Improvements in or relating to Furnaces for Utilizing Hydrocarbon as Fuel; and in Burners and Operating Devices Applicable therefor.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 24th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Furnaces for Utilizing Hydrocarbon
as Fuel; and in Burners and Operating Devices Applicable therefor.
[A cominunication from abroad by THE AERATED FUEL Co. a corporation doing
business at Springfield, Hampden County and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America.]
1, GEORGE CEOIL DYMOND M. Inst. M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the
County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the consumption of hydrocarbons (preferably crude
petroleum) for fuel purposes, and pertains to improvements in burners and operating
dovices operated by regulated pneumatic pressure to inject atomized petroleum and
air into a furnace, and to furnaces for operating with said burners for generating
steam and heating and melting metals.
In the drawings illustrating the invention :―
Figuro is a perspective view of one end of a burner tank for hydrocarbon fuels,
having applied thereto these improvements for governing the supply of hydrocarbon
to burners connected thereto, said Figure showing a part of the side of the tank
removed and a portion of the head thereof broken away.
Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section of a hydrocarbon burner constructed
according to the invention, and a transverse section of a portion of the hydrocarbon
fuel-tank of Figure 1, said burner, in this Figure, being shown connected to said
tank in operative relation thereto.
Figuro 3 is a side elevation of an oil valve, through which the hydrocarbon is
admitted to the burner tank.
Figure 4 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the front end. of a
steam boiler, showing the furnace of the latter, and the above-mentioned burner-tanks,
(one of the latter being shown in section) and burners attached to said boiler.
Figure 5 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a furnace and hydrocarbon
burners, for heating metal bars for forging purposes.
Figure 6 is a sectional view.
Figure 7 a plan view, and
Figure 8 a side elevation of a furnace and hydrocarbon burners for melting copper
and other metals.
In the drawing:-
B indicates a tank of cylindrical form having a suitable head, 2, secured on each end
thereof, whereby it is adapted to receive and hold a certain quantity of petroleum or
other hydrocarbon fuel indicated in Figure 1 by 3.
A pipe 6, serves to conduct said hydrocarbon from a suitable reservoir or pump to
the tank B, and one end thereof is connected to a boss on the head 2, of the tank near
the lower side of the latter, as shown in Figure 1. The hydrocarbon conveyed to
said tank B, by the pipe 6, is admitted to the tank through the valve 7, Figure 3, said
valve having one end of cylindrical form and screw-threaded, and having a chamber
therein formed by boring longitudinally from its screw-threaded end towards the
opposite end thereof, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3. The valve 7 has a
transverse circular perforation a, through which a pin passes which serves as a pivot-
connection for a valve and hall lever, as below described, and said valve has also a
larger circular, transverse perforation c, communicating with said internal chamber
through which oil escapes from the latter into tank B.
The said valve 7 is screwed into the same hole in the head 2 of the tank, as that

page_text: with which the supply-pipe 6 is connected, as shown, the screw-threaded end of the
valve being thus brought into communication with the end of said supply-pipe, as
shown, and its opposite end being allowed to project beyond the inner face of said
head into the tank, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
A ball-float 4, of ordinary construction, is fixed on the end of a lever 8, (indicated
within the hydrocarbon in tank B by dotted lines) and the opposite end of said lever
is bifurcated, as shown, and is adapted to receive between its arms the perforated end
of said valve 7, and is pivoted thereto by a pin passing through its arms and the
perforation a of the valvo, as shown in Figure 1. The said arms of the lever 8 on
opposite sides of the valve 7, cover the perforation in the valve when there is
an ample supply of hydrocarbon in the tank B, or when it rises about to the
level indicated in Figure 1, thereby preventing any further escape thereof from the
pipe 6 through the said valve. But when the hydrocarbon within the tank is
drawn or forced therefrom through the burner or burners, as below described,
sufficiently to permit the ball 4 to swing downward, the arms of the lever 8 uncover
more or less the perforation c in the valve 7, thereby admitting a further supply
of hydrocarbon from the pipe 6, whereby the supply thereof in tank B is maintained
so near a uniform level that a substantially uniform volume thereof is discharged
through the burner or burners connected with the tank under the action of a uniform
air-pressure as below described.
The above described valve 7 and the valve and ball lever S, constitute valve
devices for the admission of hydrocarbon to the tank B, which are capable of
operating substantially without friction and therefore they constitute particularly
efficient devices in connection with the ball 4, for automatically maintaining the
requisite supply of hydrocarbon within the burner-tank.
The above described burner-tank and hydrocarbon supply-governing devices,
together with the burner shown in Figure 2, constitute essential elements of
apparatus for forcing the liydrocarbon through the burners together with an adequate
supply of atmospheric air whereby the hydrocarbon is atomized and so commingled
with the said air supply as to produce perfect combustion. To this end a pipe 5, is
connected with the tank B, and communicates with that portion of the interior thereof
above the level of the hydrocarbon 3, said pipe 5 serving to convey air under suitable
pressure from any suitable well known air-compressing mechanism, whereby a certain
degree of air-pressure is maintained within that portion of the burner tank not
occupied by the hydrocarbon.
The hydrocarbon burner K, illustrated in Figure 2, consists of a vertical pipe 9,
having one end screwed into the upper side of the burner tank B, and its opposite end
screwed to one arm of a T-connection 16. A horizontal pipe 12 is screwed to another
arm of said T-connection, and the said pipe 9 and pipe 12 constitute an air-conduit
conveying nir under pressure from the burner-tank to the end of said pipe 12, where
the air is delivered through a perforation in the end of the nozzle 15 which is screwed
on the end of said horizontal pipe, as shown. Within the said air-pipes 9 and 12 are
placed the hydrocarbon-conducting pipes 10 and 13, united at their junction within
the T-connection 16 by the T-connection 17. The said pipes 10 and 13 are of
considerably smaller diameter than the said air-pipes of the burner 9 and 12, and
therefore the air froin the tank B passes freely through the latter-named pipes around
the said hydrocarbon-conducting pipes 10 and 13.
As shown in Figure 2, the end of the pipe 13 projects slightly beyond the end of
the enclosing pipe 12 into the nozzle 15, and terminates opposite the said perforation
in the end of the latter. To support the end of said pipe 13 in a central position
within the pipe 12, a wheel 14 is fixed on the pipe 13, having a periphery of sprocket-
wheel form or of star shape, the points of which bear on the interior of the tube 12,
and permit the pipe 13 to have a free longitudinal movement within pipe 12. The
lower end of the internal tube 10, is shown broken off in Figure 2, but in practice it.
extends nearly to the bottom of the burner-tank B, as shown in Figure 4, so as to be
in constant communication with the hydrocarbon therein.
A hub 18 is screwed into one arm of the T-connection 16, and a sleeve 19 is fitted

page_text: within said hub, and is adapted to rotate freely therein, said sleeve being internally
screw-threaded, and receives within it the screw-threaded end of a stud 21, which is
fixed in the said T-connection 17, in a line with the horizontal tube 13 which is
connected thereto. A hand-wheel 20 is secured to the outer end of said sleeve 19 by
a screw entering the latter as shown.
In burners to be used in the consumption of hydrocarbon fuels under the conditions
above set forth, it is of the first importance that they possess capabilities of such
adjustment of air and fuel delivering parts as provides for the required proportions of
air and hydrocarbons, whereby perfect combustion is produced, and to this end the
said burner is constructed as above described and its operation in connection with the
burner tank B supplied with hydrocarbon as stated, and air-pressure within said tank,
is as follows :-
The position of the end of the tube 13 within the nozzle 15, relative to the internal
surface of said nozzle, determines the amount of air which can pass from within the
pipe 12 between the end of said tube 13 and the adjoining inner walls of the nozzle 15,
through the aperture o in the end of said nozzle, and said position of the end of the
tube 13 also determines, by the varying air-pressure as below described, the quantity.
of hydrocarbon which may be discharged under the action of said air-pressure within
said nozzle, and therefore the said tube 13 is made adjustable horizontally within the
pipe 12, whereby the end of the tube 13 is brought to varying distances from the sail
aperture o in the end of the nozzle 15, said horizontal adjustment being accomplished
by turning the hand-wheel 20, and said sleeve 19 whereby the T-connection 17 is
caused to move towards or from said hand-wheel, the tube 13 having a corresponding
movement. The internal dimensions of the T-connection 16 and the pipe 9 are such
as to permit the internal tube 10 and the T-connection 17 to freely move to the
The air-tube 9, as
requisite extent when said hand-wheel is turned as aforesaid.
aforesaid, connects with the air-space of the burner-tank, and the air from the latter
enters said tube as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, the arrow at the lower
end of the tube 10 in said Figure indicating the direction of movement of the
hydrocarbon within that tube, simultaneously with the movement of the air into
the tube 9.
Figure 4 illustrates the application of said burners and burner-tanks to the
furnace of a steam boiler H, but the manner of applying them to other furnaces
such as those for forging purposes, brass annealing and melting furnaces, and others
of similar character, is substantially the same, and is illustrated in Figures 5, 67
and 8, and is below described.
The within-described burner provides means for adjusting the supply of hydro-
carbon through the tube 13 while the burner is in operation, by turning the hand-
wheel 20, the operator meanwhile watching the flame, and so graduating the
hydrocarbon supply as to produce a perfect combustion thereof, and consequently a
clear, white, and smokeless flame.
Furthermore, the said adjustable feature of the tube 13 longitudinally in the pipe 12,
provides for drawing the end of said tube so far away from the end of the nozzle that
the escape of hydrocarbon is entirely prevented by admitting a current of air into the
nozzle in advance of the end of the tube, 13, of so great a volume that it cannot all
escape at the aperture o, and it "sets back" so to speak, with such force against the
end of said tube as to prevent the escape of the hydrocarbon. This characteristic of
the within-described burner enables the operator to extinguish the flame of any one of
several burners which are attached to a boiler or furnace, and thereby to regulate the
fire as may be desired.
The furnace shown in Figure 5, is adapted to heat metal bars and similar pieces for
forging or bending them, and the necessary fire therefor is produced by the above-
described burners, using crude petroleum and air under a regulated pressure.
The said petroleuun or other hydrocarbon used, is made, by constructing the bottom
of the furnace inclined towards the burners K, to strike said bottom, which soon
becomes of a red heat, and thereby the petroleum is at once converted into a highly
inflammable gas which produces no smoke and is intensely bot. This fire is efficient

page_text: for producing a welding heat, and even for melting wrought iron, and pieces of metal
heated in said fire for forging are remarkably free from oxidation.
The furnace A is made from suitable fire-brick or other refractory material to resist
great heat, and consists of a floor b, supported on iron legs 22, and having suitable
side and end walls, as shown, and a top 23, thereby forming a heating chamber in the
furnace.
An opening is made through the front wall of the furnace through which bars of
metal are put into it, one of which is indicated in dotted lines. Said bars rest by their
outer ends on a horizontal table J, and their inner ends rest on the higher portion of
the said inclined floor, so that the said injection of hydrocarbon and air into the
furnace by the burners K, set opposite openings in the wall of the furnace, shall
cause an intense fire under said. bars. A suitable slot or opening wis made in the
top of the furnace to provide a suitable exit whereby the desired combustion is not
impeded.
The furnace A illustrates but one class out of the numerous ones which may be
adapted to the use of said petroleum and air burners, for heating métal, for forging or
otherwise working it, and in all these cases the burners are so arranged as to cause the
said liydrocarbon to be projected against some part of the inner wall of the furnace in
order to produce said highly inflammable gas.
The furnace which is illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8, which Figures are described
above, is adapted to utilize the same hydrocarbon-burning devices as are above
described for melting copper and other metals, and the said metal-melting furnace 24,
is constructed preferably of a vertically cylindrical form common to brass and iron
melting furnaces, and is formed from or lined with fire-brick or other refractory
material.
Said furnace 24, unlike the ordinary brass-melting furnaces, is not provided with
grates at the bottom thereof, but the latter is solidly closed, except so far as an opening
is formed by the conduit-passage, 25, extending horizontally through the body of the
furnace below the crucible chamber, and thence vertically into the centre of said
chamber, said passage being somewhat enlarged at its exit end 26.
The crucible 27 is to be supported on the bottom of the furnace upon blocks of fire
brick 28, arranged substantially as shown in dotted lines in Figure 7, whereby they
are so separated from each other that the heat from the combustion of the hydrocarbon
may freely pass laterally between said brick supports into the furnace as it emerges
from the inner end 26 of the passage 25. Figure 6 clearly shows the position and
arrangement of the hydrocarbon tank B, and the burner K at the side of said
furnace 24, said burner occupying such a position opposite the outer end of the
passage 25, as adapts the latter to receive directly into it the said hydrocarbon and
air, said hydrocarbon, upon being ignited, soon heating said passage to a red heat,
whereby, as aforesaid, the hydrocarbon becomes converted into said inflammable gas,
which, in conjunction with the air under a regulated pressure, causes such an intense
white heat in the crucible chamber of the furnace as to effect the melting of the
metal in the crucible in a short time.
The said passage or conduit 25, whose inner end terminatos directly under the
crucible 27, serves also as a pocket or receptacle to receive the molten metal in case
the crucible should become accidentally broken, as is often the case, and under such
circumstances the normal heat of said passage tends to keep said metal in a molten
condition until it can be removed from said passage.
Dated this 27th day of December 1888.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Furnaces for Utilizing Hydrocarbon
as Fuel, and in Burners and Operating Devices Applicable therefor.
[A communication from abroad by THE AERATED FUEL Co., a corporation doing
business at Springfield, Hampden, County, and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America.]
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND M. Inst. M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street Liverpool, and.6 Bank Street Manchestor both in the County
of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
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 the consumption of hydrocarbons (preferably crude
petroleum) for fuel purposes, and pertains to improvements in burners and operating
devices operated by regulated pneumatic pressure to inject atomised petroleum and
air into a furnace, and to furnaces for operating with said burners for generating steam
and heating and melting metals.
In the drawings illustrating the invention and accompanying the provisional
specification
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a burner tank for hydrocarbon fuels,
having applied thereto these improvements for governing the supply of hydrocarbon
to burners connected thereto, said Figure showing a part of the side of the tank
removed and a portion of the head thereof broken away.
Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a hydrocarbon burner constructed
according to the invention, and a transverse section of a portion of the hydrocarbon
fuel-tank of Figure 1, said burner, in this Figure, being shown connected to said
tank in operative relation thereto.
.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of an oil valve, through which the hydrocarbon is
admitted to the burner tank.
Figure is a front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the front end of a
steam boiler, showing the furnace of the latter and the abovementioned burner-tanks,
(one of the latter being shown in section) and burners attached to said boiler.
Figure 5 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a furnace and hydrocarbon
burners, for heating metal bars for forging purposes.
Figure 6 is a sectional view.
Figure 7 a plan view, and
Figure 8 a side elevation of a furnace and hydrocarbon burners for melting copper
and other metals.
In the drawing:-
B indicates a tank of cylindrical form having a suitable head, 2, secured on each
end thereof, whereby it is adapted to receive and hold a certain quantity of petroleum
or other hydrocarbon fuel indicated, in Figure 1, by 3.
A pipe serves to conduct said hydrocarbon from a suitable reservoir of pump to
the tank B, and one end thereof is connected to a hoss on the head 2, of the tank
near the lower side of the latter, as shown in Figure 1. The hydrocarbon, conveyel
to said tank B by the pipe 6, is admitted to the tank through the valve 7 Figure 3,
said valve having one end of cylindrical form and screw threaded, and having a
chamber therein formed by boring longitudinally from its screw threaded end towards
the opposite end thereof, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3. The valve 7 has
a transverse circular perforation a, through which a pin passes, which serves as a
pivot-connection for a valve and ball lever, as below described, and said valve has also
a larger circular, transverse perforation c, communicating with said internal chamber
through which oil escapes from the latter into tank B.
The said valve 7 is screwed into the same hole in the head, 2, of the tank, as that
with which the supply-pipe 6 is connected, as shown, the screw-threaded end of a valye

page_text: being thus brought into communication with the end of said supply-pipe, as shown,
and its opposite end being allowed to project beyond the inner face of said head into
the tank, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
A ball-float, of ordinary construction, is fixed on the end of a lever 8, (indicated
within the hydrocarbon in tank B by dotted lines) and the opposite end of said lever
is bifurcated, as shown, and is adapted to receive between its arms the perforated end
of said valve 7, and is pivoted, tliereto by a pin passing through its arms and the
perforation a of the valve, as shown in Figure 1. The said arms of the lever S on
opposite sides of the valve 7, cover the perforations e in the valve when there is an
ample supply of hydrocarbon in the tank B, or when it rises about to the level
indicated in Figure 1, thereby preventing any further escape thereof from the pipe 6
through the said valve. But when the hydrocarbon within the tank is drawn or
forced therefrom through the burner or burners, as below described, sufficiently to
permit the ball to swing downward, the arms of the lever Suncover more or less
the perforation c in the valve 7, thereby admitting a further supply of hydrocarbon
from the pipe 6, whereby the supply thereof in tank B is maintained so near a
uniform level that a substantially uniform volume thereof is discharged through the
burner or burners connected with the tank under the action of a uniform air-pressure
as below described.
The above described valve 7 and the valve and ball lever 8, constitute valve devices
for the admission of hydrocarbon to the tank B, which are capable of operating
substantially without friction and therefore they constitute particularly efficient devices
in connection with the ball 4, for automatically maintaining the requisite supply of
hydrocarbon within the burner-tank.
The above described burner-tank and hydrocarbon supply-governing devices,
together with the burner shown in Figure 2, constitute essential elements of apparatus
for forcing the hydrocarbon through the burners together with an adequate supply of
atmospheric air whereby the hydrocarbon is atomised and so commingled with the
said air supply as to produce perfect combustion. To this end a pipe 5, is connected
with the tank B, and communicates with that portion of the interior thereof above the
level of the hydrocarbon 3, said pipe 5 serving to convey air under suitable pressure
from any suitable well known air-compressing mechanism, whereby a certain degree
of air-pressure is maintained within that portion of the burner tank not occupied by
the hydrocarbon.
The hydrocarbon burner K, illustrated in Figure 2, consists of a vertical pipe 9,
having one end screwed into the upper side of the burner tank B, and its opposito
end screwed to one arm of a T-connection 16. A horizontal pipe 12 is screwed to
another arm of said T-connection, and the said pipe 9 and pipe 12 constitute an air-
conduit conveying air under pressure from the burner-tank to the end of said pipe 12,
where the air is delivered through a perforation in the end of the nozzle 15 which is
screwed on the end of said horizontal pipe, as shown. Within the said air-
pipes 9 and 12 are placed the hydrocarbon conducting pipes 10 and 13, united at their
junction within the T-connection 16 by the T-connection 17. The said pipes 10 and 13
are of considerably smaller diameter than the said air-pipes of the burner 9 and 12,
and therefore the air from the tank B passes freely through the latter-named pipes
around the said hydrocarbon-conducting pipes 10 and 13.
As shown in Figure 2, the end of the pipe 13 projects slightly beyond the end of
the enclosing pipe 12 into the nozzle 15, and terminates opposite the said perforation
in the end of the latter. To support the end of said pipe 13 in a central position
within the pipe 12, a wheel 14 is fixed on the pipe 13, having a periphery of sprocket-
wheel form or of star shape, the points of which bear on the interior of the tube 12,
and permit the pipe 13 to have a free longitudinal movement within pipe 12. The
lower end of the internal tube 10 is shown broken off in Figure 2, but in practice it
extends nearly to the bottom of the burner tank B, as shown in Figure 4, so as to be
in constant communication with the hydrocarbon therein.
A hub 18 is screwed into one arm of the T-connection 16, and a sleeve 19 is fitted
within said hub, and is adapted to rotate freely therein, said sleeve being internally

page_text: screw-threaded, and receives within it the screw-threaded end of a stud 21, which is
fixed in the said T-connection 17, in a line with the horizontal tube 13 which is
connected thereto. A hand-wheel 20 is secured to the outer end of said sleeve 19
by a screw entering the latter, as shown.
In burners to be used in the consumption of hydrocarbon fuels under the conditions
above set forth, it is of the first importance that they possess capabilities of such
adjustment of air and fuel delivering parts as provides for the required proportions of
air and hydrocarbons, whereby perfect combustion is produced, and to this end the
said burner is constructed as above described, and its operation in connection with the
burner tank B supplied with hydrocarbon as stated, and air-pressure within said tank
is as follows
-
The position of the end of the tube 13 within the nozzle 15, relative to the internal
surface of said nozzle, determines the amount of air which can pass from within the
pipe 12 between the end of said tube 13 and the adjoining inner walls of the nozzle 15,
through the aperture o in the end of said nozzle, and said position of the end of the
tube 18 also determines, by the varying air-pressure as below described, the quantity
of hydrocarbon which may be discharged under the action of said air-pressure within
said nozzle, and therefore the said tube 13 is made adjustable horizontally within the
pipe 12, whereby the end of the tube 13 is brought to varying distances from the said
aperture o in the end of the nozzle 15, said horizontal adjustment being accomplished
by turning the hand-wheel 20, and said sleeve 19, whereby the T-connection 17 is
caused to move towards or from said hand-wheel, the tube 13 having a corresponding
movement. The internal dimensions of the T-connection 16 and the pipe 9 are such
as to permit the internal tube 10 and the T-connection 17 to freely move to the
requisite extent when said hand wheel is turned as aforesaid. The air-tube 9, as
aforesaid, connects with the air-space of the burner-tank, and the air from the latter
enters said tube as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, the arrow at the lower end of
the tube 10 in said Figure indicating the direction of movement of the hydrocarbon
within that tube, simultaneously with the movement of the air into the tube 9.
Figure 4 illustrates the application of said burners and burner-tanks to the furnace
of a steam boiler H, but the manner of applying them to other furnaces such as
those for forging purposes, brass annealing and melting furnaces, and others of
similar character, is substantially the same, and is illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8,
and is below described.
The within-described burner provides means for adjusting the supply of hydro-
carbon through the tube 13 while the burner is in operation, by turning the hand-
wheel 20, the operator meanwhile watching the flame, and so graduating the
hydrocarbon supply as to produce a perfect combustion thereof, and consequently
a clear, white and smokeless flame.
Furthermore, the said adjustable feature of the tube 13 longitudinally in the
pipe 12, provides for drawing the end of said tube so far away from the end of
the nozzle that the escape of hydrocarbon is entirely prevented by admitting a
current of air into the nozzle in advance of the end of the tube 13, of so great
a volume that it cannot all escape at the aperture o, and it " sets back" so to
speak, with such force against the end of said tube as to prevent the escape of
the hydrocarbon. This characteristic of the within-described burner enables the
operator to extinguish the flame of any one of several burners which are attached
to a boiler or furnace, and theroby to regulate the fire as may be desired.
The furnace shown in Figure 5, is adapted to beat metal bars and similar
pieces for forging or bending them, and the necessary fire therefor is produced
by the above-described burners, using crude petroleum and air under a regulated
pressure.
The said petroleum or other hydrocarbon used, is made, by constructing the
bottom of the furnace inclined towards the burners K, to strike said bottom, which
soon becomes of a red heat, and thereby the petroleum is at once converted into
a highly inflammable gas which produces no smoke and is intensely hot.
fire is efficient for producing a welding heat, and even for melting wrought iron, .
This

page_text: and pieces of metal heated in said fire for forging are remarkably free from
oxidation.
The furnace A is made from suitable fire-brick or other refractory material to
resist great heat, and consists of a floor b, supported on iron legs 22, and having
suitable side and end walls, as shown, and a top 23, thereby forming a heating chamber
in the furnace.
An opening is made through the front wall of the furnace through which bars of
metal are put into it, one of which is indicated in dotted lines. Said bars rest by
their outer ends on a horizontal table J, and their inner ends rest on the higher
portion of the said inclined floor, so that the said injection of hydrocarbon and air
into the furnace by the burners K. set opposite openings in the wall of the furnace,
shall cause an intense fire under said bars. A suitable slot or opening w is made in
the top of the furnace to provide a suitable exit whereby the desired combustion is not
impeded.
The furnace A illustrates but one class out of the numerous ones which may be
adapted to the use of said petroleum and air burners, for heating metal, for forging
or otherwise working it, and in all these cases the burners are so arranged as to cause
the said hydrocarbon to be projected against some part of the inner wall of the furnace
in order to produce said highly inflammable gas.
The furnace which is illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8, which Figures are described
above, is adapted to utilize the same hydrocarbon-burning devices as are above
described for melling copper and other metals, and the said metal-melting furnace 24,
is constructed preferably of a vertically cylindrical form common to brass and iron
melting furnaces, and is formed from or lined with fire-brick or other refractory
material.
Said furnace 24, unlike the ordinary brass-melting furnaces, is not provided with
grates at the bottom thereof, but the latter is solidly closed, except so far as an opening
is formed by the conduit-passage 25, extending horizontally through the body of tho
furnace below the crucible chamber, and thence vertically into the centre of said
chamber, said passage boing somewhat enlarged at its exit end 26.
The crucible 27 is to be supported on the bottom of the furnace upon blocks of
fire-brick 28, arranged substantially as shown in dotted lines in Figure 7, whereby
they are so separated from each other that the heat from the combustion of the hydro-
carbon may freely pass laterally botween said brick supports into the furnace as it
emerges from the inuer ond 26 of the passage 25. Figure 6 clearly shows the position
and arrangement of the hydrocarbon tank B, and the burner at the side of said
furnace 24, said burner occupying such a position opposite the outer end of the
passage 25, as adapts the latter to receive directly into it the said hydrocarbon and
air, said hydrocarbon, upon being ignited, soon heating said passage to a red heat,
whereby, as aforesaid, the hydrocarbon becomes converted into said inflammable gas,
which, in conjunction with the air under a regulated pressure, causes such an intense
white beat in the crucible chamber of the furnace as to effect the melting of the metal
in the crucible in a short time.
The said passage or conduit 25, whose inner end terminates directly under the
crucible 27, serves also as a pocket or receptacle to receive the molten metal in case
the crucible should become accidentally broken, as is often the case, and under such
circumstances the normal heat of said passage tends to keep said metal in a molten
condition until it can be removed from said passage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. A hydrocarbon burner consisting of an air-pipe communicating with the oil-
reservoir, a discharge nozzle connected to one end of said pipe, a hydrocarbon
conducting tube within said air-pipe having one end terminating in said nozzle, and
the other communicating with the hydrocarbon in said reservoir, and a hand-wheel
having a screw connection with said conducting-tube as described, whereby said tube

page_text: is adjusted longitudinally in said air-pipe combined and operating substantially as set
forth.
2. The combination of a reservoir, an oil pipe leading thereto and a float valve
controlling said pipe, an air supply pipe leading to said reservoir, an oil escape and an
air escape pipe leading from the reservoir to a nozzle, and a screw-thread for adjusting
one of these pipes with reference to the nozzle, whereby the air-pressure is made to
control the flow of air and oil from the reservoir, and the nozzle is made to control
the final mixing of the same, substantially as described.
3. In combination with the above-described hydrocarbon burner and a burner-tank
from which said burner receives a liquid fuel and air under a regulated pressure, a
furnace having an opening or openings in its wall to receive said air and hydrocarbon
from said burner, substantially as set forth.
4. In combination with the above-described hydrocarbon burner and a burner-tank
from which said burner receives a liquid fuel and air under a regulated pressure, a
furnace having an opening or openings in its wall to receive said air and hydrocarbon
from said burner, and having that part of the furnace opposite said openings adapted
to receive said hydrocarbon thereagainst and to become heated thereby, substantially
as set forth.
Dated this 23rd da [0] September LOOD
September 1009.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.