Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Mar., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 15th Apr., 1887.
I, AUGUST LENTZ of Stettin in the Empire of Germany Director do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The arrangement for charging retort furnaces of all kinds, having any required
number of retorts for treating coal or other materials, illustrated in side view in the
accompanying drawing, consists of a tube or pipe A which is curved below to form a
segment of a circle or other suitable curve. The upper end of this tube is provided
with a funnel through which the charge is inserted; the lower end of the tube opens
into the mouth of the retorts R to be charged. The precise height and shape of the
tube A is proportioned to the length of the retorts, but other shapes can also be used.
Open channels or troughs may also be employed instead of tubes.
The charge is delivered into the mouth of the funnel either by means of a shovel or
by means of a box or container provided with a slide to regulate the charging of the
retorts. When the charge is delivered into the tube, it is shot along the Hoor of the
retort by reason of the considerable height of fall; subsequent lots encounter on their
way, the heaps of previously charged material, push them further and remain in front
of them, and so on until the retort is gradually charged to the mouth. The height
of the tube must also be proportionate to the nature of the material to be charged,
but the speed of the descent of the materials can also be influenced by more or less
violent projection of the materials into the funnel. Hence it becomes possible to
charge horizontal retorts of any desired length either heavily or lightly at will.
In retort furnaces for gas making with several rows of retorts the charging
apparatus may be combined with a fixed charging floor or with a travelling platform.
If there is a solid floor on which the material to be charged is placed, the mechanism
may be so arranged that the tube can be propelled from one retort to another on
wheels. For each horizontal row of retorts one tube is usually required, but the
apparatus can be arranged so that one tube suffices to charge a whole set of retorts;
in this se the tube is raised or lowered by a suitable lifting mechanism. With
[Pins27

page_text: shifting platforms, the tube can be attached to the platform so that it travels with the
same in front of the retorts. In this manner, apparatuses of various sizes and
containing any number of retorts can be charged, either from fixed or from travelling
platforms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The new or improved process for charging retorts with utilisation of the
momentum of the materials by means of one or more tubes, or troughs of round,
oval, square or other section, substantially as described.
2. The tube or trough for charging retorts, adjustable in every direction, substan-
tially as described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination of pipes or troughs with fixed or moveable platforms, substan-
tially as and for the purposes described.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant,