IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BLAST OR SMELTING
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Edward Darby, of Brymbo, in the
County of Denbigh, Member of the Firm of the Brymbo Company,
and Jonathan Green, of the same Place, Furnace Manager, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BLAST OR SMELTING
"
Sealed the 12th February 1875, and dated the 9th November 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Edward Darby
and Jonathan Green at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th November 1874.
We, CHARLES EDWARD DARBY, of Brymbo, in the County of Denbigh,
Member of the Firm of the Brymbo Company, and JONATHAN GREEN,
of the same Place, Furnace Manager, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BLAST OR
SMELTING FURNACES," to be as follows:―
Firstly. Our Invention relates to arrangements for preventing the
notch of the dam in blast furnaces from wearing larger and deeper and

page_text: thus interfering with the full pressure of the blast being kept regularly
on the furnace. We place on or near the top of the dam plate as at
present used a piece of iron or breast, through which we cause water to
circulate, and over the top of which or through a notch or hole in the
same we allow the cinder to flow; or through the top of the dam plate 5
itself, made so for the purpose, we cause water to circulate, and over the
top or through a notch or hole in the same we allow the cinder to
same we allow the cinder to flow; or through the top of the dam plate
itself, made so for the purpose, we cause water to circulate, and over the
top or through a notch or hole in the same we allow the cinder to
How.
Secondly. Our Invention relates to arrangements for preventing the
great injury or loss which is sometimes occasioned by water escaping
from tuyeres and going into the furnace, and we adopt the following
plan to call immediate attention to such an escape:-We conduct the
water after it has circulated through the tuyere into a small cistern, the
level of the water in which is adjusted to a constant height by an outflow
cock, and on the surface of the water in the cistern we place a float, and
should the water level lower in the cistern from the inflow of the water
becoming less than the outflow by reason of the water leaking or
escaping from the tuyere, then the float will cause a cock or valve in
connection with it to open and allow the blast or steam to pass (as
arranged) through a whistle or other arrangement to make such a noise
as would call the attention of the attendant; or the float might be
arranged in connection with any other apparatus which may produce the
same effect of alarming or informing the attendant. Instead of a float
the water from the tuyere may be allowed to flow into a small cistern
suspended on a balanced beam lever, which lever might be connected
with a cock, valve, or other mechanism for giving the alarm, and when
the inflow to the balanced cistern is less than the outflow therefrom the
weighted end of the lever will descend and act upon the mechanism to
give the alarm. In like manner the cistern might be suspended upon a
spring balance, and the ascent of the cistern in this case would act upon
the mechanism to give the alarm.
According to another modification the water before passing to the
tuyere is passed through a cylinder in which there is a piston, and in
coming from the tuyere it is made to pass through the same cylinder but
upon the opposite side of the piston, cocks being used upon both outlets
from the cylinder to balance or adjust the pressures upon the two sides
of the piston. As long as the same quantity of water passes through

page_text: the cylinder on both sides of the piston it has no motion; when less
passes on one side than on the other it moves, and this will be the case
when there is leakage of water in passing the tuyere.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Edward Darby and Jonathan Green in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, CHARLES
EDWARD DARBY, of Brymbo, in the County of Denbigh, Member of the
Firm of the Brymbo Company, and JONATHAN GREEN, of the same
Place, Furnace Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Charles Edward Darby
and Jonathan Green, Her special license that we, the said Charles
Edward Darby and Jonathan Green, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Edward Darby and
Jonathan Green, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BLAST OR SMELTING FURNACES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Charles Edward Darby
and Jonathan Green, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Charles Edward Darby and
Jonathan Green, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, .
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly

page_text: described and ascertained in and by the following statement and the
accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Firstly. Our Invention relates to arrangements for obviating the evil
of the notch of the dam in blast furnaces wearing larger and deeper, and
thus interfering with the full pressure of the blast being kept regularly
on the furnace. For this purpose we place on or near the top of the
dam plate as at present used a breast or piece of iron or other suitable
metal, through which we cause water to circulate, and over the top of
which or through a notch or hole in the same we allow the cinder to
flow; or through the top of the dam plate itself made so for the purpose
we cause water to circulate, and through a hole in the same we allow the
cinder to flow.
Secondly. Our Invention relates to arrangements for preventing the
great injury or loss which is sometimes occasioned by water escaping
from tuyeres and going into the furnace, and we adopt the following plan
to call immediate attention to such an escape:-We conduct the water
after it has circulated through the tuyere into a small cistern, the level
of the water in which is adjusted to a constant height by an outflow cook
or valve, and on the surface of the water in the cistern we place a float,
and should the water level lower in the cistern from the inflow of the
water becoming less than the outflow by reason of the water leaking or
escaping from the tuyere, then the float will cause a cock or valve in
connection with it to open and allow the blast or steam to pass (as
arranged) through a whistle or other arrangement to make such a noise
as would call the attention of the attendant; or the float might be 2
arranged in connection with any other apparatus which may produce the
same effect of alarming or informing the attendant. Instead of a float
the water from the tuyere may be allowed to flow into a small cistern
suspended on a balanced beam lever, which lever might be connected
with the cock, valve, or other mechanism for giving the alarm, and when 3
the inflow to the balanced cistern is less than the outflow therefrom the
weighted end of the lever will descend and act upon the mechanism to
give the alarm. In like manner the cistern might be suspended upon a
spring balance, and the ascent of the cistern in this case would act upon
the mechanism to give the alarm.
The manner of carrying this part of the Invention into effect may be
accomplished in various ways, two of which are illustrated by the accom-
8

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a side sectional elevation of one modification and
Fig. 2 a plan section of the same through the line A, B, Fig. 1, with the
float omitted.
.
a, cistern for water; b, pipe, and 6' passage through which the water
from the tuyere passes to the cistern (a); c, disc having holes in it to
correspond with holes in the bottom of the cistern (a), this disc acting.
as a throttle valve, which is turned by the handle c¹ to adjust the escape
of the water so that it will pass out from the cistern (a) as fast as it
enters, when all the water passes through the tuyeres without leakage.
The water going through the throttle valve is conveyed by the passage o³
to the outlet pipe c³; d is an orifice and passage for overflow water,
which also escapes through the pipe c³; e is a float connected to a rod f,
which passes through bushes in an arm g from the casting, this rod (ƒ)
being made to fit as perfectly as possible while allowing it to be slided
freely up and down by the action of the float. This rod (ƒ) is tubular
at its upper end, and has a whistle h screwed upon it, and through the
sides of the tube rod there are one or more holes f¹, which, when the
float is at its normal height, are above the upper bush as shown, but
when the float sinks, as it does in case of leakage of water from the
tuyere, the hole or holes f' are brought into the hollow in the arm (9)
below the upper bush, and as this hollow is in communication by a
passage in the arm 9 and a pipe g¹ with the blast the whistle (h) is
sounded and the alarm is given.
Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of another method of carrying the
Invention into effect by a suspended cistern.
a is the cistern; it has a bow rod a¹ secured to its sides so as to be
suspended by the hook upon the upper end of the rod to one end of a
weigh beam & suspended from any suitable support at k¹. The other
end of the weigh beam has a weight or weights / suspended from it, which
weight balances the weight of the cistern and water in it when the
normal quantity of water is passing through the cistern. When there is
leakage from the tuyere the normal quantity of water in the cistern
diminishes and the weight 7 descends, and as it is connected by a rod m
with a lever n this opens a cock p in connection with the blast and
whistle q. b is the pipe bringing water from the tuyere to the cistern;
r is a tube in the centre of the cistern turning upon a hollow stem a*
projecting upwards from its bottom. There are holes in the tuber and
stem a* for the water to pass from the cistern to the escape orifice c³.

page_text: The hollow tube forms the throttle valve for adjusting the outlet to the
water by turning the tube more or less to cover or uncover the holes in
the stem. There are holes r¹ at the upper part of the tuber for the
overflow water to pass down.
We have now particularly described the nature of our Invention and 5
the mode of carrying the same into effect, and claim as our Invention,—
Firstly. The arrangements for obviating the evil of the notch of the
dam of blast furnaces wearing larger and deeper by the means and in
the manner substantially as herein-before described.
-
Secondly. The system or mode of indicating the leakage of water 1
passing through the hollows of the tuyeres of furnaces by apparatus or
mechanism acting substantially as herein-before described, and illustrated
by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Edward Darby and
Jonathan Green, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this 1
Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.