US332403A

US332403A - Oyster-opening machine

Info

Publication number: US332403A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1885-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1902-12-15

Description

N M d 1. (0 0e) C.LEDUG.

OYSTER OPENING MACHINE. I

N0. 332,403. Patented D60. 15, 1885,

PATENT EricE.

CONSTANT LEDUO, OF

DENVER, COLORADO.

OYSTER-OPENING MACHINE.

$PECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,403, dated December 15, 1885.

Application filed October 1, 1885.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CONSTANT LEDUo, of the city of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented an Improvement in Oyster-Opening Machines; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of oysteropening machines in which the oyster is held in a suitable bed or clamp, and is opened by the insertion of a knife or blade upon a pivoted lever; and my invention consists in a pcculiar pivoted and jointed lever carrying the knife or blade, which is thereby adapted to be moved through an arc in a vertical plane to penetrate between the halves of the oysters shell, and to be turned at right angles to the plane of its first movement, whereby it is enabled to pry the shell open.

It consists, further, in sharpening theedges of the knife or blade for the purpose of seven ing it from its shell, and in a peculiar adj ustable bed, in which the oyster is held while its shell is being opened, all of which I shall hereinafter fully describe.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, practical, and effective machine for opening oysters.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents the board or table for mounting the machine.

B is a standard bolted thereto.

0 is the bed for the oyster. It consists of two separate castings angled on their outer surfaces and inclined on their inner surfaces, whereby a groove, 0, is made, the walls of which are provided with ledges or shoulders c, for holding the oysters at different heights. These pieces are secured to the board A by means of bolts D, which pass through slots or enlarged holes d in said pieces, whereby they may be set up close to one another or withdrawn from each other, for the purpose of diminishing or increasing the width of the groove 0, in which the oyster rests. The bed is therefore adapted for different sizes of oysters.

E is a lever. It consists of a link portion, e, and a handle portion, 0. The end of the link is slotted on the top of the standard B, and is pivoted thereto by a horizontal bolt or pin, F, so that the link and handle are adapted to move through an arc in a vertical plane.

Serial No. 178 775. (No model.)

The end of the handle is slotted on the adjacent end of the link, and is pivoted thereto by a pin or bolt, G, placed in a vertical position, so that the handle may have a movement through an arc in a horizontal plane or at right angles to the are through which it moves by reason of the horizontal pin F. The pin G- is preferably the stem of the knife or blade H, which is letinto a groove in the under side of the handle, and is secured by the bolt or pin G. The knife is a broad and rather flat one, ground down on its faces to its tip, thus providing for its ready entrance into the shell; and the edges h of the knife are sharpened down also for the purpose of cutting and severing the oyster from its shell.

The operation of my machine is as follows: The oyster is placed Within the bed 0, which is properly adjusted for the size of the oyster. The lever E is now brought down through a vertical arc, so that theknife H enters between the halves of the shell of the oyster, after which the handle part of the lever which carries the knife is turned at right angles, there by turning the knife and prying the shell open. The sharp edge of the knife severs the oyster from the shell.

I am aware it is not broadly new to open oysters by means of a knife secured to a pivoted lever, the oyster being held between pivoted jaws or sustained in position upon the bed by a spring-clamp. I am also aware interchangeable blocks have been used to hold the oyster preparatory to its being operated upon by the knife; and these features I do not claim, broadly, as my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is I 1. In an oyster-opening machine, the combination of a bed for holding the oyster with a pivoted jointed lever and a knife carried by said lever, and adapted to be inserted in the shell of the oyster and turned at right angles to pry it open, substantially as described.

2. In an oyster-opening machine, the lever E, consisting of the link portion 6, pivoted and adapted to move through an arc in a vertical plane, and the handle portion 6, pivoted to the link portion 6 and adapted to move in an arc in ahorizontal plane or at right angles to the plane of the movement of the link e, and

a knife carried by said handle portion, substantially as described.

3. In an oyster-opening machine, the pivoted link 0, adapted to move through an arc in a vertical plane, and the handle 6, pivoted to the link and adapted to move with said link, and also at right angles thereto, said link and handle constituting the lever E, in combination with the knife H, seated in the handle, and having a securing-stem, G, which forms the pivot bolt or pin between the handle and the link, substantially as described.

4. In an oyster-opening machine, the bed 0, consisting of two independent pieces placed horizontally upon the bed and forming a groove, 0, between them, the ledges or shoulders c, for holding the oysters at different heights, and the means for adjusting said pieces for different sizes of oysters, consisting of the bolts D, passing through slots or enlarged openings d in the pieces, in combination with the operating-knife for opening the oysters, substantially as described.

5. An oyster-opening machine comprising the adjustable grooved bed 0, the standard B, the pivoted and jointed lever E, and the Witnesses:

HENRI R. FosTER, WM. SANDERSON.