IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR COMPRESSING CHLORIDES OF SODA & POTASSA
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cook, of St. Helen's, in the County of Lancaster
Ironfounder & Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
OR APPLIANCES FOR COMPRESSING CHLORIDES OF SODA & POTASSA."
Scaled the 16th September 1876, and dated the 23rd March 1876.
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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cook at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd March 1876.
THOMAS COOK, of St. Helen's, in the County of Lancaster, Ironfounder & Engineer.
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR COMPRESSING CHLORIDES OF
SODA & POTASSA."
This Invention relates to the formation of chlorides of soda and potassa, or
either of them, when a series of moulds and plungers is used, into balls, blocks,
cylinders, or other forms suitable for being filled into the converting chambers
employed in the Hargreaves & Robinson sulphate process.
The attempts hitherto made to form chlorides into balls or other forms by means
of a series of moulds and plungers has been a failure on account of the inequality
of pressure brought to bear on the chlorides in the different moulds through want
of uniformity of the amount of chlorides in such moulds.
Now my Invention has for its object to give a uniform pressure to the chlorides in
each mould of the series whether the said moulds contain much or little of the said
chlorides.
For this purpose I operate the series of plungers by hydraulic pressure, each
plunger working independent of the others, but receiving its pressure from one
common reservoir, accumulator, or supply. 1 operate the said plungers by means
of one or more, preferably two, hydraulic pumps, of such a joint capacity that one
stroke of the said pumps shall supply the whole series of plungers with sufficient
water at the necessary pressure. prefer that one of the pumps should be of such
a size as will quickly press the loose chlorides into the moulds, whilst the other
pump should be of sufficient power to cause the consolidation of the said chlorides.
I prefer to employ direct acting pumps, or pumps in which power is obtained
by steam acting on a piston of which the piston rod forms the pump ram.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Cook in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd September
1876.
THOMAS COOK, of St. Helen's, in the County of Lancaster, Ironfounder and
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR COMPRESSING
CHLORIDES OF SODA AND POTASSA."
This Invention relates to the formation of chlorides of soda and potassa, or either
of them, when a series of moulds and plungers is used, into balls, blocks, cylinders,
or other forms suitable for being filled into the converting chambers employed in
the Hargreaves and Robinson sulphate process.
The attempt hitherto made to form chlorides into balls or other forms by means
of a series of moulds and plungers has been a failure on account of the inequality
of pressure brought to bear on the chlorides in the different moulds through want
of uniformity of the amount of chlorides in such moulds.
Now my Invention has for its object to give a uniform pressure to the chlorides
in each mould of the series whether the said moulds contain much or little of the
said chlorides. For this purpose I operate the series of plungers by hydraulic
pressure, each plunger working independently of the others, but receiving its pres-
sure from one common reservoir, accumulator, or supply. I operate the said
plungers by means of one or more, preferably two, hydraulic pumps, of such a joint
capacity that one stroke of the said pumps shall supply the whole series of plungers
with sufficient water at the necessary pressure. I prefer that one of the pumps
should be of such a size as will quickly press the loose chlorides into the moulds,
whilst the other pump should be of sufficient power to cause the consolidation of
the said chlorides. I prefer to employ direct acting pumps or pumps in which
power is obtained by steam acting on a piston, of which the piston rod forms the

page_text: the plungers; these bars are worked vertically by the levers and shaft 23, 24,
respectively from the shaft 16. 25 is the hydraulic pump made in two compart-
ments 26, 27, both of which are connected together by the valve box 28, from
which the water passes through the pipe 4 to the ram chamber 1. These pumps
are worked by two rams, which form the piston rods of the two steam cylinders
29, 30.
The steam cylinder 29 is of smaller diameter than the steam cylinder 30, so that
during its operation it simply presses the chlorides into the moulds 5. The said
cylinder 29 has steam ports 31, 32, 33, similar to an ordinary steam engine; the
steam port 34 supplies steam through the pipe 35 to the steam ram 10, and the
port 36 is the exhaust port from the steam ram, and is connected with the exhaust
port 32.
The steam cylinder 30 is of such larger diameter as is necessary to give the
required pressure to cause the salt to adhere together in balls or other forins, and
has steam ports 37, 38, 39, similar to an ordinary steam engine; the steam port 39
is made of triangular form to admit the steam slowly on the return stroke; the
steam ports 40, 41, admit steam to the steam cylinder 14 by means of the pipes 42,
the port 43 is the exhaust port from cylinder 14 and is connected with the exhaust
38. The valves of the steam cylinders 29, 30, are connected together by the levers
and connecting rods 44, 45, respectively, and these are worked from the engine
shaft 46 by a pair of spur wheels 47 connected with shaft 48, upon which is fitted an
eccentric ring 49, which gives motion to the valve levers 44. The lever 50 is for the
purpose of keeping open the valve in the valve box 28 during the return stroke of
the pump 26. The small valve 51 and water cistern 52 are for the purpose of
supplying the pumps with any water that may escape through leakage; and the
valve is weighted to a little below the atmospheric pressure. 53 is a small ordinary
steam engine for the purpose of working the valves of the cylinders 29, 30, and for
the purpose of working the shaft 19 in the hopper, and the two slide plates 7 in the
chloride box, as well as to give motion by the pair of bevel wheels and shaft 54 to
the travelling trays of a biscuit oven 55 upon which the salt balls are placed after
being made.
The working of the machine is as follows:-After salt is put into the hopper 18,
steam is admitted to the steam engine 53 and to the steam cylinders 29, 30; the
engine gives motion to the valves of the cylinders 29, 30, which are so set and
regulated that steam is first admitted through the port 40 into the small
cylinder 14, which causes the pressure beam 12 to slide up to and press tightly
against the face of the salt box and moulds 5, and so resist the pressure of the
plungers upon the chloride while the balls or other formed pieces are being inade.
As the valves continue to travel steam is secondly admitted through the port 33 of
the cylinder 29, which gives motion to the pump ram 29x, the water from which
forces the plungers and salt forward from the chloride box 6 into the moulds 5.
As the valves still continue to travel steam is thirdly admitted through the port 37
of cylinder 30, giving motion to the pump ram 30%, and thus pressing the chloride
into a compact ball or other formned piece, of such a density that it will adhere
together. As the valves make their return motion, steam is fourthly admitted by
the port 41 to the reverse end of the cylinder 14 while the steam is still retained
in the cylinder 30, and thus withdraws the beam 12 from the face of chloride mould,
allowing the balls or other formed pieces of chloride to pass out between the chloride
moulds 5 and the beam 12; at the same moment the cross-bar 22 is brought up
between the chloride mould and beam by means of the vertical bars 21 and the
levers 23 which receives the balls as they come out of the moulds; this cross-bar is
again brought down on the return motion of the beau and upsets the balls upon
the travelling trays of a biscuit oven 55. The return motion of the valves still
continuing steam is now admitted through the port 34 of cylinder 29 into the
steam ram 10, which forces the returning bar 0 against the shoulder of the
plungers 2, and at the same time steam is also admitted through the port 31 and
port 39, which causes the pistons, pump rams, and hydraulic plungers to return to

page_text: their original positions. When the plungers are withdrawn from the chloride box,
at the same moment the slide plates 7 are worked backwards and forwards by the
cams S, so disturbing the chlorides and causing it to lie closely together ready for the
next advance motion of the plungers. The shaft 19, with the armis upon it in
hopper 18, is kept slowly revolving, keeping the chlorides from sticking in the hopper
and causing it to fall loosely into the box 6.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention in such
manner that others will be enabled to carry my improvements into effect, I
claim―
First. Compressing chlorides of sodium and potassium, or either of them, in a
series of moulds, by means of a series of hydraulic rams working independently of
cach other but receiving pressure from one common water supply.
Second. Employing with a chloride compressing apparatus, constructed as above
described, a double pressure hydraulic pump operating substantially in the manner
and for the purposes set forth.
Third. General construction, combination, arrangement, and operation of apparatus,
substantially as illustrated and described for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Cook, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, the Twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord Oue
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
J. JOHNSON,
Patent Office,
Clayton Square,
Liverpool.
THOMAS COUA. (L.S.)