IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR IN LUMPS, PIECES, OR BLOCKS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR IN LUMPS, PIECES, OR
BLOCKS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."-A communication from abroad by
Lebaudy Frères, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th March 1882.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SUGAR IN LUMPS, PIECES, OR BLOCKS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."-[A com-
munication from abroad by Lebaudy Frères, of Paris, France.]
My Invention relates to the manufacture of sugar in lumps, pieces, or blocks,
and to apparatus therefor; its object is to manufacture sugar in pieces by novel
means and by a novel application of known means, thereby dispensing with the
use of saws and producing refined sugar in pieces of suitable dimensions for its
consumption and having the same crystallization as ordinary refined loaf sugar.
In carrying the said invention into practice I employ apparatus consisting of
plates or tables which touch each other at their edges and which are hollowed out
so as to mould between them bars blocks or ingots of sugar of the desired form.
I prefer to give to each cavity the transverse dimensions of an ingot or bar
produced by sawing loaves of sugar in the ordinary manner, that is to say, so that
the sugar when withdrawn from the apparatus has the form of a rectangular
prism, the two smaller dimensions of which are equal to the larger dimensions of
the pieces of sugar cut or broken for consumption in the ordinary manner; I thus
avoid the use of saws and the loss of the sugar thereby reduced to powder; to
obtain the pieces or blocks it is only necessary to pass the ingots or bars through
a breaking machine, and as the ingots or bars have a rectangular prismatic form,
there are no irregular pieces with curved or inclined faces.
The dimensions of the cavities vary according to the number of pieces that it is

page_text: desired there should be to the kilogramme; and I may also vary the proportions
and modify the form of the cavities if, for example I require the apparatus to make
small slabs, blocks, or loaves; or, on the contrary, I may reduce the dimensions of
the cavities so as to produce pieces of suitable size for consumption and thereby
dispense with the employment of the breaking machine.
The cavities are formed by the juxtaposition of the plates or tables and in such
manner that the sides of a cavity are partly formed by one of the plates and
partly by the adjacent plate; it is therefore only necessary to separate the plates
in order to take out the moulded pieces. The prepared mass or syrup is caused to
enter the apparatus under a greater or less pressure or without pressure, according
as the cavities are more or less limited in size, and the mass more or less thickened;
according to the nature of the latter I leave it first to solidify by slow cooling, or I
begin at once to cleanse or drain it of its green syrup; this cleansing or draining
is either effected naturally, or by exhaustion, or by the pressure of air or steam, or
of a mixture of both, according to convenience and to the quality of the sugar to
be cleansed or drained; I de-colorize it if necessary by means of a white syrup,
at 36° running through the mass, always with more or less pressure; I next dry it
by means of air compressed by a force pump or exhausted by a vacuum pump;
this air being previously dried and heated; with certain kinds of sugar the use of
the cleare may be dispensed with; according to the nature of the case other
decolorizing agents may be employed, such as alcohol, steam, or water. A current
of cold compressed air is made to pass over the mass after the current of heated air,
for the purpose of causing the sugar to contract and facilitate its removal from
the moulds.
The pressure to be exerted upon the prepared mass as it enters between the
plates or tables, is either caused by the superincumbent weight of the mass itself,
by compressed air, by the steam in a montejus, or by pumps. All the operations
of cleansing or draining de-colorizing, and drying take place very rapidly and in
the same apparatus without removal or transport.
The said apparatus consists of plates or tables placed in a frame work similar to
that of a filter-press. These tables are of brass, copper or other suitable material
and each of them is formed of a central plate having a projecting rim or shoulder
along three of its sides, which forms joints with the adjacent plates, and also having
ribs which constitute with the central plate, the walls or sides of the cavities in
which the ingots or bars of sugar are formed; these ribs appertain alternately to
one plate and to the adjacent plate; they are slightly rounded at the edges or
tapered so that the ingots or bars will not be broken when being removed from
the moulds.
A channel communicates with the lower cavities by passages covered with wire
gauze or perforated metal plate; these passages are arranged so that the wire gauze
will be properly supported at the same time leaving as much of its surface as
possible available for use. Each ingot or bar can be cleansed or drained in two
channels; at each end of the channel is fitted a cock which serves for regulating
the speed at which the de-colorizing agents pass through the sugar.
To ensure the tightness of the joints between the plates without however
preventing their complete juxtaposition and the contact of the ribs on the adjacent
plates, a dovetailed groove with two lateral spaces or channels is formed on one of
the faces of the projecting rim of each table; this groove contains a strip of india-
rubber of suitable sectional form which passes round the face of the projecting rim ;
the tables are subjected to a considerable pressure which squeezes down the
projecting portion of india-rubber thereby causing it to fill up the spaces or
channels of the groove and bringing into contact the metal of the two tables.
The projecting ribs of the tables and the joints above described are prolonged to
the top of the central plates so as to form with a suitable cover which is provided,
a space connecting all the upper ends of the ingots or bars, and in which, when the
cover is raised an operation, analogous to the removal of the loaves from their
moulds by beating is effected.

page_text: The cover carries in a dovetailed groove a ring of india-rubber which makes a
joint on all the prolonged portions of the projecting rims; the tables are also
provided with projections upon which are hooked bolts having hooks and capable
of shifting in their respective holes; the said bolts remain upon the cover when it
is removed; feathers or ribs connect these points of attachment and strengthen the
cover which is also provided with tubes; the central tube serves as an inlet for the
prepared mass; the other tubes as inlets for the de-colorizing and drying agents
and the steam for cleansing or draining; if desired these tubes can be joined to
form a single tube. Air blow-off cocks are placed at the four corners; and rings
are attached to the cover to serve for lifting it by means of chains and a small
tackle or winch upon a railway which is used for the apparatus placed upon the
same line.
The tables are connected by an arrangement similar to that of ordinary filter-
presses; each table has two lugs by which it rests upon two cylindrical rods and is
supported between them; in holes bored through these lugs are introduced pins
for successively separating the tables one from the other and withdrawing the
moulded pieces.
The two end plates which receive the pressure of the compressed air, or of the
steam only, upon a single face are provided with feathers or ribs, like the ordinary
tables, the back table is placed upon a framework and receives the keyed heads of
the cylindrical rods; the front plate slides upon the rods upon which it rests by
means of closed lugs.
The said rods are screwed for a greater or less portion of their length and carry
nuts which, by being screwed down upon the said lugs tighten the tables one upon
another and thus ensure the tightness of the joints. The front ends of the rods
are carried by two columns braced and connected to the frame work by base
plate. One or two channels for the syrup are provided under the cocks fitted to
the tables; a receptacle of sheet metal is placed under the tables if there are any
drainings.
I may modify the form of my apparatus and employ various materials in its
construction. The plates may also be made in several parts for increasing the
rapidity of removing the sugar from the moulds. In this case the ribs will be
independent of the central plate and may be isolated, or formed into a hurdle or
frame; or the ribs or divisions formed upon the plates may be reduced by one half
and placed one in front of another. The projecting rim may have its four sides
complete which renders a cover unnecessary and the feeding or supply may be
effected by a channel placed at the centre in one of the corners or near the edges of
the tables. The interior of the central plate may be hollow for more rapidly cooling
the mass by a circulation of water or cold air.
The plates may be placed horizontally in this case the ingots or bars remain in
place when the moulds are removed from them, and they are lifted out by hand; or
the apparatus inay be made capable of rotation for putting the plates in a
horizontal position only at the right moment for removing the sugar from the
moulds.
The introduction of the de-colorizing and drying agents can be effected in the
reverse direction to that of the introduction of the prepared mass, that is to say,
from top to bottom of the apparatus as above described. The divisions may be
placed in a horizontal direction upon the plates in such a manner that the cleansing
or draining is effected by the lateral sides of the projecting rim, particularly in the
case of the admission of the prepared mass by a central channel. In the case of
an apparatus having a cover the latter may be fixed upon the rods or upon the
castings forming the end tables or upon any other part of the framework; the
feathers or ribs of the castings may be replaced by cross-pieces with or without
springs for distributing the pressure.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th September 1882.
$
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SUGAR IN LUMPS, PIECES, OR BLOCKS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
A com-
munication from abroad by Lebaudy Frères, of Paris, France.
"
This Invention relates to the manufacture of sugar in lumps, pieces or blocks,
and to apparatus therefor; its object is to manufacture sugar in pieces, by novel
means and by a novel application of known means, thereby dispensing with the
use of saws and producing refined sugar in pieces of suitable dimensions for its
consumption, and having the same crystallization as ordinary refined loaf sugar.
In carrying the said invention into practice employ apparatus consisting of
plates or tables which touch each other at their edges, and which are hollowed out
so as to mould between them bars or ingots of sugar of the desired form.
I prefer to give to each cavity the transverse dimensions of an ingot or bar pro-
duced by sawing loaves of sugar in the ordinary manner, that is to say, so that the
sugar when withdrawn from the apparatus, has the form of a rectangular prism
the two smaller dimensions of which are equal to the larger dimensions of the pieces
of sugar cut or broken for consumption in the ordinary manner; I thus avoid the
use of saws and the loss of the sugar thereby reduced to powder; to obtain the
pieces it is only necessary to pass the ingots or bars through a breaking machine,
and as the ingots or bars have a rectangular prismatic form, there are no irregular
pieces with curved or inclined faces.
The dimensions of the cavities vary according to the number of pieces that it is
desired there should be to the kilogramme; and I also vary the proportions and
modify the form of the cavities, if, for example, I require the apparatus to make
small slabs, blocks, or loaves; or I reduce the dimensions of the cavities so as to
produce pieces of suitable size for consumption and thereby dispense with the
employment of the breaking machine.
The cavities are formed by the juxta position of the plates or tables, and in such
manner that the sides of a cavity are partly formed by one of the plates and partly
by the adjacent plate; it is, therefore, only necessary to separate the plates in
order to take out the moulded pieces. The prepared mass or syrup is caused to
enter the apparatus under a greater or less pressure or without pressure, according
as the cavities are more or less limited in size and the mass more or less thickened,
according to the nature of the latter I leave it first to solidify by slow cooling, or
I begin at once to cleanse or drain it of its green sirup; this cleansing or draining
is either effected naturally, or by exhaustion, or by the pressure of air or steam, or
of a mixture of both, according to convenience and to the quality of the sugar to
be cleansed or drained; I decolorize it, if necessary, by means of a white sirup at
thirty six degrees Baumé running through the mass, always with more or less
pressure; I next dry it by means of air compressed by a force pump or exhausted
by a vacuum pump this air being previously dried and heated; with certain kinds
of sugar the use of the cleare may be dispensed with; according to the nature of the
case other decolorizing agents may be employed, such as alcohol, steam or water.
A current of cold compressed air is made to pass over the mass after the current
of heated air for the purpose of causing the sugar to contract, thus facilitating its
removal from the moulds.
The pressure to be exerted upon the prepared mass as it enters between the
plates or tables is either caused by the superincumbent weight of the mass itself,

page_text: by compressed air by the steam in a "Monte-jus," or by pumps. All the operations
of cleansing or draining, decolorizing, and drying, take place very rapidly and in
the same apparatus without removal or transport.
In the accompanying drawing is illustrated, an apparatus by means of which the
said manufacture may be carried on.
The said apparatus consists of plates or tables A, B, placed in a framework
similar to that of a filter-press, these tables are of brass, copper or other suitable
material, and each of them is formed of a central plate a having a projecting rim
or frame b upon three of its sides, which forms joints with the rims or frames of
the adjacent tables, and also having ribs c which constitute, with the central plate,
the walls or sides of the cavities d in which the ingots or bars of sugar are forined;
these ribs appertain alternately to one table and to the adjacent table when the
said tables are fitted together, as shewn in Figure 2; the said ribs are slightly
rounded at the edges and tapered so that the ingots or bars will not be broken
when being removed from the moulds.
A channel e communicates with the lower cavities by passages of covered with
wire gauze or perforated metal plate g; these passages fare arranged so that the
wire gauze will be properly supported, at the same time leaving as much of its
surface as possible available for use. Each ingot or bar can be cleansed or drained
in two channels; at each end of the channel is fitted a cock y (Figures 1 and 9)
which serves for regulating the speed at which the decolorizing agents pass through
the sugar.
To ensure the tightness of the joints between the tables without, however,
preventing their complete juxta position and the contact of the ribs c on the
adjacent plates, a dovetail groove h with two lateral spaces or channels i
(Figure 6) is formed on one of the faces of the rim or frame of each table; in this
groove is fitted a strip of india-rubber of suitable sectional form which passes
around the face of the said rim or frame; the tables are subjected to a considerable
pressure, which squeezes down the projecting portion of the india-rubber, thereby
causing it to fill up the spaces or channels i of the groove and bringing into contact
the metal of the two tables
The rims or frames of the tables and the joints above described are prolonged
at to the top of the central plates, so as to form, with the cover C a space con-
necting all the upper ends of the ingots or bars, in which space, when the cover is
raised, an operation analogous to the removal of the loaves from their moulds by
beating is effected.
The cover carries in a dove-tail groove m (Figure 1) a strip of india-rubber
which makes a joint on all the prolonged portions of the rims or frames; the
tables are also provided with projections n with which are engaged bolts p having
hooks and capable of being moved laterally in their respective holes; the said bolts
remain upon the cover when it is removed; feathers or ribs connect these points of
attachment and strengthen the cover which is also provided with tubes; the central
tube q serves as an inlet for the prepared mass, and the tubes r serve as inlets for
the decolorizing and drying agents and for the steam for cleansing or draining; if
desired these tubes can be joined to form a single tube; air blow-off cocks 8 are
placed at the four corners, and rings t are attached to the cover to serve for lifting
it by means of chains and a small tackle or winch, upon a railway, which tackle or
winch is used for the machines or apparatus placed in the same row or line.
The tables are connected by an arrangement similar to that of ordinary pressure-
filters; each table has two lugs u by which it rests upon two cylindrical rods D
and is supported between them; in holes v bored through these lugs are introduced
pins (Figure 1) for successively separating the tables one from the other and
withdrawing the moulded pieces. The two end plates E and F which receive the
pressure, of the compressed air or of the steam upon only one face, are provided
with feathers or ribs, like the ordinary tables, the back table E is placed upon a
framework G and receives the keyed heads H of the cylindrical rods D; the front
table F slides upon the said rods, upon which it rests by means of closed lugs K.

page_text: -
The said rods are screwed for a greater or less portion of their length and carry
nuts L which by being screwed down upon the lugs K, tighten the tables one upon
another and thus ensure the tightness of the joints. The front ends of the rods
are carried by two columns M braced and connected to the framework G by the
base-plate N. One or two channels O for the sirup are provided under the cocks y
fitted to the tables; a receptacle P of sheet metal is placed under the tables if
there are any drainings.
I may modify the form of my apparatus and employ various materials in its
construction, and I sometimes make the plates in several parts for increasing the
rapidity of removing the sugar from the moulds; in this case, the ribs c will be
independent of the central plate a and may either be separate or formed into a
hurdle or frame; or the ribs or divisions formed upon the plates may be reduced,
by one half, and placed one in front of another as shown in Figure 3.
When the ribs c are made separately, they may be fixed in various manners, for
example, their upper ends may be held by a movable bar having small notches, or
each rib may be furnished with two tenons or pins fitting into corresponding
mortices or slots in the rim or frame b and the plate a. The plates a instead of
being in the centre of the rims or frames b, can be at one of their edges and the
ribs or divisions placed between two tables are then carried by one of these tables.
The plate a can also be made independent of the rim or frame b, and the said rim
or frame may have its four sides complete, which renders a cover unnecessary, and
the feed or supply may be effected by a channel placed at the centre, in one of the
corners or near the edges of the tables.
The channel for draining the sirup may be a gutter or groove above the
horizontal part of the rim or frame b and covered with a strip of wire gauze or
perforated metal plate. The gutters or grooves run along the two sides of the
the rim or frame to facilitate their being kept clear, and they open into holes
bored downwards in the rim or frame; when all the tables are placed and fastened
one upon another the holes form a general channel for draining the clarifying
agents, which channel may be placed in communication with an exhausting
machine to empty it.
With this apparatus it is possible to work with or without a cover. The interior
of the central plate is sometimes made hollow for more rapidly cooling the mass
by a circulation of water or cold air.
The tables are sometimes placed horizontally, in which case the ingots or bars
remain in position when the moulds are removed from them and they are lifted
out by hand; or the apparatus can be made capable of rotation for putting the
plates in a horizontal position only at the right moment for removing the sugar
from the moulds.
The introduction of the decolorizing and drying agents can be effected in the
reverse direction to that of the introduction of the prepared mass, that is to say,
from top to bottom of the apparatus as above described. The divisions may be
placed in a horizontal direction upon the plates in such a manner that the cleansing
or draining is effected by the lateral sides of the rim or frame, particularly in the
case of the admission of the prepared mass by a central channel. In the case of
an apparatus having a cover, the latter can be fixed upon the rods D or upon the
castings E and F forming the end tables, or upon other suitable part of the
framework; the feathers or ribs of the castings can be replaced by cross-pieces
with or without springs for distributing the pressure.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondents and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,-
First. The apparatus for the manufacture of sugar in lumps, pieces, or blocks,
or for moulding sugar, which apparatus consists of a pressure filter or the like
provided with tables made of metal or other suitable material and having ribs and
projections or sides, attached to, or forming a part of the plates, or independent of
them, the said tables being placed one upon another or side by side, in such a

page_text: manner as to leave between two adjacent tables a series of spaces or cavities for
the reception of the material to be moulded, all substantially as, and for the
purpose, set forth.
Second. The method of obtaining sugar in lumps, pieces, or blocks refined and
dried in the apparatus above described or in equivalent apparatus, substantially
as set forth.
Third. The construction of the tables of the moulding apparatus with the ribs
attached to, or independent of the plates; the jointing strips of india-rubber, the
channel b, the passages f, and the wire gauze or perforated plate g, all substantially
as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Fourth. The cover of the apparatus arranged to form joints on all the plates
simultaneously, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Fifth. The method of treating the sirupy mass in the apparatus, consisting in
draining, cleansing, decolorizing by means of different agents in cominon use, and
then drying it all substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Fourth day of September in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
HENRY H. LAK
AKE.
(U.S.)