IMPROVED METHODS OF PRODUCING OR OBTAINING PRINTING DYES AND OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN PRINTING, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER LIKE USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1851

page_text: ROBERTON, of Oxford Street, Manchester, Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-one, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said James Roberton, Her especial license, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said James Roberton, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said James. Roberton, my exors,
adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of
Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion of "IMPROVED METHODS OF PRODUCING OR OBTAINING PRINTING DYES AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES USED IN PRINTING, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, ARE
APPLICABLE TO OTHER LIKE USEFUL PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent
there is contained a proviso, that I, the said James Roberton, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Roberton, do hereby.declare that the nature of my said. Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
Firstly, my Invention consists in obtaining coloring matter from logwood
and other dye woods, and also extractive matter generally, by the following
methods, processes, and arrangements.
An elevation of the form of apparatus which I prefer for the purpose is
represented in Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings, and a ground plan of the
same in Figure 2.
A, A, A, A, et cetera, are a number of pans or vessels, say, ten, or any
other convenient number, which are vertically suspended within a cylinder C, C,
from a cross head or bar c, c, which hangs by chains from a central screw
shaft. D, which is raised or lowered (carrying the pans or vessels along with it)
by means of a wheel E. A view of one of these, pans is given 'separately in
Figure 3. They are composed of copper or other suitable metal, enamelled,
glazed, or otherwise properly coated on the inside, so that the material. to be
treated may not be injured by coming into contact with the metal; and each
pan or vessel is fitted with a moveable false bottom, made of woven wire:
network, or of perforated inetal, which is supported by brackets or ledges at
a short distance from the bottom, so as to ensure a ready delivery of the
extract as it passes to and through a valve 6 into the pan or vessel next
below it. Each valve bis commanded from the outside by a lever handle c²;
by means of which it can be opened at will to allow the contents of: the pans
or vessels to be discharged.. I do not, however, confine myself to the use of a
valve for discliarging the contents, as a common cock or tap would answer the.
purpose, but I prefer a valve arrangement, as more simple and more easily
opened and shut. All the pans are first charged with a portion of the logwood
or other substance from which the extract.is. to be obtained, and then, warm.
water is poured into the pan at the top of the apparatus, and this is continued
until the logwood in all the pans is saturated, and each and every of the pans
contains an equal amount of fluid. One-tenth of the entire extract is then
drawn off into a receiver or suitable vessel B, so placed as to receive it as the
extract descends, by its own.gravity, and from this) receiver it may at once be

page_text: drawn on and stored my casks or other suitable vessels ready for use. As soon as
this has been accomplished, the vessels A, A, A, A, et cetera, are simultaneously,
lifted by turning the wheel E and screw shaft D. Another pan or vessel (filled
with fresh material to be extracted) in all respects similar is then placed in the
exact position previously occupied by the vessel which has yielded up its extract,
and the uppermost pan is then lifted off. The contents of the removed pan.
will be found to be exhausted of colouring matter so far as such coloring
matter will yield itself up at the particular temperature which
may have been
determined upon and employed. The material which thus comes away from
the machine in a more or less exhausted state may be subsequently further
treated for obtaining an inferior or second quality of extract, and may be worked,
over again to obtain such remainder, either alone or in conjunction with a
quantity of fresh meterial in a separate machine, so arranged as to keep the
fluid at, any required temperature up to the boiling point. The lifting chains
dependent from the cross head c may be attached to the vessel in any suitable
manner on the outside thereof, or in some cases the pans may be constructed
so as to allow the rod or chain to pass through the centre of the same.
I do.
not confine myself to any particular position for the lifting chains or rods, as
the same may be attached in a variety of ways, neither do I confine myself to
the peculiar mode of lifting before described, as an ordinary crab, windlass, or
crane with chains attached would answer the purpose, nor to any particular
mode of lifting from the top, as the required successive raising of the pans may
be accomplished from beneath, either by a screw movement, or by ratchets with
wheels and pinions, or by, hydraulic pressure, or by other analogous mechanical
contrivances. The space marked G, G, of the cylinder C, C, which partly sur-
rounds the pans, is kept filled with steam, so as to sustain a tolerably regular
temperature as long as the apparatus is kept at work. f,f, are rings of metal.
which surround the pans, and are kept firm and rigid in their places by means
of staunchions of metal g, g, which stand one upon the other, and are fitted
with hooks or rings, so that the lifting chains or rods may be attached thereto.
To adapt the preceding apparatus to the preparation of dry albuminous extracts
of meat by the use of cold water, I modify it in manner following:-I take any..
desired quantity of fresh undressed meat, say beef, and having carefully sepa-
rated from it the fatty parts, I cut the same up by machinery or otherwise till
it is minutely divided or minced, and in a condition similar to that known as
Sausage meat; I then place equally measured quantities of this meat in six
or more. wooden, metallic, or other suitable pans or vessels, fitted with per- .
forated false bottoms, supported by brackets or ledges, as before described, and.

page_text: having valves or common cocks or taps, as before described, and arranged on
two endless chains, so that they may be lifted together, and supplied and
discharged generally, in the manner herein-before described; but inasmuch as
the extract obtainable by cold water will not discharge itself through the false
bottoms without pressure or stirring, I temporarily fit into each vessel or
pan a circular piece of wood or flat metal of the same diameter as the vessel
or pan itself, which I press down on the contents of the vessel or pan by
means of a lever handle fitted temporarily thereto, or the said squeezer or
presser may be forced down by means of a screw working through a cross
head fitted to each pan or vessel. After the fluid contents have thus been
expressed and discharged from the pan or vessel, the presser is removed to its
original position, and the meat stirred up so as to be in a condition to receive
its next supply of solvent. The ultimate solution thus obtained will be found
to contain the whole bulk of the nutritious properties of the meat, namely,
albumen, and the soluble salts contained in flesh, leaving behind in the
meat so exhausted of its nutritious properties the gelatinous and other pro-
perties which are not soluble at the temperature employed for the extraction
of the albumen. I afterwards subject the extract so obtained to evaporation
to dryness, in the manner herein-after fully described. The product is in most
cases from one ounce to an ounce and a half of dry extract for each pound
of the best young meat, and consists of particles of a light brown pulverulent
nature, which may be kept in bottles, canisters, or other suitable vessels or
packages, undeteriorated or uninjured in quality in any climate and for inde-
finite lengths of time. Extracts of meat so prepared, may be mixed with
farinaceous substances, and will furnish an excellent substitute for solid animal
food. The gelatine which remains unextracted in the vessels by the first
process may be subsequently extracted by farther treatment. at an increased
temperature, and either sold separately or employed conjointly with the dried
extract of meat as an article or articles of food in a new form; or the dry
albuminous extract may be mixed up with flour and formed into biscuit bread,
or combined in any other way to render it portable and convenient for food.
Any substance containing extractive matter, and requiring for the solubility
thereof either water, alcohol, naptha, acids, or any other solvent, may be
exhausted by the means herein-before described, modifying the general form
and materials of apparatus employed as may be found most suitable to the
production of the particular extract required, and the nature of the material
producing the same. Where materials subject to the process of exhaustion
contain two or more distinct properties soluble at different degrees of tempera-

page_text: ture or by different solvents, both may be optamed by a simple modification
of the heating arrangements, say, by the employment of steam jackets, or by
steam tubes in connection with the said vessels. That portion of the extract
obtainable at the lower temperature may be first extracted, and by a secondary
treatment of the material so exhausted of one of its properties, the second
quality or property may be obtained by treating it in a separate machine with
the proper solvent, or with increased temperature, or with either or both, as
the case may be.
Secondly, my Invention consists in an improved apparatus for the better
and more rapid concentration by evaporation of dye and other extracts, or for
the better and more rapid vaporization of simple infusions or decoctions, or for
expediting the separation of water or other fluid from any substance or sub-
stances it may be sought to desiccate. A side elevation of this apparatus is
given in Figure 4 of the annexed Drawings. It consists of a series of flat
hollow metallic shelves 9, 9, 9, each a little on the incline, and so placed that
each overlaps the one next below it. A is a pan of metal, which is enamelled,
glazed, or otherwise suitably coated on the inside, and surrounded by a steam
jacket S, S. Into this pan the extract to be evaporated is conveyed. b, b, b, b,
et cetera, are buckets attached to an endless chain or chains, so that the
buckets may be enlarged transversely or longitudinally to any required capa-
city. These buckets are attached to the chains, which run over pulleys, as
shewn, and when the endless chain or chains is or are set in motion by hand
or other means, the buckets dip successively into the extract in the pan, and
carry up ȧ portion thereof to the topmost pulley, whence the contents of each
bucket are successively tilted over upon the metallic sloping shelf (f); from the
uppermost shelf the liquid extract flows successively over the heated evapo-
rating shelves g, g. 9, et cetera, until it returns in a highly concentrated state,
and by its own gravity, back into the pan A, or to any other suitable receiver.
As the liquid extract concentrates or thickens, it is apt to adhere to the
shelves, and the regular transmission of heat to be thereby impeded; but this
inconvenience, may be obviated by the occasional application of a scraper to
remove the adhering portions. I do not confine myself to the use of any
number of shelves, or lifting buckets, or vessels, as the number proper to be
employed will vary, according to circumstances. The course the liquid takes is
represented by the arrows. The process is continued until the extract is
reduced to any required degree of consistency. The evaporating shelves (9, 9, 9,
et cetera) may be kept heated by steam passed underneath (as shewn in the
Drawing), by means of a tube (h) attached to the steam jacket, or by jets of

page_text: gas, or by any other suitable means. The steam (if steam be used) is allowed
freely to pass, (but subject to regulation by a steam cock (k),) through the tubes
and jackets of the shelves, till it finally blows off through a tube (!) into the
outer air. A tray m is placed so as to catch any droppings from the buckets
or vessels as they are in motion, and it is so contrived as to cause such drop-
pings or overflows to return into the pan A. C is a metallic chamber in which
the evaporating trays are fixed; D, D, is a frame, say, of wood or brickwork,
on which the whole apparatus may be placed; E is a steam pipe for the admis
sion of steam to the steam jacket; suitable cocks or valves for drawing off the
condensed water from the steam jacket and the concentrated extract from the
pan may be placed in any suitable situations. Another simple form of evapo
rating apparatus is represented in Figure 5, an elevation. It consists of a
truly turned hollow cylinder A, heated by steam; and made to revolve on its
axis. To the outer face of the cylinder are fitted scrapers (b, b,) of wood or
metal, which are pressed up against the cylinder by a spring or springs (c, c,) or
otherwise, so as to scrape off any extract adhering to the surface of the cylinder
as the same revolves. The extract to be evaporated in this case is made to flow
regularly to a shallow well (d), in which the bottom part of this cylinder is
immersed, and as the cylinder is made to revolve in the direction of the arrows
it brings up with it on its surface the extract in thin films, the aqueous
particles of which, by virtue of the heat communicated by the steam to the
cylinders, are rapidly dissipated, and the extract thickens to the consistency of
treacle; or, if required, it may be even delivered in a dry state over the
scrapers into a suitable receiver. One, two, or more of these cylinders, arranged
so as, progressively to carry the extract over each in succession, may be used,
according to circumstances; and if a single cylinder be used of a suitable
diameter, say,
for example, fifteen inches, and the extract to be evaporated is
pretty highly concentrated, the speed at which the same should revolve, so as
to obtain a very thick product of pilular consistency, should not exceed six
revolutions a minute; but if more than one cylinder be used, the speed may.
be considerably increased, and a. proportionately large quantity of extract
evaporated down with the same supply of steam. In this case the steam is
made to pass from the hollow axle of one cylinder to the hollow axle of the
cylinder next in succession, and the escape of the steam is prevented by having
a cone joint or stuffing box in each axle, which is kept firmly in its place by
means of a common union screw. Figure 6,is an end elevation of Figure 5;.
Figure 7 is an elevation of a cylinder intended to be used in a generally
similar apparatus to that shewn in, Figure: 5, with the exception of the mode

page_text: employed for heating the same. In Figure 7, which is constructed with a
hollow tube through the centre, the heating is effected by means of jets of
gas, which, when lighted, and when the cylinder is put in motion, commu-
nicate sufficient heat to insure the requisite evaporation of the fluid to be
concentrated. Generally speaking, from six to twelve such jets will be found
sufficient for every one foot of longitudinal surface. A supply tube, in com-
munication with an external gas pipe is inserted within and carried through
the hollow part of this cylinder, in which tube the gas jets are fixed, and this
tube is furnished with a stop-cock to regulate the length of the jets and
amount of heat required. I do not confine myself exclusively to steam or
gas jets for heating any of the evaporating apparatuses herein-before described,
as hot water or hot air may be readily adapted in certain cases to accomplish
the required results.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the several
parts thereof, and the manner in which the same is performed, I declare that
I do not claim to have invented anything new in respect of the solvents to be,
employed; but what I claim as new is as follows:-
First, I claim the method or system of extraction first herein described, in
so far as respects the manner of combination therein in one connected and
continuous series of the processes of feeding, treating, lifting, and discharging,
whereby the materials from which the extract is to be obtained are supplied at
the bottom of the apparatus and the liquid solvent at the top, and the former
are by successive.liftings raised to the top in-a more or less exhausted state;
while the latter with the extractive matter gravitates successively to the bottom,
and is there collected in a state fit for use, without that long exposure to the
deteriorating effects of heat which attends the ordinary methods of extraction,
and without the necessity for using pumps or exhausting apparatus for
separating the extract from the materials under treatment.
Second, I claim the mode, herein-before described, of obtaining dry extracts
of meat, in so far as respects the combination of the mode of evaporating the
same to dryness, herein-before described, with the subsequent mixture of
the same, in certain cases, with gelatinous or farinaceous matter, as articles
of food.
Third, I claim the mechanical arrangements, herein-before described, whereby
the extract or substance to be evaporated is supplied to, and then made to
pass over, by its own gravity, as often as necessary, a large amount of heated
surface in thin films, and whereby it is speedily reduced to the required
consistency.

page_text: And, fourth, I claim the combination, as herein-before described, of a
revolving cylinder or cylinders with scrapers, whereby the extract, by adhesion
to the external surface of each cylinder or cylinders so heated, is brought up
and round to the scraper for collection in a concentrated mass.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Roberton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Enrolled the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.