IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Templeman, of Dunfermline, in the County of
Fife, North Britain, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Templeman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th February 1858.
I, JAMES TEMPLEMAN, of Dunfermline, in the County of Fife, North Britain,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL," to be as
follows, that is to say:-
of artificial
This fuel is
kinds mixed
This Invention relates to the manufacture or production
fuel in the form especially serviceable for use in lighting fires.
composed of sawdust or reduced vegetable matter of various
with powdered rosin or resinous matter of any cheap kind.. According to
one process. of manufacture the ordinary rosin of commerce is reduced by any
convenient mechanical means to a fine powder, and this rosin powder is then
mixed with fine sawdust in the proportion of about 2 pounds of rosin to 1
pounds of sawdust, but these proportions may be varied. These two in-
gredients are put through a sieve and thoroughly incorporated together, and
the mass is then deposited in a metal tray or holder, and subjected to the action
of heat. The heat softens and melts the resinous matter, and when the

page_text: compound arrives at the required pasty condition it is pressed down solid
and marked off into suitable divisible portions by cutters or by a marking and
cutting mould. After being thus subjected to the action of the heat the fuel
is put aside to cool down and harden. The artificial fuel is now ready for use,
and its divisions enable the user to break up the mass into cubes suitable for
use in lighting fires or otherwise. Fine veneer sawdust is preferred for this
manufacture, but various kinds of sawdust, as well as the waste of flax and
hemp works and other dry waste vegetable matter, may be used with advantage
the recess
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Templeman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th August 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
TEMPLEMAN, of Dunfermline, in the County of Fife, North Britain, Chemist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said James Templeman, Her special license that I, the
said James Templeman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said James Templeman, my exccutors, administrators, or
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 OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Templeman, 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
samo 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 James Templeman, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following

page_text: statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to the manufacture or production of artificial
fuel in the form especially serviceable for use in lighting fires. This fuel is
composed of sawdust or reduced vegetable matter of various kinds mixed with
powdered rosin or resinous matter of any cheap kind. According to
one process of manufacture; the ordinary rosin of commerce is reduced by any
convenient mechanical means to a fine powder, and this rosin powder is then
mixed with fine sawdust in the proportion of about two and a quarter
pounds of rosin to one and three-quarter pounds of sawdust, but these
proportions may be varied. These two ingredients are put through a sieve
and thoroughly incorporated together, and the mass is then deposited in a
metal tray or holder, and subjected to the action of heat. The heat softens
and melts the resinous matter, and when the compound arrives at the required
pasty condition it is pressed down solid and marked off into suitable divisible
portions by cutters or by a marking and cutting mould. After being thus
subjected to the action of the heat; the fuel is put aside to cool down and
harden. The artificial fuel is now ready for use, and its divisions enable the
user to break up the mass into cubes suitable for use in lighting fires or
otherwise. Fine veneer sawdust is preferred for this manufacture, but
various kinds of sawdust, as well as the waste of flax and hemp works and other
dry waste vegetable matter, may be used with advantage in the process.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I shall now
proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory. Sheet of
Drawings which I. have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain
modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out
in práctice.
The materials I. prefer to use for the manufacture of the improved artificial
fuel consist of resin and finely-divided wood or sawdust; the kind of sawdust
I prefer to use for the purpose is that produced in the manufacture of rose-
wood veneers. The fine dust produced in dividing rosewood and other similar
vegetable bodies into veneer is known commercially as "veneer dust," and
with the exception of "mahogany dust," this material, as far as I am aware,
is not applied to any useful purpose. The first operation in preparing artificial
fuel according to my Invention consists in reducing the resin to be used in the
manufacture to a powdered state, and for this purpose I prefer to use the mill:
or grinding apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 4 on my.Drawings..
Figure 1 is an elevation, partially in section, of one arrangement of the mill;
Figure 2 is a plan corresponding; Figure 3 is a plan. showing the upper and

page_text: under sides of the lower grinding and sifting disc; and Figure 4 is a corre
sponding view of the upper disc. As here arranged, the mill consists of a
rectangular framing of wood A, which forms the base of the machine; this
framing is enclosed on its four sides, a door being made in one side to afford
access to the interior. A circular aperture is made in the base A, into which
is fitted the hopper B, to this is bolted the metal cylinder C which forms the
body of the mill, and in which the material to be ground is placed. On each
side of the cylindrical body C is cast a vertical standard D; these standards
are connected to each other by the cross head E, and at their upper extremities
are fitted with pedestal bearings, in which is carried the horizontal shaft F;
to one extremity of the shaft F is keyed the fast and loose pulley G, which
derives its motion from a steam engine or other prime mover by means of an
endless belt. To the opposite extremity of the shaft F is keyed the fly wheel
H, and near its central part the bevel pinion I; this pinion gears with a
wheel J on the upper extremity of the vertical shaft K. The lower end of the
shaft K rests in a footstep bearing in the lower grinding disc L, which is
supported upon the inner horizontal edge of the hopper B, and is secured
thereto by pins formed upon its under side; thesc pins drop into holes made
for the purpose in the hopper B. The upper part of the shaft K passos
through the cross-head E, and is supported by a collar bearing fitted therein,
and towards its lower part it has keyed to it the laterálly diverging grid or
crushing frame M; this grid consists of a horizontal metal bar having parallel
vertical bars pendant therefrom; the grid is fitted to the shaft K just below
the cover N, which encloses the cylinder C, and serves to prevent the resin
dust from escaping into the workshop. The vertical bars of the grid M
work through the upwardly turned bars of a corresponding grid or crushing
frame O, which is fast to the cylinder C. The shaft K passes through the
stationary grid O, and has keyed to it immediately below it the moveable
grinding disc P; the shaft is squared at the part where this disc is fitted
thereto and is secured by cotters, as shown in the plan, Figure 4, on my
Drawings. The grinding disc P consists of a wrought or cast iron rim,
strengthened by radially diverging and rectangular arms; the intervening
spaces are formed of ribs or slips of metal, which are angularly arranged, and
with their upper and lower edges in the planes of the upper and under sides
of the disc; that is to say, these ribs or slips of the disc are disposed in manner
similar to the laths of a Venetian blind, the upper parallel edges forming the
cutting parts, and the ground material passing through the intervening spaces.
The angle at which the ribs are disposed is made somewhat wider at the
lower part or under side, in order that the crushed material may the more

page_text: readily pass through the spaces and prevent its clogging therein. The lower
grinding disc L is constructed in like manner to the foregoing, excepting that
the spaces between the angular ribs are made much finer, so that only the
minutely divided material will pass through them. In Figures 3 and 4 of my
Drawing, the left-band halves of the figures represent the upper sides of the
grinding discs and the right-hand portions their under sides, in which the
spaces between the ribs are made wider. The large lumps of resin are first
coarsely broken and are then put into the cylinder C, one-half of which has
at its upper part a projecting part or hopper for the convenience of putting
in the resin. This projecting part with the hinged cover N fitted thereto is
shown in the plan of the mill, Figure 2, on my illustrative Drawing. The.
resin is first crushed by the motion of the grid M as it passes through the bars
of the stationary grid O, which crushes the resin into small pieces that will
pass through the spaces between the vertical bars of the grids M and O; these
pieces fall on to the rotatory grinding disc P, and as it rotates the bar of the
grid O serves to crush the sinall lumps against the edges of the angular ribs,
and to force the crushed resin through the spaces on to the stationary grinding
disc L. As the disc P traverses over the surface of the lower disc, the resin is
powdered by coming in contact with the finely set edges of the disc L; the motion
serves also to force the powdered resin through the interstices, from whence it
falls into the hopper B. The powdered resin is received in a wheeled carriage
Q, which is passed under the hopper B through the door in the base A, by this
means the powdered resin is readily transferred to the scales to be weighed.
The proportions of resin and veneer dust which I prefer to use are six pounds
and three-quarters of resin to five pounds and one-quarter of vencer dust;
this quantity of the two ingredients is sufficient to charge one of the fuel
moulds, as will presently be described. The resin and the veneer dust are
weighed out in the proportions above given, and each quantity is laid sepa-
rately upon a sheet of paper or in any suitable receptacle. The several
quantities of the materials are then passed through a sieve, in order to
combine them more effectually, and separate any coarse particles or lumps
therefrom. The arrangement of the sifting apparatus which I prefer to use
for the purpose is shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying Drawings.
It consists of a wooden box or chest R, the top of which is enclosed by a
moveable lid S. This box is suspènded by means of two lengths of cord or
chain T, the ends of which are fastened to the sides of the box, as shown in
Figure 5 on my Drawings. The loop formed by the upper parts of the cords
Tis hung upon a suitable support overhead. A swinging or vibratory move-
ment is imparted to the box R by means of the connecting rod U, which is

page_text: rod U is connected to the
In this manner a series of
jointed to its lower part; the other end of the
crank of a steam engine or other prime mover.
these sifters may be arranged to receive the requisite vibratory movement, the
number of the sifters being regulated according to the magnitude of the
business to be done. The interior of the sifter R is divided into four
receivers or divisions by the vertical. partitions V; and the box is divided
horizontally by the wire cloth sieves W. Each of the spaces below the sieves
is fitted with a drawer X, into which the sifted materials fall.
A weighed
quantity or one of the parcels of resin and veneer dust is placed in each of
the divisions of the sifter R; the lid is placed on, and the sifter is put in
motion. The materials are rapidly passed through the sieves W, the drawers
X are then taken out, and the contents temporarily transferred to sheets of
paper or at once placed in the moulding apparatus in which the fuel is
prepared. The moulds in which the preparation of the fuel is completed con-
sist of rectangular iron boxes furnished with wheels, so as to be readily moved
to and fro. One of these moulds is shown in elevation in Figure 7 on my
Drawings. Figure 8 is a vertical section of the same, showing the arrange-
ment for dividing the cake of fuel. The moulding apparatus consists of the
iron box Y, to the sides of which are fitted the wheels Z; the sides of the
box Y are jointed to each other at a, Figure 9, and at the opposite diagonal
corner are secured by a pin at b. This arrangement, admits of each end and
side of the box being opened out and separated from the bottom, so as to
leave the cake of prepared fuel standing thereon. A sheet of paper is placed
on the bottom of one of these moulds, and upon this the weighed quantity
of powdered resin and veneer dust is laid. The surface of the ingredients is
made level by passing the edge of a piece of wood or metal over it. The
levelled surface of the materials is then covered by a sheet of paper, and a
plate of iron c, corresponding in size to the interior of the moulding box Y, is
laid upon
the
The mixture of resin and veneer dust is then subjected
to the action of heat. The plate of iron c, Figure 7, serves to press down
and consolidate the materials as the resin melts, and the particles of the mass.
become more closely assimilated. The heating operation is effected in the
oven, shown in Figure 14 of my Drawing; it is to facilitate the introduction
of the moulds into the oven and their withdrawal therefrom that they are
furnished with wheels, which are made to run upon the rails d, shown in
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 14. The heating apparatus or oven is shown in elevation
and partially in vertical section in Figure 14; as here arranged, it consists of
two heating furnaces e, the heated products of which pass through lateral
flues finto the large heating chamber or oven g, and from thence to the
paper.

page_text: chimney. The brickwork h, which forms the front of the oven g, has
openings i formed therein through which the mould boxes Y are run. The
rails are laid along the platform on which the moulds Y are charged with
the resin and veneer dust, and are carried onwards across the sole of the
3 oven. A series of the moulds Y, equal in length to the depth of the oven,
are charged and run into the oven g, the opening i of which is then closed
by the lifting door j. The oven, as here arranged, is made to contain four
series of the moulds Y; this number may be varied as desired, and the intro-
duction and withdrawal of the moulds so arranged that the work may be
carried on continuously. After being subjected to the action of the heat for
about half an hour, or until the resin is thoroughly melted and incorporated
into a compact mass of uniform density throughout, and of a light brown
color, the moulds are then withdrawn from the oven, and the iron plate c
and the sheet of paper beneath it removed. The next operation is to divide
the cake of fuel into pieces or cakes of a size suitable for packing, and to
partially divide these cakes into smaller masses suitable for lighting fires or
other purposes. The cake is divided into these portions while it is in a
heated or softened state, and by means of cutters, which are heated in order
that they may more readily pass through the cake of fuel.
;
In Figures 9 and 10 on my Drawing is shown a plan and side view of a
presser plate k, which is laid upon the softened cake of fuel to prevent the
plastic mass adhering to the cutter. This presser plate k is made with longi-
tudinal divisions, to admit of the blades of the cutter passing through the
plate to the cake of fuel below it. There are two of these cutters used, one
for the longitudinal divisions, and one for the transverse, as shown in Figure 8
on my Drawings; the arrangement of both presser plates is similar, excepting
with regard to the direction of the divisions. The longitudinal cutter is similar
in its construction to the transverse cutter shown in side view in Figure 12
on my Drawing, and in plan in Figure 13; it consists of a rectangular iron
frame 1, in which is set a number of parallel blades m; these blades are
arranged at a distance asunder, according to the size of the intended cakes.
In the longitudinal cutter, the central blade is made somewhat deeper than
the others, so as to cut the cake completely through at the line n, Figure 11;
the other blades not being quite so deep, the cake is not completely
severed at the parallel lines. In the transverse cutter, Figures 12 and 13,
every alternate blade is made somewhat longer than its contiguous blade, as
shown in Figure 12, so that at the lines o, Figure 11, the cut is cut quite
through. The cake of fuel is in this manner cut into twelve cakes, each
containing twelve smaller ones, which may be readily broken off by the con-

page_text: sumer, the larger cakes being of a size convenient for making up into parcels
for sale. The cutters are kept in a heated state, and are successively passed
through the interstices of their corresponding presser plates k and 7; a block
of wood p, Figures 8 and 11, is then passed under the bottom of the mould Y,
the sides of the mould box are opened out by withdrawing the pin b, and the
cake of fuel is left upon the bottom of the mould, which is supported upon the
block p.
When cold, the cakes of fuel are ready for being packed in paper,
or otherwise done up for the consumer's use.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the system or
mode of manufacturing or producing artificial fuel in the manner herein-before
described, or any mere equivalent therefor, together with the machinery or
apparatus specially adapted for and used in the said manufacture or production
as herein-before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Templeman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-eight.
JAMES TEMPLEMAN. (L.S.)