IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION, REMOVAL, AND COMPRESSION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JOHN KNOWLYS, of Heysham Tower, near Lancaster, Esquire, 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 Second day of November,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the twelfth year of Her reign,.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas John Knowlys, my exors, adññors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas John
Knowlys, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
John Knowlys, my exors, adñors, 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, and in the
Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE APPLICATION, REMOVAL, AND COMPRESSION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Thomas John
Knowlys, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas John Knowlys, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, first, of improvements in applying and, removing
heated air in the roasting of coffee, chicory, and other materials used with or
as a substitute for coffee and cocoa; secondly, my Invention consists of
improvements in the construction of furnaces: and, thirdly, my Invention
consists of improvements in the compressing of air when burning anthracite
coal in furnaces.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me :-
In roasting coffee, chicory, and cocoa heretofore, it has been usually done in
metal cylinders, but vessels of other materials have been employed; but in all
cases where revolving vessels have been used, they may be said to have been
close vessels with the exception of a few small ways or passages at one end
for allowing the heated products to get away. Now, according to my Inven-
tion, I employ a cylinder or other shaped vessels extensively perforated and
made of earthenware fire-stone, or in place thereof, iron or metal coated with
enamel or vitrious substance; by which arrangement the heated air to roast
the coffee &c. will pass freely into the vessel, and the vapors and heated air
will pass freely off through the numerous holes. In constructing apparatus
for this purpose, I prefer to use earthenware vessels, such as will bear the
requisite heat; and I recommend the form to be octagonal, hexagonal, or
angular in some form, though a cylinder or even perforated trays of the
materials above mentioned may be used, and in making such vessels, I cause
them to be perforated as closely with holes as possible, of such a size as will
not allow the grains of coffee or other material to pass through, and the
perforations may be of any shape. I leave one of the several sides open for
charging the vessel with, and discharging the coffee, &c., from the vessel, and
I close such open side with a door or cover of the same material as the vessel,
and similarly perforated with holes. The ends may or may not be perforated;
I prefer them to be perforated, and they have axes which are to be carried by
suitable bearings, and slow rotatory motion is to be given to such vessels when
in use.
The perforated apparatus above described, and made of earthenware
or of fire-stone, or of iron or metal coated with enamel or vitrious substance, is
to be used in the following manner-It is by preference to be placed within
an oven or such like chamber, which I prefer to be of fire-tile or brick, or of
iron beated externally, so that the atmosphere within shall be kept at the

page_text: requisite temperature for roasting coffee, &c., the door or other part of such
oven, having means of admitting air into it; and I prefer to carry a pipe.
from such oven into the flue of the fire by which the oven is heated, so that
the heated air and products from the coffee, &c. may pass freely off. By this
arrangement the heated air from the oven will, by reason of the numerous
perforations in the revolving apparatus, pass freely into the same and act on
the coffee, &c., and at the same time the heated air, with the products from
the coffee, &c., will be removed with facility from the interior of the revolving
apparatus, and owing to the material used, and its being extensively perforated,
the heated air will be more advantageously applied and removed when
roasting coffee, &c. than heretofore, and the coffee &c. will be better roasted.
I would state, that in place of a revolving vessel, perforated trays of like
material may be used, the coffee, &c. under process being moved either by
movement of the trays to and fro, or by moving the coffee by suitable rakes or
apparatus on the perforated trays of the machine above mentioned.
In describing the second part of my Invention, I would call attention to the.
Invention described under a patent granted to me in conjunction with William
Fillis, wherein is described means of causing fuel to be burned without the,
passage of air through between the bars or surface on which the fuel is
supported. I have since discovered that when fire-tiles or bricks or fire-stone
is used as the surface to support. the fuel, that a downward draft may be:
obtained by having narrow slits or perforations through the fire-bricks, tile, or
stone, in place of causing the products from the fuel to rise over the sides of
the fire-place, and then to descend down, as was described in the said Speci-
fication. For this purpose in place of allowing the fuel to burn wholly from
the surface, the supply of air comes from above downward and descends
through the fuel, and the products from the fuel descend through the narrow
slits or perforations through the fire-tile, brick, or stone, on or against which
the fuel is supported. I would remark that I am aware that when fuel has
before been supported by means of metal or fire bars, the burning has been by
the passage of air downwards through the fuel, and thence through between
the fire bars of metal. I do not therefore claim the application of air, so that
it shall be caused to descend through the fuel, and then through the surface
supporting the fuel, except when such support is composed of fire-brick, tile,
or fire-stone with narrow spaces or perforations through the same.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention, which consists of
causing air to be compressed by any suitable blowing or forcing machinery
and caused to pass through hollow fire bars of iron, when anthracite coal is
being consumed therein, so as to obtain heated air, and at the same time to

page_text: keep the fire bars sufficiently cool to prevent them burning by the high
heat produced by the burning of anthracite coal. For this purpose I
the fire bars used to be hollow, such as have heretofore been made, and I
cause air to be compressed and forced through them by any suitable blowing
or forcing machinery. The air thus heated may, when an extremely hot fire
is derived, be passed into and blown amongst the anthracite coal on the same
bars, or the heated air so produced may be conducted to any process to which
it may be desired to apply the same.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the details as herein described, so long as the peculiar
character of any part of my Invention be retained, but what I claim is,-
First, the means herein described of applying and removing heated air in
the roasting of coffee, chicory, and other materials used with, or as a substitute
for coffee and cocoa, by employing the materials herein described, perforated
with numerous holes as explained.
Secondly, I claim the improvements in constructing furnaces, hercin
described.
And thirdly, I claim the improvements in compressing and applying air by
forcing the same through fire bars, on which anthracite coal is burning, so as
to preserve such bars and obtain heated air.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas John Knowlys, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.