IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PUDDLING OF IRON
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robinson, of Old Bailey, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PUDDLING OF
IRON."
Sealed the 18th July 1871, and dated the 20th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robinson.at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th January 1871.
1
I, WILLIAM ROBINSON, of Old Bailey, in the City of London, do
5 hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PUDDLING OF IRON," to be as follows:--
This Invention consists in the puddling of iron entirely by improved
mechanical means instead of by manual labor, as heretofore generally
practised. I am aware of various attempts having heretofore been made
to effect the above operation mechanically, but such attempts have, I
believe, failed in practise. And the object sought to be attained by this
Invention is to render the operation of puddling iron by mechanical
means more practicable, simple, and certain than the means heretofore.

page_text: employed for that purpose. I propose to accomplish this by so
constructing the puddling furnace, or some part thereof, as that it shall
be capable of having an oscilating, rocking, vibratory, or undulating
movement imparted thereto. This I propose to accomplish by so con-
structing the furnace that the bed or bottom containing the molten
material can be hung on centres in such a manner as that by any of
the ordinary mechanical means it can receive an alternating motion
without deteriorating the draught of the furnace, and thus throw the
molten metal from end to end or side to side of the furnace, and thus
to effect in a more certain and less laborious manner than heretofore
the agitation of the molten mass in the furnace.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robinson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
´ ROBINSON, of Old Bailey, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robinson, Her special licence that
I, the said William Robinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Robinson, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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
PUDDLING OF IRON," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robinson, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robinson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by.the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in the puddling of iron entirely by improved
mechanical means instead of by manual labor as heretofore generally
practised. I am aware of various attempts having heretofore been made
to, effect the above operation mechanically, but such attempts have I
believe failed in practice; and the object sought to be attained by this
Invention is to render the operation of puddling iron by mechanical
means more practicable,' simple, and certain than the means heretofore
employed for that purpose. I propose to accomplish this by so con-
structing the puddling furnace, or some part thereof, as that it shall
be capable of having an oscillating, rocking, vibratory, or undulating
movement imparted thereto. This I propose to accomplish by so con-
structing the furnace that the bed or bottom containing the molten
material can be hung on centres in such a manner as that, by any of
the ordinary mechanical means, it can receive an alternating motion
without deteriorating the draught of the furnace, and thus throw the
molten metal from end to end or side or side of the furnace, and thus
to effect in a more certain and less laborious manner than heretofore
the agitation of the molten mass in the furnace.
And in order to explain my said Invention more completely I now
proceed to describe the means by which it may be carried into practical
effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings accom-
panying these Presents and to the numeral figures and letters of reference
marked thereon respectively as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Fig. 1 represents a top plan view of a puddling furnace constructed
and arranged according to my said Invention the crown or brickwork
of the upper part of the furnace being removed to expose the patented
parts to view; Figure 2 is a longitudinal and vertical section through the
line A, B, at Figure 1. At each of the above Figures similar letters
of reference are employed to denote corresponding parts at each of such
said Figures.
A marks the brickwork of the furnace; B, the hearth thereof; C, the
furnace; D, an iron tank to contain water, in which the sole plate E of

page_text: the furnace dips and rocks upon the hollow vibrating centre or axle; G, H,
marks the fettle lining; and I are the iron walls of the furnace; K marks
the fire-bridge of the furnace, and L is a water bridge to prevent or
lessen burning of the fire lumps as usually practised; M is the tapping
hole; N is a lever arm fixed on the axle. G for imparting alternating
movement to the furnace for agitating the molten mass therein. O is
a grating through which cold air is admitted for keeping the sole plate E
cool; P is a fixed partition plate for insuring ingress and egress of cold
air to the under side of the sole plate on each side of the centre on which
the sole plate moves alternately. The sealing of the draught is
effectually accomplished by the dipping of the flange part a of the sole
plate E in the tank D as above mentioned. The dotted lines shew the
changes of position of the furnace resulting from the alternating movement
thereof; R represents the charging door and stopper hole as usually
constructed; S. Figure 1, shews the position of the side flange for scaling
the draught, and T the position of end flange for the same purpose.
Having now described my Invention and its mode of operation, I
would remark in conclusion that I am aware of puddling furnaces
having heretofore been so made as to receive an alternating-motion for
agitating the molten metal' therein, I do not therefore claim constructing
puddling furnaces on the above principle except when they are con-
structed in the manner above described with reference to the accom-
panying Drawing, and especially I claim the means by which I scal
the draught of the furnace, and thus render it practically useful.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robinson, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-onc.
LIM ROBINSON (10)