An Improved Furnace for Melting and Retaining in a Molten State Metal, Alloys of Metal and other Materials which Liquify when Heated.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1898
Comalata Cannifoation tatt 4014 Fah
1000
1000
An Improved Furnace for Melting and Retaining in a Molten State
Metal, Alloys of Metal and other Materials which Liquify when
Heated.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester,
both in the County of Lancaster, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention which
has been communicated to me by Frederick Howard Cartland, Brassfounder,
of 3 bis, Rue la Bruyere, Paris, in the Republic of France, to be as follows:—
This invention refers to the melting and keeping in a molten state metals,
alloys of metals, and other materials which liquify on becoming heated, and consists
in an improved construction of furnace which more successfully accomplishes the
work than those used hitherto.
The invention has been chiefly considered in connection with liquid brazing on
account of the undoubted difficulty which at the present time exists in keeping
the solder or other fusing material of a constant temperature and up to the
required degree of liquefaction. This is a very important matter in connection with
the cycle industry, and although such liquid brazing has been many times accom-
plished it has been hitherto unsuccessful from a commercial standpoint owing to
the inability to keep the liquid metal used in the desired condition for perfect
brazing.
The furnace according to this invention is characterised by a hollow chamber
or enclosure which is in communication with a fire-grate or combustion-flue and
also a chimney flue or the like, into which a number of pots or crucibles are
suspended or supported so that a clear space is left on all sides between the walls
of the said chamber and the said pots or crucibles. This clear space which, as
aforesaid, entirely surrounds the pot or crucible, or the pots or crucibles as the
case may be, and which contains the metal to be melted and to be kept in a
molten state, is filled with a porous and heat retaining refractory material such
as asbestos; the same being arranged so as to entirely surround the body of the
pots or crucibles and to intercept and absorb and retain the heated products from
the combustion flue as they pass to the chimney flue.
In carrying this invention into effect the furnace is preferably a brickwork
structure and of a horizontal formation and it is suitably strengthened with iron
or steel plates and tie rods. A vertical combustion flue is fitted and provided at
the one end of the furnace for generating the heat and either coke, gas, or oil
may be the fuel. Over the top of this combustion chamber, if a solid fuel is used,
is disposed a hopper wherein the fuel to be supplied. is placed. This hopper is
arranged so as to be heated from the combustion chamber and a sliding bottom
is fitted to it, to be withdrawn for replenishing the fire.

page_text: A large chamber or enclosure is formed adjacent to the combustion chamber,
but separated from it by a brick wall, wherein the metal container pots or
crucibles are suspended or supported by being bricked in from the top side of the
furnace. The pots.or crucibles are so suspended within the hollow chamber or
enclosure as to be nine-tenths therein, and they are of such a size as to leave a
open space between themselves and the said chamber or enclosure upon each side.
This space is filled with rubble or shell asbestos or the like so that the pots or
crucibles are entirely surrounded thereby. The brick wall which separates the
crucible chamber or enclosure from the combustion flue is pierced or has openings
formed therein for the passage of the products from the fire into the said chamber
and into the asbestos. The pots or crucibles are bricked in the chamber or
enclosure permanently.
A brickwork oven is provided upon the other side of the crucible chamber
surrounding which are flue passages and piercings leading from the said chamber
to a chimney flue, and these passages are arranged on all sides of the said oven.so
as to surround it. This oven is to be used for heating the articles which are to
be treated or liquid brazed and its temperature is kept up by the waste gases
and heat from the crucible chamber.
1
1
1000
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.
An Improved Furnace for Melting and Retaining in a Molten State
Metal, Alloys of Metal, and other Materials which Liquify when
Heated.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, of 11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester,
both in the County of Lancaster, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention which
has been communicated to me by Frederick Howard Cartland, of 3 bis, Rue
la Bruyere, Paris, in the Republic of France, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention is an improved construction of furnace for melting and keeping
in a molten state metals, alloys of metals, and other materials and substances
which liquify on becoming heated, and is of distinct value in liquid-brazing, on
account of the ability to keep the solder in bulk, into which the article to be
brazed is dipped, up to a constant temperature.
Hitherto an undoubted difficulty has existed in keeping the solder or other
fusing material up to the required degree of liquifaction for continued dipping of
articles, as, on the one hand, the said solder should not be heated to burn, and,
on the other hand, it should be free flowing in order to find its way into and
around the parts of the articles to be brazed.
It is therefore obvious that the pot or crucible containing the solder or brazing
material must, be subjected to a constant heat, and this is the case in the furnace
constructed according to this invention, and this with the aid of only a small
amount of fuel, as, approximately, the whole of the products from the fuel are
utilized for heating purposes.

page_text: The furnace constructed according to this invention is characterised by a hollow
chamber or enclosure, which is in communication with a fire or combustion flue,
and also a chimney flue or its like, into which said chamber or enclosure a number
of pots or crucibles are suspended or supported so that a space or clearance is left
at all their sides, and at their bottoms, between the walls of the said chamber
and the said pots or crucibles. "This clearance or space is entirely filled with a
porous and heat-retaining refractory material such as rubble or shell asbestos,
which comes intermediate between the combustion flue and the chimney flue,
and intercepts, absorbs, and retains, for a considerable period, the heated products
as they pass through the furnace; the said rubble or shell asbestos surrounding
the said pots or crucibles, or pot or crucible, as the case may be, on all their, or
its, sides, and also at their, or its, bottom; the said pots, or pot, being suspended
well or deep within the chamber or enclosure before described. These pots or
crucibles contain the material to be melted and keep the same at a constant tem.
perature and in a molten state.
In order that the invention may be fully understood a sheet of drawings
illustrative of the improved furnace forms part of this specification, the views
showing respectively a longitudinal vertical section in Fig. 1, a horizontal section
in Fig. 2, and transverse vertical sections in Figs. 3 and 4; the last-named two
Figs. being taken through the combustion flue and the crucible chamber respec-
tively. In these Figs. a single melting pot or crucible is shown suspended or
supported within the hollow chamber or enclosure containing the rubble or shell
asbestos, or other similar heat retaining material, and the combustion flue is
fitted up for a coke fire, but it will nevertheless be obvious that a number of pots
or crucibles could be used, and that the fuel might be oil or gas, in which last-
mentioned case the burners or gas supply pipes might be fitted within the walls
surrounding the chamber or enclosure containing the rubble or shell asbestos.
Referring to the construction of the furnace shown in the drawings, a vertical
fire flue a is provided at the one end for generating the heat; coke being, pre-
ferably, the fuel. The top of this fire flue may be fitted with a hopper a³ as
indicated in dotted lines, for holding the fuel to be fed, the same being adapted
to be to a certain extent heated from the fire flue, so that the fuel is warm when
fed upon the fire. The bottom of this hopper and also the top of the fire flue is
opened and closed by a sliding plate at. A chamber or enclosure c is formed at the
side of the fire flue, wherein a melting pot is suspended or supported by being
bricked in from the top side of the furnace, but this chamber or enclosure is
separated from the fire flue by a wall d, although communication is established
between the said chamber and the flue by means of openings d², arranged
systematically within the wall d so that they lead into the chamber or enclosure at
various points on its one side. The pot or crucible c² is suspended within the
chamber so that the greater part of it is therein, and it is of such a size in
respect of the said chamber as to leave a considerable space between its walls
and the walls of the chamber at both its sides, its ends, and at bottom, as clearly
indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. This space is filled in with rubble or shell
asbestos c³, which is so packed as to entirely surround the pot; provision being
made in the body of the furnace for putting in the said rubble or shell asbestos
and renewing it. The melting pot or crucible is preferably permanently bricked
up in the furnace, but it may be made so as to be lifted out if desired.
The products from the combustion flue, after their passage through the melting
pot chamber c, make their way through the far wall e, bounding the far side of the
said chamber, by way of passages, which lead to a surrounding side, end, and
underflue e, formed externally to a brickwork oven g, which can be used for
heating to some extent the articles which are to be treated or liquid-brazed:
the temperature of the said oven being kept up by the waste products from the
crucible chamber e as they pass to the chimney flue h.
Thus it will be seen that the melting pot or crucible in the furnace according

page_text: to this invention is surrounding on all sides by a glowing heat retaining mass
having a fairly even distribution, and that when once the said mass has attained
its full heating powers only a very small amount of fuel is necessary to. keep it so.
In order to regulate the amount of products of combustion which shall pass
from the fire chamber into the crucible chamber and into the rubble or shell
asbestos, the passages or openings d can be fitted, if necessary, with a damper,
or with a number of dampers, so that a portion of them can be shut off if it should
be desired.
The oven g can be dispensed with, in which case the waste products from the
crucible chamber would pass through the passages or piercings to the chimney
or to a chimney flue, but it is preferable that the heating products should only
move slowly through the crucible chamber, and that all draught which would
tend to draw the heat from the rubble or shell asbestos should be as much as
possible excluded.
One of the chief characteristics of the furnace according to this invention is that
the melting pot or crucible is without the fire flue, or so placed that it has no
direct contact with the actual fuel or flame, and that the mouth or open top of
the said pot is so shut off from the heating products that the substance under
treatment is not in any way exposed to the action of the gaseous products; hence
the substance treated is kept free from the impurities which may form part of the
heating products.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. In furnaces for the purposes herein set forth, seating the melting pot
or crucible within a mass of heat-absorbing and retaining substance, such as
rubble or shell asbestos, so as to be for the most part entirely surrounded, the
said substance being packed within an enclosed chamber which holds it together
around the walls of the pot or crucible, and the said chamber having fitted to
it heat-producing means such as a fire or a gas or oil flame to play upon the said
substance substantially as described.
Second. In a furnace for the purposes set forth, the combination with a combus-
tion flue a and a chimney flue h, of an intermediate and independent crucible
chamber c filled with a heat-absorbing and retaining material such as rubble or
shell asbestos, a melting pot or crucible suspended or supported within the said
chamber so that its walls are for the most part surounded with the material, and
openings or passages such as d², e2, which lead from the combustion flue to the
crucible chamber, and therefrom to the chimney flue, substantially as described
and set forth in Figs. 1 to 4.
Third. The general construction and arrangement of the furnace including, and
less, the oven g and its heating flues, substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 16th day of February 1899.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham, also of Liverpool,
London, and Manchester.
Patent Agents for the Applicant.