IN PUDDLING AND IN FURNACES, MORE ESPECIALLY SUCH AS ARE EMPLOYED IN PUDDLING
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Roswell Sabine Ripley, of 8, New Inn, Wych Street,
IMPROVEMENTS
Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
<<
IN PUDDLING AND IN FURNACES, MORE ESPECIALLY SUCH AS ARE EMPLOYED IN
PUDDLING." A communication from abroad by William Harkness, of the City
of Now Vork United States of America
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Roswell Sabine Ripley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th December 1878.
ROSWELL SABINE RIPLEY, of 8, New Inn, Wych Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING AND IN FURNACES, MORE ESPECIALLY
SUCH AS ARE EMPLOYED IN PUDDLING." A communication from abroad by William
Harkness, of the City of New York, United States of America.
The Invention relates to puddling furnaces, and consists of a novel apparatus
and process in puddling iron with gascous fuel, the peculiarities of which I will
proceed to describe.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section on
line x, x, of Figure 4; Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section on line y, y, of
Figure 4; Figures 3 show the gas burner in section, and its construction; Figure 4
is a top view of furnace (with steam boiler removed), gas generators or gas producers,
gasometer, and showing their relative position and connecting pipes. Figures 5
are a vertical section and plan of an automatic valve. Figure 6 is a vertical
section of a rotary puddling furnace.
This Invention has for its object the production of puddling furnaces which shall
be adapted to the use of gaseous fuel, and the process and manner of employing as
a fuel gas or gases resulting from the decomposition of steam in puddling furnaces,
and which may more especially be used in connection with the gas apparatus and
process described in the Specification of a Patent dated June 22nd, 1874, and

page_text: numbered 2169; also in the Specification of a Patent dated May 23rd, 1878, and
numbered 2069.
The furnace, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, is provided with two bowls or
boshes A and B separated by a bridge C, above which another bridge or arch D is
placed, as shown in Figure 1. I also provide heating furnaces E and J or a heating
chamber with compartments, the same being located above the main arch of the
furnace, and provided with flues c¹ which pass through the same and through the
arch into the furnace, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The pipe i, as shown in
Figure 1, conveys the air from air blower (which may be of the usual construction)
to the heating chamber J, and the pipe j, as shown in same Figure, conveys the
gas from a gas holder or direct from the gas generators or gas producers to the
heating chamber E, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The gas burners F and G are
employed and placed on opposite sides of heating chambers E and J, as shown in
Figure 1. These burners are so constructed as to form compartments, as shown in
Figure 3. The air chamber K supplies air in proper proportions to the gas used,
and is provided with slide valves or gates b', one for each gas compartment, which,
when closed, will prevent the escape of air through the flues Z of that compartment,
as shown in Figure 3. The gas compartiments c, d, and e, which determine the
flow of gas are provided with the pipes f, g, and h, for the introduction of gas to
the burner, these pipes having suitable valves for closing the same, and are also
provided with the flues Z, which convey the air from chamber K to the place of
ignition and the flues Z which enter the different gas compartments, and through
which the flues Z pass, and which convey the gas from compartments c, d, and e to
the place of ignition, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The face of the burner is
provided with a perforated tile k, the perforations corresponding with the flues Z
and Z¹, which flues enter the tile two or more inches, as shown in Figure 3. This
tile is provided for the protection of the burner against the heat of the furnace, and
is held in position by means of bolts and lugs, as shown in Figure 3. Each of the
compartments c, d, and e is provided with a pipe with suitable valves, in order
that, in practice, one or more of these compartments may be used at the same time,
as desired. The pipes a, 8, b, and t are employed for connecting the heating
chambers E and J with the burners F and G, as shown in Figure 1.
The burners may be made of cast or wrought iron, wrought iron being the most
economical and desirable. When made of wrought iron, boiler plate may be used
of a thickness from 1 to 12 inch. The burners may be made of any size and
capacity, and may be of circular shape, square, or otherwise, as may be required.
A brick dome H is constructed over the heating chambers E and J, with a steam
boiler I located above, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. This boiler may be of any
construction desired, although a flue boiler will be the most economical.
The Drawings represent a single furnace in size, having doors only on one side,
although in capacity is is equal to two ordinary single puddling furnaces or one
double furnace.
These furnaces can be made into what are usually called double furnaces by
enlarging the bowls or boshes A and B, and placing doors on both sides of the
furnace, and when thus constructed they will have a capacity of two ordinary
double furnaces and can be operated by the same amount of labour as one double
furnace, such as are now in use.
The curved dotted lines l, m, n, and o indicate the position and space occupied
by the fix or fettling used.
A rotary puddling furnace adapted to the use of gaseous fuel can be constructed
on similar principles, a description of which is as follows:-The bowl or bosb L, as
represented in Figure 6, is employed for the purpose of fusing iron, in which the
iron is fused with the waste heat from the rotary furnace or drum M%; the dotted
lines
P and 2 define the position and space occupied by the fix. The bridge S, as
shown in Figure 6, being employed to compel the heat emanating from the fur-
nace M to pass down into the bowl L, thereby utilizing the waste heat by fusing
the iron with which the said bowl L is charged.

page_text: The rotary furnace or drum M in which iron is puddled and balled is
permanently attached to a truck or carriage P, on which it rests and revolves,
revolving on conical rollers or wheels located in the frame of the truck or
carriage.
The space indicated by r is the place for sweating the iron.
The lining of the rotary furnace or drum M may be soapstone, fireclay, tile, or
any other suitable materials. The rotary furnace or drum M should be operated
by steam power, which is done in the usual way and with the usual means.
In the rotary furnace, only one burner need be used; the remaining parts of
the apparatus of the rotary puddling furnace are to be the same as the first above
described furnace.
It is obvious that either furnace or any part thereof may be varied more or
less without effecting or changing their principles or mode of operation.
The process and mode of operation in puddling with a gaseous fuel is as
follows:-
The air valve v in pipe a being open and the air blower put in operation, the
valve w in pipe b is opened, and the process of heating the furnace has commenced.
The air and gas are carried into the furnace under a water pressure of from three
inches to two or more pounds per square inch, although a water pressure from three
to six inches will be the ordinary pressure used. When the bowl or bosh A has
been brought to a sufficiently elevated temperature it is charged with iron, and
when this iron has become fused and in a condition to puddle, the bowl or bosh B
is also charged with iron, which will be brought to a fused state by the waste
heat emitted from bowl A during the period occupied in puddling the iron in
bowl A, and when the iron in bowl A has been puddled, balled, and taken from the
furnace the furnace is again charged with iron, and the valve in pipe a and the
valve w in pipe b are closed, and the valve x in pipe 8 and the valve y in pipe t are
opened, the gas being turned off or nearly so from burner F and turned on to
burner G, and the puddling process is now carried on in bowl or bosh B, the iron in
which having already been fused by the waste heat emitted from bowl A, and in
like manner the iron in bowl A will be fused by the heat emitted from bowl B
during the process of puddling in the same, and thus the operation is continued,
alternating from one bowl to the other, and while puddling is carried on in one
bowl, iron is being fused in the other, hence a heat of 550 pounds of iron will not
occupy a period of over forty minutes. Double the amount of puddled iron can be
produced in this furnace than can be produced with two single coal furnaces or one
double furnace, and only one half of the amount of labour required to operate the
ordinary furnace will be required for this furnace, and the iron will be of a superior
quality. The bridge or arch D is constructed for the purpose of conducting the
waste heat from one bowl or bosh to the other, after which the heat passes over
bridge or arch D and up through the flues c¹ in the heating chambers E and J to
to the dome H above, and from thence to the boiler, and passing out through
stack O. The beating chamber E is employed in heating the gas to a high tem-
perature before being burned, and the heating chamber J is, in like manner,
employed in heating the air to a high temperature before being mingled with the
heated gas.
The gas burners F and G are provided for the purpose of obtaining perfect com-
bustion of the gas, and are so constructed that the requisite quantity of both gas
and air for perfect combustion will be emitted from the burner, by which means
the best results are obtained from the use of gaseous fuel.
It is obvious that if the damper R at the top of stack O is kept nearly closed
that the heat of the furnace will be retained in the furnace a much longer length
of time, and consequently the heat will be more fully utilized.
The process and mode of operation in using gaseous fuel in a rotary puddling
furnace are as follows:-
Reference being made to Figure 6, the valve v in air pipe a being open and the

page_text: air blower set in motion the valve w in pipe b is opened and the gas and air flow
into and through the burner F, and the gas being ignited the heating of the rotary
furnace or drum M has commenced and as soon as the furnace has attained a suffi-
ciently high temperature it is charged with iron and at the same time the bowl or
bosh L is also charged with iron, and when the iron in the rotary furnace M has
become fused the furnace is caused to revolve, it being operated with steam power
the usual means and attachments being employed for doing the same, which are not
shown in the Drawings. When the puddling process has been completed and the
iron balled the rotary furnace M being attached to the truck or carriage P it is
rolled back a sufficient distance to allow the ball of iron to be removed, and when
this is done the furnace is again charged, but this time and ever after with molten
iron drawn from the bowl L which has been fused by the waste heat emanating
from the rotary furnace M during the puddling process in the same; the molten iron
is drawn into a ladle attached to a crane and operated in the usual way.
The rotary
furnace M is again placed in position and the operation thus continued.
heat which is emitted from rotary furnace M passes under arch S into bowl L, after
which it passes over arch S and up through the flues c¹ in heating chambers E and
J, and henceforth performs the same work as in the furnace above described and
shown in Figure 1. The bowl L is always kept charged with iron and in this way
a large body of molten iron will always be accessible and can be drawn from when
wanted.
The waste
The rotary furnace can be made of any size and capacity desired, but a size suit-
able for puddling from 500 pounds to 1000 pounds will be the most economical, as
it will be attended with much less expense and much less wear and tear.
It has been estimated that the rotary furnace of the size and as shown in Figure
6 will produce per week twice the amount of puddled iron that can be produced
with an ordinary double puddling furnace.
As has already been mentioned the above described furnace can be supplied with
gas from any gasometer, or may be supplied as shown in Figure 4 direct from gas
generators or gas producers Y; but when this is done some provision must be made
for storing any surplus gas which may be generated. This may be done by pro-
viding a small gas holder W of a greater pressure than the pressure under which
the gas is conveyed into the puddling furnace N. This gas holder W must be so
connected with the main U conducting the gas from the gas generators or gas pro-
ducers Y to the furnace N that when the flow of gas has been checked at the furnace
end the gas will be forced into the gas holder W, and when the pressure caused by
checking the flow of the gas at the furnace has been diminished the pressure of the
gas holder W will force the gas in the same to the furnace N as the demand of the
furnace may require.
Or the surplus gas may be allowed to escape into the air or conducted into the
furnace N over bridge D when it will be burned and utilized in the heating cham-
bers E and J and for the generation of steam in boiler I.
The automatic valve, as shown in Figure 5, is constructed as follows:- is the
inlet; e¹ is the seat casing fl; gl is the outlet; h¹ is the spindle connected with the
seat of the valve, and this spindle can be weighted to any pressure desired, and
when this pressure is reached the valve will open.
the valve and through which the spindle ¹ passes.
the spindle being packed in the usual way.
is the cover over the seat of
The valve is made gas tight by
One of the objects of this valve is its use in the outlet of the gas generators or
gas producers Y instead of the plug cock V, shown in Figure 4, when the gas gene-
rators or gas producers Y are used in connection with the furnace N, as shown in
Figure 4.
With the above described furnaces a very superior quality of puddled iron can
be produced as practise has already shown and at a very low cost. Another ad-
vantage of these furnaces is the great rapidity with which puddled iron can be
produced.

page_text: Parts of the apparatus, as described and shown in the above Specification and
Drawings, are applicable to heating furnaces and all other furnaces in which gaseous
fuel is to be used.
In single constructed furnaces the heating chambers E and J may be placed hori-
zontally side by side, which gives better access to the flues c' in said chambers
which are also horizontal. The front end of said heating chambers may be placed
from ten to eighteen inches from the front wall, the said wall being extended up-
wards to a sufficient height to arch over to the top of said heating chambers, which
are located above and resting on the bridge or arch D, which arch is shown in
Figures 1 and 2, and so arranged as in no way affecting the purpose for which the
bridge or arch D was constructed. The waste heat of the furnace will be compelled
to pass to the front of furnace and up over bridge or arch D through the flues c¹ to
the boiler which is located at the rear end of said heating chambers.
In the construction of double furnaces the heating chambers E and J may be set at
an angle of about forty five degrees; the lower edge of said heating chambers may
rest on the bridge or arch D, which is shown in Figures 1 and 2, at such a distance
from the wall as to give the required angle and allow the upper edge of the lowest
ends of said heating chambers to rest against the wall, thus forming a triangular
chamber into which the waste heat from the furnace passes, and from thence through
the flues c' and up to the boiler. The bridge or arch D in a furnace thus constructed
performs the same office as in furnace represented by Figures 1 and 2. By thus lo-
cating and arranging the heating chambers E and J easy access is had to the flues
c through the door opening into the triangular chamber.
Having thus described the Invention, what I claim is,―
First. A puddling furnace adapted to the use of gaseous fuel with double base
having two bowls or boshes A and B which are divided by bridge C and bridge or
arch Ď, heating chambers E and J, gas burners F and G, steam boiler I, the whole
constructed to operate substantially as shown and described.
Second. The bridge or arch D, the position it occupies, and the purpose for which it
used, as shown and described.
Third. The heating chambers E and J or a chamber divided by a partition making
two compartments with flues c¹ passing through the same, which are provided with
fire clay linings or inner flue or otherwise; the position they occupy, although this
may be somewhat changed, constructed substantially as shown and described.
Fourth. The gas burner F with air chamber K with slide valves or gates 61, 61, 61,
and gas compartments c, d, and e, provided with flues Z which convey the air from
chamber K to the place of ignition, and the flues Z' which enter the gas compart-
ments c, d, and e, and through which flues the flues Z pass and which convey the
gas from compartments c, d, and e, to the face of the burner or place of ignition, also
the perforated clay tile h, and, in combination with the burner, the pipes f, g, and h,
with suitable valves, the place and position occupied by the burner F and G, the
whole constructed to operate substantially as shown and described.
Fifth. The use of a gas holder placed between the puddling or other furnaces and
gas generators or producers, which gas holder shall be so constructed as to be adapted
to the purpose for which it is employed, as shown and described.
Sixth. A rotary puddling furnace applicable to the use of gaseous fuel with bowl
or bosh L, the rotary furnace or drum M, the truck or carriage P, the heating cham-
bers E and J, the gas burner F with suitable pipes and valves, the boiler I, the whole
constructed to operate substantially as shown and described.
Seventh. The manner of setting the portable rotary furnace or drum M at an angle
of forty five degrees, more or less, the same being supported on a truck or carriage, as
shown and described.
Eighth. The combination in a puddling apparatus adapted to the use of gaseous
fuel consisting of a furnace rotary or otherwise with its appurtenances, one or more
gas generators or gas producers, a gasometer, connecting mains, together with pipes,
valves, cocks, gauges, and other necessary appliances, the whole constructed and
operated substantially as herein shown and described.

page_text: Ninth. The herein described process and mode of puddling iron or other materials
with the use of gaseous fuel, that is to say, by alternating from one bowl or bosh of
the furnace to the other the heating of the gas and air to a high temperature
before igniting or burning the same, and the utilization of the waste heat of the
furnace, as set forth.
Tenth. The herein described process and mode of puddling iron or other materials
with the use of gaseous fuel in a rotary furnace, that is to say, by puddling with
the direct heat of the gas in the rotary furnace or drum M, and the fusion of the iron
before being puddled by the indirect heat, the manner of supplying the rotary furnace
or drum with molten iron, the heating to a high temperature the gas and air before
burning the gas, and the further utilization of the heat of the furnace, substantially
as described.
Eleventh. The automatic valve, as shewn in Figure 5, constructed with the inlet
d', the seat e¹, the casing f¹, the outlet g', the spindle h', the whole constructed to
operate as shewn and described.
Twelfth. The double base of the furnace with two bowls or boshes divided by a
bridge, as shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Roswell Sabine Ripley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy eight.