CLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTER
Year: 1876

page_text: WILSON'S AMENDED DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF
ALTERATION.
[The words printed in Italic are in Red Ink in the original.]
In the Matter of a Patent granted to ALEXANDER WILSON, of Sheffield, in
the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES," the same bearing date the 7th day of
December 1876, No. 4746.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to be
entered by the said Alexander Wilson, as such Patentee as aforesaid, pur-
suant to the Statutes in that case made and provided.
WHEREAS since filing the Specification to the said Letters Patent for "Improve-
ments in the Manufacture of Armour Plates," I have been advised that it is desirable
to exclude from the operation of the Patent a manner of working which is described
in my said Specification; and, further, that my said Specification may be considered
to be to some extent ambiguous, and may be supposed to claim more than it is my
intention and desire to claim :
omitting
And whereas I do not attach such importance to the manner of working above
referred to as to desire to make or retain any claim in respect to the same, and I
also desire to remove any ambiguity which may be found in my Specification, I
therefore, for these reasons, desire to Disclaim and Alter my said Specification, and
I do hereby Disclaim and Alter the same by inserting at page 2 of the Specification,
as it is printed by Her Majesty's Printers, in line 18, after the words This mode
of working," the words following: which has before been suggested but not-prae-
tienlly-earried-out.",
enables, inserting in lieu thereof
A
The modes of working herein-after described enable
in line 42, after the word "manufacture,"
"
in accordance with this part of my Invention.
Also by inserting at page 3,, at-the-end-of-line 40, the words following: "My
"-new-manner of accomplishing this object is as follows: I erect the back and
face plates in a furnace, by-preference a gas furnace, in such manner that the
" draft of the furnace may traverse the space between the plates, entering at one
end-and-eseaping at the other; and when the plates are thus highly heated I
D. 131

page_text: -elose-the-spaces-at-the-ends of the plates,
thus-completing-a-mould, into which t
"-then-pour-the-hard-metal-in-a-molten-state."
Also by striking out, at page 4, the lines 9 to 15 inclusive.
Also, on the same page, by inserting in line 31, after the word "Patent," the
words following :- "I do not claim, generally, uniting plates of wrought iron or
" steel with hard metal by bringing them into contact whilst the hard metal is in a
"fused state, but."
And in order that the effect of this Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration
may be better understood, I annex a copy of the Specification as it will appear
when such Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration has been made, as
aforesaid.
«
"
«
"
"TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
WILSON, of Sheffield,' in the County of York, 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 seventy-six, in the Fortieth year of Her reign,
"did for herself, her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
"Alexander Wilson, Her special license that I, the said Alexander Wilson, my
" executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Wilson,
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 THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR
PLATES,' upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Wilson,
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 :-
<<
«
14
" NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Alexander Wilson, 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 :-
«
"
"The object of this Invention is to produce armour plates of any desired thickness
"with facility and economy, and to give them a hardness and toughness which has
"not hitherto been obtained. To this end, instead of relying upon the welding
process for producing the desired thickness of armour plate, I unite the layers of
metal, of which the plate is formed, by fusion, so that the metal at the con-
«tact surfaces will run together and form a perfect union. This modes of
"working
"
"
[t
"E
in
16.
.
"
herein-after described
The
A
which-has-before-been-suggested-but-not-practically carried-out, enables
me to combine soft iron or soft steel with hard metal, and thereby to produce a
plate which will possess the hardness due to cast metal and the toughness due to
wrought metal.
"
My plan of operation admits of several variations, but in all cases the same
principle is followed out, so far as respects the uniting of the hard and soft metals
by fusion.
"One mode of proceeding is to put a wrought-iron or soft steel plate (which I
" afterwards describe as a foundation or backing plate) into a mould or receptacle
"formed of ganister, and situate below the crown of a re-heating furnace which
may be heated by gas or other means. After subjecting the plate to the furnace
" for a sufficient time to raise it to the required temperature, I run on to the surface
of such heated plate refined iron, steel, or hard metal in a molten state and
in any desired quantity, such refined iron, steel, or hard metal having been

page_text: **
"
名名
previously prepared in a Bessemer converting vessel, refinery, or other suitable
furnace. When this is effected, I lift off the crown of the re-heating furnace
by means of a crane or other suitable appliance, and lower on to the now coated
plate a chill plate or other covering to prevent any further action taking place
"on the "metal." The plate is then allowed to cool down before being taken
"
"out of the furnace.
"
"In Sheet 3 of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 shews in longitudinal
section, Figure 2, in sectional plan view, and Figure 3, in transverse section, a
re-heating furnace adapted for carrying out the above-described process.
"A is the bed of the furnace; B, the combustion chamber; C is the crown of
"the furnace, which is formed in sections and secured by cramps and frames so
" as to allow of its being removed at pleasure to give access to the interior of
"the furnace; D is the foundation or backing plate, composed of wrought iron or
" soft steel. This plate is laid upon the bed of the furnace, and around it are built
up the walls E, of ganister or other refractory inaterial, to a height equal to
"the thickness of the armour plate intended to be made. Over this plate D the
" flame and heated gases of the furnace are allowed to play until it has been raised
"to a welding heat or thereabouts, at which time it is ready to receive the hard
"metal which is to form the face of the armour plate.
¢
"The bottom and edges of the foundation or backing plate it will be seen are
"protected from the heat of the furnace by the bed, which is coated with ganister,
"and the walls E, which together constitute a mould for the armour plate. The
"refined iron or hard metal having been previously prepared, as before mentioned,
"is brought to the furnace in a travelling ladle F and run on to the foundation
plate through a hole G in the side of the furnace to any desired thickness, as
shown at H. The combustion chamber of the furnace is now dampered off by
dropping the damper I, and the crown C is removed to allow of the introduction
"of a chill plate, which is lowered on to the molten metal to prevent the action of
"the air on the molten metal and to harden the surface.
"
"
*1
"When the metal has had time to set, the armour plate is removed from the
"mould (by means of a crane, not shewn, traversing over the furnace), and
deposited in any suitable place.
"
"When steel has been used as a facing, I may find it desirable to subject the
"armour plates after removal from the furnace to the action of rolling mills, for
the purpose of giving fibre to the metal, or for reducing it to any desired
thickness.
#
*F
**
"Before subjecting the plate to the action of the rolls I place it in a-re-heating
furnace in order to raise the now united mass of metal to an uniform temperature.
"In lieu of the arrangement of furnace shown in Sheet 1 it may sometimes be
convenient to place the foundation or backing plate on a "bogie" or loose furnace
bottom, furnished with a mould of ganister, as above explained, and run it into
"the furnace from the side or end thereof. When the plate is sufficiently heated
"the molten metal is to be run on, as before described. The bogie with the plate
is withdrawn from the furnace to receive a chill plate or other covering as
previously explained.
Another method of effecting the same object (being a slight modification of that
"above described) is to apply to the heated foundation plate refined iron, steel,> or
"hard metal while in a solid state, and to expose the same to the heat of the
"furnace until it is melted. This heat I still further maintain until a union of the
molten metal with the contact face of the foundation plate has been effected. The
refined iron, steel, or hard metal which I employ for this purpose is obtained by
breaking up plates into pieces of a size convenient for handling. These pieces
are thrown into the mould of the furnace gradually in order that they may melt
and unite with the base plate, and afterwards by suitable additions form the
requisite thickness for the facing of the armour plate.
<
It will be understood that the proportionate thickness of the base plate and

page_text: "facing metal may be varied to suit varying requirements. I may however state,
as an example of the proportions used, that in manufacturing a twenty-inch plate
I propose to give the base plate a thickness of about twelve inches, and the facing
metal a thickness of eight inches.
"
1.
$5
"
#
"In some cases I propose to make the armour plate with a tough face as well
as a tough backing, and to rely upon an intermediate layer of hard metal, which
unites the back and face plates together for imparting the required resisting
power to the armour plate.
«
My new manner of accomplishing this object is as follows:-
*.
"I crect the back and face plates in a furnace, by preference a gas furnace, in
"such manner that the draft of the furnace may traverse the space between the
plates, entering at one end and escaping at the other, and when the plates are
thus highly heated, I close the spaces at the ends of the plates, thus completing a
mould, into which I then pour the hard metal in a molten state.
f
€5
"In Sheet II. of the Drawings I have shewn the manner of carrying out the
" in accordance with this part of my Invention
"manufacture
*
A
Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a gas furnace
suitably arranged for this purpose; Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the same
taken in the line 1, 2, of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a transverse section taken in
❝line 3, 4, of the same Figure.
[
"
"
"
"
"
"A and B are two wrought-iron or steel plates set up edgewise in the gas
"furnace. The flame obtained from the mingled gas and air supplied to the furnace
alternately by the flues C, C¹, and D, D', is conducted between the plates A and B
by a flue E formed of refractory material F, and by refractory bricks F' laid
across the upper edges of the plates. After passing the flame alternately from
"the opposite ends of the furnace in the usual manner of working gas furnaces
"until the inner surfaces of the plates are sufficiently heated, I place and make
secure a refractory brick slab at each end of the plates so as to close up the
"flues E, thus forming a mould, into which I run the refined iron, steel, or other hard
"metal through a hole in the removable furnace crown out of a ladle, which I bring
" into position over the furnace by means of a tramway or travelling crane. To
permit of this I form in one of the refractory bricks F¹, below the hole in the
" furnace crown, a hole to admit the inetal to the mould. When the mould is filled
I close the hole in the fire-brick with a tile to prevent the boiling up of the
" inetal. After the lining of refined iron, steel, or other hard metal has united
"with the side plates and set, I lift off the furnace crown and take out the plate.
" When steel is used as a lining it can then be taken and placed in a suitable
reheating furnace, reheated and rolled to any required thickness, and it may be
bent and shaped as desired. The steel backing plates can be made from wrought
" steel or simply cast steel annealed.
<<
"
"
15
+6
"
"In making armour plates it is frequently necessary to give them a curved
shape. To permit of this, when manufacturing plates according to my Invention
(after the first-described method), that is, when applying molten refined iron to a
backing plate of soft iron, I give the backing plate the required curve, and place
it on the bed of the furnace with the convex face uppermost. When the plate is
raised to the welding heat, as before explained, I place over it a cast-iron shield
of corresponding form with flanges on all sides of a depth equal to the thickness
of armour plate desired; and I thus form with the backing plate and chill a
"mould with a capacity equal to the reception of the molten metal required to
form the facing of the armour plate. When the metal has been run into this
"mould and allowed a sufficient time to set it is taken out of the furnace with the
"chill' and put aside to cool.
#
"
#
*
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
"Manufacture of Armour Plates," 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 do not claim generally uniting plates of wrought iron or steel with hard
"metal by bringing them into contact whilst the hard metal is in a fused state, but
ss

page_text: "I claim uniting plates of wrought iron or steel with hard metal in the manner
"and for the purpose above explained."
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Wilson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 12th day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
I hereby grant my Fiat, giving leave to the above-named Alexander Wilson to
file in the Great Seal Patent Office, with the Specification to which the same
0 relates, the above-written Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration as altered in
red ink, to which Alterations I have placed my initials.
HARDINGE S. GIFFARD,
Temple, 4th March 1878.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Wilson, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR
PLATES,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th December 1876.
ALEXANDER WILSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES."
This Invention relates to an improved method or methods of uniting refined iron,
steel, or other hard metals, to wrought-iron or solf steel plates for the production of
armour plates.
cf
My mode of operating may be described as follows:-I put a wrought-iron or
soft steel plate (which I afterwards describe as a foundation plate") into a mould
or receptacle formed of fire-clay and situate below the crown of a re-heating furnace,
which may be heated by gas or other means. After subjecting the plate to the
furnace for a sufficient time to raise it to the required temperature I run on to the
surface of such heated plate refined iron, steel, or hard metal in a molten state and
in any desired quantity, such refined iron, steel, or hard metal having been
previously prepared in a Bessemer converting vessel, refinery, or other-suitable
furnace. When this is effected I lift off the crown of the re-heating furnace by
means of a crane or other suitable appliance and lower on to the now coated plate
a "chill plate" or other covering to prevent any further action taking place on the
metal. The plate is then allowed to cool down before being taken out of the
furnace.
In lieu of this arrangement of furnace the "foundation plate" can be placed on
a "bogie" or a "false furnace bottom" and run into the re-heating furnace, and
when the plate is sufficiently heated the molten metal is to be run on as before
described. The bogie or false bottom with the plate are then withdrawn, and the
plate covered by a chill plate as previously explained.
Another method of effecting the same object (being a slight modification of that
above described) is to apply to the heated foundation plate, refined iron, steel, or
hard metal, while in a solid state, and to expose the same to the heat of the furnace

page_text: until it is melted. This heat I still further maintain until a union of the molten
metal with the contact face of the foundation plate has been effected. A chill plate
or other covering is then applied, as before described, and the metal is allowed to
cool.
I would remark that by the means above explained armour plates can be made
with a
"face" of such hardness that they are practically impenetrable and with a
toughness which will remove their liability to break up like steel armour plates.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th June
1877.
ALEXANDER WILSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES."
The object of this Invention is to produce armour plates of any desired thickness
with facility and economy, and to give them a hardness and toughness which has
not hitherto been obtained. To this end instead of relying upon the welding
process for producing the desired thickness of armour plate, I unite the layers of
metal of which the plate is formed by fusion, so that the metal at the contact sur-
faces will run together and form a perfect union. This mode of working enables
me to combine soft iron or soft steel with hard metal, and thereby to produce a
plate which will possess the hardness due to cast metal and the toughness due to
wrought metal.
-
My plan of operation admits of several variations, but in all cases the same
principle is followed out, so far as respects the uniting of the hard and soft metals
by fusion.
One mode of proceeding is to put a wrought-iron or soft steel plate (which I
afterwards describe as a foundation or backing plate) into a mould or receptacle
formed of ganister, and situate below the crown of a re-heating furnace, which may
be heated by gas or other means. After subjecting the plate to the furnace for a
sufficient time to raise it to the required temperature I run on to the surface of such
heated plate refined iron, steel, or hard metal, in a molten state and in any desired
quantity such refined iron, steal, or hard metal having been previously prepared in
a Bessemer converting vessel, refinery, or other suitable furnace. When this is
effected I lift off the crown of the re-heating furnace by means of a crane or other
suitable appliance, and lower on to the now coated plate a chill plate or other
covering to prevent any further action taking place on the "metal." The plate is
then allowed to cool down before being taken out of the furnace.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 shews in longitudinal section,
Fig. 2 in sectional plan view, and Fig. 3 in transverse section a re-heating furnace
adapted for carrying out the above-described process.
This
A is the bed of the furnace; B, the combustion chamber; C is the crown of the
furnace, which is formed in sections and secured by cramps and frames so as to
allow of its being removed at pleasure to give access to the interior of the furnace;
D is the foundation or backing plate, composed of wrought iron or soft steel.
plate is laid upon the bed of the furnace, and around it are built up the walls E of
ganister or other refractory material to a height equal to the thickness of the armour
plate intended to be made. Over this plate D the flame and heated gases of the
furnace are allowed to play until it has been raised to a welding heat or there-
abouts, at which time it is ready to receive the hard metal which is to form the
face of the armour plate.
The bottom and edges of the foundation or backing plate it will be seen are pro-
tected from the heat of the furnace by the bed, which is coated with ganister and
the walls E, which together constitute a mould for the armour plate. The refined
iron or hard metal having been previously prepared, as before mentioned, is brought

page_text: to the furnace in a travelling ladle F, and run on to the foundation plate through
a hole G in the side of the furnace to any desired thickness, as shown at H. The
combustion chamber of the furnace is now dampered off by dropping the damper I,
and the crown C is removed to allow of the introduction of a chill plate which is
lowered on to the molten metal to prevent the action of the air on the molten
metal and to harden the surface.
When the metal has had time to set the armour plate is removed from the mould
(by means of a crane, not shown, traversing over the furnace) and deposited in any
suitable place.
When steel has been used as a facing I may find it desirable to subject the
armour plates after removal from the furnace to the action of rolling mills for
the purpose of giving fibre to the metal or for reducing it to any desired
thickness.
Before subjecting the plate to the action of the rolls, I place it in a re-heating
furnace in order to raise the now united mass of metal to an uniform temperature.
In lieu of the arrangement of furnace, shown in Sheet I., it may sometimes be con-
venient to place the foundation or backing plate on a "bogie" or loose furnace bottom
furnished with a mould of ganister, as above explained, and run it into the furnace
from the side or end thereof. When the plate is sufficiently heated the molten
metal is to be run on, as before described. The bogie with the plate is withdrawn
from the furnace to receive a chill plate or other covering, as previously explained.
Another method of effecting the same object (being a slight modification of that
above described) is to apply to the heated foundation plate refined iron, steel, or
hard metal while in a solid state, and to expose the same to the heat of the furnace
until it is melted. This heat I still further inaintain until a union of the molten
metal with the contact face of the foundation plate has been effected. The refined
iron, steel, or hard metal which I employ for this purpose is obtained by breaking
up plates into pieces of a size convenient for handling. These pieces are thrown
into the mould of the furnace gradually in order that they may melt and unite
with the base plate, and afterwards by suitable additions form the requisite thick-
ness for the facing of the armour plate.
It will be understood that the proportionate thickness of the base plate and
facing metal may be varied to suit varying requirements. I may however state,
as an example of the proportions used, that in manufacturing a twenty-inch plate
propose to give the base plate a thickness of about twelve inches and the facing
metal a thickness of eight inches.
In some cases I propose to make the armour plate with a tough face as well as a
tough backing, and to rely upon an intermediate layer of hard metal which unites
the back and face plates together for imparting the required resisting power to the
armour plate.
In Sheet II. of the Drawings I have shown the manner of carrying out the
manufacture; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a gas furnace suitably
arranged for this purpose; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the same taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken in the line 3, 4, of the
same Figure.
A and B are two wrought-iron or steel plates set up edgewise in the gas
furnace. The flame obtained from the mingled gas and air supplied to the furnace
alternately by the flues C, C¹, and D, D', is conducted between the plates A and B
by a flue E, formed of refractory material F and by refractory bricks FI laid across
the upper edges of the plates. After passing the flame alternately from the opposite
ends of the furnace in the usual manner of working gas furnaces until the inner
surfaces of the plates are sufficiently heated I place and make secure a refractory
brick slab at each end of the plates so as to close up the flues E, thus forming
mould, into which I run the refined iron, steel, or other hard metal, through a hole
in the removable furnace crown out of a ladle which I bring into position over the
furnace by means of a tramway or travelling crane. To permit of this I form in
one of the refractory bricks F', below the hole in the furnace crown, a hole to admit
a

page_text: the metal to the mould.
When the mould is filled I close the hole in the fire-brick.
with a tile to prevent the boiling up of the metal. After the lining of refined iron,.
steel, or other hard metal has united with the side plates and set, I lift off the.
furnace crown and take out the plate.
When steel is used as a lining it can then be taken and placed in a suitable.
reheating furnace, reheated and rolled to any required thickness, and it may be
bent and shaped as desired. The steel backing plates can be made from wrought
steel, or simply cast steel annealed.
As a modification of this last-described process of manufacturing armour plates
with a core or internal layer of hard metal, I place two heated plates of wrought
iron or soft steel vertically or edgewise in a cast-iron mould or frame parallel to
each other, and I run between such plates refined iron, steel, or other hard metal
which will unite the face and back plates into one solid mass.
When steel is used as a lining the mass can be hammered, rolled, and shaped, as
desired.
In making armour plates it is frequently necessary to give them a curved shape.
To permit of this, when manufacturing plates according to my Invention (after the
first-described method), that is, when applying molten refined iron to a backing
plate of soft iron, I give the backing plate the required curve, and place it on the bed
of the furnace with the convex face uppermost. When the plate is raised to the
welding heat, as before explained, I place over it a cast-iron chill of corresponding
form with flanges on all sides of a depth equal to the thickness of armour plate
desired, and I thus form with the backing plate and chill a mould with a capacity
equal to the reception of the molten metal required to form the facing of the
armour plate. When the metal has been run into this mould and allowed a
sufficient time to set it is taken out of the furnace with the chill and put aside to
cool
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Manufacture of Armour Plates," 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, uniting plates of wrought iron or steel with hard metal, in the
manner and, for the purpose above explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Wilson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
ALEX WILSON. (L.S.)