IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Davies, of Bowdon, in the County of Chester,
Salt Proprietor, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT."
Sealed the 14th February 1868, and dated the 11th September 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
September 1867.
I, JOSEPH DAVIES, of Bowdon, in the County of Chester, Salt Proprietor,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT," to be as follows:-
By improvements consist in the first place in applying mechanism to
actuate rakes for raking the salt in salt pans of a rectangular form. Hereto-
fore pans of this form have always been raked by hand, and where mechanism
has been applied it has been necessary to make the pans of a circular shape.
The following is the most convenient mode of accomplishing this part of my
Invention:-I attach the rakes in rows to bar which reach across the 'pan
from side to side; the ends of these cross bars are attached to endless chains
on each side of the pan, and they 'pass round suitably formed pulleys or chain
wheels fixed on a shaft. An intermittent or continuous motion may 'be
imparted to the shaft and thence to the chains and rakes by means of ordinary
mechanism.
In the next place my improvements consist in applying machinery for the
purpose of withdrawing the salt from raking pans of a rectangular form; this

page_text: operation having been hitherto performed by hand only. I prefer to adopt the
following method of putting this part of my Invention into practice :-I make
an inclined plane at the end of the pan from which the salt is to be withdrawn.
The rakes being arranged as above described have an intermittent motion
imparted to them, and on reaching the end of the pan draw the salt up out of
the water. The driving gear is so arranged that the motion of the rakes shall
cease when they are drawn clear of the water, and they remain at rest in that
position for sufficient time to allow the water to drain off the salt; they then
start off again, throwing the drained salt over the edge of the pan into any
suitable receptacle, and travelling back with the returning portion of the chain
to commence again the raking at the other end of the pan. The withdrawing
rakes may also be made separate from the raking ones, and may have an
intermittent motion imparted to them, or they may be used without the
intermittent motion. It is evident that the pans to which these improvements
are applicable need not necessarily' be only rectangular:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th March 1868...:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
DAVIES, of Bowdon, in the County of Chester, Salt Proprietor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty. Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date.the Eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Davies, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Davies,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Davies, my executors, administrators, 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
APPARATUS USED IN, THE MANUFACTURE OF SALT,". upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joseph Davies, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, 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

page_text: 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 I, the said Joseph Davies, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per--
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say:-
:
My improvements consist in the first place in applying mechanism to
actuate rakes; for raking the salt in salt pans of a rectangular form. Hereto-
fore pans of this form have always been raked by hand, and where mechanism
has been applied it has. been necessary to make the pans of a circular shape.
The following is the most convenient mode of accomplishing this part of
my Invention: I.attach the rakes in rows to bars which reach across the
pans from side to side; the ends of these cross bars are attached to endless
chains; there is one of these endless chains on each side of the pan, and they
pass round suitably formed pulleys or chain wheels; fixed on a shaft. An
intermittent or continuous motion may be imparted to the shaft, and thence
to the chains and rakes by means of ordinary mechanism.
In the next place. my improvements consist, in applying machinery for the
purpose of withdrawing the salt from raking pans of a rectangular form; this
operation having hitherto been performed by hand only. I prefer to adopt the
following method of putting this part of my Invention into practice :-I make an
inclined plane at the end of the pan from which the salt is to be withdrawn.. The
rakes being arranged as above described have an intermittent motion imparted
to them, and on reaching the end of the pan draw the salt up out of the
water. The driving gear is so arranged that the motion of the rakes shall
cease when they are drawn clear of the water, and they remain at rest in
that position for sufficient time to allow the water to drain off. the salt; they,
then start off again throwing the salt over the edge of the pan into any suitable
receptacle, and travelling back with the returning portion of the chain to
commence again the raking at the other end of the pan. The withdrawing
rakes may also be made separate from the raking ones, and may have an
intermittent motion imparted to them, or they may be used. without the
intermittent motion. It.is evident that the pans to which these improvements.
are applicable need not necessarily be only rectangular.
:
In the annexed Drawings Fig. 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of
a' machine made according. to. my improvements. A, A, is the salt pan;
B, B, are the rows of.rakes attached to the bars C, C; D, D, are the endless,
chains passing round the pulleys or chain, wheels E, E, fixed on the shafts F, F
G, G, are, the driving pulleys, and H the driving gear; I, I, are small friction

page_text: rollers. The driving gear may be made to impart an intermittent motion to
the rakes by various methods well known to mechanics. In the machine
shewn in the Drawing the same rakes perform both the raking and the with-
drawing, but separate rakes might be arranged to withraw the salt. An
incline is formed at the end of the pan as is shewn at K. The pedestals L, L,
can be adjusted by the screws so as to take up any slack that may arise in the
chain after working.
Another convenient method is shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6; according to
this plan the rakes after raking the salt in the pan and bringing it up the
incline and 'throwing it over the edge are raised up and the motion is reversed,
the rakes being thus carried back again to the other end of the pan and being
held up clear of the liquid in the pan as they travel back. Fig. 3 is a side
view of the machine; Fig. 4 shews the position of the rake while raking;
Fig. 5 shews the position of the rake when raised up to run back; Fig: 6 is a
portion of a front view; the same letters refer to all the Figures. A, A, is the
pan; B, B, are the rakes which are attached to and carried by the frame C
I prefer that this. frame should be constructed of wrought iron rivetted
together in the manner shewn in the Drawing, the spaces c¹, c¹, c', allowing
the rakes to rise and fall in passing over the irregularities of the pan. The
wrought-iron frame C is carried and properly balanced on the shaft D, which
passes through a link in the chain, and upon which the friction roller E runs
loose; this friction roller rests on the side of the pan. Rigidly fixed on the
shaft is a small lever F, and when the rakes have reached the extent of their
travel this lever comes in contact with the stop G, and is thereby pressed back
so as to raise the frame into the position shewn in Fig. 5, and thus raise all
the rakes which rest on the bar C2 on the lower part of this frame. In order
to hold the frame in this position when running back the two links H, H',
are used.
One end of the link H is attached to the frame, the two links are
jointed together, and the free end of the link H' is attached to, the friction
roller I, which is prevented moving out of its proper position by the link K.
Immediately upon the lever F coming in contact with the stop G the link H'
cortes in contact with the stop L and is thrown into the position. shewn in
Fig. 5. The links H and H' are thus pushed a little beyond their centres
and prevented from going too far by the projections h, h'; as this takes place
the stop m comes in contact with one arm of the forked lever N, Fig. 3, which
commands the driving belts of the machine, by moving which it passes the
open belt O on to the loose pulley P, and the crossed belt Q from off the loose
pulley R on to the fast pulley S, thus reversing the motion of the chain and
running the rakes back to the other end of the pan at a quicker speed, the

page_text: pulleys being arranged of different sizes as shewn in the Drawing. When
the rakes have arrived at the other end of the pan the links H, H¹, again come
in contact with a stop which pushes them back into the position shewn in
Fig. 4, and thus allows the rakes to descend. At the same time another stop
comes in contact with the arm on the forked lever, and thus again reverses
the motion of the chain, dragging the rakes slowly forward. T is a counter-
shaft. The machine is driven by means of the worm and worm wheel U.
In the Drawings the friction rollers of the chains are shewn running on the
edge of the pan, but I find in practice that it will be better to arrange them
so as to run on bars or rails attached to suitable supports entirely separate
from the pan.
The other parts of the mechanism should also be attached to
separate supports so that the pan may expand and contract without affecting
the working parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Davies, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Third day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
JOSEPH DAVIES. (L.S.)