IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR TREATING METALS AND OTHER MATTERS
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st October
1866. A communication from abroad by Louis Adolphe Bon, Gentleman,
of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR TREATING METALS AND OTHER MATTERS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in furnaces for the treatment of
metals and for other purposes. The furnace, which is arranged somewhat on
the principle of a glass furnace, serves for the melting, mixing, and refining
of ores or glass, the crucibles being either fixed or movable, and with a
constant or uniform flow.
The improvements consist, 1st, in the parts for closing the arches, which
are constructed in such manner that the flame and products of combustion
from the furnace are forced to pass round them in their passage to the flues,
and thus communicating the same amount of heat to the spouts as is received
by the crucible.
2ndly, the improvements relate to the method of running off the melted
matters.

page_text: This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1 of
which shows a sectional elevation of the furnace on the line 1, 2, Figure 2;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same on the line 3, 4, Figure 1; while Figures 3
and 4 show separate views of the arches and method of closing the same;
the same letters apply to all the Figures.
a, brickwork of the furnace b; c, c, crucibles, similar to those used in glass
furnaces, arranged in any suitable number, and provided with covers or not,
as desired. These crucibles rest on the parts c¹, c', furnished with channels c
serving to conduct the matters into the furnace in case of a crucible breaking;
d, d, openings for charging the crucibles; e, e, spouts of the crucibles which
pass through the closing pieces of the arches f, the latter being so disposed as
to leave an annular space around the spouts through which the flame and pro-
ducts of combustion after circulating in the interior of the furnace round the
crucibles pass to the flues g in their passage to the flues h. In this manner
the spouts are kept at the same temperature as the crucibles themselves;
i, i, central chimney with which all the flues h communicate; f,f, arches, seen
separately at Figure 3, which are removable, in order to substitute others for
worn out crucibles; j, j, covers provided with handles of the form represented
at Figures 3 and 4, serving to close the ends of the spouts, they being pro-
vided with grooves or spaces for that purpose, in which to compress the sand
or other material employed for luting the channel in the spout, and to facilitate
the tapping or running off of the matters, as in a cupola furnace; parts
serving to close the recess in the spouts, and in which are placed the covers j.
After the matters have been run off the channel is then again closed in the
ordinary manner by the aid of part j. A carriage provided with ingot or other
moulds may travel round the furnace in order to receive the melted matter
from each crucible. Any suitable number of crucibles may be employed,
Figure 2 showing six, each calculated to contain, for example, from one to
two and a half hundredweight, requiring from twelve to twenty-four hours for
firing and heating the crucibles, but when once a fusing heat is attained the
operations succeed each other with great rapidity, especially if the matters be
heated to a high temperature before introducing them into the crucibles. For
this purpose the furnace may be provided with a compartment in which the
matters may be raised to a red heat while the crucibles are being got ready,
or the fusion of other metal is being effected. This chamber may be dis-
posed at any suitable point of the furnace and heated by the waste heat of
the flues.
This improved furnace possesses great advantages as regards economy and
hygiene, inasmuch as it works with great regularity with a continuous or

page_text: uniform flow, and while preventing any escape of deleterious gases the
crucibles not being required to be withdrawn for running off their contents.
Cast iron, steel, bronze, brass, copper, and other matters may be produced in
this improved furnace of very superior quality and appearance; it is also
applicable to the manufacture of glass.