Improvements in and relating to Centrifugal Machines for Use in the Manufacture of Sugar.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1883
Complete Specification Left, 16th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Centrifugal Machines for Use in the
Manufacture of Sugar.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., the General
Patent Office, No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
abroad by William Price Abell, of L'Union, Essequebo, British Guiana, Whitworth
Scholar and Engineer) to be as follows:
* This invention relates to mechanism or means whereby the sugar discharged through
the bottoms of the baskets or pans of centrifugals is conveyed or carried to an
ordinary elevator or elsewhere as desired without manual labour.
Endless bands and rotating screw blades as hitherto used for conveying or carrying
sugar from beneath centrifugals to an elevator or elsewhere, possess the disadvantages
that when in operation they tend to triturate and otherwise damage the sugar
whereby the quality is deteriorated.
Their construction has also been such as to render cleaning and emptying, either very
difficult or impossible, and at the same time they offered no resistance to molasses
or other liquids falling from the centrifugal onto the bands or blades and thus
mixing with the sugar." Such conveyors also require considerable power to operate
them particularly when the sugar is sticky.
The chief feature of the present invention is the employment, in place of the said
screw blade or endless band, of a conveyor in the form of a spiral or helical bar or
rod, which is connected at two or more points with the driving shaft but which
throughout the greater part of its length is unattached to the shaft and is at a
sufficient distance therefrom to permit the passage of the sugar between it and the
shaft. By using this spiral I greatly diminish the friction between the material and
the operative part of the conveyor and facilitate the operation of the apparatus.
The said conveyor revolves in a special box or trough placed in such a position that
the sugar discharged through the bottom of an ordinary centrifugal curing machine
basket gravites into the said box in which it is conveyed to its destination. This box
opens for cleaning and emptying and is made to throw out any one machine whilst
others are working. It is fitted with a molasses catcher as hereinafter described.

page_text: .Underneath the centrifugal basket casing is fixed the box, gutter or trough, one of
the sides of which, or the bottom, is made loose, or the whole removeable. The gutter
or trough can thus be easily removed for cleaning out the sugar from inside the box
when necessary. This box or trough is made wide enough at the top to receive the
sugar discharged through the bottom of the centrifugal casing without overflowing
the sides. One of the sides I prefer to make loose, so that it can be taken out
entirely, or pushed back so that if it is desired to cure molasses or other sugars in
one of the series of machines the sugar discharged on the inturned side will be
prevented from going into that part of trough or box containing the spiral conveyor,
but be simply discharged onto the ground.
It may be desirable sometimes to have machines in the same series continually
curing molasses sugar, whilst the others in the same series are continually curing
other sugars. In this case I arrange two spiral conveyors in the said trough but
separate the conveyors by means of a partition hinged at a certain height, so that the
top part can turn or revolve in such a manner that the said top part can be pushed
over to rest on either of the other sides. The conveyor nearest the side on which
the pushed over partition rests, is cut off from the discharged contents of the
centrifugal basket above, the contents of this basket being thus directed into one
spiral.
Inside the trough I place one or more spirals carried by central shafts supported
by bearings or other suitable moans from inside the trough, or preferably by the
centrifugal framing. These central shafts project outside the trough to receive
pulleys which are driven from the main centrifugal or other shafting.
It may be at times desirable to clean out the trough through the bottom, in such
case I make the bottom part so that it can be moved in and out of the trough by a
handle or lip. On its removal the sugar descends onto a cloth which is then emptied
into the elevator or elsewhere thus preventing any waste.
I can when desirable make the whole of the trough revolve on or about a hook or
hinge, so that one side can descend till it rests on the ground for clearing purposes,
either with or without the spirals, thus enabling the sugar to be raked or otherwise
taken to the elevator or elsewhere.
A bolt or catch is provided for holding the trough in position when working.
The trough can be made so that, on withdrawing a pin, the trough either with or
without the spiral descends onto the ground; or if the pin be taken from one side
only the trough hinges on one edge to allow all the sugar left in the conveyor, when
the machine stops working, to be extracted. This arrangement enables the trough to
be turned upside down and thus prevents any sugar from falling from the centrifugals
onto the spiral when it is desired to discharge the sugar outside the spiral.
To prevent molasses or other liquor, or uncured sugar from falling into the con-
veyor 1 arrange an edged plate or tray which slides in and out under the centrifugal
basket, and thus shut off or open connection between the conveyor and centrifugal
when desired. This tray has a lip to discharge the liquor outside the conveyor
trough.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Centrifugal Machines for Use in the
Manufacture of Sugar.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., the General
Patent Office, No. 4. South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
abroad by William Price Abell, of L'Union, Essequebo, British Guiana, Whitworth
Scholar and Engineer) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :---
This invention relates to mechanism or means whereby the sugar discharged
through the bottoms of the baskets or pans of centrifugals, is conveyed or carried
to an ordinary elevator or elsewhere as desired without manual labor.
Endless bands and rotating screw blades as hitherto used for conveying or carrying
sugar from beneath centrifugals to an elevator or elsewhere possess the disadvantages
that when in operation they tend to triturate and otherwise damage the sugar whereby
the quality is deteriorated.
Their construction has also been such as to render cleaning and emptying either
very difficult or impossible and at the same time they offered no resistance to inolasses
or other liquids falling from the centrifugal onto the bands or blades and thus mixing
with the sugar. Such conveyors also require considerable power to operate them
particularly when the sugar is sticky.
According to my invention, I employ in place of the said screw blade or endless
band, a conveyor in the form of a spiral or helical bar or rod which is connected at
two or more points with the driving shaft, but which throughout the greater part of
its length is unattached to the shaft and is at a sufficient distance therefrom to permit
the passage of the sugar between it and the shaft. By using this spiral, I greatly
diminish the friction between the material and the operative part of the conveyor and
facilitate the operation of the apparatus.
The said conveyor revolves in a special box or trough placed in such a position
that the sugar discharged through the bottom of an ordinary centrifugal curing
machine basket gravitates into the said box in which it is conveyed to its destination.
This box or trough can be opened, or access thereto can be obtained for cleaning
and emptying and is so constructed that the sugar from any one machine can be
thrown out of the trough whilst the sugar from the other machine or machines,
falls onto the conveyor. The machines are fitted with molasses catchers as hereinafter
described, and means are provided for allowing the conveyor to be lifted in or with-
drawn from the trough when required.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of two centrifugals with my improvements applied
thereto.
Figures 2 and 3 are an end elevation and vertical section respectively of one of the
said centrifugals with one form of my improvements applied thereto.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation illustrating a modification of my invention, and,

page_text: Figure 5 is a plan of the same but shown in conjunction with an ordinary bucket
.elevator.
Figures 6 to 15 illustrate other modifications of my invention.
Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are similar views to Figure 4.
Figures 10 and 12 are similar views to Figure 2.
Figure 1 is a similar view to Figure
apparatus.
but shewing only the lower part of the
Figure 18 is a side elevation of a centrifugal, and,
Figures 14 and 15 are views of the ends of the same.
Similar reference letters indicate similar parts throughout the several figures of the
drawings.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, A is the ordinary centrifugal basket casing underneath
which is fixed the box, gutter, or trough a constructed according to my improve-
ments. The said trough contains a conveyor of the kind hereinbefore described,
and has one of its sides e marte loose, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3. Or
the bottom can be made loose, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5. Or the whole of the
trough a can be made removable, as shown in Figure 9.
The gutter or trough a can thus be easily removed or access be obtained thereto
for cleaning out the sugar from its inside when necessary. The box or trough a is
made wide enough at the top to receive the sugar discharged through the bottom of
the centrifugal casing A without overflowing the sides c. By making one of the sides
loose, as described, it can be taken out entirely, or, as shown in figure 3, it can be
pushed inwards. In the latter case if it is desired to cure in one of a series of
smachines, molasses sugar or sugar of a different kind from that being cured in the
remaining machines of the series, the sugar discharged onto the inturned side will be
prevented from going into that part of the trough or box a containing the spiral
conveyor b but be simply discharged onto the ground.
It may be desirable sometimes to have machines in the same series continually
curing molasses sugar whilst the others in the same series are continually curing
other sugars.
In this case I arrange two of the conveyors hereinbefore
.described, in the one trough a, as shown in figure 6, but I separate the said conveyors
by means of a partition e the upper part of which is hinged so that it can be pushed
-over to rest on either side, as indicated by the dotted lines and arrows.
The conveyor nearest the side c on which the pushed over partition e rests, is
therefore cut off from the discharged contents of the centrifugal basket B above, the
said contents of this basket being thus directed into the part of the trough a con-
taining the other conveyor b.
The shaft of the conveyer b is supported by bearings preferably arranged in the
centrifugal framing or they may be placed inside the trough a. The said shaft fis
provided with a pulley g driven from the main centrifugal (or other) shafting h, as
shown in figure 1.
For the purpose of facilitating the removal of the bottom d of the trough a, shown
in figures 4 and 5, I provide it with a handle or lip d¹ by means of which it can be
slid in and out of the trough.
On the removal of the said bottom d the sugar descends onto a cloth a' which is
then emptied into the elevator or elsewhere thus preventing any waste.
I sometimes make the whole or a part of the trough a so that it can revolve on or
about a hook or hinge whereby one side can be lowered till it rests on the ground for
cleaning purposes, either with or without the conveyor b thereby enabling the sugar
to be raked or otherwise taken to the elevator or elsewhere.
These two arrangements are shown at figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 shows the
arrangement when the whole of the trough a is hinged at i, its lowered position
being shown by dotted lines. Figure 8 shows the arrangement where a part or one
side only of the trough is hinged to a pin or bolt k, its lowered position also being
shown by dotted lines.
In both figures j is a bolt or catch which is provided for holding the trough and
side of the trough respectively in position when working.

page_text: As shown in figure 9 I sometimes make the trough a so that on withdrawing the
pin or bolt the trough a either with or without the conveyor b can he turned upside
down, as shown by the dotted lines at l, and thus prevent any sugar from falling from
the centrifugals onto the conveyor b when it is desired to discharge the sugar outside
the said conveyor; or if the pin or bolt be withdrawn from one side only the
trough a hinges on one edge, as shown by the dotted lines at m, similarly to the trough
shewn in Figure 7, thereby allowing all the sugar left in the conveyor when the
machine stops working, to be extracted.
To prevent molasses or other liquor or uncured sugar from falling into the trough a,
I arrange, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, a tray n which slides in and out under the
centrifugal basket B and thus shuts off or opens connection between the conveyor b
and the centrifugal when desired. This tray has a lip o to discharge the liquor out-
side the conveyor trough and is adapted to be removed direct, as shown, or by means
of foot or hand levers.
As shown in Figures 10 and 11, I further facilitate the clearing of the trough a by
arranging the conveyor shaft bearings loose so that they can be lifted up with the
conveyor into the position shown by the dotted lines, catches being provided
to hold them in the said position. In figure 10 the bearing is provided with a pivotted
catch which in the lower position of the bearing engages with notches p₁ in the
end plate of the trough a. By turning the catch on its pivot it can be disengaged
from the said notches p' so that the bearing can be lifted into the position shewn by
the dotted lines, the catch being again turned so as to rest upon the top of the end
plate as shown.
In Figure 11 a cotter pis provided which is placed above the shaft when in its
lower position, but when in the position shown by the dotted lines the cotter serves to
support the said shaft.
In Figure 12 is shown a modification of the last described arrangement. In this
case the bearings are attached to a bar or lever y hinged at r at each end of the
trough a, the said bars being held in their lowered and raised positions by catches or
hinged rods p, as shown.
When using short lengths of conveyors, I make the bearings for the same large
and removable, so that by detaching either of them from the ends of the trough a the
whole of the conveyor can be withdrawn longitudinally, thereby bringing with it a
great part of the contents of the said trough. This arrangement is shown in
Figures 13, 14 and 15. If it be required to withdraw the conveyor from the end
of the trough where the pulley g is arranged is it only necessary to remove the
collar u from the shaft and to unscrew the bearings which is formed with portions
of screw threads engaging behind lugs on the end of the trough a, but if it be
required to withdraw the conveyor from the opposite end of the trough the pulley g
must be first removed from the shaft and the conveyor bean then be lifted or with-
drawn, lugs & being provided on the bearing for that purpose, as shown in Figure 14.
The lugs engage with recesses w on the end of the trough, when the shaft is in
position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) The use in combination with a centrifugal sugar curing machine of a conveyor of
the kind hereinbefore described arranged in a box or trough placed in such a position
that the sugar discharged through the bottom of the basket gravitates into the trough
which is provided with means for opening it or obtaining access thereto, substantially
as and for the purposes setforth.
(2) The combination with a centrifugal sugar curing machine, of a conveyor of the
kind hereinbefore described working in a box or trough so constructed that the sugar
from any centrifugal of a series can be thrown out of the trough whilst the sugar
from the other machine or machines falls onto the conveyor, substantially as and for the
purpose setforth.

page_text: (3) In a centrifugal sugar curing machine, the use of trays arranged in the manner
described for receiving molasses or other liquid or uncured sugar dropping from the
centrifugals and thereby preventing then from falling onto the conveyor trough,
substantially as setforth.
(4) The use in combination with a centrifugal sugar curing machine of a conveyor
adapted to be easily raised and lowered in or removed from and replaced in a trough
situated under the centrifugals, substantially in the manner and for the purposes
hereinbefore described.
(5) The improved centrifugal machines for use in the manufacture of sugar herein-
before described and illustrated in the various figures of the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 1fith day of February 1880
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.