IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FILTERS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WATSON, of Chorley, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-third day of December, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Watson, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said John Watson, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Watson, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Isles of
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF FILTERS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said John Watson, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and 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
John Watson, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being bad to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):
:-
In constructing filters with charcoal, as heretofore practised, when for tho
purpose of filtering cane juice or the syrups of sugar, it has been usual to
form a thick bed or layer of charcoal in a horizontal position within a proper
vessel. Now the object of my improvements is to arrange the charcoal of
which a filter is composed, or partly composed, in an upright or nearly upright
position, so as to produce a chamber or vessel surrounded by a wall of char-
coal, through which the cane juice or syrups of sugar may filter. And it
may be remarked, that, in carrying out the Invention, the shape of the appa-
ratus used may be varied materially, so long as the manner of placing the
charcoal be retained; and although I shall proceed to described the best
arrangement of apparatus I am acquainted with for performing my Invention,
I do not confine myself thereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING..
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a filter constructed according to
my Invention; Figure 2 shews the external part thereof separately; Figure 3
shews a section of the internal and external parts thereof, which together pro-
duce a space for receiving the charcoal; and Figure 4 is a plan of the bottom
of the apparatus. A is the external portion of the apparatus, and consists of
a reticulate conical frame, on the inside of which wire cloth is fastened, and
also a surface of woollen or other cloth between the wire cloth and the char-
coal; B is the internal portion, which is also an open frame of a conical shape
which is covered with woollen or other cloth, and also with wire cloth, the wire
cloth coming next the charcoal, which is filled in the space C between the parts
A and B, as is shewn; D is the bottom of the apparatus; and E is the top
cover, having a smaller cover F to allow of cleansing out the interior of the
filter. The bottom and top parts are formed with grooves or channels G, G,
into which the charcoal is pressed, and in the upper part a hoop H is used to
compress the charcoal, and thus prevent the liquor running through in any
other direction than through the charcoal. I is what I call a hydrostatic pipe,
to keep the flow steady and uniform; J is a force pump, by which a constant
supply of liquor to be filtered is forced into the filter, and the same will perco-
late through the charcoal on all sides; and it will be evident that, owing to
the position of the charcoal, the same will not be so liable as those heretofore
used to become clogged with impurities; the principal part of the impurities