AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FURNACE FOR THE MANU-
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FURNACE FOR THE MANU-
"
A
Sealed the 17th June 1856, and dated the 7th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th April 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FURNACE FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF GLASS, to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of glass it has been customary heretofore to charge the
batch or raw material into the pots or crucibles directly through the ring
holes. The material employed for the manufacture of glass consists of soda,
sand, and lime, and is introduced at the temperature of the surrounding
atmosphere, oftentimes as low as from 15° to 32° of Fahrenheit's thermo-
meter. The ordinary quantity for a charge is from 8 to 10,000 pounds of
material. It is charged by hand through the ring holes, and occupies two or
three hours, during which time the workmen are exposed to the most intense

page_text: heat. It is therefore a very severe labor, and the temperature of the furnace
is rapidly and suddenly reduced by this large accession of cold material, and
oftentimes the crucibles are cracked by this sudden exposure to a low tem-
perature.
The present Invention consists in constructing and arranging shelves within
the cone of an ordinary glass furnace, for the purpose of containing the batch
of raw material, in order to heat the same to a high temperature before it
is introduced into the furnaces, thereby utilizing the otherwise waste heat
which would escape at the top of the cone, preventing the breakage of pots,
and reducing the labor and time occupied in charging the pots or crucibles.
The raw material is conveyed to the shelves by a car or carriage, which is
made to travel on rails or guides, and having its sides hinged, so that by
opening the same the contents of the car or carriage may be discharged on to
the shelves, where it will be acted upon by the heat of the furnace, and the
temperature thereof raised to from 400° to 800° before introducing it into
the pots or crucibles. For the convenience of charging; the crucibles from the
mass on the shelves above, there is a moveable spout mounted on a rod below
the shelves, so that it may be brought under holes in the shelves, and by
opening doors which close these holes the material may be conveyed down the
spout into the crucibles below. The heat and gases from the furnace are
made to pass under the shelves, and heat the materials placed thercon before
being allowed to escape into the flue.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th. October 1856..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,-WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, or the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
# 1
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six; in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said. William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
.

page_text: at all times thercafter 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
"AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS," being
a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said' William .Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and. seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
consists in constructing and arranging shelves within the cone of an ordinary
glass furnace for the purpose of containing the batch of raw material (con-
sisting of soda, sand, and lime), in order to heat the same to a high tempe-
rature before it is introduced into the crucibles, thereby utilizing the other-
wise waste heat which would escape at the top of the cone, preventing the
breakage of pots, and reducing the labor and time occupied in charging the
pots or crucibles.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is an end view of a glass furnace
with my improvements applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of
the same.
A, A, is the body of the glass furnace; E is the crown or arch
of the furnace, and K, K, are a series of ring holes in ordinary use for
charging the crucibles or pots; L, L', are two openings made in the main
outside front and rear walls of the furnace, and furnished severally with an
ordinary hanging door; N, N', are two rods supported by braces extending
to the sides of the furnace, or by vertical pieces extending downwards to the
crown or roof of the furnace E, F, G. These rods extend across the furnace,
and attached to them are two plates of medium boiler iron R and R', which
extend the whole length of the. furnace on opposite sides of the crown. These
plates form shelves. to receive and contain the raw material preparatory to its
being charged. into the crucibles or pots.. Near the angle S of these shelves
a series of small. holes t, t, t, is made, one hole being immediately over each
ring hole. In front of the holes t of each plate a horizontal guide rod u is
placed to support a small spout w. This spout w is so constructed that it can

page_text: be slidden along the rod, so as to form at will a communication successively
between each of the apertures t and the corresponding ring hole K. The
apertures t, t, are closed by appropriate slides, so as to retain the material at
all times, except when the pots are to be charged. In order to supply.the
material to the shelves R, R¹, a small carriage P is employed, the con-
struction of which is best shewn in the detached view, Fig. 3. The wheels
of this carriage are flanged to facilitate their rolling along the bars N, N¹.
It is furnished with hanging sides Q sustained by spring catches, so that when
the carriage has been introduced into the furnace through the opening L or L'
it can be pushed forward, and caused to discharge its contents on to the
shelves R, R', at any desired point. The shelves R, R¹, can conveniently
'hold from eight to twelve thousand pounds of raw material, or more if desired.
-The carriage holds about one thousand five hundred pounds. The flame from
the glass furnace passes out through the ring holes on each side and then up
under the shelves R, R', and the heat finally escapes through the top of the
cone, as shewn by the arrows. The flame in passing under the plates R, R¹,
communicates to the material accumulated thereon a considerable tempe-
rature, and thus prepares it for being introduced into the pots through the
ring holes. At v, v, two valves extending the whole length of the furnace
are placed. These are moved by chains y, y, so as to regulate at pleasure the
amount of draft, and to direct the flame against the bottom of the shelves
R, R¹.
The mode of using the improvement is as follows:-The blowing operation
occupies ten hours, and the melting operation occupies about twenty hours.
The shelves R, R', are always kept filled with raw material, and the charges
for the furnace are always drawn off and placed in the crucibles from these
shelves, instead of being fed directly into the crucibles, as heretofore. By
this arrangement the raw material may be heated to from four hundred
degrees to eight hundred degrees before it is introduced into the crucibles;
much time will be saved in the melting operation by reason of the heat thus
previously attained by the raw material; the breakage of the pots will be much
diminished, and the amount of labour and exposure endured by the workmen will
be greatly diminished. Instead of arranging the shelves R, R', as exhibited
in Figures 1 and 2, the shelves may be arranged as shewn at Fig. 4. In
this Figure R, R, represents two inclined stationary pieces, which together
with a moveable bottom R¹ form a. long hopper or trough on opposite sides
of the furnace for retaining the batch of raw material while being heated
preparatory to its discharge into the pots or crucibles. An opening is made
in the crown of the furnace at $ immediately over each pot or crucible and

page_text: below the opening made in the trough. By drawing back the movable
bottom R' the batch is discharged directly into the crucibles through a spout
suitably arranged to guide its descent. The bottom R' may be either hinged
so as to be raised and lowered, or it may be moved round a pivot so as to
turn to the right or left. By this arrangement the distance through which
the batch has to pass is lessened, and being exposed to an intense heat during
the whole time of its passage into the pot it is apt to be melted when it
reaches the pot.
Having now set forth the nature and object of the Invention of "An
Improved Construction of Furnace for the Manufacture of Glass," as communi-
cated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that, under the above
in part recited Letters Patent I claim, providing for the preparatory heating
of the batch of raw materials in the cone of an ordinary glass furnace, and
for the discharge of the same into the crucibles in the furnace in the manner
and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)