Improvements in or relating to Electric Furnaces for the Production of Calcium Carbide and other Substances.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th Sept., 1898--Accepted, 26th Nov.,
1898
Improvements in or relating to Electric Furnaces for the Production
of Calcium Carbide and other Substances.
We, JOSEPH BASTICK, of 1, Carrill Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Electrical Engineer, and WILLIAM ARTHUR THORNTON, of
Belper House, Market Place, Wetherby, in the County of York, Manager, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with electric furnaces
that are used or employed for the production of calcium carbide and other
substances.
Hitherto there has been a great expenditure of the electrical current in fur-
naces as at present constructed that are employed for the production of calcium
carbide from coke and lime to produce their fusion. This is partly owing to the
construction of what is termed the box in which the fusion takes place which
permits only a small quantity of the material to be acted upon at a time. And
partly owing to the form in which the material has been submitted to the
action of the electric current as it passes under or between the hearth and the
carbons.
Now the object of the present invention is not only to economise the electric
current but at the same time to so construct and operate the furnace box that a
larger quantity of prepared material may not only be presented to the action
of the current and more completely fused than in furnaces of ordinary construc-
tion.
According to this invention the box of the furnace may be made either
circular or square in shape and of metal, as hitherto, with its walls lined with
fire brick or fireclay. The bottom of the box may be hinged or otherwise con-
nected to the cylindrical or square part to provide a ready means for discharging
its contents. The hearth may be formed of carbon or broken coke and it is
mounted and fixed to and upon the bottom of the box in any convenient manner.
Or instead of making the whole of the bottom of the box to be removed there
may be a central or other opening in the hearth and bottom of the box, or hearth
alone, capable of being suitably plugged or closed. The bottom may be held up
and released by any convenient arrangement of lever or levers.
Within the furnace is or are provided one or more fixed or revolving tables or
platforms mounted on suitable shafts capable if required of being rotated at the
same or varying speeds by worm or other gearing actuated by any convenient
arrangement say of belts and speed pulleys receiving motion from any convenient
source of power. On the top of each table is mounted and fixed one of the above
Any
described furnace boxes which is conveyed thereto by any suitable means.
required number of stationary or revolving carbon pencils are employed and
they are but arranged out of the centre so as to be capable of revolving around
the axis or centre of the hearth arranged in a vertical position so as to pass within
the box over the fixed or rotating hearth but capable of being raised or lowered

page_text: as required automatically say by the solinoid action or by hand say means of
one or more hand wheels and screws connected to one or more wire ropes (passing
over pulleys) each armed with a suitably insulated connection for receiving the
upper end of the carbon pencil or pencils.
When the carbon pencil or pencils is or are made to revolve within the box
or in axial bearings they may be mounted in suitable bearings that permit of
them not only rising and falling as required but also to revolve, such motion
being either by hand or automatically by any suitable form of gearing either
alone or in conjunction with the solenoid action before mentioned.
When the carbon pencil or pencils are a fixture the furnace box and its sup-
porting table or framework may if desired have a rising and falling motion
imparted to it in addition to the rotary motion.
Any required number of furnace boxes and carbons may be arranged in a
furnace.
The material to be operated upon after being properly mixed is fed to the
hearth through one or more hoppers connected to suitable spouts or chutes
arranged in or to pass through the brick work of the furnace, so as to deliver the
material on to the hearth on one or both sides of and near to the carbon pencil
or pencils. Suitable dampers or louvres being also employed if required for
directing material to the required chute or spout.
By making the box and hearth to revolve around the fixed or revolving carbon
pencil or pencils a much larger quantity of material may be continuously
operated upon until the box is filled to a predetermined height in a more satis-
factory manner than in furnaces of ordinary construction.
The other parts of the furnace, the switch board or boards, and the means for
conveying the electric current to and from the furnace may be of the usual and
ordinary construction.
Dated this Sixth day of December 1807
JOSEPH BASTICK.
WILLIAM ARTHUR THORNTON.
Improvements in or relating to Electric Furnaces for the Production
of Calcium Carbide and other Substances.
We, JOSEPH BASTICK, late of 1, Carrill Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, but now of 110, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath,
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Electrical Engineer, and WILLIAM
ARTHUR THORNTON, of Belper House, Market Place, Wetherby, in the County of
York, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with electric furnaces
that are used or employed for the production of calcium carbide and other
substances.
Hitherto there has been a great expenditure of the electrical current in fur-
naces as at present constructed that are employed for the production of calcium
carbide from coke and lime to produce their fusion. This is partly owing to
the construction of what is termed the furnace box in which the fusion takes
place which permits only a small quantity of the material to be acted upon at a
time. And partly owing to the form in which the material has been submitted

page_text: to the action of the electric current as it passes under or between the hearth and
the carbons.
Now the object of the present invention is not only to economise the electric
current but at the same time to so construct and operate the furnace box that
a larger quantity of prepared material may be presented to the action of the
current and more completely fused than in furnaces of ordinary construction.
In the drawings hereunto annexed: -
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of an electric furnace constructed according to
this invention with a rectangular box shown partly in section and partly in
elevation mounted upon a rising and falling table.
Fig. 2 a sectional plan of same on line
box and a part of the reciprocating table.
x Fig. 1 showing part of the furnace
Fig. 3 an elevation of a furnace box with mechanism for imparting.an oscil-
lating motion thereto.
Fig. 4 a plan of same.
Like parts in all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.
The furnace may be built of brick and lined with firebrick in the ordinary
manner, as shown at Fig. 1, but the furnace is preferably built in the manner
illustrated in the accompanying drawings with openings for the admission of the
furnace boxes A and trolleys O constructed as hereafter described.
A is the furnace box which may be made in any convenient shape, such as
rectangular, square, or circular; a rectangular box is shown in the drawings
at Fig. 2 The furnace box is made of metal as hitherto, and it is lined with
firebrick a, or fire-clay, or other non-conducting materials The bottom A¹ of
the box A may be hinged to the walls to provide a ready means for discharging
the contents of the box into the wagon or trolley O, arranged to run upon the
rails into and out of the furnace. The bottom A¹ may be held up in position
by a catch, lever or levers, screw and hand wheel, or by any suitable and con-
venient arrangement of gearing. The hearth B may be formed of carbon or
broken coke, and it is mounted and fixed upon the hinged bottom A¹ in any
convenient manner. Or instead of making the whole of the bottom of the box
to be removed there may be if so desired, a central hole or other opening in the
hearth B and bottom A¹, or hearth alone, which opening may be closed by any
suitable plug held in position, say, by a weighted lever jointed or fulcrummed
to the said box A.
The furnace box A is mounted between guides D, which work in the slides D', .
and the furnace box is provided on each side thereof at its lower edge with a
projecting flange E which is made to pass between the lower portion of the
guides D and the top of the rising and falling table F. The space between the
bottom of the guides D and top of the rising and falling table F forming a
slide in which the flanges E reciprocate. A reciprocating motion is imparted to
the box A from a worm G,-mounted on a shaft G¹ receiving a rotary motion
from any convenient source of power, and worm wheel G2 mounted on a stud g
fixed to the plate E¹, and a connecting rod G³, one end of which is attached to a
pin G fixed in the under surface of the worm wheel G2 out of centre, whilst the
opposite end of the rod G³ is attached to the furnace box A.
In order to cause the table F to rise and fall as required a rack and pinion
may be provided, or as shown in the drawings the table F is provided with a
long hollow boss F which has a screw thread of suitable pitch cut upon its
periphery. On the periphery of the boss F1 is mounted and screwed a worm
wheel H which acts as a nut for the screw on the boss F¹. The worm wheel H
is arranged to rest and work upon the brackets I suitably fixed to or built into
the brickwork of the furnace. A rotary motion is imparted to the worm wheel H
by a worm H' mounted on the shaft H2 to which an intermittent, rotary motion
may be imparted from the shaft J through gearing H3 and H4 and vertical
shaft H. A clutch J¹ operated by a suitable lever being employed on the shaft J
for throwing the shaft H5 into and out of motion. At Fig. 1 one half of each

page_text: furnace box is shown at its highest position, whilst the other half is shown at its
lowest.
If required the rectangular box A may be replaced by a circular one shown in
dot and dash lines at A Fig. 2, rotating in suitable guides D. When a circular
box is employed it may be clamped or otherwise rigidly fixed to the table F, 5
which in its turn is securely fixed to the worm wheel H, and by making the
brackets I to slide vertically in the guides D and disconnecting the means for
producing the reciprocating motion, a revolving furnace box with a revolving
hearth may be readily provided.
When it is desired to impart a semi-rotary or oscillating motion to the fur- 1
nace box A the stud or pin G4,-to which the inner end of the connecting rod G³
is attached, may be mounted in a slide G6 provided in the bottom of box A as
shown at Figs. 3 and 4.
Any desired number of furnace boxes may be provided in a furnace.
One or more carbon pencils K is or are provided and their holders or carriers
are attached to and mounted out of centre in the worm wheel L which is
employed for conveying a rotary motion thereto. In the drawings the carbon
pencil K is shown a fixture so far as regards vertical adjustment, but it or they
is or are capable of receiving a rotary or eccentric movement in a horizontal
direction. But if required a vertical adjustment may also be provided by means
of the usual and ordinary arrangement of insulated wire rope passing over guide
pulleys and connected to an eyebolt operated by a hand wheel mounted between
the lugs of a plate fixed to the front of the furnace so that the boss of the hand
wheel acts as a nut for the screw threaded end of the eye bolt. Or the carbon
pencils may be raised or lowered automatically or electrically by the solenoid
action. On the under side of the worm wheel L is a boss which works in the
axial bearing M of the fixing M₁. A rotary motion is imparted to the worm
wheel L from a worm Ja mounted on shaft J and which may be thrown in and
out of motion by a clutch J' operated by a suitable lever. The carbon pencil is
protected by a guard N (which forms the subject of a separate application for
Letters Patent dated 8th September 1898 No. 19116) made of wrought or cast
iron, or gun metal, and it is filled with any suitable non-conducting material
such as asbestos, or fireclay. The guard, in addition to moving with the car-
bon pencil, is capable of receiving a vertical movement in, say, a slide, and to be
adjusted by a rack N' and pinion N2 operated by hand wheel N³, or by a worm,
so that the carbon is only exposed at the point of fusion.
O is a wagon or trolley mounted upon wheels arranged to run upon the rails (¹
into and out of the furnace through the opening made therein.
The material to be operated upon after being properly ground and mixed is
fed to the hearth B through one or more hoppers connected to suitable spouts
or chutes P arranged in or to pass through the brickwork of the furnace, so as
to deliver the material on to the hearth B on one or both sides of and near to
the carbon pencil or pencils K. Suitable dampers or louvres not shown in the
drawings may also be employed if required for directing material to the required
chute or spout P.
By making the box A and hearth B to reciprocate about or revolve around the
fixed or revolving carbon pencil or pencils K a much larger quantity of material
may be continuously operated upon until the box is filled to a predetermined
height in a more satisfactory manner than in furnaces of ordinary construction.
The other parts of the furnace, the switch board or boards, and the means for
conveying the electric current to and from the furnaces by means of a positive
lead Q and a negative lead R, may be of the usual and ordinary construction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we would have it understood
that we are aware that electric furnaces have been employed for many years prior
to the date of this application for the reduction of metals, in which processes coke
and lime have been used, also that calcium carbide has been previously produced

page_text: by the fusion of coke and lime in the electric furnace, we therefore do not broadly
claim the use of such furnaces for the purposes named except when constructed
as herein described, but what we do claim is :-
In an electric furnace, such as herein described and illustrated, a furnace box
lined with a non-conducting material and having a hinged bottom upon which a
carbon hearth is mounted," said box being capable of being wholly or partially
rotated around, or reciprocated about, and of also being raised or lowered to and
from one or more carbon pencils moving in fixed centres, and the means described
for actuating and operating the furnace box and carbon pencils, all arranged and
combined as and for the purposes described and as illustrated in the accompany-
ing drawings.
1000