IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING INFUSIONS OR EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS SUB- STANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Loysel, of Rue de Grétry, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING INFUSIONS OR EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS SUB-
STANCES."
Sealed the 11th April 1854, and dated the 18th February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Loysel at the
Office of the Commissioner's of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
February 1854.
I, EDWARD LOYSEL, of Rue de Grétry, Paris, in the Empire of France, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
;MENTS. IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING INFUSIONS OR EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS
SUBSTANCES" to be as follows:-
This improved apparatus for obtaining infusions or extracts from various
substances is intended to be employed more particularly for obtaining infusions
or extracts of coffee, tea, and other analogous vegetable substances for beverages.
The apparatus, when made of suitable dimensions, and properly modified and
arranged, is also applicable for extracting colouring matters from dye wcods.
and for other purposes in which extracts or infusions of substances are
required.
The principle upon which the apparatus is constructed may be described as

page_text: consisting simply in causing the water or liquid, whereby the extractive matters
of the substance to be operated upon are to be extracted, to be forced upwards
through amongst the particles of the substance into a vessel or chamber above
it by means of the pressure of a column of the liquid employed, so that the
liquid may become intimately mixed with and caused to act upon every part
of the substance, which should, when necessary, be powdered, crushed, or
otherwise divided. After the substance has been thus submitted to the action
of the liquid, the pressure is removed, and the liquid is allowed to percolate
and descend through the material operated upon, in order that it may take up
any further extractive matter which may remain, and the material being con-
fined between a porous partition or diaphragm below it and another above it,
the whole acts as a filter, and the clear infusion or extract is allowed to pass
down into a vessel or chamber beneath, from whence it may be drawn off when
required.
'
I also propose to adapt this principle to apparatus of large dimensions
capable of operating upon a considerable mass of material at one time, the
apparatus for such purposes being modified in some particulars, although the
principle remains the same. The column of liquid may in every case. be
formed and kept up by means of tubes and vessels of various shapes and sizes,
so as to cause the requisite quantity of liquid to pass up through and down
through the material to be operated upon.
And in large apparatus the liquid may be heated in a vessel below or at the
bottom of the apparatus, and by means of the pressure of the steam or vapor
generated in such vessel forced up into a reservoir above, from whence it may
<descend into a tube or vessel communicating with the bottom or lower chamber
of the vessel containing the material to be operated upon, from whence it
may be caused by the pressure of the column to rise up through the material,
as before mentioned.
When the pressure of the column which raises the liquid through the
material ceases, a communication is opened between the bottom of the vessel
or chamber in which the infusion or extract is made and the vessel or chamber
below into which it is to pass. It should be understood that the pressure of
steam in a boiler used for heating the liquid is not employed to force the water
through the substance to be operated upon, but merely to raise the water to
the required altitude to allow of its acting by hydrostatic pressure.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Loysel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
August 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
LOYSEL, of Rue de Gretry, Paris, in the Empire of France, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Loysel, Her special licence that I, the said Edward Loysel, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Loysel, 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
FOR OBTAINING INFUSIONS OR EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS SUBSTANCES," upon the con-
dition, amongst others, that I, the said Edward Loysel, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Edward Loysel, 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,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This improved apparatus for obtaining infusions or extracts from various
substances is intended to be employed more particularly for obtaining infusions
or extracts of coffee, tea, and other analogous vegetable substances for beverages.
The apparatus, when made of suitable dimensions, and. properly modified and
arranged, is also applicable for extracting coloring matters from dye woods,
and for other purposes in which extracts or infusions of substances are
required.
The principle upon which the apparatus is constructed may, be described as
consisting in causing the water, spirit, or other liquid (whereby the soluble or

page_text: extractive matters of the substance to be operated upon are to be extracted),
to be forced upwards through or amongst the particles of the substance, into a
vessel, chamber, or space above it, by means of the pressure of a column of the
liquid employed, so that the liquid may become intimately mixed with and
caused to act upon every particle of the substance, which should be pul-
verized, crushed, or otherwise divided into fine particles, when not already in
that state.
'
After the substance has been sufficiently macerated, a communication is
opened in the bottom of the vessel containing the infused material, so as to
allow the liquid previously forced up through the material to percolate and
descend through it, in order that the liquid may take up any further extractive
matter which may remain, and the pulverized material being confined between
a porous partition or diaphragm below. it and another above it, the whole
mass will act as a filter, and the clear infusion, tincture, or extract will pass
through it, and down into a vessel or chamber beneath, from whence it may be
drawn off when required. This principle of obtaining infusions, tinctures, or
extracts from vegetable substances may be applied to apparatus of large
dimensions capable of operating upon a considerable mass of 'materials at one
time, as well as to smaller apparatus suitable for domestic purposes. The
apparatus must, however, be modified in some particulars, according to. the
peculiar circumstances of the case; although the principle will always remain
the same.
The column of liquid is in every case formed and kept up by means of tubes.
and vessels of suitable shapes and sizes, so as to cause the requisite quantity of
liquid to pass first up through and then down through the material. to be
operated upon.
In large apparatus the liquid (when it is intended to be used hot) may be
heated in a vessel below or at the bottom of the apparatus, and by means of
the pressure of the steam or vapour generated in such vessel forced. up into a
reservoir above, from whence it may descend into a tube .or..vessel com
municating with the bottom or lower chamber of the vessel containing the
material to be operated upon, from whence it may be caused by the pressure of
the column of the liquid to rise up through the material, as before mentioned.
When the pressure of the column which raises the liquid through the
material ceases, and the materials have been well saturated or macerated, a
communication must be opened between the bottom of the vessel or chamber in
which the infusion or extract is made and the vessel or chamber below, into
which it is intended to pass. It should be understood that the pressure of
steam or vapour in a boiler used for heating the liquid is not employed to

page_text: force the liquid through the substance to be operated upon, but merely in some
cases to raise the liquid to the required altitude to allow of its acting by hydro-
static pressure, as above mentioned.
f
*
1. i.
+
In order that the principle of my Invention, and the mode of applying it to
the intended purposes, may be more clearly understood; I have shewn in the
accompanying Drawings Figures of different forms of apparatus, shewing
various modes of carrying out the principle of
my: Invention.
The apparatus shewn in those Figures is such as may be employed in obtain-
ing extracts from coffee or tea; but by varying the size! and shape. of the
various parts it may also be employed in making other infusions, tinctures, or
extracts. Figures 1, 2, and 3. are sectional views or diagrams of a simple
form of the apparatus. In cach of those. Figures Ais a cylindrical vessel
which is supplied with liquid (say hot water) from the vase or funnel B above.
When water is poured into the vessel B, it descends through. the tube C, and
enters the vessel A at the lower part thereof, and beneath the lower 'filtering
plate D, on which the coffee, tea; or other material to be operated upon is
placed, as shewn in the Drawings at G...When the coffee or other substance
is placed in the apparatus, a second filter E is placed above it, and secured in
that position The water or other liquid is then poured into the vase or funnel
Bas shown in Fig 2. By the pressures of the column of liquid in the vertical
tube C; the liquid will be made to percolate and rise up through the mass of
material G, and through the upper filter E, and in so doing will displace the
air intermingled with the pulverized material, and will gradually but quickly
moisten or saturate every particle thereof... When the requisite quantity of
liquid has been supplied to the vessel' A; it should remain quiet for such a
length of time as may be requisite to cause the material to be sufficiently
macerated: After: which the vessel A may be placed on another vessel F, as
shewn in Fig. 3, and upon turning a cock or tap R, so as to make a com-
mmunication between the vessel A and the vessel' F, the liquid which has passed
up through the material. G, and dissolved or taken up extractive: or other
matters therefrom, will by, its specific gravity. be caused again to pass down
through the material, carrying with it any other extractive matters which the
maceration may have set free, and passing through the tap R, it will fall into
the vessel F, as shewn in Fig. 3.
The reservoir B should be placed. at such a height as may be necessary to
obtain the requisite amount of hydrostatic pressure for causing. the liquid to
pass up through the pulverized material, with facility....
Fig.is a vertical section and Eig. is an elevation of a coffee pot or

page_text: apparatus constructed on this principle, and suitable for ordinary domestic use.
A is the vessel in which the coffee or other material Q is placed. The bottom
of this vessel is fitted on to the top of the vessel or pot E. At the side of the
vessel A is placed the vertical tube I, I, which communicates with the lower
part of the vessel A, as shewn in Fig. 4, and is provided at its upper end with
a ground socket J, into which fits the conical end of the tube K, at the upper
end of which is the vessel or funnel D. When this tube K and its funnel are
not in use, the tube is inserted in the hollow handle L of the vessel A, as
shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The perforated false bottom or filter G
is fixed just above the point of communication with the tube I. The upper
filter B is attached to and forms the bottom of a cylinder which is inserted
inside the vessel A, and is secured therein by means of a kind of bayonet joint,
so as to prevent the filter from being raised by the upward pressure of the
liquid in the vessel A. The whole is covered up by the lid or cover C, which
is provided with a float S, whereby the height of the liquid in the vessel A
may be at once seen without removing the lid.
When the proper quantity of liquid has been supplied to the vessel A, the
tube K is removed; and when the coffee has been sufficiently macerated, the
liquid coffee may be drawn off into the vessel E below, by turning the plug or
tap E. The liquid will then descend through the two filters B and G, and
through the coffee Q, and by so doing will become clarified, and will run out
into the vessel E clear and bright, and will then be fit for use.
Fig. 6 is an elevation, and Fig. 7 a vertical section of another modifi-
cation of my apparatus. In the present instance there is no separate vessel
for receiving the extract after it is made, but all is enclosed in a vase-shaped
vessel A, A. The coffee or pulverized material is placed on the bottom
filter plate B, which is passed down over a central tube, and is secured in its
place by a screw nut, as at C, Fig. 7. Above the coffee or pulverized material
is a second filter plate R, which may be suspended at any altitude above the
coffee by means of a set screw T, which passes through its tubular stem s, and
fixes it to the central tube K. A plate or cover N, N, encloses the contents
of the vase, but may be removed by means of the finger studs P, when
required.
M, Fig. 6, is the lid of the vessel A, which is provided at top with a hole,
as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 6, so that when it is reversed, and fixed on
the top of the central tube K, as shewn in Fig. 7, it will form a funnel into
which water or other liquid intended to be used may be poured, as shewn in
the Figure, to supply the vase below. This fluid will descend the central tube

page_text: K, and find its way out of the openings a, a, into the space below the lower
filter plate B, and from thence it will pass up through that plate, and the
superincumbent mass of material and upper filter plate R, into the upper part
of the vessel or vase A. When the vase has been supplied with a sufficient
quantity, the inverted cover or lid M is to be removed from the top of the
central tube K, the mouth of which must be closed by means of the plug Q,
Fig. 7, in order to prevent air from passing down the tube, and the cover N, N,
is placed upon the vessel as shewn in Figure 6. Upon opening the tap J, the
specific gravity of the liquid in the vase A will cause the liquid to pass down
through the material between the filter plates B and R, and flow out at
the tap into cups or vessels placed there to receive it, the water remaining
in the tubes and below the filter B being first allowed to escape through the
tap.
In Figures 8, 9, and 10 I have shewn another modification of my Inven-
tion. This apparatus is applicable for making larger quantities of coffee or
other infusions than those already described, and is furnished with a boiler for
heating the water or other liquid used in making the infusion.
A, Figure 8, is a cylindrical vessel shewn in elevation, in which the infusion
is made in like manner as in the other modifications of my apparatus. This
vessel is fitted upon the top of the vessel or boiler B, in which the water is
heated, and J is a vertical pipe, whereby hot water is conveyed from above to
the lower part of the vessel A.
In operating with this apparatus, the vessel A is removed, and supplied with
coffee or other material; the boiler B is supplied with the requisite quantity of
water or other liquid, and is then placed on a fire until the water is made to
boil, the cock C being of course closed during the operation. When the
water is boiling, the boiler B must be removed from the fire, and placed on
the top of the stand, shewn in perspective at Fig. 9, and also in section in
Fig. 10.
This stand consists of two rings E, E, and G, G, the upper one of which
supports the boiler B, and the lower one the vessel A, both of these vessels
being made to fit into sockets or into ledges, as shewn in Fig. 10. In order
to keep the water in the boiler hot, a lamp or burner K is shewn in Fig. 10,
as placed beneath it, and supported by the arm L, which is capable of moving
sideways so as to remove the lamp from under the boiler when required.
When the vessel A and the boiler B are properly placed on the stand, it will
only be requisite to establish a communication between the two vessels. This
is effected by means of the detached pipe H, shewn separately, Fig. 11. The

page_text: lower end of this pipe H fits into the conical socket I, at the upper end of the
vertical pipe J, and it is connected at its upper end-by a screw or union joint
to the cock C of the boiler B. This connection having been effected, and
the other parts of the apparatus put in order, the cock C is to be opened so as t
to allow the water or other liquid from the boiler B to descend the pipes H
and J into the lower part of the vessel A, and act on the material placed in it,
in the same way as already described.
When all the water or other liquid has been transferred from the boiler B
to the vessel A; the boiler B and the pipe II may be removed, and the water
or other liquid allowed to act on the coffee or other material in the vessel A a
sufficient length of time to obtain all the extractive matter from it. The
vessel A must then be placed on the empty boiler B, and upon opening the
cock P the liquid extract will flow down through the mass of coffee or other
material into the boiler or vessel B, which may be a second time placed on the
stand for the 'convenience of drawing off the infusion by the cock C. The
infusion may also be kept hot by means of the lamp K.
In Figures 12 and 13 I have shewn another modification of my apparatus,
which is more capacious than that already described. Fig. 12 is a transverse
vertical section of the whole apparatus. Fig. 13 is a partial elevation, some
of the parts being detached from each other, and other parts altogether
removed. Fig. 14 is a plan view of the apparatus as seen from above.
Figures 15, 16, 17, and 18 represent some of the parts detached.
A is a furnace for heating the water or other liquid in the boiler B;
W, W', is a spherical vessel into which the infusion is run off when made;
K, K, is a cylinder, wherein the infusion is 'made; C, is a pipe extending
upwards from the boiler B to the reservoir D above, and through which the
water or other liquid is made to ascend by the pressure of the steam or vapour
in the boiler. The vessel D is provided with a perforated plate S, S, to prevent
the ascending column of water or liquid from bubbling or splashing about in
the vessel D. From this vessel the water descends through a pipe H, which is
provided with a tap or cock I, for the purpose of stopping the water or other
liquid, and causing it to pass through the pipe J into the bottom of the vessel
K, in which the material to be operated upon is placed in the boxes L and
L', shewn detached at Figures 17 and 18, and these boxes are fastened down
in the cylinder K by means of the rod N and cross bar O, shewn detached
in Fig. 15. E is a steam pipe, which at its upper end enters the vessel D,
where it is provided with a ball-cock or valve, so that when the float rises, the
cock or valve' opens, and the steain or vapour escapes; when the float goes

page_text: The
down, the cock or valve F shuts itself, and the steam cannot escape.
float G may be raised by means of the chain n, n, and the ball-cock or valve
F thereby opened. The syphon tap C, and its syphon pipe, are for the purpose
of emptying the vessels W, W'. e is an opening closed by a screwed stopper,
and is made in the upper part of the boiler, for the purpose of conveniently
filling the same. f is a glass pipe to shew the level of the water in the
boiler.
In operating with this apparatus, the boiler B must be nearly filled, and the
ground coffee or other material put into the cylinder K, taking care to keep
the steam tap or valve of the pipe F open, by hooking the chain n down into
the hook g. When the water boils in the boiler B the chain n must be
unhooked, and the float let free; the cock or valve F will then be shut. The
steam or vapour in the boiler B will force the water or other liquid up the
pipe. C, which is provided with a valve d, opening upwards, and will convey
the water or other liquid into D, from whence it will descend down the pipe H,
and (the tap I being closed) enter the vessel K, under the coffee or other
material, and as the level of water or other fluid rises in the vessel D, the float
will open the cock or valve F, and the steam will escape. The column of
water or other fluid.in the tube C will then
close it, and no more water will come up.
will then pass into K, and, owing to the
through. the mass of coffee or other material.
the float G goes down; and shuts the cock or
steam in the boiler B will then open the valve d, and send up more fluid
through the pipe C into the vessel D, and so on till the operator sees on the glass
tube f that enough water or other fluid is gone up, when by hooking the ring of
the chain n on to the hook q, the cock or valve F will be kept open, the steam.
will be allowed to escape, and no more water will pass up. After the infusion
has remained for the requisite time in the vessel K, the tap U being opened,
the liquid in that vessel will filter through the mass of material, and pass
down into the vessel W, W, from whence it may be drawn by the pipe a, a,
and tap c
press upon the valve d below, and
The water or fluid in the vessel.D.
hydrostatic pressure, will rise up
As the vessel D becomes empty,
valve F, and the presssure of the
Fig. 19 represents an elevation of a double apparatus constructed, upon the
plan just described, the water for each of the infusing vessels being heated by:
the same furnace and in the same boiler, and supplied to those vessels in the
same manner, as in the apparatus. just described. A, A, is the furnace;
B, B, the boiler for the. two infusion vessels. The height of water in the, boiler
may be ascertained by means of the glass water gauze J. The water from the

page_text: boiler B is forced up the pipe C by the pressure of steam in the boiler, and
enters the vessel E above, from whence it descends through the vertical pipe F,
and short lateral pipes X, X', into the lower part of the infusing vessels G, G¹.
The admission of water or other liquid to the infusion vessels may be regulated
by the cocks x, a¹; and when the coffee or other substance has been operated
upon for a sufficient length of time in the infusion vessels, the extract is drawn
off therefrom by opening the cocks y, y', and allowed to pass into the spherical
vessels H, H', from whence it may be drawn off as required by means of the
short pipes and cocks W. W.
The pressure of steam in the boiler B is regulated by allowing a com-
munication with the upper vessel E, by means of the pipe D, at the upper end
of which is a valve or cock U, which is opened or shut by the action of the
ball or float T. The steam in the upper vessel E is allowed to escape into the
air through the short pipe at the top of the vessel E, as shewn in the Drawing.
The valve or cock U may be kept open by raising the float T, by means of
the chain R, which may be hooked on to the stud or hook Q, when required.
In Figures 20 and 21 I have shewn sectional views of a single and double
apparatus, being a modification of those just described, the principal difference
being, that after the pulverized material has been operated upon, as already
described, an additional quantity of water or fluid may be conveyed through
the branch pipes T or T to the upper part of a vessel K, and caused to pass
through the material contained in that vessel, so that any further extractive
matter remaining in the material after the first operation may be extracted
therefrom. In Fig. 21 the pipes for conducting the water to and from the
several vessels, and also the steam pipes, are enclosed in a hollow central
column, and the reservoirs W and W', and boiler B, are constructed in a
somewhat different but less costly manner than that shewn in Figures 12
and 19. When a large mass of ground coffee or other pulverized material
is placed in an apparatus similar to those just described, and submitted to the
action of a column of water or other fluid pressing upwards as above explained,
the pulverized material will generally be compressed in such a manner as to
be almost impervious to water or other fluid. This arises from the hydrostatic
pressure of the column of water or other fluid causing the material to be
compressed against the under side of the upper diaphragm. This hydrostatic
pressure on the substance is considerable, and if the depth or thickness of the
material be great it may be condensed in such a manner as to prevent the
water or other fluid from passing up through it. For the purpose of preventing
this evil, I divide the material into several thicknesses or layers, keeping each

page_text: layer free from and independent of those above and below it; and to prevent
air being confined between the layers, and in order to assist the operation, I
establish a communication between all the chambers by means of vertical
perforated tubes.
In Fig. 22 I have shewn a sectional view of a vessel or chamber in which
ground coffee or pulverized material is to be placed for the purpose of making
an infusion, the material being divided into several layers by means of several
porous partitions or diaphragms. By causing water or other fluid to pass
upwards from beneath by means of hydrostatic pressure, that water or fluid,
when meeting the first stratum of material, will pass through it, and will then
meet with the vertical perforated tubes Z, Z, and will rise up those tubes and
fill each of the spaces between the layers of material. By the action of the
hydrostatic pressure, the water or other fluid will expel the air from between
the particles of the substance thus arranged in layers or strata, and cause the
water or other fluid to take its place, and as the air has free outlet upwards
through the vertical perforated tubes, but little resistance will be offered to its
passage. By these means the whole material to be operated upon will be
saturated with water and freed from air, and the continual current of fresh
fluid passing upwards will act on the material, and carry off the soluble or
extractive matters which it may contain. When sufficient fluid has been
allowed to pass upwards through the layers of material, and remain the
requisite time for maceration, a tap placed at the bottom of the vessel is
opened, upon which the infusion or liquid in the vessel will in descending
be filtered, and will pass out at the tap, in like manner as herein-before
described.
The lowest stratum of substance at the bottom of the vessel acts as a filter;
therefore the vertical pipes or channels must not enter that stratum, so that
all the liquid coming from the upper chambers, either through the horizontal
filters or from the vertical pipes, will be filtered through that stratum or
layer..
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
it is to be performed, I declare that I do not claim as of my said Invention
any of the parts of any apparatus herein-before described separate or apart
from the combination or application thereof in manner and for the purposes
herein described; and that what I claim as my said Invention is, the con-
structing of apparatus for obtaining infusions or extracts, so that the water or
other liquid employed may by hydrostatic pressure be caused first to pass up-
wards through the pulverized material intended to be operated upon, and after

page_text: maceration be caused to descend through the material, and thus extract or
carry off the soluble or extractive matters contained in it.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Loysel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
EDWARD LOYSEL. (L.S.)