IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSE
Year: 1870

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 THE PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND IN APPARATUS
TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSE."-A communication from abroad
by the Anthracite Fuel Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, of
the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United
States of America.
Scaled the Gih September 1870, and dated the 30th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th March 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 17, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND IN
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSE."-A communication to me
from abroad by the Anthracite Fuel Manufacturing Company, Incor-
L

page_text: as follows:-
This Invention relates to the treatment of small or waste coal so as to
convert the same into blocks or moulded forms, and to render such waste
coal more suitable for fuel, and consists:
First. In the preparation of the small coal and of the agglutinating
materials employed.
Second. In the method of incorporating or admixing the materials
and in the apparatus employed for such purpose.
Third. In the method of drying and baking the agglomerated materials
and in the construction and arrangement of the furnaces and apparatus
for such purposes.
Fourth. In the construction of that class of presses which are adapted
for effecting the compresssion, moulding, or blocking of artificial fuel,
prepared either as before mentioned or otherwise.
In carrying out the Invention I proceed as follows:-The waste coal
of the mines is first to be washed or cleansed from all the dirt and loam
contained in it by means of any suitable agitating perforated separator,
or rotating hollow cylinder of coarse wire, or perforated sheet metal with
water constantly passing through it, so that the latter will carry off
through the perforations or meshes all the said dirt or loam and leave the
fine coal and shale remaining. The said remains are then hoisted by
means of any suitable hoisting buckets to the upper room of a suitable
building, where it is dumped into a second rotating screen, the meshes of
which allow the pure coal to escape through them into a hopper
opening above and communicating with a pair of smooth faced iron
rollers which crush or grind the said particles of coal into a fine powder,
the shale passing out of the building as refuse from the open lower end
of the said screen. The fine coal powder is then conveyed by a chute
or otherwise to the mouth of any suitable sheet or cast iron receiving
cylinder provided with a rotating worm shaft that will convey or push
the said coal powder along, in, and out of the said cylinder. Connected
with the mouth of this receiving vessel is any suitable retort in which
coal tar may be submitted to about 280 degrees or 300 degrees
Fahrenheit of heat, and 35 or 10 per centum of volatile matter be thrown
off so as to reduce the tar to a pitch, which, or its equivalent resinous
substance, is run in a hot or melted state into the said receiver,

page_text: simultaneously with the fine coal powder, in the proportions of about
from four to six gallons of the melted pitch or resin to a ton or two
thousand two hundred and forty pounds of the coal powder, whereby the
coal and pitch are mixed into a plastic mass. The mass thus resulting
is allowed to fall into a mixer, which consists of a series of vertical shafts
provided with horizontal arms having vertical projections and adjustably
fixed thereon, the said shafts being arranged and caused to rotate
simultaneously within a cylindrical upright vessel having small perfora-
tions in its sides opening into a surrounding steam jacket, and a series
of discharge openings fitted with adjustable stoppers or sliding plates in
its bottom for the purpose of receiving and thoroughly or intimately
mixing in a hot moist condition the purified coal powder and the
requisite agglutinating materials in making artificial fuel and other
compounds, and discharging the same for subsequent condensation or
compression.
The mass having become thoroughly and intimately mixed the sliding
plates are drawn out, and thus open communication produced between
the interior of the vessel and the sliding or reciprocating moulds of any
suitable condensing apparatus or press, which moulds are intended to be
applied for the purpose to the bottom of the said vessel.
The mass, as before mentioned, may either be compressed in the
manner described, or it may be operated upon in my improved press
herein before described, the mass, having been compressed by any of
these methods, is to be placed on cars or carriages and run into the
drying or baking apparatus, which consists of walls of two or more fuel
combustion or heat generating furnaces, each having an arched top
perforated with numerous small holes which open directly into a large
hot air and gas consuming chamber, which communicates with a suitable
draught chimney, the said chamber and the furnaces being enclosed
together within thick walls; and within the said chamber there are sup-
ported upon suitable posts two or more ovens which open at both ends,
through the walls, the said ends being provided with closely fitting doors,
and the top of each of the said ovens with a central longitudinal row of
small holes which open into the hot chamber, and the bottom of each of
the said ovens is provided with a railway track which extends beyond the
vertical enclosing walls. The cars employed are made to run upon the
tracks and into and out of the ovens when required. The body of cach
car is made of perforated plate iron or heavy woven wire; it is open at

page_text: its top, and also divided into separate horizontal spaces by means of
adjustable or hinged platforms of perforated plate iron, so that each
layer of the contents of a full car will be free from the pressure of any
other layer.
In the operation of this drying and baking part of my apparatus the
previously formed and compressed lumps of coal which are intended to
be dried and baked therein are dropped promiscuously into the respective
spaces formed by the platforms of the cars in succession, and the cars
then run into the respective ovens and the doors of the latter closed.
The car bodies being made of perforated plates or woven wire and the
layers of the lumps of coal being also supported by their respective
perforated platforms, the heated ovens soon drive off all the moisture and
the volatile or odorous portions of the lumps through the holes to the
chimney, and thus bring the condition of the said lumps into the dry
and inodorous state required in fuel for domestic use. The rear doors
of the ovens are now to be opened and the cars drawn out and their
contents discharged for cooling and subsequent delivery for use.
The first part of that portion of my Invention which refers to
improvements in presses for compressing, moulding, or blocking artificial
fuel relates to the combination with the mould boxes in the press of a
sliding feed box, in connection with a swinging chute suspended from a
"mixer" above, in such a manner, that the mixture or mass of the coal
dust and its agglutinating material will freely gravitate into the feed box;
and also so that sliding motions backward and forward may be given to
the said feed box upon the open upper side of the mould boxes; the
object of this part of this Invention being to facilitate and render certain
the perfect filling of the moulds, and also to afford a substantial cover
for the upper side of the same during the condensing and the discharging
of the contents of the moulds by the advance of the pistons or plungers
within the same.
The second part of this Invention relates to the manner of constructing
and of applying to the press the mould boxes so that they may be
readily removed or changed as occasion may require; the object of this
part of the Invention being to allow several sizes of the lumps or blocks
of fuel to be produced by the same press at different times, as the demand
may require.
The third part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
bed plate of the press and the open ends of the moulds of a strong and

page_text: heavy abutment piece and adjustable guides and grips for covering the
outer ends of the moulds while they are being filled, and also for resisting
the pressure of the pistons or plungers during the condensation of the
contents of the said moulds, in such a manner, that the said abutment
piece will be raised by the combined operation of cams, levers, and a
counterpoise to cover the open ends of the moulds, and lowered by
gravitation to uncover the said ends of the moulds and permit the con-
densed lumps or blocks of fuel to slide down over the inclined outside
surface of the said abutment pieces into any suitable car as they are
pushed out of the said moulds by the pistons or plungers, the object of
this part of my Invention being to afford a sufficiently substantial and
reliable resistance to the very powerful pressure which is required to be
given to the pistons or plungers in the moulds in order to condense the
contents of the latter, to sustain the moulds in place, and also to lessen
the strain upon the cams and friction rollers which raise the abutment
piece during the operation of the press.
The fourth part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
plungers cross heads of removeable or changeable attachments for
receiving and retaining in place removeable or changeable plungers or
pistons to correspond with removeable or changeable moulds in such a
manner that the said plungers or pistons can be readily removed and
others substituted to correspond with any change that may be made of
the moulds, the object of this part of the Invention being to afford facility
in changing the plungers or pistons as the different sizes of the condensed
blocks of fuel in demand may require.
The fifth part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
plungers cross heads of tie rods and jam nuts for connecting the said
cross heads adjustably together, in such a manner, that their distance
apart from each other may be varied with facility, the object of this part
of the Invention being to afford a ready means of adapting the reach of
the plungers or pistons in condensing the contents of the moulds to
correspond with the changes required in the sizes of the condensed blocks
of fuel, the whole extent of the motions of the plungers being, of course,
always the same, in order that the condensed blocks of fuel (of whatever
size the moulds may be in which they are condensed) may be pushed
entirely out of the moulds.
The sixth part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
throw-out cams which operate the cross heads of the plungers or pistons

page_text: in discharging the contents of the moulds of adjustable or changeable
friction rolls, in such a manner, that the length of each of the said cams
and their friction rolls together may be readily varied to suit the different
distance apart of the plungers' cross leads in view of providing for the
discharge of the different sizes of blocks of fuel by the said plunges
or pistons without varying the extent of motion of the plungers or pistons
as effected by the said throw out cams and their friction rolls, whereby
the condensed blocks of fuel are pushed entirely out of the moulds and
the plungers or pistons at the same time prevented from being pushed
farther than to the outer ends of the moulds.
The seventh part of the Invention relates to the employment of
removcable or changeable bearing plates between the bed plate of the
press and the cap blocks, which hold down the sliding feed box in
such a manner that the said feed box can be readily secured in either a
sufficiently raised or lowered position to correspond with the larger or
smaller mould boxes that may from time to time be introduced.
The eighth part of the Invention relates to the construction and the
arrangement of the condensing and of the throw out cam cranks in
relation to their carrying shaft and the plungers' cross heads in such a
manner that only two motions of the plungers or pistons are required to
be given in order to condense the contents of the moulds and push the
condensed blocks of fuel entirely out of the same, so that they will by
gravitation slide down the inclined upper surface of the abutment picco
into the receiving car provided for the purpose.
The ninth part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
ends of the abutment piece and the bed plate of wrought iron beaded
grips and adjustable blocks having tapering recesses, in such a manner,
that when the said abutment piece is covering the ends of the moulds it
will be firmly supported against the powerful condensing pressure of the
plungers or pistons by the said grips, and be permitted by the tapering
recesses in the adjustable blocks to slip downward by gravitation when
the condensed blocks of fuel require to be pushed out of the moulds.
The tenth part of the Invention relates to the combination with the
abutment piece, and the connecting bar of its two operating levers of a
pair of running sockets, each connected with two eye-bolts by right and
left screw threads in such a manner that the abutment piece and the

page_text: connecting bar of the operating levers can be readily adjusted in relation
to their distance apart to suit any changes in the height of the mould
boxes.
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 30th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Ier most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, IIer heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, 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 THE PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAS
FUEL AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSE," a communi-
cation from abroad by the Anthracite Fuel Manufacturing Company,
Incorporated, of the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, 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 same 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 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 Drawings

page_text: The said Invention has for its object the treatment of small or waste
coal so as to convert the same into blocks or moulded forms, and to render
such waste coal more suitable for fuel, and relates,―
Firstly. To the preparation of the small coal and of the agglutinating
material employed.
Secondly. To special apparatus for incorporating or admixing the
materials.
Thirdly. To the construction of suitable presses for compressing,
moulding, or blocking artificial fuel.
And, fourthly. To the method of drying and baking the agglomerated
and compressed materials, and to the construction and arrangement of
the furnaces and apparatus for such purposes.
In carrying out this Invention the waste coal of mines which is to be
converted into solid inodorous lumps or blocks of fuel is first to be washed
or cleansed from all the dirt and loam contained in it by means of any
suitable agitating perforated separator, or rotating hollow cylinder of
coarse wire, or perforated sheet metal, with water constantly passing
through it so that the latter will carry off through the perforations, or
meshes, all the said dirt or loam and leave the finc coal and shale
remaining. The said remains are then hoisted by means of any suitable
hoisting buckets, to the upper room of a suitable building where it is
dumped into a second rotating screen, the meshes of which allow the
pure coal to escape through them into a hopper opening above and com-
municating with a pair of smooth faced iron rollers, which crush or
grind the said particles of coal into a fine powder, the shale passing out
of the building as refuse from the open lower end of the said screen.
The fine coal powder is then conveyed by a chute or otherwise to the
mouth of any suitable sheet or cast iron receiving cylinder, provided with
a rotating worm shaft, that will convey or push the said coal powder
along, in, and out of the said cylinder. Connected with the mouth
of this receiving vessel is any suitable retort in which coal tar may be
submitted to a temperature of about 280° to 300° Farenheit and thirty-
five or forty per centum of volatile matter be thrown off, so as to reduce
the tar to a pitch, which, or its equivalent resinous substance, is run in
a hot or melted state into the said receiver, simultaneously with the

page_text: fine coal powder, in the proportions of about from four to sex gallons
of the melted pitch or resin to a ton or two thousand two hundred and
forty pounds of the coal powder, whereby the coal and pitch are mixed
into a plastic mass which continuously drops into a mixer, the con-
struction and mode of operation of which is herein-after fully described.
From this "mixer" the constituents of the mass in connection with
steam, being worked thereby into an intimately mixed or thoroughly
incorporated and heated condition, is conveyed in suitable portions to
the moulds of a powerful press of any suitable construction (a press
constructed as herein-after fully described and illustrated by the Drawings
being, by preference, employed), and is thereby condensed into solid
lumps, blocks, or cylinders of suitable sizes for fuel.
From the press
the said lumps, blocks, or cylinders fall into receiving "cars" which
convey them into the "drying and baking ovens," herein-after described,
whereby all the moisture and the odoriferous or volatile matter are driven
off, and thus the treatment or process is completed. The cars are now to
be run out of the ovens, and their contents discharged for cooling and
transportation, or storage as solid inodorous lumps, block, or cylinders
of pure fuel. Being free from odour this fucl may, like the broken
anthracite coal, be acceptably stored for any length of time in the cellars
of dwellings, and being solidified and entirely free from stones, shale, and
dirt, the lumps will retain their form in the fire during the combustion
of the carbonaceous matter, and the ashes crumbling in raking the fire
will pass freely through the grate in the pulverized condition required
for agricultural purposes.
Figure 1 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed is a vertical
section of the improved mixing apparatus herein-before referred to,
which constitutes the second part of the Invention. Figure 2 is a plan
of the same; and Figure 3 is a horizontal section.
The nature of this part of the Invention consists, substantially as
herein-after described and specified, in the construction and arrangement
of a series of vertical shafts, provided with horizontal arms having
vertical projections, and adjustably fixed thereon, the said shafts being
arranged and caused to rotate simultaneously within a cylindrical
upright vessel, having small perforations in its sides opening into a
surrounding steam jacket, and a series of discharge openings fitted
with adjustable stoppers or sliding plates in its bottom, for the purpose
of receiving and thoroughly or intimately mixing in a hot moist con-

page_text: dition the purified coal powder and the requisite agglutinating materials
in making artificial fuel and other compounds, and discharging the
same for subsequent condensation or compression. In the Drawings
above referred to A is the steam jacket surrounding the cylindrical
ressel B; and b', ', the sliding stoppers in the bottom of the said
cylinder B; C, C, the vertical shafts and C', C', the adjustable arms
thereon, with their pointed projections 2, 2; and D, D, are the gear
wheels, whereby the simultaneous rotatory motions are given to the armed
shafts C. The cylindrical vessel B is made of plate iron, its top plate
having a large opening in its centre and its bottom plate provided with
a series of outlet openings fitted with the adjustable valve plates or
slides so that the said outlets can be readily closed and opened as
occasion may require. The sides of the vessel B are perforated with
four or more vertical series of small holes 3, 3, for the admission of
steam from the steam jacket A. The steam jacket is a closely sur-
rounding chamber, into which steam is introduced from any suitable
generator, through a steam conducting pipe as indicated at x, in
Figures 1 and 2. The shafts C are arranged at equal distances apart,
around the centre of the vessel, and are supported so as to rotate
therein in vertical positions and with their upper ends projecting above
the top plate of the vessel B and are fitted with gear wheels D, whereby
the rotary motion given to ouc shaft by any suitable motive power
connected therewith will give like motions to all the others (see Figure 2).
The arms C, C', arc adjustably fixed on the shafts C, and cach arm
is provided with four or more pointed, flat, rigid, vertical projections,
or fingers 2, 2, presenting their flat sides in the direction of the circular
course, in which they are carried around by the arms on the rotating
shafts C (see Figures 1 and 3). In the operation of this mixer, in
the process of making artificial fuel the hot plastic mass, consisting
of powdered coal and pitch or rosin, as herein-before mentioned, is run
into the vessel B through the opening in its top plate, the slides
its bottom being closed, and motion given to the shafts C by any
suitable motive power, and at the same time steam being admitted freely
into the jacket A from any suitable generator, the mass will neccessarily
soon become thoroughly or most intimately mixed, the steam entering
through the several series of the perforations 3, 3, and serving to keep,
the mass hot and more easily worked during the operation of the
machine. The mass having become thoroughly and intimately mixed, the
sliding plates are drawn out, and thus open communication produced
in

page_text: between the interior of the vessel B and the sliding or reciprocating
moulds of any suitable condensing apparatus or press, which moulds
are intended to be situate below the said vessel B. It will be seen
that this mixer, operating in connection with the surrounding steam
jacket as described, will accomplish the object required in the most
effectual and rapid manner. I shall now proceed to describe the third
part of this Invention, which relates to that class of presses which is
used for condensing or compressing substances in moulds, and more
particularly to such of the class as are intended for the production of
solid artificial lumps or blocks of fuel, from the granulated waste or
refuse anthracite coal dust of the mines and coal depositaries.
Under this head of Invention the said improvements consist as
follows:-
Firstly. In the combination with the mold boxes in the press of a
sliding feed box in connection with a swinging chute suspended from
a mixer" above, in such a manner, that the mixture or mass of the
coal dust and its agglutinating materials will freely gravitate into the
feed box, and also so that sliding motions backward and forward may
be given to the said feed box upon the open upper side of the mold
boxes, the object being to facilitate and render certain the perfect filling
of the molds, and also to afford a substantial cover for the upper side
of the same during the condensing and the discharging of the contents
of the molds by the advance of the pistons or plungers within the
same.
Secondly. Of the peculiar manner of constructing and of applying to
the press the mold boxes, so that they may be readily removed or
changed as occasion may require, the object being to allow several sizes
of the lumps or blocks of fuel to be produced by the same press at
different times as the demand may require.
Thirdly. In the combination with the bed plate of the press and the
open ends of the molds of a strong and heavy abutment piece and
adjustable guides and grips for covering the outer ends of the molds
while they are being filled, and also for resisting the pressure of the
pistons or plungers during the condensation of the contents of the said
molds, in such a manner that the said abutment piece will be raised by
the combined operations of cams, levers, and a counterpoise to cover
the open ends of the moulds, and lowered by gravitation, to uncover the
said ends of the moulds and permit the condensed lumps or blocks of

page_text: fuel to slide down over the inclined outside surface of the said abutment
pieces into any suitable car as they are pushed out of the said molds
by the pistons or plungers; the object being to afford a sufficiently
substantial and reliable resistance to the very powerful pressure which
is required to be given to the pistons or plungers in the molds, in order to
condense the contents of the latter, to sustain the molds in their places,
and also to lessen the strain upon the cams and friction rollers, which
raise the abutment piece during the operation of the press.
Fourthly. In the combination with the cross heads of the plungers of
removeable or changeable attachments for receiving and retaining in
place removeable or changeable plungers or pistons to correspond with
removeable or changeable molds in such a manner that the said plungers
or pistons can be readily removed and others substituted to correspond
with any change that may be made of the molds, the object being to
afford facility in changing the plungers or pistons as the different sizes
of the condensed blocks of fuel in demand may require.
Fifthly. Of the combination with the plunger cross heads of the tic
rods and jam nuts for connecting the said cross heads adjustably together
in such a manner that their distance apart from each other may be varied
with facility, the object being to afford a ready means of adapting the
reach of the plungers or pistons in condensing the contents of the molds.
to correspond with the changes required in the sizes of the condensed
blocks of fuel, the whole extent of the motions of the plungers being of
course always the same, in order that the condensed blocks of fuel (of
whatever size the molds may be in which they are condensed, may be
pushed entirely out of the molds.
Sixthly. Of the combination with the throw-out cams which operate
the cross heads of the plungers or pistons in discharging the contents of
the molds of adjustable or changeable friction rolls in such a manner
that the length of each of the said cams and their friction rolls together
may be readily varied to suit the different distances apart of the plunger
cross heads, for the purpose of providing for the discharge of the different
sizes of blocks of fuel by the said plungers or pistons without varying
the extent of motion of the plungers or pistons as affected by the said
throw-out cams and their friction rolls, whereby the condensed blocks of
fuel are pushed entirely out of the molds, whilst the plungers or pistons
at the same time are prevented from being pushed further than to the
outer ends of the molds.

page_text: Seventhly. In the employment of removable or changeable bearing
plates between the bed plate of the press and the cap blocks which hold
down the sliding feed box in such a manner that the said feed box can
be readily secured in either a sufficiently raised or lowered position to
correspond with the larger or smaller mold boxes that may from time
to time be introduced.
Eighthly. Of the peculiar construction and arrangement of the con-
densing and of the throw-out cam cranks in relation to their carrying
shaft and the plunger cross heads in such a manner that only two
motions of the plungers or pistons are required to be given in order to
condense the contents of the molds and push the condensed blocks of
fuel entirely out of the same, so that they will by gravitation slide down
the inclined upper surface of the abutment piece into receiving car
provided for the purpose.
Ninthly. In the combination with the ends of the abutment piece and
the bed plate of wrought iron T headed grips and adjustable blocks having
tapering recesses in such a manner that when the said abutment piece
is covering the outer ends of the molds it will be firmly supported
against the powerful condensing pressure of the plungers or pistons by
the said grips, and be permitted by the tapering recesses in the adjustable
blocks to slip downward by gravitation when the condensed blocks of
fuel require to be pushed out of the molds.
Tenthly. In the combination with the abutment piece and the con-
necting bar of its two operating levers of a pair of running sockets, each
connected with two eye bolts by right and left screw threads, in such a
manner that the abutment piece and the connecting bar of the operating
levers can be readily adjusted in relation to their distance apart to suit
any changes in the height of the mold boxes.
Figure 4 (Sheet 2) of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation
of the press embodying the various improvements herein-before referred
to; Figure 5 is an end elevation; Figure 6, a plan or top view; and
Figure 7, a vertical longitudinal section of the same on the dotted
line 1—2, of Figure 6; Figure S is an enlarged side elevation of one of
the cam cranks which operate the plungers or pistons, and of the toe
which operates the feed boxes, together with a transverse section of the
carrying shaft; Figure 9 is an enlarged transverse section of one of the
series of mold boxes; Figure 10 is an enlarged vertical transverse
section of one of the cross heads with its attached plunger holder, and a

page_text: longitudinal section of one of the plungers or pistons attached thereto;
and Figure 11 is a plan view of Figure TO.
The chutes A, A, are suspended by pivots a³, a', to the discharge
spouts B connected with the openings in the bottom of the mixer
herein-before described, which is intended to be placed in the next story
above of the building, or at such a height above the press as will insure
the rapid filling of the mold boxes by the gravitation of the mixturo
of the coal dust and its agglutinating materials. The lower ends of tho
said chutes open directly into the feed boxes C, C, but are not fastened
thereto. The feed boxes C, C, are open both at top and bottom, and
their bottom edges rest in close sliding contact upon the open mold
boxes D, D, below, and are held down or prevented from rising out of
such contact during the pressure of the pistons, or plungers E, E, upon
the contents of the said mold boxes when the latter are covered by the
said feed boxes (as will be described) by means of cap blocks F, F,
which fit over projections at each end of the connected feed boxes in
such a manner as will allow the said feed boxes to slide forward and
backward over the moulds. The forward or outer edge of the bottom
of the said connected feed boxes has a flat projecting plate 2 (sce
Figure 7), the under surface of which is in the same plane with the
bottom edges of the said feed boxes, and when applied in the samo
plane also with the upper surfaces of the mold boxes, so that when
the feed boxes are slid forward and the molds are being filled the said
projecting plate (2) will be forward and consequently leaving an open
communication between the chutes A and the mold boxes D, D, but
when the feed boxes are drawn inward the said projecting plate (2) will
form a substantial covering for the open upper sides of the mold boxes
which will resist the pressure of the pistons or plungers E while the
contents of the said molds are being condensed and pushed out. The
cap blocks F are adjusted in height to suit the different sized moulds
that are intended to be used from time to time in the same press by
means of removable or changeable plates 3, 3, (Figure 4) which can be
readily inserted or withdrawn from between the said cap blocks and the
bed plate of the press, as the said changes in the moulds may require.
It will be observed that this press is double acting, or that both ends
are fitted with the changeable mould boxes and pistons or plungers, and
with the feed boxes connected with chutes respectively, so that when
the contents of the mould boxes in one end of the press one being con-

page_text: densed and pushed out the mould boxes in the opposite end will be
filled with the mixture gravitating through their respective chutes and
feed boxes. The requisite sliding motions of the two opposite feed
boxes C, C, are effected by means of two wipers 4, 4, which come in
contact periodically and respectively with two projections 5, 5, adjustably
secured to two rigid bars 6, 6, which firmly connect together the feed
boxes C, C, of the two opposite ends of the press. The wipers 4, 4,
are secured to the main shaft & which has a large spur wheel 7 on one
end which gears into a pinion 8 on one end of the driving shaft II, a
band wheel 9 being fixed on the opposite end of the latter in the usual
manner, whereby the required motions are given to the different parts
of the press. In each of the chutes A, A, there is a shaft provided with
an outside handle 10 and inside arms 11, whereby severe agitation can
be given to the contents of the chutes should it be at any time desirable.
The pistons or plungers E, E, of the mould boxes D, D, at each end of
the press are secured by set screws or draw pins 12 in an iron head 13,
which is removably secured in an iron cross head I (see Figures 10
and 11). The cross heads I, I, are adjustably secured together by
means of tie rods 14 with screw nuts and jam nuts for the purpose and
move in guides 15. The necessary sliding motion are given to the
said plungers or pistons by means of double wipers 16, 16, provided with
friction rolls 17, 17, and 18, 18, (see Figure 8) and fixed on the main
shaft G. The rolls 17, 17, are changeable by means of extra bearing
holes 19, or slots and sliding bearing blocks to correspond with such
changes in the adjustments of the cross heads I, I, which the different
sizes of the moulds may from time to time require, because the throw-
out motions of the pistons or plungers must always be of sufficient
extent to cause the ends of the said plungers to come flush with the
outside ends of their respective mould boxes in discharging their con-
tents. The friction rolls 18, 18, produce the condensation only, and
the variations in the mould boxes are provided by adjusting the distance
apart of the two cross heads I, I. As the shaft G is rotated the
successive condensing and the throw-out motions of the pistons or
plungers are effected by the force of the wipers 16 operating against
the cross head I of that end of the press, which operation at the same
time opens the mould boxes in the opposite end of the same, sec
Figure 4, by sliding the feed boxes. For the purpose of closing the
outer ends of the mould boxes D, D, previous to the filling of the same
of retaining their contents against the condensing pressure of the pistous

page_text: or plungers E, E, and of opening the same for the discharge of the
condensed blocks of fuel the abutment pieces K, K, are provided. Each
abutment piece K consists of a very strong and heavy piece of cast iron
which is supported upon a horizontal bar 19' by means of a pair of
running sockets 20, each connected with two eye bolts 21, 22, by right
and left screw threads (as shown in the detail Figure 12), so that by
rotating the sockets 20 the abutment K may be readily adjusted to the
height required. The bar 19' connects the two opposite side levers L, L,
at the same end of the press, and these levers have their respective fulcra
at 23 (Figure 4) their power ends being respectively fitted with steel
friction rolls 24, 24, which traverse a groove in the inner side of the
respective cams M, M, fixed on the shaft G, and constructed and applied
so as to cause alternate rising and falling motions in the abutment
picce K; as the said cam is rotated the abutment piece K slides vertically
in tapering guide grooves in respective adjustable blocks N, N, so that
when raised up to cover the open ends of the moulds D, D, it will be
held firmly in close contact with the said moulds, and as soon as it is
started downward it will be free from any binding or frictional restraint
from the said guides or grooves; as a very powerful pressure has to be
resisted by this abutment piece K, its guide blocks N, N, are supported
by means of strong wrought-iron grips o, o, secured to the bed plate of
the press by means of a T head 21 in each, and bolts with lugs 25, 25,
on the bed plate. The grips o, o, are tightened against the blocks N, N,
by wedges O, O', and are also connected by a tic bolt 26 which slips
into slots in their ends, and is secured by screw nuts so as to prevent
the said grips o, o, from spreading apart. The upper side of the abut-
ment piece K is sloped downward so as to form an inclined plane for
the condensed blocks of fuel to slide freely down across it into the
receiving car (not shown) when the said picce K is at its lowest position,
as shown in the left-hand end of the press in Figure 7. As the abut-
ment pieces K, K, are cach very heavy, counterpoises K' are supported
by arms 27 fixed both to the fulcra shafts 23 of the side levers L, L,
and to the said counterpoises which are of sufficient weight to relieve
the hollow cams M, M, and their friction rollers 21, 21, from the
excessive strain to which they would otherwise be subjected. The
mould boxes D, D, are in series of four or more in one piece, and arc
merely slipped out and in as changes in them may be required and are
so constructed that their centres are always parallel with the centre of
pressure. In the present case the corners of the mould boxes aro

page_text: rounded, and their upper edges faced with steel plates 28 (see Figure 9).
The guides of the abutment pieces are also faced with steel, and all the
different parts of the press are made of the appropriate weight and
strength of metal required to stand firmly the very powerful pressure
required to condense the contents of the moulds into blocks or lumps
nearly or quite as solid and hard as the natural lump of anthracite coal.
The operation of this press will now be understood without further
description or explanation except to say that as the contents of the
mould boxes in one end of the press are being condensed and pushed
out, the moulds in the opposite one being filled by the gravitation of
the mass from the mixer above (not shown) through the chutes aided
by the vibratory motions of the latter, and that as the shorter knuckles
of the cams 16, 16, containing the friction rollers 18, 18, (Figure 8)
give the condensing pressure, and the longer knuckles (of the same
cams) containing the adjustable friction rollers 17, 17, are required to
give only the throw out motion to the pistons or plungers, but two
motions are required to condeuse and discharge the fuel from either cud
of the press.
I shall now proceed to describe the fourth part of this Invention,
which has reference to the drying and baking of the compressed blocks
of prepared fuel.
Figure 13 (Sheet 1) is a vertical central longitudinal section of the
improved furnace and oven for carrying out this part of the said In-
vention; Figure 14 is a horizontal section of the same on the dotted
line 1-2, of Figure 13; Figure 15 is a vertical transverse section on the
dotted line 3-4, of the same Figure; and Figures 16 and 17 are longi-
tudinal and transverse vertical sections respectively of one of a scries of
cars or trucks for holding the new fuel whilst it is under treatment in
the oven and for conveying it into and out of the same.
Referring to the above Figures the drying and baking parts of the
apparatus consist of two or more fuel combustion or heat generating
furnaces A, A, each having an arched top perforated with numerous
small holes a', a", which open directly into a large hot air and gas
consuming chamber B, which communicates with a suitable draught
chimney C, the said chamber and the furnaces being enclosed together
within thick walls D, D, and within the said chamber B there are
supported upon suitable posts b³, b¹, two or more ovens E, E', which
B

page_text: open at both ends through the walls D, the said ends being provided
with closely fitting doors e", e", and the top of each of the said ovens
with a central longitudinal row of small holes e", e, which open into
the hot chamber B, and the bottom of each of the said ovens provided
with a railway track e*, et, which extends beyond the vertical enclosing
walls D (see Figures 13 and 15). The cars or trucks (see Figures 16
and 17) are made to run upon the tracks e' and into and out of the
ovens E, E', when required. The body F of each car is made of per-
forated plate iron or heavy woven wire, is open at its top, and also
divided into separate horizontal spaces by means of adjustable or hinged
platforms ",", of perforated plate iron, so that each layer of the
contents of a full car will be free from the pressure of any other layer,
substantially as represented in the Drawings, Figures 16 and 17. The
combustion chambers or furnaces A, A, are lined with fire-bricks, and
the fuel boxes thereof provided with grates and with fuel and ash
doors in the usual manner. The ovens E, E', are each made of suitably
thick plate iron and are supported upon the posts b', ', in the chamber B
so as to allow the hot products of combustion coming from the heat
generating chambers A, A', below to completely surround cach, the
strength of the draught through the said chamber B being governed
properly by any suitable damper in the chimney C or otherwise. In the
operation of this drying and baking part of the said apparatus, the
previously formed and compressed lumps of coal which are intended to
be dried and baked therein are dropped into the respective spaces formed
by the platforms f', f", of the cars in succession and the cars then run
into the respective ovens, and the doors of the latter closed. The car
bodies F being made of perforated plates or woven wire and the layers
of the lumps of coal being also supported by their respective perforated
platforms f,f",ƒ, the heated ovens soon drive off all the moisture
and the volatile or odorous portions of the lumps through the
holes e, e, to the chimney, and thus bring the condition of the said
lumps into the dry and inodorous state required in fuel for domestic
usc. The rear doors of the ovens are now to be opened and the cars
drawn out, and their contents discharged for cooling and subsequent
delivery for use.

page_text: 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
mc by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The process herein described of intimately mixing the purified
waste coal and the agglutinating or resinous matter together in a hot
state, condensing the same into solid lumps, and finally depriving the
said lumps of their volatile and odorous matter, substantially as and for
the purpose herein-before set forth.
Second. The mixing vessel B in combination with a surrounding
steam jacket A opening into the vessel B through the series of small
perforations 3, 3, in the sides of the said vessel, substantially as and
for the purpose described and illustrated by Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Third. The combination with the vessel B and the steam jacket A
communicating therewith as described of the series of armed shafts C, C,
arranged and operating together simultaneously, as and for the purpose
herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Fourth. The combination with the arms C', C', on the rotary shafts C, C,
of the pointed flat vertical projections or fingers 2, 2, arranged to operate
substantially as and for the purpose described.
Fifth. The combination with the mould boxes D in the press of the
sliding feed box C and swinging chute A, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before set forth.
Sixth. The changeable series of mould boxes D, D, each series being
in one piece with open upper sides and ends, as shewn and described in
combination with the bed plate of the press and the adjustable feed
boxes C, C, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set
forth.
Seventh. The combination with the bed plate and the open outer
ends of the mould boxes D, D, of the adjustable abutment piece K, the
connected side levers L, L, with their friction rollers 24, 24, and hollow
cams M, M, and the counterpoises K', substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before set forth.
Eighth. The combination with the cross head I, and the detachable
plungers or pistons E, E, of the detachable head piece 13, substantially
as and for the purpose herein-before set forth.

page_text: Ninth. The combination with the cross heads I, I, of the tie rods
11, 11, and their adjusting screw and jam nuts, substantially as and for
the purpose herein-before set forth.
Tenth. Applying the friction rolls 17 of the throw-out knuckles of
the cam cranks 16, 16, so that the said rolls may be adjusted or changed 5
to correspond with the changes which may be made in the distance
apart of the cross heads I, I, substantially as and for the purpose
hercin-before set forth.
Eleventh. The combination with the bed plate of the press and the
cap blocks F, F, which hold down the sliding feed boxes C, C, of the 1
adjustable or changeable bearing plates 3, 3, substantially as and for
the purpose berein-before set forth.
Twelfth. The construction and arrangement of the cam cranks 16, 16,
in relation to their carrying shaft G, and the cross heads I, I, so that
only two motions of the pistons or plungers E, E, are required to be 1
given thereby in order to condense the contents of the mould boxes D, D,
and push the condensed blocks of fuel entirely out of the latter, sub-
stantially as herein-before set forth.
Thirteenth. The combination with the ends of the abutment piece K
and the bed plate of the press of the adjustable recessed blocks N, N, 2
and the wrought-iron T-headed grips o, o, substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before set forth.
Fourteenth. The combination with the abutment piece K, and the
connecting bar 19' of its two operating side levers L, L, of the pair of
running sockets 20 and their respective cye bolts 21 and 22, substantially 2
as and for the purpose herein-before set forth.
Fifteenth. The combination of the heat generating furnaces A, A',
the hot air and gas consuming chamber B and the drying and baking
ovens E, E', the said parts being constructed, arranged, and enclosed
together within suitable walls D, D, and operating together, substantially 3
as and for the purpose specified.
Sixteenth. The combination with a drying and baking oven con-
structed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose
described of a railway car or truck F, having its containing body and its

page_text: platforms made of perforated plate iron or coarse woven wire, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification, set my hand and scal, this Fourteenth day
of September One thousand eight hundred and seventy.