IM- PROVEMENTS IN. PUDDLING AND BALLING FURNACES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Meredith, of Burnt Tree, Tipton, in the
County of Stafford, Furnace Builder, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN. PUDDLING AND BALLING FURNACES.”
Sealed the 24th February 1871, and dated the 3rd September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Meredith at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd September 1870.
I, STEPHEN MEREDITH, of Burnt Tree, Tipton, in the County of
Stafford, Furnace Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for <<
IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING AND BALLING FURNACES," to be
as follows:-
My Invention has reference, firstly, to the side and bottom plates of the
said furnaces, and consists principally of the arrangements herein-after
described for applying water to the said side and bottom plates, or to
the bottom plates only of the said furnaces for the purpose of keeping
the same cool, and thereby preventing or diminishing injury to the said
side and bottom plates by the heat employed in the puddling or balling

page_text: process.
I construct the said side and bottom plates in the ordinary
manner, and underneath the bottom plates I construct a shallow trough
or vessel of somewhat larger size than the bed of the furnace, the upper
edge of the said trough being on the same level as or a little below the
upper surfaces of the bottom plates. The top edge of the said trough
is bevilled on its inner side. I construct the said trough of cast iron in
two or more pieces connected together by screw bolts and nuts. The
said trough is provided with ribs or projections for supporting the
bottom plates, the ends of the said bottom plates resting upon bearing
plates of the usual construction. Along the outside of the side plates
and near the top thereof is a horizontal water pipe or tube running
around the furnace. The under side of this pipe or tube is pierced with
fine holes inclined towards the side plates. Water is supplied to the
said water pipe and passes out at the said small holes and falls upon the
outside of the said side plates and runs down and cools them. The water
from the side plates is received in the trough under the bed or bottom
plates of the furnace. The said trough is provided with an overflow
pipe opening at a level a little above the under surfaces of the bottom,
at which level the water in the trough is maintained. The under
surface of the bottom plates are thus kept in contact with water and are
thereby cooled while the level of the water not being allowed to rise
so high as the upper surfaces of the bottom plates, there is no risk of
water entering the furnace and causing the explosions which sometimes
occur by the use of the methods of cooling ordinarily employed; I connect
the bottom plates to the "bosh" by means of joints which permit the
said plates to expand or contract as the temperature of the furnace
varies. By this means the fracture of the "bosh" is prevented. The
said bottom plates also prevented from buckling by the heat of the
furnace by being bolted to the under side of the "bosh." When the
bottom plates only of the furnace are to be kept cool, the water which
supplies the trough is passed directly into the said trough, instead
of running down the side plates into the trough as herein-before
described.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making the bed of the furnace of
a nearly elliptical figure, in preference to the angular figure ordinarily
od
T

page_text: My Invention consists, thirdly, of the following method of constructing
the fire-brick linings of puddling and balling furnaces. In consequence
of the cooling of the side plates, by the arrangement herein-before
described the diameter of the furnace at the said side plates may be
diminished, the diameter of the fire-brick lining of the furnace situated
on the top of the side plates being preserved of the ordinary size. By
this change in the diameter of the furnace at the side plates the fire-
bricks of which the lining is composed may be set lengthwise instead of
endwise and only one half of the bricks required in the ordinary lining
are required in liuings made according to my Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Stephen Meredith in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN.
MEREDITH, of Burnt Tree, Tipton, in the County of Stafford, Furnace
Builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Stephen Meredith, Her special licence that I,
the said Stephen Meredith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Stephen Meredith, 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 thie
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING AND BALLING
FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Stephen
Meredith, 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.

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say)
My Invention has reference, firstly, to the side and bottom plates of
the said furnaces, and consists of the arrangements herein-after described
for applying water to the said side and bottom plates, or to the bottom
plates only of the said furnaces, for the purpose of keeping the same
cool, and thereby preventing-or-diminishing-injury-to-the-said-side-and-
bottom plates by the heat employed in the puddling or balling process..
I construct the said side and bottom plates in the ordinary manner,
and underneath the bottom plates I construct a shallow trough or vessel,
or bosh of somewhat larger size than the bed of the furnace, the upper
edge of the said trough being on the same level as or a little below
the upper surface of the bottom plates. The top edge of the said trough
or bosh is bevilled on its inner side. I construct the said trough or
bosh of cast iron in two or more pieces connected together by screw
bolts and nuts. The said trough or bosh is provided with ribs or pro-
jections for supporting the bottom plates, the ends of the said bottom
plates resting upon flanges or bearing plates of the usual construction.
Along the outside of the side plates and near the top thereof is a
horizontal water pipe or tube running around the furnace. The inner
side of this pipe or tube is pierced with fine holes inclined towards the
side plates. Water is supplied to the said water pipe and passes out at
the said small holes and falls upon the outside of the said side plates
and runs down and cools them. The water from the side plates is
received in the trough or bosh under the bed or bottom plates of the
furnace. The said trough or bosh is provided with an overflow pipe
opening at a level a little above the under surfaces of the bottom plates,
at which level the water in the trough or bosh is maintained. The
under surfaces of the bottom plates are thus kept in contact with water,
and are thereby cooled, while the level of the water not being allowed
to rise so high as the upper surfaces of the bottom plates, there is no
risk of water entering the furnace and causing the explosions which
sometimes occur by the use of the methods of cooling ordinarily em-
ployed. I connect the bottom plates to the trough or bosh by means

page_text: of joints, which permit the said plates to expand or contract as the
temperature of the furnace varies. By this means the fracture of the
bosh is prevented. The said bottom plates are also prevented from
buckling by the heat of the furnace by being bolted to the under side
of the bosh. When the bottom plates only of the furnace are to be
kept cool the water which supplies the trougli or bosh is passed directly
into the said trough or bosh, instead of running down the side plates
into the trough or bosh, as herein-before described.
My Invention consists, secondly; in making the bed of the furnace of
a nearly elliptical figure in preference to the angular figure ordinarily
employed. The advantage secured by the elliptical figure of the bed is
economizing the calcined cinder or other fettling with which the bottom
and side plates of the furnace are covered.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan a puddling or balling furnace of a nearly
elliptical figure constructed according to my Invention, the brick-
work of the said furnace being omitted; Figures 2 and 3 are vertical
sections of the same taken at right angles to one another, Figure 2
being taken on the line A, A, Figure 1, and Figure 3 being taken on
the line B, B, Figure 1; Figure 4 is an elevation of part of the furnace
taken at the end marked C, Figure 1; Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent
parts of the furnace drawn to a larger scale, exhibiting some of the
details, as herein-after explained. The same letters of reference indicate
the same parts in the several Figures of the Drawing.
a, a, are the side plates of the furnace, and b, b, are the bottom plates.
Underneath the bottom plates b, b, is a shallow trough or vessel c having
an internal horizontal rim or flange c² at top. The said trough is filled
with water in the manner herein-after described. The shallow trough
or vessel c, c², I will herein-after call the water bosh. The said water
bosh is made by casting and is made in two pieces or halves, the said
halves being connected together by the flanges and bolts and nuts at d,
Figure 3. The junction of the halves of the water bosh c, c², is seen
in the plan Figure 1 and elevation Figure 4. The water bosh c, c³,
is provided with ribs or projections e, e, for supporting the bottom
plates b, b, and the said bottom plates are prevented from buckling by
the heat of the furnace by being bolted by the bolts to the under side

page_text: of the water bosh c (see the sections Figures 2 and 3). I connect the
bottom plates b, b, of the furnace together and to the rim or flange c
of the water bosh by means of joints at g, g, which said joints permit
the said plates to expand or contract as the temperature of the furnace
varies without injury to the water bosh. One of the joints at the
junction of the bottom plates b with the rim c² of the water. bosh is
represented on a larger scale in Figure 5. By an examination of the
said Figure 5 it will be seen that the rim c³ of the water bosh is
furnished with a ledge or support c³, on which the lower edge of the
bottom plate b rests, the upper edge of the said plate 6 being furnished
with a lip b², which overhangs and covers the abutting ends of the
-plate-b-and-rim-c².-The-construction-of-the-intermediate-joints-of-the-
bottom plates is essentially the same as that represented in Figure 5.
The side plates a of the furnace are secured to the rim c³ of the water
bosh c, and the lateral motion of the said side plates prevented by means
of the V shaped lugs or supports h, h, made upon the said water bosh c
at its upper edge, that is, at the junction of the said water bosh with
the internal rim c². The said lugs or supports h, h, are situated a short
distance apart and between the said lugs openings i are left, througli
which openings the water supplied to the side plates a passes to the
interior of the bosh c. The construction of the lugs or supports h, h,
of the water bosh c and the openings i in the said bosh will be best
understood by referring to the enlarged views, Figures 6, 7, and 8 of
the Drawing, Figure 6 representing a side elevation of a portion of the
water bosh c and side plate a; Figure 7, a vertical section of the same,
taken through one of the lugs or supports h; and Figure 8 a vertical
section of the same taken through one of the openings i between the
lugs or supports h. In the said Figures 6, 7, and 8, c is the water
bosh; c² its internal rim; h, k, the lugs or supports for the side plates a,
made upon the rim c; and i the openings made between the lugs / for
the water to pass from the side plates a into the bosh c.
The upper
edge of the bosh c at the openings or cut away parts i is bevilled or
inclined on its inner side, the top of the said bevilled edge being a
little below the upper surfaces of the bottom plates b, b, a water joint
between the bottom of the side plates, supported on the rim of the bosh,
and the said rim is made by means of a lip c¹ running all round the
inner side of the said side plates: Along the outside and at the top of
the side plates a, a, and running round the whole of the furnace is a
horizontal water pipe k, the said pipe being supported by brackets / (sec

page_text: Figures 3 and 4). The inner side of the pipe is pierced with fine
holes inclined towards the side plates a. Water being supplied to the
pipe kit escapes therefrom by the said small holes and falls
upon the
outside of the side plates à, and runs down and cools them. The water
from the side plates a is received in the water bosh c, the said water
entering the said bosh by the openings i, i, between the lugs or supports /
on the said boshi, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 8. The bosh ċ is
in this way filled with water, the said water being maintained at a level
à little above the under surfaces of the bottom plates by means of an
overflow pipe or pipes. The under surfaces of the bottom plates are
thus kept in contact with water, and are thereby cooled, while the
level of the water not being allowed to rise so high as the upper
surfaces of the bottom plates there is no risk of water entering the
furnace and causing explosions. The top of the overflow pipe described
is situated a little below the under sides of the bottom plates b. It is
preferred to place the said overflow pipe at the middle of the bosh c,
but one or more overflow pipes may be situated at opposite sides of the
said bosh.
Instead of cooling both the side and bottom plates of the furnace in
the manner described the bottom plates only may be kept cool. In
this case I dispense with the perforated water pipe and fill the
water bosh c by means of a pipe conveying a continuous stream of water
thereto.
In the Drawing the bed of the furnace is represented of a nearly
elliptical figure, whereby the calcined cinder or other fettling employed
to cover the bottom and side plates is much economized.
Although I have represented my improvements in keeping cool the
side and bottom plates of the furnace in combination with an elliptical
bed, yet I wish it to be understood that the improvements referred to are
equally applicable to furnaces having beds of the ordinary rectangular
figure.
Having now described 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 precise details herein described, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention, but
I claim as my Invention of improvements in puddling and balling
furnaces

page_text: Firstly. The construction and arrangement of parts herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, for applying
water to the side plates and bottom plates, or to the bottom plates only
of the said furnaces, for the purpose of keeping the same cool, that is
to say, placing underneath the bottom plates a trough or water bosh
for keeping the said bottom plates cool, the water in the said bosh being
maintained a little above the level of the under sides of the said bottom
plates, and placing around the outside of the side plates a horizontal
perforated water pipe, the water from which after falling upon and
cooling the said side plates is received in the water bosh, the said
water bosh, horizontal water pipe, and parts connected therewith being
-constructed-and-combined-substantially-as-described-and-illustrated.
Secondly. Making the beds of puddling and balling furnaces of a
nearly elliptical figure, for the purpose and substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Meredith, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-one.
Witness,
WILLIAM WOODHOUSE,
Burnt Tree,
Tipton.
STEPHEN MEREDITH. (L.S.)