On the day in engineering history, Carl R. Taylor received
the first U.S.
patent for a cone-rolling machine. In his patent application of February 16,
1921, the resident of Cleveland,
Ohio explained that his "new and
useful" invention was designed to form "thin, freshly-baked wafers while still
hot into cone-shaped containers such as are commonly used in dispensing ice
cream". By using multiple dies and a turntable, the cones would have time to
cool and harden before moving into the release position, where they were
ejected from the device. "The retention of the formed cones in the dies while
several other cones are being formed", Carl Taylor explained, "gives the hot
wafer time to cool and harden in the die so that it will permanently hold its
conical shape and can be safely handled".
Zalabia
Taylor's
technology was both original and complementary. At the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, a
Syrian-American chef named Ernest A. Hamwi had rolled zalabia, a waffle-like pastry, into cones for serving ice cream after
fellow entrepreneurs Frank and Robert Menches had run out of serving bowls at
their own concession stand. Although some historians claim that the Menches
brothers invented the ice cream cone, Ernest Hamwi holds a June 1, 1920 patent
for what is clearly a cone-maker. U.S. patent 1,342,045 may not contain
the words "ice cream", but Hamwi's "apparatus for making pastry forms" depicts what
modern readers will recognize as ice cream cones. "While cones are mentioned," Hamwi
explained in his own words, "the invention mutatis mutandis is adaptable for other forms."
From Batter to Cone
Carl R. Taylor's ice cream cone rolling machine was designed
to be used in conjunction with Ernest A. Hamwi's cone-making machine. "In use",
Taylor
described in his patent application, "the machine shown herein is set up
adjacent the batter baking machine upon which the thin wafers which are formed
by this machine into cones, are baked." Taylor's
cone-rolling machine was mounted on a pedestal with a pair of upright shaft
supports. A carrier support in the upper ends of the shaft supports attached to
a disk or turntable. Hollow, conical dies were mounted upon the disk. Other
machine components included a star wheel, gear wheel, stub shaft, conical
mandrel and stop collars. The mandrel shaft moved backwards and forwards via an
actuated lever that was attached to the pedestal.
Resources:
http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/january_29.html
http://www.todayinsci.com/1/1_29.htm
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/icecreamcone.htm
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2676&nm=Carl-R-Taylor
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2660
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1342045.pdf
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1481813.pdf
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