Gum breaking device

Claim 1

A GUM BREAKING DEVICE FOR SEPARATING SCORED SLABS OF GUM INTO INDIVIDUAL STICKS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING AN UPPER AND A LOWER TOOTHED WHEEL, THE PITCH OF THE TEETH ON THE UPPER WHEEL BEING THE SAME AS THE PITCH OF THE TEETH ON THE LOWER WHEEL, AND THE PITCH OF THE TEETH ON BOTH WHEELS BEING SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SCORES ON THE SLABS, THE MAJOR DIAMETERS OF SAID WHEELS BEING THE SAME, MEANS FOR ROTATING BOTH OF SAID WHEELS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME RATE WHEREBY THEIR PERIPHERAL RATES WILL BE THE SAME, THE TRAILING FACES OF THE TEETH ON THE UPPER WHEEL BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY RADIALLY THEREOF, THE LEADING FACES OF THE TEETH ON THE LOWER WHEEL ALSO BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY RADIALLY THEREOF, SAID WHEELS ROTATING ABOUT PARALLEL AXES WITH THEIR TEETH IN MESHING RELATION, THE TRAILING FACES OF THE UPPER TEETH AND THE LEADING FACES OF THE LOWER TEETH BEING SUCCESSIVELY BROUGHT INTO CLOSELY ADJACENT RELATION AS THE TEETH ARE ROTATED INTO SAID MESHING RELATION, AND A PLATFORM LEADING TO THE INFEED BITE OF SAID WHEELS AND ALONG WHICH SCORED SLABS OF GUM ARE URGED WITH THE SCORES TRANSVERSE TO THEIR PATH OF ADVANCE, SAID LOWER WHEELS HAVING CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVES, SAID PLATFORM BEING SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE LEVEL OF THE UPPER EXTENT OF TRAVEL OF THE TEETH ON THE LOWER WHEEL AND HAVING EXTENSIONS PROJECTING INTO SAID SLOTS TO SUPPORT THE LEADING END OF THE SLAB OF GUM, SAID EXTENSIONS TERMINATING SHORT OF A VERTICAL PLANE THROUGH THE AXIS OF THE LOWER WHEEL, WHEREBY SUPPORT OF A STICK OF GUM BEING BROKEN FROM THE SLAB WILL BE TRANSFERRED FROM THE PLATFORM TO A TOOTH ON THE LOWER WHEEL MOVING AT THE SAME PERIPHERAL RATE AS THE SLAB OF GUM.