IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS." -A communication from abroad by
Sealed the 21st December 1874, and dated the 17th July 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th July 1874.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS," a communication to me from
abroad by Arthur Gobiet, of Seraing, in the Kingdom of Belgium, to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to coke ovens constructed on the principle of
what are known as muffle furnaces, and consists essentially in a peculiar
arrangement of the flues and other parts of the oven whereby the
emission of smoke during the operation of coking, and the consequent

page_text: inconvenience and annoyance to the neighbourhood in which the ovens
are erected are entirely obviated.
In carrying out this Invention the coal to be carbonized is introduced
into the furnaces or coking chambers from above through vertical
openings arranged in two series, one on each side of an upper main
central flue, two of such openings communicating with each chamber.
The ignited or incandescent gases which are evolved from the coal
during the process of carbonization are conducted through a series of
apertures leading from each chamber into transverse flues formed in the
intervening walls of the chambers, such flues commencing from a central
partition and running in both directions towards the respective sides of
the oven, and then returning at a lower elevation towards the central
partition. From these transverse flues the gases are conducted through
four or any other suitable number of apertures into other transverse flues
arranged underneath the chambers, and following a circuitous course
towards and from the sides of the oven, which flues communicate by
means of other apertures with another series of zig-zag transverse flues
similar to and parallel with those firstly herein-before described, and
formed in the intervening walls of the chambers so that the gases then
pass along the opposite wall of the clamber, whence they are conducted
into the upper main central flue and down a vertical flue into the chimney
which is situate at the extremity of the series of chambers. By means of
this arrangement the oven is heated all round whilst the gases escaping
from the chimney are simply warm, but are never in an ignited or
incandescent condition, so that during the operation not the least
emission of smoke can occur. From, say, 20 to 30 of these ovens or
chambers may be combined together with a single chimney common to:
all, of a proportionate size in transverse section to the number of ovens
or chambers employed. The ovens are closed at both sides by doors
consisting of plates or discs of either wrought or cast iron, filled a
with refractory material and luted, such doors being capable of sliding
in or on rails, and being operated from above for the purpose of opening
or closing the same by means of travelling cranes running upon rails laid
longitudinally along the top of the oven..
The coke may be removed by means of a crane worked either by hand a

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her leirs and successors,"
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special:
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, 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 COKE OVENS," a communication to me from abroad'
by Arthur Gobiet, of Seraing, in the Kindom of Belgium, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
exccutors or administrators, by an instrument-in writing under my
hand and scal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to bo per-
formed, 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 John. Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to coke ovens constructed on the principle
of what are known as muffle furnaces of the horizontal class, and has
for its object the consumption of the smoke during the operation of

page_text: coking, and the consequent prevention of inconvenience and annoyance
to the neighbourhood in which the ovens are erected.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
:
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a longitudinal
section taken along the line a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, j, k, (Figure 2) of a portion
of an oven consisting of a scries of coking chambers constructed and
arranged in accordance with the said Invention; Figure 2 is a horizontal
section of the same, taken along the lines l, m, N, O, P, Q, 1, s, t, u, v, w,
x, z, y (Figure 1); and Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sections taken
respectively along the lines A, B, and C, D (Figure 1).
A', A2, are openings through which the coal is introduced into the
furnaces or coking chambers B in order to be carbonized. The ignited or
incandescent gases which are evolved from the coal during the process
of carbonization are conducted through a series of apertures a¹, a², a³,
a², a³, aº, a' and a³, leading from each chamber into lateral flucs b¹
and b, running towards the respective ends of the chamber, and com-
municating by passages ci and c² with other lateral flues d¹ and ɖ².
From these lateral flues the gases are conducted through apertures
e¹, e², e³, and e, into flues f¹, f³,ƒ³, and f*, arranged underneath and
following a circuitous course towards and from the ends of the chamber,
which flues communicate by means of other apertures g¹, 9², g³, and g³,
with flues and 2 formed in the other wall of the chamber. The
gases then escape through passages and into the flues j", and j³, and
thence through other passages ¹ and 2 into the main flue 1, where the
gases from the whole of the chambers B unite, and whence such gases
are conducted through flues m¹ and n¹ into the chimney K which is
situate at the extremity of the series of chambers. By means of this
arrangement the chambers are heated all round whilst the gases
escaping from the chimney are simply warm but are never in an ignited
or incandescent condition, so that no smoke is emitted from the series
of chambers during the operation, of carbonizing, and all inconvenience
from that source to the locality in which the oven is situate is obviated.
Any required number of these chambers, say, for example, from twenty
-

page_text: to thirty, according to circumstances, may be combined together side
by side with a single chimney, common to the whole, and having a
sectional area proportionate to the number of chambers employed. The
chambers are closed at both ends by doors C consisting of plates or discs
of either wrought or cast iron packed or fitted with refractory material
and luted, such doors being capable of sliding in or on guides or rails D
of cast or wrought iron, and being operated from above for the purpose
of opening or closing the same by means of travelling cranes running
upon rails E laid longitudinally along the top of the oven.
The coke may be removed by means of a crane worked either by hand
or steam power, or in any other convenient manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that 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 peculiar con-
struction and combination of coke ovens or chambers having flues so
arranged as that the gases evolved are caused to circulate around and
encompass such ovens or chambers, substantially in the manner and for
the purpose herein-before described and as illustrated by the accom-
panying Drawings.
i
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of
!