IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, COMPRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT OR TURF, AND FOR RETORTS AND KILNS FOR DRYING PEAT OR TURF, AND MAKING PEAT OR TURF CHARCOAL THROUGH THE AGENCY OF HYDROCALORIC OR SUPER- HEATED STEAM, AND FOR COLLECTING THE PRODUCTS OF DISTILLATION WHILST CHARRING THE PEAT OR TURF
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Vincent Lee, of 6, Bank Chambers, Loth-
bury, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, COMPRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT
OR TURF, AND FOR RETORTS AND KILNS FOR DRYING PEAT OR TURF, AND MAKING
PEAT OR TURF CHARCOAL THROUGH THE AGENCY OF HYDROCALORIC OR SUPER-
HEATED STEAM, AND FOR COLLECTING THE PRODUCTS OF DISTILLATION WHILST
CHARRING THE PEAT OR TURF."
Sealed the 10th August 1863, and dated the 25th February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Vincent Lee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th February 1863.
I, THOMAS VINCENT LEE, of 6, Bank Chambers, Lothbury, in the City of.
London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, COMPRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT OR
TURF, AND FOR RETORTS AND KILNS FOR DRYING PEAT OR TURF, AND MAKING PEAT OR
TURP CHARCOAL THROUGH THE AGENCY OF HYDROCALORIC OR SUPERHEATED STEAM, AND
FOR COLLECTING THE PRODUCTS OF DISTILLATION WHILST CHARRING THE PEAT OR
TURP," to be as follows, that is to say :-
My said improvements have for their object the preparation of peat or turf
for smelting ores, for generating steam in marine and locomotive boilers, and
for domestic use in a more expeditious and economical manner than any here-
tofore practised within this realm.

page_text: 1st. For digging peat I employ a machine consisting of a revolving shaft,
which has a double or triple series of spades turning up at the side edges,
each series consisting of six or more spades, and as the shaft rotates, each
series takes up and delivers to a hand-barrow or other receptacle its number
of "sods" or "spits," at the same instant a ratchet wheel and eccentric works
the carriage eight inches backward, and gives room for the next series of
spades to repeat the operation. The leading feature of this portion of my
Invention consists in the great saving of labour, one man being able to dig as
much in a given time as twenty men would by the ordinary method; and when
the season is wet, the advantage cannot be over-estimated, as one man and
this portion of my Invention would raise as much peat or turf in one fine day
as would furnish winter fuel for an ordinary household. This portion of my
Invention is worked by toothed gearing.
2nd. The portion of my Invention for compressing and moulding peat
consists of a hopper furnished with two pairs of rollers, the first or upper pair
being set about six inches apart, they are furnished with jagged teeth, similar
to the well-known rag mill, and in drawing the peat downward disintegrate
the fibre; the second pair are similarly furnished, and are set two inches apart,
in passing through which the fibre is thoroughly broken, and in a state of
semi-pulp; the peat passes into an horizontal cylinder, in which revolves a
shaft fitted with knives, arms, or flanges, by means of which the peat is con-
veyed from the inlet to the exit end of the cylinder, and there forced through
moulds of any shape required, and receives an amount of pressure which in
all cases deprives it while in this homogeneous state of more than half the
water it contains. This machine is worked also by toothed gearing, and is
furnished with a travelling band to carry away the shapes from the moulds
when cut off; this band is governed by a ratchet wheel and pinion.
3. The retorts and kilns for charring are constructed of cast or wrought
iron fitted steam-tight, and furnished on their interior surface with perforated
iron tubing or piping for the equal diffusion of the hydrocaloric or superheated
steam; they are also fitted with rail or tramway corresponding with rail or
tramway outside, on which trucks or carriages are placed, and when laden
with the prepared peat are run into the kilns or retorts, and drawn out at the
other end when the charring is perfected, which in general occupies about
three hours for the ordinary block of eight inches square; each kiln is fur-
nished with a safety valve, blow-off cock, a pipe leading to a worm outside
for collecting the products of distillation, a pyrometer to determine the amount
of heat, and a steam pipe connected with the boiler, by which the latent heat
contained in the newly made charcoal is extinguished before its exposure to

page_text: the influence of the atmosphere, and the whole product is preserved, instead
of as by every known or practised method of making charcoal fully twenty-
five per cent. is destroyed by direct consumption during the operation.
4th. The hydrocaloric or superheated steam I create in a similar manner to
that described in my Patent, No. 2969, dated the 21st day of December 1853,
for "Improvements in the Construction of certain Machinery and Apparatus for
the Manufacture of Bricks and Tiles," and also set forth in the Specification
of a Patent granted to me bearing date 29th of May 1855, No. 1229, for "Im-
provements in Generating Steam in Marine and other Boilers." The leading
feature in each of the Patents referred to is the construction and protection of
the coil. The leading feature also of the present Invention is the coil, which
differs from any other in use, except those referred to in the Patents granted
to me. The coil is composed of cast or wrought iron, semicircular in form, and
fitted into horizontal lying pipes, syphon bends, or sockets. Instead of one
row of pipes or bends, I use two, three, or more series, each pipe lying over
the interspace between the two under it, giving so much the more heating
surface for the same amount of fuel employed, as the heat to the upper series
is greater than to the series nearest the fire. This coil is placed across the
fire from the front to the back, but instead of insulating the coil in fire-clay,
as described in my Patent of December 1858, or of surrounding it by an insu-
lator or water chamber, as described in my Patent of May 1855, and which
were intended to protect the coil from the direct or sensible action of the
fire, and also from the direct action of the atmosphere, my improvement
consists in erecting a coil in most respects similarly constructed, but I dispense
with the insulator, and erect or place the coil underneath the first retort or
kiln (of which there will be a series), and the floor of the retort or kiln acts
as an insulator for the coil, while by opening slots in the floors the heat, which
would be otherwise dissipated, is passed into one or more of retorts or kilns
and utilized; the slots, being fitted with slides or dampers, will be closed when
the bydrocaloric or superheated steam is turned on. The coil thus in part
described is connected with the perforated tubing within the kilns, and the
steam having in its passage through it been deprived of that which composed
it, that is to say, its watery particles, is distributed throughout the whole
contents of the retort or kiln with electric speed, intense heat, and great
pressure, and produces charcoal in from two to three hours, while the yield is
from twenty to thirty per cent. more than by any method heretofore in use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Vincent Lee in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
VINCENT LEE, of 6, Bank Chambers, Lothbury, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
year
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Vincent Lee, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Vincent Lee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Vincent Lee, 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 MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, COMPRESSING, AND
MOULDING PEAT OR TURF, AND FOR RETORTS AND KILNS, FOR DRYING PEAT OR TURF,
AND MAKING PEAT OR TURF CHARCOAL THROUGH THE AGENCY OF HYDROCALORIC OR
SUPERHEATED STEAM, AND FOR COLLECTING THE PRODUCTS OF DISTILLATION WHILST
CHARRING THE PEAT OR TURF," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Vincent Lee, 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 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 Thomas Vincent Lee, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My said improvements have for their object the preparation of peat or turf
for smelting ores, for generating steam in marine and locomotive boilers, and
for domestic uses in a more economical and expeditious manner than any
heretofore practised within this realm.
First. For digging peat I employ a machine consisting of a revolving shaft
carrying one or more series of spades set at suitable angles; this shaft is

page_text: mounted in bearings, and rotary motion is given to it by the united action of
toothed gearing, a pair of rocking levers, and eccentric; the levers are con-
nected to a vertical shaft, and each series of spades is brought into action
alternately; and as each series takes up and delivers to a hand-barrow or other
receptacle its number of sods or spits, drums or wheels, of which the machine
is mounted, actuated by the ratchet wheel and eccentric, move the machine
backward, and give room for the next series of spades to repeat the operation.
Second. That portion of my Invention for triturating, compressing, moulding,
and perforating peat, and cutting it into blocks of square or other shape
consists of a hopper, in which are placed two pairs of rollers horizontally; they
are furnished with teeth similar to the well-known bone and rag mill, the first
or upper part being set about 4 inches apart, and in its passage between them
the fibre of the peat is partially broken, and on reaching the second pair the
process of triturating is completed, and a great portion of the water is in this
part of the process liberated from the peat, and runs off through a slot or
perforations in a horizontal cylinder, into which the peat now rendered homo-
genous falls; this cylinder is fitted with a shaft, on which are affixed knives,
arms, or blades, which carries the pulp to the exit end, where a propellor
forces it through the moulds of any required form (I prefer square); in the
moulds are placed iron rods of three-fourths of an inch in diameter for per-
forating the blocks, and as the mass exudes a knife is brought into use and
cuts off the blocks the size required; the blocks thus formed are fit to be
handled, the process having deprived the peat of one-half its water.
portion of my Invention is worked by toothed gearing.
This
Third. The blocks formed in the manner described are placed upon carriages
and run into retorts or kilns for drying or charring, as may be desired, the
kilns being furnished with rail or tramway to correspond with similar rail or
tramway outside.
Fourth. The retorts and kilns constructed of cast or wrought iron, fire-tile,
or brick, or any other suitable material; they are fitted on the interior surface
with perforated iron piping, making a continuous circuit, the piping being
about sixteen inches apart, which causes the equal diffusion of the bydrocaloric
or superheated steam throughout the whole of the contents of the kilns or re-
torts. The drying kilns may be of any length desired; I prefer that they should
be about 60 feet long by 6 feet broad, and of a similar height; thus, each kiln
would take 10 carriages as a full complement. The retorts and kilns for
charring, I prefer should be in a connected series, with steam-tight doors, each
being 10 feet high, 6 feet broad, and 6 feet long. The operation of drying
and charring its perfected in from two to three hours; the perforated blocks

page_text: 8 inches square being, when thoroughly dry, about 7 lbs., and as charcoal·
two-thirds of that weight. Each kiln and retort is furnished with a safety
valve, a pyrometer, and a pipe to carry off the evaporated water; and when
the charcoal is intended for deoderizing agricultural or other uses (not
fuel), there is a pipe leading to and connected with a worm outside the retort
for collecting the products of distillation, but when the charcoal is prepared as
a fuel, all the oils and gaseous properties are retained. The charring retorts
have each a pipe connected with the boiler, by means of which a jet of simple
steam is introduced. When the charring has been completed and the latent
fire is extinguished, by means of which the whole is preserved, instead of as by
every known principle heretofore in use a great portion is destroyed to utilize
the remainder.
Fifth. The hydro-caloric or superheated steam I create in a manner some-
what similar to that described in my Specification of a Patent No. 2969,
bearing date 21st of December 1853, for improvements in certain machinery
and apparatus for the manufacture of bricks and tiles, and also set forth in the
Specification of a Patent granted to me, bearing date 29th of May 1855,
No. 1229, for improvements in generatiug steam in marine and other boilers,
I adopt the coil with improvements for the purpose here specified. The coil is
composed of cast or wrought iron, and may be of semicircular or other shaped
pipes fitted into lying pipes, sockets, syphon bends, or the like, there are three
or more series, each series of pipes lying over the interspace of the two below
them, giving so much the more heating surface for the same amount of fuel
employed in beating. I now employ one row of the series of coil pipes for the
purpose of introducing heated air, which I supply by the ordinary blast fan, or
any other suitable means. It may not in all cases be necessary to use this, but
in many instances it will be of advantage. Instead of embedding the pipes or
coil in fire-clay, as described in my Patent of December, 1853, or surrounding
the coil by an insulater or water chamber, as described in my Patent of May,
1855, I now place each coil (there may be any number), according to the
extent of the works, under one of the retorts or kilns, the floor of which
is constructed to act as an insulator for the coil, and by opening slots in
the bottom of the retort or kiln, when the hydrocaloric is not in opera-
tion, the slots are closed, when the hydrocaloric is turned on the steam
in its passage through the coil takes up an amount of caloric greater or less
according to its surface and the degree of heat to which it shall have been
raised, and being conducted to the perforated tubing within the retorts or
kilns, acts upon the contents with electric rapidity, intenso heat, and with great

page_text: force, somewhat similar to an electric current, the element being neither
an electric current, gas, nor steam, but a combination of each and all of those
elements.
Having described the nature of my Invention and improvements, and the
manner in which they are to be carried out, I would wish to be understood as
not confining myself strictly to the mechanical detail herein set forth as the
result may be arrived at in many other ways whilst the principle would be
the same. What I claim as new and my Invention is,-
First, the combination of mechanism for digging peat, by which two men
will dig as much as forty would by the ordinary method.
Second, the mechanical arrangements for triturating, compressing, moulding,
and perforating peat in blocks of any required form.
Third, the drying and charring peat through the agency of hydrocaloric or
superheated steam in kilns fitted in the manner herein set forth or in any
similar where the leading features are the same.
Fourth, the arrangements for collecting the products of distillation whilst
making the peat or turf charcoal.
Fifth, the adaptation of one series of the coil for the purpose of heating
air to employ in connection with the bydrocaloric or superheated steam, or
separately, as may be desirable, for the purposes herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Vincent Lee, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
said Thomas Vincent Lee, in the
presence of
J. HAMILTON COSTERTON,
Clerk to Mr. Farrar,
Solicitor,
Manchester.