IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT, AND IN APPARATUS EM- PLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Williamson, of Wincham Salt Works,
Northwich, in the County of Chester, Salt Manufacturer, and
Josial Dale, of the same Place, Manager, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT, AND IN APPARATUS EM-
PLOYED THEREIN.'
"
Scaled the 27th June 1873, and dated the 28th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Williamson
and Josiah Dale at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 28th December 1872.
WC, ROBERT WILLIAMSON, of Wincham Salt Works, Northwich, in
the County of Chester, Salt Manufacturer, and JOSIAH DALE, of the
same Place, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows:-

page_text: First. We evaporate brine, contained in a pan of ordinary or convenient
form as regards its brine containing space, this is called pan A, by steam
applied directly to the upper bottom thereof, when such steam is geno-
rated from water contained immediately underneath the said upper
bottom, within the double metals of which the bottom is constructed,
the fires or the heating flames and gases being arranged to act on the
water covered lower or outer bottom.
Second. We lead the steam, after it has acted on the upper bottom of
pan A, to a second evaporating pan, called pan B, when such steam does
further work by being led through a series of pipes immersed in but
capable also of being raised or lowered amongst the brine in said pan B.
Centre steam-tight joints are provided to allow of the raising and
lowering of the said moveable pipes. Steam, other than that from
pan A, can be used in the moveable pipes under this head of our
Invention.
Third. To facilitate the raising and lowering of the moveable pipes
mentioned under the second head, we balance them by chains and
weights, the chains being led over pullies or their mechanical equivalents.
Fourth. In order to supply evaporating pans with hot instead of cold
brine we lead the brine feed pipe through the hot water space in the
bottom of pan A, described under the first head, or through hot water
contained in any convenient generator or vessel.
Fifth. To more uniformly supply brine to evaporating pans we feed
through a pipe or pipes perforated with small openings or a series of
small nozzles, instead of large open ended pipes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Williamson and Josiah Dale in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 28th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, ROBERT
WILLIAMSON, of Wincham Salt Works, Northwich, in the County of 30
Chester, Salt Manufacturer, and JOSIAH DALE, of the same Place,
Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Robert Williamson and Josiah
Dale, Her special licence that we, the said Robert Williamson and Josiah
Dale, our executors; administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Robert Williamson and Josiah Dale, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 MANU-
FACTURE OF SALT, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Robert Williamson and Josiah Dale,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, 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 we, the said Robert Williamson and Josiah Dale,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had
to the Sheet of Drawings appended licreto, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon (that is to say) :-
. Our Invention relates to the economical production of common salt
(chloride of sodium) by the novel means and apparatus hereafter set
forth.
First. We evaporate brine, contained in a pan of ordinary or convenient
form as regards its brine containing space, this is called pan A, by steam
applied directly to the upper bottom thereof, when such steam is gene-
rated from water contained immediately underneath the said upper
bottom, within the double metals of which the bottom is constructed,
the fires or the heating flames and gases being arranged to act on the
5 water covered lower or outer bottom.
Second. We lead the steam, after it has acted on the upper bottom of
pan A to a second evaporating pan, called pan B,-where such steam does

page_text: further work by being led through a series of pipes immersed in but
capable also of being raised or lowered amongst the brine in said pan B.
Centre steam-tight joints are provided to allow of the raising and
lowering of the said moveable pipes. Steam, other than that from
pan A, can be used in the movable pipes under this head of our
Invention.
Third. To facilitate the raising and lowering of the moveable pipes
mentioned under the second head, we balance them by chains and
weights, the chains being led over pullies or their mechanical equivalents.
Fourth. In order to supply evaporating pans with hot instead of cold
brine, we lead the brine feed pipe through the hot water space in the
bottom of pan A, described under the first head, or through hot water
contained in any convenient generator or vessel.
Fifth. To more uniformly supply brine to evaporating pans we feed
through a pipe or pipes perforated with small openings, or a series of
small nozzles, instead of large open-ended pipes.
The accompanying Sheet, of Drawings contains five views illustrative
of the herein-before referred to five heads of improvements, Fig. 1. being
a plan, Fig. 2 an end clivation, and Figs. 3 and 4 transverse sections
through X, X, and Y, Y, all of two brine evaporating pans constructed,
arranged, and fitted in accordance with our Invention.
Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through Z, Z.
In these views like letters denote the same parts.
The pan A has double sides and bottom, see Fig. 3, and is heated by
steam formed from water contained therein, acted upon by fires or 2
heating flames and gases in the fire-places and flues c and d. The steam
after acting on the pan A passes off by the pipe e through the series of
pipes f, then down the pipe g which passes through a stuffing box in the
bottom of pan B into the spaces h. The pipe e is provided with centre
joints at e¹ and e², so as to allow the pipes f to be raised and lowered in 3
the pan B. j, pullies; c, weights and chains used to balance f; lis the
brine supply pipe led through the water in the double bottom of pan A
to heat the said brine before discharge into the evaporating pans; land lª
are small branch pipes perforated with holes. The brine is fed to the
pans A and B through the perforations in the said branch pipes.
3

page_text: Steam may be passed from the pipe e direct into the spaces 1, instead
of being first passed through f.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and par-
ticularized the same in such manner that others will be enabled to carry
our improvements into effect, we claim, —
I. The application of steam directly to the upper bottom of brinc
pan A, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
II. Leading steam, after it has acted on the upper bottom of one pan,
to pipes placed in a second pan, for the purpose set forth.
III. The series of movable pipes arranged substantially in the manner
and for the purpose set forth.
IV. The centre steam-tight joints e¹ and e² for the purpose set forth.
V. Balancing the movable pipes by chains and weights or their
equivalents, for the purpose set forth.
VI. In combination with one or more of the foregoing improvements,
leading the brine feed pipe through hot water, for the purpose set
forth.
VII. Feeding brine through small openings or nozzles, for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Josiah Dale have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
In the presence of,
JAMES JOHNSON,
Clerk to J. T. King,
Liverpool.
JOSIAH DALE. (L.S.)