IMPROVEMENTS IN POTS FOR MAKING DECOCTIONS AND IN- FUSIONS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN POTS FOR MAKING DECOCTIONS AND IN-
FUSIONS." A communication from abroad by John Cromwell, of Cranford, in
the State of New Jersey. United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd January 1877.
«
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents; 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman. IMPROVEMENTS IN POTS FOR
MAKING DECOCTIONS AND INFUSIONS." A communication from abroad by John
Cromwell, of Cranford, in the State of New Jersey, United States of America.
The Invention relates to certain improvements in pots or vessels for the extrac-
tion and retention of the soluble and volatile principles of coffee or other vegetable
substances through the solvent action of heated water or other liquids.
The Invention consists, firstly, in a combination with the pot or vessel of a
single perforated or reticulated retaining diaphragm held below the outlet of
opening of the pot, extending entirely across the pot and dividing the pot into a
lower extracting chamber for the reception of the ground solid coffee or other
material to be infused or decocted, and an upper condensing chamber for the
reception, condensation, and retention of dissolved, soluble, and volatile extracts,
said chambers communicating only through the perforations or reticulations in said
diaphragm.
The Invention consists, secondly, in a modification of the construction above set
forth, the modification being the substitution for the single retaining diaphragm,
arranged as described, of a hollow containing diaphragm with perforated or reticu-
lated top and bottom, said diaphragm receiving and holding the ground solid coffee
or other substance, the virtues of which are to be extracted, dividing the liquid in
Din 1

page_text: .
the pot into an upper and a lower stratum, and interrupting the circulation between
the said liquid strata in such manner that the lower stratum of liquid boils before
the upper one, and the volatile extracts obtained by the action of the lower boiling
stratum of liquid rise through the perforations or reticulations in the said hollow
diaphragm and are condensed and retained in the cooler stratum of liquid above
said diaphragm. The containing capacity of this hollow diaphragm is adjustable
by means of a retaining spring rack or its equivalent.
The Invention consists, thirdly, in a combination with a pot or vessel having a
boiling chamber and a receiving, condensing, and retaining chamber, separated by
an upright partition, of a percolator placed in the receiving, condensing, and retain-
ing chamber, said chambers being connected by a tube or passage which conveys
boiling liquid, forced through it by steam pressure, into the percolator in the
receiving, condensing, and retaining chamber, the ground solid coffee or other
material the virtues whereof are to be extracted being placed in said percolator,
the percolation of the boiling liquid through the said coffee or other substance
contained in said percolator extracting the virtues thereof, and the said chambers
being so arranged that the liquid in the receiving chamber is cooler than that in
the boiling chamber when heat is applied to the pot, the difference in temperature
being obtained by the arrangement of said chambers in the pot by the weight of
a valve used to close the boiling chamber and the pressure of the liquid column
in the tube or passage which conveys water to the percolator, the said valve working
upon a tubular guide which also acts as a vent to said boiling chamber when the
said valve is removed to fill said boiling chamber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
July 1877.
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN POTS FOR
MAKING DECOCTIONS AND INFUSIONS." A communication from abroad by John
Cromwell, of Cranford, in the State of New Jersey, United States of America.
This Invention relates to certain improvements in pots or vessels for the
extraction and retention of the soluble and volatile principles of coffee or other
vegetable substances through the solvent action of heated water or other liquids.
The Invention consists, firstly, in a combination with the pot or vessel of a single
perforated or reticulated retaining diaphragm held below the outlet opening of the
pot, extending entirely across the pot and dividing the pot into a lower extracting
chamber for the reception of the ground solid coffee or other material to be infused
or decocted, and an upper condensing chamber for the reception, condensation, and
retention of dissolved, soluble, and volatile extracts, said chambers communicating
only through the perforations or reticulations in said diaphragm, as herein-after
fully set forth.
The Invention consists, secondly, in a modification of the construction above set
forth, the modification being the substitution for the single retaining diaphragm,
arranged as described, of a hollow containing diaphragm with perforated or reticu-
lated top and bottom, said diaphragm receiving and holding the ground solid coffee
or other substance, the virtues of which are to be extracted, dividing the liquid in
the pot into an upper and a lower stratum, and interrupting the circulation between
the said liquid strata in such manner that the lower stratum of liquid boils before
the upper one, and the volatile extracts obtained by the action of the lower boiling
stratum of liquid rise through the perforations or reticulations in the said hollow

page_text: diaphragm and are condensed and retained in the cooler stratum of liquid above
said diaphragm.
The Invention consists, thirdly, in a combination with a pot or vessel having a
boiling chamber and a receiving, condensing, and retaining chamber, separated by
an upright partition, of a percolator placed in the receiving, condensing, and retain-
ing chamber, said chambers being connected by a tube or passage which conveys
boiling liquid, forced through it by steam pressure, into the percolator in the
receiving, condensing, and retaining chamber, the ground solid coffee or other
material the virtues whereof are to be extracted being placed in said percolator,
the percolation of the boiling liquid through the said coffee or other substance
contained in said percolator extracting the virtues thereof, and the said chambers
being so arranged that the liquid in the receiving chamber is cooler than that in
the boiling chamber when heat is applied to the pot, the difference in temperature
being obtained by the arrangement of said chambers in the pot by the weight of a
valve used to close the boiling chamber and the pressure of the liquid column in
the tube or passage which conveys water to the percolator, the said valve working
upon a tubular guide which also acts as a vent to said boiling chamber when the
said valve is removed to fill said boiling chamber, as herein-after fully described.
The operation of the different modifications of the Invention is the same whether
used for the extraction of the virtues of coffee or for the extraction of the virtues
of other substances. It will therefore be sufficient to describe the operation as
employed for making a decoction of coffee.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents in central vertical section the
first-described construction of pot; and Fig. 2 is a top view of the retaining
diaphragm employed therein.
Fig. 3 represents the second of the above-mentioned arrangements of pot in
vertical section, and Fig. 4 a detail thereof.
Figures 5 and 6 represent respectively a vertical section and a top view of the
third arrangement of pot above referred to as constituting part of the Invention,
the cover of the pot being removed in Fig. 6.
A, Fig. 1, represents the body of the pot or vessel; B, the cover; and C, the spout
of the saine.
The cover is provided with a spring catch d, or any other suitable
means for keeping the same closed. In or upon the interior of the body A of the
pot is formed a bead or ledge e, which serves to support the perforated or reticulated
diaphragın F, Figures 1 and 2. The diaphragm F is preferably, but not necessarily,
provided with a rim g (which fits snugly on the ledge e), and also with radial
strengthening arms h; from the centre of this diaphragm rises the rod or stem I,
Fig. 1, which abuts against the cover B when the said cover is closed, as shown in
Fig. 1. This arrangement prevents the diaphragm from rising from the ledge e
when it is placed in the pot, and the cover B is closed and held by the spring catch
d. But the peculiar method of holding the diaphragm F in its place is not material
to the Invention, as other methods of holding it may be employed.
The operation of making a decoction of coffee in the pot or vessel described is
as follows: The ground coffee is placed in the bottom of the pot below the dia-
phragm F; water is poured into the pot in sufficientquantity to rise above the
diaphragm F which is placed and held in position as shown in Fig. 1, and herein-
before described; heat is then applied to the bottom of the pot in the usual
manner.
The finely perforated or reticulated diaphragm F divides the pot into an upper
chamber and a lower chamber, and by thus interrupting and interfering with the
circulation of the liquid between the two chambers the circulation in heating is
caused to take place first as indicated by arrows in the chamber below the said
diaphragm. The water in this chamber is thus directly heated while the water
above the diaphragm is only heated by the escape thereinto of steam and volatile
extracts from the coffee and water in the lower chamber, and as steam only is
generated when water reaches the boiling point, it follows that the water in the

page_text: t
chamber below the diaphragm must reach the boiling point before the water above
the diaphragm. The volatile matters which in the ordinary course of boiling in a
common pot would be volatilized at the upper surface of the water are condensed
and dissolved in the cooler stratum of water above the diaphragm and are retained.
The moment the water above the diaphragm shows indications of boiling or reaches
a temperature at which the volatile ingredients would escape the pot is removed
from the source of heat and the operation is completed.
In Fig. 3 A represents the body of the pot; B, the cover; and C, the spout of the
same; the pot is otherwise constructed like that shown in Fig. 1, except that a
hollow perforated or reticulated containing diaphragm F, F1, is substituted for the
single diaphragm F in Fig. 1, and a device for holding the upper removable disc in
place is provided. Fig. 4 represents the said device.
The rod or stem I is attached to the centre of the perforated or reticulated disc F
of the hollow diaphragm F, F¹; the upper perforated or reticulated dise F¹ of the
said hollow diaphragm has a sleeve K attached thereto, the lower end of said sleeve
surrounding a hole in the disc F¹. The said sleeve K slips over the stem or rod I,
and the upper end of said sleeve is bent inwardly to enable it to readily engage a
spring pawle or catch L attached to the upper part of said stem or rod I; but this
precise method of fastening down the upper disc F of the hollow diaphragm F, F,
is not material to the Invention as other ways of holding said disc may be em-
ployed.
The operation of making coffee in this modification of the Invention is precisely
the same as in the use of the pot shewn in Fig. 1, except that the ground solid
coffee is placed and held within the hollow perforated or reticulated containing
diaphragm F, F', instead of below a single perforated or reticulated retaining dia-
phragm. The division of the pot into an upper and lower chamber is effected in the
same way as in the first described arrangement, and the obstruction of and inter-
ference with the circulation caused by the diaphragm F, F¹, will be the same as and
for the purpose above explained.
In Figures 5 and 6 is shown the third arrangement for carrying out the general
principle of forming and maintaining in a pot an extracting chamber or receptacle,
and a cooler condensing chamber applied and adapted to the extraction of the
virtues of the solid substance by percolation. A, B, and C, respectively represent
the body, cover, and spout of the pot; the pot is divided into chambers D and E
by a partition F, F1, the part F of said partition being vertical, and the part F¹ of
said partition passing under the chamber D; the upper part of the chamber E is
closed by a horizontal partition F, in which is formed a valve seat g; a weighted
valve H is fitted to the valve seat g, and limits by its weight the steam pressure
that can be produced in the chamber E by boiling water therein.
The valve H rises and falls upon a bent tubular guide I, said tubular guide being
open at both ends, and its lower end communicating with the interior of the chamber
E. The chamber E is supplied with water by removing the valve H and pouring
the water into the space. E¹, above the partition F"; the water so supplied runs
down through the open valve scat g, and air escapes from the chamber E through
the tubular guide I, which performs the double function of a guide and a vent
tube.
When the valve H is closed upon its seat the only communication between the
chambers D and E is through the pipe or passage K, K¹, K", which pipe is open at
both ends. The lower part K" of this pipe is bent into a horizontal position nearly
on a level with the highest part of that portion F1 of the partition F, F, which
underlies the chamber D; the upper part K of the pipe is syphon shaped and
bends into the upper part of the chamber D.
The peculiar form of the pipe K, K', K", in the chamber E, is immaterial, except
that it is best to have its lower end extend well back into the lower part of said
chamber which prevents the liquid in said chamber from passing through it while
pouring liquid from the chamber D through the spout C.. "In the upper part of the

page_text: chamber D is suspended or attached the percolator L, which is situated directly
below the upper mouth of the pipe K, K¹, K"; said percolator has a perforated or
reticulated bottom m, and upon its top is placed the distributor n, which is a shallow
pan with a perforated or reticulated bottom which distributes water flowing from
the pipe K, K¹, K", and causes it to flow nearly uniformly through all parts of the
percolator.
A decoction of coffee. is made as follows:-E is the boiling chamber in which
water is placed as herein-before described; D is the receiving, condensing, and
retaining chamber; heat being applied to the contents of the chamber E, water is
boiled therein under pressure, somewhat above that of the atmospheres, whereas
the condensing chambers D being practically open to the atmosphere, not having
the fire directly applied to it, and having a large external radiating surface, can
never be heated above the boiling point of the liquid under atmospheric pressure.
The liquid in the chamber D is therefore always cooler than that in the chamber E
when heat is applied to the bottom of the pot.
The ground solid coffee is placed in the percolator L, arranged with the distributor
n, as herein-before described. Heat being applied to the bottom of the pot, steam
pressure forces the hot. water from the chamber E in a small steady stream through
the pipe K, K1, K", delivering the water into the percolator L through the dis-
tributor n, whence it percolates through the grounds solid coffee, extracting the
virtues thereof, and flows into the receiving, condensing, and retaining chamber D,
whence the solution or decoction is poured for use.
When the level of the water in the chamber E falls below the upper part of the
lower mouth of the pipe K, K¹, K", the steam rushes through said pipe with a
whistling sound which announces the end of the operation.
During the process such volatile matters as seek to escape from the chamber D
re-enter the percolator L, through openings p, formed in the upper part of said per-
colator, and are there met by and redissolved in the shower of clear liquid falling
through the distributor n. The liquid in the chamber E, underlying the chamber D,,
thereafter keeps the decoction in the said chamber D sufficiently hot without
boiling.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improvements in pots for
making decoctions and infusions, as communicated to me by my Foreign Corres-
pondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First. The combination with the pot or vessel of a single perforated or re-
ticulated diaphragm F, held below the outlet opening of the pot, and dividing the
pot into a lower extracting chamber, as shown in Fig. 1 of the Drawing, for the
reception of the ground solid coffee or other substance, the virtues whereof are to
be extracted, and an upper condensing chamber for the reception, condensation, and
retention of volatile extracts, said chambers communicating only through the per-
forations or reticulations in said diaphragm substantially as herein described with
reference to Fig. 1 of the Drawing.
Second.. I claim the combination with the pot or vessel of the hollow perforated
or reticulated containing diaphragın F, F, arranged and held below the spout or
outlet opening of the pot or vessel, substantially as herein described with reference
to Fig. 3 of the Drawing. I also claim the combination of the upper disc F¹, of
the hollow diaphragm F, F, the sleeve K, the spring ratchet L, and the rod or stem
I, attached to the lower disc F of said hollow diaphragm, substantially as described
with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the Drawing. I also claim the hollow dia-
phragm F, F, and its rod or stem I in combination with the cover B, substantially as
herein described with reference to Fig. 3 of the Drawing.
Third. I claim the combination of the loading chamber E, and the receiving, con-
densing, retaining chamber D, with the valve seat g, the loaded valve H, and the
pipe K, K, K, substantially as described with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the
Drawing; I also claim the combination of the tubular valve guide and vent I,

page_text: and the valve H, substantially
opening into the boiling chamber E, the valve seat
as described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)