IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DATE POWDER AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR" PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Pool, of Charleston, Kanawha County, West
Virginia, United States of North America, temporarily of the Office for
Patents, 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DATE POWDER AND IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS THEREFOR"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Pool at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th March 1881.
FREDERICK POOL, of Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia, United
States of North America, temporarily of the Office for Patents, 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF.DATE POWDER AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR."
Ordinary commercial dates are of too saccharine a nature to roast and therefore
require special treatment.
I first put the dates whole-into a vat with about one eighth quantity of water in
proportion, and leave them to ferment for two days more or less.
I next take them from the vat and subject them to hydraulic or other pressure in
a suitable press or equivalent to extract the moisture.
I then pass them through heavy rollers and a preferably centrifugal rejector to
thoroughly clear them of moisture and to reject the stones or seeds.
This leaves the dates about the thickness of biscuit paste, which may be divided
into cakes and placed on lattices or the like to air-dry, and when dry I roast
them (preferring to use for that purpose the process described by me in my
Provisional Specification, No. 942, and dated 5th March 1881) and grind them to
powder.
The rejected seeds or stones may with advantage be pressed into cakes and used
for fuel for the motive power. The saccharine extract I treat by distillation for
R110AT

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Pool in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th September
1881.
FREDERICK POOL, of Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia, United
States of North America, temporarily of the Offices for Patents, 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF DATE POWDER, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR."
The date fruit being of too saccharine a nature to roast I first put the dates whole
into a vat with one eighth quantity of water in proportion. I leave them to
ferment for two or three days.
I next take them from the vat and press them under pressure, hydraulic or
otherwise and extract moisture.
I then pass them through heavy rollers and a rejecter to thoroughly clear them
of all moisture and to reject the stones or seeds.
In some cases when I remove the mass of soaked or saturated dates from the vat
I prefer to place it in a cylinder provided with a separating arrangement for the
purpose of rejecting the stones from the pulp and delivering the pulp free there-
from and ready to pass to the rollers. After its passage through or between these
rollers the pulp is left of the thickness of biscuit paste, and I cut it into lengths or
cakes; I then lay the cakes on lattices to air dry.
The date cakes are next placed in a revolving wire sieve and heated or dried
therein. The revolving sieve I make by preference of a cylindrical form with
elliptical or rounded ends. This cylinder is provided with a central shaft with
knives carried in suitable bearings in the upright or vertical portions of a frame
carrying or supporting the whole arrangement.
When the date cakes thus treated are sufficiently dried I next place them in a
revolving metal cylinder, preferably of steel, such cylinder being a close cylinder,
and the date cakes are therein roasted. The cylinder has at each end trunnions, or
a central shaft may be used, and is revolved by means of steain or other power as
may be found most convenient. It is also provided with a hopper or opening for the
reception of the date cakes. The wire sieve and this cylinder last named are placed
over or near to a furnace or fire place or arrangement of gas jets at such a distance.
therefrom as may be found most suitable.
When the date cakes are sufficiently roasted the cylinder is opened, and when
they are cooled to the extent required they are ground to a fine powder.
I press the rejected seeds into cakes and use them as fuel for my motive
power.
The saccharine I treat by evaporation and distillation for sugar.
In order that the nature of my said Invention and in what it consists may be
particularly described and ascertained, this Specification is accompanied by a Sheet
of Drawings, having figures and letters marked thereupon, by reference to which
and the following description it may be distinctly understood. The same letter is
used to denote a similar or corresponding part in each Figure of the same
arrangement.
1
In the Drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 2 a transverse 4
section of the machine I employ for separating the fruit or pulp (from which
I make the powder) from the stones which are rejected as valueless for that purpose.

page_text: A fixed cylinder a with a shifting or detachable end a¹ is carried or supported in
bearings on standards b. It is provided with a hopper c and internally with a central
shaft & carrying an endless screw e. The central shaft d and therewith the endless
screw e is driven or rotated by means of the toothed wheelf and the pinion g and
handle h, or it may be driven by steam or other motive power. That end of the
cylinder marked a¹ as hereinbefore stated is shiftable or detachable. It is hinged,
as shown at i and secured in position by bolts and nuts through flanges in the two.
parts of the cylinder a, a'. The end of central shaft d' is also not solid with the
other part d, but the two parts & and d¹ are connected where they meet by a clutch
arrangement by which d actuates or revolves d'. The flanges on a and a¹ are
cast out or recessed in such manner as to receive a grid or grating k
(Figure 3).
The mass of saturated or moistened dates and stones is placed in the hopper c,
whence it falls through into the cylinder a. Upon rotating the handle h and
thereby the shaft d with the screw e the mass is mashed, mixed, and pushed forward
gradually until it arrives at the grid or grating k, where the pressure exerted by the
screw e forces the mass through the grating whilst the stones are retained. The
pulp when it has passed the grating is propelled forward until it is delivered at the
mouth. The date stones are retained at m, and when from time to time it is
desired to dislodge these, this can be done by removing the bolts and nuts in the
flanges of cylinder and displacing the grating k, when the stones can be with-
drawn. In some
cases I may substitute for this arrangement of shifting or
removable end of cylinder a door below m hinged or jointed for the same purpose.
The bottom of cylinder a may be perforated if necessary to allow of the escape of the
excoss of moisture. These perforations may be made for the entire length of the
cylinder or extend only for a portion of the same.
In the Drawings Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Figure 5 a
transverse section of my revolving sieve for heating or drying the date cakes. It
will be seen that the sieve is carried on a shaft A supported in the bearings as
shown on the standards forming the frame B. The sieve is revolved by means of
a band on pulley C, whilst the central shaft D is revolved or rotated in the opposite
direction by means of the pulley E. The central shaft carries knives or agitators of
paddle form F for the purpose of stirring up or keeping in motion the date cakes
whilst they are exposed to the heating or drying action of the furnace or gas jets.
In the Drawing in Figure 4 the dotted line represents the position of the line of
gas jets when such are employed for heating or drying purposes. A door or cover G
is provided for the purpose of introducing and removing the date cakes.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Figure 7 a transverse section of
the roasting cylinder. This cylinder H is rotated or revolved by means of the
pulley I. The cylinder is supported in bearings on the frame J, and is provided
internally with scoops or stirrers K. for the purpose of keeping all portions of the
mass of date cakes subject to the roasting action of the gas jets or furnace, the
position of which is indicated by the dotted line. The date cakes are introduced
into this cylinder at the cover or door L, and when sufficiently roasted the cylinder
can be withdrawn from its position as shown by removing the bolts and nuts on
that part of the frame marked J¹, the upper part of which being hinged to the
lower, as shown at M, can be thrown back for the purpose of withdrawing the
frame with the scoops or stirrers and therewith the roasted date cakes. Whilst
this is being done the cylinder itself is maintained in position by the hinged
bracket N.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be
distinctly understood that what I claim and desire to secure by the hereinbefore
in part recited Letters Patent is,―
The manufacture of date powder by the process and means as set forth in this
Specification, the machinery for pulping the dates and rejecting the stones, and also

page_text: the machinery for drying and roasting the date cakes, all as in this Specification
described and in the accompanying Drawings illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Pool, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
MATTHEW A. SOUL,
Patent Agent,
43, Castle Street,
Holborn.
FREDERICK POOL. (L.S.)