IMPROVEMENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Williams, of Park Cottage, Ebbw Vale, and
Thomas Evan Williams, of Abersychan Iron Works, near Pontypool,
.both in the County of Monmouth, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES."
Sealed the 6th June 1854, and dated the 8th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Williams and
Thomas Evan Williams at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 8th April 1854.
We, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, of Park Cottage, Ebbw Vale, and THOMAS EVAN
WILLIAMS, of Abersychan Iron Works, pear Pontypool, both in the County of
Monmouth, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to arrange several reverberatory furnaces
together, so that one fire may heat either or all of the furnaces. For this
purpose it is believed that the most convenient arrangement is as follows:-
The fire-place or furnace is made with three bridges, one at each of three of
its sides, and a reverberatory furnace is constructed to each such bridge.
The flues are arranged to exclude cold air entering the body of either of the
furnaces, and heated air is introduced to insure combustion.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Williams and Thomas Evan Williams in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 6th October 1854..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WILLIAMS, of Park Cottage, Ebbw Vale, and THOMAS EVAN WILLIAMS, of
Abersychan Iron Works, near Pontypool, both in the County of Monmouth,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Williams and Thomas Evan Williams, Her special licence that
we, the said William Williams and Thomas Evan Williams, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Williams
and Thomas Evan Williams, 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,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said William Williams and Thomas Evan Williams, by an instru-
ment in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us, 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 Thomas Evan Williams, on behalf of
myself and the said William Williams, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is to arrange several reverberatory furnaces
together, so that one fire may heat either or all of the furnaces. For this
purpose it is believed that the most convenient arrangement is as follows:-
The fire-place or furnace is made with three bridges, one at each of three of
its sides, and a reverberatory furnace is constructed to each such bridge.
The flues are arranged to exclude cold air entering the body of either of the
furnaces, and heated air is introduced to insure combustion.

page_text: describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a plan in section, and Figure 2 à vertical section of three.
reverberatory furnaces, constructed and combined according to our Invention.
In the Drawing, the three reverberatory furnaces are each different in form
and arrangement of the flues; to prevent the coming of cold air into the body
of the furnace is somewhat different, the furnaces being intended for different
purposes. A is a reverberatory furnace, suitable for puddling iron; B is a
reverberatory furnace, suitable for heating piles of iron; and C is a reverbe-
ratory furnace, suitable for heating plates of iron.
We would, however, remark, that we do not usually combine different forms
of reverberatory furnaces, but should ordinarily combine like reverberatory
furnaces; and we have in the Drawing shewn the three different forms, simply
with a view to point out the arrangement of flues for preventing the coming
in of cold air to the body of a furnace. In all cases the arrangement of such
flues is similar in principle and action, and they only differ in their positions to
accommodate the furnaces for the particular purposes to which they are to be
applied. In carrying out our Invention we prefer to combine three reverbe-
ratory furnaces with one fire or heating compartment open to them all; but this
number may be varied, and the number and precise positions shewn of the
flues for preventing the incoming of cold air into the body of the furnace is
not essential, but may be varied, retaining, however, the peculiar arrangement
of the flues, which consists of their opening out from the body of the furnace,
and so near the working doors or openings, as to insure the passing of the cold
air which enters at the working doors or openings directly to the flues, and
not into the bodies of the furnaces. By thus arranging the flues with reference
to the working doors or openings, the matters which are being heated in a
reverberatory furnace will not be acted on by drafts of cold air. D is the
fire-place, which has a bridge E between it and each of the reverberatory
furnaces A, B, C; and as the flues of these furnaces are each to be provided
with a damper, the quantity of heat passing to either of these furnaces will
depend on the extent to which the damper or dampers of the particular
furnace or furnaces is or are closed or open. Heated air in jets or streams
may be introduced over the fire bridges, in order to improve the combustion
of the products coming from the fire; but we make no claim thereto, as
the same is well known. The puddling furnace A we prefer to have con-
structed with two flues F, one on each side of the working door, in place

page_text: of having the working door at the side of the furnace, in a position inter-
mediate of the fire bridge, and the outlet into the stack at the end of the
reverberatory furnace, as has heretofore been the case.
By this arrangement, the heat coming from the fire will pass over and be
reverberated on to the iron on the bed of the furnace, and will then pass off
on either side of the working door or opening, whilst any cold air which may
enter at the working door will, in place of coming near the highly heated iron
on the bed of the furnace, pass immediately to the flues and away from the
furnace. In a reverberatory furnace for heating piles of iron, we prefer
having several flues F opening down from the body of the furnace near the
working door, as shown in the furnace B; hence, the heat coming from the fire
will be divided, and pass on either side of several piles placed parallel and
longitudinal of the bed of the furnace; and any cold air entering in at the
working door or opening of the furnace will not pass to the body thereof, but
will go off immediately by the flues F. In the furnace C there is only one
flue F, opening out from the bed of the furnace below the working door or
opening. In all these cases the flues descend from the reverberatory furnace,
and are then connected with the stack or chimney.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, we would have it
understood that what we claim is, the combination of two or more reverbe-
ratory furnaces with one fire or heating compartment, and the arranging the
flues to prevent the incoming of cold air to the bodies of reverberatory
furnaces, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Evan Williams, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
THOMAS EVAN WILLIAMS. (L.S.)