IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON IN THE BLAST FURNACE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Montefiore Levi, of Maida Vale, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON IN THE BLAST FURNACE."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 17th December 1858, and dated the 21st September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Montefiore Levi
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st September 1858.
I, GEORGE MONTEFIORE LEVI, of Maida Vale, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON IN THE BLAST FURNACE," to be as
follows:-
In the ordinary mode of working blast furnaces the blast is kept in constant
action, except when the furnace is tapped to draw off the fluid metal, or when
accidents occur in the furnace, and great care is taken to maintain the blast
without interruption, and to reduce the number of intervals in the blast to a
minimum.
By the present Invention the blast is alternately stopped and put in action
at regular intervals, and the charge of fuel is reduced, and it has been found
by experiment that a very considerable saving of fuel is the result. The
reducing action of the fuel continues while the blast is stopped. The intervals
may be about half an hour, or more or less, and the direction of the stoppage

page_text: may be equal to or greater or less than that of the action of the blast, which
may be cold or heated by the known means. The action of the blast may be
stopped and renewed at proper intervals by closing or opening a valve or
valves at the required times, either by hand or by suitable self-acting
machinery, or by stopping and starting the blowing machinery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Montefiore Levi in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MONTEFIORE LEVI, of Maida Vale, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Montefiore Levi, Her special licence that I, the said George
Montefiore Levi, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Montefiore Levi, 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, tho Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON IN THE BLAST FURNACE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Montefiore Levi, 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 George Montefiore Levi, 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:-
In the ordinary working of blast furnaces the air necessary for the com-
bustion of the fuel charged in the furnace is furnished by the injection of a

page_text: blast or of several blasts of air at a certain pressure through one or several
tuyeres. In the ordinary mode of working blast furnaces great care is taken
to maintain the blast as long as possible without interruption, and to reduce
the duration and number of stoppages of the blast to a minimum.
By the present Invention, the blast, which may be hot or cold, is alternately
stopped and put in action at regular intervals, and the charge of fuel is sub-
sequently reduced, and it has been found by experiment that a very considerable
saving of fuel is the result. The reducing action of the fuel continues while
the blast is stopped. The ordinary blast furnace may be used, but if the
tuyeres are at or below the level of the dam they ought to be raised, so as to
prevent the cinder from entering them when the blast is stopped.
The iron furnace to be used according to my Invention is to be charged as
usual, and the blast applied and continued until the furnace is brought to
good working order, which will be the case in about a fortnight. The blast
is now to be stopped at regular intervals, say, for one quarter of an hour in
every hour. This interval, however, of stoppage may be varied with the
circumstances of the case, the size of the furnace, and the nature of the fuel
and ore, but it is not advisable to stop the blast for more than an hour, nor to
continue it regularly for more than four hours. The quantity of ore and
flux in each charge is to be now gradually increased in proportion to the fuel.
It has been found by experience that a very considerable saving of fuel is
the result of the adoption of the intermittent blast, while at the same time that
this saving is produced the quality of the iron remains undeteriorated, and the
amount produced in the same period is nearly the same.
The action of the blast may be stopped or lowered, and renewed at the
proper intervals by turning or moving a valve or valves at the required times,
either by suitable machinery (such as that of which I subjoin a Drawing and
description) or by hand, or finally, the intermittence of the blast may be
produced by stopping and starting the blowing machinery.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing is a plan, and Figure 2 is a section
of an apparatus which may be employed for turning or moving a valve in the
blast pipe. A is a pipe with a cock, through which a stream of water flows
into a box or bucket B, at one end of a lever or beam D, E, turning on a
pivot in its centre, and carrying a similar bucket C at its other end. F is a
lever fixed on the beam, and carrying a swivel fork at its upper end, which
receives the end of a lever G, attached to the spindle of the valve I in the
blast pipe K. When a sufficient quantity of water has collected in the bucket
the beam tips over and reverses the valve, and at the same time brings the
other bucket C under the pipe A, and discharges the water from the bucket B.

page_text: After a certain interval the water accumulates in the bucket C, and the beam
tips back again and restores the valve to its first position. H is a weight,
which may be adjusted at different heights on another lever L attached to the
beam D, E. This weight does not affect the action of the apparatus when in
the position shown in the Drawing, but after the bucket B has descended the
weight H gives a preponderance to the end E of the beam, and thus causes it
to remain longer in that position. The two intervals of time during which
the valve is kept open and shut may thus be rendered unequal and adjusted
as required, and the sum of the two intervals is regulated and adjusted by
opening the cock in the pipe A more or less. The lever G has a joint at M
to admit of its end being lifted out of the fork when required to detach it
from the apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Montefiore Levi, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JA". CROWDY,
G. MONTEFIORE LEVI. (L.S.)
17, Serjeant's Inn, London, Solr.