IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR EFFECTING THE MIXTURE OF MOLTEN CAST IRON WITH SOLID OXIDES AND OTHER BODIES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Schoenberger Blair, of Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, but now residing
at the Tavistock Hotel, Covent Garden, in the County of Middle-
sex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
OR MACHINERY FOR EFFECTING THE MIXTURE OF MOLTEN CAST IRON WITH
SOLID OXIDES AND OTHER BODIES."
Sealed the 20th August 1869, and dated the 27th February 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Schoenberger
Blair at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th February 1869.
I, THOMAS SCHOENBERGER BLAIR, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in the
United States of America, but now residing at the Tavistock Hotel,
Covent Garden, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare tl.e
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND
APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR EFFECTING THE MIXTURE OF MOLTEN CAST IRON
WITH SOLID OXIDES AND OTHER BODIES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to a new process for producing wrought
iron by intimately mixing with molten cast iron solid oxidizing sub

page_text: stances as described in the Specification to certain Letters Patent
granted to Charles Denton Abel, dated 23rd November 1868, No. 3565.
"
ور
A necessary step in the manufacture of "
pig bloom or "pig scrap
iron in all cases where an intimate and nearly uniform mixture of the
fluid cast iron with the oxides is required is the provision of some
arrangement whereby the two substances shall come together in quan-
tities or masses so limited that they will in the very short time in which
the cast iron changes from a liquid to a solid condition interlock as it
were at the instant of cohering. To accomplish this I cause both the
fluid cast iron and the granulated oxide (which can be made to flow in a
manner similar to a fluid, and with which may be previously mixed any
substances acting as detergents or alloys, such as those referred to in the
Specification to my Patent dated 22nd February, 1869, No. 546,) to be
received each into the upper end of a separate inclined spout, trough, or
shoot, the two troughs being set opposite each other, so that their lower
ends approach each other sufficiently to cause the contents of the two to
flow or dash into each other soon after leaving the troughs, but not until
each has so left or cleared its trough. If the two currents met to any
considerable extent upon either trough, a dam would form from the
almost instantaneous "freezing" (as it may be termed) which takes place
when the contact is effected. I cause the oxide to flow in a flat stream
by placing a gate at the upper end of its spout, nearly as wide as the
spout, and regulated by sliding the gate up and down so as to liberate a
greater or less quantity at will. I cause the molten cast iron to flow in
a flat stream of nearly equal thickness by placing a dam or dams across
the spout whereby to spread it out upon one level.
Another method of mixing (which can be used alone or in combination
with the above) is to receive the two substances while in the act of
mingling (or if separate then in rapid succession), upon a moving
surface, whereby a layer, thicker or thinner at will, according to the
speed of the moving surface, is deposited under conditions favorable for
assisting the mixing. I perform this in two ways, firstly, a revolving
table, arranged so that the speed can be regulated to suit the operation,
catches the materials and either retains the mixture in a trough until
successive strata are built up to any desired thickness, or each layer is
delivered away from the place of mixing, being cleared off the table by a
"clearer" placed so as to scrape the surface of the table where the pig
scrap is desired to be removed from it. If the trough is used I employ

page_text: removeable partitions in it, set radially, and a removeable outside curb
or rim, so that the pig blooms thus formed are readily got out.
In another arrangement I use an endless travelling chain or belt
catching the materials and delivering the mixture at the farther end
where the belt turns round the pulley.
Another method of mixing is to receive the materials into a mould
which rests upon a revolving table, the centre of the mould being the
centre of rotation, or near it. The motion of the mould will distribute
the materials as they pass in, and thus aid their mixture. This method
is applicable to the formation of large masses of the conglomerate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 27th August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SCHOENBERGER BLAIR, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States
of America, but now residing at the Tavistock Hotel, Covent Garden, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair,
Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Schoenberger Blair, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
OR MACHINERY FOR EFFECTING THE MIXTURE OF MOLTEN CAST IRON WITH SOLID
OXIDES AND OTHER BODIES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair, 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

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention has reference to a new process for producing wrought
iron by intimately mixing with molten cast iron solid oxidizing
substances, as described in the Specification to certain Letters Patent
granted to Charles Denton Abel dated 23rd November 1868, No. 3565.
39
A necessary step in the manufacture of "
"pig bloom"
or "pig scrap
iron in all cases where an intimate and nearly uniform mixture of the
fluid cast iron with the oxides is required is the provision of some
arrangement whereby the two substances shall come together in
quantities or masses so limited that they will in the very short time in
which the cast iron changes from a liquid to a solid condition interlock
as it were at the instant of cohering. To accomplish this I cause both
the fluid cast iron and the granulated oxide (which can be made to flow
in a manner similar to a fluid, and with which may be previously mixed
any substances acting as detergents or alloys, such as those referred to in
my Provisional Specification dated 22nd February 1869, No. 546,) to be
received each into the upper end of a separate inclined spout, trough, or
shoot, the two troughs being set opposite each other so that their lower
ends approach each other sufficiently to cause the contents of the two to
flow or dash into each other soon after leaving the troughs, but not until
each has so left or cleared its trough. If the two currents meet to any
considerable extent upon either trough a dam would form from the
almost instantaneous "freezing" (as it may be termed) which takes
place when the contact is effected. I cause the oxide to flow in a flat
stream by placing a gate at the upper end of its spout nearly as wide
as the spout and regulated by sliding the gate up and down so as
to liberate a greater or less quantity at will. I cause the molten cast
iron to flow in a flat stream of nearly equal thickness by placing

page_text: a dam or dams across the spout whereby to spread it out upon one.
level.
Another method of mixing (which can be used alone or in com-
bination with the above) is to receive the two substances while in the'
act of mingling (or if separate then in rapid succession) upon a moving
surface whereby a layer thicker or thinner at will according to the speed
of the moving surface is deposited under conditions favorable for assisting
the mixing. I perform this in two ways:-Firstly, a revolving table
arranged so that the speed can be regulated to suit the operation, catches
the materials, and either retains the mixture in a trough until successive
strata are built up to any desired thickness, or each layer is delivered
away from the place of mixing by being cleared off the table by a clearer
placed so as to scrape the surface of the table where the pig scrap is
desired to be removed from it. If the trough is used I employ
removeable partitions in it set radially and a removeable outside curb or
rim so that the pig blooms thus formed are readily got out. In another
arrangement I use an endless travelling chain or belt catching the
materials and delivering the mixture at the farther end where the belt
turns round the pulley.
:
Another method of mixing is to receive the materials into a mould.
which rests upon a revolving table, the centre of the mould being.
the centre of rotation or near it. The motion of the mould will dis-.
tribute the materials as they pass in and thus aid their mixture. This,
method is applicable to the formation of large masses of the con-.
glomerate.
Having thus set forth the nature of my Invention, I will now proceed;
more particularly to describe the manner of performing the same, for
which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings on
which is shewn some of the various modifications of apparatus by.
which my Invention may be carried into practice.
Figure 1 of the Drawings shews a perspective view of the whole:
apparatus. It consists, firstly, of an annular turntable A of strong cast
iron or other suitable material, shewn in vertical section at Figure 2,
in plan at Figure 3, and in enlarged section at Figure 4. This turntable
rests on rollers B and receives a slow rotary motion by means of a spur
wheel D (Figure 1) driven by any suitable motive power in gear with a
spur rim C on the turntable A. On the turntable rests an annular
trough made up of separate segments E, E, E, which fit together end to
:

page_text: end, as indicated at Figure 3. These segments consists, firstly, of a part
forming the bottom e, and the inner side e', and of a separate part e
forming the outer side which fits in a groove in the bottom e. The
sides are also made to fit endwise into each other, as shewn, and they
are held in position by means of a metal bar or cramp fitted into the
projecting lugs e³ of two contiguous parts. The trough formed in this
manner is divided into separate compartments by means of removable
partitions F, F, shewn in Figure 3, fitting into grooves formed in the
side e¹. To the column G is fixed a receptacle H with a sloping spout H',
of which an enlarged side view is shewn at Figure 5. This receptacle
is so placed that the spout H' which is of a broad flat form lies in the
direction of a tangent to the annular trough, as shewn in Figure 3, it
serves to receive the molten cast iron passing into it from the blast
furnace or cupola I (Figure 1) through the trough J and to conduct the
cast iron in the shape of a flat stream into the annular trough E.
Simultaneously with such introduction of the cast iron a flat stream of
pulverized oxide is caused to pass from the receptacle K (Figure 1)
down the broad flat shoot L into the trough E in such a manner that as
soon as the molten cast iron has left the spout H and the oxide has left
the shoot L the two flat streams impinge upon each other, and in thus
mixing intimately with each other the combined mass falls into the
trough in which the conglomerate immediately solidifies. When the
trough has been filled in this manner and the mass has sufficiently
cooled it is removed by taking out the partitions F and the parts e
forming the outer rim, and is then further treated for conversion into
wrought iron or steel. For regulating the supply of pulverized ore
and causing it to flow in the requisite flat stream, a gate or slide is
provided at X regulated by the operator, and the cast iron is also made
to flow in a flat stream by forming dams across the spout of the
vessel H so as to spread the fluid metal out level. The filling of the
rotating trough may be effected either by allowing the same to
rotate so slowly that each compartment is filled up at once as it
passes under the spouts, or, by preference, by causing the same to
rotate more rapidly so as to allow only a thin layer to be deposited
at one time in each compartment and building up a series of such
layers by rotating the trough a corresponding number of times.
When it is desired to produce pig scrap the rotating table may be
arranged without compartments and with only a shallow depth of
trough so as to receive only a thin layer of the conglomerate, which

page_text: at one point is ploughed out of the trough by the application of a
fixed clearing blade or tool arranged in any convenient manner for this
purpose.
As before stated the conglomerate may be formed by allowing the
fluid cast iron and the pulverized ore to fall separately on to the
travelling surface instead of causing them to impinge upon and mix
with each other in the first instance, but this latter is by far the most
preferable mode of proceeding.
It will be evident that in place of the rotating trough an endless
travelling chain belt stretched over rollers may be employed receiving
the conglomerate at one end and delivering it to wherever required at
the other end. Such chain belt may be provided with side flanges and
partitions, as indicated in transverse and longitudinal sections at
Figures 6 and 7, M, M, being broad links having each one end flange m
and two side flanges m'; N is a polygonal roller over one of which
the belt is stretched at either end by imparting rotary motion, to one of
which rollers the belt is made to travel.
Also as before stated the conglomerate may be delivered into a
mould or receptacle revolving on a vertical or inclined axis the rotary
motion of the mould acting beneficially in producing a more intimate
admixture of the cast iron and ore as they fall into it.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details of apparatus herein-before
described, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, as these may
be variously modified without departing from the nature of my In-
vention; also I am aware that in the before-mentioned Specification
of C. D. Abel it has been proposed to produce the conglomerate by
delivering the fluid cast iron on to a moving surface upon which ore
may be placed before or after the metal is deposited, and I do there-
fore not claim that mode of proceeding otherwise than in combination
with the particular construction of apparatus hercin-before described;
but what I claim is,-
First. The method of mixing molten cast iron with pulverized oxide
with or without admixture of other substances by causing a stream of
the molten iron and a stream of the oxide to impinge upon each other,
substantially as set forth.

page_text: Second. The method of mixing molten cast iron with pulverized oxide,
with or without admixture of other substances, by causing a flattened
stream of the molten cast iron and a flattened stream of the oxide to
impinge upon each other, substantially as set forth.
Third. The method of producing the conglomerate of cast iron and
.oxide, with or without admixture of other substances, by causing the fluid
cast iron and the oxide after impinging upon each other to fall on to a
travelling surface, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The method of producing the conglomerate as aforesaid by
causing the fluid cast iron and the oxide, with or without other substances,
to flow simultaneously but separately upon a travelling surface, sub-
stantially as set forth.
Fifth. The use of a revolving table for receiving the conglomerate,
substantially as set forth.
Sixth. The revolving table or trough E with removeable partitions and
outer rim arranged and operating in combination with the vessel H and
shoot L, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Seventh. Producing. pig scrap by removing each layer of the con-
glomerate as it is formed on the revolving table. by means of a clearer or
scraper, substantially as described.
Eighth. The use of an endless travelling chain or belt for receiving
the conglomerate, substantially as set forth.
Ninth. The use of a revolving mould or vessel for receiving the
conglomerate, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Schoenberger Blair, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-seventh day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-nine.