IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL CASTINGS to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I SAMUEL RIDEAL of 9 Wards Buildings Deansgate Manchester in the County
of Lancaster Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL CASTINGS
to be as follows:-
"
My Invention relates principally to the production of comparatively small castings
of mild steel or Bessemer metal. For the purposes of, my Invention I use a con-
verter of a special construction, and of a moderate size as for example I use a
converter suitable for the production of about one ton or even less of metal at each
charge and I charge the inoulds directly from the converter thereby saving time
and. material and conserving the heat of the charge more effectually. The converter
may be of a cylindrical form and have a flat or nearly flat bottom. The converter
is provided with a removable cover through which passes the air pipe and in which
are formed slots or oblong openings for the escape of the gases.
As the gases escape
in comparatively thin sheets the color is more readily watched tlian in the case of
the ordinary converter. The converter and the cover may be provided with
trunnions. Projecting from the side or from cach side of the converter is a box
which is lined with refractory material and is open at the top. The refractory
material at the bottom joins the lining of the converter and contains a passage for
the melted metal. In the said bottom lining of the box is a conical hole which
extends across the said passage and through the bottom of the box and is provided
with a plug which is carried by a protected rod. The upper end of the said rod is
connected with a sliding bar on the outside of the box and this bar can be raised
and lowered by means of a hand lever. The movement of this lever is limited by
means of an adjustable or removable stop or pin and the joint pins and securing
nuts are readily removable the latter by preference having handles so that the use
of screw-keys is rendered unnecessary. The converter in some or in all cases is
mounted upon a weighing platform so that the converter with its contents can be
weighed at anytime and the said platform or any carriage substituted therefor is
provided with wheels so that the converter can be moved into successive positions
to fill the moulds and by preference the carriage is mounted upon rails. As the
converter. is brought into position the moulds are readily filled by raising the.
Drine G21

page_text: conical plug or valve by means of the lever. I prefer to partly dry the air which
is forced into the converter by passing the air through apertures which are filled
with sponge, felt, wadding or other absorbent material but I do not confine myself
to this nor to the passing of the air through the cover of the converter nor to the
exact details of the valve box and of the parts for actuating the valve.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I SAMUEL RIDEAL of 9,Wards Buildings, Deansgate Manchester in the County
of Lancaster, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL CASTINGS"
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings:-
My Invention relates principally to the production of comparatively small
castings of mild steel or Bessemer metal. For the purposes of my Invention I use
a converter of a special construction and of a moderate size and I charge the
moulds directly from the converter thereby saving time and material and conserving
the heat of the charge more effectually. The converter is provided with a
removable cover through which passes the air pipe and in which are formed slots
or oblong openings for the escape of the gases. As the gases escape in compara-
tively thin sheets the color is more readily watched than in the case of the ordinary
converter. Projecting from the side or from each side of the converter is a box
which is lined with refractory material and is open at the top. The refractory
material at the bottom joins the lining of the converter and contains a passage for
the melted metal. In the said bottom lining of the box is a taper hole which
extends across the said passage and through the bottom of the box and is provided
with a plug which is carried by a protected rod. The upper end of the said rod
is connected with a sliding bar on the outside of the box and this bar can be
raised and lowered by means of a hand lever. The converter in some or in all
cases is mounted upon a weighing platformu so that the converter with its contents
can be weighed at any time and the said platform or any carriage substituted
therefor is provided with wheels so that the converter can be moved into successive
positions to fill the moulds and by preference the carriage is mounted upon rails,

page_text: As the converter is brought into position the moulds are readily filled by raising
the taper plug or valve by means of the lever.
To render the description of my Invention capable of being clearly understood
I have attached hereto a sheet of drawings In the said drawings Fig: 1 represents
a side elevation and Fig: 2 a vertical section of the said apparatus. In the said
Figs, a is a converter which is mounted upon the platform of a weighing machine
which is arranged in and upon a carriage 6. The outer shell a of the converter is
provided with a suitable refractory lining c. and upon the said outer shell are
fixed or formed two side boxes d. d. which may be of a rectangular form and be
bolted to the sides of the converter so as to be capable of being removed when
repairs are necessary. A cross section of one of these boxes appears in Fig: 3.
In the example the front side of each box is made in two parts d' and d' which
are removable. Each of these boxes is lined with a suitable refractory material.
At the bottom of each box. is a block e. of refractory material which extends
through the shell of the converter to the front of the lining of the same and in
this block is formed a horizontal passage through which the melted metal can
flow out of the converter and also a vertical opening which extends through the
said block and which is closed by means of a taper valve f. which is made of
refractory material. The said valve is fixed upon the lower end of a metal rod g.
which extends upward through the box and is protected by means of a tubular
covering of refractory material. The upper end of this rod is attached to the end
of a bar h. which is bent over the top of the box to engage with the rod and is
fitted in slides which are formed on or secured to the front d¹ of the box. A
lever i. is mounted upon a fulcrum at j. and engages with a stud which is fixed to
the bar h. in order that by acting upon the said lever the said bar may be raised or
lowered thereby lifting or lowering the rod whereby the valve f. is opened and
closed. The movement of this lever is limited by means of an adjustable or
removable stop or pin and the joint pins and securing nuts are readily removable
the latter by preference having handles so that the use of screw keys is rendered
unnecessary. The converter is provided with a lid or cover . which is partly
represented in plan by Fig: 4. In this cover is formed an opening l. and two
slits which are provided with hoods n. n. which are formed to direct the issuing
gases and sparks to one side. The cover is loose and can be lifted off by means of
trunnions o. The converter is also provided with trunnions p. whereby it can be
placed upon and lifted off the carriage. The said carriage is provided with wheels
which in the example are adapted to run upon rails and two of these wheels are
connected by means of gearing with a hand wheel r. in order that the. carriage
with the converter may be readily moved upon the rails. The converter is by
preference made of a moderate capacity say for example to hold about one ton of
metal but it may be made of even less capacity than this. The apparatus is
intended to be used in the following manner. The rails upon which the carriago
runs extend from the cupola or melting furnace as far as is necessary to enable the
metal to be run directly from the converter into the moulds. The converter having
received a charge of melted metal is brought below the blast pipe which is arranged
to be lowered through the opening l. as indicated by the dotted lines 8. As the
conversion proceeds the hot gases escape through the slits and hoods m in thin sheets
as herein before mentioned. I prefer to partly dry the air which is forced into the con-
verter by passing the air through apertures which are filled with sponge, felt, wadding
or other absorbent material but I do not confine myself to this nor to the passing of
the air through the cover of the converter. The operation is facilitated by reason
of the converter being mounted upon a weighing machine as a weighed quantity
of metal can be run into the converter and the blast be continued until a
determined reduction in weight has been effected. When the desired quality of
metal has been obtained the converter is run down to the moulds or flasks which
are arranged on each side of the rails and are indicated by t. t. in Fig: 2. The
gaits" or pouring openings are arranged so that the valve openings of the con-
verter come over them. The carriage having come to rest between two boxes the
61

page_text: levers ii. are raised whereby the valves are raised and the steel is permitted to.
flow into the moulds. When filled the carriage is moved onward to fill the next
boxes and so on until the charge is exhausted. The weight of metal in the
converter can be ascertained at any time so that the operator can determine
whether or not there is sufficient metal remaining to fill a box. It will be seen
that the running of the metal can be controlled with great nicety and that a
number of boxes each requiring a comparatively small charge can be quickly and
readily filled. When desirable the small cover d. on the box d. can be removed
and the block e. be withdrawn and be replaced with a new one. It has not been
considered necessary to illustrate or describo the details of the weighing machine
as this part of the apparatus may be of an ordinary construction and if not con-
sidered to be necessary or desirable the weighing machine may be dispensed with.
The converter may be furnished with only one valve box or with more than two
but I consider two to be the most convenient number. I do not confine myself to
the exact form of the converter nor of each valve box nor to tho_details for
opening and closing the valves.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The converter adapted to be used in the production of steel by the use of the
air blast as is usual and formed and provided with a delivery passage and valve or
with delivery passages and valves through which the metal can be run directly
into the casting boxes or into moulds substantially as and for the purpose set forth
and indicated.
2. The converter mounted upon a carriage provided with wheels to run upon
rails and formed with a delivery opening provided with a valve which can be raised
and lowered by the operator or with such parts in duplicate so that the converter
can be readily transported to the casting boxes or moulds and the metal be run
directly thereinto from the converter substantially as set forth and indicated.
3. In connection with a steel converter adapted to be directly used in charging
the casting boxos or moulds mounting such converter upon the platform of a
weighing machino which is formed as or is fixed upon a carriage provided with
wheels for the purpose substantially as set forth.
4. The converter provided with a valve box d. a changeable block e. formed with
an outflow passage and provided with a valve f. or with such parts in duplicate
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
5. In a steel converter the removable lid or cover formed with an opening to
admit the air blast pipe and with slits for the escape of the hot gases. •
6. The combination of parts forming the complete apparatus substantially as and
for the purpose set forth and indicated.