Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Heating, Evaporating, and Concentrating Infusions and Liquids.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 11th July, 1896--Accepted, 15th Aug., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Heating, Evaporating, and
Concentrating Infusions and Liquids.
We ARTHUR MAJOR HUGILL and JOHN OVERTON of the Firm of
R. Sumner & Co., Wholesale and Export Druggists of 50 Lord Street, Liverpool,
in the County of Lancaster, and ROBERT HENRY (ATLEY, Manufacturing
Chemist, in the employment of the said firm, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
:-
Our said invention relates to improved means or apparatus for heating,
evaporating and concentrating infusions and liquids. In the treatment of certain
chemicals drugs and medicaments in a liquid form and also in the treatment and
preparation of other liquids it is sometimes necessary to evaporate and concentrate
the liquid or infusion so as to increase its strength or density.
At present in the druggist's laboratory and in other work-places, such evaporation
or concentration is carried on in pans heated from beneath. In such pans the
evaporating and heating surfaces are necessarily limited in area so that evaporation
is slow and unless agitation is freely resorted to, the portion of liquid next to the
interior of the pan is apt to remain in that position and deteriorate in quality,
while the depth of liquid is an obstacle to the free escape of the steam bubbles.
In addition to this, the pans are very apt to boil over and cause loss or create
danger. By means of unintention to obviate these disadvantages and
perform the heating, evaporating and concentrating processes in a much more
economical, speedy, safe and effective manner than heretofore.
Speaking broadly the gist of our invention consists in the provision of a flat
extended area or tray heated to the required extent and adapted to receive a thin
stream or spray of the liquid to be concentrated. This thin stream of liquid is
allowed to progress over the hented area to the delivery end or outlet where the
concentrated liquid is drawn off. The open and extended surface of the evaporating
tray provides to the fullest extent for free and rapid evaporation and the constant
progress of the liquid over the evaporating surince prevents all standing or
deterioration by prolonged contact with heat. The stream of liquid is so shallow
that not the slightest obstruction is offered to the free vent of the steam bubbles,
and the supply is also so managable that no danger of boiling over is incurred.
Such being the principle of our invention it will be evilent that the particular
means or apparatus for carrying the same into practi al effect might be greatly
varied both in general design and detail. We will however for the sake of example
indicate the construction of an apparatus which we have designed to effect our
purposes. We form the heating and evaporating surf ice or tray from a collection
of steam tubes laid side by side with filling in pieces between, and connected at the
ends by hollow sections, so that the steam or other heating fluid is caused to
circulate through the whole range of tubing. This evaporating tray has confining
ides and is preferably supported upon a shaft or pivots or steam trunnions at one
end and is furnished with a screw or other adjusting means at the other end so that
ts inclination may be varied at will.
At the head of the tray we arrange a perforated or finely slit spray or spurt
ipe extending across and above the tray, and through which the liquid to be
concentrated or evaporated is supplied in a thin stream or series of spurts.
At the

page_text: other end or foot of the tray we place a delivery spout by which the concentrated
liquid is drawn or run off.
When in operation we admit steam or other heating fluid to the circulating pipes
composing or situated in the bottom of the tray. We then admit the liquid to the
distributing spray or spurt pipe which delivers it to the heated tray in a thin
stream. Immediately on touching the tray the liquid boils and evaporates
quickly and at the same time flows down the incline towards the delivery spout.
The corrugations in the surface of the tray formed by the tubing and mid-pieces
or by other means, retard the flow of the liquid, but the rate of flow can be
increased or diminished by lowering or raising the adjustable end of the tray.
The evaporating surface is easily accessible and easily cleaned. An apparatus
such as we have indicated costs much less than the usual boiling pans, occupies less
spaer and is greatly in re effective and economical.
Although we have specially referred to the utility of our invention as applicable
to the evaporation and concentrating of druggists' infusions and the like, the
apparatus miny also be used in other arts and manufactures where speely heating,
evaporation and concentration are required.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Heating. Evaporating, and
Concentrating Infusions and Liquids.
We ARTHUR MAJOR HrGILL and JoHN OVERTONs of the Firm of
R. Summer & C., Wholesale and Export Druggists, at 50% Lord Street, Liverpool,
in the Cunty of Lancaster, and ROBERT HENRY CATLEY, Manufacturing
Chemist, in the employment of the sand firm, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed the particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying
drawings:--
Our said invention relates to improved means or apparatus for heating,
evaporating and concentrating infusions and liquids. In the treatment of certain
chemicals and medicaments in a liquid form and also in the treatment and preparati in
of other liquids, it is somatimes necessary to evaporate and concentrate the liquid
or infusion so as to increase its strength or density.
At present in the druggist's laboratory and in other work places, such evaporation
or codicentration is carried on in pans heated from beneath. In such pans the
evaporating and Leating surinces are necessarily limited in area so that evaporation
is low and unless agitation is freely resorted t the portion of liquid next to the
interior of the pan is apt to remain in that position and deteriorate in quality, while
the depth of liquid is an obstacle to the fice escape of the steam bubbles. In
addition to this, the pans are very apt to boil over and cause loss or create danger.
By means of our invention we recht obviate these disadvantages and perform the
heating, evaporating and concentrating processes in a much more economical,
speedy, safe and citcctive manner than heretofore.
Speaking broadly the gist of our invention consists in the provision of a flat
extended area or tray heated to the required extent and adapted to receive a thin
stream or spray of the liquid to be concentrated. This thin stream of liquid is
allowed to progress over the heated area to the delivery end or outlet where the
concenuated liquid is drawn off. The open and extended surface of the evaporating

page_text: progress of the liquid over the evaporating surface prevents all standing or
deterioration by prolonged contact with heat. The stream of liquid is so shallow
that not the slightest obstruction is offered to the free vent of the steam bubbles,
and the supply is also so managable that no danger of boiling over is incurred.
Such being the principle of our invention we will now proceed to describe means
for carrying the same into practical effect, the said means being illustrated in the
accompanying sheet of drawings.
Fig. is a side elevation of the evaporating apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section.
Fig. 3 is a plan view.
Fig. 4 is an end elevation at the feed end of the apparatus.
Fig. 5 is an end elevation at the delivery end.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the ends of two of the hollow tubes which
compose the evaporating surface of the tray.
Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of these two tubes showing the means for stopping
or sealing the ends.
Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the said tubes.
Fig. 9 shows the stop lock plates inserted into the sealed ends of the tubes.
According to the type of heater and evaporator chosen by us for illustration, the
apparatus consists of an evaporating tray A hinged to a stand B with an inclined
top, the tray A being capable of adjustinent to any de-ired angle so as to incline
the surface of the tray from the supply end downwards towards the delivery end.
The said evaporating tray A consists mainly of the evaporating surface a which
is composed of a number of hollow tubes a of copper or other suitable metal which
are preferably of a square shape with hog-backed top as most clearly shown in
Figs. 6 and 8. These tubes a are laid side by side so as to constitute the floor or
evaporating surface of the tray. To unite the tubes together pair by pair, we use
solder and locking plates (shown at Fig. 9) the limb & between the two plates b
slipping into a sin a' cat in the end of the tubes. When the double plate b has
been slipped into the end of the two adjacent tubes we lin baging of solder
or other suitable metal or material lying flush with the ends of the tubes. This
makes a most effectual and secure seal for the tube ends.
r
16
When the sealed pairs of tubes are all laid together a backing of solder or sheet
metal unites them into what is practically one homogeneous whole, forming the
tray floor or evaporating surface a as already set forth. As steam or other heating
fluid is circulated through the said hollow tubes froin en 1 to end of the tray, we
form boles a on each alternate side at each alternate end of the tubes a as appears
for example in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, these holes allowing the steam to flow from one
tube to another and thus circulate to and fro through the whole of the tubes
composing the evaporating surface. It may here be noted that the steam is
admitted to the circulating tubing a through the valve and leaves the tubing
through the valve d. The evaporating surface composed by the tubing a is
furnished with sides and an end e, to confine the liquids treated on the tray, the
sides contracting at the delivery foot of the tray until only the comparatively
narrow delivery passage or spout is left through which the concentrated liquid is
run off. The side e cover over the solder stopped ends of the tubes a so that a
neat finish is imparted to the sides of the tray, the ends of the tubes being invisible.
The tray may either be hinged direct to the stand B or as in the example it may
rest upon a hinged flap g which is hinged by hinges f' to the higher or feed end of
the stand B, the said flap and tray being adjusted to any desired angle by a set
screw with hand wheel the screw passing through a nut 2 carried by a fixed
cross stay extending between the sides of the stand B. At the higher end of the
tray we place a distributing trough i secured to the end e' of the tray by a screwed
hollow sleeve and jamb nuts. A flexible pipe & is secured to the outer end of the
hollow sleeve by a check nut 4. The flexible pipe & can be connected to and
disconnected from any convenient source of supply. The trough i is perforated

page_text: along the foot as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The liquid to be concentrated is fed by
the supply pipe into the trough i whence it flows through the perforations in a
series of thin streams upon the heated evaporating surface a. Immediately upon
touching the highly heated surface a the liquid boils and evaporates quickly, at the
same time flowing down the inclined tray surface a towards the delivery spontƒ
from which it is discharged in a concentrated condition. The succession of ribs or
ridges developed by the hog-backel tops of the tubes a, retards the downward flow
of the liquid and also presents a considerably extended heating surface to the
liquid. The rate of flow may be increased or diminished by lowering or raising
the adjustable end of the tray. The apparatus is very quickly brought into
working order by simply turning on the steam, and when not required the steain
can be as quickly turned off.
The evaporating surface a is easily accessible and easily cleaned. The apparatus
costs much less than the usual boiling pans, occupies less space and is greatly more
eflective and economical, owing to the large area of henting surface and the easy
regulation of the heat in the tubes by means of the valves and d.
Although we have specially referred to the utility of our invention as applicable
to the evaporation and concentration of druggist's infusions and the like the
apparatus may also be used in other arts and manufactures where speedy heating,
evaporation and concentration are required.
We wish it to be under-tonal that although we have described a convenient and
useful form of apparatus we do not confine ourselves to the details of the same as
these may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit of our invention.
For example the hollow heat circulating tray surface a might be made from other
forms of hollow bodies or tubes than the indicated shape; or it might be composed
of a hollow chamber separated by partitions adapted to cause circulation. Also
we might have any convenient liquid distributing means other than the perforated
trough i
Having now particularly descubed and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performel we declare that what we
claim is.
1. In apparatus for heating, evaporating and concentrating infusions and liquids,
the employment of a tray capable of being adjusted to any desired angle and
having a hollow floor or surface through which steam or other heating fluid is
circulated, the said hollow circulating floor or tray being made from a series of
tubes, compartments, partitions or other means whereby the heating fluid is made
to circulate from and to end of the tray for the purposes and substantially as set
forth.
2. The general arrangement construction and combination of parts constituting
our improved means or apparatus for heating, evaporating and concentrating
infusions and liquids substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated.
3. An apparatus for heating, evaporating and concentrating infusions and liquids
and consisting of a tray such as A mounted upon a stand and capable of being set
to any desired angle by a screw or other menus, the said tray consisting mainly
of a series of hollow iubes placed side by side and adapted to circulate steam or
other beating fluid from end to end of the tray, in combination with the perforated
trough or its equivalent for receiving and distributing the liquid to be heated,
evaporated or concentrated, substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 10th day of July 1896.