IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Trow, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL"
Sealed the 18th May 1877, and dated the 5th December 1870
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Trow at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th December 1876.
JOSEPH TROW, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Mechanical Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL."
My Invention consists of improvements in and modifications of an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to John Griffiths, of Derby, on the 12th day of
December, 1863, No. 1612.
I construct and arrange the parts of the said machinery in the following manner :-
I support the whole of the machinery on a bed plate, all the parts of the machinery
being situated above the bed plate. By means of bearers the said bed plate is
supported sufficiently clear of the furnace to permit of repairs or even the rebuilding
of the furnace without inconvenience.
Instead of connecting the driving shaft of the machinery to the steam engine or
prime mover by means of a clutch I employ fast and loose pulleys for that purpose.
By the use of two fast pulleys of large diameter connected respectively with trains
of toothed wheels giving different velocities I can drive the machinery at a quicker
or slower speed. The driving by means of pulleys gives great smoothness to the
working of the machinery.
I support the vertical shaft carrying the crank by which a reciprocating motion
is given to the pendulous tool holder by means of a vase-shaped support in the
upper and lower parts of which the said shaft has its bearings. I make these
bearings much larger than bearings are ordinarily made, in order to enable them the
better to resist the great strain and wear to which they are exposed. Besides
giving great steadiness to the shaft supported by it, the said vase-shaped support
protects the bevil gear working in it from dust and injury.
The motion of the crank described communicates a reciprocating motion to the
tool holder by means of a connecting rod, and in order to prevent any obstruction

page_text: to the motion of the tool resulting in damage to the machinery, I make the said
connecting rod elastic or capable of yielding longitudinally. That is to say, I make
the said connecting rod in two parts so connected that one part can slide upon the
other, and all parts are retained in their normal positions by means of strong coiled
springs which yield under pressure and thereby allow of the lengthening or
shortening of the connecting rod. By means of this elastic connecting rod the
manipulation of the iron or steel is more under control and greater facility of
working obtained than when a rigid connecting rod is used.
I make the disc or plate which carries the bracket from which the tool holder
hangs of an annular figure, and I give great freedom and steadiness of notion
thereto by the means employ to support it. The said annular disc or plate is
supported upon a series of rollers on which it moves with great facility. The inner
annular edge of the disc has in section a figure somewhat resembling the letter Z.
This figure of the inner edge of the disc permits of the said edge engaging with the
edge of a strong.circular brush forming the base of the vase-shaped support of the
vertical axis by which great steadiness is given to the motion of the said disc.
In order to give the required reciprocating rotatory motion to the said disc, I
employ a worm on the horizontal driving shaft, the said worm gearing with a
tangent wheel on a vertical shaft. On the axis of the last-named wheel a crank is
fixed, and a connecting rod (which I prefer to make elastic or capable of yielding)
communicates from this crank the required reciprocating motion to the disc. The
two motions described give the required motion to the rabble or puddling tool.
My Invention is applicable to single and double puddling furnaces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Joseph Trow in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 31st May
1877.
JOSEPH TROW, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Mechanical Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL.
"
My Invention consists of improvements in and modifications of an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to John Griffiths, of Derby, on the 12th day of
December, 1863, No. 1612.
I construct and arrange the parts of the said machinery in the following manner :-
I support the whole of the machinery on a bed plate, all the parts of the machinery
being situated above the bed plate. By means of bearers the said bed plate is
supported sufficiently clear of the furnace to permit of repairs or even the rebuilding
of the furnace without inconvenience.
Instead of connecting the driving shaft of the machinery to the steain engine or
prime mover by means of a clutch I employ fast and loose pulleys for that purpose.
By the use of two fast pulleys of large diameter connected respectively with trains
of toothed wheels giving different velocities I can drive the machinery at a quicker
or slower speed. The driving by means of pulleys gives great smoothness to the
working of the machinery. Or a steam engine may be mounted on the bed plate
for directly driving the puddling machinery.
I support the vertical shaft carrying the crank by which a reciprocating motion
is given to the pendulous tool holder by means of a vase-shaped support in the
upper and lower parts of which the said shaft has its bearings. I make these
bearings much larger than bearings are ordinarily made, in order to enable them the
better to resist the strain and wear to which they are exposed. Besides giving
great steadiness to the shaft supported by it the said vase-shaped support protects
the bevil gear working in it from dust and injury.
The motion of the crank described communicates a reciprocating motion to the
tool holder by means of a connecting rod, and in order to prevent any obstruction

page_text: to the motion of the tool resulting in damage to the machinery, I make the said
connecting rod elastic or capable of yielding longitudinally. That is to say, I make.
the said connecting rod in two parts so connected that one part can slide upon the
other, and the parts are retained in their normal positions by means of strong coiled
springs which yield under pressure, and thereby allow of the lengthening or
shortening of the connecting rod. By means of this elastic connecting rod the
manipulation of the iron or steel is more under control, and great facility of working,
especially in the breast of the furnace, is obtained than when a rigid connecting rod
is used.
I make the disc or plate which carries the bracket from which the tool holder
hangs of an annular figure, and I give great freedom and steadiness of motion
thereto by the means I employ to support it. The said annular disc or plate is
supported upon a series of rollers on which it moves with great facility. The inner
annular edge of the disc has in section a figure somewhat resembling the letter Z.
The figure of the inner edge of the disc permits of the said edge engaging with
the edge of a strong circular bush forming the base of the vase-shaped support
of the vertical axis by which great steadiness is given to the motion of the
said disc.
In order to give the required reciprocating rotary motion to the said disc, I
employ a worm on the horizontal driving shaft, the said worm gearing with a
tangent wheel on a vertical shaft. Motion is transmitted from the axis of the last-
named wheel to another axis on which a crank is fixed, and a connecting rod
(which I prefer to make elastic or capable of yielding) communicates from this
crank the required reciprocating motion to the disc. The motions described give
the required motion to the rabble or puddling tool.
My Invention is applicable to single and double puddling furnaces.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in plan, machinery for
puddling iron and steel of the kind herein-before referred to, the parts of the said
puddling machinery being constructed and arranged according to my Invention;
Figure 3 is a cross section of the machine taken on the line B, B, of Figure 1, and
Figure 4 is an end elevation partly in cross section of the same, the said section
being taken on the line A, A, of Figure 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.
The puddling machinery represented is double, to be applied to a double puddling
furnace, and the said puddling machinery is worked directly from a steam engine
arranged on the bed plate of the said machinery.
a is the bed plate, by and above which the whole of the machinery is supported,
the said bed plate a being supported by the bearers at b, b, sufficiently clear of the
furnace to permit of repairs or the rebuilding of the furnace without inconvenience.
The steam engine by which the machinery is driven consists of the cylinder a²,
the prolonged piston rod of which slides in the guide box at and works a crank
roda, which latter gives motion to the crank a of the driving shaft a. The
shaft a has a fly wheel as, and the motion of the said shaft a' is transmitted to the
horizontal shaft q from which the several motions of the puddling machinery are
taken by the spur gearing at a¹o. The parts described of the steam engine for
driving the shaft 7 are duplicated as represented, the cranks a, a, of the two
cylinders being arranged on the shaft a at right angles to one another. d is the
vertical shaft carrying the crank e by which a reciprocating motion is given to the
pendulous puddling tool holder f. The said vertical shaft d is supported and turns
in the hollow vase-shaped support e, in the upper and lower parts of which support
the said shaft & has its bearings as best seen in the cross section, Figure 3. By an
examination of the said cross section it will also be seen that the bearings of the
shaft dare larger than usual, in order to enable them to resist the great strain and

page_text: wear to which they are subjected. The two vase-shaped supports c, c, of the double
machine are braced together by the bracing rod y.
The motion of the shaft q driven from the steam engine shaft a' is transmitted to
the vertical shaft d by the bevil pinion q2 on the said shaft q gearing with the
bevil wheel on the said vertical shaft d. The bevil wheel dis situated within
and protected by the vase-shaped support c as represented. The crank e gives a
reciprocating motion to the tool holder f through the connecting rod h, h2, which
said connecting rod is made elastic or capable of yielding longitudinally. The said
connecting rod is made in two parts marked respectively h and h², the parts being
so constructed that the part he can slide in the part h. The part h³ is a rod con-
nected to the part at one end of the connecting rod, and the part h is a frame
connected at h³ to the other end of the connecting rod. The two sliding parts h, h²,
of the connecting rod are retained in their normal positions by the strong coiled
springs,, having their abutment between the block on the rod h² and the ends
of the frame h.
•
When pressure is put on the connecting rod h, h², in one direction the spring i
yields, and when in the other direction the other spring yields. By this arrange-
ment the lengthening and shortening of the connecting rod is permitted, and any
obstruction to the motion of the puddling tool carried by the holder f, which would
result in damage to the machinery, is avoided. In addition to this advantage the
clastic connecting rod permits of the iron or steel in the breast of the furnace being
worked more effectively than when a rigid connecting rod is used.
The disc or plate which carries the double bracket from which the tool holder f
hangs is marked k. The said disc or plate has the required reciprocating motion
given to it in the manner herein-after described. The said disc is supported upon
the series of rollers m, m, on which it moves with great facility. The axis n, n, of
the rollers m, m, are fixed in the ring o which has an independent motion around
the central boss at o² of the disc k (see Figure 3). By an examination of the said
Figure 3 it will be seen that the edge of the disc is furnished with a flange k²
which engages under the bush or collar d³ near the base of the vase-shaped
support c. By this arrangement the disc k moves with great facility and
steadiness.
The reciprocating rotary motion of the disc le is effected in the following manner :-
On the horizontal driving shaft q is a worm 2 which gears with the tangent or
worin wheel on the vertical shafts working in the pedestal. The motion of the
shaft s is transmitted by toothed gearing at t to the shaft u on which a crank v is
fixed, and a connecting rod w from the said crank is connected to the disc k and
thereby gives the required reciprocating motion to the said disc k, which motion in
combination with the reciprocating motion of the tool holder f gives the required
motion to the rabble or puddling tool. The two discs k, l, of the double machine
are coupled together by the coupling rod x.
By the arrangement described and represented for transmitting the motion of the
shaft q to the disc l, the speed of the worm and worm wheel p, r, is reduced, space
is gained, and the centre of the crank is brought more in a line with the centre of
the coupling or connecting rod w.
Instead of driving the shaft q by means of a steam engine arranged on the bed of
the machine as represented, the driving mechanism herein-before described, or other
driving mechanism may be employed to give motion to the shaft q.
-
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention of
improvements in machinery for puddling iron and steel of the kind hercin-before
referred to,-
First. Supporting the vertical shaft & carrying the crank e by which a recipro-
cating motion is given to the pendulous puddling tool holder by means of a vase-
shaped support c, constructed and used substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.

page_text: Secondly. Making the connecting rod by which the motion of the crank e is
transmitted to the pendulous puddling tool holder elastic or capable of yielding
longitudinally when pressure is put upon it, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. Constructing and supporting the disc or plate carrying the bracket
from which the pendulous puddling tool holder bangs, substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Fourthly. The arrangement or combination of parts herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing for transmitting the motion of the shaft q
to the disc or plate k.
Lastly. The general arrangement or combination of the parts of the machinery
enumerated in claims 1, 2, 3, and 4, supported on a bed plate constructed as
described and illustrated in combination or not with a steam engine for driving the
puddling machinery.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Trow, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw, .
Birmingham.
JOSEPH TROW. (LS.)