apparatus
Year: 1886

page_text: I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lako & Co Patent Agents,,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the
nature of this invention 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 the refining of sugar and to apparatus therefor.
According to the method of refining of sugar heretofore adopted, the boiled mass
after being withdrawn from the concentrating apparatus, is by means of a ladle
poured into the conical sugar-moulds which are arranged upon the ground and kept
in a vertical position by the aid of cast iron wedges..
Each of these moulds rests upon its point which is provided with a hole. This
hole is stopped by means of a plug having a small leather, washer which when the
plug is in place lies between the head of the plug and the surface of the mould.
This washer serves to prevent the boiled mass from escaping.
When the moulds are full they are allowed to stand for some time until the
sugar is solidified.
Workmen then take these full moulds and carry them to a
lift whereby they are elevated to the different floors of the factory. The loaves
having arrived at the various floors are again removed by other workmen to be
carried to the draining frames.
These frames are composed of boards provided with circular holes into which
the moulds are placed vertically. Below these perforated boards are gutters or
channels designed to receive. the non-crystallizable sirups which drain from the
forms when the plugs and leather washers which served as stoppers have been
removed.
Upon these beds the loaves undergo various operations to whiten them. When
the loaves are whitened they are carried to and placed upon a suction apparatus
for removing any sirup remaining after the draining.

page_text: After remaining for a greater or less time upon the suction apparatus the loaves
are removed from their moulds and then carried to the drying stove.
With this method or process of manufacture the cost of manual labour is con-
siderable and moreover robust workmen are required for effecting the various
transportations by hand, which are as follows.
First Transport of the boiled mass from the concentrating apparatus to the
moulds.
Second-Transfort of the moulds to the lift after the filling.
Third Transport of the moulds from the lift to the frames.
Fourth Transport from the frames to the suction apparatus, and
Fifth Transport of the loaves from the suction apparatus to the stoves.
In certain refineries, which are a little improved, attempts have been made to
dispense with a portion of this manual labour. To do this, the moulds are placed
upon small carriages which are moved beneath the concentrating apparatus, the
moulds are then directly filled therefrom. These carriages with the full moulds
thereon are subsequently moved to a place where they are left the necessary time
in order that the mass shall become solidified. Thence the moulds are removed
one by one and placed upon the frames. The remaining steps of the manufacture
are then performed as before described.
With the arrangement last described although the manual labour is not so great
as in the former case, it is nevertheless very considerable necessitating the following
operations.
1st The removal of the moulds from the carriages to the beds.
2nd The removal of the moulds from the beds to the suction apparatus and
3rd The removal from the suction apparatus to the stoves.
Further, the traction of the carriages from place to place is very laborious.
The present invention has for its object to effect the refining of sugar in a
methodical manner and to dispense almost entirely with the manual labour of
transport heretofore necessary. For this purpose the refining of the loaves is effected
upon small carriages from which the sugar is not removed from the time it is
filled into the moulds until it is completely refined that is until it is placed in the
drying stoves.
To obtain this result the works are arranged in the following manner which
I will describe generally, as the details of the arrangement can vary. according
to requirements that is to say;-A railway is constructed to extend to all parts
of the works, in a continuous manner if the whole of the works are on the ground
floor.
In cases where the works are in stories lifts are provided as to connect the
railway of the ground floor with those of the different stories.
When the works are long and broad as is generally the case, turn-tables or
travelling platforms are used so as to obtain the continuity of the tracks.
These various arrangements being understood I will now describe the principle
of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing the figures
of which are hereinafter described.
To effect all the operations necessary for refining the sugar without separately
manipulating the moulds in which the work of refining takes place, I provide a
special carriage shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 in plan, side elevation and end elevation
respectively. This carriage is formed of a frame of U-shaped iron bars carried upon
two axles 6, 6 mounted on flanged wheels cc for moving upon rails.
Upon this frame is placed an auxiliary frame having the same dimensions as
the main frame. Upon this auxiliary frame are rivetted flat corrugated iron
plates a al all which serve as supports for the moulds.
3
.
The moulds when placed in the carriage pass below the lower part of the carriage
frame and level with the rails.
In order to prevent the points of the moulds from striking the floor, the rails
are elevated as shown in Figure 3 in such a manner that there is a space between
the points of the moulds and the ground.
-

page_text: The elevated ways are adopted so that the carriage shall be very light thereby
reducing the weight to be moved as much as possible.
Instead however of elevating the rails above the floor the frame of the carriage
may be raised by means of intermediate parts placed between the axles and the
frame.
After the moulds are arranged upon this carriage they are not removed again
until the operation of refining is completely terminated, or until the loaf is taken from
the mould to put it into the drying stove. Below the area over which the carriage
passes are gutters designed to receive the sirup which drains from the moulds.
As previously stated, the railway is continuous and the carriages, provided with
their moulds follow each other without interruption in such a manner that one
pushes the other in the direction of the motion.
I will follow a carriage through the various phases of refining; the operation
being the same for each of the others following it.
The first operation is the filling of the moulds.
For carrying out this operation the carriage is placed under the boiling apparatus
and by means of cocks and pipes the moulds are filled with sugar liquor.
When the moulds are full, the carriage is immediately pushed by the following
carriage which takes its place.
After filling the moulds the carriage is moved on the railway and on its passage,
at points determined by the duration of the operations, the sugar undergoes all the
operations of refining.
After the various operations the carriage moves on a return line back to its
starting point, passing before washing vats, where men clean the moulds and replace
them upon the carriage to bring them again to the boiling apparatus and thence to
recommence the cycle of operations described above.
It is easy to understand that if the whole railway is full of carriages the opera-
tion takes place in a continuous manner and that the manual labour of transporting
the moulds is very small amounting to the movement of the train of carriages, and
this movement can be effected mechanically either by the aid of an endless chain
or rope or by any other suitable means.
Now that I have described the general arrangement of my invention I will
describe the details thereof.
The carriage upon which the moulds are placed is composed, as stated above, of
a frame supported by wheels which roll upon railway rails; upon this frame is
fixed an auxiliary movable frame upon which are rivetted flat corrugated bars
forming cells in which the moulds are placed. The shape of the cells in this frame
can be varied according to the shapes of the loaves.
Below the carriage, and suspended by rods t and t¹, Figure 5 are carried small
plates . Supported upon these plates are the U-shaped irons r, upon which rest
the heads of the plugs which serve as stoppers to the moulds.
When it is desired to effect the drainage of the sugar after solidification the
carriage is placed over apparatus represented in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
This apparatus is composed of a frame C placed horizontally between the rails
and below the carriage. This horizontal frame C can move vertically and is
perfectly guided so as to always remain horizontal. The vertical motion is
imparted through the medium of the large hand lever L, the small levers M and
connecting bars N. By referring to the drawing it will be seen that by moving
the lever L from the left to the right, the horizontal frame C is raised and in
proportion as the extremity of the lever describes a greater or lesser arc.
At one
point the frame C touches the U-shaped irons r and lifts them, and with them the
plates and all the moulds which rest thereon. At this moment the rods t and t¹
swing away from the U-shaped irons, and assume a vertical position. If now by
a motion of the lever L'in the direction contrary to the first, the horizontal frame
is caused to descend, the U-shaped irons and the plates will follow this frame, so
that the moulds being unsupported will rest with their upper flanges upon the

page_text: frame of the carriage. By continuing to move the lever in the same direction, the
plates recede far enough from the points of the moulds to enable them to be easily
withdrawn and used again in another operation. The plugs are then removed
either by hand or mechanically.
If desired the plugs can be made integral with the plates and removed with
them.
. After the plugs are removed the non-crystallized sirup flows out into grooves or
gutters arranged between the rails, and the loaves undergo all the operations of
whitening while the carriage moves towards the suction apparatus.
This suction apparatus Figures 7, 8 and 9 is composed of a fixed box placed
between rails of the railway. The cover has as many holes as there are moulds
upon the carriage; these holes are arranged similarly to the cells of the carriage.
The part of the railway which corresponds with the box can be lowered by a
mechanical motion, and consequently the carriage which rests thereon, is lowered
in such a manner that the moulds extend into the holes of the cover of the
suction box.
When the carriage has been lowered sufficiently the moulds bear only upon the
suction box and not upon the carriage at all. The edges of the holes of the suction
box are lined with india-rubber or any other elastic material.
When the moulds rest upon the india-rubber edges their weight and that of the
loaves enclosed therein produce hermetic joints.
The suction is now produced in the suction apparatus whereby all the loaves are
acted upon at the same time.
When the operation is terminated, the lever is moved in the opposite direction
and the railway and the carriage resume their original position.
On leaving the suction apparatus, the operation of refining being terminated, the
carriage is pushed to the stoves where, the loaves are for the first time removed
from the carriages to be loosened and placed upon the screens of the stoves.
The carriage is now passed on a return line before washing tubs, where the
moulds are cleaned and where they are placed again as they were at the commence-
ment of the operation, to be brought again beneath the boiling apparatus. The
cycle of operation above described is then repeated.
With this invention the carriages are made in such a manner that the edges of
the moulds are all at the same height, whatever may be the shape of the loaves.
This arrangement facilitates the work in the various operations upon the loaves.
As previously stated, if the works are sufficiently long all the above operations can
be effected on the same continuous railway it is then easy to operate the carriages
mechanically, and all the manipulations can then be effected by women or children
as no great strength is necessary.
If the works are arranged in stories, lifts are placed at the extremities of the
railway and enable the removal to be effected without fatigue.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
'me by my foreign Correspondents, I declare that what I claim is;-
First. The method herein before described of refining sugar, whereby a great
portion of the manual labour which in the ordinary operation of refining is
necessary for transporting the sugar moulds from place to place is dispensed with,
the said method consisting in placing the moulds upon a carriage from which they
are not removed from the time the boiled sugar is placed in them until the sugar
is completely refined, that is to say until the loaves are placed in the drying
stoves.
Second. The carriage above described for carrying the moulds, the rails upon
which the said carriage runs being elevated above the ground to enable the
transportation of the moulds to be effected as easily as possible, the frame having
cells for supporting the moulds in the said carriage being removable, whereby the

page_text: same carriage may be used whatever may be the shape of the loaves to be manu-
factured, the only requirement being the provision of a suitable supporting frame;
and the quantity of rolling stock required materially reduced.
Third. The draining apparatus above described having the suspended plates for
carrying the moulds.
Fourth. The suction apparatus described enabling the uncrystallized liquid sugar
to be sucked from the moulds without lifting them from the carriage, in com-
bination with mechanical means for raising and lowering the mould-carrying
carriage.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.