IMPROVEMENTS IN HEATING AIR FOR BLAST FURNACES, AND FOR OTHER USES
Year: 1844

page_text: DIXON'S SPECIFICATION... »
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL 'COME; I, JOHN'
DIXON, of Wolverhampton; Iron Master, send greeting.
..:
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto me,
the said John Dixon, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said John Dixon, my exors, admors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Dixon, my exors, admors, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town, of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my. Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HEATING AIR FOR BLAST
FURNACES, AND FOR OTHER USES;" in which said Letters Patent there is con-
tained a proviso that I, the said John Dixon, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of 'my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery, within six calendar months next and immediately after the date*
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Dixon, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the

page_text: wings onto anco, and to the agures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say-
My Invention consists of a mode of heating air for. blast furnaces, and other
uses. According to the ordinary plan of heating air for blast furnaces, it is
heated in an oven at some distance from the blast furnaces, and conveyed from
them to the tuyere or tuyeres of the furnace through tubes, which is done at a
considerable expence.
Now the object of my Invention is, to apply the heat of the blast furnace to
heat the air before it passes into the tuyere or tuyeres, and this I do by
arranging one, two, or more chambers or cases in the sides or front of the
lower part of the furnace immediately over the tuyeres; these cases are let
into the brickwork of the furnace, and are placed within about three inches
from the inner side of the furnace; in some-instances, where air of greater
heat is required, in place of there being brickwork on the inner side of the
furnace opposite the air chambers, I 'apply a coat of clay against the sides of
the air cases, or I place there stonework, perforated with holes, through which
the heat of the furnace is applied direct to the air tubes or cases; these
chambers or cases consist of a series of tubes or passages through which the
cold air passes from an ordinary blowing apparatus, and in its passage becomes
heated; the lower end of these tubes or passages is connected by means of
pipes or tubes with the tuyere or tuyeres of the furnace, so that the heated air
passes directly into the furnace, or, in place thereof, the air heated in the sides
of the blast furnace may be conveyed by pipes, to be applied to any of the
uses for which it may be necessary. But in order that the Invention may be
more fully understood I will proceed to describe the Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a sectional elevation of a blast furnace, and Figure 2 a
sectional plan thereof, with my air-heating apparatus applied thereto, and
Figure 3 shows one of the chambers separately. a, a, are chambers or cases
of wrought or cast iron, placed in the sides of the furnace just above the level
of the tuyeres; these chambers have a series of pipes or tubes, or a tube bent
to and fro to cause the air which is admitted thereto by pipes 6 from a main
pipe supplied by any suitable blowing apparatus, to circulate through the
chambers a, from whence it is conducted by pipes c to the tuyeres, for the
purpose of smelting the products in the blast furnace, or the heated air may
be conveyed by the pipes c.for any purpose for which it may be desired to
apply it. The chamber a in the front side of the furnace may be connected
by a bent pipe b' with one of the other chambers, or it may be connected

page_text: with a tuyere placed in the front of the furnace, and if it is desired to obtain a
greater heat to the air, the whole of the chambers a may be so connected
together as to allow the air from a single supply pipe to circulate through the
whole of the chambers a. I would remark, that, in place of using the coil of
tubes within the chamber, a series of partitions may be employed, so that air
will pass from one to the other, as shewn at Figure 4, or in some cases a coil
of tubes may be used without the outer case, as shewn at Figure 5.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I lay no claim to
heating air for blasting furnaces, or for other uses, nor do I confine myself
to the precise details herein described, so long as the peculiar character of the
Invention be retained. But what I claim is, the heating air for blast
furnaces and other uses, by employing the heat of the sides and front of the
lower part of a blast furnace to heat the air as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Dixon, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four
JN° (L.B.) DIXON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of October
in the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid John Dixon came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.