don" A communication
Sealed the 1st February 1859, and dated the 2nd August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph William Schlesinger
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd August 1858.
I, JOSEPH WILLIAM SCHLESINGER, of Red Grove House, South Lambeth, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR ROASTING AND BASTING
ARTICLES OF FOOD," (a communication,) to be as follows:-
The Invention consists of a spit turning horizontally, driven by spring
acting through a train of wheels, as hereafter explained, and provided with the
following apparatus for basting. A spoon or ladle turns upon an axis at right
angles to the spit. On the said axis is a cam, upon which arms fixed on the
spit act. The said arms are fixed like spokes of a wheel upon the end of the
spit. As each of the said arms acts upon the cam it raises the ladle or spoon,
which empties its contents into a reservoir over the spit, from which the liquor
or gravy descends through perforations upon the food upon the spit. The
Jadle or spoon descends into the well or recess in the pan, to be raised again

page_text: when the next arm acts on the cam. The train of wheels and spring which
actuate the spit may be readily connected with and disconnected from it, and
a governor on the train of wheels moderates the rate of motion, and also gives
notice when the spring requires to be rewound by striking upon a bell. The
arm or lever carrying the ladle or spoon is jointed near the bowl of the ladle
or spoon, and the said ladle or spoon is thereby so far inverted, when it is
raised to its full extent, as to be emptied. But I do not think it necessary
here to describe the details of the mechanism by which the several motions
are effected.
.SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph William Schlesinger in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WILLIAM SCHLESINGER, of Red Grove House, South Lambeth, in the County
of Surrey, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph William Schlesinger, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph
William Schlesinger, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Joseph William Schlesinger, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR ROASTING AND BASTING ARTICLES OF FOOD,"
a communication, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
William Schlesinger, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, _and_in_what_manner.
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph William Schlesinger, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of a mechanical arrangement and combination of
parts, constituting an improved apparatus, by the use of which meat, poultry,
and other food requiring roasting may be basted by the action of the machine
itself during the process of roasting, and also that the machine shall of itself
announce any stoppage of its driving power arising from any sudden hindrance
or from a want of rewinding. The construction of which is as follows:-
A spit, carrying the article to be roasted, revolves horizontally in bearings,
supported in a suitable framework standing in front of the fire, and is driven
by a spring movement acting through a train of wheels; the said spit carries
a set of two or more arms or spokes, which, revolving with the spit, actuate
upon a cam fixed on the inner end of a shaft turning at right angles to said
spit, the outer end of which shaft carries a jointed lever, standing out in a
parallel line with the spit, and at the extreme end of this lever is attached a
spoon, which rises and lowers as the arms on the spit actuate upon the cam;
when the spoon is at the lowest point it descends into a well or recess formed
in the pan lying below the spit for the purpose of receiving the gravy as it
falls from the meat; the spoon fills itself in this well with the gravy or liquor,
and when the spoon is at its highest point it empties its contents into a per-
forated trough above the meat; this trough being carried on the same frame-
work as that in which the spit revolves, and is so fitted that it may be
adjusted vertically to or from the meat. For the better emptying of the spoon,
when at its extreme height, a stop fixed to the trough catches the jointed lever,
and thus tilts the spoon..
The spring movement which drives the spit and its respective apparatus, as
described, consists of a strong spring, similar to that used for timepieces; this
spring gives motion to a spring box, to which is fixed the main centre or arbor
which drives the spit, and the power is regulated by a train of wheels which
give motion to a fly wheel or balance. To this fly wheel are suspended by small
chains two or more balls or hammers, which, when the wheel is at its full
speed, fly out by the centrifugal force, but on a slowering or stoppage of this
speed, the hammers fall and strike a bell, similar to that used for call bells;
this bell being fixed to the case in which the movements work;. by this
striking of the bell the apparatus self-announces when it requires rewinding,
or when its action has been in any other way impeded...
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I now proceed to
describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, and have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings,

page_text: illustrative of the construction of my said improved machine, and have marked
the same with numeral figures or letters of reference, similar letters being
employed to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such parts appear or can
be seen at each of such said figures respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING."
Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation, and Figure 2 a plan view of the whole
apparatus, while Figure 3 is an end view of the roasting frame with the
movements withdrawn; Figures 4, 5, and 6, refer entirely to the driving
movements, being end view, and side and end sections respectively.
A, A, is a sole plate of wrought or cast iron, on which stands the whole
apparatus, and to which it is attached; B, B', are uprights supporting the
right and left hand brackets a, a³, having bearings in which revolve the spit
D, the uprights also carry the slides b, b, to which is attached the perforated
trough E, having a sloping branch e, for receiving the gravy first from the
spoon and running it into the perforated trough E. The uprights are firmly
bound together across the top by the T iron piece F, fitting into caps f, f, and
through which caps and Tiron piece pass the top screwed ends of the uprights
fitted with nuts for securing the whole together. The pan G lies on the sole
plate, and is retained in its place by the guides d, d, fitting into corresponding
recesses in the pan; these guides slide vertically on the uprights, and fixed
thereto at pleasure by thumb-screws pinching against the uprights; g is a well
in the pan for collecting the gravy, and is fitted with a tap or cock to draw off
any excess of liquor.
The right-hand bracket a has an open bearing for the better getting in and
out of the spit, and is fitted with an arm a², for carrying the cam shaft H, to
which is attached the cam I, actuated upon by the arms or spokes K, K, K,
revolving with the spit; this cam is of an elongated sweep or configuration, so
that it keeps pressing against the revolving spoke as it recedes, and thus
hindering a sudden descent of the spoon into the well g prevents splashing;
h is the jointed lever carrying the spoon L, which, when raised to its extreme
height, catches against the stop e', so as to tilt the spoon. The connexion of
the spit to the spring movements is by means of the sliding socket M, and the
-movements.consist.as follows:
N is an ornamental stand, bolted to and supporting the movement case O;
this case, fitted with a moveable end or cover plate o fastened to it by four
small bolts, and also provided with a hinged door o¹ at side, so as to inspect the
movements when desired. The movements revolving in the case are as
follows-P, a spring box, inside of which is an ordinary timepiece spring

page_text: the spring being wound up by the square centre p; on the other side is the
main centre p¹, fastened to spring box, and also attached thereto is the main
driving wheel Q, having about sixty-eight teeth giving motion to spindle R,
through pinion 7, and thus driving second motion wheel S, with about seventy
teeth, and which in its turn again drives the third motion spindle T through
pinion t; on this third motion spindle is fixed the worm wheel U, with about
forty-four teeth. All these first, second, and third motion spindles revolve hori-
zontally, the worm wheel U drives the screwed worm spindle V, standing
upright, its lower end working in a foot or bracket cast on the loose cover
plate of movement case, while the upper end passes through a bearing in top
of movement case, and carries the balance or fly wheel W, and to this fly
wheel are suspended by small chains the balls or hammers X, X, for striking
against the bell Y.
The Drawings are made to a scale of half the actual size.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention, and the manner of performing the same, I hereby declare my
Invention to consist in, and I claim the combination of parts herein described,
more especially as relating to the spokes or arms revolving with the spit, the
cam actuated upon by said spokes or arms, and the spoon working on a jointed
lever, all for the purposes for raising the gravy or liquor whereby the meat may
be and is basted; and I also claim the application of the self-announcing
apparatus, as described, for the purpose of warning the cook or other attendant
of the stoppage or hindrance of the machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph William Schlesinger, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JOSEPH WILLIAM SCHLESINGER. (L.S.)