IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Geoghegan Willans, of No. 9, Saint
Stephen's Crescent, Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Geoghegan
Willans at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th January 1875.
I, JACOB GEOGHEGAN WILLANS, of No. 9, Saint Stephen's Crescent,
Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES."
My Invention relates to those furnaces into the upper part of which
is charged the material to be melted, and through which air or gaseous
currents ascend, and is especially applicable to cupola furnaces used for
melting down those materials which have an injurious effect on the
interior lining or masonry of the lower part of the furnace if it be con-
structed in the usual manner as hitherto.

page_text: up a
My improvement is to have the furnace in two parts, the upper or
first part into which the materials are charged being held
little
distance (18 inches or more) over the hearth, which with the tuyeres or
other openings is placed in the lower or second part, the space inter-
vening between the two parts being encircled or packed round with any
suitable substance that will cause the air or gaseous current entering
through the tuyeres or other openings to pass upwards through the
charge contained in the upper part; this substance to be preferably such
as will admit of displacement and subsequent renewal (without necessity
to cool down the funace) for the purpose of removing any lump that
may have set in the hearth, also to admit of addition thereto at any time
in case it should be worn away by the blast or by contact with the heated
materials. Sand or other fire resisting mineral in a divided state or in
blocks will answer if the molten material be not of a corrosive nature,
but if it should be injuriously so a carbonaceous substance or a similar
material to that of the charge undergoing melting will be preferable.
I prefor that the upper portion shall be similar to a foundry cupola
(or small blast furnace) above the tuycres, vizt., such as a wrought-iron
tubular casing lined with brickwork, not closed at the bottom, and that
the lower part of this casing be slightly conical in order to prevent the
fall of the inner lining of brickwork.
I
I prefer that the lower part shall be a hearth, with the usual facilities
for tapping, and formed of any suitable substance to withstand the heat
and the contact with the molten product. Fire-clay, sand, gannister,
carbonaceous substance, or their mixtures will in most cases answer.
prefer to have this hearth upon which the tuyeres are placed encased in a
wrought-iron cylinder of larger diameter than the lowest part of the
suspended upper casing, and that this cylinder be made with all necessary
openings, and be of sufficient altitude as to reach as high or nearly so as
the said lowest part of the upper casing. I pack within the circum-
forence of this wider cylinder around and above the tuyeres or other
openings, and as high as to encircle the lowest part of the suspended
upper portion, some fire resisting or carbonaceous substance (or it may
be some same material as that charged into the cupola) in such manner
that the air or gaseous current does not escape ascending through the
upper part of the furnace into which the materials are charged.
I prefer to have the lower portion of the furnace which contains the
hearth and tuycres mounted on a truck or other moveable to allow of

page_text: its being at any time removed from underneath the upper part, and to
have arrangements for placing bars of iron across the lowest end of the
latter for the purpose of holding up the charge therein until the lower
portion be again replaced.
I also prefer to have a second or duplicate lower part that can be
substituted at any time to allow of any required repairs to the hearth or
tuyeres without prolonged stoppage of the furnace.
A furnace in 2 parts, as above described, will allow of the reduction.
of iron ores into malleable iron or steel, and of cast iron being melted
along with alkaline or oxidising substances for its purification or for its
conversion into malleable iron or steel, and allow of the removal of any
lump formed in the hearth without destruction to the lining of the
furnace. It will also admit the melting therein of mineral, saline, or
alkaline substances, together or separately, into a glass or slag without
their amalgamating so much with the masonry of the furnace.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
GEOGHEGAN WILLANS, of 9, Saint Stephen's Crescent, Bayswater, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans,
Her special license that I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Jacob Geoghegan Willans, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agreo with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and-
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES," upon the condition

page_text: (amongst others) that I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and scals, 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 Jacob Geoghegan Willans, do
hereby declare the nature of tho said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer- 1
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
My Invention relates to those furnaces into the upper part of which
is charged the material to be melted, and through which air or gaseous
currents ascend, and is especially applicable to cupola furnaces used for
melting down those materials which have an injurious effect on the 1
interior lining or masonry of the lower part of the furnace if it be con-
structed in the usual manner as hitherto.
My improvement is to have the furnace in two parts, the upper or
first part into which the materials are charged being held up a littlo
distance (about 18 inches more or less) over the hearth, which with the 2
tuyeres or other openings is placed on the lower or second part, the
space intervening between the two parts being encircled or packed
round with any suitable substance that will cause the air or gaseous
current entering through the tuyeres or other openings to pass upwards
through the charge contained in the upper part; this substance to be 2
preferably such as will admit of displacement and subsequent renewal
(without necessity to cool down the furnace) for the purpose of removing
any lump that may have set in the hearth, also to admit of addition
thereto at any time in case it should be worn away by the blast or by
contact with the heated materials. Sand or other fire resisting material 8
in a divided state or in blocks will auswer if the molten material bo not
of a corrosive character, but if it be injuriously so a carbonaceous
substance or a similar material to that of the charge undergoing melting
will be preferable.
I prefer that the upper part shall be similar to a foundry cupola (or a 8
small blast furnace) above the tuycres, such as a wrough-iron tubular
casing lined with fire-brick, not closed at the bottom, which may be
about 18 inclics internal diameter, and that the lower part, or it may bo

page_text: "
the entire of this casing, be slightly conical, in order to prevent the fall
of the inner lining of brickwork.
I prefer that the lower part shall be a hearth with the usual facilities
for tapping and for running off of slag, and formed of any suitable sub-
stance to withstand the heat and the contact with the molten product.
Fire-clay, sand, gannister, carbonaceous substance, or their mixtures will
in most cases answer. I prefer to have this hearth upon which the tuyeres
are placed encased in a wrought iron cylinder of larger diameter than
the lowest part of the suspended upper casing, and that this cylinder be
made with all necessary openings and be of sufficient altitude to reach
as high or nearly so as the said lower part of the upper casing. I pack
within the circumference of this wider cylinder around and above the
tuyeres or other openings, and as high as to encircle the lowest part of
the suspended upper portion, some fire resisting or carbonaceous sub-
stance (or it may be some same material in a finely divided state as that
charged into the cupola) in such manner that the air or gaseous current
does not escape, ascending through the upper part of the furnace into
which the materials are charged.
I prefer to have the lower portion of the furnace which contains the
hearth and tuyeres mounted on a truck or otherwise to allow of its being
at any time removed from underneath the upper part, and to have
arrangements for placing bars of iron across the lowest end of the latter.
for the purpose of holding up the charge therein until the lower portion
be again replaced.
. I also prefer to have a second or duplicate lower part that can be sub-
stituted at any time to allow of any required repairs to the hearth or
tuyeres without prolonged stoppage of the furnace.
A furnace in two parts, as above described, will allow of the reduction
of iron ores into malleable iron or steel, and of cast iron being melted
along with alkaline or oxidizing substances for its purification, or for its
conversion into malleable iron or steel, and allow of the removal of any
lump formed in the hearth without destruction of the lining of the
furnace. It will also admit of the melting therein of mineral, saline,
or alkaline substances, together or separately, into a glass or slag
without their amalgamating so much with the masonry of the furnace.--
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings here.
unto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a furnace constructed according to my
Invention, and provided with a moveable hearth on wheels to facilitato
the removal of a lump of iron or other product which cannot conveniently
bo tapped out of the furnace.
a is the upper part of the cupola or blast furnace; it consists of an
iron casing lined internally with fire-brick, and surrounded at the bottom
with a water trough. This structure is suspended or supported in any
convenient manner. 6 is a cylindrical casing suspended by chains from
the part a; c is the lower part of the furnace; it is moveable, and 1
consists of a bed plate mounted on wheels supporting a cylindrical casing
through which the tuyeres are inserted. Before the part c is placed
beneath the parts a and b the packing c' is rammed in to fill the whole
of the casing, with the exception of a central cylindrical space, which
may be preserved by inserting a light core of thin sheet iron. This 1
central space is filled with ignited fuel before the part c is placed beneath
the upper part a. The space marked d is also filled with packing, which
is rammed from the outside, and becomes part of the packing c¹. This
packing is always accessible for repair, and as it sinks is renewed from
the outside without interfering with the working of the furnace. The 2
lower part c I provide in duplicate. These parts are arranged upon
wheels, as the Drawing shows, and can bo drawn to and fro by suitablo
tackle.
When the smelting operation has been continued for some time, and
a lump of sufficient size has been accumulated in the lower part of the 2
furnace, iron bars fare inserted beneath the bottom of the upper part a
through orifices in the casing 6 to support the charge which it contains,
and the lower part c is removed, and the duplicate part is substituted in
its place. The iron bars are then removed, and the furnace works as
before. After the lump has been removed from the hearth it is refettled 8
or lined, and is then ready to go back to its working position when it is
required.
Figure 2 is a section of another arrangement which may be employed
when the material is of such a nature that it can conveniently bo tapped
out from the hearth without withdrawing it. e is the upper part of the 3
cupola or blast furnace, with its water trough e'; f is the lower part of
the furnace, with the tuyeres f¹; g is the space which is filled with
packing, always accessible from the outside for renowal or repair, so

page_text: that it is immaterial how corrosive the slags or melted matters in the
furnace may be, for the portion of the furnace around and above the
tuyeres (where injurious action is generally found to occur) is during
the working of the furnace constantly repaired and renewed without
delay or interference with the working of the furnace. The packing to
be used may be varied according to circumstances.
In the melting down cast iron in which the carbon is desired to be
retained a packing free from oxidising substance should be used, but for
production of refined metal or of malleable lumps of iron or steel the
packing may be of iron ore or of a mixture of granulated cast iron and
ground iron ore.
In the melting down of glass a material used in glass making, such as
sand or lime, may be used.
Carbonaceous matter, such as coal slack, will be found suitable when
metallic oxides, salts, or alkalies are being melted down into a fluid
compound or slag, or these substances themselves may form the packing.
I prefer to charge the materials to be melted along with the necessary
fuel in the usual manner, and to use two 1 inch internal diameter
tuyeres at one pound to one pound and one-half pressure of blast, and to
renew the packing from outside the top of the lower casing, as