IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEATING OF ANNEALING AND MELTING POTS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Ratcliff and William Henry Ratcliff,
both of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineers, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEATING OF ANNEALING AND
MELTING POTS."
Sealed the 21st January 1876, and dated the 8th September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ratcliff
and William Henry Ratcliff at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 8th September 1875.
We, FREDERICK RATCLIFF and WILLIAM HENRY RATCLIFF, of Bir-
mingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEATING OF
ANNEALING AND MELTING POTS," to be as follows, that is to say:
-
This Invention refers to certain appliances for directing and increasing
the heat under the pots or crucibles employed for annealing or melting
metal, and it consists of a perforated plate or distributor applied to each
fire hole chiefly under the fire. A pipe bent at about a right angle is

page_text: attached to the under side of the distributor, and is furnished with a
smaller branch tube so placed as to discharge over the top of the distri-
butor; these upper and under tubes should bear the proportion of four
to one in diameter, or thereabouts. Near the top end of the large
upright tube are cross pipes of similar diameter for the admission of air,
and at the extreme orifice of the upright tube is placed a needle tap
connected to a steam pipe. In operation the steam through this needle.
tap compressing the air-forced in through the air tubes drives it through
the lower arms of the conducting tube over and under the distributor, at
the same time, and by means of the perforations in the distributor, the
blast at a high temperature is diffused through every part of the fire, and
thus operates equally upon every part of the pot or crucible, at the same
time producing a highly intensified and regular heat with great economy
of fuel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Frederick Radcliff and William Henry Radcliff
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd March 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
RATCLIFF and WILLIAM HENRY RATCLIFF, both of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Engineers, send greeting.
Victoria, by Her
September, in the
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Frederick Ratcliff and Wil-
liam Henry Ratcliff, Her-special license that we, the said Frederick
Ratcliff and William-Henry-Ratcliff, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederick Ratcliff and William
Henry Ratcliff, our 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, usc, 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 HEATING OF ANNEALING
AND MELTING Pors," upon the condition-(amongst others) that we,

page_text: the said Frederick Ratcliff and William Henry Ratcliff, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samė
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 Frederick Ratcliff, on behalf of
myself and the said William Henry Ratcliff, 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 refers to certain appliances for directing and increasing
the heat under the pots or crucibles employed for annealing or melting
metals, and the said Invention consists of a perforated plato or distri-
butor applied to each fire hole chiefly under thic fire. A pipe bent at
about a right angle is attached to the under side of the distributor, and
is furnished with a smaller tube, so placed as to discharge over the top
of the distributor; these upper and under tubes should bear the pro-
portion of four to one in diameter, or thereabouts. Near the top end of
the large upright tube are cross pipes of similar diameter for the
admission of air, and at. the extreme orifice of the upright tube is
placed a needle tap connected to a steam pipe. In operation the steam
through the needle tap compressing the air forced in through the air
tubes drives it through the lower arms of the conducting tube over and
under the distribútor, at the same time, and by means of the perforations
in the distributor, the blast at a high pressure is diffused through every
part of the fire, and thus operates cqually upon every part of the pot or
crucible, at the same time producing a highly intensified and regular
heat with great economy of fuel.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation, and Figure 2 in transverse

page_text: Figure 3 represents in section, and Figure 4 in front elevation a
-portion-of-the-apparatus-drawn-to-a-lurger-scale-
.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several
Figures of the Drawings.
a is the annealing pot, and is the oven or chamber in which it is
set; c is the fire-hole or fire-place under the support or bed d of the
annealing pot, the said bed being furnished with five flues, four side
flues and one end fluc, for conducting the flame and products of com-
bustion to the annealing oven or chamber b. The bottom of the fire-
hole or place c of each annealing oven is formed of a perforated plate f
(see Figure 2) upon which the coal or fuel rests, and through which the
mixture of steam and air is distributed, as herein-after explained. The
ash-pit g under the fire-hole or fire-place c constitutes a close chamber,
into which a portion of the mixture of steam and air enters. This
chamber or ash-pit 9 is closed as air-tight as may be when the apparatus
is in use by a door h, and the fire-hole or fire-place c is also similarly
closed by the door i, so as to cut off external air from the said chamber g
and fire-hole or place c; k is a main vertical pipe having two branch
pipes l, m, at right angles. The lower branch pipe m opens into the
chamber beneath the fire-hole c, and the upper smaller branch pipe /
opens directly into the firc-hole c. On the head of the vertical pipe k
is a cross pipe n, through the open ends of which air is admitted to the
main pipe . Over the said cross pipe n is a pipe pin connection with
the pipe, by which steam is conveyed from the boiler. The steam
pipe p opens into a nozzle or conical pipe situated in the middle of
the cross pipe. In the said nozzle is a conical or needle valve s
raised and lowered by the screw and hand wheel t. The nozzle » and
valve 8 constitute an apparatus for producing and delivering a jet of
steam, the size of the jet or quantity of steam passing through the
nozzle being regulated by the position of the valve s. The main pipe k,
branch pipes l, m, cross pipe n, steam pipe p, and steam jet producing
apparatus are represented on a larger scale in Figures 3 and 4.
The apparatus is used and acts in the following manner :-By raising
the valve & steam from the boiler is delivered in the form of a jet from
the nozzle into the upper. part of the main pipe k, and the said jet

page_text: produces a partial vacuum behind it. Air is thereby drawn into the
pipe through the open cross pipe n, and the mixture of air and steam
is driven or forced down the said pipe k, and is delivered mainly by
means of the branch pipe m into the chamber g, and through the per-
forated plate or bottom finto the burning fuel in the fire-hole or fire-
place c.
The other branch pipe at the same time conveys a portion of
the mixture of steam and air into the body of the burning fuel in the
fire-hole or fire-place c. The course of the steam through the steam
pipe p and steam delivering apparatus is indicated by arrows, and also
the course of the mixture of steam and air through the main pipe k and
branch pipes l, m, under and above the perforated plate or distributor ƒ•
The quantity of steam delivered by the nozzle is perfectly under
control, and hence the supply of the mixture of steam and air to the
fire-hole or fire-place c may be regulated with the greatest nicety. The
flame and heated air pass from the fire-hole or fire-place c by the flues
in the bed d, and are carried around the chamber in the usual manner,
so as to heat the annealing pot a.
We do not limit ourselves to the use of steam of any particular
pressure for the production of the steam jet, but in practice we find that
› steam having a pressure of from 30 lbs. to 40 lbs. on the square inch
answers very well.
By providing annealing pots with the apparatus described and repre-
sented the combustion of the fuel by which the annealing pot is heated.
is rendered very perfect, uniform, and vigorous, and great saving of fuel
results.
We apply our Invention to the heating of melting pots, substantially
in the manner described and represented with respect to annealing
pots.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we
do not limit ourselves to the precise details berein-described and illus-
trated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
our Invention; but we, claim as our Invention of improvements in the
heating of annealing and melting pots, the arrangement or combination
of parts for producing a steam jet, and conducting the steam jet and
blast of air produced by the said jet below and into the fuel in the fire-
hole or fire-place of the annealing or melting pot, substantially as and

page_text: for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Ratcliff, have hereunto
_set_my_hand_and seal, this Twenty-third day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred-and-seventy---5
six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
FREDERICK RATCLIFF. (L.S.)