IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CALCINING BONES, AND FOR RE-BURNING AND REVIVIFYING ANIMAL CHARCOAL
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Carey, of East Ham, in the County of Essex,
Animal Charcoal Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CALCINING BONES, AND FOR RE-BURNING AND REVIVIFYING
ANIMAL CHARCOAL,"
Sealed the 3rd January 1865, and dated the 12th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Carey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th July 1864.
I, STEPHEN CAREY, of East Ham, in the County of Essex, Animal Charcoal
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROve-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CALCINING BONES AND FOR RE-BURNING OR REVIVIFYING
ANIMAL CHARCOAL," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to simplify the process of calcining bones and
in re-burning and revivifying animal charcoal, also to economise heat and avoid
complicated and expensive machinery.
The nature of my Invention consists in making a long retort of a D shape
in preference, or of any other ordinary and suitable form, and in laying or
setting the same in an inclined direction at such angle as will allow the contents
to run down the retort by their own gravity, or by the force of supply at the
5 upper end, to the mouth of the retort. Under the front or lower end of the
retort I construct a furnace of an ordinary and suitable kind and carry a flue
from the same under nearly the whole length of the remainder of the retort

page_text: and then return the flue back over the top of the retort to the lower end and
there lead it off to the main flue or chimney.
The retort is supported and set in brickwork and fire-tiles or on iron sup-
ports in any ordinary and suitable manner. The retort is fed by a hopper fixed
on the upper end of the retort and a valve is fitted therein to regulate the
supply, and the charcoal is discharged at the lower end into a canister or receiver
through a neck piece fixed on one or both sides of the mouth, with a valve
fitted therein to regulate the discharge, or the end of the neck piece may be
fitted into a sealed groove formed on the top of the canister or receiver. The
retort is open at both ends, and flanges are formed thereon to attach the hopper
and discharging neck, or for sealed doors when used for calcining bones.
Sight holes are formed where necessary in the usual manner for obtaining
views of different parts of the interior when required. Pipes are fitted to the
upper or lower end or to both ends of the retort in any ordinary and suitable
manner to carry off any vapour or gas that would arise during the process.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Stephen Carey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN
CAREY, of East Ham, in the County of Essex, Animal Charcoal Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Stephen Carey, Her special licence that I, the said Stephen Carey,
'my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Stephen Carey, 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, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CALCINING BONES AND FOR RE-BURNING AND REVI
VIPYING ANIMAL CHARCOAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Steven Carey, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 Stephen Carey, do hereby declare
the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement :--
The object of my Invention is to simplify the process of calcining bones,
and of re-burning or revivifying animal charcoal, also to economise heat and
avoid complicated and expensive machinery.
The nature and description of my Invention consists in making a long
retort of a D shape in preference, or of any other ordinary and suitable form
and in laying and setting the same in an inclined direction, at such angle as
will allow the contents to run down the retort by their own gravity or by the
force of supply at the upper end, the angle I prefer is about 32 degrees.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood I have hereunto annexed
a Sheet of Drawings with figures and letters of reference, the same figures
and letters indicating the same parts throughout the several Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 plan over top, showing fire-tile covering E, end of retort G, flanges
to ditto and to mouth-piece g, g; lower mouth-piece H, upper mouth-piece H',
hopper I, trough J, chain ladder K, buckets L, L, wheels M, M', into which
the rounds of the ladder gear; tank N, to receive dust blown through the; gas
pipe, O top of brick pier D. Fig. 2, sectional plan showing furnace A, brick-
work to ditto B, furnace door Z, iron plate in front C, brick pier D, iron
girders, shown by dotted lines E, E¹. Fig. 3, side elevation showing brickwork
to furnace B, iron plate in front of ditto C, buck-staves P, P, tie rods Q, Q,
retort G, shown by dotted lines, short bolts 11, 11, to tie in end of retort to
iron plate, lower mouth-piece to retort H, sealed rim to ditto R, cover S,
cannister or receiver T, sealed cover to ditto t, pit or tank z, to contain water
under furnace, furnace bars shown by dotted lines b, iron girders E, E', to
carry brickwork of flues U, U¹, Ull, shoes to iron girders u, u¹, brick pier D,
to support upper end of retort and brickwork to flues; pipe O, to carry off
gas and vapours from retort; tank N to receive dust blown through gas pipe,
upper mouth-piece H', hopper I, trough J, chain ladder K, wheels M, MI, M",
into which the rounds 3, 3, of the ladder gear, buckets L, L, tank X, formed
below level of ground to receive the charcoal to be lifted, platform or stage

page_text: Under the front or lower end of the retort G, I construct a furnace A of an
ordinary and suitable kind, with inclined bars b, shown by the dotted lines in
the side elevation Fig. 3; I then carry a flue U from the furnace under nearly
the whole length of the retort and return the same over the top and one side
of the retort, and back again on the other side, and there lead it off near the
top to the main fiue or chimney, and sometimes when extra heat is required
I would construct another furnace about half-way between the present furnace
and the upper end of the retort, and connect the same with the flues before
described. The retort G is laid to an angle of about 32 degrees and is sup-
ported and built in brickwork and fire-tiles B & F, and on iron girders E, E',
as shown in Drawings, or in any other ordinary and suitable manner. The
retort G is fed by a hopper I, fixed on the upper mouth-piece H¹, and a valve
is fitted therein to regulate the supply, and the charcoal after running down
the whole length of the retort is discharged at the lower end into a cannister
or receiver T through the mouth-piece H, and a valve is fixed therein to regulate
the discharge. The end of the lower mouth-piece has a grooved rim R that
dips into a channel containing water made round a small cover S that fits over
a man-hole on the top and one side of the cannister T, forming a hydraulic
seal. The cover of the cannister is also sealed in like manner to keep out the
external air. The retort G is opened at both ends and flanges g, g¹, are formed
thereon to attach the mouth-pieces H, H', when required for re-burning

page_text: charcoal, or to receive sealed doors when used for calcining bones; short bolts
1, h, are fixed through the flanges to tie in the end of the retort to the front
plate C; a sight hole is formed in front of the lower mouth piece H', and
another is fitted in the upper mouth-piece H1, and others are fitted in any other
ordinary and suitable part for viewing and cleansing the flues. A pipe O, with
a bent neck, is fixed into the upper part of the retort for carrying off the foul
gas and vapours that arise during the process of re burning charcoal, or for
calcining bones, and a tank N, partly filled with water, is placed on the top of
the brick pier D under the bent end of the pipe, to receive any dust that may
be blown through the pipe. When the retort is used for calcining bones, pipes
are fixed in the lower part of the retort and connected with the upper pipe O,
or both pipes may be used seperately and carried to a hydraulic main in any
ordinary and suitable manner, and used for illuminating purposes.
.J
In some cases when it is required to burn the contents of the retort more
slowly, I would check the progress of the charcoal in its descent by introducing
one or more valves or flaps, and place them across the inside of the retort, and
cause the same to be raised or lowered by means of a shaft or rod connected
upper mouth-
therewith, and passed through a stuffing box at the end of the
In order to feed the
piece H¹, or in any other ordinary and suitable manner.
retort G, when required for re-burning charcoal, I fix a hopper I into the upper
mouth-piece H¹, and supply the same by means of an endless chain ladder K,
constructed with flat bar links, jointed by passing each other at the ends with
holes through both to receive the rounds 3, 3, of the ladder; the ends of the
rounds acting as pivots for the links to work on and to keep the sides in
position. At the upper and lower ends of the ladder I attach wheels M, M¹,
M11, with notches on their rims to receive and carry with them in their revo-
lutions the rounds of the ladder. At certain intervals, I attach to the rounds
by means of loops, the small buckets L, L, which carry up the charcoal by
dipping into the tank or receiver X, sunk below the level of the ground; when
the bucket arrives at the top it discharges its contents into the trough J, leading
into the hopper I, the bucket then dipts under the upper wheel M and passes
over an under wheel M' down to the lower wheel M", fixed over the tank X,
the rounds of the ladder to which the buckets are attached I construct with a
nut and screw at each end, to enable the bucket to be shifted er exchanged
when required.
Instead of the buckets being fixed as shown in Fig. 3 I would sometimes
construct them to tip in the manner shown in Figures 8 & 9, with a hooked
catch sliding up and down at the back of the bucket and secured thereto with
staples 6, a small pin being fixed at the bottom of the bar of the catch, or the

page_text: end of the bar may be turned up to prevent the catch from slipping out. The
catch is notched at the top to allow room for the round of the ladder, and the
top of the catch is rounded and made in a parrot beak form to strike against
an iron roller or bar 7, fixed near the hopper at the top, a spring 5 is fitted to
the under side of the catch to force it to its place after passing the roller or
striking bar; when the beak of the catch strikes the roller or bar, the catch
is forced down and the bucket tips over and discharges its contents into the
trough J, or hopper I, and regains its place by its own gravity in revolving
round the upper wheel M, the trough would be hinged to the hopper to allow
the bucket to pass as it forces its way upwards; when tip buckets are used
the wheel M', fixed under the upper wheel, is omitted, and the endless chain K
runs up and down in a straight line on both sides. Action is given to the
wheels by a shaft or axle W communicating with a steam engine and worked
by a drum or chain wheel or other ordinary and suitable manner.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details, nor do I claim any of the parts taken seperately, but
what I do claim is, the general arrangement and combination of parts forming
the inclined retort, and the method or setting and supplying the same as herein
set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Carey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
HENRY LAXTON, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
34, Arundel Street,
Strand.
STEPHEN CAREY. (L.S.)