CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHICORY, WITH CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DUCKWORTH, of Liverpool, Coffee Merchant, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty,- in the fourteenth year of
Her reign; did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, givê and grant unto me,
the said William Duckworth, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial.
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Duckworth, my exors; adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Duckworth, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; my
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHICORY, WITH
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
THEREOF;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said William Duckworth, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in' what manner the same is to be performed, by an

page_text: instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Duckworth, do hereby declare that the nature of my said improve-
ments, and in what manner the same are to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My improvements in the manufactory of chicory consist,---
First, in preparing the same for grinding by a combination of roasting
and steaming processes, or by roasting alone in improved roasting machinery;
and,
Second, in moulding and compressing the chicory so prepared or otherwise
into picces of the shape of berries, and other arbitrary forms, whereby it
may be preserved for use unimpaired for a great length of time.
The arrangements necessary for carrying the first of these improvements into
effect are represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings annexed;
Figure 1 being an end elevation partly in section, Figure 2 a longitudinal
section, Figure 3 a plan, and Figure 4 another end elevation of an apparatus
constructed for this purpose. A is the furnace or fireplace. B the ashpit.
C', C, D', D, D³, and D, a set of roasting cylinders which are made of solid
or plate metal, and so fixed over the furnace that there is free space left for the
heated vapours and flame from the fire to circulate about them before passing
off into the chimney. Each of these roasting cylinders contains within it an
endless screw F, the spindle of which has its bearings in the ends of the
cylinder (see Figure 2). Each spindle carries at its outer end a spur wheel G,
and the entire series of spur wheels gear one into the other, so that when one
endless screw is made to revolve by a driving band from the pulley H, all the
others must revolve simultaneously. The chicory cut in pieces as it is
commonly sold in the market is fed into the hopper I. From this hopper the
pieces of chicory drop into the roasting cylinder D', andäre inipelled forward
to the opposite end by the action of the endless.screw of that cylinder, whence
they pass through an opening into the second cylinder D, through which they
are impelled in like manner, but in a contrary direction, till they drop into
the third roasting cylinder Ds, after being impelled through which in the same
same way they are transferred into a cylinder K, in order to be steamed,
whereby the chicory will be almost entirely deprived of its earthy flavour.
This steaming cylinder is of the same form as the roasting cylinders just

page_text: described, and like them contains an endless screw for causing a gradual
propulsion of the chicory from one end to the other, only that instead of being
made of solid or plate metal, it is formed of wire cloth or perforated metal,
and enclosed in an external casing kept filled with steam supplied from
some conveniently placed steam generator.
The steaming cylinder with the top of the steam case removed' is shewn in
the plan Figure 3. The chicory having been made to traverse through the
steaming.cylinder falls at the further end of that cylinder into a short inclined
cylinder L in which there is an endless screw kept revolving by means of the
bevil gear M, M. By this screw the chicory is raised up into the last of the
roasting cylinders D', after being impelled through which it is discharged
from the spout N in a thoroughly dry and roasted state. When the chicory
does not require to be steamed then it is either at once discharged from the
cylinder D³ or transferred directly into the cylinder D. Of course it will
be readily understood that the speed given to the endless screws must be
regulated by the operator according to the length of the cylinders and the
intensity of the heat in the furnace. C and C are two supplementary
roasting cylinders quite detached from the others and unconnected with any
steaming cylinder, which may be used either for the purpose of giving a
additional roasting to chicory that has gone through the process just described;
but not been sufficiently desiccated, or may be used by themselves to roast
chicory which requires no steaming. These supplementary cylinders are
connected together in the same manner as the cylinders D', D2, D³, and D*,
and are furnished like them with endless propelling screws. O is the hopper
by which they are supplied, and P the spout from which the roasted material is
discharged from the second cylinder C. Instead of the screws revolving alone
the cylinders may be made to revolve along with them, or the screws may be
made stationary, and the cylinders alone made to revolve.
an
The apparatus for carrying the second of my improvements into effect,
namely, the moulding or compressing the chicory into pieces of the shape of
berries and other arbitrary forms, is represented in Figures 5, 6, & 7;
Figure, 5 being an elevation of a mill, such as is generally employed for
grinding chicory; Figure 6 an end elevation of the forming or moulding
apparatus necessary to be added thereto, and Figure 7 a plan of the forming
apparatus alone. A is the hopper; B, B, the millstone case; and C, C, the
framing of B, B, beneath which the forming apparatus is placed so that as the
ground chicory issues from the spout of the mill it may fall directly into the.
forming rollers to be presently hereafter described. The ground chicory as it
comes from the mill is usually in a warm and soft state, and easily capable of.

page_text: being compressed into any form desired to be given to it. D; D, are two side
frames into which the bearings of the two forming rollers, E, E, are placed.
These rollers have numerous cavities sunk in their surfaces of the particular
form intended to be given to the chicory. F, F, are a pair of spur wheels which
are keyed upon the ends of the spindles of the forming rollers, and by gearing
into each other cause the rollers to revolve uniformly and together. G is
another wheel which is keyed upon the opposite end of one of the roller
spindles, and is geared into by a pinion H which is affixed to the shaft J.
K, K, are the driving pulleys by which motion is given to the different rollers
from a steam engine or other prime moving power. L, L, are pinching screws
by which the rollers are kept in close contact, and their pressure against each
other adjusted to the degree proper for compressing the chicory. After passing.
between the rollers the chicory falls in the form of berries, or whatever other,
´form it may seem proper to give to it, into a receiver placed below, the machine.
I prefer giving to the ground chicory the form of a berry or some rounded
figure in order that it may be more readily disengaged from the moulds.
hollows in the rollers. The chicory after it has been subjected to the pressure:
requisite for imparting such forms to it, is besides greatly improved thereby in.
quality, inasmuch as a hard and glossy surface is thus given to it, which
renders it little susceptible of injury from atmospheric influence, and therefore,
enables it to be kept unimpaired for a great length of time. Either raw or
roasted chicory in an unground state may be sent through the forming or,
moulding machine, as has just been described in reference to the ground
chicory, but in either of these cases a greater power is necessary to drive the.
machine than when the, chicory is previously ground. It may happen
occasionally that the ground chicory will come from the mill in too dry a state
for moulding, and when that is the case, which the workman in attendance on
the operation will readily ascertain from inspection, it must be slightly
damped either by means of steam or water.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what.
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which
I claim as my Invention are as follows:-
First, I claim the preparing of chicory for grinding by a. combination of
roasting and steaming processes, as before described, and also the machinery
or apparatus for that purpose, in the peculiar arrangement, disposition, and
combination of parts of which the same consists, as before described.
Second, I claim the improved machinery or apparatus for roasting chicory.
And,
Third, I claim the forming, moulding, or compressing of chicory into pieces

page_text: of the shape of berries or other arbitrary forms, as before described, and the
use of figured rollers for that purpose, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Duckworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
Enrolled the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.