IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF REFINED SUGAR IN SLABS, STICKS, OR OTHER LIKE
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
"
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PRODUCTION OF REFINED SUGAR IN SLABS, STICKS, OR OTHER LIKE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd December 1881.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF REFINED SUGAR IN SLABS
STICKS OR OTHER LIKE FORMS AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
A communication from abroad by Moriz Weinrich of Vienna in the Empire of
Austria..
This Invention relates to the production of refined sugar in the shape of slabs
or plates bars or sticks or other similar forms with facility and economy and in
large quantities and it has for its object enabling the refiners by employing the
same claying rooms as heretofore to produce sugar of excellent quality and capable
of being readily reduced to the form of cubes without incurring any greater
expense for labor than is required in the manufacture of ordinary loaf sugar.
In carrying out this Invention the sugar is treated as hereinafter described in
boxes or cases made of sheet iron and angle iron for example and preferably of a
square shape the said boxes being constructed in such a manner that the lid or
cover, the bottom and one side are each capable of being removed separately. The
boxes are inade air tight by the interposition of suitable known packing material
at the joints which are secured by pins or lugs and cottars or wedges or their
equivalent. Two rollers are attached to the non removable sides of the box in
order to facilitate the removal and tilting of the latter. The box which is thus
closed on all sides is provided internally with horizontal plates which are separated.
from each other by means of transverse or vertical partitions in such a manner
that a series of cells or spaces is formed between the plates corresponding to the
size of the slabs or plates of sugar which it is desired to obtain. In order to
maintain the vertical plates accurately at the proper distance apart the said plates
are either provided with small legs or projections at the corners for example or are
CD .

page_text: maintained in position by transverse slips or bars in the form of rakes which
engage with the edges of the plates.
When it is desired to obtain sugar in the form of bars or sticks the box is
provided with zig zag plates constructed on what is known as Seyferth's system
which form with their adjacent angles rectangular spaces or cells corresponding to
the dimensions of the bars of sugar.
The boxes provided with flat or angular plates as hereinbefore described are
conveyed upon trucks or carriages to the filling house and filled in one operation
or pouring, with sugar at a temperature of not less than about seventy degrees
Reaumur. The boxes are then either allowed to cool in the filling house or are
taken directly to the hot floor where they are wheeled on to a claying apparatus
hereinafter described.
The trucks or vehicles upon which the boxes are carried are provided with rails
for the reception of the rollers on the sides of the boxes and the claying apparatus
is provided with corresponding rails onto which the boxes are wheeled one at a
time from the trucks and which are capable of being raised and lowered by means
of suitable screws and hand wheels. The claying or liquoring apparatus is
constructed with an open frame of angle iron which is divided into spaces
corresponding to the plan of the boxes by transverse bars or plates and is planed
true and even on its upper surface. A rivetted flooring is enclosed by the frame
and forms an air tight chamber-below-the-transverso-bars. When the_sugar_in the
boxes standing upon the moveable rails has stiffened or set the bottoms of the
boxes are removed and the rails are lowered by means of the screws until the
boxes rest upon the frame and transverse bars and by reason of their weight
resting upon suitable interposed packing make an air tight joint therewith. In
order to prevent the contents of the boxes from falling out the transverse bars are
connected together by intermediate bars forming a species of grating.
The interior of the boxes being thus connected with the air tight chamber
herein before described the latter is then placed in communication with the suction
pipe of a pump which begins to act as soon as the boxes rest upon the frame.
The removal of the green syrup is greatly accelerated by the action of this pump
in combination with the large drainage surface obtained so that after the lapse of
a few hours the operation of liquoring may be commenced. This operation is
performed under pressure and for this purpose the covers are secured to the boxes
and connected by means of a pipe with a reservoir placed at a higher level and
containing the clarifying liquor. The clarifying is then effected in accordance with
the nature of the sugar in part with and in part without interruption of the
exhausting action of the pump. In the case of good sharp grained sugar this
process is completed in from about one and a half to two days. The whole of the
syrup is then drawn off by the action of the pump after which the drying process
is proceeded with and is carried out in a most expeditious and effectual manner by
means of the improved apparatus in the manner next hereinafter described.
With this object the suction pipe of the pump is disconnected from the chamber
underneath the boxes and is connected with the orifices in the lids or covers
whilst air heated to from about forty to fifty degrees Reaumur is admitted to the
lower part of the box and is caused to permeate the contents of the latter by the
exhausting action of the pump. The air may be heated by a worm or coiled pipe
containing steam and arranged in proximity to or in the interior of the chamber
under the boxes..
When the drying is completed the boxes are again elevated by means of the
lifting apparatus and the cover and detachable sides are removed. The boxes are
then tilted to an angle of say ninety degrees and the plates or partitions are taken
out together with the dry white sugar in the form of slabs or bars which may then
be reduced to the form of cubes or lumps of the desired form and dimensions.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd Juno 1882.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman. " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF REFINED SUGAR IN SLABS,
STICKS OR OTHER LIKE FORMS AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
A communication from abroad by Moriz Weinrich of Vienna in the Empire of
Austria.
This Invention relates to the production of refined sugar in the shape of slabs
plates bars sticks or other similar forms with facility and economy and in large
quantities and it has for its object enabling the refiners by employing the same
claying rooms as heretofore to produce sugar of excellent quality and capable of
being readily reduced to the forms of cubes without incurring any greater expense
for labour than is required in the manufacture of ordinary loaf sugar.
I will describe the Invention with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In order to obtain the herein before mentioned result the apparatus and mode of
operating are rendered as simple as possible in practice, the dimensions of the slabs
stick or other forms are made as large as practicable and care is taken to reduce
the quantity of waste to a minimum.
With this object boxes are employed in the form of cubes or other suitable shapo
they being made of sheet iron and angle iron or other suitable materials with sides
about 27 inches in length the lid or cover the bottom and one side being each
capable of being removed separately. Such boxes are represented in elevation
and plan partly in section in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawing. The said boxes
are made air tight by the interposition of any suitable packing material secured
by wedges as shown at a in Figures 3 and 4. Two rollers a are attached to the
non-removable sides of the box in order to facilitate the removal and tilting of the
latter. The box which is thus closed on all sides is provided internally with two
or more rows of plates b which are separated from each other by means of
transverse partitions c as shown in Figure 5 in such a manner that cells or spaces
are formed between the plates corresponding to the size of the slabs or sticks or
other forms of sugar which it is desired to obtain for conversion into cubes. In
order to maintain the plates b accurately at the proper distance apart the said
plates are either provided with small legs or projections d as. shown in Figures 6
and 7 or are fixed by transverse slips or bars e with slots therein converting the
same into somewhat the form of rakes as shewn in Figure 8. The lower slips
being attached to the bottom whilst the upper slips are removed after the sugar
has been placed in position and allowed to set.
When it is desired to produce bars or sticks of sugar the box is provided with
zig zag plates constructed on Seyferth's system as shewn in Figure 9 which
plates f form when placed side by side rectangular spaces or cells corresponding to
the dimensions of the bars or sticks of sugar to be produced.
The boxes provided with flat or angular plates as herein before described are
placed with their wheels a resting upon the framing of trucks or carriages as shewn
in Figure 10 and conveyed to the filling house and filled in one operation or
pouring with sugar (inasse-cuite) at a temperature of not less than 70°
Reaumur.
The boxes which I employ at present are capable of containing from 7 to 7
hundredweight of such sugar. The boxes are allowed to cool in the filling house or
may be taken directly to the hot floor where they are wheeled on to a claying
apparatus of peculiar construction. The said apparatus is shewn in Figures 11 to 13.

page_text: Figure 11 being a side elevation. Figure 12 a half plan with the rails g removed and
Figure 13 a half end elevation. It is capable of carrying six, eight, or any other
suitable number of boxes. The rails g upon which the boxes are wheeled from the
trucks are situated one at each side of the apparatus and are capable of being
raised and lowered by means of screws and hand wheels h. The apparatus is
constructed with a frame of angle iron i which is divided into spaces corresponding
to the length of the boxes by transverse bars j and is planed true and even on its
upper surface.
A riveted air tight, surface or flooring is enclosed by the frame as
shewn at 2 in Figure 13. When the sugar in the boxes standing upon the rails g
has hardened or set the bottoms of the boxes are removed and the rails are lowered
by rotating the hand wheels until the boxes rest upon the frame i they resting
upon suitable interposed packing and by reason of their weight making an air
tight joint therewith. In order to prevent the contents of the boxes from falling
out the transverse bars j are connected together by two or three iron bars as shewn
at in Figure 12. By these means the screws employed in other apparatus are
dispensed with and the apparatus itself as well as the manipulation is greatly
simplified.
The bottoms of the boxes being thus placed in communication with the chamber
of the framing. The suction pipe of a pump opens into this chamber and as soon
-as-the-boxes are brought_down_upon_the_frame_the_said_pump is brought into
action.
The removal of the green syrup from the slabs or sticks in the boxes is greatly
accelerated by this means and in consequence of the large drainage surface obtained
so that after the lapse of a few hours the operation of liquoring may be com-
menced. This operation is performed under pressure and for this purpose the
covers are secured to the boxes and connected by means of a pipe with a reservoir
placed at a higher level and containing the clarifying liquor. The clarifying is
then effected in accordance with the nature of the sugar in part with and in part
without interruption of the exhausting action of the pump. In the case of good
sharp grained sugar this process is completed in form about one and a half to two
days. The white clayed mass is thus completely deprived of syrup by the action
of the pump after which the drying process is proceeded with and is carried out in
a most expeditious and effectual manner by means of the improved apparatus in the
manner next hereinafter described. With this object the suction pipe of the pump is
disconnected from the chamber at the bottom of the boxes and is connected with the
orifices in the leds or covers whilst air heated to about from 40° to 50° Reaumur
is admitted by the pipe m at the lower part of the boxes and is caused to permeate
the contents of the latter by the exhausting action of the pump. In consequence
of the rarefaction or partial vacuum thus produced the drying proceeds with great
rapidity and is completed in from about 15 to 24 hours. The air may be heated
by a worm or coiled pipe containing steam and arranged in proximity to the
chamber on which the boxes are placed. When the drying is completed the boxes
are again elevated by means of rotating the hand wheels and the cover and
detachable sides are removed. The boxes are then tilted to an angle of say about
90 degrees and the plates are taken out together with the dry white sugar in the
form of slabs or sticks or the other forms which the plates have been arranged to
produce and may then be reduced to the form of cubes or lumps of the desired form
and dimensions by means of any suitable apparatus.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before in part
recited Letters Patent is :-
First, The boxes furnished with rollers and capable of being tilted the bottom
the lid or cover and one side of the said boxes being made removable and capable
of being secured by means of wedging devices all as and for the purpose herein-
before described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Second-The clarifying apparatus upon which the boxes herein before described
are placed the said apparatus being furnished with means whereby the said boxes
are capable of being lowered to form an air tight joint with the chamber beneath
and raised for the removal of their contents as and for the purpose herein-
before described with reference to Figures 11, 12 and 13 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Thirdly The process of drying sugar in the form of slabs or plates or bars
or sticks or other like forins in the manner and by means of the apparatus
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof I the said John Henry Johnson have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal this Twenty second day of June
One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)