IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LOAF SUGAR, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Martineau, of No. 21, Mincing Lane, in
the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Martineau at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th September 1874.
I, GEORGE MARTINEAU, of No. 21, Mincing Lane, in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LOAF SUGAR, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE
SAME," to be as follows:-
I make cakes of pure white sugar ready for stoving direct from the
boiled crystalline mass as it comes from the vacuum pan by means of a
centrifugal machine alone, without any intermediate process of filling
into moulds, setting aside to solidify, or liquoring in moulds. I effect
this by dividing the circumference of the centrifugal machine into
narrow chambers by perpendicular or horizontal divisions, in such a way

page_text: filed by the said George Martineau in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MARTINEAU, of No. 21, Mincing Lanc, in the City of London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Martineau, Her special license
that I, the said George Martineau, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Martineau, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF LOAF SUGAR, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Martineau, my
exccutors 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 be filed in the
Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme.
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Martineau, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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, that is to say: -
I make cakes of pure white sugar ready for stoving direct from the
boiled crystalline mass as it comes from the vacuum pan by means of a
centrifugal machine alone without any intermediate process of filling
into moulds, setting aside to solidify, or liquoring in moulds. I effect.
this by dividing the circumference of the centrifugal machine into
.

page_text: narrow chambers, in such a way that the boiled mass of sugar, when
purged of adhering syrup by the centrifugal force, and further purified
by being washed during the purging process, either by water, a solution
of sugar, or steam, may be extracted from the centrifugal machine in
the form of cakes or plates of pure white sugar, which may be further.
dried in the stove, and will then form hard dry white sugar, similar to
loaf sugar.
The divisions may be either movable ones fitting into the framework
of the centrifugal machine, or fitting into a separate framework divided
into segments of the circumference of the centrifugal machine, which
segments of framework will thus form boxes which can be lifted out of
the centrifugal machine with the cakes or plates of sugar in them in
order that the cakes or plates may be removed while the centrifugal
machine is being used again with a duplicate set of boxes.
The divisions may be ribbed in such a way that the flat cakes or 1
plates of sugar when taken out will be crossed by shallow grooves, so
that when dry they may more readily, and without the necessity for
sawing, be broken into strips to be then chopped by the machinery
usually employed for such a purpose into lumps of sugar ready for con-
sumption.
}
Figures 1 and 2 are a sectional elevation and plan of apparatus for
manufacturing cakes or plates of loaf sugar according to my Invention.
The centrifugal machine, of which A is the outside casing and C the
cage or basket, does not differ from an ordinary one, except in being
made of sufficient strength to bear the weight of the boxes, together
with the sugar which they will contain, and in being left open at the a
top to admit of the ready introduction and removal of the boxes.
The machine should be furnished with a movable cover, to which
should be attached a pipe for conveying steam to the inside of the cage
or basket.

page_text: .
The boxes E, E, are shewn separately in detail at Figures 3; they
are of wedge shape, open back and front, and are made to fit round the
inside of the cage or basket. Each box is divided perpendicularly into
spaces or cells by a number of thin movable divisions inserted in grooves,
and is furnished outside at the top with a slot, into which a loose
handle can be inserted for the purpose of lifting it.
'
The cage containing the boxes having been put in motion slowly the
charge of boiled crystalline mass of sugar, in the condition in which it
comes from the vacuum pan, is run into the cage and proceeds to fill up
the boxes. The boxes being fully charged the speed is increased to the
usual rate and the cover fixed on, together with the pipe for applying
steam to the inside of the cage. As soon as sufficient time has elapsed
for the syrup adhering to the sugar to be driven off the steam may be
applied, preceded or not, as may be thought best, by a small quantity of
water or liquor for the purpose of thoroughly washing the crystals.
After the steam has been applied for about a quarter of an hour, more
or less, according to the quality of the sugar, and the machine has been
allowed to rotate a few minutes longer, the sugar will be found on
removing the boxes and knocking out their contents in the form of firm
compact cakes or plates of pure white sugar, which on being dried in a
stove become hard.
In order to secure a sufficient degree of hardness it is found desirable
to remove the boxes from the machine before the moisture has been
entirely driven off. The cakes or plates of sugar on cooling will then
become denser owing to the saturated moisture as it dries cementing the
grains of sugar together. A saturated solution of refined sugar may be
applied for this purpose before the machine is stopped, but the saturated
moisture left in the sugar by the condensation of the steam will be
found equally efficacious and more evenly distributed throughout the
mass of sugar.
The cakes or plates of sugar can be made of the thickness suitable for
making chopped loaf sugar, or they can be made thicker by the previous
removal of some of the divisions so as to be suitable after drying for
passing through a crushing mill and making crushed loaf. For this
lotter nurnace it will not be so nanocom to loovre a contain amount

page_text: completed in the machine, and with the aid of hot air could probably
be entirely effected there without the after necessity of stoving.
The cakes or plates of sugar being in either case much thinner than
sugar loaves require a very short time in the stove to complete their
drying.
In place of arranging the divisions in boxes, as described, the divisions
may be fitted directly into the cage or basket of the centrifugal machine.
In this case each division is separated from the next by distance pieces
at the top and bottom. The distance pieces are attached to the divisions,
and at eight or other number of equivalent points around the circum-
ference wedge-form blocks are inserted to lock the divisions in their
places, the arrangement shewn in the Drawings is however preferable.
The special and novel advantages of my process are, that it makes
cakes or plates of pure, white, firm compact sugar (which require a very
short time in the stove, and which can then be chopped at once into
lumps of sugar ready for consumption, or made into crushed loaf) direct
from the boiled crystalline mass as it comes from the vacuum pan, by
means of a centrifugal machine, alone, without any intermediate process
of filling into moulds, setting aside to solidify, or liquoring in moulds;
and that this result may be obtained from a boiled crystalline mass of
lower quality than that which is necessary when loaf sugar is to be pro-
duced by any process now in use.
I claim the manufacture of cakes or plates of sugar in the manner
and by the apparatus described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Martineau, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
GEORGE MARTINEAU. (L.S.)