IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES AND APPA- BATUS FOR ANNEALING WIRE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Adcock, of the City Road, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES AND APPA-
BATUS FOR ANNEALING WIRE."
Sealed the 31st May 1859, and dated the 1st December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Adcock at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1858.
I, HENRY ADCOCK, of the City Road, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES
AND APPARATUS FOR ANNEALING WIRE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in furnaces and apparatus
for annealing wire. For these purposes the annealing pot or vessel is set in
the centre of the furnace in the usual manner, and is partly protected by a
casing of brick work at its lower parts, but in place of having only one fire-
grate as heretofore, by preference three fire-grates are constructed at equal
distances apart, so as to apply heat more uniformly around the pot or vessel,
the inner ends of the fire-gratings surrounding or nearly surrounding the pot
or vessel. The fire-bars extend so as to come through the front openings, and
the arch or brickwork over each of the fires is cut away or bevilled inwards
from the front. The fresh fuel is placed on the front ends of the fire-bars,
and is pushed inwards as it becomes ignited. When the process of heating
is complete, the unconsumed part of the fuel is drawn back, and a slide or
damper is lowered and luted or stopped, so as to prevent air passing into the
furnace. The upper part of the annealing pot or vessel is formed with a

page_text: hollow ring or groove to receive sand, in order to make a sand joint for the
cover, the circumference or edges of which descend into such groove, so that
the whole is closed by sand, which prevents the admission of air in that
direction. The upper part of the furnace is also similarly formed, with a
groove all round to receive sand, and the edge or circumference of the cover
of the furnace is made so as to descend into the groove, and such are also
the means of connecting the ends of the flue pipe leading from the cover of
the furnace to the chimney. In the centre of the annealing pot or vessel a
compound bar is placed, which is suitably connected with a pointing hand
(exterior of the furnace), which points to an index or dial, in order to show,
by the expansion and contraction of the compound bar, the temperature of the
interior of the annealing pot or vessel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Adcock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st. June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ADCOCK, of the City Road, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Adcock, Her special licence that I, the said Henry
Adcock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Henry Adcock, 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 Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR ANNEALING WIRE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Adcock, my exe-
cutors 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Adcock, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in furnaces and apparatus
for annealing wire. For these purposes the annealing pot or vessel is set in
the centre of the furnace in the usual manner, and is partly protected by a
casing of brickwork at its lower parts; but in place of having only one fire-
grate, as heretofore, by preference three fire-grates are constructed at equal
distances apart, so as to apply heat more uniformly around the pot or vessel,
the inner ends of the fire gratings surrounding or nearly surrounding the pot
or vessel. The fire-bars extend so as to come through the front openings, and
the arch or brickwork over each of the fires is cut away or bevilled inwards
from the front. The fresh fuel is placed on the front ends of the fire-bars,
and is pushed inwards as it becomes ignited. When the process of heating is
complete, the unconsumed part of the fuel of each fire is drawn back, and a
slide or damper is lowered and luted or stopped, so as to prevent air passing
into the furnace. The upper part of the annealing pot or vessel is formed
with a hollow ring or groove to receive sand, in order to make a sand joint
for the cover, the circumference or edge of which descends into such groove,
so that the whole is closed by sand, which prevents the admission of air in
that direction. The upper part of the furnace is also similarly formed with
a groove, all round to receive sand, and the edge or circumference of the
cover of the furnace is made so as to descend into the groove, and such are
also the means of connecting the ends of the flue pipe leading from the cover
of the furnace to the chinney. In the centre of the annealing pot or vessel
a compound bar is placed, which is suitably connected with a pointing hand
(exterior of the furnace,) which points to an index or dial, in order to shew, by
the expansion and contraction of the compound bar, the temperature of the
interior of the annealing pot or vessel.
The details of my Invention may be better understood by reference to the
Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are on a scale of half an inch to the foot; Figures
7, 8, 9, 10, on a scale of an inch and a half to the foot; and Figures 11, 12,
13, on a scale of six inches to the foot. The same letters of reference in the
whole of the Figures denote the same parts.
In wire-annealing furnaces as usually constructed, a cast-iron cylinder in
which the wire is put to be annealed a, a, Figure 2, is placed in the centre of
the furnace, and between that cylinder and the external wall and concentric

page_text: with them there is a circular fire-grate on which the fire is made, and which
therefore entirely surrounds the cylinder or pan, or rather would do so were
not the lower part of the pan protected from the direct action of the fire-by.
the lining of brickwork b, b. The fire-place is of the width c, c.
By my improvements as introduced into wire-annealing furnaces, I prefer
having three separate and distinct fire-grates, as seen in the plans, Figures 3
and 4; and those portions d, d, d, of the former circular fire-place lining
between the fire-grates I fill up with brickwork to the height of the lining b, b,
Figure 2, and I bevil off the upper part of such brickwork to the shape of a
wedge with its summit upwards, so that notwithstanding that there are three
separate and distinct fire-grates, the flame and heat evolved when it gets
above the lining b, b, acts uniformly on the entire external surface of the pan.
I make the fire bars to extend beyond the external wall of the furnace, as
shewn in elevation marked Figure 1, in the section marked Figure 2, and in
the ground plans marked respectively Figure 3 and Figure 4. And I prefer that
each fire-bar on its upper surface should not be more than three-eighths of an
inch, or half an inch in width, and the interstice or space between bar and bar for
the admission of air should be an eighth of an inch. I also prefer that the large
fire-brick burr or arch e should bevil inwards, as shown in Figure 2, by which
means the fire when properly attended to by the fireman burns on the fire-
grate to or a little beyond the outside wall of the furnace, whilst the greater
body of the coal in the fire-grate g beyond the wall remains without ignition.
And I take care that the coal lying against the burr entrance of such fire-
place e is kept well covered with slack or ashes. By this arrangement the
coal in the fire-grate outside the wall of the furnace in immediate contact with
the incandescent coal within the wall becomes ignited, and the greater portion
of the smoke which otherwise would take place is consumed. The furnace is
provided with the ordinary peep holes to enable the fireman to see the state of
the interior heat, and when lie by his experience, or by the aid of the
pyrometer, finds that the pan a, a, is sufficiently heated, he drops down the
fire-bars seen at 9 in elevation, Figure 1, which for that purpose are made to
move on centres in the side plates f, f. Figure 2 and Figure 4. He then
with a shovel removes from that part of the fire-grate outside the wall the
whole of the green or unconsumed coal lying there. He then lowers the damper
h, h, Figure 1 and Figure 2, which is counterbalanced by chains passing over
pulleys with attached weights down the grooves or recesses, one of which is
shewn at k, Figure 2, made in the side plates f, f, on to the fire-bars, and
lutes the junction of such damper with the fire-bars by ashes. Still further to
lute the damper to prevent as much as possible the admission of cold air into

page_text: the furnace, or heated air escaping from it, a cast-iron plate lies on the upper
surface of the burr e, e, as seen in Figure 2; it then angles downward as low
as the top of the side plate f, f, and then angles upwards, leaving a recess.
On the top of the damper on the side nearest the furnace wall is shewn an
angular shaped projecting piece, which, when the damper is lowered on to the
fire-bars, fits into such recess, and by that means makes the required lute.
To prevent the escape of heat from the wire annealing pan a, a, Figure 2,
or the admission of air or smoke to it, a circular recess filled with fine sand
surrounds the top of the pan a, a, as shown at n, n, and the pan lid m, m, has
a projecting rim all round it, which, when the lid is on, lies in such recess and
is luted by the sand. Similar luted contrivances may be seen at p, p, for the
outer furnace lid, and at 7, 9, 9, 9; for the smoke pipe s, 8.
To indicate the temperature inside the wire-annealing pan, I employ á
compound metal rod v, v, made of cast steel or other metal, with the set off
piece w, that the upper part of the compound rod may be arranged on the
outside of the smoke pipe s. On the outer furnace lid p, p, is a stuffing box x,
through which the upper part of the compound rod passes. The stuffing
box x is shewn enlarged in Figure 7, and the details still further enlarged. in
Figures 11, 12, and 13. The stuffing used for the purpose is asbestos, which
is indestructible by fire, and it is inserted into the circular space a, z, which
surrounds the upper part of the compound rod v. By increase or decrease of
temperature the compound rod expands or contracts, and such lengthening
or shortening of the rod produces. a correspondent action on the lever t, t,
Figure 11 and Figure 13, and thence on the horizontal rod y, y, y, Figures
11, 12, 13, shewn on a smaller scale at Figuré 7, where the entire length of
the horizontal rod is exhibited as resting on and moveable in the pedestals or
bearings 0, 0, 0, and terminating with a hand pointer or index, which, as seen
in Figure 1, denotes the degrees of heat within the pan a, a, by its movement
along the scale r, r. The amount of expansion produced in metal rods by
different increments of heat may be known by reference to any of the tables
which have been published on the subject.
The compound rod v, w, v, is not put into the wire annealing pan a, a,
Figure 2, until the wire that is to be annealed has been placed within it, and
it is removed from such pan previously to the wire being taken out. It is
accomplished thus:-At the bottom of the wire annealing pan a, a, there is
permanently fixed a socket piece for the reception of the lower part of the
compound rod, such socket piece being shown by vertical section and plan on
an enlarged scale in Figure 10. Such socket piece is grooved down the
opposite sides to a certain depth, and then to a short distance it is grooved

page_text: horizontally; and the lower part of the compound rod v, w, v, has a circular
pin passing through it, and projecting a little beyond its sides.
When the wire to be annealed is placed in the pan a, a, the rod v and its
set-off piece w, which is firmly secured to it, is lifted by the workman into the
pan, and the circular pin projecting from the lower part of the compound rod
is made to pass down the vertical grooves of the socket piece, and when it
reaches the end of the vertical grooves, the workman by a slight twist moves
the projecting circular pin on the rod v into the horizontal groove, which
acting as a shoulder maintains the rod in its place; he then drops the guide
bar or saddle 3, 3, Figure 2 and Figure 9, into its recesses formed against
the sides of the pan a, a, as-shewn, taking care that the top of the rod v and
of the small rod on the top of the set-off w pass through the collars which
have been made for their reception, and by which the compound rod is
maintained in its position. The workman then passes the upper part of the
compound rod or tube v through the stuffing box, and drops it on the small
rod on the top of the set-off w, as above referred to, and such tube of the
upper part of the compound rod v, w, v, is secured to that small rod on the
set-off by means of grooves and a projecting pin, precisely similar in arrange
'ment to that already described.
i
.
It is found by experience that by this arrangement when the damper h, h,
in front of the fire-place is closed, as also that in the smoke pipe s, s, 8, the
temperature within the pan a, a, very greatly increases, as is known by the
index moving along the division plate r, r.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to the
parts separately, but what I claim is,
First, the combination herein described.
And, secondly, I claim the application of a pyrometer to an annealing
furnace, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Adcock; have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
HENRY ADCOCK. (L.S.)