US510027A - Corn-popper - Google Patents

Description

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' vJ. P. JOHNSON.

` 001m POPPBR. N0. 510,027. t Patented Deo. 5, 1893.

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J. F. JOHNSON.

CORN POPPER.

No.. 510,027. Patented Dec. 5, 1893.

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NrTED STATES JAMES F. JOHNSON, OF'KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

CORN-POPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 510,027', dated December 5, 1893.

Application filed December 24.1892. Serial No. 456|229 (N0Dl0f161 A To all whom t may concern:

Se it known that I, JAMES F. JoHNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kam sas City,in the county of Jackson, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Poppers,of which the. following is a full, clear, and exact descript-ion, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in corn poppers, in which a revolving cylinder is constructed withtwo compartments one to receive the unpopped corn, the other to pop and discharge said corn; this cylinder to be mounted in a case on sliding bearings, as hereinafter described, and my object is to provide and construct an apparatus for popping corn, by constructing a metallic casing and mounting therein a revolving cylinder, substantially as illustrated, and to construct on the top of said casing a suitable oven or heating case, in which the sacks of popped corn may be kept Warm, and to provide a suitable gasoline tank and burners to furnish the requisite heat, a further object being to construct such a corn popping apparatus, which will be simple, durable, economical, and of such a size that it may be transported from place to place with little difficulty and expense.

With these objects in view myinvention consists in the novel construction and arrangement hereinafter described, and fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I, represents a perspective view of my invention, showing its general appearance and construction. Fig. II, is a central vertical section of same, more clearly showing the construction of the revolving cylinder and case. Fig. III, is a detail viewin perspective of the valve which regulates the feed from supply chamber, F, to the popping cylinder. Fig. IV, is a partly broken away perspective View of a portion of the cylinder, showing the.l manner of securing the wire gauze, or mesh, to the cylinder heads. Fig. V, is a detail view in perspective, of the cylinder, showing more clearly the formation of the wire gauze or mesh, which delivers the popped corn. Fig. VI, is a sectional detail view of said cylinder, taken on line 5-5, of Fig. V, showing more l clearlyzthe. conical formation of the coarse convoluted mesh, and the method of bracing the cylinder heads, C, C2, C3. Fig. VII, is a line 2, 2, of` Fig. II, showing the feed open-- ings in partitionY (5 3, and indicating by dotted lines the partitions, I, lin supply chamber, F; and Fig. VIII, is a partly broken away sectional view of the frame, K, taken on line, 1, l, of Fig. I, which supports the cylinders, and of the guides in which said frame operates, and the method of securing said guide to the Walls, A, of the case.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A, represents the casing constructed substantially as shown of light sheet metal, such as galvanized iron or tin, provided with suitable handles, d, for convenience in handling, and lin ed in the inside with asbestus, which serves to retain the heat within said drum, and to prevent the saine from becoming over heated on the outside.

A', represents a door or opening formed in the front of compartment, A2, and in this compartment or closet, A2, may be kept the condiments which are used' to season the corn.

In one of the side walls, A, is formed a door or opening, B, which gives access to the burners, dac. i

Bi', represents a drawer, or its equivalent, which is .provided to rest under the cylinder, as a receptacle for all the refuse and iinpopped corn A3, represents a partition which is formed in thecase under one side ofthe cylinder, and the Wall or par'tition which constitutes the cover of said compartment or closet, A?, is made to conform to'theontour of the cylinder, so that any refuse which may fall on same from said cylinder, wi'lldrop off into the drawer or receptacle, l?.

O, represents the front cylinder head, to which is rigidly secured allaring circular projection, C', that extends about` three inches beyond the face of the cylinder, and this fiaring projection is in the form of atruncated cone, and is secured to said cylinder head with the small end out, so that any unpopped grains of corn which may mix with the popped grains will fall through the coarse cone shaped wire netting, and .be conveyed back into the transverse section of said cylinder, taken on u IOO popping compartment ot the cylinder, by passing througlrthe openings, c2, in cylinder head, C.

Ci", represents a partition between the popping cylinder and supply chamber, F, and is suitably braced to cylinder head, C, by brace rods, G, hereinafter described.

C2, represents the rear cylinder head, which Vis braced to partition, C3, by brace rods, G'. These cylinder heads are made of single sheets of metal and are constructed with a ange around their outer edges, around which the wire gauze or mesh is secured.

D, represents a fine wire gauze or mesh, secured on cylinder head, C, and partition,03, which, starting at d, extends around same to d', (see Fig. VII,) in a circularform,and from c7', it is extended to the point, d", in a spiral' form, and at this point, (7",it is attached to a coarse Wire gauze, D', which continues in the form of a conical spiral to 67"', where it is secured to the shaft or axle, J, in a suitable manner. The reservoir, or supply chamber, F, is completely covered by said netted Wire or gauze, D, so that the supply of corn contained therein iinds no outlet, except through the openings, c'. Said gauze, D, is secured on cylinder heads, G, C2, by being bent around the small anges, formed on said cylinder heads, and may be held in place by a hoop, or circular strip, c, as shown in Fig. IV.

An opening, D2, is formed in the coarse wire, D', at the point Where it changes from the cone shaped spiral at the discharge, to a convoluted cylinder, so that the entire coarse screen may be formed of one piece.

E, represents the discharge opening through which the popped corn is discharged into a suitable receiver provided for that purpose.

G, G, G, G, represent brace-rods which are secured and rigidly bolted to the cylinder head, C, and partition, C3. The ends of these rods are bent at right angles, and are flattened so as to rest solidly against the cylinder head and partition, andare secured thereto by means of bolts, g, as seen in Fig. VI. G', G', G', G', are similar, but shorter brace rods which secure the partition, C3, and4 cylinder heads, C2, rigidly together.

I-I, H, represent valve stems on which are secured valves, 7a.,l for closing the feed openings, c' c', to regulate or shut oi thesnpply of unpopped corn from supply chamber, F, to the popping chamber of the cylinder. Said valve stems, H, are provided with thumb levers, by means of which the valves may be operated from the front of the popper, and are also provided with ratchets, 71.', 7L', and suitable ratchet bars, 7L", for holding same at any desired angle. The rear ends, 7a3, of said valve stems are threaded to receive suitable nuts for holding them in place. These valve stems, I-I, I-I, pass entirely through the cylinder, and maybe tightened by Withdrawing said cylinder from the case, and turning the nuts at the back. d

I, I, represent a partition in the supply chamber, F, which divides the corn into equal quantities, so as to form an even balance for the revolving cylinder. The feed openings, c', are located in partition, C3, a short distance from its outer rim, so that the corn Will not be fed bach into supply chamber F, as cylin. der revolves, and in orderto feed all the corn through said opening, I provide a metallic strip, t', which is placed on a level with the openings, so that as the cylinder is revolved, the unpopped corn Will follow around the Wire gauze covering until they reach the strip, z, and will then be conveyed directly to the feed opening, and as said cylinder continues to revolve, the portion of corn which has not passed into theV popping cylinder Will fall along on the partition, and again be carried around the Wire mesh, D, until it reaches said opening, c', being thus continually agitated until all has passed into the popper; meau- While the corn thus fed into the popper is brought in contact with the heat from the burners, P', and as it is popped, the enlarged grains are conveyed to the coarse Wire, D', and discharged through the opening, E, in a continuous new, and the unpopped grains which may mix With same, fall through said coarse Wire, D', back with the remaining unpopped corn. The corn after being popped in the line Wire gauze, D, passes ou to the coarse gauze, D', all the unpopped grains falling through said coarse screen or gauze on to the fine gauze D, and as the cylinder revolves, the corn is carried around the axle in the funnel shaped convoluted gauze, and by its own gravity is fed out through the discharge, E, in a continuous iiow.

J, represents the shaft or axle, which is made of a rod or hollow pipe, and secured through the center of the cylinder, by stay rods or bolts, Q, Q.

J', represents a suitable crank or handle which is secured to the shaft, J, for operating the cylinder.

K, represents the slide bearing which is supported in the guide bearings, 70,70; and on this bearing, the cylinder is mounted, and

ing the bearing, K, out, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. II.

The cross piece, K', which forms the rear bearing, may be' made separate, and bolted to the main bearing, K, by suitable bolts, 7c', as shown in Fig. VIII, thus forming an easy method of securing it in the case.

The guides, 70,76, are formed of sheet metal, and have three equal sides, and are secured to the Walls, A, A, by metallic strips, 7a2, as shown.

L, represents a chest or oven, which rests on the top of drum, A, and has a closet, M,in Which is a Wire gauze,fm resting on cleats or angles, m', 'm'. This closet or oven, M, is designed to contain the sacks of popped corn, and keep same Warm and fresh. The gauze door, m, is to keep said sacks from resting on the heated base of the oven. N, N, represent flues formed on each side of said oven through which the heated air may escape from drum A, and thesev filles, N, N, are provided with dampers, n, n, which may be turned at any time by means of the handles, n', n', to shut in the heat. Said chest or oven is provided with a door, Z, and may be constructed of any suitable material and design.

P, represents the gasoline tank which is properly secured in position, and connected withsuitableburners,P,P,byapipe,asshown in Fig. II. p, is a needle valve in said pipe, which shuts off the gasoline supply, and p,p, are similar needle valves, which regulate the supply to the burners, P', P

The stay rods, Q, Q, are threaded into the shaft, J, and extend through the wire, D', and flaring hanged projection, C', as close to cylinder head, O, as possible, and are secured in place by nuts, Q', Q', which have bearings in small slots formed in said -cylinder head, as seen in Fig. V.

Said chest or oven, L, may be taken off, if so desired, and the opening thus left be covered by a cap or cover, made of flat metal, and formed so that it will rest in the groove which supports the oven.

In the rear cylinder head, C2, I provide an opening which is covered by a slide or door, and through this opening the corn is poured into the supply chamber, F, through a suitable hopper or funnel provided for that purpose.

The entire interior of case, A, may be lined with a layer of asbestus, or other substance, which is a nonconductor of heat, thereby protecting the casing from the eXtreme heat, and making the apparatus safe and durable.

The cylinder heads in this invention are made of a single thickness of metal, which decreases the expense of manufacture, and, being formed with the -angular liange, provide a practicable and safe method of securing the Wire gauze or mesh, D, thereon.

I am aware that there are other corn popping devices now in use, but in using them it is necessary to feed the corn directly to the popping cylinder from a funnel or hopper, while in my invention the corn is first fed into the supply chamber, which is constructed as a part of the revolving cylinder, and is fed therefrom into the popping compartment of said cylinder, through the openirigs, c', c', in the desired quantities, and in a partly heated state. Then as the grains are popped, they are taken up on the coarse cone shaped convoluted gauze, by the revolutions of the cylinder, and are carried around the shaft or axle, J, and are by their own gravity discharged through opening, E, in a continuous ow, which is not the case with devices for the same purpose now in use; for in them, the popped corn is discharged at intervals, with each revolution of the cylinder, which has a tendency to scatter them as they fall. F'urthermore, I have provided a means of fee'dlng back to the cylinder, automatically, all the unpopped grains, which may become mixed with the popped grains, by means of the flaring projection, C', hereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'- 1. In a corn popper, substantially as shown and described, the cylinder having a flaring projection C', constructedA on the front of the cylinder head C, said projection being in the form of a truncated cone with its small end extending outwardly; coarse cone shaped wire netting having its large end secured to the outer edge of the truncated cone C', and its small end to the cylinder head C3, said cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis, substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with the casing A,havi ng bearings K, and means for heating the `cylinder, the revolving cylinder, having a supply chamber and a popping chamber, which are covered by one piece of fine Wire gauze or mesh, and which are connected by valve openings and the partitions in the supply chambers for dividing the unpopped corn in equal parts, said cylinder being borne on the substantially horizontal axis, substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a corn popper, the revolving cylinder having heads and a fine wiregauze or mesh partly encircling said heads, the iine gauze attached to a coarse cone shaped convoluted gauze which is secured to the axle or shaft, and so formed as to discharge the popped corn through the front cylinder head and the flaring projection to feed the unpopped corn back into the cylinder automatically; substantially as set forth and described.

In testimony whereof I afX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES F. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

W. S. BARNETT, W. M. MORGAN.

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