IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GAS FOR FUEL, AND IN FURNACES FOR APPLYING GASEOUS FUEL TO METALLURGICAL AND OTHER OPERATIONS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Zoheth Sherman Durfee, of Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, United States of America, but at present residing at
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GAS FOR FUEL, AND IN
FURNACES FOR APPLYING GASEOUS FUEL TO METALLURGICAL AND OTHER
OPERATIONS."
Sealed the 17th February 1865, and dated the 13th September 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Zoheth Sherman Durfee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th September 1864.
I, ZOHETI SHERMAN DURFEE, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
of America, but at present residing at Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GAS FOR FUEL, AND IN FURNACES
FOR APPLYING GASEOUS FUEL TO METALLURGICAL AND OTHER OPERATIONS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in the improved arrangement of apparatus herein-
after described, whereby the gaseous compounds to be used as fuél are
generated and conveniently and efficiently burned for the generation of heat
for metallurgical and other operations, the heat so generated being properly
controlled and regulated.

page_text: My Invention consists, further, in the construction of furnaces, herein-after
described, for the manufacture of iron and steel, whereby the treatment of
the metal is facilitated, and the material operated upon is conveniently
withdrawn from the furnace.
The following is a general description of my new apparatus for generating
gaseous fuel.
•
The gas generator consists of a chamber of any convenient section provided
with a grate at its bottom, which I prefer to make.considerably smaller than
the sectional area of the chamber, and also to build it on one side of the axis
of the chamber, and in such case I make the walls of the chamber incline
towards the grate from a sufficient height to permit of a ready descent of the
coal thereto. This generator is fed with fuel from its top, which is covered
with a plate of iron or other suitable material fitting practically air-tight, and
carrying the apparatus for feeding the generator. I prefer to make the cover
or top revolve by suitable appliances, so that one feeding apparatus can be
-made to supply the whole area of the generator regularly and efficiently. I
make the feeding apparatus so that its bottom is made to open and deliver out
the fuel, and then close automatically during the movement of the revolving
top. Atthe top of the generator, and supported by brackets projecting inwards
from the walls thereof, I suspend an open mouthed vessel of any convenient
section, but so much smaller than the generator as to allow of a good supply
of fuel being maintained between it and the walls of the generator. This
vessel, which is somewhat similar in construction to arrangements already in
use at the mouths of blast furnaces, is for collecting the gases evolved in the
main chamber. It has pipes at or near its top leading out through the walls
of the generator for carrying off the jases. The said vessel reaches as far
towards the grate as is convenient, the distance being regulated by the general
proportions of the generator. The walls of the vessel, from its mouth towards
the top to a height somewhat below that at which the fuel in the generator is
generally maintained, are perforated with a number of holes tapering outwards
for the purpose of drawing off the gases from the surrounding fuel as rapidly
as they are generated, and to assist in preventing the clogging of the
generator by accumulation of tarry matters therefrom. Around the walls of
the generator I construct a series of flues winding in a spiral direction from
top to bottom of the generator, or vice versa, so that the waste products of
combustion from the furnaces in which the gases made in the generator are
burned may pass around the generator and communicate their heat through
its walls, which are thin, to the fuel therein, and assist in its decomposition.
On the outside of these flues, which are of a size corresponding to the require-

page_text: ments of the furnace, whose outlet they are, I sometimes arrange a casing
of sheet or cast iron as a boiler, or heater of water for a boiler, so that as
much as possible of the heat of the waste products of combustion referred
to may be utilized. Combustion is maintained in the generator to the extent
necessary for furnishing the requisite quantity and quality of gases, and may
be so maintained either by draft or blast, or by either of these methods, aided
by the partial exhaustion produced by the operation of the furnace herein-
after described.
In the improved furnace for burning the gases made in the generator just
described, I employ a series of perforated diaphragms in the brickwork of the
top or sides of the furnace or enclosed in casings or segments of iron or other
suitable material, which are built into or made to constitute the top or sides
of each furnace, or otherwise conveniently arranged to carry out the purposes
herein-after described. The mode of using these diaphragms and the
general arrangement in the brickwork or casings referred to are as follows:-
Beginning at the interior of the furnace, the first or inner diaphragm in the
top or sides of the furnace is a wall or roof of fire-brick or other suitable
material of a thickness suited to the size and character of the furnace, but
generally of several inches, which is perforated with a series of small holes or
tuyeres, whose number and position depend upon the use to which the furnace
is to be applied. This diaphragm is for the better and more efficient
mingling and direction of the gaseous fuel and supporters of combustion on
their way to the chamber in which they are burned. Parallel with this
diaphragm and intermediate between it and the next or second diaphragm is
a chamber, which I call the gas chamber, and into which the gaseous fuel on
its way to the furnace is admitted in any convenient way. This second
diaphragm is made by preference of cast iron, and of any convenient thick-
ness. It contains a number of tuyere holes corresponding to those in the
first diaphragm, and placed opposite thereto, so that the axes of these two
series of holes shall as nearly as possible coincide. These tuyeres project from
the inner or lower surface of this diaphragm towards the corresponding holes
in the first diaphragm, and the projections are of such length and form that
the second diaphragm may be moved towards the first, as herein-after
provided for, so as to close or nearly to close the holes in the said first
diaphragm without at the same time injuriously interfering with the flow of
gas through the gas chamber to the holes in the said first diaphragm. The
second diaphragm may in some cases be built into the solid masonry of the
furnace, or fixed tightly in a surrounding casing or segment, but I prefer in
most cases to have it arranged so that it can move to and from the first

page_text: diaphragm, and in such cases the joint it makes with the surfaces on which
it moves should be practically air-tight. Above or without the second
diaphragm, and working freely in suitable guides backwards and forwards, is
a third diaphragm of a thickness sufficient for the required strength, and
containing a number of steel or other elastic rods equal to the holes in the
-second diaphragm, into the main part of which holes they work loosely, and
to the outlets of which they act as valves. This third diaphragm is also
perforated with a large number of holes of any convenient section to provide
.for the freest possible passage of air or gas through it to the second diaphragm.
Outside this third diaphragm, and forming either the outer casing of the
furnace or of the segment or chamber in which the aforesaid diaphragms are
placed, is a cover or top of cast or sheet iron or other convenient material
made to close, practically air-tight, the space in which these diaphragms work,
but provided with suitable inlets for the supporters of combustion, which are
to be used in connection with the gaseous fuel admitted to the gas chamber
described. The said second and third diaphragms may be moved by suitable
levers or appliances attached to and worked from the outside of the cover.
When these diaphragms are enclosed in casings or segments, the wall of such
casings or segments may be made hollow to provide for the passage of some
cooling element through them, and in some such instances, as, for example,
when cased diaphragms are built into the tops of reverberatory or puddling
furnaces, I make them detachable, so that they or the furnace may be readily
repaired, or the materials to be operated upon may be introduced and with-
drawn at the openings thus formed. This arrangement of diaphragmns may
be attached to reverberatory and similar furnaces for carrying on most of the
operations for which such furnaces are ordinarily used, but it is especially
applicable to puddling furnaces and furnaces for the refining of iron, to the
latter of which I attach an apparatus for decarbonizing the molten metal
similar to that employed in the so-called atmospheric process.
In using furnaces constructed according to my Invention there may be
some inconvenience in watching the operations conducted therein in con-
sequence of the pressure which I ordinarily maintain in the said furnaces. To
obviate this inconvenience I construct the doors or peep-holes of the said
furnaces with a hollow casing, through which and suitable tuyere bricks air or
gases may be forced to counteract the outward tendency of the heated gaseous
matters in the interior of the furnaces. In arranging these furnaces and
generators I sometimes place between them or around the flue, for the passage
of the waste products of combustion from the furnace to the spiral flues
surrounding the generator, an apparatus for superheating steam, such, for

page_text: instance, as the Harrison steam boiler, Patent taken in the name of Jonn
Henry Johnson, dated 8 June 1864, numbered 1424, a communication from
Joseph Harrison, junior, which should be fed from the water or steam casing
before described as surrounding the generator, or in any other convenient
way. The steam thus produced may be used for ordinary purposes, but my
arrangement especially contemplates its use in the treatment of metal in the
furnace, and in controlling the working of the generator, and in the modifi-
cation of the gases produced in the said generator as well as the supporters of
combustion mixed therewith,in any of the various ways already known. The
operation of the furnace and generator is as follows:-Fire is lighted in the
generator, and fuel supplied by the revolving hopper before described till the
amount thereof is sufficient for a copious supply of gas of the quality and
richness required. The gas is then conducted from the collecting chamber
through suitable pipes to the gas chambers in the diaphragm casing or top
of the furnace. Air or other supporter of combustion is then forced in
through the cover of the said diaphragm casing or top, and passing through
the holes in the third and second diaphragm to the gas chamber, mingles
with and takes along, partly by induction and partly by pressure, a suitable
portion of gas through the tuyeres of the front diaphragm, in which the
gases and air are more or less united, and from which they issue on being
ignited in a flame of greater or less intensity and force. The quality, in-
tensity of heat, and mechanical force of the flame may be governed at will
by regulating the quality, quantity, and pressure of the gas passing into the
gas chamber, the quality, quantity, and pressure of the supporter of com-
bustion forced into the top or cover of the diapraghm casing, the positions of
the rods in the second diaphragm, and the relative position of the second
diaphragm to the first. The induced current produced in the gas chamber, as
beforedescribed,causes the partial exhaustion in the generator before alluded to.
In applying these improvements to furnaces of various kinds the details of
their construction not effected by my method of introducing heat may be
arranged to suit the purposes and convenience of the user and the circum-
stances of the case, but in furnaces from which the material operated upon
is withdrawn in a molten or fluid state, my improvements comprise the
following mode of and apparatus for accomplishing that object:-I make the
outer casing at the bottom of such furnaces of a hemispherical or other
convenient form or section, and provide it with a suitable aperture at its
lowest part, through which a fire-brick containing a tap hole is made to
protrude a short distance. I also provide a moveable brick with a corre-
sponding tap hole, and with a surface fitted accurately to the outer surface of

page_text: the bottom brick aforesaid, and large enough to enable it to fully close the
hole in the bottom brick when it is moved aside so as to make their holes
discontinuous. This brick is kept in contact with the bottom brick by
weighted levers, which have for their common fulcrum a shaft passing
through legs depending from the casing of the bottom. The fulcrum holes
of the levers are oblong slots of sufficient length to admit of the levers
being projected and withdrawn a distance somewhat greater than the dia-
meter of the tap holes in the two bricks at their junction, and underneath
these holes are short racks in which work pinions on the fulcrum shaft, by
the revolution of which through suitable apppliances the levers are moved
to and fro, and the tap holes in the two corresponding bricks made con-
tinuous or not at pleasure.
Although I have herein-before described the use of three diaphragms in
the arrangement of my new apparatus, yet I do not limit myself to this
number, as in some cases where great intensity and directness of application
of heat are not required I dispense with the first diaphragm and gas chamber,
and allow the gaseous fuel to pass into the furnace and around the surface of
the second diaphragm from suitably arranged flues, and in such casos their
gases mingle with the jets of air or other supporter of combustion issuing
from the said second diaphragm (which will then be the first or iunor
diaphragm), as they issue or are forced into the body of the furnace.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Zoheth Sherman Durfee in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ZOHETH
SHERMAN DURFRE, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America,
but at present residing at Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engi-
neer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Zoheth Sherman Durfee, Her special licence that I, the said
Zobeth Sherman Durfee, my executors, administrators and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Zoheth Sherman Durfee, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time

page_text: 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 APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GAS FOR FUEL,
AND IN FURNACES FOR APPLYING GASEOUS FUEL TO METALLURGICAL AND OTHER
OPERATIONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Zoheth
Sherman Durfee, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Zoheth Sherman Durfee, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
.My Invention consists in the improved arrangement of apparatus herein-
after described, whereby the gaseous compounds to be used as fuel are gene-
rated and conveniently and efficiently burned for the generation of heat for
metallurgical and other operations, the heat so generated being properly
controlled and regulated.
My Invention consists, further, in the construction of furnaces herein-after
described for the manufacture of iron and steel, whereby the treatment of the
metal is facilitated, and the material operated upon is conveniently withdrawn
from the furnace.
The following is a general description of my new apparatus for generating
gaseous fuel.
The gas generator consists of a chamber of any convenient section provided
with a grate at its bottom, which I prefer to make considerably smaller than
the sectional area of the chamber, and also to build it on one side of the axis
of the chamber, and in such case I make the walls of the chamber incline
towards the grate from a sufficient height to permit of a ready descent of the
coal thereto. This generator is fed with fuel from its top, which is covered
with a plate of iron or other suitable material fitting practically air-tight, and
carrying the apparatus for feeding the generator. Iprefer to make the coveror
top revolve by suitable appliances, so that one feeding apparatus can be made
to supply the whole area of the generator regularly and efficiently. I make
the feeding apparatus so that its bottom is made to open and deliver out the
fuel, and then close automatically during the movement of the revolving top.

page_text: At the top of the generator, and supported by brackets projecting inwards
from the walls thereof, I suspend an open mouthed vessel of any convenient
section, but so much smaller than the generator as to allow of agood supply of
fuel being maintained between it and the walls of the generator. This vessel,
which is somewhat similar in construction to arrangements already in use at
the mouths of blast furnaces, is for collecting the gases evolved in the main
chamber. It has pipes at or near its top leading out through the walls of
the generator for carrying off the gases. The said vessel reaches as far towards
the grate as is convenient, the distance being regulated by the general propor-
tions of the generator. The walls of the vessel, from its mouth towards the
top to a height somewhat below that at which the fuel in the generator is
generally maintained, are perforated with a number of holes tapering outwards
for the purpose of drawing off the gases from the surrounding fuel as rapidly
as they are generated, andto assistin preventing the clogging of the generator
by accumulation of tarry matters therefrom. Around the walls of the gene-
rator I construct a series of flues winding in a spiral direction from top to
bottom of the generator, or vice versa, so that the waste products of combus-
tion from the furnaces in which the gases made in the generator are burned
may pass around the generator, and communicate their heat through its walls,
which are thin, to the fuel therein, and assist in its decomposition. On the
outside of these flues, which are of a size corresponding to the requirements of
the furnace whose outlet they are, I sometimes arrange a casing of sheet or
cast iron as a boiler, or heater of water for a boiler, so that as much as possible
of the heat of the waste products of combustion referred to may be utilized.
Combustion is maintained in the generator to the extent necessary for fur-
nishing the requisite quantity and quality of gases, and may be so maintained
either by draft or blast, or by either of these methods, aided by the partial
exhaustion produced by the operation of the furnace herein-after described.
In the improved furnace for burning the gases made in the generator just
described, I employ a series of perforated diaphragms in the brick work of the
top or sides of the furnace or enclosed in casings or segments of iron or other
suitable material, which are built into or made to constitute the top or sides
of each furnace, or otherwise conveniently arranged to carry out the purposes
herein-after described. The mode of using these diaphragms, and their
general arrangement in the brickwork or casings referred to, are as follows:-
Beginning at the interior of the furnace, the first or inner diaphragm in the
top or sides of the furnace is a wall or roof of fire-brick or other suitable
material of a thickness suited to the size and character of the furnace, but
generally of several inches, which is perforated with a series of small holes or

page_text: tuyeres,whose numberand position depend upon the use to which the furnace
is to be applied. This diaphragm is for the better and more efficient mingling
and direction of the gaseous fuel and supporters of combustion on their way
to the chamber in which they are burned. Parallel with this diaphragm and
intermediate between it and the next or second diaphragm is a chamber, which
I call the gas chamber, and into which the gaseous fuel on its way to the
furnace is admitted in any convenient way. This second diaphragm is made
by preference of cast iron, and of any convenient thickness. It contains a
number of tuyere holes corresponding to those in the first diaphragm, and
placed opposite thereto, so that the axes of these two series of holes shall as-
nearly as possible coincide. These tuyeres project from the inner or lower
surface of this diaphragm towards the corresponding holes in the first
diaphragm, and the projections are of such length and form that the second
diaphragm may be moved towards the first as herein-after provided for, so as
to close or nearly to close the holes in the said first diaphragm without at the
same time injuriously interfering with the flow ofgas through the gas chamber
to the holes in the said first diaphragm. This second diaphragm may in
some cases be built into the solid masonry of the furnace, or fixed tightly in
a surrounding casing or segment, but I prefer in most cases to have it
arranged so that it can move to and from the first diaphragm, and in such
cases the joint it makes with the surfaces on which it moves should be
practically air-tight. Above or without the second diaphragm, and working
freely in suitable guides backwards and forwards, is a third diaphragm of a
thickness sufficient for the required strength, and containing a number of steel
or other elastic rods equal to the holes in the second diaphragm,into the main
part of which holes they work loosely, and to the outlets of which they act as
valves. This third diaphragm is also perforated with a large number of holes
of any convenient section to provide for the freest possible passage of air
or gas through it to the second diaphragm. Outside this third diaphragm,and
forming either the outer casing of the furnace or of the segment or chamber
in which the aforesaid diaphragms are placed, is a cover or top of cast or sheet
iron or other convenient material, made to close practically air-tight the space
in which these diaphragms work, but provided with suitable inlets for the
supporters of combustion which are to be used in connection with the gaseous
fuel admitted to the gas chamber described. The said second and third
diaphragms may be moved by suitable levers or appliances attached to and
worked from the outside of the cover. When these diaphragms are enclosed
in casings or segments, the wall of such casings or segments may be made
hollow to provide for the passage of some cooling element. through-them,

page_text: and in some such instances, as, for example, when cased diaphragms are
built into the tops of reverberatory or puddling furnaces,I make them detach-
able, so that they or the furnace may be readily repaired, or the materials
to be operated upon may be introduced and withdrawn at the openings
thus formed. This arrangement of diaphragms may be attached to rever-
beratory and similar furnaces for carrying on most of the operations for
which such furnaces are ordinarily used, but it is especially applicable to
puddling furnaces and furnaces for the refinining of iron, to the latter of
which I attach an apparatus for decarbonizing the molten metal similar to
that employed in the so-called atmospheric process.
.
In using furnaces constructed according to my Invention there may be
some inconvenience in watching the operations conducted therein in con-
sequence of the pressure which I ordinarily maintain in the said furnaces.
To obviate this inconvenience I construct the doors or peep-holes of the said
furnaces with a hollow casing, through which and suitable tuyere bricks air
or gases may be forced to counteract the outward tendency of the heated
gaseous matters in the interior of the furnaces. In arranging these furnaces
and generators, I sometimes place between them or around the flue for the
passage of the waste products of combustion from the furnace to the spiral
flues surrounding the generator, an apparatus for superheating steam, such,
for instance, as the "Harrison steam boiler," described in the Specification of
Letters Patent granted the Eighth day of June 1864, to John Henry Johnson,
No. 1424, which should be fed from the water or steam caring before
described as surrounding the generator, or in any other convenient way The
steam thus produced may be used for ordinary purposes, but my arrangement
especially contemplates its use in the treatment of metal in the furnace, and
in controlling the working of the generator, and in the modification of the
gases produced in the said generator as well as the supporters of combustion
mixed therewith, in any of the various ways already known. The operation of
the furnace and generator is as follows:-Fire is lighted in the generator,
and fuel supplied by the revolving hopper before described till the amount
thereof is sufficient for a copious supply of gas of the quality and richness
required. The gas is then conducted from the collecting chamber through
suitable pipes to the gas
chambers in the diaphragm casing or top of the
furnace. Air or other supporter of combustion is then forced in through the
cover of the said diaphragm casing or top, and passing through the holes in
the third and second diaphragms to the gas chamber, mingles with and takes
along, partly by induction and partly by pressure, a suitable portion of gas
through the tuyeres of the front diaphragm in which the gases and air are

page_text: more or less united, and from which they issue on being ignited in a flame of
greater or less intensity and force. The quality, intensity of heat, and
mechanical force of the flame may be governed at will by regulating the
quality, quantity, and pressure of the gas passing into the gas chamber, the
quality, quantity, and pressure of the supporter of combustion forced into the
top or cover of the diaphragm casing, the position of the rods in the second
diaphragm, and the relative position of the second diaphragm to the first.
The induced current produced in the gas chamber as before described causes
the partial exhaustion in the generator before alluded to.
In applying these improvements to furnaces of various kinds,the details of
their construction not affected by my method of introducing heat may be
arranged to suit the purposes and convenience of the user and the circum-
stances of the case, but in furnaces from which the material operated upon is
withdrawn in a molten or fluid state,my improvements comprise the following
mode of and apparatus for accomplishing that object :-I make the outer
casing of the bottom of such furnaces of a hemispherical or other convenient
form or section, and provide it with a suitable aperture at its lowest part,
through which a fire-brick containing a tap hole is made to protrude a short
distance. I also provide a moveable brick with a corresponding tap hole, and
with a surface fitted accurately to the outer surface of the bottom brick ȧfore-
said, and large enough to enable it to fully close the hole in the bottom brick
when it is moved aside so as to make their holes discontinuous. This brick
is kept in contact with the bottom brick by weighted levers, which have for
their common fulcrum a shaft passing through legs depending from the casing
of the bottom. The fulcrum holes of the levers are oblong slots of sufficient
length to admit of the levers being projected and withdrawn a distance some-
what greater than the diameter of the tap holes in the two bricks at their
junction, and underneath these holes are short racks in which work pinions
on the fulcrum shaft, by the revolution of which through suitable appliances
the levers are moved to and fro, and the tap holes in the two corresponding
bricks made continuous or not at pleasure.
Although I have herein-before described the use of three diaphragms in
the arrangement of my new apparatus, yet I do not limit myself to this
number, as in some cases, where great intensity and directness of application
of heat are not required, I dispense with the first diaphragm and gas chamber,
and allow the gaseous fuel to pass into the furnace and around the surface of
the second diaphragm from suitably arranged flues, and in such cases their
gases mingle with the jets of air or other supporter of combustion issuing

page_text: from the said second diaphragm (which will then be the first or inner
diaphragm) as they issue or are forced into the body of the furnace.
Having explained the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
The following is a description of my new apparatusand of its operation:-
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, represent different views of my improvements as applied
to puddling furnaces; Figures 6 and 7, views of the same as applied to
melting and similar furnaces; Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, show the arrange-
ment of several puddling furnaces around one gas generator, and the
smaller Figures illustrate different details of the plan of construction.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the middle of the furnace
and the gas generator; Figure 2 is a double horizontal section of the same,
the one half being taken on the line 1, 2, of the vertical section, Figure 1, and
showing the left half of the apparatus taking the puddling furnace for the
front, and the other half on the bent line 3, 3, 4, 4', showing the right
half of the apparatus. Figure 3 is a plan view, and Figure 4 a diagonal
elevation of the same arrangement, and Figure 5a diagonal vertical section
through the generator and ash-pit, taken on the line 5, 6, of the horizontal
section, Figure 2. Figure 6 is a vertical section of a melting furnace, which is
also arranged for decarbonizing molten pig iron by the injection of currents of
air into it, and Figure 7 is a double horizontal section of the same taken on
the section lines 1, 2, 3, 4', in Figure 6. The gas generator is not shown
with Figures 6 and 7, as its construction and connection with the furnace is
sufficiently illustrated in the preceding Figures. Figure 15 is a diagonal
elevation of the melting furnace represented in Figures 6 and 7. The
remaining Figures will be referred to subsequently. In the different views
the same letters and figures of reference indicate like parts.
A is the gas generator, whose walls are in this case shown to be iron,as also
are the plates separating the flues which encircle it; B is the
gas collector
communicating with the furnace by thepipe B¹. This gas collector is supported
by being keyed upon brackets C, C, attached to the walls of the generator.
D is a rotating plate covering the generator (upon the walls of which it moves)
and bearing the feeding hopper E. D is moved by means of two pinions
attached to the hopper E, the lower of which gears into the fixed rack on the
top of the generator, as shown. This rack makes with the walls of the genera-
tor which it surrounds an annular trough, which is to be filled with any liquid,
but preferably a somewhat viscid one, into which a flange from the cover D

page_text: depends in order to prevent escape of gas from or influx of air to the generator
between its cover and its walls. The bottom of the hopper E is opened and
closed automatically by the movement of the rotating cover D, which carries
it in the following manner :-The said bottom is hinged on a line radial to the
cover, and one or more ribs or edge pieces, best seen in Figure 1', cast upon
or affixed lengthwise to it, project and incline downwards to such an extent as
that when the cover and hopper are moved round, so that the bottom of the
hopper has nearly passed over any one of the brackets C, C, the said ribs or
edge pieces act as wedges against the top of the brackets, and force the bottom
firmly up to its seat in the hopper, while upon a little further movement of the
cover these ribs pass off the bracket, and the bottom falls on its hinges like a
trap door, and allows the contents of the hopper to drop into the generator.
Thereupon motion being again given to the cover in the same direction, the
ribs of the bottom gradually slide over the top of the next bracket until the
position of the bottom before mentioned is attained, when the hopper is tightly
closed so that a new charge of fuel can be introduced with but little if any
escape of gas or influx of air. It will be seen that the hopper has a cover
which is always to be kept closed when the bottom is open. A rotating
cover with an eccentric feeding hole is not new, but my method of construction
and of combination of the hopper there with I believe to be novel. F, F, are
flues providing for the passage in a spiral around the generator while on their
way to the chimney of the products of combustion from the furnace, in the
which the gases generated are burned. The walls of the generator are provided
with projecting ribs as shown in the horizontal section, so as to take up as
much as possible of the heat of these waste products, and communicate it to
the coal undergoing decomposition in the generator. And as I prefer to have
the
gases leave the generator at a comparatively low temperature to produce
this result, and also to apply the heat abstracted from them to the decompo-
sition of the fuel as aforesaid, I sometimes arrange these vertical flanges or
ribs B, Figures 1 and 8, projecting inwardly from the walls of the gas
collector to take up the heat of the gases as they pass between them on their
way to the furnace. When the gas generator is situated, as sometimes it may
be convenient to arrange it, at so remote a distance from the furnace that it is
not advantageous or possible to conduct the waste products of combustion
through the spiral flues for the purpose afore mentioned, I then allow the
hot gases generated as they are required for use to pass or be forced or drawn
through the said flues on their way to the place of combustion, and thus utilize
their heat. Passing the waste heat from furnaces around retorts for making
coke or producing gas, or using the heat from gas so produced to assist in the

page_text: distillation or decomposition of coal in such retorts, is not new, and I neither
claim it nor the use of a spiral flue around a retort or furnace as my Inven-
tion. The gas generator is provided with a grate G, which may be of any
convenient construction or which may be dispensed with entirely, a simple
opening being left at any convenient part of the bottom of the generator for
the withdrawal of the ashos, clinkers, or unburnt coal, or for the removal of
the cokes or breezes in case it is desirable to work the generator so as to pro-
duce them. I have also shewn in the bottom of the generator an iron box G',
Figures 1 and 5, with small apertures or tuyeres, through which steam may be
made to pass into the generator in order to modify the activity of combustion
therein; or air may be forced through this box, either alone or in combina-
tion with steam or other suitable gaseous matter. And I sometimes, as is
shewn in Figures 8 and 10, make the chief portion of the bricks constituting
the bottom or part of the bottom of my generator to contain tuyeres, through
which air or steam or other suitable gaseous matters separately or in combina-
tion may be injected into the generator; and at *, Figure 5, is shewn another
means of applying these gaseous matters referred to as above. I do not, how-
ever, claim as new the application of steam or any particular gaseous matters
to assist or modify combustion in a furnace or gas generator.
Figure 5 shews an arrangement of the grate in the generator, and also the
connection of the chimney and the flues surrounding the generator. Instead,
however, of these flues running directly into a chimney, they may connect with
a fiue or pipe leading to a chimney stack, as shewn in Figure 10. In the
space F¹, between the generator and the furnace, and on the outer sides of
the flues around the generator, will be seen in elevation in Figures 1 and 2,
and in plan in Figures 2, 10, and 11, one of the means of utilizing the waste
heat in the production of steam which I have chosen to apply, and which I
particularly recommend as applicable to a greater or less extent in connection
with my apparatus. This plan is known as "Harrison's steam boiler," and is
fully described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to John Henry
Johnson, June 8th, 1864, No. 1424. An arrangement of tubes may be substi-
tuted for or combined with the above tubes, being of more convenient appli-
cation around the generator than the plan shewn, or the generator may be
surrounded with a cylindrical casing or boiler of the common construction.
For convenience of construction and economy of space the ash-pit is shewn in
Figure 2 in the angle between the generator and furnace, and in Figure 10 on
the side of the generator, and when a chimney is used it is supported over
this pit on columns, as will be seen in several of the Figures.
Passing to the description of the furnace I employ, a represents (Figures

page_text: 1, 2, 8, 9, 10) the crucible part of a puddling furnace, which, saving that
it is circular instead of an irregular oblong, is, as to the arrangement of its
bottom and the provision for fettling, very much of the ordinary construc-
tion. The arrangement of the door is much as is usual, and save as to the
details which I am about to give, the arrangement of the parts will be easily
seen by all familiar with the construction of puddling and similar furnaces
without further description.
The peculiarity of my apparatus is in the arrangement with which I develope
and give directness of application to the heat, whereby I save a great wear of
the brick lining, and in the accomplishment of which I produce a much
stronger and more durable construction of the furnace. 6 is an iron casing of
any convenient section, and with or without hollow walls, surmounted and
tightly covered by the domed top b¹. Fitting into and filling the lower end
of this casing, and forming the top or crown of the furnace chamber, is the
diaphragmc,filledwith tuyeres (by preferencefromone-quarter to three-quarters
of an inch in diameter), which is made of fire-bricks or any suitable refractory
material, or constructed of iron in such wise that a current of water may be
forced around the interior sides and among the tuyeres therein, to prevent them
becoming overheated. Above this, and so arranged in the casing as that it
may slide to a limited extent up and down therein, but making with the walls
thereof an air-tight joint,is another diaphragm with tuyeres d, made preferably
of cast iron. The section of the tuyere holes both in c and d may be varied, as
also may be the relative sizes of the two series of tuyeres. Between these two
diaphragms, and communicating with the gas main or pipe B' by one or more
branches, is the gas chamber h, which may be varied in its depth and capacity.
by the movement of the diaphragm d to or from c. The bottom surface
of d is arranged with anumber of conical projections of any convenient length
corresponding to and containing the apertures of the tuyeres in d, and also
corresponding in number to and fitting more or less completely into the upper
orifices of the tuyere holes in the diaphragm c. These projections donot, how-
ever, in any position of d enter to any great depth into the tuyere holes of c,
and I do not propose that they should enter them when the apparatus is in
operation. Above the diaphragm d is another e, which may be hollow or not,
but is here shown hollow, and which may be moved freely upand down within
the casing 6 by means to be hereafter described, or in any other convenient
way. This diaphragm carries a number of rods (or pipes, if the diaphragm is
hollow) corresponding to the tuyeres in the diaphragm d, into which they are
fitted so as to act as valves; e is also provided with a number of air passages

page_text: b
running through it, as shown, or in any convenient way, so that the blast
forced into the casing 6 through the pipe 6" may find free access to the
tuyeres of d. The movement of d and e is in the arrangement here shown
regulated as follows:-Into d are screwed four rods d', which pass up through
the air passages in e, or through other holes therein purposely made, and are
fastened to the four-armed collar attached loosely to the end of the pipe d¹¹.
This pipe has its outer surface for a suitable distance on its upper portion
formed into a screw, which screw works in a nut formed or inserted in the
upper part of the dome of the cover b, and by the turning of this screw by a
lever as shown, or by any convenient means, the diaphragm & may be raised
or lowered. From the diaphragm e there passes up through the pipe du
another pipe or rod e', which is firmly fastened to e, and which is provided on
its upper portion with a collar carrying two studs, to which is attached the
forked short arm of the lever e¹¹. The fulcrum holes in this lever or the pin
holes in the fulcrum are made oblong, so that in its operation the perpen-
dicularity of the rod or pipe e² may be preserved, and excessive friction in the
working of the diaphragm e prevented. And it will be easily seen how by
this combination the movements of e may be effected and governed. The pipe
or rod e¹ fits loosely in the pipe du, an ordinary cup valve of leather on the
end of ", and encircling e', serving to prevent egress of air between the said
pipes. In large constructions, or when from any cause or for any purpose
it is desirable to use a high pressure of blast, the movement of d and e may
not be readily and easily effected by the means just described, and then I
employ the method shown in Figure 6, where the cover 6' is surmounted by
a cupola 6, in the which is constructed a double cylinder, the inner one plain,
the outer annular, wherein the pistons d and e, worked by hydraulic steam
or other pressure, by their movement actuate their respective diaphragms d
and e.
The mode of operating and the purposes of the several parts of my
apparatus as thus far described are as follows:-The gases generated in A
pass into the gas collector B, and from it flow or are forced or drawn through
the main B' and its branches into the gas chamber h in the casing b. At
the same time a blast of air of suitable intensity and volume is injected at
and the valve rods or tubes of the diaphragm e being sufficiently withdrawn,
this blast passes through the tuyeres in d into the gas chamber h, whence it
takes a volume of the gas, partly by propulsion and partly by induction, into
and through the tuyeres in c, from which they issue more or less thoroughly
mixed, and being ignited and combustion having taken place, and their heat
been utilized in the furnace, the waste products flow through the flues f, and

page_text: down, around, and among the parts of the steam boiler in the space F¹ to
the flues F, through which they circulate, and from which they pass into
the chimney or the flue leading to the stack.
It will thus be seen that in my arrangement of apparatus I produce the
effect of an aggregation of a number of blow pipes. I do not, however, claim
the application of the blow-pipe action to the production of heat in furnaces,
as that has been attempted with varying success long ago. All the plans that
I have become cognizant of, however, differ materially from mine in this, that
heretofore the custom has been to pass the pipes carrying the air or other
supporter of combustion into the pipes carrying the gaseous fuel, and nearly
or quite to the outlet thereof, which, as I have shown, I do not propose to do
(though if convenient for any purpose to do so I do not limit myself in that
regard). The laboratory plan of mixing the combustible gas and supporter of
combustion in a chamber preparatory to their use is of course well known, but
would be too unsafe to be practicable in large and coarse operations.
My desire and intention in most cases is not only to mix the combustible
gases and supporters of combustion thoroughly, but also to do it under a
certain pressure, and thereupon drive them and the flame, which when ignited
they produce, with a considerable mechanical force down upon the material
under treatment in the furnace. And it will be seen that my arrangements
enable me to do this. The air or other supporter of combustion. forced
through the diaphragm & meets in the chamber h a volume of gas, in some
casos already flowing through the tuyeres in c, under pressure from a fan in
the gas main B¹, but whether the gas be under pressure or not, the force of
the streams of air or other supporter of combustion being intended to be in
excess of the pressure of the gas will always carry forward with it a certain
portion of the gas from the chamber h into the tuyeres of c, and as these
tuyeres taper considerably towards the furnace, the gas and air will in their
passage through be very thoroughly commingled, so that as they enter the
furnace a rapid and complete combustion will ensue. At the same time as
the influx of the mingled gases and air is constant, the ignited portion is as
constantly being driven away from the roof of the furnace down toward and
upon the bottom or the material thereon, so that it may reasonably be inferred
that, as alleged, the wear of furnaces on my plan will be much less than in
those in which the heat is reverberated; while as the mechanical action of the
heat produced is brought to bear directly upon the material under treatment
a greater portion of that heat ought to be utilized than by the ordinary
plans, and so far consequently a saving of fuel effected. It has been proposed

page_text: to force flame through blow-pipe action or otherwise more or less directly
down upon material under treatment, and though I am unaware of any such
project being carried into practical effect, I do not claim specifically such a
process. As before intimated, I sometimes place a fan, as shown, in the gas
main B', so as at the same time to ensure a full supply of gas in the chamber h,
and to exhaust the generator and facilitate the production of; gas therein.
This fan may be driven from shafting in any ordinary way, or, as shown in the
plan and partly in the sectional views of my apparatus, it together with the
fan at I for forcing air into the casing b may be driven by a reaction engine,
as in (Figure 3), which may be constructed on the plan commonly known as
"Avery's or Barker's mill," or in any suitable form, all three being on the
same shaft. In any case I recommend the shaft of the fan to be made hollow,
and so constructed that a current of air or water may be forced through it to
keep it cool. And suitable valves may be fitted into different portions of the
gas mains to regulate the flow of the gas, and also in the pipes supplying the
air to the casing to control the quantity injected therein. The sizes of the
fans above mentioned should be soregulated, that as both revolve at the same
speed, the respective quantities of gas and air delivered by each should be
such as to fulfil the requirements of perfect combustion as far as practicable.
It is, however, manifest that the same result may be attained by placing the
fans on separate shafts, and driving them at different speeds. The diaphragme
is here shown hollow, and the valves connected with it are small tubes instead
of rods. And as the pipe e' serving to move this diaphragm communicates
from the hollow space therein with a cock or cocks e, which may be con-
nected with reservoirs or sources of supply of any gaseous matters which it
may be desirable to employ, such matters may from time to time be forced
down upon the work in progress, either directly or in combination with the
air forced in at 6, or the gas in h, or both of them. Thus, for instance,
supposing it to be true that jets of steam forced down upon the surface of the
material under treatment would be serviceable in eliminating any impurities
therein, it could be forced through the pipe e¹into the diaphragm e, and thence
through the hollow valve rods and the diaphragms d and c into the furnace,
the extreme tenuity of the gases being consumed in the furnace offering but
little resistance to a jet of steam of high pressure. In the same way any
gaseous matters or any matter which might be borne along with a gaseous
current could be applied. And in order to ensure a more thorough mingling
of the elements which are being combined to develope the heat desired, or in
order to modify the character and intensity of that heat, suitable gases or

page_text: mixtures of gases could in the above manner be introduced into the interior
of the column of air, being forced through d to meet and mingle with the
gases in h.
Referring to the general construction of my furnaces, it will be seen in
Figures 1, 8, and 9, that the iron casing and diaphragms just described rest
upon a hemispherical arch of fire-bricks constituting the walls of the furnace,
a construction which, while very convenient for my purposes, gives great
strength and stability to the furnace and admits a much lighter application
of the plates and ties usually employed to maintain the integrity of such
structures. The portion of the walls of the furnace immediately surrounding
the crucible is intended to be made of perforated bricks, or a suitable con-
struction in common bricks, whose perforations or passages encircle the
crucible and communicate at intervals with flues,shown in section in Figures
1 and 8, through which air drawn in from around the sides of the furnace
is taken to the generator, as well to keep the outside of the furnace cool,
and make it more comfortable for the workmen, as to heat the air prepara-
tory to its introduction to the generator. One of these perforated bricks
is shown in section and side elevation in Figures O, O', and as shown at ⚫
in Figure 1. A steam jet may be used to draw the air through these bricks
and flues aforesaid. I do not claim the use of such perforated bricks, as it
is not novel to apply them or their equivalent to cool the sides of furnaces;
neither do I claim the use of the steam jet as proposed.
Figures 6 and 7 show the form of furnace I propose for melting and
refining pig iron, or for converting molten pig iron into steel, by the method
known as the pneumatic or atmospheric process. The arrangement of the
top is already described, the diaphragms being shown to be actuated by
hydraulic or steam pressure, or the pressure of air or other gaseous matter.
The peculiarity of construction other than as has been shown is as follows:-
The portion of the furnace above the crucible a is supported upon the hollow
bearer or box n of a section corresponding to that of the furnace, which is
here circular, n being supported by legs, as shewn, or upon suitable brackets
or otherwise, though in every case I desire that the supports may be so
arranged as that the bottom m containing the crucible, and which is intended
to be moveable, may be withdrawn and replaced between the legs or brackets.
This bottom consists of an iron vessel or casing m lined with fire-bricks or
other refractory material m², and is attached to the furnace by being bolted
through the flanges of m to the box n, the joint between the flange and box
being made air-tight in any convenient way, though, as here shown, I accom-
plish it by the use of a flexible pipe z placed in a suitable groove formed

page_text: partly in the surfaces of both m and n, and kept distended by air or water
forced therein so as to completely fill the groove (I do not, however, claim
this method of making joints as my Invention). The joint between the
brickwork of the upper part of the furnace and the lining m¹ is made near
the upper part of the box n at the lines y, y, and should also be made air-tight
by suitable mortar or luting. The upper portion of the lining m¹ is formed of
tubular or tuyere bricks, whose tuyeres slant from the annular space commu-
nicating with the chamber o in the box n down into the crucible, as shown by
the dotted lines in Figure 6, the number and size of these tuyeres being
governed by the requirements of each particular application of the apparatus.
At p is a door of semicircular section provided with á sight hole r, which
consists of the fire-bricks p¹ enclosed, as shown, in an iron rim, upon which is
bolted a top with flanges protruding into the sight hole so as to clamp the
bricks p¹ and hold them fixed. The said top also carries eyes by which the
door may be removed when necessary. Between the bricks p' and the top
flange of the door is an air space communicating with tuyere holes, shown by
the dotted lines in p¹, and also with air under pressure in the hollow sides
of b, as at k, or with any other source of compressed air or gases. The object
of this arrangement is to enable a current of air or mixed gases to be forced
through the tuyeres of p¹, which converge towards the inner aperture of the
sight hole in order to counteract the tendency of the gases under pressure in
the furnace to rush out of the sight hole and prevent observation thereat. A
platforms is fastened to the front of the furnace for the convenience of the
workmen; at the bottom of the cruciblo a is shown my method of tapping
the same. A fire-brick 1, with a hole u¹ running through it, is made to project
a short distance from the outer surface of m through a suitable opening
therein. Another fire-brick t, provided with a tap-hole t¹, is fitted so as to
work tightly against the face of the brick u, and is encircled by a band or
casing of iron, having two studs projecting from its opposite sides, to which the
levers u,v,serving to actuate t in its various movements, are loosely attached.
The hole is made so much to the one side on the upper surface of t that
when, as will be shown, t is moved so as to make t¹ discontinuous with u', the
outlet, of u will still be fully covered by the surface of t. The movement of t
is thus effected:-The levers v, v, have for their common axis or fulcrum the
shaft z, which revolves in legs depending from the casing m, and the fulcrum
holes in these levers are oblong slots, under which, on the one side of each
lever, is affixed a short rack into which gear pinions suitably placed on the
shaft , so that, as will be easily seen by the revolution of this shaft by any
suitable means, a reciprocating motion of the levers. and consequently of the

page_text: brick t, may be effected, while by a weight v¹, shown attached at the end of
the levers v, may still be more or less firmly pressed against the cor-
responding surface of u, and leakage of metal at their points prevented.
The bottom m may be removed and replaced by the use of a truck running
on a tramway in the pit under the furnace and carrying a cradle made to
fit the convexity of the bottom. This cradle should be fixed upon the
piston of a hydraulic ram, by the operation of which the bottom may easily
be attached to and detached from the furnace.
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, and 14, show details of a plan of arranging
several of my puddling furuaces in connection with one gas generator, and
illustrate the economy of space and stability of construction due to my
methods. Figure 8 is a vertical section on the line 1, 2; Figure 9 another
partial vertical section on the line 3, 4; Figure 10 double horizontal
section on the lines 5, 6, and 7, 8; Figure 11 a double horizontal section on
the lines 9, 10, and 11, 12, but showing only half of the generator; Figure 12
is a vertical section of a portion of the lower part of the apparatus taken
through the generator on the bent line 13, 14, 15; Figure 13 a. front
elevation of the opening to the grate and ash-pit; Figure 14 a sectional plan
of a portion of the bottom of the generator and the ash-pit. The main
features of the plan have already been described, and will be easily seen.
The peculiarities of arrangement are as follows:-The walls of the generator
and the plates separating the flues around it are of fire-brick, and are dove-
tailed together, as shown. The bottom is composed for the most part of
tubular bricks, though for clearness of illustration only each alternate brick
is shown perforated in the section, Figures 8 and 12. These bricks are
supported on a series of radial bars attached to an iron casing, shown in
section in Figures 8 and 12, and in plan in Figure 14. This casing is made
preferably of boiler or sheet iron, and is air-tight at its bottom and around its
sides, its top being closed as aforesaid by the bottom bricks of the generator.
The ash-pit of the generator is partially enclosed by this casing, and one end
of each of the grate bars rests on a flange on its inner side; and through
suitable openings or pipes on its sides air or steam, or a mixture of one or
both of these with other gaseous matters, may be forced into the casing, and
up through the tubular bricks into the generator, at the same time that air
alone is being admitted or forced through the grate-bars G. A steam jet, as
before mentioned, shown at * in Figure 8, draws air for the supply of the
generator through the cellular bricks surrounding the puddling furnace, and
thence through flues in the walls surrounding the boiler
space F1, and a con-
nection may also be made between the aforesaid flues and the space under

page_text: the bottoms of the furnaces, as shown at q, Figure 8, in order to increase the
flow of cold air around them. To the gas main B' is attached a reservoir B",
from which the gases pass through the branches B to the furnaces. This
reservoir may have its bottom deepened, as shown by dotted lines, and by
means of a hopper or vessel with a perforated bottom containing sand, to act
as a filter (also shown in dotted lines), or by any other convenient way. Any
cheap hydrocarbon may be allowed to drop gradually into the reservoir, which
being volatilized by the heat communicated through the arch of the hoiler
space to the bottom of the reservoir, as well as by that of the gases
flowing through it, will serve to enrich these gases as they pass from the
generator to the furnace. The furnaces as well as the circular bases of cast
iron supporting the bottoms and crucibles thereof rest on brick piers, as
shown in Figure 11, and passages running between these piers under all the
bottoms provide convenient access thereto, and also admit a free circulation
of air around the furnaces to keep them cool. These cast-iron bases are tied
together by plates dropped into mortices on their sides, as at P, Figure 11,
said plates serving to support the sides of the furnaces overhanging the
passages which give access to the spaces under the furnace bottom, to which
passages admittance is had by the man-holes O. The branches B of the
gas main B² are attached to the reservoir B" and to the casings 6 by being
dropped between dovetailed ears projecting from the sides of B" and b
respectively, and being fastened tightly to their places by keys forced in
between the ears and small flanges on the ends of the branches, as will-be
seen by reference to Figure 10. The furnaces and generator are supported
and tied together by bands and plates in the usual or auy convenient manner.
My method of construction of puddling furnaces and of application of
heat therein is also especially convenient when rotating bottoms are used,
as the pressure which may be maintained in the furnaces will obviate the
disadvantage arising from leakage of air around the joints of such bottoms,
and there would be no flying cinders and dust to clog the movements
thereof. In applying such bottoms I prefer to arrange them so that they
may, when desired, be made to rotate in a plane more or less inclined
towards the front of the furnace, or the side near the front, so that in the
process of "balling up" the tendency of the ball during the rotation of the
bottom to roll toward the lowest portion thereof would assist in the
agglomeration of the particles of iron, and enable a large ball to be more
easily made than by the common modes.
Figures 16 and 17 show a vertical section and an end view of the plan of
apparatus 1 would employ in working such bottoms. A is the bottom, which

page_text: is here shown by preference to be a water bottom, similar to that patented by
George Bedson, December 14th, 1859, No. 2838. To this is bolted the
cylinder B, the upper end of which is open, and communicates with a hole in
the lower plate of the bottom, the lower end being closed, except that the
pipe K runs through it; C is a cylindrical casing having arms or axes C¹, C",
projecting in opposite directions from two of its sides at its top, as shown,
which axes are hollow through the greater portion of their length, and rest
in and have a partial revolution in journals on the standards D, D'. In this
casing is an annular recess or groove c, c, communicating by a passage e with
the barrel of the right-hand axis c', and upon this right-hand axis is keyed a
sector of a worm wheel F, which gears into a worm G working in journals on
the standard D', by which combination the partial revolution of the axes
C', C, and the consequent inclination of the casing C from the perpendicular
and of the bottom A from a horizontal position is effected. The cylinder B
fits closely into and revolves in the casing C, the joint at the top being kept
tight by the smooth surfaces of the flange of the cylinder, and the top of the
casing being kept in close contact by the weight of A and its contents, while
the joint at the bottom is closed by packing between the bottom of the
cylinder and casing and the covering plate H. This plate H is constructed
with a pipe I on the one side of it, through which the waste water from the
bottom A flows by the branches K' and main K to the outlet pipe L, which
communicates with the barrel of the left-hand axis C. To the end of the
right-hand axis C¹ is suitably attached a feed pipe M, and water is to be
forced through it and the barrel c¹ and the passage e to the space c, from
which by suitable apertures in the sides of B it passes into the cylinder, and
thence circulates through the bottom A, passing out as it becomes heated
through, as aforesaid, the branches K¹, main pipe K, and the passages and
pipes I and L to the barrel of C", through which it passes to an exit pipe N
suitably fastened to the end of C". The outlet of N should be carried up to
a moderate height above the top of the water bottom A, so that a certain
pressure shall always be maintained on the water therein. The rotation of
the bottom A is effected by the gear wheel P on the shaft P¹ working into a
circular rack attached to the bottom of A, as shown. The shaft P¹ may be
driven in any convenient way, but it is desirable that it be so arranged that its
axis may always be in line with the centre of the axis C, C", so that P may
not be thrown out of gear, or bound by the inclination of the bottom A. Four
arms O, O, may be made to radiate from the casing C, and their ends being
provided with antifriction wheels, as shown, the bottom A may measurably
rotate, and be supported thereupon. A puddling rabble may also be geared

page_text: to the rack on the bottom A, or to the driving wheel P, and thus the puddling
process be mechanically effected from the motive power actuating the bottom.
And by a suitable rotatory engine attached to the cylinder B in the space e,
water under pressure may on its passage to the interior of the bottom for the
purpose of cooling it be also made to rotate the said bottom, and the necessity
of the wheel P and its axle and journals be avoided.
I do not claim rotatory bottoms, nor the construction of them here shown,
-neither generally causing the bottom to rotate in an inclined plane, but simply
the combination of parts herein shown, and the combination thereof with
my plans of furnaces, as described.
Having ascertained the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the several details herein described and illustrated in the ac-
companying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of my Invention; I claim as my Invention, the general arrange-
ments or combinations of parts of apparatus for generating gas for fuel, and
in furnaces for applying gaseous fuel to metallurgical and other operations,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated on the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Zobeth Sherman Durfee, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Niuth day of February, in the, year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
ZOHETH SHERMAN DURFEE. (L.S.)