IMPROVEMENTS IN BLAST
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Barclay, of Kilmarnock, in the County
of Ayr, North Britain, for the Invention of
FURNACES."
66 IMPROVEMENTS IN BLAST
Sealed the 14th March 1871, and dated the 23rd September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Barclay at the
Office of the Commissioners. of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd September 1870.
I, ANDREW BARCLAY, of Kilmarnock, in the County of Ayr, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of “IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BLAST FURNACES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the saving of fuel and the raising to
a greater temperature the materials charged into blast furnaces at a
higher point in the furnace than obtains under existing arrangements of
open topped blast furnaces.
The same object is also under the present Invention effected in close
topped blast furnaces, but in addition thereto the materials may in this

page_text: latter case be partly heated before being admitted through the charging
cone.
For open topped blast furnaces the Invention is carried into effect by
forming the portion of the furnace above the ordinary level of the
charge into a hollow contracted mouth so that the materials on being
charged into the open top are deposited nearer the centre and made to
assume by preference the form of a conical heap in that portion of the
furnace. At or about the base of the conical heap or at the level surface
of the charge or a few feet down if the furnace is charged in the usual
manner several openings are made through the walls of the furnace
through which air is admitted, or the air may be admitted down through
pipes. The air may be forced or drawn in, and on meeting the gases.
escaping from the charge it immediately ignites them, and the heat
thereby produced is imparted to the materials. As fresh materials are
added they fall over the portion previously heated.
In the case of close topped furnaces the arrangements herein-before
referred to are applied, but in addition thereto one or more passages is or
are led from the interior of the upper part of the furnace to the space
surrounding the charging cone, so that a portion of the heated gases
passing therethrough elevate the temperature of the materials situated
around or outside the charging cone. The charging cone has passages
formed in it for admitting water to keep it at a sufficiently low tem-
perature. The converging shape of the upper part of the furnace
necessary to cause the materials as they are charged to assume the
conical heap herein-before referred to may be effected by an iron casting,
in which case passages are made in it for water to circulate through or
it may be effected by masonry. A portion of the gas may be taken off
at a lower part of the furnace than that where the openings above
referred to are situated in order that the blast ovens may be heated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Andrew Barclay in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd March 1871.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Andrew Barclay, Her special license
that I, the said Andrew Barclay, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew Barclay, my executors,
administrators, or 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 IMPROVEMENTS IN
BLAST FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Andrew Barclay, my executors or administrators, 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.
66
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Andrew Barclay, 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 Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
My said Invention has for its object the saving of fuel and the raising
to a greater temperature the materials charged into blast furnaces at a
higher point in the furnace than obtains under existing arrangements of
open topped blast furnaces.
cone.
The same object is also under the present Invention effected in close
topped blast furnaces but in addition thereto the materials may in this
latter case be partly heated before being admitted through the charging
At or about the base of the conical heap, or by preference at the
level of the surface of the charge, several openings are made through
the walls of the furnace through which air is admitted or induced, or the
air may be admitted down to the level of the charge from the top of the
furnace through pipes. The air may be forced or drawn in and on

page_text: meeting the gases escaping from the charge it immediately ignites them
producing a neutral flame, the heat of which is imparted to but does
not effect actual combustion of the materials; as fresh materials are
added they fall over the portion previously heated.
In the case of close topped furnaces the arrangements herein-before
referred to are applied, but in addition thereto one or more passages is
or are led from the interior of the upper part of the furnace to the space
surrounding the upper part of the charging cone, so that a portion of
the heated gases passing therethrough elevate the temperature of the
materials situated around or outside the charging cone. The charging
cone has passages formed in it or is provided with a coil for admitting
water to keep it at a sufficiently low temperature. The coil is connected
with two swivel jointed pipes connected to the overhead lever and to
other pipes running alongside such lever in order that a circulation of
cold water may take place down through the cooling coil and up again
by the return pipe as is well understood. A portion of the gas may be
taken off at a lower part of the furnace than that where the openings
above referred to are situated in order that the blast ovens may be heated
as heretofore.
The accompanying Drawing represents a vertical section of the upper
part of a close topped blast furnace provided with my improvements.
A is the body of the furnace having by preference a slightly rever-
beratory shaped top at a, a, for the purposes herein-after explained;
B, is the throat, and C the charging cone provided with cold water
circulating pipes b, b, to prevent it from burning as shown in dotted
lines; D represents the inclined surface or surfaces of the furnace
charge, and E the lateral blast orifices which in order to have their full
and best effect should be situate just above the level of the base of the
inclined surfaces of the charge as shewn; F are the air blast pipes
supplied from the annular pipe G in connection with the blowing
apparatus for the purpose of inducing air through the orifices E; H,
are passages communicating between the upper part or body A of the
furnace and the portion of the throat B immediately above the charging
cone C, in order to admit of the charge above the cone being heated by
the neutral flame produced by the admission or mixture of the proper
amount of atmospheric air with the gases in the body of the furnace
before such charge is allowed to fall from the cone into the furnace. Or

page_text: if preferred the cone itself may have slits or openings made therein for
the
passage of the neutral flame or heated gases. By this means the
coal becomes coked at a higher position in the furnace than heretofore
and the ore thoroughly heated but without actual combustion of carbon,
the neutral flame beating down upon the surface of the charge from the
reverberatory shaped portions a, a, of the furnace.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
First. The introduction in a blast furnace of jets of atmospheric air at
or about the level of the charge for the purpose herein-before described.
Second. The application and use of pipes or passages or openings in
the cone in close topped blast furnaces for connecting the upper portion
of the body of the furnace with the portion above the charging cone for
the purpose of heating the charge before it is fed into the furnace sub-
stantially as herein-before described.
Third. The application and use to and in blast furnaces of charging
cones through or round which cold water is caused to circulate for the
purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Barclay, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of
March, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
ANDREW BARCLAY. (L.S.)