IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE SAME, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT.to Michael Henry, of 84, formerly of 77, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR
THE SAME, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."-A communication
from P. A. de Gemini.
Sealed the 22nd September 1858, and dated the 19th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
April 1858.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of 77, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention' for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE SAME, AND
IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," communicated to me by. P. A. de Gemini, a
foreigner residing abroad, to be as follows:-
The wicks are first prepared by soaking them in a saline solution (solution
saligineuse), using by preference for this purpose ammoniacal salts such as
sulphate, carbonate, nitrate, hydro-sulphate, and hydro-chlorate of ammonia,
and the tallow or other fatty matter is prepared by bleaching it, disinfecting it,
and separating the oleine from the stearine according to the modes specified in
a Patent granted to R. A. Brooman, 31 January 1852, for the treatment of

page_text: fixed and essential oils. To manufacture the candles the Inventor introduces
into the moulds one, or two, or more wicks, by preference plaited, placed in
opposite directions so as to form, while burning, a sort of luminous curtain.
For producing these double, triple, or compound wicks a peculiar arrange-
ment of apparatus is employed, so contrived that the wicks, having first been
placed on a reel connected to the frame, are brought thence through orifices in
a moveable piece to the toothed arms of a removeable reel, free to revolve in
its bearings, and in passing through such orifices imbibe fluid fatty matters
delivered to them by opening a valve in a channel leading from a travelling
receiver in which the fatty matters are held at a low temperature; the orifices are
so arranged as to leave between the two wicks an equal distance as required,
which space becomes covered with the tallow or other fatty substance so as to
connect or unite the two wicks; this done, the end of the wicks is attached
to an arm of the toothed reel, and so that one tooth may come between the
wicks and keep them at the proper distance and position. The reel is then
made to revolve, and the two wicks, issuing at equal distances from the orifices,
are carried and stretched from arm to arm, still separated by a tooth at each
length of wick, and so on till the reel is full, when the double wick which
connects it to the perforated piece is cut, and the full reel is removed from its
bearings, to be replaced by a fresh one and transferred to other bearings at
another part of the frame where the wicks are cut and allowed to fall on a slab
beneath. The teeth or toothed plates of the arms are so connected to them as
to leave a slot down the middle for the cutting knife to pass. The tallow
receiver is so fitted as to be free to travel from side to side of the apparatus,
and there is a trough below it to catch any matters that may drop from it
during the operation.
The moulds for receiving the prepared wicks differ from those commonly
known in respect of having the point closed so that the wicks are passed in at
the top through a mouthpiece.
When in carrying the Invention into effect hydro-chlorate of ammonia is
adopted for the solution to soak the wicks, the Inventor prefers to use it in the
proportion of about from 2 to 11 lbs. hydro-chlorate to 22 gallons water, or
the water may even be saturated with the salt if thought desirable; and in
preparing the tallow or fatty matter according to the modes referred to as
specified in the aforesaid Patent of 1852, he has found it effective to work the
rotary apparatus therein alluded to at the rate of at least a thousand revolutions
per minute.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, now of 84, but formerly of 77, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Michael Henry, Her special licence that I, the said Michael Henry, "my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Michael
Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE SAME, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," communicated to me by P. A. de Gemini,
a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Michael Henry, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great.
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Henry, do hereby declare the.
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, as communicated to me, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked' thereon, that is to
say:
This Invention relates to certain improved means of preparing the consti-
tuents or materials of candles, and to the manufacture therefrom of candles of
an improved description, and likewise to apparatus employed for the purpose.
In conducting the process, the wicks are first prepared by soaking them in
a saline solution (solution saligineuse), by preference using ammoniacal salts

page_text: for the purpose, such as sulphate, carbonate, nitrate, hydro-sulphate, and
hydro-chlorate of ammonia. The tallow or other fatty body is prepared by
bleaching and disinfecting it, (and separating the oleine from the stearine,) by
the application of the methods described for the treating of fixed and essential
oils, in the Specification of certain improvements communicated by P. A. de
Gemini aforesaid, for which a Patent was granted to R. A. Brooman, bearing
date on or about the Thirty-first day of January 1852, as a communication
to him fromand on behalf of a foreigner residing abroad. The constituents
being thus prepared, they are applied in the manufacture of candles as follows:-
One, two, or more wicks (by preference plaited), arranged in opposite directions,
so as to form, while burning, a sort of luminous curtain, is or are introduced
into the moulds. For producing such double, triple, or compound (multiple)
wicks, an arrangement of apparatus is employed, in which the wicks, having
been first placed on a reel connected to the frame, are conducted thence
through orifices in a moveable guide piece to the toothed arms of a drum or
reel, free to revolve in its bearings, and in passing through these orifices
imbibe fluid fatty matters delivered to them by opening a valve in a channel
leading from a travelling receiver in which the fatty bodies are held at a low
temperature; the orifices are so arranged as to leave between the two wicks
an equal distance or space, which becomes covered with the fatty matter, so as
to connect or unite the two wicks, the ends of which are then so attached to
an arm of the toothed reel that one tooth may come between the wicks and
keep them at the proper distance and position. The reel is then caused to
revolve, and the two wicks, issuing at equal distances from the orifices, are
brought to and stretched from arm to arm, still separated by a tooth at each
length of wick, and so on till the reel is full, when the double wick uniting it
to the guide piece is cut, and the full reel is removed to give place to a fresh
one, and transferred to other bearings at another part of the frame, when the
wicks are cut and allowed to fall on a slab beneath. The teeth or toothed
plates of the arms are so connected to them as to leave a slot down the middle
for the cutter to pass. The tallow receiver is fitted so as to be free to travel
from side to side of the apparatus, and there is a trough below it to receive
any matters that may drop therefrom during the process. The moulds for
receiving the prepared wicks differ from those commonly used, in respect of
having the point closed so that the wicks are passed in at top through a
mouthpiece.
In preparing the tallow or fatty bodies according to the modes before
referred to (as set forth in respect of oils, in the Specification of the aforesaid

page_text: Patent of 31st January 1852), the rotary apparatus therein alluded to is most
effective for the purpose when worked at the rate of at least 1,000 revolutions
per minute.
I now proceed, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, more par-
ticularly to explain the aforesaid improvements, and the method in which the
same may be performed.
.
In order to bleach and disinfect the fatty matters according to the mode
before referred to, they are subjected to the action of a tubular apparatus,
exemplified in vertical section, Figures 1 and 2, and in horizontal section,.
Figure 3. a is a receiver or chamber in which the fatty bodies are placed;
to every hundred parts thereof about one part of sulphuric or hydro-chloric
acid, diluted in 12 to 20 per cent. water is added, but only in small quantities
at a time, and at certain stated intervals during the process, or a like propor-
tion of chlorine, or of an alcoholic solution of storax calamite or calamite
powder, or oxide of lead may be employed. d, d, are tubes of very small bore,
say of an inch in diameter, set at a short distance apart (about from 3 to 4
inches), and bevelled off at the end. These tubes lead to the bottom of the
receiver a, for the purpose of conveying steam thither. e is a supply pipe for
admitting steam, which can be cut off when desired by a stop-cock, Figure 1.
The steam, on issuing from this pipe e, comes in contact with a plate f, and
flows into a box or chamber 6, whence it is dispersed or divided equally among
the tubes d, d, which convey it to the bottom of the receiver, and on emerging
from which it percolates the fatty matters (in a state of fusion), causes them
to swell, divides them, and (either alone or in combination with any one of the
before-mentioned chemical agents) carries off the deleterious or coloring
matters which they contain, (the necessary action being maintained for a
sufficient length of time). The important feature of this method or arrange-
ment of apparatus is the effecting of the injection of steam in a divided state
into the fatty bodies under treatment; any contrivance other than tubes may
be employed for causing the steam to enter in such state of division, as for
example, plates, wire cloth, &c. The bleaching and partial disinfection of the
fatty matters may be performed at the same time as the separation of the
oleine and stearine, by the employment of the apparatus shewn in section,
Figure 4. In this arrangement the action of steam and that of the before-
mentioned chemical agents are combined with an action of agitation, produced
by communicating rapid rotary motion to a shaft J, which is caused to revolve
at the rate of about a thousand revolutions per minute. This shaft is hollow,
and the steam escapes through orifices formed in horizontal tubes ; here 9 is

page_text: the receiver, which may be fitted with horizontal arms or projections, arranged
with respect to the tubes 6, as shewn. The receiver is heated by steam,
or by an open fire, or other medium, so as to keep the fatty bodies contained
therein at a temperature of from 176° to.212° Fahrenheit. Instead of using
steam in the foregoing processes, a gas may be employed, caused in like manner
to enter in a divided state among the fatty matters. The effect of the rapid rotary
action is to produce permanent absorption and accumulation of oxygen,
thereby obtaining a continuous, action thereof on the matters under treatment;
whereas, on the contrary, a slow rate of rotation would have the effect of
disengaging the oxygen; and this rapid revolution of the agitator is con-
sequently a very important feature of the process. During the operation
such a degree of separation or division.is. effected between the oleine and
stearine contained in the fatty body, that a single pressing action will sub-
sequently suffice for completing the separation of the stearine and oleine.
The fatty materials having been thus prepared on the one hand, I now
proceed particularly to describe the mode of preparing and treating the wicks.
For this purpose the apparatus represented in sectional elevation, Figure 5,
plan, Figure 6, and transverse section, Figure 7, is employed. The wicks,
plaited or not, are first soaked in a solution of water saturated with an
ammoniacal salt, such as sulphate, carbonate, nitrate, bydro-sulphate, or hydro-
chlorate of ammonia. When hydro-chlorate of ammonia is adopted for the
purpose, it should preferably be used in the proportion of about 2 to 11 lbs.
hydro-chlorate to 22 gallons water, or the water may even be saturated with
the salt, if thought desirable. After this treatment the wicks are wound on
to reels M, M', which may either both be mounted on the same spindle a, or
one on the spindle a and the other on a separate spindle y, a little behind it.
From each reel M, M', a wick p is led on to one of the orifices t of a guide
piece L, mounted on a screw rod G; the two wicks thus come out of the
guide side by side, having a space between them, which may be regulated as
desired, and they are then wound on a reel R, passing over teeth or points s,
formed on the arms S of this reel. The teeth s may be arranged in any
suitable manner, and particularly as represented in elevation, Figure 8.
Figure 9 shows the arrangement of one of the tooth carrier plates 8 on one of
the arms S. By actuating a handle T, the guide L is moved forward on the
screw G, at the same time rotary motion is communicated to the reel R by
means of gear wheels N, O, or by a band, chain, strap, or other suitable
contrivance. The effect of this combined action, namely, the rotary motion
of the reel R combined with the forward motion of the guide L, is to dispose

page_text: or arrange the two wicks p in a regular manner on the teeth of the reel; these
teeth are placed apart at a distance equal to one length of wick. When
the reel R is entirely covered or filled it is removed to give place to a fresh
one, and is carried to and placed over a vessel or receiver H, supplied with the
tallow or fatty matter, kept liquid or in a state of liquefaction, the ends of the
reel spindle being rested on the arms of a rocking carrier frame J, which is
so contrived that by depressing a lever handle K it may move on the fulcrum w
and thus be raised up out of the vessel into the position indicated by dotted
lines. When the frame is not raised, the arms of the reel dip into the tallow
in the vessel, and a certain rotary motion being imparted to it, the double wick
will become impregnated with the fatty matter, which will fill up
the space
between the two wicks of each pair. The lever K is then depressed, and the
reel raised up out of the vessel and caused to revolve in the air, so as to dry
the tallow. These operations are repeated, the reel being alternately caused
to revolve first in and then out of the tallow vessel, till the wicks are sufficiently
coated with fatty matter, wlien the reel is removed and set on a suitable
support, and the wicks are all cut together by inserting a sharp cutting blade
near the teeth. The whole arrangement may be supported on a general
framework V, as shewn in the Drawing. Figure 12 exemplifies the appearance
of the wicks as thus produced. They are next to be inserted through mouth-
pieces or funnels a, shewn detached in section, Figure 10, and plan, Figure 11,
into moulds b, Figure 13, similar to those usually employed, but with this
exception, however, that the end or point is closed, and the tallow is allowed
to drain according to the modes usually practised.
I do not restrict myself to the precise details represented and set forth,
nor even to the employment of the exact arrangements of apparatus described,
for carrying the Invention into effect.
And having now described the nature of the said improvements, and in
what manner the same may be performed, as communicated to me, I declare
that I claim,―
First, the employment in the manufacture of candles, of wicks, either
plaited or not, prepared for the purpose by immersing them in a saline
solution (solution saligineuse), and especially in a solution of ammoniacal
salts.
Second, I claim the employment, in the manufacture of candles, of double,
triple, compound, or multiple wicks prepared by any suitable mechanical
means.
Third, I claim the preparation of tallow and other fatty bodies, by applying

page_text: thereto the processes set forth for the treatment of fixed and essential oils in
the Specification of the Patent of 31 January 1852, herein-before referred
to; but I lay no claim to the arrangement of apparatus for the purpose,
referred to in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings accompanying the
present Specification, as the same was specified under the before-mentioned
Patent.
Fourth, I claim the employment, for treating wicks in the manufacture of
candles, of the machine herein-before described, and exemplified in Figures 5,
6, 7, and 8; and I claim also the general arrangement and combination of
parts of such machine, and especially the particular means of forming double,
triple, or multiple wicks united by the fatty material.
Fifth, I claim the employment, in the manufacture of candles, of moulds
with closed points, into which the wicks are inserted through a mouthpiece
at top.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set my 1
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
CHAS. H. LANGMEAD,
84, Fleet Street.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)