IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTERS, MOULDS, AND OTHER APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BESSEMER AND OTHER STEEL, SOME OF WHICH IM- PROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE IN OTHER OPERATIONS REQUIRING LIFTING APPARATUS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Rogers Horton, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTERS, MOULDS, AND OTHER APPARATUS TO BE USED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BESSEMER AND OTHER STEEL, SOME OF WHICH IM-
PROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE IN OTHER OPERATIONS REQUIRING LIFTING
APPARATUS."
Sealed the 3rd January 1873, and dated the 6th November 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Rogers Horton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th November 1872.
I, THOMAS ROGERS HORTON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTERS, MOULDS, AND OTHER APPARATUS TO
BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BESSEMER AND OTHER STEEL, SOME OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE IN OTHER OPERATIONS REQUIRING LIFTING
APPARATUS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has principally for its objects to improve and cheapen

page_text: being in the lifting apparatus required and used in the manufacture of
Bessemer steel, are also applicable when similar lifting apparatus is used
for other
purposes.
The Invention comprises (1) improvements in and connected with the
converter; (2) improvements in the lifting apparatus required in the
works, and particularly in that for lifting and moving the ladles in which
the steel is transferred from the converter to the moulds; (3) improve-
ments in and connected with the moulds for casting the steel into ingots
or into hoops or blanks for making wheel tires; (4) improvements in the
moulds when made for casting spoked wheels or similar forms; and (5)
improvements in the breaking out rolling machinery, by which an
important part of the conversion of the hoops into tires is performed.
1. In carrying out the improvements in and connected with the con-
verter the tuycres are made with a large number of small bores, which
are formed in a series of blocks shaped hexagonally or in the form of
sectors or otherwise, so as to fit close together. These tuyere blocks are
tapered, and are held and adjusted in the space made for them in the
converter bottom, with their smaller ends inwards, by screw pins, held by
an external bottom plate. This construction avoids the great waste of
labor and time required with the ordinary arrangement of separated
large tuyeres, the spaces between which have to be filled with ganister,
requiring considerable time for drying. The tuyere blocks may be made
of any suitable clay or composition, or of firestone. The external
bottom plate is formed with apertures, which are filled with thick tale,
mica, or glass, fitted air-tight to admit of the condition of the tuyeres
being occularly examined at any time without opening any part.
Another improvement consists in modifying the construction of the
converter, so that the shell is continued in a cylindrical form from the
trunions towards the bottom end, the joint whereat the converter is to be
opened for lining or relining it with ganister or other composition being
either at or close to the bottom end. A light external shell is also in
some cases to be applied from the trunnions to the bottom, the air
reaching the tuyeres through the space between this external shell and
the main shell, instead of through the usual pipe or passage.

page_text: Worm and worm wheel gearing is to be used for turning the con-
verter on its trunnions, such gearing being arranged so that the
converter can be turned either way or completely round if required.
The gearing may be worked with Napier's differential reversing clutches,
or by a small reversing engine. Hitherto when an accidental leakage
has occurred on what may be termed the upper side during a blow, it
has been possible to complete the blow with the converter turned more
or less on its under side, but the improved arrangement also gives the
means of completing a blow should leakage occur on the under side.
2. In the improved lifting and moving apparatus or crane for the con-
verter pit in Bessemer steelworks there is substituted for the movable
hydraulic ram, as heretofore used, a pillar, which is firmly held between
the floor and roof, and which has placed on it a cylinder having stuffing
boxes at each end, and moving up and down on the pillar. The part of
the pillar passing through the lower stuffing box is of larger diameter
than the part passing through the upper stuffing box, and water under
pressure being admitted through the pillar into the cylinder acts upon
an effective area, corresponding to the difference in the diameters. The
crane gib, which is horizontal, is fixed to the lower end of the cylinder,
and its outer parts are connected by trusses or stays to the top of the
cylinder.
Instead of the usual back balance a second ladle is applied, and
the usual rack gearing or equivalent mechanism is employed for
moving either ladle into or out from the centre pillar. The second
ladle is a very useful provision for receiving the partially blown charge.
from one converter in case of accident, and for transferring it to another
converter for the completion of the blow. The other ladle is thus left
clean and ready to receive the charge when completed, and this avoids
the risk of the metal taking up unfinished metal or impurities as it
might do if put into the used ladle.
Hydraulic cranes of the same type, and with or without balances, may
be used for lifting, moulds, ingots, and forgings in the various depart-
ments of the works; and the horizontal gib may be fixed at the top or
bottom of the cylinder, as may be most convenient in each case. The
cylinder may be made to turn upon the pillar; it is however preferable
to arrange the pillar to turn with the cylinder when required, or for an
outer jacket to turn on the cylinder, as in this case the stuffing boxes
can be more easily kept in order.

page_text: Instead of working the crane by hydraulic pressure, a long nut or
internally screwed box may be substituted for the cylinder to work on a
screw upon the pillar, and actuated by means of gearing at top or
bottom, or both, with differential or other clutches.
3. In carrying out the improvements in moulds for tire hoops or
blanks, a number of the moulds are grouped round a central vertical
runner or ingot mould, and the moulds are all (except the central onc)
filled from the bottom through runners radiating from the bottom of
the central runner or mould. The moulds are by preference made of
Bessemer or other cast steel, and may be arranged in single tiers or in
two or more tiers. The circumferential part of each mould is made with
a parallel or cylindrical part at the lower edge, and with an external
horizontal flange just above the cylindrical part for cramping the part to
the loose bottom and for strength. Each mould of the group has a
separate loose bottom, so that contraction can take place freely and
independently in each. Each loose bottom is made with a groove to
receive the cylindrical part, which is made a slack fit to it, and which,
by entering the groove more or less, will make the capacity of the mould
less or greater, the extent of entering being determined by liners or by
set screws entered from the under side of the loose bottom. The slack
space in the groove is to be filled in with fire-clay, or grout may be
poured in from the outside to prevent the escape of metal and to prevent
the entrance of air, which might cause cracks or honeycomb in the
bottom edge of the ingot. The radiating runners are made of fire-clay
or other suitable refractory composition, and are encased in iron shells,
which prevent them from being crushed or injured, and secure a good
fit between the parts. Each mould bottom is made with a conical
opening, in which the end of the runner fits, and a small space left
between the runner and the surface of the mould bottom is filled with
fire-clay to make a good joint and prevent the escape of metal. The
group of moulds are set on a main bottom, which may be mounted on
wheels to run on rails, and which is made with recesses for the central
ingot mould or runner, and for the radiating runners.
If sand or composition cores are used, passages are formed in them for
the metal to run up the centre and branch out of the side into the mould
or into two or more moulds when placed one on the top of the other. Pro-
vision is made for the escape of air or gas from the tops of the moulds
by grooving or corrugating the top openings, or the plugs or parts

page_text: adapted to them, or other small openings may be made in the tops of the
moulds.
When the core is formed by segmental core plates a tapered plug is
set in the centre, and dry sand is put round it to keep the segmental
plates in their proper positions. When the plug is removed (upwards or
downwards) the sand falls through the opening in the loose bottom. This
arrangement dispenses with the collapsable shect iron sleeve hitherto
used, and is much safer.
Round bars are substituted for the square bars at the corners or joints
of the segmental plates in order to reduce the friction; and the seg-
mental plates are longitudinally grooved or corrugated on their inner
surfaces to give strength and elasticity, and to facilitate the straightening
of them after use. The straightening is effected by passing the plates
through a set of suitably placed rollers, one of which is corrugated.
4. In the improved moulds for casting steel spoked wheels and similar
forms, iron or steel tops and bottoms are clamped together, having
between them a circumferential ring, and cores or blocks of sand or
refractory composition between the spokes. These cores are made hollow
to allow for the excessive contraction taking place with steel, and the
top plate is made with corresponding openings for the escape of air or
gas. Ribs are formed on the under side of the cores to accurately
determine their position by entering radial grooves formed in the bottom
plate. When the spokes are split or double, iron or steel points are
combined with the sand or composition cores for 'the narrow spaces.
The spokes are by preference made to taper in depth from the centre
outwards, which facilitates the loosening of the casting when contracting,
and also conduces to the strength of the wheel. The hole through the
boss is by preference made by means of collapsable metal cores of the
kind herein-before described as used for the tire hoop moulds.
In some cases the ring or hoop for shaping the rim of the wheel may
be divided in one or more places, and the ends be connected by dovetail
wedge pieces with wedge-shaped tongues, which fill up the space.
between the ends in every position. With such connections a con-
tracting pressure can be applied whilst the casting is cooling. The boss
is by preference always cast deeper than the finished size required, and
afterwards cressed under the steam hammer. The same thing may also
be done with the spokes.

page_text: 5. The improved breaking-out machinery comprises two pairs of rolls,
and in one modification these are placed with their axes horizontal, and
with their acting parts overhanging from the housings. One roll of each
pair is placed below the other one, and is driven, being also capable of
movement or adjustment on end, whilst each upper one revolves by
friction, and is depressed by hydraulic or screwing apparatus. The
acting parts of the rolls are shaped to correspond to the section of the
tire when the tire is placed in an oblique position; but whilst one pair of
rolls corresponds to one oblique position, the other pair corresponds to
the reverse oblique position of the tire. The object of the arrangement
is to make all the corners of the tire rounded, so as to avoid finning when
the tire is acted on by the finishing mill. Thus when the tire is put
obliquely between one pair of the rolls, two of its diagonally opposite
corners are rolled of the desired shape without the possibility of finning,
whilst if any slight fins are formed at the other two corners these corners
are corrected and rounded when the tire is subsequently put through the
other pair of rolls.
6. If a perfect ingot or hoop of a suitable form is obtained (and the
improvements described under the third head hereof should secure that
result), it will be possible with the other improvements herein-before
described, or some of them, to make a finished tire at a single heat from
beginning to end, the great advantage of which will be obvious to any
one acquainted with the present state of the manufacture.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Rogers Horton in the Great. Seal Patent 2
Office on the 5th May 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROGERS HORTON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Rogers Horton, Her special

page_text: licence that I, the said.Thomas Rogers Horton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Rogers Horton, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTERS, MOULDS, AND OTHER APPARATUS TO BE
USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BESSEMER AND OTHER STEEL, SOME OF WHICH Iм-
PROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE IN OTHER OPERATIONS REQUIRING LIFTING
APPARATUS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Rogers Horton, 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 Thomas Rogers Horton, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
My said Invention has principally for its objects to improve and
cheapen the manufacture of Bessemer steel, and to simplify the appa-
ratus and shorten the processes used therein, but it is also partly
applicable in the manufacture of other kinds of steel, whilst some of the
improvements being in the lifting apparatus required and used in the
manufacture of Bessemer steel, are also applicable when similar lifting
apparatus is used for other purposes.
My Invention comprises, 1, improvements in and connected with the
converter; 2, improvements in the lifting apparatus required in the
works, and particularly in that required for lifting and moving the
ladles in which the steel is transferred from the converter to the moulds;
3, improvements in and connected with the moulds for casting the steel
into ingots or into hoops or blanks for making wheel tires; 4, improve-
ments in the moulds when made for casting spoked wheels or similar
forms; and, 5, improvements in the breaking-out rolling machinery, by

page_text: which an important part of the conversion of the hoops into tires is
performed.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append four Sheets of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing
various modifications of my improved apparatus. In these Drawings
the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
wherever they are repeated on each sheet.
1. In carrying out my improvements in and connected with the con-
verter, according to one modification, shown in Figures 1 to 5 on Sheet 1
of the Drawings, I make the tuyeres with a large number of small bores,
which are formed in a series of blocks 1, shaped hexagonally or in the
form of sectors or otherwise, so as to fit close together. Figure 1 is a
vertical section in the plane of the trunnions of the converter, and
Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation; Figure 3 is an inverted plan view
of the bottom with a cover 2 removed, and Figure 4 a similar view with
the cover in its place; whilst Figure 5 is a horizontal section partly in
the plane of the trunnions. The tuyere blocks 1, one of which is shown
enlarged in side and end views between Figures 3 and 4, are tapered,
and are held and adjusted in the space made for them in the converter
bottom, with their smaller ends inwards, by screw pins 3, held by the
external bottom plate or cover 2.
This construction avoids the great
waste of labor and time required with the ordinary arrangement of
separated large tuyeres, the spaces between which have to be filled with
ganister, requiring considerable time for drying. My improved tuyero
blocks may be made of any suitable clay or composition, or of fire-stone.
The external bottom plate 2 is formed with apertures 4, which are filled
with thick talc, mica, or glass, fitted air-tight, to admit of the condition
of the tuyeres being ocularly examined at any time without opening
any part.
Another improvement consists in modifying the construction of the
converter, so that the shell 5 is continued in a cylindrical form from the
trunnions towards the bottom end, the joint 6 whereat the converter is
to be opened for lining or relining it with ganister or other composition
being at the bottom end. A light external shell 7 is also in some cases
to be applied from the trunnions to the bottom, the air reaching the
tuyeres through the space between this external shell 7 and the main
shell 5, instead of through the usual pipe 8 or passage, such as is shown

page_text: in Figure 6. The bottom of the outer shell 7 (Figure 1) is closed by an
annular plate 9 to a ring, on which the central bottom plate 2 is
attached.
I use a worm 10 and worm wheel 11 for turning the converter on its
trunnions, such gearing being arranged so that the converter can be
turned either way or completely round if required. The gearing 10, 11,
may be worked with Napier's differential reversing clutches, or by a
small pair of reversing engines 12, as shown in Figures 2 and 5. The
worm wheel 11 is fixed in connection with the trunnion opposite to the
hollow one, through which the air enters, and the worm 10 is con-
veniently fixed on a horizontal shaft 13 above the worm wheel, and
having cranks on its opposite ends for the connecting rods from the
cylinders 12 placed vertically on each side of the worm wheel. Hitherto,
when an accidental leakage has occurred on what may be termed the
upper side of the converter during a blow, it has been possible to com-
plete the blow with the converter turned more or less on its under side,
but my improved arrangement also gives the means of completing a blow
should leakage occur on the under side.
Figures 6 and 7 are vertical sections of converters with forms of
bottom already in use, and show how my improved tuyere blocks of
hexagonal or other close fitting forms may be easily applied to them, as
also my improved bottom plates 2, with the sight holes 4 filled with talc,
mica, or glass.
Figure 8 is a vertical section showing on the other hand how a con-
verter made with my improved form of bottom may have the ordinary
kind of round tuyere blocks applied to it. In this case I make the block
of ganister 14 with an inward taper, and insert it from the outside, also
packing the joint 15 between it and the sides of the opening in the con-
verter bottom with ganister from the outside, first putting in a little
fire-clay at the innermost part of the joint.
Figures 9, 10, 11, are inverted plans of the bottoms of the converters
corresponding to Figures 6, 7, 8; the bottom plate 2 being in place in
Figures 9 and 10, but removed in Figure 11, whilst it is removed in the
plans Figures 12 and 13, also corresponding to Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 14 is a horizontal section as at the line A-A, in Figure 8.
Figures 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, are enlarged inverted plans showing various
arrangements of my improved tuyere blocks 1, and of the bores in them;

page_text: and Figures 20 and 21 are similar enlarged views corresponding to
Figures 8, 11, 14. Figure 21 shows the under side of the plate in which
the round tuyere blocks are held, with three projecting lugs 11, with
which it is formed to determine its position in the converter bottom
during the packing of the joint 15. These lugs are covered by the
ring 17, which covers the joint and fixes the tuyeres after the joint is
made, as shown in Figure 20.
2. Various examples of my improved lifting apparatus are shown on
Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings, Figures 22, 23, being a side
elevation and a vertical section of a modification suitable for lifting a
single ladle for transferring steel from the converter to the moulds;
whilst Figures 24 and 25 are transverse sections as at the lines B-B
and C-C respectively in Figure 23; and Figure 26 is a plan. I sub-
stitute for the movable hydraulic ram usually employed in the converter
pit of Bessemer steel works a pillar 18, which is firmly held between the
floor and roof, and which has placed on it a cylinder 19 having stuffing
boxes 20, 21, at each end, and moving up and down on the pillar. The
part 22 of the pillar which passes through the lower stuffing box 21 is
of larger diameter than the part passing through the upper stuffing
box 20, and water under pressure being admitted through the pillar into
the cylinder 19, acts upon an effective area corresponding to the
difference in the diameters of the two parts of the pillar. The crane
gib 23, which is horizontal, is fixed to the lower end of the cylinder 19,
and its outer parts are connected by trusses or stays 24 to the top of the
cylinder. The ladle 25 is carried by journals in plummer blocks at the
outer end of the gib 23, one journal being as usual fitted with a worm
wheel and worm 26 for tilting it by.
Instead of fitting the lifting apparatus with the ordinary kind of back
balance I apply to it a second ladle 27, as shown in elevation in
Figure 27 and in plan in Figure 28. In this modification the gib is
made double, and consists of a movable part 23 fitted to slide on an
inner part 28 fixed to the cylinder 19. Racks 29 are fixed on the sides
of the movable gib 23, and are acted upon by pinions on spindles 30,
carried by the fixed part, these spindles having fast on them worm
wheels in gear with worms 31, one right handed and the other left
handed, on a transverse shaft, with squared ends to receive winch
handles. With this construction the ladles 25, 27, can be conveniently
moved across for various purposes. The second ladle 27 is a very useful

page_text: provision for receiving the partially blown charge from one converter in
case of accident, and for transferring it to another converter for the com-
pletion of the blow. The other ladle 25 is thus left clean and ready to
receive the charge when completed, and this avoids the risk of the metal
taking up impurities or unfinished metal as it might do if put into the
used ladle.
Hydraulic cranes of the same type, and with or without balances, may
be used for lifting moulds, ingots, and forgings in the various depart-
ments of the works; and the horizontal ġib 23 may be fixed at the top
or bottom of the cylinder 19 as may be most convenient in each case.
The cylinder 19 may be made to turn on the pillar 18. 1 however prefer
to arrange the pillar to turn with the cylinder when required; or for an
outer jacket, having the gib 23 attached to it, to turn on the cylinder, as
in these cases the stuffing boxes can be more easily kept in order.
Figures 29, 30, and 31 are a side elevation, a vertical section, and a
plan. of a modification of my improved lifting apparatus suitable for
lifting and transferring moulds, ingots, or any other heavy weights in
steel or other works. The gib 23 is fixed to the top of the cylinder, and
a small bogie 32, which carries the suspending tackle 33, is arranged to
be moved out and in upon it by means of an endless chain 34, worked by
means of a worm wheel and worm 35, which can be turned by means of
a light endless rope passed over a pulley 36 on the shaft of the worm.
When the lifting chain 37 is connected, as shown, to the bottom of the
stationary pillar, the load will be raised one and a half times the distance
that the cylinder is moved; but if the end of the chain is connected to
the lug 38 fixed to the cylinder, the load will be lifted the same distance
as the cylinder, but of course with inversely proportionate power.
Figure 32 is a side elevation (turned on its side) of a simple form of
my lifting apparatus arranged as a "hoist," in which a bracket 39
carrying a pulley 40 for the lifting chain 37 is substituted for the
gib 23.
Figures 33 and 34 are vertical sections showing modifications in the
construction of the pillar 18, and other parts.
In Figure 30 the pillar is represented as made of one piece having
two different diameters; it may however be more convenient and
economical to make it of a central bar 18 of a uniform or nearly uniform

page_text: diameter throughout, and to apply over the lower part of it a turned
cast-iron pipe 22 to make up the larger diameter, as shown in Figures 33
and 34. Stop rings 41 are fixed on the tops of the pipes 22 to prevent
the cylinders 19 from being raised too high.
In Figure 34 an external jacket 42 is shown, capable of turning round
on the cylinder 19, and having the gib 23 and stays 24 attached to it, a
construction which may be adopted when it is not wished to make the
pillar 18 turnable.
Figures 35, 36, 37 are transverse sections as at the lines D-D in
Figures 34, 33, 30; and Figures 38, 39, 40 are transverse sections
as at the lines E-E in the same Figures.
•
A
Instead of working my improved pillar crane by hydraulic pressure,
the movable part may be raised and lowered by one or more screws.
modification with one screw 43 is shown in vertical section in Figure 41,
and in transverse section in Figure 42, as at the line F-F in Figure 41.
The gib 23 is to be attached, as in the hydraulic modifications to a
cylinder or sleeve 19, which can work up and down on a pillar 18. This
pillar is hollow, and has within it a screw 43, which can be worked by
bevil gearing 44 at the top, as shown or it might be at the bottom. A
cross head 45 which is internally screwed to fit the screw 43 projects
through slots in the sides of the pillar and is fixed to the upper part of
the cylinder or sleeve 19, which it raises or lowers accordingly as the
screw 43 is turned.
Figure 43 is a transverse section showing a different mode of
arranging a single screw 43, namely, in a groove in one side of the
pillar 18, the nut or internally screwed part 45 that the screw acts on
being in the form of a ring with an eccentric boss where the screw
passes. Figures 44, 45, are transverse sections showing how two and
three screws may be similarly applied.
3. My improvements in moulds for ingots, blanks, or tire hoops are
shown on Sheet 3 of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 46 being a
vertical section; and Figure 47, a plan showing one modification. The
section is as at the line G-G in the plan. A number of the moulds are
grouped round a central vertical runner or ingot mould 46, and the
moulds are all, except the central one, filled from the bottom through
runners 47 radiating from the bottom 48 of the central runner or mould.
The moulds are by preference made of Bessemer or other cast steel, and

page_text: the circumferential part 49 of each mould is made with a parallel or
cylindrical part 50 at the lower edge, and with an external horizontal
flange 51 just above the cylindrical part for cramping the part to the
loose bottom 52, and for strength. Each mould of the group has a
separate loose bottom 52, so that contraction can take place freely and
independently, the moulds being free to move towards the centre, so that
the radiating runners may not do injury in contracting. Each loose
bottom 52 is made with a groove to receive the cylindrical part 50, this
part being made a slack fit to it, and by entering the groove more or
less making the capacity of the mould less or greater, the extent of
entering being determined by rings, liners 53, or by set screws entered
from the under side of the bottom 52. The slack space in the groove is
to be filled in with fire-clay, or grout may be poured in from the outside
to prevent the escape of metal, and to prevent the entrance of air which
might cause cracks or honeycomb in the bottom edge of the ingot or
blank. The radiating runners 47 are made of fire-clay or other suitable
refractory composition, and are encased in iron shells which prevent
them being crushed or injured, and secure a good fit between the
parts.
Figure 48 presents different views of the empty and filled shell for
the bottom 48 of the central runner or ingot mould 46, with the
lateral openings admitting the fluid metal to the radiating runners 47,
the shells for which are shown empty and filled in various views in
Figure 49. Each mould bottom 52 is made with a conical opening in
which the end of the runner 47 fits, and a small space left between the
runner and the surface of the mould bottom is filled with firc-clay to
make a good joint and prevent the escape of metal. The group of
moulds are set on a main bottom or bed plate 54, which may be
mounted on wheels to run on rails and which is made with recesses for
the bottom 48 of the central ingot mould or runner 46, and for the
radiating runners 47; the bed plate 54 is also formed with projecting
guides 55 to determine accurately the positions of the moulds, the
bottoms 52 of which are formed with snugs 56 to be set against the inner
edges of the guides 55; the loose bottoms 52 are made with flanges a
on their inner edges to rest on flanges formed on the bottom of the
central ingot mould or runner casing 46, so that any tendency of the
latter to be floated up is counteracted by the increasing weight of the
moulds as they fill with metal.

page_text: Figures 46 and 47 represent arrangements for a group of four moulds
round a central runner or ingot mould, and in the latter Figure onc
mould is shown complete, whilst of another the loose bottom 52 with the
radiating runner 47 only are in place. At a third part only the
radiating runner 47 is in place, whilst at the fourth part the recess for
the runner is shown.
Figures 50 and 51 are a vertical section and a corresponding plan
showing arrangements for a group of five moulds round a central runner,
the portions of the several moulds being shown in different stages of
completion in the latter Figure.
Figure 52 is a vertical section showing different shapes of moulds ;
and Figures 53 and 54 are vertical sections showing the combi-
nation of groups of moulds in two tiers. If sand or composition corcs
are used, as shown in the moulds at the right hand side of Figure 54, a
passage 57 is formed in each for the metal to run up the centre and
branch out of the side of the core into the mould or into two or morc
moulds when placed one on the top of the other; or when the moulds
are arranged in two or more tiers, the metal may pass from the lower
to the higher ones through central or eccentric openings lined with fire-
clay, as shown in Figure 53, and at the left hand side of Figure 54.
Provision is made for the escape of air or gas from the moulds by
grooving or corrugating the top openings or the plugs 58, or parts adapted
to those openings; or other small openings may be made for the purpose
in the tops of the moulds.
Figure 55 shows the plug 58 as cylindrical and the opening corrugated,
whilst Figure 56 shows the plug corrugated and the opening round.
When the core of a tire blank is formed by segmental core plates, as
shown in Figures 46, 47, 50, 51, 53, portions being delineated of full
size and in cross section in Figures 57, 58, a tapered plug 59 is set in
the centre in a hole made for it in the bed plate 54, and dry sand is put
round it to keep the segmental plates 60 in their proper positions.
When the plug 59 is removed (upwards or downwards, being tapered to
suit the intended mode of removal) the sand falls through the hole in
the bed plate. This arrangement dispenses with the collapsable sheet
iron sleeve hitherto used and is much safer.
Round bars 61 are substituted for the square bars hitherto used at
the corners or joints of the segmental plates 60 in order to reduce the

page_text: friction, and the segmental plates are longitudinally grooved, corrugated,
or ribbed on their inner surfaces to give strength and clasticity, and to
facilitate the straightening of them after use. The straightening is
effected by passing the plates 10 through a set of suitably placed rollers,
one of which is corrugated.to correspond to the inner surface of the
plates. The joints between the segmental plates are made tight with
fire-clay or composition whilst being placed in position in the mould,
and to admit of the material being
on the outside openings 62
are formed in the neck of the mould shell 49, such openings being
afterwards closed by weighted plugs 63.
The shape of the joint edges of the segmental plates 60 as clearly
shown in Figures 57 and 58 is of importance as it gives a form to the
joint material, rendering it less liable than heretofore to fall out into the
mould. In many cases it is desirable to line more or less of the inside
of the central ingot mould or runner 46 with ganister or a refractory
composition, as shown in Figures 50, 52, 53, 54, in order that the sides
of the mould may not be overheated from the great quantity of fluid
metal flowing past them.
Figure 59 is a section showing how an ordinary ingot mould may be -
used with my loose bottom 52, with the runner 47 beneath it.
4. In my improved moulds for casting steel spoked wheels and
similar forms, two modifications of which are shown in Figures 60, 61,
62, 63, on Sheet 4 of the accompanying Drawings, iron or steel
tops and bottoms 64, 65, are cramped together, having between them a
circumferential ring 66 with cores 67, or blocks of sand or refractory
composition between the spokes.
Figures 60 and 62 are sections through the axes, whilst Figures 61
and 63 are plans as with the top plates 64 removed. The cores 67 are
made hollow to allow for the excessive contraction taking place with
steel, and the top plate 64 is made with corresponding openings for the
escape of air or gas. Ribs are formed on the under sides of the cores 67
to accurately determine their positions by entering radial grooves 68
formed for the purpose in the bottom plate 65.
When the spokes are split or double, as shown in Figure 63, iron
or steel points 69 are combined with the sand or composition cores for
the narrow spaces. The spokes are by preference made to taper in

page_text: depth from the centre outwards, which facilitates the loosening of the
casting when contracting, and also conduces to the strength of the
wheel. The hole through the boss is by preference made by means of
collapsable metal cores of the kind herein-before described, as used for
the tire hoop moulds.
In some cases the ring or hoop 66 for shaping the rim of the wheel
may be divided in one or more places, and the ends be connected by
"dovetail wedge pieces 70, of the kind shown in section in Figure 64,
and made with wedge-shaped tongues which fill up the space between
the ends in every position; with such connections a contracting pressure
can be applied whilst the casting is cooling. The boss is by preference
always cast deeper than the finished size required, and is afterwards
cressed under the steam hammer; the same thing may also be done
with the spokes.
5. A modification of my improved breaking-out machinery is shown ]
in Figures 65, 66, 67, on Sheet 4 of the Drawings; Figure 65 being
a side elevation; Figure 66 a front elevation; and Figure 67 a vertical
section, as at right angles to Figure 66. Two pairs of rolls 71, 72,
and 73, 74, are arranged in immediate proximity in one machine, so that
a tire can be transferred from one to the other without loss of time 2
or heat. One pair of rolls is shaped differently from the other, and
the action of one pair is complementary to that of the other, it being
their combined action in which the main advantage of the improvement
lies. The shafts 75, 76, of the rolls are horizontal, and the acting parts
are on the outer side of a pair of massive housings 77, 78. The outer 2
end of the shaft 75 of each lower roll 71, 73, rests on an outer
bearing 79, but each upper roll 72, 74, is overhung to admit of the
tire 80 being easily introduced and removed. The lower rolls 71, 73,
are driven by any convenient arrangement of gearing 81, and are also
capable of movement or adjustment on end, whilst the upper rolls 3
72, 74, revolve by friction and are depressed by hydraulic apparatus.
Each upper shaft 76 is carried at its back end by a block 82 sliding
in the back housings 78, whilst it is held at its neck in a bearing at the
bottom of a moving hydraulic cylinder 83, having within it a stationary
piston 84 connected by a tubular rod 85 to the top of the housing. 3
Passages through the rod 85 lead the water to or from each side of the
piston. The back block 82 is made to rise and fall with the cylinder 83,
by means of a pair of pinions 86 which gear with each other and with

page_text: rack teeth on the inner faces of the cylinder 83 and block 82. The
acting parts of the rolls 71, 72, 73, 74, are shaped to correspond to the
section of the tire when the tire is placed in an oblique position, as
shown in Figures 65 and 67; but whilst one pair of rolls 71, 72, corre-
sponds to one oblique position, the other pair 73, 74, corresponds to the
reverse oblique position of the tire.
The particular object of the arrangement is to make all the corners
of the tire rounded, so as to avoid finning when the tire is afterwards
acted on by the finishing mill. Thus when the tire is put obliquely
between one pair of rolls, as in Figure 65, its flange corner and
diagonally opposite inner corner are rolled of the desired shape without
the possibility of finning; whilst if any slight fins are formed at the
other two corners, these corners are corrected and rounded when the
tire is subsequently put through the other pair of rolls in the position
in which it is shown in Figure 67.
Figures 68 and 69 are a side elevation and a vertical section, showing
a modification in which the successive rounding of the corners may be
obtained without placing the tire obliquely. Thus with the rolls as.
shown in 68 fins cannot be formed at two corners, and the other two
corners will be rounded with the rolls as shown in Figure 69.
6. If a perfect ingot or hoop of a suitable form is obtained (and my
improvements described under the third head hereof should secure that
result), it will be possible with the other improvements herein-before
described, or some of them to make a finished tire at a single heat from
beginning to end, the great advantage of which will be obvious to any
one acquainted with the present state of the manufacture.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to
the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I believe
to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The making of the converter tuyere blocks of hexagonal or other
shapes fitting closely together, and the securing of them by screw pins
from the outside, substantially as herein described and delineated.
2. The making of the bottom plate (2) with sight holes filled with
tale, mica, or glass, as herein-before described.
R

page_text: 3. The continuing of the cylindrical form of the converter to the
bottom, and the placing at the bottom of the joint to be opened for
lining or relining, as herein-before described.
4. The applying of worm and worm wheel gearing for turning the
converter, as herein-before described.
5. The arranging or combining together of the parts of lifting appa-
ratus, substantially in the improved manner herein-before described with
reference to Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
6. The fitting of the lifting apparatus for a Bessemer converter pit
with two ladles as counterbalances to each other, as and for the purposes
herein-before described.
7. The arranging or combining together of the parts of moulds or appa-
ratus for casting steel tire hoops or other blanks, substantially in the
improved manner herein-before described with reference to Sheet 3 of
the accompanying Drawings.
8. The combination of the cylindrical parts (50) with the grooves and
rings, or liners (53), or set screws in the bottoms (52), as and for the
purposes herein-before described.
9. The combination of the series of loose bottoms (52) to accommodate
the contraction, as herein-before described.
10. The making the circumferential parts (49) and bottoms (52) of
the moulds to consist of castings of steel, as herein-before described.
11. The providing for the escape of air or gas in the improved modes
herein-before described.
12. The forming of the mould cores with the plugs (59) with the
improved corrugated or ribbed plates (60) and with the round corner
bars (61), as herein-before described.
13. The arranging or combining together of the parts of moulds for
casting steel spoked wheels and similar forms, substantially in the
improved manner herein-before described with reference to Figures 60
to 64 on Sheet 4 of the accompanying Drawings.
14. The arranging or combining together of the parts of the breaking-
out rolling machinery, substantially in the improved manner herein-
before described with reference to Figures 65 to 69 on Sheet 4 of the
accompanying Drawings.

page_text: 15. The combining of the action of the two pairs of rolls in succession
to prevent finning on any corner or edge of the tire, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Rogers Horton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
THOS. R. HORTON. (L.S.)