IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR HEATING INGOTS AND OTHER ARTICLES.
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Windsor Richards of Middlesbrough on Tees,
in the County of York for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR
HEATING INGOTS AND OTHER ARTICLES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Windsor Richards
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd November 1883.
EDWARD WINDSOR RICHARDS of Middlesbrough on Tees in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR HEATING INGOTS AND OTHER ARTICLES."
My invention is designed to enable ingots and other articles such as slabs of
steel to be equably heated for rolling or other purpose with less labour and at less
cost than is now usual. For this purpose I employ a heating furnace provided
with chambers to contain ingots or slabs in a vertical position, and so connected
with one another and with the furnace that heat entering one chamber shall pass
over the top of the ingot or slab therein down over its whole length, then into.
another chamber, and so on successively, thus heating uniformly all the ingots or
slabs contained in the series of chambers without their having to be turned over
during the heating process.
'
The furnace may be heated by gas or otherwise. I consider it advantageous to
use a gas regenerative furnace such as that well known as Siemens'.
A furnace according to my invention may be provided with one or several rows
of ingot or slab chambers such as referred to above, the end chambers of each .row
when a gas furnace is employed being connected to an air chamber and to a gas
chamber; and each intermediate ingot or slab chamber being in communication
with the upper part of that next to it at one side, and with the lower part of that
next to it at the opposite side.
As the tops of ingots usually have, (before being 'reheated), a lower temperature
than the other portions; in order to ensure sufficient heating of the upper part of
each ingot I provide in each of those division walls situate between two chambers
that are connected at their bottoms, also a flue or flues regulated by a damper or
dampers to connect such chambers near their tops.
An overhead traveller is provided for depositing the ingots or slabs in, and
removing them from, the vertical chambers.
,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edward Windsor Richards in the Patent Office on the 22nd May
1884.
EDWARD WINDSOR RICHARDS of Middlesbrough-on-Tees in the County of York
IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR HEATING INGOTS AND OTHER ARTICLES
My invention is designed to enable ingots and other articles such as slabs of steel
to be equably heated for rolling or other purpose with less labour and at less cost
than is now usual. For this purpose I employ a heating furnace provided with
chambers to contain ingots or slabs in a vertical position, and so connected with
one another and with the furnace that heat entering one chamber shall pass over
the top of the ingot or slab therein down over its whole length then into another
chamber and so on successively thus heating uniformly all the ingots or slabs
contained in the series of chambers without their having to be turned over during
the heating process.
The furnace may be heated by gas or otherwise I consider it advantageous to
use a gas regenerative furnace such as that well known as Siemens'.
A furnace according to my invention may be provided with one or several rows
of ingot or slab chambers as referred to above, the end chambers of each row when
a gas furnace is employed being connected to an air chamber and to a gas chamber
and each intermediate ingot or slab chamber being in communication with the
upper part of that next to it at one side and with the lower part of that next to it
at the opposite side.
As the tops of ingots usually have (before being reheated) a lower temperature
than the other portions in order to ensure sufficient beating of the upper part of
each ingot I provide in each of those division walls situate between two chambers
that are connected at their bottoms, also a flue or flues regulated by a damper or
dampers to connect such chambers near their tops.
An overhead traveller is provided for depositing the ingots or slabs in and
removing them from the vertical chambers.
Referring to the accompanying drawings Fig 1 is a front elevation and Fig 2
an end elevation of a furnace according to my invention provided with a travelling
crane to manipulate the ingots or slabs.
Fig 3 is a longitudinal section through the furnace and a gas regenerative
apparatus from which it receives gas and air in the usual well known way.
Fig 4 is a cross section of the same; Fig 5 a half sectional plan partly in
line A*. B* Fig 3; and Fig 6 a sectional elevation in line C*. D*. Fig 4.
A. A. A. are chambers for the reception of ingots or slabs in a vertical position.
They communicate with each other alternately at the top and bottom by
flues B. B. so that the flame or hot gas passes downward through one, upward in
the second, downward in the third, and so on through each series. Besides these
flues or passages of communication there are also other flues or passages C
regulated by dampers D near the tops of those division walls which are not
provided with flues or passages B at their upper parts. These serve to deflect a
portion of the descending gas on to the head or upper portion of the next slab or
ingot. At the bottom of each chamber is a hole E, provided with a door for the
removal of slag and the top of the chamber is closed by a lid.
The furnace shewn in the drawings comprises two rows of chambers with six in
each row forming two independent series. They are built of refractory bricks
and are bound together by iron plates and tie bolts the whole being surmounted
by a travelling crane.

page_text: The heating medium is producer gas which has passed through a regenerator
and enters into combustion with heated air after the well known method employed
in Siemens' regenerative furnaces. These are well known and it will be sufficient
merely to point out the parts on the drawings without entering into a detailed
description of them. F is the gas flue from the producer, G the gas valve, H the
reversing valve by which the gas is directed to the regenerator J or J¹ according
as the course of the heat is in one direction or the other, and L. I are passages
alternately serving for the inlet of gas to the chambers and for the outlet of the
products of combustion. K is the air valve which commands the passage to
the air reversing valve H³ and thence to the regenerator J³. J. and the air
passages M. M¹ which like the gas passages serve also for the outlet of the products
of combustion.
It will be evident that other means of heating as for example an ordinary
furnace fired with coals may be employed in conjunction with the chambers A A A
arranged and operating as described.
Having described the nature of my said invention and the manner of carrying it
into practical effect I hereby declare that what I claim is :-
1. The use for heating ingots and other articles such as slabs of steel in an
equable manner of a furnace provided with chambers to contain the articles to be
heated in a vertical position and so connected with one another and with the
source of heat that the heating medium is caused to travel over the entire length
of each ingot or article to be heated substantially as hereinabove described.
2. Providing a heating, furnace with a series of chambers capable of receiving
ingots slabs or the like in a vertical position and connected together alternately
at top and bottom by flues substantially as described.
3. The combination of parts constituting the improved heating furnace con-
structed arranged and operating substantially as hereinabove described with
reference to and illustrated in the drawings for the purpose specified.
In Witness whereof I the said Edward Windsor Richards have hereunto set
my hand and seal this twenty first day of May in the year of Our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty-four.
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T
WINDSOD DIAMIDDA
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