IMPROVEMENTS IN CONCENTRATING AND PRESERVING MILK AND OTHER LIQUID ARTICLES OF FOOD." 1
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph House, of the Minories, in the City of London,
Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONCENTRATING AND
PRESERVING MILK AND OTHER LIQUID ARTICLES OF FOOD."
1
PRESERVING MILK AND OTHER LIQUID ARTICLES OF FOOD."
Sealed the 10th March 1857, and dated the 1st January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph House at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
January 1857.
I, JOSEPH HOUSE, of the Minories, in the City of London, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONCENTRATING AND PRESERVING MILK AND OTHER LIQUID ARTICLES OF FOOD," to
be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in concentrating and preserving milk and
other liquid articles of food relates to various improvements upon the process
and apparatus that have been heretofore employed for such or similar pur-
poses. The process and apparatus now in use are open to serious objections,
which it is the object of the present improvements to obviate and remedy.
Without, however, enumerating these various objections, above referred to,
I will proceed to explain the nature of the present Invention, merely observing
that one, object I have in view is to construct and arrange the apparatus in
such a manner that it may be worked by steam power or any motive agent,
thereby dispensing to a great extent with manual labor, which I have by

page_text: experience found to be very inconvenient and objectionable, owing to the
difficulty of causing workpeople to perform the necessary operations with
regularity and continuity.
The milk or other liquid substance that it is desired to concentrate and
preserve is placed in a shallow vessel, of a circular form. by preference. This
vessel is provided with a false bottom, into which water is admitted, and
kept hot by means of a jet or current of steam coming from a steam boiler.
The shallow vessel containing the milk or other liquid is also provided with
a rotating spatula or stirrer, which is kept continually rotating in a horizontal
direction by means of suitable gearing, connected with the driving shaft
of any prime mover. By this means the milk or other liquid is kept in
slight motion or agitation, and prevented from burning or adhering to the
bottom or sides of the vessel. The shallow vessel, with its false bottom, is
mounted in bearings in such a manner that it can be tilted on one side when
required in order to empty the same. I would observe that the steam pipe
that conveys the steam from the boiler to the water space beneath the shallow
vessel is connected to one of the trunnions or axles of the vessel, the axle or
trunnion being made hollow for the purpose. I find in practice that the
milk should not be heated above from 140° to 150 Fahr., as a higher
temperature will act injuriously upon some of the properties contained in the
milk. I therefore propose to place a thermometer upon some convenient
part of the rotating spatula or stirrer, or attach one to the vessel itself; and
if required another thermometer may be so adapted as to indicate the heat
of the water in the space beneath the shallow vessel. I prefer to concentrate
the milk to about ths of its original bulk, as I find by experience that
that amount of concentration is preferable to a higher degree of concentration.
When the milk has been reduced to about ths of its original bulk it is
run out of the shallow vessel into tins by tilting the vessel on one side; and
when the milk has been allowed to cool, and the tins have been soldered
down, they are placed in rows on the shelves of an open metal framework, or
kind of basket, and then plunged in a vessel containing cold water, which is
gradually raised to the boiling point, the open metal framework or basket with
the tins therein being made to rotate slowly in the water by means of gearing
connected with the driving shaft. After the tins have been heated for a
sufficient length of time, the metal framework with its contents is raised out
of the hot water vessel and plunged into another vessel containing cold water,
and the tins with their contents are suddenly cooled, after which they may be
removed from the apparatus, and are then ready for exportation.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph House in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st July 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPHI
HOUSE, of the Minories, in the City of London, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph House, Her special license that I, the said Joseph House,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joseph House, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no 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 "IMPROVEMENT3
IN CONCENTRATING AND PRESERVING MILK AND OTHER LIQUID ARTICLES OF FOOD,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph House, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Joseph House, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of "Improvements in Concentrating and Preserving Milk and
other Liquid Articles of Food" relates to various improvements upon the process
and apparatus that have been heretofore employed for such or similar purposes.
The process and apparatus now in use are open to serious objections, which it
is the object of the present improvements to obviate and remedy. Without.
however, enumerating these various objections above referred to, I will proceed
to explain the nature of the present Invention, merely observing that one
object I have in view is to construct and arrange the apparatus in such a
manner that it may be worked by steam power, or any motive agent, thereby
dispensing to a great extent with manual labor, which I have by experience

page_text: found to be very inconvenient and objectionable, owing to the difficulty of
causing workpeople to perform the necessary operations with regularity and
continuity.
The milk or other liquid substance that it is desired to concentrate and
preserve is placed in a shallow vessel, of a circular form by preference. This
vessel is provided with a false bottom, into which water is admitted, and kept
hot by means of a jet or current of steam coming from a steam boiler. The
shallow vessel containing the milk or other liquid is also provided with a
rotating spatula or stirrer, which is kept continually rotating in a horizontal
direction by means of suitable gearing connected with the driving shaft of
any prime mover. By this means the milk or other liquid is kept in slight
motion or agitation, and prevented from burning or adhering to the bottom
or sides of the vessel. The shallow vessel with its false bottom is mounted
in bearings in such a manner that it can be tilted on one side when required
in order to empty the same. I would observe that the steam pipe that conveys
the steam from the boiler to the water space beneath the shallow vessel is
connected to one of the trunnions or axles of the vessel, the axle or trunnion
being made hollow for the purpose. I find in practice that the milk should
not be heated above from one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty
degrees Fahrenheit, as a higher temperature will act injuriously upon some
of the properties contained in the milk; I therefore propose to place a
thermometer upon some convenient part of the rotating spatula or stirrer,
or attach one to the vessel itself; and if required another thermometer may
be so adapted as to indicate the heat of the water in the space beneath the
shallow vessel. I prefer to concentrate the milk to about five-eights of its
original bulk, as I find by experience that that amount of concentration is
preferable to a higher degree of concentration. When the milk has been
reduced to about five-eighths of its original bulk it is run out of the shallow
vessel into tins by tilting the vessel on one side; and when the milk has
been allowed to cool and the tins have been soldered down, they are placed
in rows on the shelves of an open metal framework, or kind of basket, and
then plunged into a vessel containing cold water, which is gradually raised
to the boiling point, the open metal framework or basket, with the tins
therein, being made to rotate slowly in the water by means of gearing connected
with the driving shaft. After the tins have been heated for a sufficient
length of time, the metal framework with its contents is raised out of the
hot water vessel and plunged into another vessel containing cold water, and
the tins with their contents are suddenly cooled, after which they may be
removed from the apparatus, and are then ready for exportation.

page_text: a, a,
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawings is a plan view of my improved
concentrating apparatus; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section, taken through
the apparatus near the central shaft; Fig. 3 is another sectional view, taken
through the casing, but shewing the concentrating vessel in elevation.
is the shallow circular concentrating vessel, made by preference of copper;
b, b, is a jacket or casing surrounding the concentrating vessel; this jacket
is provided with two trunnions c and c*, whereby it is mounted in bearings
in the standards d, d, of the framing. One of these trunnions c is hollow,
and is connected, on the one hand, with a coil or other arrangement of per-
forated pipe e under the concentrating vessel, and, on the other hand, with a
steam pipe communicating with a steam boiler or generator. Water is
supplied to this casing through a funnel f, and when the casing is sufficiently
full any superfluous water runs off by the waste pipe f*. A stirrer, agitator,
or spatula, consisting of two arms g, g, attached to the vertical shaft h, is
adapted to the concentrating vessel, and motion is communicated from any
prime mover to the stirrer or agitator by means of bevil toothed wheels i and
j above, as shewn in Fig. 2. A thermometer k is fixed on one of the arms
g of the stirrer or spatula; and another thermometer is placed at some
convenient part of the apparatus, having its bulb projecting down into the
water contained in the jacket. By this means the temperature of the milk
or other liquid contained in the concentrating vessel, and also of the water
in the jacket beneath, may be seen at any time with facility. The vertical
shaft his supported in suitable bearings, and its lower end, which is rounded,
rests in a concave socket fixed at the bottom of the concentrating vessel.
The weight of the vertical shaft h, and also of the bottom of the concentrating
vessel, is sustained by a tubular column m, which rests on the bottom of the
casing b, b.
When the milk or other liquid has been concentrated to the proper con-
sistence, as above explained, the apparatus must be tilted in order to pour out
its contents. This object is effected by means of the hand screw n (Fig. 3),
by turning which the vessel a may be inclined to any convenient extent,
as shewn by dots in Fig. 3, when the concentrated liquid will be run out
through the exit pipe o into suitable vessels or receptacles, such as tin cans,
of convenient size. When the concentrated milk has been allowed to cool,
the tins are to be soldered down, and they are then to be placed in rows on
the shelves of the circular open metal bracket or framework, shewn at p. p,
in Fig. 4, which represents a sectional view of the apparatus which I employ
in carrying on this operation. The metal framework p, p, is provided with
a central pivot q, which rests in a conical bearing placed at the bottom of

page_text: the cylindrical vessel r, r, which is surrounded by a jacket or outer casings,
into which steam is admitted, for the purpose of heating the contents of the
vessel r. The metal framework or basket p, p, is also provided with anti-
friction rollers t, t, for the purpose of keeping it in its place in the cylindrical
vessel r. A vertical shaft u is also secured to the upper part of the circular
framing p, and carries at its upper end a toothed wheel or a pulley, not shewn
in the Drawing, and by actuating this toothed or band wheel rotary motion
may be communicated to the framework p. p. The vessel is filled with
cold water, so as to cover all the tins, and when the framework p, with the
tins thereon, is put in motion, steam is admitted to the space between the
vessel r and the jacket, so as to gradually raise the temperature of the water
in the vessel r.
In order to allow the attendant to judge accurately when it is desirable
to remove the tins, a thermometer may be placed at any convenient part
of the apparatus, to indicate the temperature of the water contained in the
vessel r.
When the concentrated liquid in the tins has been heated for a sufficient
length of time, as will be known by experience, and must depend in some
measure upon the nature of the substance operated upon and the size of the
tins, the metal framework with the tins thereon must be raised out of the
vessel r, r, by means of the chains or cords v, v, and suddenly plunged into
cold water, and left there until quite cold, when they will be ready for the
market or for packing for exportation.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Concentrating
and Preserving Milk and other liquid Articles of Food," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim, the use and application,
for the purpose herein set. forth, of a rotating stirrer, agitator, or spatula,
to which a constant and regular motion is communicated by suitable
gearing, so that the milk or other liquid substance to be operated upon
is kept in constant motion while the concentrating operation is proceeding.
I also claim the arrangement of parts herein shewn and described whereby
the operation is effected; and also the application of thermometers, as shown
and described, to enable the attendant to control the operation, and ensure
the proper amount of concentration of the milk (viz.) to five-eighths of its
original bulk..
I claim, secondly, the mode herein described of heating the tins containing
the concentrated liquid substance, particularly the use and application of a
rotating or moveable framework in which the tins are placed while being
submitted to the operations, for preserving the concentrated liquid after it

page_text: has been placed and secured in the tins or vessels, in which it is to be kept
until required for use.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph House, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the First day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. CLARKE,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOSEPH HOUSE. (Ls.)