Year: 1899

page_text: A communication from abroad by THE AMERICAN STOKER COMPANY, of 141,
Broadway, in the City, County, and State of New York, United States of
America, a corporation organised under the laws of the State of New York.
I, REGINALD. WILLIAM JAMES, of 1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Char-
tered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows;-
My present invention relates to furnaces for making glass or melting metal,
and for melting or heating other materials requiring an intense heat, and it con-
sists of certain novel parts and combinations of parts, and certain novel methods,
all hereinafter particularly pointed out.
4
The following is a description of a glass-making furnace embodying my inven-
tion in the form which is at present preferred by me; but it will be understood
that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from
the spirit of my invention; and that in so far as my invention consists of. novel
methods, these may be practiced with any suitable mechanism or devices, and
that the claims relating to such methods are not therefore dependent upon the
devices shown, or their equivalents.
1.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through
a glass-making furnace involving my invention, on the line 1, 1, Fig. 2; Fig. 2
is a horizontal section on the line. 2, 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the
line 3, 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 4, 4, Fig. 1..
The following is a description of the structure shown in the drawings,' which
illustrate my invention applied to the art of making glass, which, read in con-
nection with this specification, will enable those skilled in the art to apply it
not only in this art but likewise in analogous or related arts. 5 is the working
hearth, consisting of a suitable open tank of refractory material, in which the
charge 6 of glass-making materials is melted; 7 is the cap or arch of the furnace;
8, 8, 8b, are the exit passages leading to the stack or chimney 9; 20 is a damper
for controlling the chimney draft; 10 is a supply pipe through which air is con-
veyed through vertical passages 11 (Fig. 4), through horizontal continuations 12
(Fig. 3) to the vertical passages 13 (Fig. 1), whence it issues through the open-
ings 14 into the combustion chamber; 15 is an underfeed stoker of a form now
well-known in the art, being composed essentially of an Archimedes screw 16
(Fig. 3) a hopper 17, an air or steam inlet 18, and air or steam outlets 19; 21
are openings in the doors of the furnace through which the workmen gather the
glass; 22 are air spaces under the working hearth, which serve to keep the bot-
tom of the hearth cool, and prevent the glass from running through;. 23 are
chambers on the ends of the hearth for the same purpose.

page_text: In the operation of the furnace, the stoker is filled with slack coal to a point
on the level with the tuyere openings 19; kindling wood is placed above the coal
and ignited; after the kindling is fairly lighted, the air blast 18 is turned on,
and when the coal is ignited the stoker may be started, and a continuous supply
of fuel from the hopper kept up. The auxiliary air, through the openings 14,
is not admitted until after the furnace becomes heated to a point above a bright
red heat. The hearth is now ready to receive the charge of material, which is
preferably fed in through the doors 21; this charge consisting of sand, lime and
soda in usual proportions for making the regular quality of glass.
In making glass of the better grades, by heat directly obtained from the com-
bustion of fuel, it is necessary to melt the ingredients in closed pots, to prevent
discoloration by the products of combustion. Furthermore, in such furnaces
the temperature cannot be maintained with the desired evenness, due to the fact
that the introduction of fuel on top of the ignited mass temporarily diminishes
the temperature of the gases supplied to the pots.
To overcome these difficulties, several expedients have been resorted to. For
example, the glass has been made by the burning of producer gas, on the plan
of the well-known Siemens regenerators. While this expedient permits of mak-
ing glass by the open hearth process, yet it does not insure a continuously uniform
temperature, due to the necessity for reversing the draft at frequent intervals in
furnaces operating on this plan.
My present invention consists in an improvement in the method of and means
for making glass on the plan adopted in the Siemens regenerative furnaces. The
fresh coal introduced into the stoker reservoir, in its passage upward, is deprived
of its hydrocarbon constituents by distillation, and of its water by evaporation.
As an incandescent layer of coke is always on top of the fresh fuel, and air is
admitted about the point where distillation takes place, the hydrocarbon gases
are for the most part, converted into carbonic acid, and the steam is converted
into hydrogen gas, in its passage through the incandescent coke. Whatever car-
bonic oxide is evolved from the combustion of the hydrocarbon constituents, or
the combustion of the fixed carbons, or the passage of carbonic acid through the
incandescent coke, is converted into carbonic acid by the introduction of hot air
through the openings 14, and the hydrogen gas is oxidized by the same agency.
Of course a larger amount of hydrogen gas will be formed if steam and air be
admitted through the tuyere openings 19. The entire product of combustion is
therefore a pure, smokeless, non-oxidizing flame or heat, substantially similar to
that obtained in furnaces employing a producer gas. My furnace, however, has
the advantage over furnaces constructed on the plan of the Siemens, not only in
reduced cost of operating, but also in the fact that the draft is not reversed, al-
though, as in the Siemens furnaces, the air supplied (through the openings 14)
to convert carbonic oxide into carbonic acid is highly heated by the waste heat
of combustion. The products of combustion in the flues 8, 8b, passing from the
rear to the front end of the furnace, give up their heat to the enclosed brickwork,
and this heat is absorbed by the fresh air admitted through conduit 10, passing
down through passages 11, along through passages 12, and up through passages 13.
In this way the air-blast is highly heated, as it is in the Siemens furnaces, but
without the reversal of draft characteristic of those furnaces.
In this way a superior quality of glass may be made on an open hearth, and as
the heat applied to the batch is uniform throughout the entire operation, a glass
freer from bubbles, as well as more uniform in character, is obtained. Hence a
flint glass may be made in an open tank by my apparatus which will compare
favorably with flint glass made in covered pots.
Dated this 2nd dow of Wohru 1800

page_text: A communication from abroad by THE AMERICAN STOKER COMPANY, of 141,
Broadway, in the City, County, and State of New York, United States of
America, a corporation organised under the laws of the State of New York.
I, REGINALD WILLIAM JAMES, of 1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Char-
tered Patent Agent, 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 ;-
My present invention relates to furnaces for making glass or melting metal,
and for melting or heating other materials requiring an intense heat, and it con-
sists of certain novel parts and combinations of parts, and certain novel methods,
all hereinafter particularly pointed out.
In order that this invention may be the better understood I will now proceed
to describe it in relation to the drawings which accompany my Provisional Specifi-
cation reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters
refer to like parts in the various figures.
The following is a description of a glass-making furnace embodying my inven-
tion in the form which is at present preferred by me; but it will be understood
that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from
the spirit of my invention: and that in so far as my invention consists of novel
methods, these may be practiced with any suitable mechanism or devices, and
that the claims relating to such methods are not therefore dependent upon the
devices shown, or their equivalents.
In the drawings, referred to Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a
glass-making furnace involving my invention, on the line 1, 1 Fig. 2; Fig. 2
is a horizontal section on the line 2, 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the
line 3, 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4, 4, Fig. 1.
The following is a description of the structure shown in the drawings referred
to, which illustrate my invention applied to the art of making glass, which, read
in connection with this specification, will enable those skilled in the art to apply
it not only in this art but likewise in analogous or related arts. 5 is the working
hearth, consisting of a suitable open tank of refractory material, in which the
charge 6 of glass-making materials is melted; 7 is the cap or arch of the furnace;
8, 8, 8b, are the exit passages leading to the stack or chimney 9; 20 is a damper
for controlling the chimney draft; 10 is a supply pipe through which air is con-
veyed through vertical passages 11 (Fig. 4), through horizontal continuations 12
(Fig. 3), to the vertical passages 13 (Fig. 1), whence it issues through the open
ings 14 into the combustion chambers; 15 is an underfeed stoker of a form now
well known in the art, being composed essentially of an Archimedes screw 16
(Fig. 3), a hopper 17, an air or steam inlet 18, and air or steam outlets 19; 21
are openings in the doors of the furnace through which the workmen gather the
glass; 22 are air spaces under the working hearth, which serve to keep the bot-
tom of the hearth cool, and prevent the glass from running through; 23 are
chambers on the ends of the hearth for the same purpose.
In the operation of the furnace, the stoker is filled with slack coal to a point
on the level with the tuyere openings 19: kindling wood is placed above the coal
and ignited; after the kindling is fairly lighted, the air-blast 18 is turned on
and when the coal is ignited the stoker may be started, and a continuous supply
of fuel from the hopper kept up. The auxiliary air, through the opening 14,

page_text: 4
is not admitted until after the furnace becomes heated to a point above a bright
red heat. The hearth is now ready to receive the charge of material, which is
preferably fed in through the doors 21; this charge consisting of sand, lime and
soda in usual proportions for making the regular quality of glass.
In making glass of the better grades, by heat directly obtained from the com-
bustion of fuel, it is necessary to melt the ingredients in closed pots, to prevent
discoloration by the products of combustion. Furthermore, in such furnaces
the temperature cannot be maintained with the desired evenness, due to the fact
that the introduction of fuel on top of the ignited mass temporarily diminishes
the temperature of the gases supplied to the pots.
To overcome these difficulties, several expedients have been resorted to. For
example, the glass has been made by the burning of producer gas, on the plan
of the well-known Siemens regenerators. While this expedient permits of mak-
ing glass by the open hearth process, yet it does not insure a continuously uniform
temperature, due to the necessity for reversing the draft at frequent intervals in
furnaces operating on this plan.
My present invention consists in an improvement in the method of and means
for making glass on the plan adopted in the Siemens regenerative furnaces. The
fresh coal introduced into the stoker reservoir, in its passage upward, is deprived
of its hydrocarbon constituents by distillation, and of its water by evaporation.
As an incandescent layer of coke is always on top of the fresh fuel, and air is
admitted about the point where distillation takes place, the hydrocarbon gases
are, for the most part, converted into carbonic acid, and the steam is converted
into hydrogen gas, in its passage through the incandescent coke. Whatever car-
.bonic oxide is evolved from the combustion of the hydrocarbon constituents or
the combustion of the fixed carbons, or the passage of carbonic acid through the
incandescent coke, is converted into carbonic acid by the introduction of hot air
through the openings 14, and the hydrogen gas is oxidized by the same agency.
Ui course a larger amount of hydrogen gas will be formed it steam and air be
admitted through the tuyere openings 19. The entire product of combustion is
therefore a pure, smokeless, non-oxidizing flame or heat, substantially similar to
that obtained in furnaces employing a producer gas. My furnace, however, has
the advantage over furnaces constructed on the plan of the Siemens, not only in
reduced cost of operating, but also in the fact that the draft is not reversed, al-
though, as in the Siemens furnaces, the air supplied (through the openings 14)
to convert carbonic oxide into carbonic acid is highly heated by the waste heat
%
of combustion.
The products of combustion in the flues 83, 8b, passing from the rear to the
front end of the furnace, give up their heat to the enclosed brickwork, and this
heat is absorbed by the fresh air admitted through conduit 10, passing down
through passages 11, along through passages. 12, and up through passages 13.
In this way the air-blast is highly heated as it is in the Siemens furnaces, but
without the reversal of draft characteristic of those furnaces.
In this way a superior quality of glass may be made on an open hearth, and as
the heat applied to the batch is uniform throughout the entire operation, a glass
freer from bubbles, as well as more uniform in character, is obtained. Hence a
flint glass may be made in an open tank by my apparatus which will compare
favourably with flint glass made in covered pots.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1st. The combination, in a furnace, of a receptacle for coal, means for intro-
ducing coal and air below an incandescent bed of coke therein, means for intro-
ducing highly heated atmospheric air above the incandescent bed of coke, and
a receptacle to contain the elements to be heated, substantially as described.
2nd. The combination, in a furnace, of a receptacle for coal, means for intro-
ducing coal and air below an incandescent bed of coke therein, means for intro-

page_text: ducing highly heated atmospheric air above the incandescent bed of coke, and
an open hearth to contain the elements to be heated, substantially as described.
3rd. The combination, in a furnace, of a receptacle for coal, means for intro-
ducing coal and air below an incandescent bed of coke therein, means for intro-
ducing atmospheric air above the incandescent bed of coke, a receptacle to contain
the elements to be heated, alternate passages for conveying away the hot products
of combustion to the chimney, and for conveying to the combustion chamber
fresh atmospheric air substantially as described.
4th. The combination, in a furnace, of a receptacle for coal, means for intro-
ducing coal and air below an incandescent bed of coke therein, means for intro-
ducing atmospheric air above the incandescent bed of coke, a receptacle to contain
the elements to be heated, and a series of parallel longitudinal passages, extend-
ing from end to end of the furnace, for conveying away the hot waste products
of combustion to the chimney, and intervening passages for conveying to the
combustion chamber fresh atmospheric air, substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1899.
FELL & JAMES,
Agents for the Applicant.