IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARA- TUSES FOR MASHING MALT
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Sorrell, of Haggerstone, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARA-
TUSES FOR MASHING MALT."
Sealed the 26th September 1861, and dated the 28th March 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Sorrell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th March 1861.
I, WILLIAM SORRELL, of Haggerstone, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR MASHING MALT," to be as follows:-
My Invention is for improvements upon an apparatus patented by Josephi
Wright, in the United States of America, 24 June 1851, in which malt was
mashed prior to being run into the mash tun or cooler; and my improvements
consist in the employment of two separate vessels, or of one vessel divided into
two parts, each vessel or part being fitted with a shaft with agitators, and
communication being established by means of one aperture between the two
vessels or parts. I place at one end of one, and that the upper vessel or
that into which the malt is first introduced, a cistern, to which water is sup-
plied, and from which it enters the body of the upper vessel through perforated
plates provided for the purpose, in order that the water may be distributed

page_text: instead of being supplied at one point only, as heretofore. The bottom of the
upper vessel is, by preference, inclined, and does not extend the whole length
of the vessel, in order that a passage may be left for the malt after having
been partially mashed in the upper, to flow into the under vessel, the bottom
of which is inclined in a reverse direction to that of the upper vessel; the malt
becomes entirely mashed in the under vessel, and flows from the end of the
vessel opposite to that at which it entered into the tun or cooler, being aided
in its course by the rotation of the agitators and the inclined bottom of the
lower vessel. It is not however essential, though preferable, that the bottom of
the lower as well as of the upper vessel should be inclined. In some cases, instead
of distributing the water as before described, I form the shaft in the upper
vessel hollow, and supply the water through perforations or apertures in it.
Although I have described the employment of two vessels, or of one vessel
divided into two parts, I do not limit myself to the employment of two vessels
or of a vessel divided into two parts only, as, according to the length of the
vessels and other circumstances, it may be necessary to use a greater number
of vessels, or to divide a vessel into more than two parts, my object being to
obtain the complete infusion of the malt before entering the tun or cooler.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Sorrell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
September 1861..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SORRELL, of Haggerstone, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Sorrell, Her special licence that I; the said William Sorrell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Sorrell, 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 APPARA-
TUSES FOR MASHING MALT," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the

page_text: said William Sorrell, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 I,,the, said William Sorrell, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to
say:
My Invention is for improvements upon an apparatus patented by Joseph
Wright, in the United States of America, 24th June 1851, in which malt was
mashed prior to being run into the mash tun or cooler; and my improvements
consist in the employment of two separate vessels, or of one vessel divided into
two parts, each vessel or part being fitted with a shaft with agitators, and com-
munication being established by means of one aperture between the two vessels
or parts. I place at one end of one, and that the upper vessel or that into
which the malt is first introduced, a cistern, to which water is supplied, and
from which it enters the body of the upper vessel through perforated plates
provided for the purpose, in order that the water may be distributed instead
of being supplied at one point only, as heretofore. The bottom of the upper
vessel is, by preference, inclined, and does not extend the whole length of the
vessel, in order that a passage may be left for the malt after having been par-
tially mashed in the upper, to flow into the under vessel, the bottom of which
is inclined in a reverse direction to that of the upper vessel; the malt becomes
entirely mashed in the under vessel, and flows from the end of the vessel
opposite to that at which it entered into the tun or cooler, being aided in its
course by the rotation of the agitators and the inclined bottom of the lower
vessel. It is not however essential, though preferable, that the bottom of the
lower as well of the upper vessel should be inclined. In some cases, instead of
distributing the water as before described, I form the shaft in the upper vessel
hollow, and supply the water through perforations or apertures in it.
Although I have described the employment of two vessels, or of one vessel
divided into two parts, I do not limit myself to the employment of two vessels
or of a vessel divided into two parts only, as, according to the length of the
vessels and other circumstances, it may be necessary to use a greater number
of vessels, or to divide a vessel into more than two parts, my object being to
obtain the complete infusion of the malt before entering the tun or cooler.

page_text: Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a longitudinal section of an
apparatus for mashing malt, constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2
is a cross section, through the line U, Y; and Figure. 3 is a similar view,
through the line W, X, of the same.
A, A', are two vessels one above the other, and in which the mashing takes
place; the lower surface of the upper vessel is inclined in the direction from
a to b, and that of the lower from c. to d; B, B', are shafts, carrying arms or
agitators, and free to revolve in bearings formed in the ends of the apparatus.
The upper shaft B carries a toothed wheel C, in gear with a similar wheel D
on the shaft B', rotary motion being communicated to them from a rigger D'
on the outer end of the shaft B; E, E, are perforations for admitting water
from a cistern. to the vessel A; F is a cock, for regulating the supply from the
cistern; G is a roller in the passage H; for regulating the feed of malt from
the hopper above; it is fixed on a shaft I, carrying at one end a toothed
wheel K, in gear with a wheel L on the shaft B, whereby rotary motion is
communicated to the feed roller G. On motion being communicated to the
rigger D', the feed roller G revolves, and malt is fed into the vessel A, at the
same time the cock F is opened, and water is admitted in several streams
through the perforations E, E, to mix with the malt. as it falls; the shafts B
and B', with their agitators revolve, effect the mashing of the malt, cause
it to travel through both vessels, and finally out of the lower vessel into the
mash tun.
In Figures 4 and 5 I have shown in longitudinal and horizontal sections an
apparatus for mashing malt according to my Invention, in which the malt is
subjected to the action of three sets of agitators, each made to revolve in a
direction contrary to that next to it, and in which the water is admitted in.
divided steams. Motion is communicated to the central shaft B from a
rigger D', and by toothed gear to the other shafts; the agitators revolve in
the direction indicated the arrows.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of another of my apparatuses for mashing malt;
Figure 7 is a horizontal section of the same; Figure 8 is a longitudinal section.
through the line S, T, of Figure 7; and Figure 9 is a sectional view, shewing
the perforated water-distributing plate.
A, A1, A2, are three vessels opening into each other, as shown in Figure 8;
B, B, Bs, are shafts, carrying agitating arms; one end of the central shaft B'
carries a rigger D', receiving motion from any prime mover; the other end of
this shaft B' carries outside the vessel A¹ a toothed wheel C, in gear with
other wheels D, D, on the shafts B, B, whereby motion is communicated to
the agitators in the direction indicated by the arrows; M is a pulley on the

page_text: shaft B, round which a strap passes to a rigger N for communicating motion
to the feed roller G; E, E, are the perforations for the admission of water;
and is the cock for regulating the supply; O is the mash tun. The toothed
gear for driving the agitators may be placed either inside or outside of the
mashing vessel.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not claim the
mashing of malt prior to its admission into the mash tun; but I claim the
particular construction and arrangement of apparatuses for mashing malt
herein-before described, together with the admission of water to such appa-
ratuses in divided streams, in mauner and for the purpose herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Sorrell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.
W. SORRELL. (L.S.)