Improvements in or relating to Means or Apparatus for Conveying the Boxes to and from Electric Furnaces.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, oin Dec., 1091
Complete Specification Left, 8th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1898
Date of Application, on Dec., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1898
Improvements in or relating to Means or Apparatus for Conveying
the Boxes to and from Electric Furnaces.
We, JOSEPH BASTICK, of 1, Carrill Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Electrical Engineer, and WILLIAM ARTHUR THORNTON, of
Belper House, Market Place, Wetherby, in the County of York, Manager, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
-
This invention relates to improvements in means or apparatus for conveying
the boxes to and from electric furnaces.
Hitherto it has been customary to convey the boxes to and from the electric
furnace on wagons or trucks, and place them within the furnace by hand. This
involves loss of time and more labour than is absolutely necessary. The object
of this invention is to save time by conveying the boxes to and from the furnace
by mechanical means.
According to this invention a suitable travelling sheet or sheets made of any
suitable material and mounted upon rollers or pulleys is or are made to pass
into and through the opening or openings in the furnace, The travelling sheet
or sheets may be mounted upon suitable guides or framework with or without
suitable rollers for reducing the friction of the sheet or sheets in their passage
to and from their furnace. The rollers or pulleys upon which the travelling
sheet or sheets is or are mounted may be carried in suitable bearings provided
in the supporting framework. The travelling sheet or sheets may be arranged
to project on one or both sides of the furnace as is required, and a suitable plat-
form or platforms may be provided at one or both ends of the travelling sheet
or sheets to receive the box prior to its entry into the furnace and after it has
been withdrawn therefrom. If required a suitable incline may be provided leading
to each platform to enable the boxes to be more readily passed to or from the
same.
An intermittent traversing motion may be imparted to the travelling sheet or
sheets by hand or automatically by any suitable means from the operative parts
of the furnace through suitable gearing.
Other parts of the furnace may be of the usual and ordinary construction.
Dated this Sixth day of December 1897.
Improvements in or relating to Means or Apparatus for Conveying
the Boxes to and from Electric Furnaces,
We, JOSEPH BASTICK, late of 1, Carrill Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, but now of 110, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath, Bir-

page_text: mingham, in the County of Warwick, Electrical Engineer, and WILLIAM ARTHUR
THORNTON, of Belper House, Market Place, Wetherby, in the County of York,
Manager, 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; -
-
This invention relates to improvements in means or apparatus for conveying
the boxes to and from electric furnaces.
Hitherto it has been customary to convey the boxes to and from the electric
furnace on wagons or trucks, and place them within the furnace by hand. This
involves loss of time and more labour than is absolutely necessary. The object
of this invention is to save time by conveying the boxes to and from the furnace
by mechanical means.
In the drawings hereunto annexed; -
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of an electric furnace showing upper and lower
furnace boxes, and one form of mechanism for operating the upper furnace box.
Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of furnace showing furnace door with sight holes,
lower furnace box, with one form of mechanism for operating upper furnace box.
Fig. 3 a longitudinal section of furnace boxes, and one form of mechanism for
operating upper furnace box.
Fig. 4 a plan of furnace showing a form of mechanism for operating upper
furnace box.
Like parts in all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.
According to this invention A is the electric furnace, which may be of the usual
or ordinary construction, and provided with the carbon pencils A₁.
The carbon pencils A¹ are provided with shields B (which forms the subject
matter of a separate application for Letters Patent dated 8th September 1898
No. 19116) made of any suitable material and lined with a non-conducting
material, and the said carbon pencils A¹ are operated, that is, raised and lowered,
by means of the usual and ordinary arrangement of insulated wire rope C, pass-
ing over guide pulleys C, and connected to an eye bolt C² operated by a hand
wheel mounted between the lugs of a plate fixed to the front of the furnace,
so that the boss of the hand wheel C3 acts as a nut for the screw-threaded end of
the eye bolt C³.
D is one of the furnace boxes, made of any suitable material and lined with
any suitable non- conducting substance, and with a carbon or broken coke
hearth, and having either end doors E or bottom doors F or both combined, and
with or without delivery openings or openings in doors closed or plugged by a
plug or plugs held in position by levers F¹ or other suitable means.
On one or both sides of the furnace box 1) the axles d are prolonged to engage
with the travelling sheet or sheets to be hereafter described.
G is one of the lower furnace boxes lined and having a hearth similar to that
in the upper furnace box D), or it may simply be a trolley to take away the
finished material.
His the chain belt or travelling sheet hereafter termed travelling sheet H
which passes through openings into the furnace and is employed for conveying
the upper furnace box 1) to and from the furnace A, or for operating the furnace
box or boxes when in working position in the furnace A. The travelling sheet H
is made of any suitable material, and is mounted upon rollers, or pulleys, or
wheels for being operated thereby and which are carried in suitable bearings.
In the drawings it is shown mounted upon one form of sprocket wheel J, but any
other suitable and equivalent means may be employed for operating and carry-
ing the travelling sheet H. The travelling sheet H may also be mounted upon
suitable guides or frames, with or without suitable rollers for reducing the fric-
tion of the sheet or sheets in its or their passage to and from the furnace A, and
the travelling sheet or sheets H may be provided on both sides of the furnace
box D, or only on one side thereof. The travelling sheet or sheets H is or are..

page_text: provided with suitable grooves for engaging with the axles d of the furnace
box D.
KKK are the eccentric, rod, lever, and K¹ the clutch for causing the upper
furnace box 1) to travel backwards and forwards in the furnace A when the clutch
is in gear with the shifting clutch L, which operation is to be hereafter described.
L is the shifting clutch which is worked by the belt shipping lever M, and it is
keyed on the main shaft Q at L'.
When the lever M is in the position shown in the plan at Fig. 4, the furnace
box D is carried forward out of the furnace A by travelling sheet H, and furnace
box D¹ takes its place. During this operation the belt is on the fast pulley O
on shaft Q which drives the sprocket wheel J and sheet H.
When the furnace box is required to be moved backwards and forwards in the
furnace A, in order that the whole of the material contained in the furnace box
may come in contact with the carbon pencil A¹, the clutch L is put into gear
with the clutch K' (which is loose on the shaft Q). The driving belt is then
upon the loose pulley P.
The furnace box D is then moved backwards and forwards by means of the
eccentric K, which-mounted on and operated by shaft K2-operates clutches K¹
and L, the latter being keyed on the shaft Q which is thus partially rotated back-
wards and forwards, and works the travelling sheet through sprocket wheel J.
When the lever M is moved so that the driving belt is upon the loose pulley N,
no motion whatever is communicated to the shaft Q and furnace box D.
RR are sight holes provided in the door S of the furnace A and are covered,
say, with mica, or other suitable material,
The furnace box 1) and furnace box or trolley G are arranged to run on rails T
and a suitable platform or platforms U may be provided at one or both ends of
the travelling sheet or sheets to receive the box prior to its entry into the furnace
and after it has been withdrawn therefrom and if required a suitable incline may
be provided leading to each platform to enable the boxes to be more readily
passed to or from the same.
Any other equivalent form of mechanism than that described above may be
employed to communicate the necessary motions to the furnace box D, and other
parts of the furnace A may be of the usual and ordinary construction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion. and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is;-
The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the means or apparatus
for automatically conveying the furnace boxes to and from the electric furnace,
and for reciprocating them therein substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this Sirth day of September 1900
JOSEPH BASTICK,
WILLIAM ARTHUR THORNTON
By W. Fairburn-Hart,
Agent.