Ior making Decoctions
Year: 1885

page_text: Ior making Decoctions.
DAVID ALLEN, Grocer, of 113 Plough Road, New Wandsworth, S.W. and GEORGE
FREDERICK BLACKMORE, Civil Engineer, of 1 Coulter Road, The Grove, Hammer-
smith, W. do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS TO BE FITTED OR APPLIED TO VESSELS FOR MAKING DECOCTIONS" and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention consists in the fitting or applying of an automatic or other
apparatus to be worked by hand to ordinary tea or coffee pots or urns or other
vessels for making decoctions, and its object is to provide better control over the
vessel or vessels whereby the present risk and danger of scalding the person or the
waste of material during the operation of making the decoction may be avoided,
and in the fitting or applying of an "indicator" tap or cock to show by the escape
of steam from the boiler that the water is ready for making the decoction.
In order to show the method of carrying out this invention we take a coffee pot
or urn or other vessel for making decoctions, consisting of a lower vessel into which
is screwed or otherwise attached an open upper vessel which carries on its under
side a tube projecting downwards into the lower vessel. The lower end of the
tube is open and the upper end is covered with a perforated plate or strainer upon
which the tea, coffee or other substance is placed.
To the upper portion of the lower vessel or connected to it we attach an ordinary
plug or other tap cock or valve having in connection with it one end of a handle
or lever of the necessary length and to the other end of the handle or lever is fitted
an adjustable weight in such a manner that the tendency of the weight when falling
is to open the tap cock or valve.
To
To the upper edge of the upper vessel or in connection with it we attach a
bracket or brackets which shall be partly inside and partly outside the vessel.
these brackets is attached by a pin or otherwise a bar in such a manner that it can
partially rotate on the pin. To each end of the bar or near thereto is fitted a
sheave or roller so that one of them may project inside the vessel and the other
outside the vessel.

page_text: Inside the upper vessel we provide a metallic or other box float in such a way
that it is free to rise and fall as far as desired. To the top of the float or other
convenient part of it is attached a chain cord or flexible wire passing upwards over
the sheaves or rollers and down to the weight on the end of the handle or lever.
In some cases we use a system of levers or other mechanical equivalent of the
chain and sheaves.
On small pots or urns we provide a tap or cock with a handle in such a manner
that it can be easily operated by hand.
Fig. 1 shows a vertical sectional elevation of a tea or coffee pot or urn. A is the
lower vessel to which the upper vessel B is screwed or otherwise attached. C is a
tube fixed to the vessel B, and covered with the strainer or perforated plate D.
Inside the vessel B is a float E resting on the stops L L which are fixed to the
sides of the vessel B at any convenient distance from the bottom.
To the lower vessel A is fitted a tap cock or valve P having a handle or lever Q.
To the end of the lever or near thereto is attached an adjustable weight R by a
pin passing through either of the holes S S₁ S₁ or by other means. The sheaves
F F are attached to the ends or near thereto of the bar H by the pins I J so as to
turn freely thereon.
The bar H is also attached by the pin J to the bracket M which is attached but
not permanently fixed to the upper part of the vessel B. When the bar H is in
position for working as shown it rests upon and is supported by the part of the
bracket M marked Ñ. The bracket or brackets M N may be permanently fixed to
the edge of the vessel B or adjusted so as to be easily removable. Additional
holes K K are provided in the bracket M so that the sheave or roller F may be
placed nearer to or farther from the edge of the vessel B. The bar H
may be
partially rotated on the pin J so that the float E can be easily removed from
the vessel B and by taking out the pin J the whole of the automatic part of the
apparatus can be removed.
To the upper side G or other convenient part of the float E is attached a chain
cord or flexible wire O passing upwards over the sheaves or rollers F F¹ and down
to the weight R on the end of the handle or lever Q and is attached to it at G¹.
The weight of the float E when unsupported by water will be slightly greater
than the weight R so that when the apparatus is not working the float E will rest
on the stops or lugs L L¹ near the bottom of the vessel B and the weighted handle
or lever will be lifted so as to close the tap cock or valve P.
Fig. 2 shows an "indicator" tap cock or valve P¹ attached to the lower vessel A¹
having a handle or lever S to be operated by hand.
The ordinary method of working is to put into the lower vessel as much water
as may be necessary and into the upper vessel the tea coffee or other substance to
be acted upon; heat is then applied to the lower vessel until the water boils when
it is forced up into the upper vessel and frequently caused to overflow and scald
the operator or waste the material before the upper vessel can be unscrewed or
loosened to allow the liquid contents to subside into the lower vessel.
The operation of the improved apparatus is as follows. After putting the
necessary water into the lower vessel A and the desired amount of tea coffee or
other substance to be acted upon into the upper vessel B heat is applied to the
lower vessel A causing the boiling water to ascend into the upper vessel B and to
mix with the tea coffee or other substance. At the same time the water raises the
float E and by means of the chain O passing over the sheaves F F and down to
the weight R allows the tap P to open causing the steam to escape into the atmos-
phere and the liquid contents of the upper vessel B to subside into the lower
vessel A. The subsidence of the liquid causes the weight of the float E to again
preponderate over the weighted handle thereby closing the tap P as at starting.
Obviously this operation would be repeated automatically as often as permitted
and it would be so repeated until the liquid had acquired the requisite strength.
The urn or pot could then be removed from the heater and taken to the table and

page_text: the contents poured out from the lower vessel or drawn off by a tap T in the
usual way.
For cheapness and simplicity we fit small pots or urns with the plug or other
tap P¹ only to be operated by hand. In this case the proceeding would be as
follows.
The materials having been placed in the urn or pot as before, it is put on the
heater or fire and the tap left open so that when the water boils it will indicate by
the escape of steam that the water is ready for making the decoction. The tap is
then closed by hand and the water allowed to rise as high as required in the upper
vessel when the tap is opened again and the liquid contents of the upper vessel
allowed to subside into the lower vessel.
This operation would also be repeated as often as necessary but would require
personal attendance during the process.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we
do not claim any general or special form of pot or urn but what we do claim as
being new is
First. The combination of a float with a chain attached passing over sheaves on
a rotating or hinged bar and connected to a handle or lever to operate a tap, cock or
valve fitted to urns pots or vessels for making decoctions substantially as described
and for the purpose set forth in this specification and as shown on the drawing, but
we do not limit ourselves to the exact detail therein given.
Second. We claim the tap, valve or cock fitted to urns pots or other vessels for
making decoctions, to be operated by hand substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth in this specification and on the drawing.