IMPROVEMENTS IN HEATING AND COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Jones, of Kelvey Cottage, Swansea, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HEATING AND COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL
FUEL."
Sealed the 24th November 1857, and dated the 3rd June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
June 1857.
I, WILLIAM JONES, of Kelvey Cottage, Swansea, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HEATING AND COMPRESSING
ARTIFICAL FUEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in heating and compressing
artificial fuel. For these purposes the mixed materials are fed by a hopper on to
the upper surface of an endless chain or platform to the extent of a few inches in
depth. The endless chain or platform passes with the mixed materials spread
thereon into an oven or heated chamber, by which the mixed materials become
heated and the pitch melted. The mixed materials fall into a hopper, under
which two wheels revolve on parallel horizontal axes. These wheels are made
with recesses or moulds at intervals on their peripheries, which become filled

page_text: with the heated mixed materials. The recesses or moulds of one wheel come
opposite spaces between the moulds of the other wheel, and on such spaces
are fixed or formed projections, corresponding in form with the interiors of
the moulds, and such projections enter into and compress the fuel in the
moulds. Each of the moulds is made with a moveable bottom or pallet, to
the back of which is a rod or stem passing out through the back of the mould,
and as the wheels revolve these rods are acted on by suitable projecting
surfaces in such manner as to cause the false bottoms or pallets to be moved
outwards, whilst the outer surfaces of the fuel in the moulds are being com-
pressed by the projections above described entering the moulds; hence, the
back surfaces of the fuel in the moulds will also be simultaneously pressed by
the movement of the false bottoms or pallets, and the false bottoms or pallets
afterwards force the moulded masses of fuel on to an endless travelling chain
with angular sides, by which the blocks of fuel are conveyed away.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JONES, of Kelvey Cottage, Swansea, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Jones, Her special licence that I, the said William Jones, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Jones,
my executors, administrators, and 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 HEATING AND
COMPRESSING ARTIFICIAL FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that .I,
the said William Jones, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in

page_text: the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Jones, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by. the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in heating and compressing
artificial fuel. For these purposes the mixed materials are fed by a hopper,
on to the upper surface of an endless chain or platform to the extent of a few,
inches in depth. The endless chain or platform passes with the mixed
materials spread. thereon into an oven or heated chamber, by which the mixed.
materials become heated and the pitch melted. The mixed materials fall into
a lopper, under which two wheels revolve on parallel horizontal axes. These.
wheels are made with recesses or moulds at intervals on their peripheries,
which become filled with the heated mixed materials. The recesses or moulds
of one wheel come opposite spaces between the moulds of the other wheel,
and on such spaces are fixed or formed projections corresponding in form with
the interiors of the moulds, and such projections enter into and compress the,
fuel in the moulds. Each of the moulds is made with a moveable bottom or
pallet, to the back of which is a rod or stem passing out through the back of
the mould, and as the wheels revolve these rods are acted on by suitable
projecting surfaces in such manner as to cause the false bottoms or pallets.to,
be moved outwards, whilst the outer surfaces of the fuel in the moulds are,
being compressed by the projections above described entering the moulds;:
hence, the back surfaces of the fuel in the moulds will also be simultaneously,
pressed by the movement of the false bottoms or pallets, and the false bottoms.
or pallets afterwards force the moulded masses of.. fuel on to an endless
travelling chain with angular sides, by which the blocks of fuel, are conveyed.
away.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily.
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a transverse section, of,
the general arrangement of apparatus which I prefer to employ in carrying out.
my improvements in heating and compressing artificial fuel. Figures 3, 4, 5, 6,
and 7 show sections of the furnaces and heating chambers (on a larger scale),.
the nature of which is written thereon; and Figures 8, 9, and 10 show various

page_text: views, on a still larger scale, of the compressing machinery which I employ in
carrying out my Invention.
The mixed materials suitable for the manufacture of artificial fuel according
to my Invention are raised by the elevator A up to the hopper B, and are
delivered into the circular pan or saucer C, in which a pair of edge rolls work
to crush the materials; from the centre of the pan C the crushed materials are
delivered on to the revolving plate or disc D, from which the materials. are
conducted by the scraper D₁ into the mouths of hoppers a, a, supported above
the endless chain or travelling platforms b, b, in connection with the ovens or
heating chambers E, E. The hoppers a have slides a' at the bottom to
regulate the delivery of the materials on to the travelling chains b, b; and is
a guage to determine the depth of the layer to be spread on the travelling
platform before it enters the heating chamber, and I prefer to serrate the
lower edge of the guage b', as shewn at Figure 3*. The endless chains or
platforms b, b, pass with the mixed materials spread thereon into the ovens or
heated chambers E, E, from which the gases and vapours caused by the heated
materials are drawn off by flues c, separate from the flues of the furnaces d, d,
the arrangement of which is clearly shown in the Drawing; and the direction
the flues from the furnaces d, d, and from the ovens or heating chambers E, E,
are indicated by arrows of different colors. The endless chains or platforms
b. b, are supported on drums 62, 63, and carry friction rollers &*, which travel
over rails fixed within the heating chambers; one of the drums b², 62, to
each chain is driven by a strap or band from a steam engine or other motive
power, passing over a cone pulley, which gives motion to a corresponding
cone pulley 6, as shewn, in order to regulate the speed at which the chains
or platforms b, b, travel through the ovens or heated chambers E, E. e is
a revolving scraper, which may be employed, if necessary, to remove any
material which may adhere (in case of overheating) to the surface of the
platform previous to its delivery therefrom; and e' is another scraper, placed
at an angle below each chain, in order to remove and prevent any adhering
material from re-entering the heating chambers. The mixed materials are
delivered from the endless chains or platforms b, b, after passing through
the ovens or heating chambers E, E, on to the floor or platform F, from
which it is delivered in any convenient manner into the hopper f, sup-
ported, as shewn at Figures 8 and 9, over the compressing apparatus, which I
will now proceed to describe. 9,9, are two wheels supported on the parallel
horizontal axes g', g', and motion is communicated to the wheels g, g, in
opposite directions by the worms 9, 9, (cut in opposite directions) fixed on

page_text: the axis h, which receives motion by a strap from a steam engine or other
motivé power passing over a cone pulley fixed on the axis of the toothed
pinion i, which takes into and drives the toothed wheel fixed on the axis h,
by which the speed of the wheels g, g, may be regulated to agree with the
speed of the travelling chains or platforms b, b. The worms 9, 9, fixed on
the axis h, take into the teeth of the worm wheels g³, g³, fixed on the axes of
the wheels g, g, and thus give motion thereto. The heated mixed materials
fall from the hopper f into and fill the recesses or moulds formed at intervals
around the peripheries of the wheels g, g, which by revolving towards each
other compress the materials contained therein. The moulds of one of the
wheels g come opposite the spaces between the moulds of the opposite wheel g,
such spaces forming projections between each mould, corresponding in form
with the apertures to the moulds, so that as the wheels g, g, revolve and come
together, the projections on one wheel enter into the recesses or moulds formed
in the opposite wheel, and thus compress the fuel in the moulds. Each mould
is constructed with a moveable bottom or pallet g', 9', to the back of each of
which there is a rod or stem g' passing out through the back of the mould;
the stems 9 of the pallets are furnished with friction rollers,g, which, in the
revolution of the wheels g, g, come in contact with the fixed cam surfaces k
and 1, the can surface k first acting on the friction rollers go to cause the
false bottoms or pallets 9', g, to be moved outwards, whilst the outer surface
of the fuel in each mould is being compressed by the opposite projection on
the other wheel g entering the mould, as before described. The fuel having
been thus simultaneously compressed between the false bottom or pallet of
its mould and the projection on the opposite wheel g, each friction roller g'
is brought in contact in succession with the cam surface to further force out
the false bottom or pallet of each mould, which thus causes each moulded
mass of fuel to be delivered in succession on to the travelling chain or creeper
m, which conducts it away to be stacked or stored. n is a fixed cam surface
to draw in and retain the pallets or false bottoms g' within each mould ready
to be refilled on again arriving under the hopper f.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately, nor do I confine myself thereto; but what
I claim is,
First, the combined machinery, apparatus, and furnaces herein described for
heating the materials for manufacturing artificial fuel.
And, secondly, I claim the improvements berein described for moulding

page_text: artificial fuel, whereby the wheels of moulds are formed with projections which
enter the opposite moulds and compress the fuel therein at the same time as
the pistons or pallets in the moulds are pressed outwards, as herein explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Jones, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
WILLIAM JONES. (L.S.)
Witness,
JOHN JONES.