TunnawaMDERS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Speid Livingstone, of Bedward Lodge,
Norwood, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention
of it TunnawaMDERS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Speid
Livingstone at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 23rd December 1873.
I, ALEXANDER SPEID LIVINGSTONE, of Bedward Lodge, Norwood, in
the County of Surrcy, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL
FUEL," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the manufacture of artificial fuel and consists
of an improved arrangement and combination of machinery to effect that
object, viz., a revolving vertical moulding wheel or wheels mounted
upon a horizontal axis, or otherwise centrally supported and fed by one or
more pug mills which deliver the ingredients composing the fuel in a

page_text: mixed state into cells formed in the sole or rim of the wheel.
Subse-
quently the compound is subjected to considerable pressure from one or
more suitable compressors, as the case may be, so as to express the
moisture contained in the mass and form blocks of fuel of any approved
dimensions and configuration. The process is greatly facilitated by the
employment of steam (superheated by preference) both as a heating and
mixing medium by which the plasticity of the compound is sufficiently
maintained to admit of its receiving the desired form, subsequently to
which I pass the blocks through a heated oven to dry them.
Patent Office on the 23rd June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
SPEID LIVINGSTONE, of Bedward Lodge, Norwood, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in
the thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Speid Livingstone,
Her special licence that I, the said Alexander Speid Livingstono, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Speid Livingstone, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Speid
Livingstone, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: 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 Alexander Speid Livingstone, 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 following statement :-
My Invention relates to the manufacture of artificial fuel, and consists
of an improved arrangement and combination of machinery for effecting
that object.
I form the blocks of fuel in a vertically placed wheel which may be
mounted upon a horizontal axis or upon a central supporting frame. In
the latter case one or more rollers may be employed with advantage at
the crown of the frame to relieve the rubbing surfaces from undue
friction. The circumference of the wheel is divided into any desired
number of cells or moulds of size suitable for the weight of blocks
required.
I prefer to feed the moulds at the summit of the mould wheel as
being more convenient for the connection and action of the feeder with
the mixing mill.
One or more moulds may be filled or charged at one time, and two or
more mould wheels may be worked from one feeder and mixing mill.
It is desirable that the feed should issue from the circumference of the
feeding cylinders or as nearly so as may be (as shewn in the accom-
panying Drawings), and not at or close to the centre, by which arrange-
ment greater certainty in the feeding of the cells or moulds will be
insured.
In order to cause the bituminous matter which is employed as a com-
ponent of the fuel to effect the complete adhesion of the particles of the
coal, so as to form a homogeneous mass, I mix the ingredients under a
temperature sufficient to render the bituminous matter adhesive, for
which purpose steam, superheated or otherwise (the former by pre-
ference) is admitted into casings surrounding both the mixing and
feeding mills as well as to the interior of both, so that it may permeate
the mass of ingredients.
I prefer superheated steam as being less charged with water, an excess
of which would be injurious to the fuel, both preventing the proper

page_text: amalgamation of the ingredients and also entailing the necessity for
subsequent dessication to drive off the water. The object of the heat is
to maintain the plasticity of the compound until it has attained its
desired form under the action of the compressors. The condensed steam
which is formed in the mill cases is conveyed away by suitable pipes and
its escape regulated by a float valve or a syphon by which a gradual
discharge of the accumulated water is maintained and the steam pre-
vented from escaping.
When the moulds charged with the materials have been advanced
step by step to that part of the apparatus where the pressure is to be
applied (which for convenience I arrange at the horizontal diameter of
the wheel) a compressor is caused to advance from the inside or outside
of the wheel to form the blocks of fuel to the required thickness; it is
actuated by means of an excentric on the centre axis or other suitable
and convenient device. One or more followers may be attached to one
compressor frame, by which several blocks may be pressed at each stroke,
as may be found desirable. Simultaneously by this operation the
finished block of fuel is discharged from the mould wheel as herein-after
described.
In most cases (though not of necessity) I prefer to make the abutting
block movable, and to advance in the opposite direction to the com-
pressor and with the same rate of motion, so that the movement of the
compressing surfaces may be a minimum. By this arrangement a fixed
abutment is dispensed with, and the action of the machine is self con-
tained.
After the block of fuel has received its desired pressure the compressor
retreats from the mould, and when fairly free therefrom the mould wheel
is moved circumferentially a space equal to the distance between the
centres of each mould or set of moulds, bringing another charged mould
or set of moulds opposite to the compressor. This movement is effected
by means of a pall which falls into ratchet teeth on the side or sole of
the mould wheel and is moved by an excentric on the centro axis. The
friction and weight of the mould wheel with its load will, it is appre-
hended, be amply sufficient to prevent any undue retrograde movement,
but should such not be the case a retaining detent may be applied or the
advance of the mould which may be effected by means of a tangent
screw and circular rack, or any other suitable device for producing the

page_text: refrigerator to envelop the lower half of the mould wheel, and thus
to promote the setting of the blocks.
Having now described generally the nature and action of the appa-
ratus which I propose to employ, I will now refer to the accompanying
Drawing and description which will more fully and particularly shew 5
the proposed construction of my said Invention.
is an end view of the same.
Figures 3 and 4 views of a somewhat different arrangement for
carrying out the same object, but preserving the same distinctive
features.
The same letters of reference apply to all the Figures.
A is a mould wheel (turned truly on its faces and edges) which
may be of any suitable diameter containing cells or moulds for the
reception of the first materials. These moulds may be of any desired
form, as spherical, cylindrical, rectangular, or of such other form as
the demand may require; this variety of form may be provided for
by sets of liners which can be changed as often as may be desired,
avoiding the expense of separate machines for the several characters:
of blocks; B, the supporting frames turned on the rims to suit the
mould wheel; these frames are made in pieces for the convenience
of getting them into place; they are securely bolted to a strong
foundation plate C, and also to each other. They form also the
supporting frames for the feeding and mixing mills; a few rollers D
are fitted to the upper part of these frames capable of nice adjust-
ment by cotters E, so that they may take sufficient bearing against
the inner edges of the mould wheel A to relieve it from undue friction;
F is a compressor having one or more followers on its end to set one
or more blocks of fuel at each stroke, it slides on the foundation plate O,
on which it is guided by suitable slides; G is a moveable abutment
guided on the plate C in the same manner as the compressor F; they
are both worked by means of excentrics H so placed on the main
axis I as to work in opposite directions. The compressor excentric
is faced with hardened steel, and works directly on the end of the

page_text: frame T against an adjustable hardened steel bed f The excentrics
for the movable abutment are attached thereto by side rods K; L is
a discharger formed at the end similarly to the compressor, so as to
discharge simultaneously the same number of full blocks. It is guided
in the supporting frame B, and worked off the lower part of the com-
pressor frame by a lever M. connected therewith by links N, O.
for the movable abutment are attached thereto by side rods K; L is
a discharger formed at the end similarly to the compressor, so as to
discharge simultaneously the same number of full blocks. It is guided
in the supporting frame B, and worked off the lower part of the com-
pressor frame by a lever M. connected therewith by links N, O.
The axis I may be driven at the required speed by leather straps from
any convenient prime mover.
The mould wheel is advanced circumferentially by a pall m taking
successively into ratchet teeth on its side or solc, which pall receives
motion from a lever n worked by an excentric on the main axis through
a connecting rod o. The pall is kept in contact with the ratchet teeth
by a lever and counterpoise p. P is a feeding trunk or passage through
which the materials are conveyed to the moulds; Q is the feeding mill
fitted with blades formed as segments of a screw, by which the materials
are forced into the moulds with certainty and regularity; R is a mixing
mill in which the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. It has a
double bottom the upper plate S of which is movcable and is partially
cut away to act as a slide or shutter, which when open allows the
materials to pass into the feeding mill Q at regular intervals, and for
that purpose is moved by suitable gear (a pinion and segment rack) T.
This gear is worked by a handle t, and connected with T by mitre
wheels . The axis common to the two mills Q, R, is driven by bevel
gear V and a strap on pullies W, being thrown in and out of gear by a
lever X. It is desirable that the gear by which the feed is regulated
should be concentrated on the upper floor on which the materials are
delivered to the mills.
As steam will in most cases be employed internally for heating the
ingredients in the mills Q, R, to facilitate the union of the bituminous
or other adhesive matter with the coal it will be necessary to close the
mouth of the mill R by a steam-tight cover, and for this purpose the
upper part of the mill casing may be conically formed, into which a
suitable cover Y with an elastic packed edge may be lowered after the
mill has been charged with the due quantity of ingredients for a charge.
It will be secured in its place by a bayonet fastening or similar device,
which will only require a small circumferential movement of a lever to

page_text: fix it in its place. This cover must be raised when the mill requires
charging, and it may for this purpose be suspended from a pulley and
counterpoised with suitable weights, or the mouth of the mill may be
covered by a fixed cover with a convenient aperture for feeding from the
shoot fitted with a steam-tight sliding door.
It would be convenient and conducive to accuracy in the preparation
of the materials if the shoot were made of a definite capacity suitable for
a single charge for the mixing mill.
Although I prefer the arrangement of apparatus shewn in Figures 1
and 2 I sometimes arrange the compressor F and movable abutment G
as in Figures 3 and 4. It will be seen that instead of acting radially
with respect to the mould wheel, as in Figures 1 and 2, the compressor F
and movable abutment G enter the moulds on the sides or soles thereof.
The feeding is also effected on the sides, but in all other respects the
general features of the apparatus are in both cases alike.
It may be necessary when coal tar or similar substances are employed
in conjunction with the coal to subject the blocks of the fuel after
pressure to the action of heat in order to dry them and thoroughly set
them.
In applying my Invention to the manufacture of blocks of peat fuel I
propose to take the peat as cut into convenient sized blocks, say two feet
long, two feet six inches in width, and one foot six inches thick, and to
place the blocks on the feeding plate of a cutting machine similar to a
chaff or tobacco-cutting engine. The blocks are then passed in suc-
cession between fluted or otherwise roughened rollers placed hopperwise,
so that their surfaces may form a taper hopper converging to the cutting
mouth of the machine, whereby the blocks will be gradually advanced
and compressed until they arrive at the knives, by which they are cut
into slices of convenient thickness, say half an inch to one inch thick,
according to the set of the feed.
The blocks of peat may with advantage be reduced to about one-third
or one-fourth of their bulk in the cutting machine in order to give more
solidity to the cut, and at the same time to get rid of a portion of the
surplus water preliminarily to the pressing.
The escape of the water may be facilitated by perforating the bottom

page_text: block of fuel, whether that movement be obtained by means of excentrics
or other mechanical devices, or by hydraulic or other action.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Speid Livingstone, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
AMH. H. RENTON,
57, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
A. S. LIVINGSTONE. (L.S.)