IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING PLATES OR SHEETS OF METAL
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Morewood, of Cheam, in the County of,
Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING PLATES OR SHEETS
OF METAL,"
Sealed the 17th May 1867, and dated the 21st November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by. the said Edmund Morewood at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on, the,
21st November 1866.
I, EDMUND MOREWOOD, of Cheam, in the County. of Surrey, do. hereby;
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING PLATES
OR SHEETS OF METAL," to be as follows:-
Hitherto it has been an usual practice in coating sheets or plates of iron,
with tin or terne metal to pass such plates into the second pot of melted.
coating metal immediately after they are withdrawn from the first tinning or
coating pot whenever a second pot of coating metal is used. Instead of this
I proceed as follows:-I interpose a bath of grease or flux between the first
and last coating. metal pots; such. flux bath I furnish -with a carrying appa-
ratus or instrument and withdrawing rollers, so that the plates which have
been passed into this flux bath from the first coating metal are conveyed by
the carrying arrangements and rollers through and out of the grease or flux.
In practice I prefer to use more than one pair of rollers in this flux bath, and
I raise the plate from them in a perpendicular direction, or as nearly so as

page_text: may be; and I find it desirable to pass the plates between the rollers of this
flux bath both in descending and also in ascending. One object in using this
flux pot and apparatus is to press off and to get rid of all but the foundation
coating metal which the plates bring over from the first pot, and as far as
possible to bind what remains of the metal of the first dipping to the surface
of the iron, and thus to carry over to the after pot of coating metal a plate as
free as may be from objectionable matter, and with a surface improved for the
after process. I also use this flux pot and apparatus to level or smooth the
coating which the plate has received in the first pot before it is passed into
the after coating pot'; and in order further to guard against foul or
objectionable flux or matter being carried on to the latter stages of the process
I find it desirable to use in this second metal pot a partition so as to divide
the surface, and I have a suitable arrangement for conveying the plate from
one side of the bath to the other. From this- latter coating pot I pass the
plates on to the finishing grease pot, which also contains a carrying arrange-
ment and withdrawing rollers.
In the arrangement just described I regulate the heating of the pots after
the first coating bath, and retain them at as low a temperature as I can
consistently with their being in working order, and so that the plate in,
passing from pot to pot is cooling down; and as heavy plates retain their
heat longer than thinner ones, I cause them to pass through additional rollers
in the finishing pot; and when I wish to give them a very fine surface, or to
reduce further the coating, I use two finishing pots with apparatus instead
of one.
Even when finishing lighter plates I use two finishing flux pots if I wish to
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters 'Patent, filed
by the said Edmund Morewood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND. 30
MOREWOOD, of Cheam, in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her: i
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the 35
said Edmund Morewood, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund.

page_text: Morewood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edmund Morewood, my executors, administrators, and 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 "Ii-
PROVEMENTS IN COATING PLATES OF SHEETS OF METAL," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edmund Morewood, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, 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 mouths next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Morewood, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
Hitherto it has been an usual practice in coating sheets or plates of iron
with tin or terné metal to pass such plates into the second pot of melted coating
metal immediately after they, are withdrawn from the first tinning or coating
pot whenever a second pot of coating metal is used. Instead of this I proceed
as follows:-I interpose a bath of hot grease or flux between the first and last
coating metal pots. The following is the manner in which I prefer to
proceed: The plate having received its first coating of metal in any usual
way is whilst still hot transferred to a bath containing hot grease, such as is
usually employed in finishing the plates after they have received their final
coating of metal. In this bath there are rollers through which the plate is
introduced, and there are also withdrawing rollers and also carrying .appa-
rätus to take the plate from one to the other, all which is well understood, so
that the plates which have been passed into this flux bath from the first or
preparatory coating metal bath are conveyed by the carrying arrangements
and rollers through and out of the grease or flux. The rollers should be of
wrought iron or steel and smooth on their surfaces, and well coated with.the
coating metal which is kept melted, and if coating with tin the nip of the
roller should be just under the surface of the flux, if with terne metal just
above. In practice I use more than one pair of rollers in this flux bath both
for introducing and withdrawing the plate, and I raise the plate through the
withdrawing rollers in a perpendicular direction, or as nearly so as may be;

page_text: in this case the lower pairs of rollers are enterely immersed in the flux. One
object in using this flux pot and apparatus is to press off and to get rid of all
but the foundation coating metal which the plates bring over from the first
pot, and as far as possible to bind what remains of the metal of the first pot
to the surface of the iron, and thus to carry over to the after pot of coating
metal a plate as free as may be from objectionable matter and with a surface
improved for the after process. I also use this flux pot and apparatus to level
or smooth the coating which the plate has received in the first pot before it is
passed into the after coating pot; and in order further to guard against foul
or objectionable' flux or matter being carried on to the latter stages of the
process. I find it desirable to use in, the second metal pot a partition so as to
divide the surface; and in practice I have used a suitable arrangement, for
conveying the plate from one side of the bath to the other, and also rollers
well coated with the coating metal through which the plate is withdrawn
.from the pot.. The coating metal comes up to the level of or slightly above
.the axes of these rollers. This metal pot should be charged with metal of
the quality most suitable to give a finished surface to the plate, as is well
understood, and I would observe that one of the objects obtained in the use
of this metal pot is the keeping the rollers of the succeeding finishing
grease pot well supplied with coating metal of first quality, as well as to
give to the plate which has already received a preparatory coating a surface
of the most suitable quality of metal. From this latter. coating pot I pass
the plates on to the finishing grease pot; this also contains a carrying
arrangement and metal-coated withdrawing rollers like the, intermediate
grease pot already described. In practice I prefer to arrange the rollers
.
i
three abreast, thus
DOO
, so that No. 1 shall be slightly higher than
No. 2, and No. 2 slightly higher than No. 3, and then a portion of the metal
which is received from the coated plate as it is introduced between rollers
Nos. 1 and 2 travels on and down between rollers No. 2 and 3, and keeps
roller No. 3 well coated. I regulate the heating of the pots after the first
coating bath, and retain them at as low a temperature as I can consistently
with their being in working order, and so that the plate in passing from pot
to pot is cooling down. When I am working with heavy plates, or when I wish
to give to the plates, whether heavy or light, a very fine surface, or to reduce
further the coating, I use two finishing flux or grease pots, with apparatus, and
rollers, instead of one as heretofore, and I pass the plates directly from one to
the other; I thus obtain a superior appearance. As the coating which the

page_text: plate brings ont from the first finishing grease pot is not usually sufficient by
itself to keep the rollers of the second pot supplied so as to improve the
surface for the purpose of this Invention without additional means, there-
fore I take care to keep the rollers of the second grease or flux pot further
coated with fluid coating metal of best quality, either by occasionally
immersing the whole or a portion of a plate in coating metal just before
passing it between such finishing rollers of the second flux pot, or by feeding
such rollers with coating metal from a supply vessel of melted metal of best
quality. In passing the plates through the finishing grease or flux bath or
baths I enter and withdraw them sideways, whereas up to this point I pass
them endwise into and out of the baths, or it may be vice versa. I would
remark that it is not essential that the intermediate flux bath and the two
finishing flux baths should be worked with grease, as other flux, such as bas
in some cases been heretofore employed, may be used, and this is the case
more especially when the coating metal does not consist of tin only or of tin
and lead, but of these together with other metal or metals which raises the
melting point of the alloy. I would also remark that plates have heretofore
in some instances been passed through two flux or grease baths after leaving
the last metal bath, but in this case the first of the flux baths has not been a
finishing bath, that is to say, the metal rollers through which the plate has
been withdrawn have been pressing rollers only, they have not been smooth
rollers coated with metal suitable for giving a finished surface to the plate.
I claim in coating plates or sheets of metal the passing the plates from a
preparatory bath of melted metal into a bath fitted with rollers and containing
flux or grease, and thence before being finished into another metal bath, and
afterwards into a finishing flux or grease bath, as described.
I also claim the use in succession of two finishing flux or grease baths,
with metal-coated rollers after the last metal bath, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Morewood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
EDMUND MOREWOOD. (L.S.)