IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CUPOLA FURNACES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CUPOLA
FURNACES." A communication from abroad by Addison Smith, of New
York City, in the State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 10th May 1864, and dated the 15th March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th March 1864.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CUPOLA
FURNACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of cupola
furnaces which will render them capable of producing iron for casting in
better condition and with a more economical use of fuel than heretofore.
The lower portion, or all that part of the furnace below the charging door, is
made of an oblong form in cross section, and of such shape that the four sides
shall represent arcs of circles whose radii are about the same, whereby great
strength is afforded, and the blast is allowed more equally to penetrate the

page_text: mass of fuel and induce to a more perfect combustion thereof. The body of
the furnace consists of a thin shell of iron, which is lined with fire-brick.
The peculiar configuration above mentioned is maintained to the bottom of
the furnace, which consists of a plate of iron supported on pillars and fitted
with doors for discharging the contents of the furnace. Above the furnace
hearth a tapering bosh is suspended by bolting the metal casing of the same
to the metal shell of the furnace. The object of thus contracting the
dimensions of the bosh is to obtain an annular air space surrounding the
lower portion of the furnace. In this space segmental deflecting and sustaining
plates are used, which serve to deflect and guide the blasts of air introduced
to the air space or chamber, and also tend to support and strengthen the bosh
of the furnace. Tuyere boxes are set round this space and brought into
connection therewith for the purpose of throwing, blasts of air therein, which
are deflected under the bosh. The furnace is divided vertically into four parts
for the purpose of making a portion-of-each of two opposite sides of the
furnace removable, the whole being so constructed that after the removal or
detachment of the side portions the remaining parts may be readily united or
connected, whereby the capacity and shape of the furnace may be varied at
pleasure. The opening in the bottom plate for discharging the contents of
the furnace is closed by a pair of doors called dumping doors, which are
severally worked by an arrangement of lazy-tongs and levers attached to
pendent brackets; and fitted with a roller for bearing against the doors and
keeping them in position. This lazy-tongs arrangement enables the doors to
be worked more easily and rapidly than by the means heretofore employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the, Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 15th September 1864.
..TO ALL: TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery. Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting::
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her. Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself; Her. heirs. and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CUPOLA FURNACES," being a
communication from abroad, upon: the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in. writing under .my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and, ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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...
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the: said:Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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. Drawings hereunto.annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention, as communicated to me from, abroad, relates to certain
"Improvements in the Construction of..Cupola Furnaces," and has for its object
to-render such furnaces capable of producing iron for casting in better condition
and with a more economical use of fuel than heretofore. ...
The Invention consists; firstly; in constructing the lower portion, or all that
part of the furnace below the charging door, of an oblong form in cross.section,
and of such shape that. the four sides shall represent arcs of circles; whose
radii are about the same, whereby great strength is afforded, and the
penetration of the mass of fuel by the blast is facilitated and a more perfect
combustion is induced.
...
.:
.1. j....
Secondly, in so constructing the furnace, and applying the blast, as that the
blast shall enter the furnace under the bosh in a continuously surrounding
and unobstructed sheet, substantially as herein-after, more fully explained,
whereby a more even and perfect combustion is produced, and the metal. is
melted to a more desirable condition:..
Thirdly, in the arrangement in a continuous air space surrounding the lower
portion of the furnace of deflecting and sustaining plates, which serve to deflect
and guide the blasts of air-introduced to the air space or chamber, and also
tend to support and strengthen the bosh of the furnace, all as herein-after
more fully set forth.
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་
Fourthly, in making a portion of each of two opposite sides of the furnace
removable," and so constructing the whole that after the removal or detach-

page_text: ment of said portions, the remaining portions may be readily united or con-
nected, whereby the capacity and shape of the furnace may be varied at
pleasure.
Fifthly, in a novel construction of bottom or dumping doors which are more
rapidly and perfectly worked than the doors are worked by the means hereto-
fore employed.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a partial vertical section of a
cupola furnace built in accordance with this Invention, and Fig. 2 is a hori-
zontal section of the same at the line X, X, Fig. 1.
A is the body of the furnace; B, the bosh, which, together with the stack or
top portion, are built of the material usually employed, and encased by a thin
iron jacket or shell a, the whole resting on a plate C. This plate is supported
by pillars L, L, and fitted with swing doors (as will be more particularly
described hereafter), through which the furnace is dumped when it is required
to be cleared out for recharging. The case or jacket a continues down to the
plate C of a form corresponding to the form (in cross section) of the body of
the furnace, but the bosh B it will be observed tapers inward (as clearly seen
at Fig. 1) and is sustained by an annular iron case or shell 6 bolted at c to
the case a, and formed with a flange portion d to sustain the brickwork e of
the bosh, an annular space or air chamber D is thus left around the bosh of a
capacity increasing towards its base, and communicating with the hearth E
of the furnace by a continuous or hearth-surrounding aperture or opening g.
The walls of the hearth E are so located and arranged that the hearth is
somewhat larger in superficial area than the bottom of the bosh, so that the
edges of the hearth walls project outward a short distance from the inner
edge of the bosh all around. The object and effect of thus having the lower
portion of the bosh (where it opens into the hearth) smaller than the hearth
is to induce the blast to penetrate more thoroughly the mass of fuel in the
hearth and lower portion of the bosh, as illustrated by the arrows in Fig. 1.
F is the charging door, h is a sustaining and strengthening ring, which may be
duplicated if thought best; it is bolted to the inner face of the jacket a.
This
jacket or case a is made with a detachable or removable portion a³ in each
of its two broadest sides (see Fig. 2), which portions a² are secured through
their flanges by bolts 62 to the main portion of jacket or case a, and when
used in connection therewith virtually form a part of it. That portion of the
lining or brickwork c which fits to the portions a³ is disconnected (except by
cement joint) from the main portion of the brickwork, so that the former can
be taken out without disturbing the main portion. At Fig. 5 the furnace
is shewn in cross section after the removal of the portions a² and the reuniting

page_text: of the other portions to form a smaller cupola. It will be understood that
when it is desired to reduce the size of the furnace the portions a² and c³ are
detached and the other portions are pushed together on the plate C, which is
made of an area sufficient to receive the base of the furnace when complete.
To restore the furnace to the size and shape seen at Fig. 2 it is only necessary
to draw apart the two portions seen at Fig. 5 and to insert the brickwork c³
and iron plates as in their proper position, as shewn at Figures 2. Figures 3
and 4 are similar cross sections at the line y, y, Fig. 1, showing two different
arrangements of deflecting and sustaining plates. In these Figures, I and J
represent the deflecting plates, and G and H the tuyere boxes and their supply
pipes. In Fig. 3 the furnace is shown provided with two tuyere boxes G, G,
through which the blasts are discharged into the chamber D or space around the
bosh, and in this space are arranged four curved plates I, which form by their
peculiar shape and location (as shown clearly) two chambers for the reception
of the blasts; but it will be seen that the two chambers or spaces thus formed
run into each other (by the plates I coming together on a knife-edge at m²)
in such a manner that while the currents of blast are deflected towards the
centre of the furnace or hearth, and guided by the plates I, the blast at the
same time is free to enter the hearth and bosh at every point of their
perimeter. Fig. 4 shows eight deflecting plates J and four tuyere boxes G,
one on each side of the furnace. In this Figure it will be seen that the
plates J are so arranged as to cut off from the blast the corner portions of the
surrounding space D, and so as to come together at four points m', allowing
the blasts entering from the four tuyere boxes G to enter all around the bosh,
and at the same time guiding and condensing the blast so as to induce it to
enter the mass of fuel evenly and so as to produce the most desirable effect.
It will be understood that the plates J and I, shown at Figures 4 and 3, also
serve to strengthen and support the tapering bosh B, and that the said plates
may be arranged in other ways than those shown (in connection with any
number of tuyere boxes) for the purpose set forth. Fig. 6 shows in detail a
tuyere box of the kind proposed to be used. This box is bolted to the case
or jacket a of the furnace, and is formed with a flange, to which is readily
bolted the end of the supply pipe, which it is preferred shall enter the box G
in about a horizontal position. In Fig. 1 the whole structure is shown as
sustained by columns L in a manner well known. The swing doors which
close the bottom of the furnace are shewn at i, i; they come together
across the centre of the bottom of the hearth (as seen also at Figures 2
and 5). These doors are hinged at 2, so as to drop by their own weight. when
unsupported into the position shewn by red lines, and they are raised and held
:

page_text: +
is pivotted to
be seen that by
up by means of rolls p hung in the extremities of the arms m, which latter are
pivotted near their centres to a stationary hanger or pendent arm n.. To the
outer end of each arm m is pivotted one end of a link l, the pendent end of
which is pivotted to a lever k. The inner end of the lever
the lower portion of the hanger or-fixed pendant n. It will
moving the outer end of the lever k up and down, the doors will be opened
and closed. This mechanism for operating the doors i, i; is simple and
effective, and is much more desirable than the mode ordinarily practised of
sustaining the doors with a prop.
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.:
From the foregoing description it will be understood that by the first part of
the Invention a cupola furnace may be produced which will be simple and very
strong and light, while at the same time the blast will be enabled from the
narrowness of the bosh in one direction to penetrate the mass of material with
facility without the blast being required to be intensified, and it will be seen
that by contracting the bosh as it approaches the hearth of the furnace the
area of the mass of fuel where the "blast enters is greatly reduced, which has
been found to conduce to a more perfect combustion of the fuel; and enables
one to melt more iron under the same conditions than could be melted if the
furnace extended down of the same size or area in cross section all the way.
It will be seen that the radii of the arcs forming the sides of the furnace may
be varied without losing the advantages ascribed to or departing from the
spirit of the Invention, so long as they are combined in such manner as to
form an oblong figure in cross section.
.
.....
By the second part of the Invention it will be seen that the mass of fuel,
&c. in the furnace receives an unobstructed and surrounding blast, which
penetrates evenly at every point the entire mass in the bosh and hearth. I am
aware that it has been already suggested to provide the furnace with a con-
tinuous and surrounding air space, from which the blast entered the furnace,
but I have not known of any construction of furnace in which the blast was
unobstructed in its passage from all points toward the mass of fuel in the
furnace, and guided so as to be concentrated from all points toward the centre
of the furnace.
" :..
By the third part of the Invention the blast may be effectually controlled
(when a few tuyere boxes are used) and also the furnace strengthened, but it
will be understood that these plates may be entirely dispensed with if deemed
expedient without affecting the other and main features and advantages of the
Invention. It sometimes occurs that à furnace adapted for melting a given
quantity of iron to the best advantage becomes comparatively valueless from
circumstances compelling the operator to melt a greater or less quantity: than

page_text: that to which his furnace is adapted, involving the necessity of having different
sized furnaces to work at different times or seasons. This objection or
difficulty it is believed has been overcome by the fourth part of the Invention,
as already described, viz., by constructing a furnace in such manner that its
iron case or jacket, and also its brick portion, may be enlarged or decreased
in size, as herein-before set forth. It will be seen that by the improved
apparatus for operating the doors the furnace may be discharged or dumped
with great facility.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improvements in the
construction of cupola furnaces, as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,
Firstly, constructing a furnace of oblong form in cross section, with its
sides in the form of arcs of circles, substantially in the manner and for the
purpose set forth.
Secondly, I claim so constructing a furnace and combining it with a
surrounding blast space as that there shall be an uninterrupted and surround-
ing flow of blast into the bosh and half of the furnace, as and for the purpose
herein-before described.
Thirdly, I claim the employment, in combination with the bosh and a
surrounding blast chamber or space, of deflecting or guiding and sustaining
plates, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.
Fourthly, I claim varying the capacity of the furnace in the manner
described..
Fifthly, I claim the employment, in combination with the doors i, i, of the
mechanism shewn and described for operating the said doors.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)