Improvements in Curing Cocoa and the like, and in the Means and Apparatus employed therefor.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1890.
Complete Specification Left, 20th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 20th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Curing Cocoa and the like, and in the Means and
Apparatus employed therefor.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 115 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Patent Agent (a communication from abroad by Charles
Risk, Engineer, Grenada, West Indies), do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention which relates to improvements in curing cocoa and the like and in
the means and apparatus employed therefor has for its object the prevention of damage
to cocoa from damp and mildew during the wet weather which occurs in the cocoa
harvest, and also the reduction of cost of labour in curing cocoa for the market.
In accordance with my invention the house to be used for the curing is formed
preferably of iron uprights and wood frame and the roof covered preferably with
corrugated iron, the dimensions of the house being made suitable to the require-
ments of the cocoa to be cured. The heating apparatus consists of an oven to which
are affixed a range of iron pipes for conveying heated air, and to traverse the
building. Over the said pipes is a framework of iron to support rows of trays with
perforated bottoms into which the cocoa is placed for the purpose of drying.
Dated this 19th day of February 1890
JOHNSONS,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Petitioner's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Curing Cocoa and the like, and in the Means and
Apparatus employed therefor.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 115 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Patent Agent (a communication from abroad by Charles
Risk, Engineer, Grenada, West Indies), do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention which relates to improvements in curing cocoa and the like and
in the means and apparatus employed therefor, relates more particularly to what is
known as a cocoa drying and curing Boucan, has for its object the prevention of
damage to the cocoa from damp and mildew during the wet weather which occurs
during the cocoa harvest, and also the reduction of the cost in curing cocoa for
the market.
In accordance with my said invention I construct a house or building preferably
of iron and of any desired size according to the special requirements of the estate on
which it is to be used; the said building is provided with an oven or furnace for the
consumption of wood or coal, and from which extends, longitudinally and trans-
versely throughout the said building a series of malleable iron or cast iron pipes or
flues, and which terminate in a suitable chimney or stalk. Above the said series
of pipes or flues which are provided with suitable expansion joints I construct,
preferably of angle irons and bars, a number of racks or frames which support a
number of perforated trays, preferably arranged in tiers, which contain the cocoa
during the drying and curing process.
But in order that the foregoing may be more readily understood, and easily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the
accompanying drawings.

page_text: Figures 1, 2 and 3, are respectively elevation (shown partly in section) sectional
plan and transverse section of my improved cocoa drying and curing Boucan.
Figures 4 and 5, are transverse section and part elevation of a rack or frame.
Referring to the said drawings I construct a house or building A, preferably of
iron and having an arched roof A', which may be of corrugated sheet iron, and
ventilators A, the whole of which may be built upon a suitable brick or other
>undation и, and preferably formed with a concrete floor B, into which the lower
nds of all uprights are embedded. At the one end of said building I provide a suit-
able furnace C, from which extends longitudinally and transversely throughout the
said building A, a series of heating pipes or flues D, which may be made of malleable
or cast iron, and which are provided with suitable expansion joints d, and held
in position by any convenient means; the outlet end d', of said series of pipes
enters the lower end of a suitable chimney or stalk E, which may be provided with
any suitable damper and connections E'. Above the said series of pipes or flues D,
I construct a number of racks or frames F, of angle irons f, and bars f", as shewn
more particularly in Figures 4 and 5, which support a number of trays G, having
perforated zinc or sheet iron bottoms and preferably arranged in tiers as shewn
in Figures 1 and 3, so that the heated air gets free access to the cocoa, which is
placed therein, and so dries and cures it very effectively with a great saving of
labour and cost, and at the same time improves the quality of the cocoa.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
The general arrangement, construction and combination of the various parts
constituting my improved cocoa drying and curing Boucan, that is to say the iron
building A, having arched roof A', concrete floor B, furnace C, heating pipes or
flues D, chimney E, racks F, and perforated trays G, all substantially as, and for
the purposes hereinbefore described and shewn in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of November 180n
JOHNSONS,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicant's Agents.