IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, PATRICK
PLAYFAIR, Merchant, and LAURENCE HILL, Junior, Civil Engineer, both of
Glasgow, 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 Twenty-first day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, our exors, admors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
we, the said Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, our exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, our
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, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and Plan-
tations abroad, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SUGAR;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the
said Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court

page_text: 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, we, the said
Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, do hereby declare that the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, refer-
ence being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention consists of separating fluids from crystals of sugar by means
of machinery or apparatus so arranged as to cause the crystals of sugar and
fluids combined therewith to fly off by centrifugal action, the fluids passing
away through perforated or other suitable surfaces, whilst the grains or crystals
of sugar are stopped by such surfaces; and in order that our Invention may
be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, we will proceed to
describe the Drawings hereunto annexed, in the various Figures of which the
same letters are used to indicate similar parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews an external view of the moving or rotating parts of the
apparatus, but without the receiver C, and Figure 2 a section of the apparatus.
A is an axis to which quick motion is given by any suitable power. B is a
vessel fixed to the axis A, the periphery of which is perforated with fine holes.
C is a fixed outer vessel within which the vessel B revolves, and as the fluid
comes out from the vessel B through the perforated periphery it is received
into the vessel C, and from that vessel it flows by the pipe D into the cask E
or other receiver. In working this apparatus sugar combined with fluid is
allowed to flow by the shoot or pipe F, through the conductor G (which is also
fixed to the axis A), into the vessel B, which, by its quick rotation, causes the
sugar and fluid to fly off and strike against the perforated periphery, and the
fluid is only allowed to pass away from the vessel B, the crystals of sugar
being retained from passing away, and in this manner will fluid matter be
separated with great facility from the crystals of sugar; and this process will
be found highly useful in the manufacture of sugar, whether it be applied in
separating crystals of sugar from molasses or for separating syrups or liquids
used for washing or cleansing crystals of sugar.
We would state that although we have shewn the axle A of the apparatus
to be vertical, and the vessel B to be horizontal, which we believe to be the
best arrangement for the purpose, we do not confine ourselves thereto, as

page_text: he same may be varied; nor do we confine ourselves to the details of con-
truction shewn and described, so long as the peculiar character of the process
erein described be performed for separating liquids from the crystals of
ugar from fluids combined therewith. But what we claim is, the mode
erein-described of separating liquids from the crystals of sugar by causing
uch matters to be put in motion by centrifugal force, the liquids being allowed
pass away whilst the crystals are stopped by a suitable surface.
In witness whereof, we, the said Patrick Playfair & Laurence Hill, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twelfth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid Patrick Playfair and Laurence Hill, J', came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.