A NEW OR IMPROVED COKE OVEN
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Levick, of Blaina Cwm Celyn and Coal-
brook Vale Ironworks, in the County of Monmouth, Ironmaster, for the
Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED COKE OVEN."
Sealed the 22nd May 1860, and dated the 7th December 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Levick at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
December 1859.
I, FREDERICK LEVICK, of Blaina Cwm Celyn and Coalbrook Vale Iron-
5 works, in the County of Monmouth, Ironmaster, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED COKE OVEN," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists of a coke oven constructed, and worked in the fol-
lowing manner-The said coke oven is nearly square or rectangular in ground
plan, and consists essentially of three side walls, enclosing three sides of the
oven, and an arch covering in the top of the oven. The fourth side of the oven
is open, and at the said open side the fuel to be coked is charged into the oven,
and the coke produced removed therefrom. The side walls of the oven are pro-
vided with vertical flues opening into horizontal flues. The said vertical flues
communicate with the oven by means of slots, which said slots run the whole
length of the flues, and establish a communication between them and the oven.

page_text: The said vertical flues are thus in communication with the oven through their
whole length. By means of dampers in the vertical flues the access of air
may be regulated at pleasure. The manufacture of coke in ovens constructed
according to my Invention, is as economical and efficient as its manufacture in
ordinary coke ovens, while the coke obtained is as pure as that made by coking
in the open air.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Levick in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th June 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
LEVICK, of Blaina Cwm Celyn and Coalbrook Vale Ironworks, in the County
of Monmouth, Ironmaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Frederick Levick, Her special licence that I, the said Frederick
Levick, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Frederick Levick, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED
COKE OVEN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick
Levick, 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 months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Levick 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:-
My Invention consists of a coke oven constructed and worked in the manner
herein-after explained and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing. Figure 1,

page_text: represents in front elevation a coke oven constructed according to my Inven-
tion; Figure 2 represents a plan of the same (partly in section), and Figure 3:
represents a vertical section of the same, taken through the line a, Figure 2.;
The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
My new or improved coke oven is made by preference nearly square or;
rectangular in ground plan, but I do not limit myself thereto as it may be made
of a semicircular figure with the same effect. The oven consists essentially of,
three walls enclosing three sides of the oven, and an arch covering the top of;
the oven.
The walls are marked b, c, d, respectively, and the arch is marked e,.
in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The fourth side of the oven is open, and at the said open;
side the fuel to be coked is charged, and the coke produced is removed there-
from through the said open side. The walls are provided with flués constructed:
and arranged in the following manner :-The wall c constituting the back of the:
coke oven has a series of vertical flues f, f, which said flues communicate with,
the oven by means of slots g, g. The said slots extend only to about one-third.
the height of the wall c, and are wider at bottom than at top, as best seen in
Figure 1. The side walls b, d, have flues which start from the bottom of the.
back wall c, at the points marked h in Figure 2, and pursuing the course indi-,
cated by dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3, open into the atmosphere at i, i. The
introduction of flues into the side walls band d, causes greater uniformity in the
heat of the oven. I build a number of my new or improved coke ovens
together, placing them side by side, and back to back, as represented in the
Drawing, but I have only thought it necessary to describe the parts of one of
the said ovens. During the process of coking, the tops of the several flues-
are partially closed by having dampers placed upon them so as more or less to
cover or close the said flues. One of these dampers, on a larger scale than the
coke oven, is represented in Figure 4, the said damper being represented in eleva-
tion at k, and in plan at l. A drag m is placed on the bottom of the coke oven
for the purpose of withdrawing the coke from the oven.
In using my new or improved coke oven, the coal to be coked is charged in
the oven at the open side, a small fire being previously lighted when necessary
on the floor of the oven and near the back. When the oven is charged with
coal immediately after the withdrawal of a charge of coke, the oven is suffi-
ciently hot to ignite the fresh charge of coal. As the combustion spreads
towards the open side of the coke oven and the coking of the lower portions of
the coal is completed, the exposed surface of the coke is protected from the
action of the air by being "dampered" with coal dust or fire-brick, or other-
wise, as is well understood, the "dampering " being continued as the combus-
tion progresses, until the whole of the open side of the coke oven is " dampered"

page_text: up.
The dampers Figure 4 are at the same time made more and more to cover
and close the flues f and i, and the draught of air through the coke oven is thereby
regulated to suit the requirements of the coking process. As the combustion
commences at or near the flues, the volatile products which are produced as
the combustion spreads have to pass over strongly-heated coke in their passage
to the flues and suffer decomposition, carbon being deposited, and the yield of
coke consequently increased. The manufacture of coke in ovens constructed
according to my Invention is as economical and efficient as its manufacture
in ordinary coke ovens, while the coke obtained is of as good quality as that
made by coking in the open air.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner of carry-
ing the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same may be
varied without departing from the nature of my Invention. But I claim as
my Invention the new or improved coke oven herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, a coke oven closed
on three sides and at top, and open on the fourth side, at which open side
coal is introduced and the coke withdrawn, the side and back walls having
flues as described and represented.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Levick have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred sixty.
Witness,
J. HAWKER SOPER, Surgeon,
Blaina, Mon.
FRED. LEVICK. (L.S.)