IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR Apparatus for PRESSING SPENT HOPS, GRAINS, BEETROOT, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN THE PROCESSES OF BREWING AND DISTILLING TO EXTRACT LIQUOR OR MOISTURE THEREFROM.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and Anthony
Sherwood, trading under the Firm of Henry Pontifex and Sons,
Coppersmiths and Engineers, of Albion Works, King's Cross, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR Apparatus for PRESSING SPENT HOPS, GRAINS, BEETROOT,
OR OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN THE PROCESSES OF BREWING AND DISTILLING
TO EXTRACT LIQUOR OR MOISTURE THEREFROM.'
"
ealed the 5th August 1870, and dated the 10th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Pontifex,
Frederick Pontifex, and Anthony Sherwood at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 10th February
1870.
We, CHARLES PONTIFEX, FREDERICK PONTIFEX, and ANTHONY
SHERWOOD, trading under the Firm of Henry Pontifex and Sons,
Coppersmiths and Engineers, of Albion Works, King's Cross, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OB APPARATUS FOR PRESSING SPENT HOPS,

page_text: GRAINS, BEETROOT, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN THE PROCESSES OF Brewing and
DISTILLING TO EXTRACT LIQUOR OR MOISTURE THEREFROM," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for
extracting the liquor or moisture from spent hops or grains, beetroot, or
other substances used in the processes of brewing and distilling, such
apparatus being actuated by steam or other power, whereby this operation
is rendered continuous, and is effected with greater expedition and less
labour than heretofore. For this purpose a perforated barrel or trunk is
employed, which may be either taper, curved, straight, or other suitable
form, and any number of such barrels may be arranged longitudinally or
side by side in a vertical, horizontal, or inclined position, being mounted
in a suitable frame. The hops or other substances are, according to our
improvements, conducted into the barrel or barrels by a revolving rake
or endless chain, and the pressure is applied by a ram which is moved by
a crank, eccentric screw, or other mechanical contrivance, to which the
power is applied by eccentric wheels, strap gear with reversing motion,
or other ordinary gearing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and Anthony
Sherwood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th August 1870. 2
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
PONTIFEX, FREDERICK PONTIFEX, and ANTHONY SHERWOOD, trading
under the Firm of Henry Pontifex and Sons, Coppersmiths and Engineers,
of Albion Works, King's Cross, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Charles Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and a
Anthony Sherwood, Her special licence that we, the said Charles
Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and Anthony Sherwood, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles
Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and Anthony Sherwood, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no 3

page_text: others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
5 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING SPENT HOPS, GRAINS, BEETROOT, OR
OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN THE PROCESSES OF BREWING AND DISTILLING TO
EXTRACT LIQUOR OR MOISTURE. THEREFROM," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Charles Pontifex, Frederick Pontifex, and
Anthony Sherwood, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us. or them, 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 Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Pontifex, on behalf of
myself and the said Charles Pontifex and Anthony Sherwood, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the samo
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for
extracting the liquor or moisture from spent hops, grains, beetroot, or
other substances used in the processes of brewing and distilling, such
apparatus being actuated by steam or other power, whereby this operation
is rendered continuous, and is effected with greater expedition and less
labour than heretofore. For this purpose a perforated barrel or trunk is
employed, which may be either taper, curved, straight, or of other
suitable form, and any number of such barrels may be arranged longi-
tudinally or side by side in a vertical, horizontal, or inclined position,
being mounted in a suitable frame and actuated by steam. or other
motive power. The hops or other substances are, according to our
improvements, conducted into the barrel or barrels by a revolving rake
or endless chain, and the pressure is applied by a ram which is moved by
a crank, excentric screw, or other mechanical contrivance, to which the
power is applied by eccentric wheels, strap gear with reversing motion,
or other ordinary gearing.
And in order that our Invention may be clearly understood and
readily carried into practice, we will proceed to describe the Drawing

page_text: have found effective in carrying our invention into practice.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a vertical section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a
transverse section of machinery or apparatus suitably arranged in
accordance with our Invention for pressing spent hops, grains, bectroot,
or other substances used in the processes of browing and distilling to
extract liquor or moisture therefrom.
a, a, is a perforated barrel or trunk firmly secured to the framing of
the machine. Within the inner end of the barrel a the ram or piston
is arranged to move to and fro, an opening being formed in the barrel a
above the ram, through which the spent hops, grains, or other substances
to be pressed are fed into the barrel from the hopper or trough c by
means of the revolving. arms or rakes d¹ fixed upon the axis d, which is
mounted in suitable bearings and revolves within the hopper above the
opening into the barrel a. By this means the spent hops or other
substances are fed from the hopper through the opening into the barrel a
so as to fall in front of the ram 6 during its backward movement, being
forced by its forward movement into the perforated part of the barrel,
where they accumulate, and are subjected to considerable pressure by
each successive action of the ram before they are forced through and
discharged at the outlet end of the barrel. The liquor is thus expressed
from the spent hops or other substances and flows through the per-
forations in the barrel into the receiver e underneath, a strainer or
filter e¹ being arranged above the outlet pipe c³, as shown.
The ram or piston 6 in the arrangement of machinery shown in the
Drawing is actuated so as to move to and fro in the following manner :-
Upon the axis fa driving pulley is fixed, which receives motion by
means of a strap or belt from a steam engine or other motive power; ƒª is
an eccentric toothed wheel also fixed upon the axis, which takes into
and drives a corresponding eccentric toothed wheel g fixed on the crank
axis g, the crank ¹ being connected to the ram by the connecting
rod 6 which is so connected with the crank that it can be readily
disconnected to arrest the movement of the ram 6 when required. The
eccentric wheels, apply speed and power alternately to the ram or
piston 6, but we do not confine ourselves to this arrangement, as the
crank axis and ram may be driven at one uniform speed, the power being

page_text: applied direct to the crank axis. Or the ram may have a to-and-fro
movement imparted thereto by any other suitable mechanical means.
The revolving rake is driven by means of an endless band d³ passing
over a pulley g³ fixed on the crank axis and over another pulley d³ fixed
on the axis of the revolving rake d. When it is desired to impart
additional pressure to the spent hops or other substances forced by the
action of the ram into the perforated barrel a conical end a¹ is applied
thereto so as to increase the pressure upon the substance accumulated
within the barrel by retarding its discharge at the outlet end, the amount
of pressure being regulated by the extent to which the outlet orifice is
reduced by the form of the cone a². The perforated barrel a may be
varied in form to suit the particular substance to be pressed, and may
either be parallel from end to end or taper for the whole or part of its
length. The pressed substances as they are expelled from the perforated
barrel a may if desired be conducted away by means of an endless belt
or chain, or by other suitable mechanical means along a heated trough
or spout to evaporate the moisture remaining after pressure.
Although we have only described machinery arranged with a single
perforated barrel a, we would remark that any suitable number of such
perforated barrels may be arranged side by side in accordance with our
Invention, the rams being actuated from the same crank axis or by other
suitable mechanical means.
We have not considered it necessary to show machinery arranged with
more than one perforated barrel, as a competent mechanic aided by the
previous description would readily construct machinery in accordance
with our Invention, having a number of perforated barrels arranged side
by side with rams acting in combination therewith. We do not confine
ourselves to any particular method of actuating the rams nor to the
position in which the perforated barrels are arranged, as they may be
placed in a vertical, inclined, or other suitable position.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is carried into practice, we would remark that we do not
confine ourselves to the exact form, arrangement, and combination of
mechanical parts herein described and shown in the accompanying
Drawing, as the same may be greatly varied without departing from
the nature of our Invention; but what we claim is, the arrangement
and construction of machinery or apparatus for pressing spent hops,
grains, beetroot, or other substances used in the process of brewing and

page_text: distilling wherein one or more rams or pistons are arranged and actuated
by steam or other motive power so as to force successive quantities of
such substances continuously into and through perforated barrels or
trunks, and thus compress the same for a sufficient time in order to
extract and collect the liquor contained therein, substantially in the
manner herein described and shown in the Drawing hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Pontifex, have horcunto
set my hand and scal, this Fifth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.