CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirteenth day of October, in the sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege an
authority, that I; the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Ma-
jesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL," being a communication from a foreigner residing
abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the
said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto nad, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to the machinery employed in the manufacture of
fuel, and the improvements consist, firstly, in certain novel or improved appa-
ratus for mixing and heating the ingredients of which the fuel is composed;
and, secondly, in an improved stamping or compressing apparatus, in which the
fuel is submitted to pressure and formed into bricks of the required form
and size.
1
In reference to the first head of the Invention, I have shown in the
accompanying Drawings two constructions of apparatus for making the ingre-
dients together. Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 an end
view of one of these methods, together with the improved stamping or com-
pressing apparatus, which will be more particularly described hereafter under
the second head of the Invention. The mixing apparatus, shewn in Figures,1
and 2, consists of a cylinder a, a, made of strong plate iron, and mounted on a
horizontal shaft b, b, which turns in suitable bearings c, c, placed at each end.
On the right-hand end of the shaft b, b, is mounted the toothed wheel d, into
which gears the endless screw e of the horizontal shaft ff, which is made to
revolve by means of a steam engine. or any other motive power. The iron
cylinder a, a, is open at its ends, but revolves. against and is fitted to the end
plates 1, 1, which form its ends. It is heated by a fire made in the furnace g, and
is caused to revolve slowly on its axis by the endless screw e gearing into the
toothed wheel d, as before mentioned. The ingredients of which the artificial
fuel is to be composed are those generally employed for this purpose, namely,
pitch and small coal. These materials are first to be crushed, ground; or
reduced to a fine powder, then mixed together, and placed in the hopper h,
from whence they fall into the revolving cylinder, which, by its rotation, and
being exposed to a regular heat, intimately mixes the ingredients together, and
gradually softens and heats the whole.mass without charring any part. When
this object is effected, the door i at the right-hand end of the cylinder is to be
opened, and the whole charge withdrawn into any suitable receiver, from
whence it is removed to the stamping apparatus. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal
section, and Fig. 4 a transverse section of another construction of mixing appa-

page_text: ratus, which is a modification of that above described. In this construction, in
the interior of the revolving cylinder is a longitudinal stationary shaft, furnished
with lateral arms j, j, which carry or support a long scraper k, k. The arms and
scraper are fixed, but the cylinder revolves slowly over a fire, as in the former
instance, and as the edge of the scraper lc, k, is contiguous to the internal
surface of the cylinder, it scrapes off any of the ingredients. contained therein
that may happen to adhere thereto, and causes them to fall down. The end edges
of the revolving cylinder in this, as well as in the other apparatus, are fitted to
end plates 1, 1, against which the cylinder revolves, as will be seen by inspecting
Figures 1 and 3. In Fig. 3, instead of the cylinder being mounted on and
attached to the longitudinal shaft, this shaft is stationary, and the cylinder is
mounted on hollow axles m, m, through which the shaft passes, as seen in the
Drawing. The longitudinal shaft is made in the form of a screw bolt, having
a head n at one end, and a screw nut o at the other, and by screwing up the
latter the shaft may be held quite tight against its support p, p. The hollow
axle m of the cylinder is furnished with a toothed wheel d, by means of which
rotary motion is communicated to it, in the manner shewn in Fig. 1. The
pulverized materials, of which the artificial fuel is to be composed, are fed into
the cylinder through a hopper, as in the former instance. In this apparatus.
the cylinder is not charged at once, and then made to revolve until the mate-
rials are sufficiently mixed and softened, but they are fed from the hopper h
in a thin stream, and as the cylinder revolves and the scraper turns over that
portion of the ingredients which adhere to its sides, all the contents soon
become intimately mixed together, thoroughly warmed and softened, and
brought into a proper state and consistence to be. conveyed to the stamping
apparatus. The exit aperture or door i of the cylinder is always kept
open, and by the rotation of the cylinder the materials are continually made
to fall out into the receiver, and in order to facilitate this delivery of the
charge and bring it towards the aperture i, the cylinder is placed on a slight
inclination, the exit end being about three inches lower than that at which the
ingredients enter.
up
The second head of the Invention, viz., the stamping apparatus, is shewn in
Figs. I and 2. The stamper, which is of considerable weight, is seen at q, q;
it is suspended and moved up and down between guides 7, 7, (formed in the side
framing,) by means of the cord or. chain s, which when the weight is is
coiled round the grooved pulley t, to which it is also attached at one end.. On
the same axle as the large pulley t is mounted a smaller pulley u, over which
passes a band or belt v from a similar pulley w on the shaft f. This part of
the apparatus is shewn detached at Fig. 5, and upon inspecting this Figure it.

page_text: will be seen that the band v is passed loosely round the two pulleys u and w
but may be tightened thereon by raising the roller a and pressing it against
the under side of the band. The roller x is mounted at the shorter end of a
lever y, which turns on a pin or stud z as its fulcrum; to the other end of this
lever a connecting rod 1 is attached, the lower end of which is jointed to a hand
lever 2 below. This lever has its fulcrum at 3; as it is depressed by the
workman it draws down with it the longer arm of the lever y, thereby raising
the roller at the opposite end, and causing it to press against the band v
and tighten it round the pullies u and w, by which means rotary motion will
be immediately communicated to the large pulley t, and thereby cause it to
coil the cord or chain s round its periphery and raise the weight or stamper.
When the stamper has by this means been raised to the required height, the
workman loosens the band v by raising the hand lever 2, and the stamper imme-
diately descends by its own weight; he then depresses the hand lever again, and
thereby again.tightens the band, the stamper then immediately ascends and is
ready to make another blow. One of the guides r, r, on the side standards is
furnished with a catch 4, which may be pushed out when required for the
purpose of holding up the stamper when not in use. The moulds are placed
by hand, one by one, between the standards under the stamper, and are filled
from the cylinder, and when the contents of one are sufficiently compressed it
is removed and replaced by another. If the workman at the hand lever should
neglect to depress it, and thereby loosen the band v, a projecting rod 5 con-
nected to the top of the stamper will raise the longer arm of the lever y, and
thereby effect this object without his assistance. A similar projecting arm
may be placed on the other side, and made to strike a bell and warn the
attendant that he must relax the band v. This is not shewn in the Drawing,
but will be readily understood.
From the foregoing description it will be evident that almost any kind of
blow can be given that may be desired, from a quick succession of small
blows up to one or two very heavy finishing blows.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me, and
the manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, I wish it to be
understood that I lay no claim to any of the parts separately, or which have
been known or in use before the date of my said Letters Patent; but I claim
as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent,―
First, mixing the ingredients, of which any description of artificial fuel is
generally or may be composed, in a revolving cylinder, by means of which the.
ingredients are intimately amalgamated, and may be exposed to heat without

page_text: charring, and with a much less power than is required with the ordinary
pug mill:
Second, I claim the apparatus above shewn and described for stamping and
compressing artificial fuel.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.