Substance for Distillation.
Year: 1888

page_text: Substance for Distillation.
We ROBERT DEMPSTER and JOHN DEMPSTER of the firm of R. and J. Dempster
of the Gas Plant Works, Newton Heath, near Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineers do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
Our said Invention consists of further improvements in or additions to a former
invention in respect of which one of us the said John Dempster made application on
the 2nd day of December 1887, for the grant of Letters Patent such application
bearing the Official Number 16582. In the said former invention the coal or
substance to be distilled was fed into the retorts by means of pistons or rams which
were pushed forward and withdrawn at intervals by means of racks and pinions
which were actuated by apparatus which received motion from a prime mover. Our
present invention relates moro particularly to the cases in which the retorts are
arranged in tiers as in large gas works where tho retorts are mounted at three, four
or more different heights above the furnace grate. In such cases we work the retorts
in vertical series and wo connect the rack pinion shafts of each series with apparatus
which receives motion from an overhead revolving or vibrating shaft. We prefer to
couple together two contiguous retorts on the same level so that taking for examplo
a case wherein the retorts would be set five high, ten retorts would constitute a series.
We impart to each rack pinion shaft a to and fro rocking or rotatory movement at
intervals by means of apparatus which receives motion from the overhead shaft.
In one arrangement two ratchet wheels are fixed upon the rack pinion shatt, the teeth
of one wheel being reversed as compared with the teeth of the other. A vibrating
arm carries two pawls which can be thrown into action alternately by means of a trip
motion which is worked by means of an endless chain, rope or band or of a vertical
shaft or reciprocating rod. A finger carried by the shaft roverses the pawls when the
piston has completed its inward movement a second finger or cam throwing the pawls
When employing an
out of gear at the termination of the outward movement.

page_text: A
endless chain a trip finger upon the chain sets in motion the feed apparatus of the
retorts in succession so that the pairs of retorts in the series are fed at regular
intervals. There may be more than one trip finger upon the chain. The vibrating
arms upon the rack pinion shafts in the series are or may be connected together by
means of links and receive motion from a lever which is upon the overhead rocking
shaft or which is worked by a crank or cam upon the overhead revolving shaft or the
said links may be directly acted upon by such crank or cam. In place of the chain
we may use a vertical shaft acting through reversing clutch motions upon the rack
pinion shaft. The rocking or to and fro rotatory motion might be imparted to each
shaft by means of a reciprocating rack gearing with a pinion upon the said shaft.
crank might be employed to give motion to the piston in lieu of the rack and pinion
in which case a complete revolution of the crank shaft would impart the to and fro
motion to the piston. A vibrating lever arm might be employed to actuate the piston
or fluid pressure acting directly that is to say without the intervention of levers or
gearing or acting on parts through which motion would, be transmitted to the piston.
We might adapt the piston to receive a charge and to arrange for such charge to be
delivered by a rotatory or rocking movement. It might be desirable to feed some
retorts oftener or heavier than others according to the varying heat due to the
different positions of the retorts relatively to the furnace grate. This may be effected
by making the length of stroke of each piston to be suitable to the position of the
retort, or by furnishing the shaft of each retort or pair of coupled retorts with an
arrangement of gearing, parts of which might be changeable such arrangement being
provided with clutches and with engaging and disengaging cams or parts and being
connected with the overhead shaft or with a vertical shaft or with a reciprocating rod
and adapted to impart the required movements to the further actuating shaft at such
suitable intervals as may be fixed upon. In place of gearing or of the chain or other
indicated means for regulating the times of action of the piston we may use water or
liquid as for example water may flow into a receptacle adapted to tilt after the
required interval of time and by tilting to open a valve or to set in motion the parts
which act upon the piston. The retorts in a bed may be fed from a common hopper.
either by means of a common shute communicating with side shutes leading into the
retorts or by means of two or more shutes or the coal or substance may be
discharged from the hopper in measured quantities at the required intervals and be
diverted to the retort which is to be fed at the time by means of movable shutes,
slides or guides. More than two retorts might be coupled together or connected
together so as to be fed at the same time by parts governed by one apparatus
receiving motion from the overhead shaft.
Dated this 7th day of March 1888.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.

page_text: Substance for Distillation.
We ROBERT DEMPSTER and JOHN DEMPSTER of the firm of R. & J. Dempster
of the Gas Plant Works, Newton Heath, near Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineers, 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 and accompanying Drawings:-
Our said Invention consists of further improvements in or additions to a former
invention in respect of which one of us the said John Dempster mado application on
the 2nd day of December 1887, for the grant of Letters Patent such application
bearing the Official Number 16582. In the said former invention the coal or
substance to be distilled was fed into the retorts by means of pistons or rams which
were pushed forward and withdrawn at intervals by means of racks and pinions
which were retuated by apparatus which received motion from a prime mover. Our
present invention relates more particularly to the cases in which the retorts are
arranged in tiers as in large gas works, where the retorts are mounted at three, four
or more different heights above the furnace grate. In such cases we work the
retorts in vertical series and we connect the rack pinion shafts of each series with
apparatus which receives motion from a revolving or rocking shaft. Wo in some
cases couple together two contiguous retorts on the same level so that taking for
example a case wherein the retorts would be set five high, ten retorts would constitute
a series. We impart to each rack pinion shaft a to and fro rocking or rotatory
movement at intervals by means of apparatus which receives motion from the
overhead shaft. In oure arrangement two ratchet wheels are fixed upon the rack
pinion shaft, the teeth of one wheel being reversed as compared with the teeth of the
otlier. A vibrating arm carries two pawls which can be thrown into action
alternately by means of a trip motion which is worked by means of an endless chain,
rope or hand or of a vertical shaft or reciprocating rod. When employing an endless
chain a trip finger upon the chain sets in motion the feed apparatus of the retorts in
succession so that the pairs of retorts in the series are fed at regular intervals. The
vibrating arms upon the rack pinion shafts in the series are or may be connected
together by means of links and receive motion from a lever which is upon the
overhead rocking shaft or which is worked by a crank or cam upon the overhead
revolving shaft or the said links may bo directly acted upon by such crank or cam.
A crank might be employed to give motion to the piston in lieu of the rack and
pinion in which case a complete revolution of the crank shaft would impart the
to and fro motion to the piston. A vibrating lever arm might be employed to actuate
the piston or fluid pressure acting directly that is to say without the intervention of
levers or gearing or acting on parts through which motion would be transmitted to
the piston. In place of gearing or of the chain or other indicated means for

page_text: regulating the times of action of the piston we may use water or liquid as for example
water may flow into a receptacle adapted to tilt after the required interval of time
and by tilting to open a valve or to set in motion the parts which act upon the piston.
The retorts in a bed may be fed from a common hopper either by means of a common
shute communicating with side shutes leading into the retorts or by means of two or
more shutes.
In order that our Invention may be clearly understood we will describe the same
more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In sheet 1 of the said drawings Fig. 1 represents a side view, Fig. 2 a plan and
Fig. 3 an end view of apparatus for actuating a rack shaft. In the said Figs. a is
a shaft which serves for two retorts which are supposed to be set in the same
horizontal line each end of the shaft being provided with a rack pinion which
gears with a rack which is attached to the charging piston or ram as in our said
former invention. Upon the said shaft are fixed two ratchet wheels b. the teeth
of one wheel being reversed with relation to the other as shown in Fig. 1. Upon the
same shaft is mounted one end of a vibrating levere the other end of the lever being
connected with suitable parts which vibrate the lever as for example the end of the
lever may be connected by means of a link with a crank, excentric or arm upon a
revolving or rocking shaft. The lever c carries a double pawl d which can bo turned
upon its fulcrum to engage with either one of the two ratchet wheels.
The
Upon the shaft a is loosely mounted a pulley e and partly around this pulley a
chain band or rope passes. In the example a chain is employed. This chain
receives a travelling motion from a pulley which may be upon an overhead shaft
which actuates a number of sets of apparatus as in the next succeeding example.
The said chain carries a trip finger for two or more such fingers. Each time
that this finger passes the pawl d the finger acts upon the heel of the pawl and
throws the upper arm of the pawl into gear with the ratchet wheel band at each
upward movement of the lever the shaft a is revolved to the extent of say one
tooth of the wheel the charging pistons being thereby pushed forward by a
succession of step movements until the charge of coal has been fully pushed home.
At this time a finger carried by the wheel lifts out of gear the upper arm of the
pawl and throws over the pawl so that the lower arm engages with the wheel and the
shaft a is revolved in the reverse direction whereby the charging piston is withdrawn
to receive a fresh charge. This withdrawing action continues until a finger or bowl ³
carried by the wheel bacting upon the lower arm of the pawl throws the latter out of
action. The movement of the shaft a now ceases until the finger for another
finger again puts the pawl in gear. In some cases the shaft a may serve for one
retort only. Two separate pawls might be used in place of the double pawl.
chain or band in most cases would serve to control the action of the parts
which would effect the successive charging of a number of retorts in a series as
in the example illustrated by the drawings on sheet 2 whereof Fig. 4 is a side
view and Fig. 5 a front view of the mouth ends of a vertical series of four
retorts, Fig. 6 being a plan view of the parts in Fig. 5. In this example the
chain is mounted upon a pulley e upon an overhead rocking shaft
upon a pulley e which revolves upon the rack pinion shaft a of the retort marked 1
which is the lowest in the series. The shaft is provided with a lever arm c
which is connected by links with the outer ends of the four levers which are
mounted upon the shafts a so that the rocking movement of the shaft g is trans-
mitted to all the four levers upon the said shafts a. The chain receives motion
from the lever c¹ by means of a pawl which gears with a ratchet wheel e² which is
connected with the wheel e¹. As the arm vibraies, the pawl turns the ratchet
wheel so that at each vibration the chain is moved a short distance. This movement
of the chain causes the aforesaid finger to act successively upon the pawls
belonging to the four retorts so that for example the charging movement of the
retort 1 will commence first then after an interval the charging piston of retort 2
will be set in motion and so on until the charging of retort 4 has commenced.
After a suitable interval a second finger upon the chain will set in action the
and also

page_text: charging apparatus of retort 1 and the successive movements will be repeated.
In the example a single toothed wheel takes the places of the two ratchet wheels
in the Figs. 1 to 3 the teeth of such single wheel being suitably shaped to be
acted upon in either direction by the double pawl. As herein before mentioned
each shaft a may serve for two retorts so that eight retorts might be controlled by
the apparatus shown. There may be less or more than four retorts in the vertical
series. The rate of motion of the chain is regulated by causing the pawl to take.
less or more teeth at each movement of the lever c¹. Any suitable means may he
adopted for effecting this regulation as for example the method included_in_the
drawings in sheet 3 next to be described may be used. In the last named sheet
Fig. 7 is a side view Fig. 8 a planland Fig. 9 an end view of a modification of the
apparatus which is illustrated by Figs. 1 to 3 such modification enabling us to
dispense with the chain but as the apparatus, in connection with each retort would
be more costly we prefer to use a chain or equivalent appliance in cases wherein
a number of retorts are worked in concert. In Figs. 7 to 9 h is a ratchet wheel
which is mounted upon the shaft a and carries a bowl which serves the purpose of
the aforesaid finger. A pawl h' is carried by a bell crank lever h² which swings
loosely upon the shaft a and is loaded so that it tends to return to its normal position
An extension c³ of the arm is provided with two studs 1. 2 the latter being
adjustable in a curved slot in the part c. As the arm c vibrates the two studs come
into alternate contact with the horizontal arm of the lover 2 and move it to and fro
the extent of such movement being determined by the position of the stud 2 in the
slot. As the ratchet wheel is thus rotated by a step movement the bowl striking
upon a finger throws the pawl d into gear once in each revolution the interval
between two such actions of the bowl depending upon the adjustment of the stud 2.
The pawl is reversed and thrown out of action by fingers or strikers as in the first
example. The drawings on sheet 4 show a method of controlling the actions of the
-pawls by means of a rod or rack bar instead of a chain. In this example i is a rod
or rack bar which is mounted to slide up and down in bearings and is provided with
fingers bowls or parts for throwing the pawls into action these parts being so
situated as that the pawls in the series are put into gear in succession during the
movement of the rod in one direction. The movement of the rod is effected by means
of a double pawl; which engages with rack teeth in the rod and is carried by tho
vibrating arm c upon the rocking shaft h. Taking the parts to be in the positions'
as illustrated each vibration of the arm would raise the rod to the extent of a
tooth of the rack unti! a finger upon the rod would reverse the pawl when the rod
would be gradually worked down until a second finger would again reverso the
pawl. We do not confine ourselves to the precise method of actuating the rod i. In
place of a rod a vertical or inclined revolving or rocking shaft might receive motion
from the overhead shaft and might be connected by means of reversing clutch
motions with the shafts a or might be arranged to throw in or to throw in and
out of action the pawls or equivalent apparatus employed to give motion to the
shafts a.
The drawings also show how the mouth pieces of the retorts are
connected together by means of shutes so that all the retorts in the vertical '
series receivo coal from a single bopper . Another modification is illustrated by
the drawings on sheet 5. In this example the levers c. c. c. are operated by an arm c¹
upon the rocking shaft has in previously described examples but the pawls in the
series are all thrown into gear simultaneously by means of a rod or it might be a
chain which is connected with a tilting receptacle into which water or liquid is
permitted to flow. When the contents of the receptacle have accumulated to a
sufficient extent the receptacle tilts thereby lifting the rod and putting the pawls into
gear with the ratchet wheels. The said tilting serves also to discharge the contents of
the receptacle so that it resumes its normal position and the liquid again flows into it..
It will be seen that the intervals of time between the charges can be regulated in any
degree by controlling the flow of the fluid. The receptacle might be arranged to
impart a succession of movements in one direction to the rod so as to put the pawls
into gear in succession or might impart the step movements to the aforesaid chain or

page_text: band. The drawings on sheet 6 illustrate a method of actuating the charging pistons
or rams directly without the aid of racks and pinions. In this example the said
pistons are attached to piston rods m. m which pass out through stuffing boxes in the
retort covers and are connected with the ends of levers n which are fixed upon short
shafts o which are mounted to turn in bearings. Upon the same shafts are fixed
- levers which are linked together and to a crank which is upon a revolving over-
head shaft g. It will be seen that all the retorts will be charged simultaneously in
unison and the pisions be withdrawn also in unison these movements being effected
during a single revolution of the shaft so that the speed of this shaft must be such
as to give the necessary intervals of time between the charges. As hereinbefore
mentioned we may use fluid pressure in lieu of a rack and pinion for actuating the
charging pistons or rams. In such cases the valves for controlling the flow of the
water or steam or fluid under pressure might be opened and closed by means of
travelling chains or moving rods actuated by similar means to those already herein
described or the method illustrated by the drawings on sheet 7 might be employed.
In this example a hydraulic cylinder containing a piston is attached to the mouth s
of a retort. The said piston is connected with the charging ram and suitable means
are provided for controlling the flow of liquid under pressure so that the liquid is
admitted to the space at the back of the piston when the charge is to be pushed
forward and to the space in front of the piston when the charging ram is to be with-
drawn. In the example we employ a rotating valve seen most clearly at t in the
sectional view Fig. 20. A plan view of the circular valve box appears in Fig. 19.
The said valve is adapted to control the supply and exhaust of the acting liquid to and
from the charging apparatus of six retorts. Each hydraulic cylinder would be
connected with the valve box by means of two pipes and w the former admitting the
pressure to the front of the piston in the cylinder and the latter to the back of such
piston. The other pipes appearing as broken would be correspondingly connected
with the other five cylinders in the series. The valve t is fitted to revolve in the box a
being driven by means of a spur wheel e outside the box or the valve might be
actuated by means of a ratchet wheel and pawl. A central port or passage remains in
constant communication with a pipe y which conveys the fluid pressure to the valve.
The other end of the said passage opens out to the valve face which revolves in sliding
contact with a prepared face formed on the lid of the valve box. As the valve rotates
=
v
with an intermittent or continuous motion according to the arrangement adopted the
passage is brought successively into communication with the pipes w and whereby
the piston in is alternately forced inward toward the retort and drawn back. When
the valve is passing liquid into either of the two pipes the exhaust from the cylinder
flows through the other pipe into the valve box and escapes at u. The means for
supplying the hydraulic cylinders with liquid may be greatly varied. In place of
using water or other liquid as the acting medium steam pressure might be employed.
In any of the examples we might arrange for the coal charger to receive a charge and
to arrange for such charge to be delivered by a rotatory or rocking movement. It
might be desirable to feed some retorts oftener or heavier than others according to the
varying heat due to the different positions of the retorts relatively to the furnace grate.
This may be effected by making the length of stroke of each piston to be suitable to the
position of the retort, or by furnishing the shaft of each retort or pair of coupled
retorts with an arrangement of gearing, parts of which might be changeable such
arrangement being provided with clutches and with engaging and disengaging cams
or parts and being connected with the overhead shaft or with a vertical shaft or with a
reciprocating rod and adapted to impart the required movements to the further
actuating shaft at such suitable intervals as may be fixed upon.
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 :-
(1) In gas retort charging apparatus actuating the rack shafts which give motion
to the chargers in a series of retorts by parts which set in motion such rack shafts in

page_text: succession so that the single or coupled retorts in a series are successively charged
with intervals of time between the chargings substantially as set forth and
indicated.
(2) In gas retort charging apparatus the travelling chain, band or rope for
successively setting in motion parts which actuate the piston ram ог retort
charger.
(3) In gas retort charging apparatus connecting together the sets of parts which
give motion to the rack pinion shafts by means of rods or shafts which receive
motion from an overhead revolving or rocking shaft substantially as set forth and
indicated.
(4) The two reverse ratchet wheels or the single toothed wheel upon the rack pinion
shaft a operated in succession by means of a tumbling or reversing double pawl or by
means of two pawls put into and out of gear at the required times substantially as and
for the purpose set forth and indicated.
(5) Actuating the rack pinion shafts of a number of gas retorts in a series by
means of vibrating levers connected together and to an overhead rocking shaft
ubstantially as set forth and indicated.
(6) In gas retort charging apparatus controlling the action of the charger
actuating parts by means of a tilting receptacle the rate of flow of liquid into such
receptacle determining the intervals between the charging substantially as set
forth.
(7) In gas retort charging apparatus the levers a linked to the outer ends of the
piston rods m and receiving movement through parts connected with an overhead
shaft g substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
(8) The gas retorts connected together by means of shutes so as to be fed from a
single hopper in combination with parts for feeding forward charges into the retorts
substantially as set forth and indicated with reference to the drawings in sheets 4. 5.
and 6.
(9) In apparatus for the continuous charging of gas retorts tho employment of
reciprocating pistons working in cylinders and operated by fluid pressure so as
to advance and retract the chargers substantially as hereinbefore described and
shown.
(10) In gas retort charging apparatus the employment of pistons operated upon
by fluid pressure to actuate the chargers the flow of the fluid being controlled by
means of valves so operated as that the movements of all the pistons connected
with the retorts in a series shall take place in succession substantially as set
forth.
(11) The combinations of parts constructed arranged and acting or designed to act
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and indicated.
Dated this 7th day of December 1888.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.