Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE MAKING OF LUMP, LOAF, OR BLOCK SUGAR, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Neill, of Greenock, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, Sugar Refiner, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MAKING OF LUMP, LOAF, OR BLOCK SUGAR, AND IN THE
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR."
Scaled the 18th April 1873, and dated the 31st January 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Neill at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st January 1873.
I, JOHN NEILL, of Greenock, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, Sugar Refiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MAKING OF, LUMP, LOAF, OR BLOCK
SUGAR, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is
to say:
-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the making of
lump or loaf sugar by the application of a pressing machine having a
continuous or intermittent motion, as may be desired.

page_text: The sugar after having been wholly or partially freed of moisture and
syrup in a sugar centrifugal or other machine is introduced by hand or
by any appropriate machinery worked by hand, steam, or other power
having a continuous or intermittent motion as may be desired, through
a hopper or other convenient means of charging or feeding into the said 6
pressing machine in which it is pressed by hand, steam, or other power.
The sugar in the pressing machine aforesaid is thus formed into lumps,
loaves, or blocks of any required form or size suitable for the market.
If desired to improve the appearance of the said sugar the surface of
the lumps, loaves, or blocks of sugar may be smoothed, planed, or faced 1
by any appropriate tool, implement, apparatus, or machine worked or
driven by hand, steam, or other power.
By the adoption of this improved process or mode of making lump,
loaf, or block sugar, a great saving of time, labour, sugar house floor
space, and expense is effected over the present operation, in thus 1
solidifying the sugar or making it into lumps, loaves, or blocks instead
of by the ordinary methods, such as conical moulds from which the
moisture and syrup therein is expelled or partially expelled by
gravitation, exhaustion, or the ordinary methods.
The pressing machine above referred to consists of a deep box or 2
mill, by preference rectangular, similar to a pug mill for clay, having a
shaft in the centre thereof, with arms or blades disposed round the shaft,
set at an angle so that when the shaft revolves the arms or blades work
as a screw. The sugar is filled in at the top, and by the revolution of
the shaft is screwed or forced downwards. At the bottom of the box or 2
mill there is a hole at one or more sides of convenient size to allow the
exit of the sugar, which is effected by a pair of arms or sweeps at tho
lower end of the upright shaft. Outside this hole is a table which
slides in a frame, and has in it two openings or hollows of the sizo and
shape of the blocks desired to be made. One of these hollows is brought 3
close to the exit hole of the mill, the frame in which the table slides
being so constructed that when the hollow is in this position the sides of
the hollow form the sides, and a portion of the frame forms the bottom
of a mould above which is arranged the presser which by a suitable
arrangement of machinery, such as a lever scrow crank, or the equivalent, 31
is made to descend regularly on the top of and into the mould thus
formed. As soon as the table slides into the position which brings one
of the hollows into the position above described the sugar discharging

page_text: from the mill fills the hollow, when it is filled the presser descends and
the sugar is pressed into a solid lump or block. The presser thon rises,
and the table slides so that the other hollow comes under the presser,
and into the position required for filling with sugar. The first mentioned
hollow now filled with a solid block of sugar comes to a part. of the
framing where there is no bottom, and a piston is arranged above which
by a downward movement pushes the block downwards out of the
hollow, whence it is received in any convenient manner.
The hollows in the sliding table can be so constructed if desired that
they are divided into two or more sections with the presser and emptying
pistons formed to correspond, in which case cach section would produce
a separate lump or block of sugar, and thus more than one will be made
at cach stroke of the presser.
There are two pistons for emptying the moulds, one on each side of
the presser, so arranged that when the right hand hollow of the table is
under the presser, and being filled the left hand hollow is under the left
hand emptying piston; and when the left hand hollow is under the
presser and being filled the right hand hollow is under the right hand
emptying piston, cach emptying piston coming down at every alternate
stroke of the presser.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Neill in the Great Scal Patent Office on the
28th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
NEILL, of Greenock, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, Sugar
Refiner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
36th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Neill, Her special license that

page_text: I, the said John Neill, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Neill, my executors, administrators,
or 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, usc, 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 MAKING OF
LUMP, LOAF, OR BLOCK SUGAR, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Neill, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, 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
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"
""
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Neill, 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 accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in the making of
lump, loaf, or block sugar, by the application of a pressing machine
having either a continuous or intermittent motion.
The sugar after having been wholly or partially freed from moisture
and syrup in a sugar centrifugal or other machine is introduced by
hand or by any appropriate machinery worked by hand, steam, or other :
power, and having a continuous or intermittent motion, as may be
desired through a hopper or other means of charging into the pressing
machine constituting my said Invention, and wherein it is pressed by
steam, hand, or other power into lumps, loaves, or blocks of any required
form or size.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood,
I now proceed more particularly to set forth the several systems, or
modes, in or under which the same is or may be used or practically
carried into effect, reference being had to the two accompanying Sheets
of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
On Sheet 1 of the Drawings hereunto annended Figure 1 is n sido

page_text: elevation, and Figure 2 a plan of one arrangement of the sugar
pressing machine; Figure 3 is an elevation of that end of the machine
marked X, Figures 1 and 2.
As shown by these Figures the apparatus consists of a hopper A
carried by pillars or columns B on the bed or sole plate C of the
machine. At the interior of the hopper A a shaft D is placed, on
which a number of screw blades E are situated in different positions, as
shown; the lower extremity of the shaft D is supported on a
bracket F, and near the said extremity a bevil pinion G is situated on
the shaft, which gears into and is rotated by a corresponding bevil
wheel situate on the shaft I; the shaft I is rotated by a spur
wheel J fixed on one extremity thercof, and which gears into and is
actuated by a corresponding spur pinion K placed on a shaft L which is
driven by a belt passed round the fixed pulley M situate thereon.
The sugar after having been wholly or partially freed from moisture
and syrup in a centrifugal or other machine is filled into the hopper A
and is therein pressed downwards by the screw blades E to the bottom
of the hopper, from whence it is forced outwards through the opening a
shown at Figure 1, by sweeps or blades 6 fixed on the shaft D, as more
particularly seen in plan at Figure 2, into the mould N situate beneath
the front end of the hopper A. The mould N, which for the sake of
more complete elucidation is shewn in section at Figure 1, is situate at
the interior of a fixed table or guide O, and is reciprocated backwards
and forwards therein by a disc P to which it is attached by means of
the connecting link Q; the disc is fixed on a shaft R and is rotated
from the shaft L by means of the bevil gearing S. Two openings or
chambers c and d corresponding in dimensions to the size of the lump,
loaf, or block of sugar to be produced are formed in the mould N, and
three openings e, f, and g, equal in sectional arca to that of the
chambers or openings c and d are made in the table or guide O, as
shewn at Figure 1, the central onef of which has a flanch / formed
round three sides of it in order to confine the sugar in issuing out
through the aperture a of the hopper A.
Above the aperture fa
presser T is situated, and which is operated by a cam U fixed on the
shaft U and rotated from the upper end of the shaft D by means of the
bevil gearing V shewn at Figure 3, Sheet 1. A groove h¹ is formed in
the cam U into which a pin fixed in the upper end of the presser T
enters, and when a quantity of sugar sufficient to fill the chamber c

page_text: or d of the mould N has passed thereinto the cam U in rotating causes
the presser T to descend on the sugar and thereby compress it into a
solid lump, loaf, or block, after which the presser T is drawn upwards by
the cam U, and the mould N is reciprocated by the disc P so as to
bring the chamber of the mould containing the solid lump, loaf, or
block of sugar underneath one or other of the openings c or g of the
table or guide O and the empty chamber of the mould underneath the
aperture a of the hopper A. An ejector W, the construction of which
is moro particularly seen at Figure 3, Sheet 1 of the Drawings, is
placed on each side of the hopper A above the openings e and g of the
table or guide O; the ejectors are cach centred on a pin or stud m
projecting from the side of the hopper and are operated by cams X
fixed in different positions on the shaft I. Each cam X is so arranged
relatively with the presser T as to operate the ejector in conjunction
therewith at every alternate stroke of the presser, and both ejectors are
so arranged relatively with the reciprocating mould N that when the
sugar has been compressed into a solid lump, loaf, or block in one of the
chambers thereof, and when the said chamber has been moved opposite
one or other of the openings e or 7, as herein-before described, the cam
which operates the ejector situato above that opening causes the ejector
to descend into the chamber of the mould and force the lump, loaf, or
block of sugar outwards therefrom through an opening in the under
side of the fixed table or guide O on to a table or platform supported on
brackets Y, Figure 1, from whence it is removed by the attendant, or
the lump, loaf, or block of sugar may be delivered from the mould on
to a travelling web or band, and be thereby conveyed away from the
apparatus.
In lieu of arranging a reciprocating mould at one side only of the
hopper A, as herein-before described and shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3,
Sheet 1 of the Drawings, a reciprocating or sliding mould and mechanism
in conjunction therewith may also be placed at the opposite side of tho
hopper, thus doubling the producing power of the apparatus.
In order to regulate the pressure and to suit different kinds of sugar,
a springs is employed in conjunction with the presser T, as shown by
the detailed view of the presser at Figure 4, Sheet 1 of the Drawings;
the tension on which spring is adjusted by means of screws and nuts t.
Instead of feeding the sugar into the mould N from a hopper A, as
herein before set forth, the sugar may be filled thereinto through the

page_text: opening ƒ by hand; in which case the flanch / formed round the said
opening is dispensed with.
Another arrangement of the pressing apparatus constructed in
accordance with my said Invention, is illustrated at Figures 5 and 6,
Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figure 5 being a vertical section thereof on
the line x, x, Figure 6, which is a plan. The sugar is compressed in
this apparatus into lumps, loaves, or blocks, within moulds formed
in a circular revolving table A which is mounted on an upright
shaft B, and receives an intermittent motion in one direction through
a pawl a which gears into a ratchet C formed at the lower part of the
table A. The pawl a is connected by a link b and lever D to an
eccentric E situate on a shaft F, whereon are also placed fast and
loose pulleys G and H respectively, as shewn at Figure 6. The table
or disc A has a groove c formed in its upper surface from whence
the moulds or chambers I descend to the lower part of the table.
In each mould or chamber a movable plate d corresponding in sectional
arca to the mould is placed, and from the under side of these plates
spindles e pass downwards through the table A, as shown at Figure 5.
At the lower extremity of each spindle e a friction roller is situate,
and friction rollers may also be placed in the sides of the movable
plates d, as shown in dotted lines at 1, Figure 6, in order to facilitate
the ascent and descent thereof within the moulds. The sugar after
being wholly or partially freed from moisture and syrup is filled by
hand or otherwise into the groove c on the top of the table A, from
whence it falls and fills up the moulds I, and as the table A is rotated
the superfluous sugar in the groove c is scraped off or back by a
scraper, shewn in plan at Figure 6, leaving the sugar in the chambers
or moulds I flush with the bottom of the groove. The table A is
rotated on each occasion through an are sufficient to bring a chamber
or mould filled with sugar under the presser L which works through
a guide M, and is operated by a lever N and cam O, which latter
is fixed on the shaft F. The table A remains stationary in this position
whilst the presser L descends and compresses the sugar into a lump,
loaf, or block, a support P of suitable construction being placed under
the presser in order to bear up the table whilst the sugar is being so
pressed. When the presser L rises the table is again moved through
an arc and brings another mould or chamber under the presser, mean-
while the friction roller at the lower end of the spindle e of the movable

page_text: plate of the chamber or mould within which the lump, loaf, or block
of sugar is situate comes in contact with and slides up an inclined
plane R, by which means at cach succeeding partial rotation of the
table A, the lump, loaf, or block of sugar is raised higher until the
groove c is reached, from whence it is removed, and the chamber or
mould is then again filled with loose sugar.
In order to regulate the pressure and to suit different kinds of sugar,
springs S adjusted by screws T are placed above the bearings of the
shaft or axis round which the lever M moves, as shown at Figure 5,
Sheet 1; or the presser may be provided with a spring similar to that
lierein-before described and shewn at Figure 4, Slicet 1.
Another arrangement of apparatus by which the sugar may be pressed
into lumps, loaves, or blocks is illustrated in front elevation at Figure 1
and in vertical section on the line a, a, Figure 1 at Figure 2, Sheet 2 of
the Drawings. Under this arrangement a circular table A, revolving on
an upright shaft B, and receiving intermittent motion in one direction
through a ratchet C and eccentric D is employed. The eccentric D is
fixed on a shaft E, which is rotated by a belt or band passed round the
fixed pulley F, and from the said shaft the whole apparatus is driven.
The table is formed with a groove b at its upper surface, from which the
moulds c extend downwards to the lower part of the table. The sugar
passes from a hopper G, in which are screw blades H revolving with a
shaft or axle I driven from the shaft E by bevil gearing J on to the
groove b on the top of the table A, from whence it falls into and fills the
chamber or mould, or the sugar may be filled by hand or other convenient
means into the chambers or moulds c. The table A. then revolves until
the chamber or mould c containing the loose sugar comes under the
presser L, and whilst the table so revolves the superfluous sugar in the
groove over the said chamber c is scraped off or back by a scraper M,
Figure 3, leaving the chamber c filled up flush with the bottom of the
groove b. The presser L, which is attached by a connecting rod N to a
crank on the shaft E then descends and presses the sugar into a lump,
loaf, or block.
In order to regulate the pressure the presser L may be provided with
springs, as shewn at Figure 4, Sheet 1. When the presser L rises the
table A again revolves until the chamber or mould c, now containing the
lump, loaf, or block of sugar comes under the ejector O, which motion
also brings another chamber under the presser L, when the table A

page_text: remains stationary and the ejector O worked by a lever P and eccentric
Q descends at the same time that the presser L is pressing another
quantity of sugar into a lump, loaf, or block, and pushes out the lump
or block of sugar, which is deposited on the revolving table R, which
receives horizontal motion through the ratchet S and eccentric T, and
also has a vertical motion on the shaft V, being balanced thereon by
weights. The weight of the lump or block of sugar causes the table
R to descend sufficiently to enable it to revolve and remove the lump,
loaf, or block of sugar from under the table A, after which the lump,
loaf, or block of sugar is lifted off by the hand or removed from the
table R in any other suitable manner, leaving the table free to risc in
time to receive the next lump, loaf, or block of sugar. A fixed block X
is situate under the table A, and which forms a bottom or rest to threc
of the chambers or moulds c, as shown in dotted lines at Figures 3;
suitable scrapers may be arranged to keep clean the top of the block X
and the bottom of the revolving table A.
Figure 4, Sheet 2 of the Drawings, is a side elevation, and Figure 5
a plan of another arrangement of the sugar pressing machine, and
which consists of a horizontal table A having a groove a on its upper
surface and chambers or moulds B formed in it. The table A receives a
continuous motion in one direction by any suitable machinery of the
ordinary type for causing a revolving motion. In cach of the chambers
B there is fitting it a movable plate C fixed on a spindle c, which may
be provided with a friction roller D, as shewn at Figure 4. The sugar is
filled into the chambers or moulds B from the groove a, and the super-
fluous sugar in the said groove is scraped away or back by the edge F of
the fixed plate G. As the table A revolves the filled chamber or mould
B passes under the fixed plate G, and the foot of the spindle c comes
into contact with and moves up the inclined plane II, thereby causing
the movable plate e to rise and press the sugar against the plate G into
a lump, loaf, or block. The plate G is formed to fit into the groove a,
and is fixed over a portion of the revolving disc A, (shewn at Figure
5, Sheet 2) to resist the upward motion of the movable plate C, whereby
the sugar filled into mould B is formed into the lump, loaf, or block.
The foot of spindle c travels along the inclined plane H as far as the
dotted line I, Figure 5, from which it travels along the level surface to
the dotted line J, by which time the compressed lump, loaf, or block of
sugar has passed from under the fixed plate G, after which the foot of
the spindle c again moves up an inclined plane, thereby forcing the

page_text: movable plate c, and on it the lump, loaf, or block of sugar out of the
mould B to the level of the groove a, when it is removed by the
attendant or by suitable mechanism, and the table still revolving the
spindle c passes over the end of the inclined plane and the movable plate
falls down to the bottom of the chamber or mould B.
The revolving table of the apparatus now last described, and also the
revolving tables of the machines herein-before described and shewn at
Figures 5 and 6, Sheet 1, and at Figures 1 and 2, Sheet 2, of the
Drawings, may be increased or decreased in dimensions and have a
greater or lesser number of chambers or moulds and other apparatus in
connection therewith than are shown on the Drawings, as may also be
the sliding or reciprocating table N, shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3, Sheet
1 of the Drawings, and the pressers and ejectors of the said machines in
lieu of being operated in the manner and by the means set forth may
be operated by the direct application of steam power thereto.
The external appearance of the lumps, loaves, or blocks of sugar
formed in any of the arrangements of pressing machines herein-before
described, may, if desired, be improved by smoothing, planing, or facing
the same by any suitable tool, and may be stove dried in any ordinary
way.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention and the systems or modes in or under which the same is
or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in
conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, the methods or modes of and the machinery or
apparatus herein-before described and shown on Sheets 1 and 2 of the
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof, for making lump, loaf, or
block sugar of any required form or size suitable for the market.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Neill have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.