IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Felix John Hamel, of 78, Avenue Road, Regent's
Park, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL FUEL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Felix John Hamel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd February 1870.
I, FELIX JOHN HAMEL, of 78, Avenue Road, Regent's Park, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL
FUEL," to be as follows:-
―:
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for
compressing artificial fuel. For this purpose I form the moulds for the.
compression of artificial or agglomerated fuel of a succession of chambers
or perforations either square, oblong, round, octagon, or other desired
shape, formed entirely through a traversing block of iron or other strong
material so arranged and operated as to bring each chamber successively

page_text: in front of a strong pillar or block capable of offering considerable
resistance and which will for the time being form the closure or end of
cach such chamber as it comes into place, and thus constitute a mould to
receive from a hopper fed tube whose bore is of similar cross sectional
configuration and size the charge of material to be compressed, such
charge to be propelled from the tube into the mould and be therein
compressed by a rod or plunger into an agglomerated or solid block of
fuel. Afterwards when the plunger has moved back the traverser is
moved to carry the chamber containing the block out beyond the pillar
and tube and to bring another chamber into the position it previously
occupied. At the next forward movement of the plunger an-expeller-
moving contemporaneously-with the plunger will expell the block from.
the chamber at the same time that the plunger compresses another block
of fuel in the chamber which has been brought opposite to it. The
traverser may either be oblong, having two chambers travelling to and fro
and bringing the chambers into place alternately, or it may be circular,
having two or more chambers, each of which may by a rotary motion be
brought into place in regular succession. If it should be found that a
traverser with a to-and-fro movement works too heavily on a well
lubricated bed it may be mounted on small wheels to run in grooves, or
it may be suspended so as to swing like a pendulum, and may be made to
stop in its proper place by a spring bolt or trigger catch so fixed as to
be disengaged at the right time by a finger attached to the wheel or
other instrument employed to produce the to-and-fro movement of the
traverser. The tube through which the plunger works is horizontal and
is fed from the hopper through an aperture at the top of the-tube. The
plunger is of the same cross sectional configuration as and flush with the
bore of the tube and is of adequate length to serve not only to propel
each charge of material into the mould and compress it, but also at the
same time to close the aperture for the time being through which the
feeding tube is charged. The plunger on its backward movement retires
beyond this aperture and leaves it free to supply the succeeding charge
to the charging tube. If greater accuracy be required in regulating the
quantity of material for each charge, it may be obtained by limiting the
amount of material which can be fed into the tube through the aperture
by means of a slide caused to enter the feeding tube in front of the
feeding aperture at the time when the plunger moves back, when the
plunger again moves forward this slide is withdrawn out of its path. Or
the quantity of material supplied each time to the feeding tube may be

page_text: regulated by introducing between the hopper and the tube a feeder having
two slides, one at the top and the other at the bottom, and each being
made to close as the other opens, so that before the top one opens the
bottom will be closed that the feeder may receive and retain the full
charge only, and before the bottom slide shall have retired sufficiently
to let the charge into the tube the top one will have reclosed the
hopper. The size of the feeder may be diminished by so adjusting one
or more of its sides as to admit of their moving inwards, and a cog wheel
and racks will work the slides by the reversing action of the wheel.
The blocks of fuel on being expelled from the chamber will pass on
and along an inclined plane or kind of spout of any required length,
pushing each other along until removed for stacking.
The plunger whether driven by steam or any other power will be
attached to a piston or othe rod working to and fro horizontally, and the
rod may have a plunger and moulding apparatus at both ends so as to
perform double work in the same space of time, the retiring stroke from
the one end acting as the compressing stroke at the other end, and
vice versa.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Felix John Hamel in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd August 1870..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FELIX
JOHN HAMEL, of 78, Avenue Road, Regent's Park, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent,, bearing date the Twenty-second day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Felix John Hamel, Her special licence,
that I, the said Felix John Hamel, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Felix John Hamel, 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,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVEMENTS IN.
MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL FUEL," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Felix John Hamel, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Felix Jolin Hamel, 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 machinery for
compressing artificial fuel. For this purpose I form the moulds for the
compression of artificial or agglomerated fuel of a succession of chambers
or perforations either square, oblong, round, octagon, or other desired
shape, formed entirely through a traversing block of iron or other strong.
material so arranged and operated as to bring each chamber successively
in front of a strong pillar or block capable of offering considerable
resistance, and which will for the time being form the closure or end of
each such chamber as it comes into place and thus constitute a mould to
receive from a hopper fed tube (whose bore is of similar cross sectional
configuration and size) the charge of material to be compressed, such
charge to be propelled from the tube into the mould and be therein
compressed by a rod or plunger into an agglomerated or solid block of
fuel. Afterwards when the plunger has moved back the traveller is
moved to carry the chamber containing the block out beyond the pillar
and tube, and, to bring another chamber into the position it previously
occupied. At the next forward movement of the plunger an expeller
moving contemporaneously with the plunger will expel the block from
the chamber at the same time that the plunger compresses another block
of fuel in the chamber which has been brought opposite to it. The
traversers may either be oblong, having two chambers travelling to and
fro. and bringing the chambers into place, alternately, or it may be
circudar, having two or more chambers each of which may by a rotary
motion be brought into place in regular succession. If it should be
found that a traverser with a. to-and-fro movement works too heavily on.

page_text: a well lubricated bed it may be mounted on small wheels to run in
grooves, or it may be suspended so as to swing like a pendulum and may
be made to stop in its proper place by a spring bolt or trigger catch, so
fixed as to be disengaged at the right time by a finger attached to the
wheel or other instrument employed to produce the to-and-fro movement
of the traverser. The tube through which the plunger works is
horizontal and is fed from the hopper through an aperture at the top of
the tube. The plunger is of the same cross sectional configuration as and
flush with the bore of the tube, and is of adequate length to serve not
only to propel each charge of material into the mould and compress it,
but also at the same time to close the aperture for the time being
through which the feeding tube is charged. The plunger on its backward
movement retires beyond this aperture and leaves it free to supply the
succeeding charge to the charging tube. If greater accuracy be required
in regulating the quantity of material for each charge it may be obtained
by limiting the amount of material which can be fed into the tube
through the aperture by means of a slide caused to enter the feeding
tube in front of the feeding aperture at the time when the plunger
moves back; when the plunger again moves forward this slide is with-
drawn out of its path. Or the quantity of material supplied each time
to the feeding tube may be regulated by introducing between the hopper
and the tube a feeder having two slides, one at the top and the other at
the bottom, and each being made to close as the other opens so that
before the top one opens the bottom one will be closed and the feeder
may receive and retain the full charge only, and before the botton slide
shall have retired sufficiently. to let the charge into the tube the top
one will have reclosed the hopper. The size of the feeder may be
diminished by so adjusting one or more of its sides as to admit of their
moving inwards, and a cog wheel and racks will work the slides by the
reversing action of the wheel. The blocks of fuel on being expelled from
the chambers will pass on and along an inclined plane or kind of
spout of any required length, pushing each other along until removed
for stacking.
:
The plunger whether driven by steam or any other power will be
attached to a piston or other rod working to and fro horizontally, and the
rod may have a plunger and moulding apparatus at both ends. so as to
perform double work in the same space of time, the retiring stroke from
the one end acting as the compressing stroke at the other, and vice
versâ.
1

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a sliding block with moulding chambers formed in it,
such block receiving a horizontal to-and-fro movement from a pair of
spur wheels driven in any convenient manner. a, a, are the moulding
chambers, the block, and c the bed on which it slides. Each toothed
wheel has a wiper upon it, and these acting alternately on projections
on the block give to it its reciprocating movement. In place-of-sliding
on its bed the block may be mounted-on-rollers, as is shown at Figure 1ª,
-or-it-may be suspended and swing as a pendulum, as is shown at
Figure 1.
Or in place of a reciprocating block a rotating block may be employed,
as is shown at Figure 2. The moulding cavities may be of any convenient
form; thus at Figure 2 octagonal cavities are shewn.
In Figure 3 the traversing block is represented in section, and its.
connection with the other parts is shown.
Figure 4 is a similar view with a rotating block substituted for a
reciprocating block.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the parts represented in Figure 3:
d is a strong abutment against which the traversing block rests whilst
the fuel is moulded, the abutment closing the end of the moulding
cavity; e is a tube from which the fuel to be pressed into blocks is.
delivered into the moulding cavities a, which at the time of receiving the
charges come opposite to the mouth of the tube; f is a reciprocating
plunger receiving its motion from a steam piston or otherwise; g, g, arc
expellers connected with the plunger so that whilst the plunger is
moulding a block in one cavity, one of the expellers is pushing a block
out of another cavity into a receiving trough; h is a hopper which
supplies the fuel to the tube e; i is a slide which is employed to render
the measurement of the charges of fuel into the moulds more uniform,
it receives a motion in unison with that of the plunger entering the
tube as the plunger recedes and being withdrawn to allow of its advance.
As is seen in Figure 5 the plunger is actuated through a strong spring,
which by yielding prevents injury to the machine in consequence of
small variations in the measurement of the fuel.

page_text: Still greater accuracy in the measurement may be obtained by
providing the hopper with a measuring chamber two slides actuated
by a pinion and racks, as is shown at Figure 6.
The sides of the measuring chamber may be adjusted by screws, as is
shown at Figures 7.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is,
the constructing machinery for compressing artificial fuel substantially
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Felix John Hamel, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.