IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR EXPRESSING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR CANE AND BEETROOT, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Ducomet, of 20, Ruo des Petits Hotels, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR EXPRESSING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR CANE AND BEETROOT,
AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES." A communication from Louis Jules
Theodore Quennesson, of St. Quentin, in the Republic of France,
Sealed the 2nd May 1876, and dated the 4th March 1876.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Ducomet at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th March 1876.
JOSEPH DUCOMET, of 20, Rue des Petits Hotels, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR EXPRESSING THE JUICE
FROM SUGAR CANE AND BEETROOT, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
A com-
munication from Louis Jules Theodore Quennesson, of St. Quentin, in the Republic
of France.
It is well known that in the working of presses the smaller the quantity of the
material operated on the better is the action of the press, that is to say, the thinner
the body to be pressed the greater the facility of extracting the product. Theo-
retically therefore to obtain the maximum results it would be necessary that each
molecule should be pressed separately; but as this latter condition cannot be
obtained in practice some other means of approaching as near as possible thereto
must be sought for.
One of the objects of my Invention is to obtain this result, and for this purpose
I have constructed an apparatus which divides the mass to be pressed as much as
possible, so as to present a large filtering surface in order that the product to be
extracted should only have as short distance to travel in running off freely.
I have also effected great improvements in the working of the press. I dispense
with the bags, hurdles, and cloth employed for many purposes; also with the
usual preparatory presses; the effect of this preliminary operation being produced
in my improved press during the charging of the press.
Greater or less pressure may also be exerted by regulating the pressure of the
water under the piston, whereby I obtain the advantage according to the require-
ments of the various manufactures of being able to produce a substance more or
less pressed, and which can issue from the press in the form of cakes or loaves more
or less dry or solid.

page_text: I also obtain the facility of pressing the substance under operation several times
so as to obtain a complete extraction.
But to make my Invention better understood I will proceed to describe the same
as applied to a hydraulic press, by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in
which Figure 1 is a vertical section of the improved press, the parts being in their
normal position; Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the same; Figure 3 is an
elevation of the same, the parts being in their acting position; and Figure 4 is a
plan.
Figures 5, 6, and 7, shew an arrangement for heating the substance during the
pressing operation.
And Figure 8 is a detail shewing the method of setting and the construction of
the filtering tubes.
Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar parts.
A is the cylinder of the press; B, the piston; C, D, the plates on the top of the
piston; and E, E¹, E, and E, the supporting columns.
The cap or upper beam of my improved press is not of the ordinary construction;
it extends only to a, a, and is of a square form, as seen in the plan, but it may be
made of any other suitable form. To fill in this open space and provide a fulcrum
for the substance to be pressed, I provide a plate G, G, of the same form as the cap,
the upper edges of the plate pressing against the projections of the cap F, F¹. By
this arrangement if the lower press plate C, D, pressos the substances placed
between the plate C, D, and the plate G, G, these substances will find a fulcrum.
The space in which the substances are confined during the pressing operation,
consists of a square or other suitably shaped case or box H, I, J, K, fixed or
suspended to the upper cap F, F¹. The angles of this box or case are united by
water-tight joints so as to prevent any loss of the substance being pressed, the
whole being strengthened by external ribs.
In the interior to facilitate the running of off the juices or liquid near the sides
or walls I form a number of vertical trenches or gutters b, b, c, c, d, d, extending
from end to end of the sides of the box or case, and I cover these trenches with
filtering plates perforated or grooved in any suitable manner so as to conduct the
juice to the trenches. These plates are coloured yellow in the Drawing, and are
fixed by screws so that they may be easily removed to allow of the trenches being
thoroughly cleaned out when the press is not at work. Both the upper and lower
press plates are also provided with similar trenches and covering plates.
The plate G, G, is moveable and may be raised and lowered as required by means
of racks L, L', to which it is firmly fixed, the racks being actuated by the toothed
pinions M and M¹ keyed on the shaft O.
Instead of the racks I can employ a cylinder, actuated by hydraulic pressure,
placed in the centre of the press or upper press plate. Or two hydraulic cylinders
may be employed, in which case, their pistons would occupy the position of the
racks.
Two rollers N and N¹ guide the movement of the racks, and the ratchet
wheels P and P¹ hold them in any desired position, and consequently the plate
G, G, also.
In Figure 1 is shewn a series of vertical bars passing through the plate G, G.
These bars consist of thin tubes perforated with a large number of small openings
so as to form a filter. At their upper ends they are fixed by means of cones to the
plate Q, Q, Figures 1 and 8, a second plate Q1, Q1, being placed over them to better
secure them in their places. This latter plate is perforated, and may be easily
moved by a sliding movement on the lower plate, and will sometimes uncover and
sometimes cover the tubes so as to allow of the removal of the tubes for cleaning
their interior by passing down them a small brush at the end of a wire.
To prevent any of the material being pressed from rising between the tubes and
the sides of the holes through which they pass in the plate G, G, each tube is pro-
vided with a kind of stuffing box or gland R, shewn in Figure 8. The stuffing box
allows the tube to slide easily, and prevents any of the liquid being thrown out-

page_text: side. The plates Q and Q¹ are of such a weight as to always cause the tubes to
descend towards the bottom, such descent being limited by ribs on which the said
plates rest.
The herein-before described tubes, the number, distance apart, and diameter of
which vary according to circumstances, are shewn in plan at Figure 4. The lower
ends of the tubes (as seen in Figure 8) are made conical, so that they may enter
corresponding openings in the plate C, D. By this arrangement when the plate
C, D, is raised it will come against the lower parts of the tubes and completely
embrace them with respect to each tube. The plate C, D, is provided with
openings which open into the capacity R¹ provided with a conduct pipe connected
externally with the flexible tube S, S.
As the plate C, D, has to pass into the interior of the box H, I, J, K, and its edges
ought to fit close against the sides of the box so as to prevent any loss of the sub-
stance under operation, I furnish the four faces of this plate with packing pieces
C, C, of leather, india-rubber, or other suitable material pressing against an oscil-
lating cleat ff¹, which is constantly forced outwards by means of spiral or other
springs g, g. In this manner I obtain a complete and constant adherence of the
plate against the casing. I employ a similar arrangement for the upper plate G, G,
the packing being placed at G¹, G₁, and is also operated by springs. To allow the
lower plate being easily guided and with the least possible friction it is carried by
its four corners only at h, h¹, h¹¹, h¹, Figures 2 and 7.
The trenches or channels i, i, made in the four sides of the plate serve to receive
the juices or liquid matters which run off lengthwise of the walls during the
pressure, and thence they pass into the capacity R¹ through a series of openings
provided for the purpose. The lower part of the box H, I, J, K, is provided on its
four faces at it, i¹¹, with a channel for receiving the juice or other matters which
may run off lengthwise of the sides either inside or outside the filtering plates. In
order to collect in these channels the products which run to the interior surface of
the filtering plates holes are pierced, comparatively large with regard to ¹ and ¿¹;
and to collect these juices in a single space, holes are made and provided with pipes
which draw the juices from the four sides to any fixed point.
To effect the charging of the press when all the parts are in their proper position
four tubular openings j, j¹, j", 111, are formed, to which cocks k are applied, and
through which the substances pass or are driven into the box or coffer, where they
spread out uniformly.
The number, form, and dimensions of these tubular openings may vary, and the
cock may be replaced by a valve, a trap, or other suitable means, according to the
nature of the substances to be pressed.
I will now describe the action of the tubes which are placed in the box H, I, J, K.
These tubes are made of any suitable metal, and are perforated with a large
number of holes throughout their length from the bottom to the plate G, G. These
holes may be placed at any suitable distance apart, and may be of a round conical
shape from the outside towards the interior, or vice versa, or they may be longi-
tudinal with widened edges, as shewn at Figure 8, or made in any other suitable
direction or form. The object of these tubes is to divide the mass of the material
or substance to be pressed, and to provide a near outlet for the running off of the
liquid to be extracted.
Each tube is in effect a filtering surface presenting an open channel on all its
parts. It will thus be understood that from the moment the liquid has passed
through the walls of the tube this latter presents a large conduct which draws the
liquid into the capacity R¹, from whence it escapes by the tube S, S. The tubes
being placed very near together (an inch or less from one another) the mass operated
on will be divided to so great an extent as to be in the best possible condition for
the extraction of its liquid. I thus obtain as near as possible the result which
should be produced theoretically, since each molecule has only to pass over a very
small space to run off.
I will now describe the action of the press:-In the first place the plate C, D, is

page_text: 111
raised until its openings pass over the ends of the tubes, the plate G, G, being at
this time at the bottom of its course in the press. In this position the tubes will
be brought opposite the openings in the lower plate, which will come against the
upper plate while the ends of the tubes enter it.
The upper plåte G, G, is then
raised to its highest point against its supports, one or more of the cocks j, j¹, ¡¹¹, j¹ll,
is or are opened, and the substance to be operated on enters the box H, I, J, K.
The press being filled the cocks are closed and the piston is put in action from the
hydraulic press to produce the amount of pressure required. The plate C, D,
gradually rises in the press, approaching towards the upper plate, the tubes also
rise to the same extent and project outside. The plates Q, Q, Q1, Q¹, raised up by
the tubes no longer rest on their supports, but are above the press.
The tubes
having moved easily through their stuffing boxes have offered but slight resistance
to this movement of the various parts. During this operation the juices or liquid
parts of the mass operated on have found numerous outlets at their sides, above and
below them, through the tubes, and have partly run off at first during the charging
of the press, and then under the effect of the pressure of the piston and have passed
to the reservoir.
When the maximum pressure has been attained the pressure is removed from
the piston, and the plate G, G, is lowered either by hand, or otherwise by the aid
of the pinions and racks. To facilitate the descent the box H, I, J, K, is somewhat
broader at the bottom.
The cakes or loaves contained between the two plates are brought to the bottom
of the prèss and are disengaged from the tubes, as shewn by the red lines T, and at
this time the plates Q, Q, Q¹, Q, have been brought to their place on their supports.
The loaf T is then moved outside the pillars of the press, and a workman passes a
brush, sponge, broom, or a jet of steam over the surface C, raises up the lower plate
until it again embraces the lower ends of the tubes, and so on for another operation,
as herein-before described.
It will thus be seen that the action of the press is simple, sure, and rapid, and
the motions few; the removal of the cakes or leaves may be rapidly effected, as
also may be the charging; and a large quantity of material is operated on at one
time; this quantity is in fact large in proportion to the size of the press, since the
running off of the liquid takes place during the whole time the press is being
charged.
After a certain number of operations it may be necessary to effect the cleaning
of the filtering parts of the press, and the construction of the press allows of this
being effected by means of a jet of steam passed through the press, then bringing
the upper and lower plates as near together as to allow the steam to pass through
all parts of the press at one time, or only through a certain part of the press deter-
mined by the position of the two plates which are placed in the desired position for
that purpose.
The cleaning may also be effected with equal facility by the hand by means of a
brush. The tubes are kept raised in the air, and the workman enters the interior
of the press, and in a few minutes can clean all the surfaces by means of the
brush.
The exteriors of the tubes are kept clean in working, and the interior of the
tubes may be cleaned by means of a brush at the end of an iron rod.
the
When it is necessary to effect a thorough cleaning of the apperatus, for
instance, during any stoppage of the manufacture, or at the end of a season,
taking down of the press may be effected with great facility, and in a few
hours all the inner and outer faces of the parts requiring it may be thoroughly
cleaned.
In the foregoing description I have described a press with a square box, but it
will be understood that it may be made of other suitable shape, such as round, or
with five or other suitable number of sides, and may be made of sheet or cast iron
or other metal, and the number and form of the openings for the substance to be
pressed may vary.

page_text: The charging of the press could also be effected at the bottom, and the removal
of the cakes at the top; and the piston could also be made to descend instead of
moving upwards.
The filtering channels at the sides can also be varied in form, size, and number.
The tubes also may be of any suitable form, such a square, oval, or otherwise,.
and of any suitable thickness or length, and may pass through the box in any
suitable direction; and the box may be placed horizontally instead of vertically.
The holes in the tubes may also vary in shape, depth, and number.
My improvements are applicable to presses worked otherwise than by hydraulic
pressure.
The construction of presses herein-before described is applicable for pressing or
crushing a large number of substances, but for those substances which require to
be previously heated for the better extraction of the liquid. I employ arrangements
similar to those shown in Figures 5 and 6.
The press box consists of a double casing, the open space u being filled with steam
or hot water or other suitable heating agent.
The lower plate, shewn in sectional plan at Fig. 7, is formed with some open
spaces in which I place tubes m filled with a heating agent, so as to communicate
the heat to the plate and consequently to the substance placed thereon. The upper
plate may be heated in a similar manner.
I can also in addition to heating the sides, as herein-before described, heat the
interior of the tubes by means of other tubes filled with hot water or other heating
agent and placed in the filtering tubes.
Having thus described my said Invention and the best means I am acquainted
with for carrying the same into effect, what I claim is, the improvements herein-
before described in machinery for expressing the juice from sugar cane and beet-
root, and for other like purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Ducomet, have hereto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
T DUCOMET