Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Cube Sugar.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Apr., 1898
Last 12th lan 1000 Accented 12th Anr
1800
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Cube Sugar.
We, CHARLES JAMES CROSFIELD, J.P., Sugar Refiner, and SIGMUND STEIN, Sugar
Refinery Manager, both of 323 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to the manufacture or production of cube sugar;
and has for its object and effect to provide an improved method or process of
manufacturing sugar cubes, or slabs to be subsequently cut up into cubes, direct
from raw sugar crystals, or sugar which has been refined, and in the form of
crystals, without going through operations or treatments which are non-continuous
or non-direct, as happens at present; and to thereby provide such improvements
as will enable the production of sugar cubes to be effected at less cost and more
simply, than that under the processes at present employed; while, at the same
time, the product shall be equal in quality, and possess the same, and equally
valuable commercial characteristics as the present cubes.
The sugar to be treated, under this invention, is in the form of crystals, and
these may be white, Hence, in the case of refined sugar being employed, the
white crystals will be those employed and operated upon; whilst, if the cubes
are to be formed direct from raw sugar, these raw sugar crystal's must be first
washed and rendered white.
According to this invention, the white crystals are caused to adhere and be
bound together by the employment, and admixture with them, of a sugar solution,
which should be a perfectly clear, and saturated one; and the quantity of solution
used as the adhesive or binder shall be only just sufficient to cause the crystals
to adhere together properly; and to effect the proper mixing and action, so that
the crystals become completely, though thinly, coated with the adhesive sugar
solution, the mixing should be effected by-and there is employed for this pur-
pose a stirring or turning over apparatus of the character such as used for
stirring dough, or other stiff or doughy substance, and the like, as the material
will be in a strong or tough plastic condition.
This stiff material is next pressed into slabs or cakes; and this is effected by
pressing it direct from a hopper or conduit of the mixing apparatus into matrices
in a press, and pressing the material under a high pressure, say a pressure as
high as can be practically used without destroying or crushing the crystals or
grains. A type of pressing machine which may be used, is that employed for
brick or tile making, or making oil cakes, or the like, wherein the tiles or cakes
are pressed singly, and then discharged automatically. From this machine, the
slabs or cakes are led by a conveyor having shovels, trays, or the like, which carry
off the moist slabs.
These moist slabs are then dried; and the drying is effected by adapting the
continuously moving conveyor to pass through a suitable drying stove with the
cakes or slabs on it; by which, as they come out of the stove, they will be in
a completely dried condition. From this drying stove in a dried condition, that
077

page_text: is, as the slabs come from the stove on the continuously moving conveyor, they
are conveyed by it to a cutting machine, where they are cut up into cubes, the
cutting being so effected that out of the six sides, four will have a crystalline and
brilliant surface, equal to those of cubes made by the ordinary process.
The invention, it is to be stated, is not restricted to any special construction or
form of parts of the machinery employed, and various modifications in respect
of machinery used for carrying out the process, or method of manufacture, may be
employed without departing from the main features of the invention.
Dated this 12th day of April 1898.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
Applicants' Patent Agents, 15, Water Street, Liverpool.
Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Cube Sugar.
We, CHARLES JAMES CROSFIELD, J.P., Sugar Refiner, and SIGMUND STEIN, Sugar
Refinery Manager, both of 323 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement; -
This invention has reference to the manufacture or production of cube sugar,
and has for its object and effect to provide an improved method or process of
manufacturing sugar cubes, or slabs to-be subsequently cut up into cubes, direct
from raw sugar crystals, or sugar which has been refined, and in the form of
crystals; without going through operations or treatments which are non-continuous
or non-direct; as happens at present; and to thereby provide such improvements
as will enable the production of sugar cubes to be effected at less cost and more
simply than that under the processes at present employed; while, at the same
time, the product shall be equal in quality, and possess the same; and equally
valuable commercial characteristics as the present cubes.
The sugar to be treated, under this invention, is in the form of crystals, and
these may be white. Hence, in the case of refined sugar being employed, the
white crystals will be those employed and operated upon; whilst, if the cubes
are to be formed direct from raw sugar, these raw sugar crystals must be first
washed and rendered white.
According to this invention, the white crystals are caused to adhere and be
bound together by the employment and admixture with them; of a sugar solution,
which should be a perfectly clear, and saturated one; and the quantity of solution
used as the adhesive or binder shall be only just sufficient to cause the crystals
to adhere together properly; and to effect the proper mixing and action, so that
the crystals become completely, though thinly, coated with the adhesive sugar
solution, the mixing should be effected by--and there is employed for this pur-
pose a stirring or turning over apparatus of the character such as used for
stirring dough, or other stiff or doughy substance, and the like, as the material
will be in a strong or tough plastic condition.
This stiff material is next pressed into slabs or cakes; and this is effected by
pressing it direct from a hopper or conduit of the mixing apparatus into matrices
in a press, and pressing the material under a high pressure, say a pressure as
high as can be practically used without destroying or crushing the crystals or
grains. A type of pressing machine which may be used, is that employed
for brick or tile making or the like, wherein the tiles or cakes

page_text: are pressed single, and then discharged automatically. From this machine, the
slabs or cakes are led by a conveyor having trays, or the like, which carry
off the moist slabs.
These moist slabs are then dried; and the drying is effected by taking them to
a drying chamber and leaving them there for a certain time, or by adapting the
continuously moving conveyor to pass through a suitable drying stove with the
cakes or slabs on it; by which, as they come out of the stove, they will be in a
completely dried condition. As the slabs come from the stove on the continuously
moving conveyor, they are conveyed by it to a cutting machine, where they are
cut up into cubes, the cutting being so effected that out of the six sides, four
will have a crystaline and brilliant surface, equal to those of cubes made by the
ordinary process.
Drawings, for the purpose of illustration, are annexed hereto. These shew one
way in which the mixing and pressing, for effecting the purposes of the inven-
tion, may be carried out; but, as stated, this may be done in various forms or
kinds of machines and ways; that is, by any known kinds of machinery suitable
to the purpose.
In these drawings, Figure 1 is a front sectional elevation; and
Figure 2 a side sectional elevation, taken at the line A A Figure 1.
The sugar crystals and sugar solution are introduced to the mixing hopper a,
which has a revolving mixing worm within it, wherein they are thoroughly
mixed; and then the mixture is pressed out at the bottom into trays c in a recipro-
cating sliding table d. There are two recesses in d to receive the trays c; and
when one is under the hopper a, the other charging tray will be under one of the
pressing dies e A pressing die is arranged on one side of the hopper a, and then
raised and pressed down by suitable gear; the worm 6 being also worked by suit-
able operating parts. After the contents of a tray c have been pressed, this tray
is knocked away endwise by suitable tapper mechanism, as the lever, h, shewn,
on to a travelling conveyor i, or taken away by hand, and then conveyed to the
drying stove, wherein they are dried for a sufficient length of time.
The invention, as already stated, is not restricted to any special construction
or type of machinery employed, and various modifications, in respect of the method
of manufacture, may be employed without departing from the main features of
the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The herein described improvement in the manufacture of sugar, consisting
of the direct manufacture of cube sugar, or sugar in slabs, by mixing sugar
solution with sugar crystals, and then pressing same into slabs; for the purposes
set forth.
2. The herein described improvement in the manufacture of sugar, consisting
of the mixing together of sugar crystals and sugar solution by mixing machinery
such as described; delivering the same from the said mixing machinery onto a
pressing mechanism; and then moving said charges under pressing devices, when
they are pressed; and subsequently discharging the said cakes so pressed from
the machine; substantially as set forth.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
Applicants' Patent Agents, 15, Water Street, Liverpool.