Improvements in Continuous Steel Billet Heating Furnaces.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Continuous Steel Billet Heating Furnaces.
A communication from abroad by THE AMERICAN STOKER COMPANY, of 141.
Broadway, in the City, County and State of New York, United States of
America, a corporation organised under the laws of the State of New York.
I, REGINALD WILLIAM JAMES, of 1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C..
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to continuous steel billet heating furnaces, and it consists
of certain novel parts and combinations of parts, hereinafter particularly pointed
out.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown furnaces embodying the features
of my invention in the forms at present preferred by me, but it will be understood
that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the
spirit of my invention.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section on the lines 1, 1,
Figs. 2 and 3; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2, 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a
cross-section on the line 3, 3, Fig. 1; Figs. 4, 5 and 6, which correspond with
Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, illustrate a modified form of furnace.
The following is a description of the accompanying drawings, in such full,
clear and exact terms as will enable those skilled in the art to understand my
invention, and to make and use the preferred forms of furnace there shown.
4,4 are the furnace walls; 5 is a door at the rear end, for permitting access to the
interior: 20 is a hinged part for closing the opening through which the billets
are ejected; 10, 10 are tracks extending longitudinally the entire length of the
furnace; 9, 9 are steel billets to be heated. Of such billets there is a continuous
succession, resting on the tracks from one end of the furnace to the other. 7, 7
are steam cylinders or other suitable motive power for feeding the billets by
pushing them forward through the furnace over the tracks. S is a piston or other
suitable mechanism for communicating power from cylinder i to the billets. 15 is
a truck running on tracks 16, by means of which, when piston S is at the
end of its forward stroke, the billets in front of it having been all pushed into
the furnace, a new charge of billets may be quickly brought into place after
the piston has been drawn back. 6, 6 are underfeed stokers of any suitable con-
struction. The tracks 10 terminate in inclined ways 18, down which the billets
slide onto revolving wheels or travellers 14, by which they are led away. The
number and location of the stokers may be varied to suit the capacity of the
furnace, and to effect the desired distribution and application of heat. Thus, in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 but one stoker or group of stokers is employed, the heat passing,
as indicated by arrows, both above and below the billets: while in Figs. 4 and 5
two stokers or groups of stokers are employed, the heat generated in one being
principally applied to the lower side, and that generated in the other principally

page_text: applied to the upper side of the billets. In other respects these two furnaces are
substantially alike.
Heretofore, commercially speaking, it has been found to be impractical to heat
steel billets by the continuous process in other than gas regenerative furnaces.
Efforts to employ coal as fuel for this purpose have not been successful. I have
discovered that the flame produced by an underfeed stoker (in which the fuel is
fed from underneath, in which the distilled gases are supplied with oxygen in
properly regulated quantities, and in which a bed of incandescent coke forms the
upper or radiating surface) is when properly regulated, a neutral reducing or
non-oxydizing flame, differing from the flame of an ordinary coal furnace. Further-
more, in such a furnace, where the coal is continuously fed from beneath and the
volatile hydrocarbons are distilled beneath the incandescent coke radiating surface,
an even regulated temperature can be maintained and direct radiation utilized,
due to the presence of an incandescent mass of coke at a uniform and high tem-
perature between the material to be heated and the green coal, and cold air
introduced. Again, in the furnace shown, the heat is applied on both sides of the
billets, so as to uniformly heat them through and through, a condition necessary
to prevent a tendency to warp and twist when subsequently they are passed through
the rolls. Where separate groups of stokers are employed, as in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,
they may be regulated so that the stokers under the billets effect their purpose
largely by radiation from the incandescent coke bed, while the other will throw
a longer reducing flame over the top of the billets.
Dated this 3rd day of February 1899.
FELL & JAMES,
Agents for the Applicant
Improvements in Continuous Steel Billet Heating Furnaces.
A communication from abroad by THE AMERICAN STOKER COMPANY, of 141.
Broadway, in the City, County and State of New York, United States of
America, a corporation organised under the laws of the State of New York.
I, REGINALD WILLIAM JAMES, of 1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C..
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement;
My invention relates to continuous steel billet heating furnaces, and it consists
of certain novel parts and combinations of parts, hereinafter particularly pointed
out.
In order that this invention may be the better understood I will now proceed
to describe it in relation to the drawings which accompany my Provisional Speci-
fication reference being had to letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters
refer to like parts in the various figures.
In the drawings referred to I have shown furnaces embodying the features
of my invention in the forms at present preferred by me, but it will be understood
that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the
spirit of my invention.
In the drawings referred to, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section on the lines 1, 1,
Figs. 2 and 3:
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2, 2, Figure 1: Figure is a cross-
section on the line 3, 3, Fig. 1; Figs. 4, 5 and 6, which correspond with Figs. 1,
2 and 3, respectively, illustrate a modified form of furnace.

page_text: The following is a description of the drawings referred to, in such full,
clear and exact terms as will enable those skilled in the art to understand my
invention, and to make and use the preferred forms of furnace there shown.
4, 4 are the furnace walls; 5 is a door at the rear end, for permitting access to the
interior 20 is a hinged part for closing the opening through which the billets
are ejected; 10, 10 are tracks extending longitudinally the entire length of the
furnace; 9, 9 are steel billets to be heated. Of such billets there is a continuous
succession, resting on the tracks from one end of the furnace to the other. 7, 7
are steam cylinders or other suitable motive power for feeding the billets by
pushing them forward through the furnace over the tracks. S is a piston or other
suitable mechanism for communicating power from cylinder 7 to the billets. 15 is
a truck running on tracks 16, by means of which, when piston 8 is at the
end of its forward stroke. the billets in front of it having been all pushed into
the furnace, a new charge of billets may be quickly brought into place after
the piston has been drawn back. 6, 6 are underfeed stokers of any suitable con-
struction. The tracks 10 terminate in inclined ways 13, down which the billets
slide onto revolving wheels or travellers 14, by which they are led away.
number and location of the stokers may be varied to suit the capacity of the
furnace, and to effect the desired distribution and application of heat. Thus, in
Figs. 1. 2 and 3 but one stoker or group of stokers is employed, the heat passing,
as indicated by arrows, both above and below the billets; while in Figs. 4 and 5
two stokers or groups of stokers are employed, the heat generated in one being
principally applied to the lower side, and that generated in the other principally
applied to the upper side of the billets. In other respects these two furnaces are
substantially alike.
The
Heretofore, commercially speaking, it has been found to be impractical to heat
steel billets by the continuous process in other than gas regenerative furnaces.
Efforts to employ coal as fuel for this purpose have not been successful. I have
discovered that the flame produced by an underfeed stoker (in which the fuel is
fed from underneath, in which the distilled gases are supplied with oxygen in
properly regulated quantities, and in which a bed of incandescent coke forms the
upper or radiating surface) is, when properly regulated, a neutral reducing or
non-oxydizing flame, differing from the flame of an ordinary coal furnace. Further-
more, in such a furnace, where the coal is continuously fed from beneath and the
volatile hydrocarbons are distilled beneath the incandescent coke radiating surface,
an even regulated temperature can be maintained and direct radiation utilized,
due to the presence of an incandescent mass of coke at a uniform and high tem-
perature between the material to be heated and the green coal, and cold air
introduced. Again, in the furnace shown, the heat is applied on both sides of the
billets, so as to uniformly heat them through and through, a condition necessary
to prevent a tendency to warp and twist when subsequently they are passed through
the rolls. Where separate groups of stokers are emploved, as in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,
they may be regulated so that the stokers under the billets effect their purpose
largely by radiation from the incandescent coke bed, while the other will throw
a longer reducing flame over the top of the billets.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1st. In a continuous steel billet heating furnace, the combination, with means
for maintaining a practically continuous feed of billets through said furnace, of
one or more underfeed stokers, substantially as described.
2nd. In a continuous steel billet heating furnace, the combination, with one or
more underfeed stokers, of means for maintaining a practically continuous feed
of billets through said furnace, and means for applying the heat generated therein
to both sides of said billets, substantially as described.
3rd. In a continuous steel billet heating furnace, the combination, with one or
more underfeed stokers, of heat passages leading above and below the billets, and

page_text: means for maintaining a practically continuous feed of billets through said
furnace, substantially as described.
4th. In a continuous steel billet heating furnace, the combination, with an
underfeed stoker, located beneath the billets, of an underfeed stoker located at
the rear end of the furnace, and adapted to throw a flame on top of said billets,
and means for maintaining a practically continuous feed of billets through said
furnace, substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of November 1899.
FELL & JAMES,
Agents for the Applicant.