An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Annealing or Cooling Hot Articles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 14th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 18th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Annealing or Cooling
Hot Articles.
I ERNST HAMMESFAHR, of 25 Alexanderstrasse, Berlin (), 27, in the Empire
of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for annealing or cooling hot
articles.
The annealing or cooling of warm, hot or incandescent articles of glass, porcelain,
terra-cotta, clay, ebonite or other material has heretofore been effected in the open
air or in rooms which are either not closed at all or are but imperfectly closed
against the outer air. According to the prevailing circumstances a more or less
rapid cooling then takes place, which causes the articles to become harder and more
brittle than may be desirable either for the further treatment or for use.
By the present process I propose to obviate too rapid a cooling, thereby making
the articles to be cooled especially soft or tough, and preventing the distortion,
cracking or breaking of the same during the cooling.
For obtaining this object the articles are placed in receptacles of suitable form
and size, which are then hermetically closed. By their own heat the articles
produce in the receptacles a certain temperature, which decreases but very gradually
by the cooling due to the outer air or by radiation, and causes a very slow cooling
or annealing of all the articles contained in the receptacle.
This temperature may for a time be kept at approximately the same degree by
the further introduction into the receptacle of hot articles to be annealed or cooled.
From the commencement of the annealing or cooling process hot articles are in this
case continually added to the articles first introduced for the purpose of continually
impeding or retarding the annealing or cooling of the articles previously introduced.
Accordingly there are in such an annealing or cooling receptacle, after the last
introduction, articles at the highest temperature, articles at a temperature of only
a few degrees less, and articles having intermediate degrees of temperature. When
the receptacle is now tightly closed, the temperatures of the articles will first be
equalized to an approximately mean degree common to all, and only then will begin
the further annealing or cooling in the closed receptacle until they are quite cold.
According to the size and form and the material of the articles to be annealed or
cooled a greater or smaller number may be subjected to the process at the same
time. Large articles may also be annealed or cooled singly in the tightly closed
receptacle.
This annealing or cooling process may be repeated for the same articles, if it is
specially desired to reduce the brittleness and obtain great toughness, softness or
the like.
The annealing or cooling receptacles employed are simple vessels, pots, boxes,
drums, cases or the like, of a size corresponding to the space necessary for a larger
or smaller number of articles to be annealed or cooled. The introduction of the
articles takes place through as small an aperture as practicable. This aperture is
adapted to be closed by a door, flap, slide, plug or the like.
I will proceed to describe my invention as carried out by means of an
annealing or cooling box. This box, which may be round, square, rectangular or
of any other appropriate form, is provided with one, two or more shelves on which
the articles to be annealed or cooled, such as glasses, pots, vases, figures of glass,
porcelain, terra-cotta or the like, are placed so that they cannot touch each other
гл •

page_text: directly. Then the cover is put on, the joint between the cover and the body of
the box is closed tightly, whereupon the whole is left to itself. The shelves may
be removed simply from the top.
Instead of having a cover the receptacle may be provided with a lateral door.
The articles to be cooled may be put upon fixed shelves of suitable construction or
upon removable shelves.
The receptacles may also be divided into departments, and each department
furnished with a door flap, slide or the like. The shelves may either be adjustable
or removable to enable articles of different sizes to be annealed or cooled in the same
box or receptacle.
.
Receptacles in the form of boxes have the advantage that the several articles
can be put up so as to be easily seen, and that the progress of the annealing or
cooling process can be conveniently observed. Moreover the shelves last introduced
or any single article may be taken out earlier than the others and in some instances
exchanged with other shelves carrying hot articles for retarding the cooling of the
other articles.
The walls, bottoms, covers or doors of the receptacles may be lined with asbestos
or other suitable non-conducting material, or surrounded by the same or by an air-
jacket, in order to prevent or impede as much as possible the radiation or the action
of the cooler outer air in decreasing the temperature in the interior. Heat may
also be introduced into the receptacle from the outside or produced in the interior
in any suitable manner, in case the cooling is to be still further prolonged. For
instance the receptacles may be provided with steam jackets which are supplied with
steam, or hot or incandescent articles may subsequently be introduced from time to
time. Furthermore the annealing or cooling may also be accelerated by the
admission of cold, should this be desired after a certain time.
This annealing or cooling process can be employed with great advantage for
annealing or slowly cooling small articles of metal, and it is also suitable for
annealing or slowly cooling large articles of metal. Such articles are cooled singly
or several together in tightly closed receptacles either once or several times in
succession with the object of imparting to them the necessary or desired softness
and toughness throughout their material.
For example such tightly closed receptacles of suitable size are adapted for
cooling very slowly rolled iron bars, rods, rails, axles, tyres, wheels, plates, tubes,
guns and the like, and for preparing these articles for direct use or for further
treatment. The hardest English steel may in this manner be rendered as soft and
malleable as ingot iron.
Castings are placed in such receptacles either in the red or dark red state, that
is to say when they are solidified to such an extent that they no longer change their
form, and are slowly cooled so that they become very tough, do not break or receive
any cracks, can be very easily worked, and possess great durability.
To obviate too great an expansion of air and consequently explosions of the
receptacle in cases of too great a development of heat after the introduction into
the tightly closed receptacles of large articles, the air may be pumped from these
receptacles so as to create a vacuum or a partial vacuum, or the receptacles may
be provided with safety valves which will open when a certain pressure in the
interior is exceeded, and automatically close again when the pressure decreases
again below the limit.
Provision may also be made for pumping warm air into the interior of the
receptacles, thereby retarding or regulating the decrease of heat at will.
During the cooling of sufficiently hot iron I may also introduce crushed charcoal
or the like into the receptacles, and convert in this manner for instance weld iron
or ingot iron either entirely or on the surface by the reception of carbon.
iron may be made harder in this manner.
Cast
Inversely, by forcing hot air into the closed receptacles or by blowing it through
them a certain decarbonisation of the incandescent articles may be effected, in
order to make steel softer. In some cases the heat of the article itself is sufficient

page_text: for heating the air in the interior of the receptacle to such an extent and producing
such a pressure that the decarbonisation will take place.
Dated this 16th day of April 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Annealing or Cooling
Hot Articles.
I, ERNST HAMMESFAHR, of 25 Alexanderstrasse, Berlin, O, 27 in the Empire
of Germany, 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 invention relates to a method of and apparatus for annealing or cooling hot
articles.
The annealing or cooling of warm, hot or incandescent articles of glass, porcelain,
terra-cotta, clay, ebonite or other material has heretofore been effected in the open
air or in rooms which are either not closed at all or are but imperfectly closed
against the outer air.
According to the prevailing circumstances a more or less rapid cooling then
takes place which causes the articles to become harder and more brittle than may
be desirable either for the further treatment of the said articles or for their
ultimate use.
By means of the present process I propose to obviate too rapid a cooling thereby
making the articles particularly soft or tough, and preventing the distortion, cracking
or breaking of the same during the said cooling.
For attaining this object the articles are placed in receptacles of suitable form
and size, which are then hermetically closed. The heated articles cause a rise of
temperature in the receptacles which only decreases very gradually by the cooling,
due to the outer air, or by radiation, a very slow cooling or annealing of all the
articles contained in the receptacle being thereby effected.
The interior of the receptacle may for a time, be kept at approximately the
same temperature by the further introduction of hot articles which are to be
annealed or cooled. From the commencement of the annealing or cooling process,
hot articles are in this case continually added to the articles first introduced for the
purpose of continually impeding or retarding the annealing or cooling of the
articles previously introduced. Accordingly, after the introduction of the last
article some of the said articles are at the highest temperature, while others' are
at a very low temperature and still other articles having intermediate degrees of
temperature. If the receptacle is now tightly closed, the temperatures of the
articles will become equalized to an approximately mean degree common to all,
after which the further annealing or cooling of the articles will begin, the
temperature continuing to fall until they are quite cold.
According to the size and form of the articles to be annealed or cooled and the
material of which they are composed a greater or smaller number may be subjected
to the process at the same time. Large articles may also be annealed or cooled
singly in the aforesaid tightly closed receptacle.
This annealing or cooling process may be repeated for the same articles, if it is
specially desired to reduce the brittleness and obtain great toughness, softness or
the like. The annealing or cooling receptacles employed simply consist of vessels,
pots, boxes, drums, cases or the like, of a size corresponding to the space necessary
for a larger or smaller number of articles to be annealed or cooled. The articles
are introduced through as small an aperture as practicable. This aperture is
adapted to be closed by a door, flap, slide, plug or the like.

page_text: •
:
In the accompanying drawing I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a receptacle constructed according to my
invention.
Figure 2 is a cross section of another form of receptacle provided with a door.
Figure 3 is a section of another form of receptacle in which each separate
compartment is provided with a door.
Figure 4 is a section of a receptacle having an outer coating of non-conducting
material.
Figure 5 is a section of a similar receptacle provided with an air jacket.
Figure 6 is a sectional view showing the application of a steam jacket to my
improved receptacle and
Figure 7 illustrates details of my invention.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
Referring to Figure 1 the cooling chest consists of a box a which may be round
square, rectangular or of any other appropriate form, the said box is provided with
one, two or more shelves or cases d on which the articles to be annealed or cooled,
such as glasses, pots, vases, figures of glass, porcelain, terra-cotta or the like, are
. placed so that they cannot touch each other directly. The box is provided with a
cover e the joint between which and the body of the box is so made as to be
perfectly tight. The shelves d may be removed singly from the top.
Instead of having a cover e the receptacle may be provided with a lateral door
as shown in Figure 2 and the articles to be cooled may be put upon fixed shelves h
of suitable construction, or upon removable shelves or cases d.
The receptacles may also as shown in Figure 3, be divided into compartments,
each compartment being furnished with doors i or a flap, slide or the like. The
shelves may either be adjustable or removable, to enable articles of different sizes
to be annealed or cooled in the same box or receptacle.
Receptacles in the form of boxes have the advantage that the several articles can
be put up so as to be easily seen, and that the progress of the annealing or cooling
process can be conveniently observed. Moreover, the shelves last introduced or any
single article may be taken out earlier than the others and in some instances
exchanged with other shelves carrying hot articles for retarding the cooling of
the other remaining articles.
The walls, bottoms, covers or doors of the receptacles may be lined with asbestos
or other suitable non-conducting material, or surrounded by the same as shown at m
in Figure 4. Or they may be surrounded by an air jacket k as in Figure 5 in order
to prevent or impede, as much as possible, the radiation of the heat of the walls of the
receptacles or the action of the cooler outer air upon them and thus also the lowering
of the temperature in the interior. Heat may also be introduced into the receptacles
from the outside or produced in the interior in any suitable manner, in case the
cooling is to be still further delayed. For instance the receptacles inay be provided
with steam jackets / Figure 6 which are supplied with steam, or arrangements may
be made for pumping warm air into the interior of the receptacles and thus retard
or regulate the decrease of the heat at will. Furthermore the annealing or cooling
may also be accelerated by the admission of cold, should this be desired after a
certain time.
This annealing or cooling process can be employed with great advantage for
annealing or slowly cooling small articles of metal, and it is alzo suitable for
annealing or slowly cooling large articles of metal. Such articles are cooled singly
or several together in tightly closed receptacles either once or several times in
succession with the object of imparting to them the necessary or desired softness
and toughness throughout their material.
For example such tightly closed receptacles of suitable size are adapted for
cooling very slowly rolled iron, bars, rods, rails, axles, tyres, wheels, plates, tubes,
guns and the like, and for preparing these articles for direct use or for further

page_text: treatment. The hardest English steel may in this manner be rendered as soft
and malleable as ingot iron.
Castings are placed in such receptables when at a heat corresponding to either
a red or dark red color, that is to say, when the said castings are solidified to
such an extent that they no longer change their form, and are slowly cooled
so that they become very tough, do not break or crack, can be very easily
worked and possess great durability.
or a
To obviate the consequences of too great an expansion of air, and the consequent
bursting of the walls of the receptacle in cases of too great a development of
heat after the introduction into the tightly closed receptacles of large articles,
the air may be pumped from these receptacles so as to create a vacuum
partial vacuum, or the receptacle may be provided with a safety valve t, Figure 5,
which will open when a certain pressure in the interior is exceeded, and automatically
close again when the pressure again decreases.
A cooling receptacle with a pumping device for producing a vacuum is
represented in Figure 6. It is provided at the bottom with an aperture q in which
is secured the end of an air pipe r having a valve leading to an air pump
by the operation of which vacuum may be produced in the interior of the cooling
On the
receptacle. During the cooling process the valve remains closed.
termination of the process it is opened so that the air can enter the receptacle and
the cover can be opened. The air-tight joint of the cover may be made by means
of a packing piece n Figures 5 and 6. Figure 7 shows a detail of a tight joint for
doors as used for boxes in which a vacuum is to be produced. As shown in the said
figure the front frame of the box a, is provided with a groove extending all round
in which is arranged an indiarubber packing 8, while the door g or the doors i
are formed with projecting beads by which, when the door is closed, the
indiarubber packing is pressed firmly and tightly into the groove thereby hermetically
closing the receptacle.
The
Any suitable means may be employed for pumping warm air into the interior
of the receptacle to retard the decrease of the heat. A cooling receptacle arranged
for this purpose is represented in Figure 5. The cover e is hermetically secured
to the receptacle by means of screws and a leather packing joint as at n.
warm air is pumped in through the pipe o and removed through the pipe p.
Valves o' and p' are arranged in the inlet o and outlet p respectively by which the
warm air can be regulated or shut off.
During the cooling of sufficiently hot iron I may also introduce crushed charcoal
or the like into the receptacles, and convert in this manner for instance weld iron
or. ingot iron either wholly or on the surface by thus carbonizing the same.
Cast iron may be made harder in this manner.
Inversely, by forcing hot air into the closed receptacles or by blowing it through
them a certain decarbonisation of the incandescent articles may be effected, in order
to make steel softer. In some cases the heat of the article itself is sufficient for
heating the air in the interior of the receptacle to such an extent and producing
such a pressure that the decarbonisation will take place.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. The method of slowly cooling articles of glass, porcelain, clay, ebonite,
iron, steel, metallic alloys and the like, in which the articles are, from the
beginning of the cooling process, cooled, either a number of them together, or
singly in a tightly closed receptacle in the gradually decreasing temperature
produced by the heat of the said articles.
Second. A modification of the method above set forth in which the cooling
receptacles, are, for further retarding or for regulating the cooling, heated from the
outside, or the interior spaces of which are, by blowing in warm air or by putting in
hot pieces or by replacing articles which have already cooled down by fresh hot

page_text: articles, kept for a time either at a uniform temperature or at a temperature which
decreases very gradually.
Third. A modification of the method above set forth, in which pulverized wood
charcoal or the like is introduced into the interior of tightly closed cooling
receptacles for hardening incandescent articles of weld iron, ingot iron, cast iron
and the like or in which hot air is blown in or through the receptacles for softening
such articles of iron or steel.
Fourth. The improved apparatus for carrying out the method above set forth,
consisting of a cooling receptacle a adapted to be closed all around, with or without
cases d or shelves h, and which may be provided with a safety valve, or with means
for blowing in warm air, or with a steam jacket.
Dated this 14th day of January 1892
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.