US1406497A

US1406497A - Macaroni-trimming machine

Info

Publication number: US1406497A
Application number: US395602A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank I Rutledge
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1920-07-12
Filing date: 1920-07-12
Publication date: 1922-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1939-02-14

Description

F. l. RUTLEDGE.

MACARONI TRIMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man 1uLY12.192o.

1 ,406,497. v Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Le; ation/w11 F. l. RUTLEDGE.v

MAcARoNl TRIMMING MAQCHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1ULY12,1920.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fl Iik HUTLEDGE.

MACARONI THIMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12.1920.

Panama Feb. 14, 1922.

mm wm F. l. RUTLEDGE.

MAcARoNl TRIMMING MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 12.1920. 1,406,497.

w. mm ww Lm 1 4 M F H n f m f n m W 7 www UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MACARONI-TRIMMING MACHINE.

Application led July 12,

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, FRANK I. RUrLnDGn, a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Macaroni-Trimming Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The present invention relates to macaronitrimming machines, and more particularly to machines for mechanically trimming oil the ends of the macaroni as it is suspended from the sticks or hangers, upon which it is placed by the workmen when taken from the macaroni press.

In the present factory production of macaroni, the macaroni is expressed through a' die having a large number of perforations. The macaroni as it comes from the press is taken by a workman and thrown over a stick which is a wooden rod several feet in length. The workman spreads the macaroni evenly along this rod, the individual pieces of macaroni hanging from the rod like inverted Us. The lower ends of the macaroni are irregular as they hang from the stick. The-factory practice has been for a workman to take a pair of shears and trim ofi the irregular ends of the macaroni. After the macaroni is trimmed, the green or moist macaroni is placed in a curingor drying room in which it is hardened preparatory to being packed and sold.

T he machine of the present invention is designed to replace the hand operation of trimming the irregular ends of the macaroni as it is suspended from the sticks or hangers.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a macaroni-trimming machine embodying my invention Figure 2 is a side elevation g Figure 3 is a plan view;

Figure l is a detail View of the knifecarrying traveler; and

Figures 5, G and 7 are detail diagrammatic views illustrating the reversing switch in its different positions. l

Referring to the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the trimming machine cornprises a stand, indicated generally by reference numeral 2. The top of the stand has two spaced bars 3, which are adapted to support the sticks 4 upon which the macaroni Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14C, 1922.

1920. Serial No. 895,602.

is suspended. r1`he operator takes one of the empty sticks and places upon it a batch of macaroni from the macaroni press, sprea ding the macaroni along the stick. The stick filled with macaroni is placed on the bars 3, at the front of the machine (the right hand end of the machine as viewed in Figure 2), and the sticks are pushed back along the machine as they are trimmed, the sticks moving from right to left as viewed in Figure 2. At the top of the machine is a hopper comprising two inclined bars 5, into which the operator at the back of the machine drops the empty sticks which roll forward to the front of the machine, as indicated at 6 in Fi ure 2.

. s shown in Figure 2, the macaroni on the sticks with the irregular ends before it is trimmed is placed on the bars 8, at the front of the machine and is moved back into position to have the ends trimmed by a cutting knife 7, which is arranged to be moved back and forth across the front of the machine and longitudinally of the macaroni-suspending sticks 4. The knife 7 is a power-driven rotary knife carried on a traveling carriage, indicated generally by reference numeral 8, which is fed back and forth across the front of the machine. The carriage 8 is provided with

trucks

9 and 10, which travel on the tracks 11 and 12, which are mountedr on a frame 13 carried by the main stand 2.

The knife 7 is preferably a rotary knife, as shown inthe drawings, having four blades and rotating in an anti-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3. The carriage 8 has a shear member 15, against which the knife cuts. The macaroni hanging from the stick above the knife lies against the front of the track 12, which properly positions the ends of the macaroni in the path of travel of the knife 7 as it moves along beneath the stick.

The knife 7 is carried on a shaft 16, 'which is driven by an electrkI motor 17, through a worm gearing 18. The shaft 16 also carries a gear 19, which, through an idler 20, drives a sprocket wheel 2l which engages a chain 22 to move the 'carriage 8 hack and forth. The small idler or backing roller is mounted on the carriage opposite the sprocket 21 to hold the chain in secure engagement with the sprocket teeth.

The carriage 8 is arranged to start from one side of the machine, for example, the left-hand side of the machine, as viewed in Figure 1, and' to travel across the frame cutting the ends of the macareni and then to automatically be reversed and return to 1ts starting position. The forward or cutting `Inovement of the carriage is preferably initiated manually, the operator starting the cutter into operation when a fresh stick of macaroni is to be trimmed. the carriage is controlled by an electric, switch, indicated generally by reference numeral 25. The electric switch 25 comprises a switch box or casing 2G, within which is slid'ably mounted an insulating block 27. ln the switch casing Q6 are two electric contact terminals 28 `and 2S), which are connected to the feed or supply circuit.

Carried on the insulating block 27 are three contacts 30 and 3l and 32. which are arranged to be brought against the

contacts

28 and 29, and which are connected to the motor, so that when the parts are in the position shown in Figures 3 and 7 the motor will be driven in a direction to drive the cutting knife forwardly in its cutting direction and to feed the carriage 8 from left to right across the front of the machine as viewed in Figure l. Then the block 27 is shifted to the position shown in Figure 5, the contacts reverse the current through the motor and drive the knife backwardly and feed the carriage 8 from right to left as viewed in Figure l, back to its starting position. In order to automatically `operate the switch to stop and to reverse the movement of the carriage 8, stops or buffers 33, 34E and 85 are provided. The operation of the switch and stops is as follows:

Assume that the machine is running and the carriage 8 is moving in a forward direction, as indicated by the arrow a in Figure 3. The contacts 3l and 32 are against the contacts Q8 and 29, respectively. The carriage will continue to move until it reaches the stops and 3ft. The stop 33 will first engage the end of a rod e0, rigidly secured in the insulating block 27 'and projecting from the switch casing 26. The stop will move the rod back until its end is flush with the outer side ofthe casing 26, thus bringing the switch to its middle posit-ion, as indicated in Figure 6, in which the motor circuit is broken. The momentum of the carriage will continue its movement compressing the spring il of the buffer 33 to cushion the' stepping of the carriage. The end of a second rod 42, also rigidly secured inthe insulating block, next comes in contact with the buffer or stop Sel, and the switch is moved to the position shown in Figure 5, in which the contacts 30 and 31 are brought against the contacts 2S and 29, respectively, and the The. travel of ineens? current to the motor is reversed, whereupon 'the carriage 8 automatically begins its backward travel to its starting position. The stop 34 is also provided with a buffer spring 43.

The carriage continues its reverse travel until it reaches the left hand side of the machine, as viewed in Figure l, whereupon the other end of the rod i0 contacts with the stop 35 and the switch 25 is moved to its neutral or stopping position shown in Figure 6. The butter spring sli assists in checking the momentum of the carriage. The `trimmer is now stopped and the machine is in readiness to receive a stick of fresh macaroni to be trimmed. Then a stick of fresh macaroni is pushed in position to be trimmed, the operator manually moves the switch into its starting or forwardly running position by pressing on the end 'of the rod 4t2;

While the machine is particularly designed for operation upon the macaroni suspended from the sticks, in common use in macaroni factories, it is obvious that the macaroni might be otherwise suspended and that vari` ous other modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the claims. The term macaroni as herein used, is intended as a word of general description and to include other food products of the same nature, such, for example, as the variety of macaroni known tothe trade as spa-ghetti.

I claim:

l. A macaroni-trimming machine, co1nprising sticks for supporting the macaroni,4 a stand for holding the sticks upon which the macaroni is suspended, and a powerdriven cutter arranged to travel back and forth longitudinally of the sticks and trim oil the ends of the macaroni suspended therefrom, substantially as described.

2. A macaroni-trimming machine, comprising a hanger for suspending the macaroni, and a power-operated cutter arranged to travel back and forth beneath the hanger and trim oliq the ends of the macaroni suspended therefrom, substantially as described.

3. A macaroni-trimming machine, comp'rising sticks for supporting the macaroni, a stand for receiving a plurality of such sticks and permitting the sticks to be moved along the standJ and a power-ope ated cutter arranged to travel beneath the sticks and trim ofi the ends of the macaroni suspended therefrom, substantially as described.

`In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. f

FRANK I. RUTLEDGE.