Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Face Hardening of Armour Plates or other Articles of Steel or of Steel Alloyed with other Metals.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th June, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 7th May, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Face Hardening of
Armour Plates or other Articles of Steel or of Steel Alloyed with
other Metals.
I, BENTON KNOTT JAMISON, of 441, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to apparatus employed in the face hardening of
armour plates or other articles of steel or of steel alloyed with other metals, in
which apparatus the said plates or articles are submitted when hot to the action
of a bath of hardening liquid, the plates or articles being immersed in the bath
to a depth corresponding with the depth to which it is required to harden them
and the bath being maintained at as nearly as practicable a uniform temperature
by keeping up a supply of cool liquid to the bath and drawing off a corresponding
quantity of hot liquid therefrom.
The improved apparatus is specially adapted for use in the face hardening of
armour plates and I will hereinafter describe it as applied thereto but it is also
applicable to the face hardening of other articles such for example as railway
rails.
The chief features of the invention are: The employment in the bath tank in
which the plates are to be treated of a number of supports or stands for the armour
plate the height of these supports or stands being adjustable by suitable means
such for example as endless sprocket chains and wheels operated by a crank handle,
so that the extent to which the plate is immersed can be varied as required; the
employment in the lower part of the bath tank of a series of horizontal pipes
having nozzles at the upper side for supplying the cool liquid to the bath and
distributing it more or less uniformly among the hot liquid therein, the said pipes
being preferably arranged to rock on their axes to the extent of about one quarter
of a revolution by suitable means; and the general arrangement of the liquid
conduits, pump, cooler, &c., for keeping up the circulation of and cooling the
liquid.
Having stated the chief features of the invention I will proceed to describe an
apparatus in which the invention is embodied.
The apparatus comprises a bath tank of somewhat larger area than that of the
armour plates to be heated. At each of two sides of the bath tank is a duct supplied
with cool liquid under pressure from a cooling tank. These ducts feed a number
of horizontal pipes at the lower part of the tank these pipes having nozzles at the
upper part through which the liquid issues; the pipes are capable of being rocked
by means of connections from the engine that works the pump. At each of the
other two sides of the bath tank are one or more adjustable openings through
which liquid from the bath flows into wells, and at each of these sides of the tank
is a weir over which the liquid flows into the same wells. In the tank are a
number of stands or supports for the plate and they are adjustable in height by

page_text: A
means of an endless sprocket chain and wheels or otherwise; they support the
plate at a higher level than the nozzles and at a lower level than the weirs.
centrifugal pump pumps the liquid from the wells and forces it into a cooler of
any suitable construction having an air space at top. The pressure in the cooler
discharges the cooled liquid through mains to the ducts of the bath tank, the
supply being adjusted as required by a valve.
It will readily be understood that the water in the bath tank becomes heated
by the plate which when first immersed is at approximately a bright red heat and
that by keeping up a circulation of the liquid as above described the hot liquid
is continually withdrawn while a corresponding volume of cool liquid takes ita
place.
Although I have described the apparatus as having two ducts, two wells and
two weirs at the tank sides, the apparatus may have only one duct, one well
and one weir, more particularly for treating plates or articles of comparatively
small dimensions.
Dated this 8th day of June 1807
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents,
Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Face Hardening of
Armour Plates or other Articles of Steel or of Steel Alloyed with
other Metals.
I, BENTON KNOTT JAMISON, of 441, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has reference to apparatus employed in the face hardening of
armour plates or other articles of steel or of steel alloyed with other metals in
which apparatus the said plates or articles are submitted when hot to the action
of a bath of hardening liquid the plates or articles being immersed in the bath
to a depth corresponding with the depth to which it is required to harden them
and the bath being maintained at as nearly as practicable a uniform temperature
by keeping up a supply of cool liquid to the bath and drawing off a corresponding
quantity of hot liquid therefrom.
In the Specifications of two former applications for Patents both dated the
3rd April 1897 and numbered respectively 8577 and 8578 I have described modes
of and apparatus for face hardening armour plates and other articles in the manner
above referred to.
The improved apparatus which forms the subject of the present invention is
especially adapted for use in the face hardening of armour plates and I will herein-
after describe it as applied thereto, but it is also applicable to the face hardening
of other articles such for example as railway rails.
The chief features of the invention are:--The employment in the bath tank in
which the plates are to be treated of a number of supports or stands for the armour
plates the height of these supports or stands being adjustable by suitable means
such for example as endless sprocket chains and wheels operated by a crank handle,
so that the extent to which the plate is immersed can be varied as required; the
employment in the lower part of the bath tank of a series of horizontal pipes
having nozzles at the upper side for supplying the cool liquid to the bath and

page_text: distributing it more or less uniformly among the hot liquid therein, the said pipes
being preferably arranged to rock on their axes to the extent of about one quarter
of a revolution by suitable means, and the general arrangement of the liquid
conduits, pump, cooler, &c., for keeping up the circulation of and cooling the
liquid.
Having stated the chief features of the invention I will proceed to describe
with the aid of the accompanying drawings an apparatus in which the invention
is embodied. In these drawings Figure 1 represents the bath tank in plan,
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the bath tank and Figure 3 is a diagrammatic
plan of the general arrangement of the whole apparatus except the furnace and
crane.
a is the bath tank, 6 the pump for circulating the liquid and c the cooling tank.
dd are ducts at two sides of the tank a; these ducts are supplied with cool water
from the cooling tank c by the main pipe e which has two branches f f leading
respectively to the two ducts d d. On the main pipe e is a regulating valve g.
hh are a series of horizontal pipes (not shown in Figure 3) connected with, and
supplied with cool liquid by the ducts d d. These pipes are provided at their
upper part with a number of nozzles i i adapted to receive screw caps for closing
them when required. The pipes are capable of being rocked on their axes to the
extent of about a quarter revolution; this rocking may be imparted by any suit-
able means and has the effect of continually varying the points of issue of the cool
liquid and thereby distributing it more or less uniformly among the hot liquid in
the tank and over the under surface of the armour plate. The means shown
in the figures for imparting the rocking motion to the pipes h h consist of a bar k
to which the pipes are connected by lever arms 1, the said bar & being worked by
a rod m a bell crank m¹ and a rod n connected to a crank pin p (Figure 3) on the
engine that drives the pump b. In the other two sides of the bath tank a are
adjustable openings q q (Figure 2) through which the liquid in the tank flows
into two wells rr (Figure 1) and at the same sides of the tank are weirs ss over
which the liquid flows into the same wells. From the wells rr pipes t t lead to
the pump band from the pump a pipe u leads to the cooling tank c. It will thus
be understood that the pump continuously draws hot liquid from the wells
communicating with the tank and pumps it into the cooling tank c from which
it flows under pressure as cool liquid by the main pipe e branches f f pipes h h
and nozzles ii to the bath tank a. The cooling water in the tank c flows inside the
tubes in the cooling tank entering at c¹ and leaving at 2 and extracts heat from
the bath liquid which flows outside the same tubes; the cooling tank c should
have an air space at top.
r
are a number of supports or stands (not shown in Figure 3) for the armour
plate in the bath tank a. The height of these supports is adjustable so as to
regulate the depth to which the plate is immersed in the bath liquid. The means
whereby the height of the supports vv can be adjusted consist of sprocket wheels ww
operated by an endless chain which is worked by a crank handle at y. The
wheels we have nuts z engaging with screw threads on the supports vso that as
the wheels w are caused to rotate by the chain a in the one direction or the other
they raise or lower all the supports v simultaneously.
Although I have described and shown that the bath tank has two ducts d d two
wells rr, and two weirs s there may be only one duct, one well and one weir,
more particularly when the apparatus is constructed for treating armour plates
of comparatively small dimensions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:- -
1. The improved apparatus constructed. arranged and working substantially

page_text: in face hardening armour plates or other articles of steel or of steel alloyed with
other metals.
2. In an apparatus of the kind hereinbefore described, the particular arrange-
ment described and shown for adjusting the height of the supports vv for the
armour plates or articles under treatment.
"3. In an apparatus of the kind herein before described the horizontal pipes h h
with nozzles i arranged substantially as described and shown for supplying the
cool liquid to the bath tank, whether the said pipes are adapted to be rocked as
described or not.
上
11.
CAL 1
M1 1000
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.