IMPROVEMENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES FOR HEATING LARGE MASSES OF IRON AND STEEL.
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clayton, of Wolverhampton, in the County of
Stafford, Furnace Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REVERBERATORY FURNACES FOR HEATING LARGE MASSES OF IRON AND STEEL.
Sealed the 27th May 1863, and dated the 18th December 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clayton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
December 1862.
I, JOHN CLAYTON, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Furnace
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES FOR HEATING LARGE MASSES OF IRON AND
STEEL, AND IN ECONOMIZING THE WASTE HEAT OF THE SAID FURNACES," to be as
follows:-
My improvements in reverberatory furnaces for heating large masses of
iron and steel, are as follows:-I make the bottom of the middle of the
furnace moveable, the said middle of the bottom of the furnace being sup-
ported on a carriage, having four or other number of wheels. By this
arrangement the bottom of the furnace can be wheeled away or drawn from
under the reverberating arch of the furnace and the mass of iron or steel
to be heated placed thereon. The moveable bottom may then be restored
to its place under the reverberating arch, and the mass of iron or steel
heated. The heated mass may be removed on the moveable bottom to the
rolls or other machinery by which it is to be rolled, hammered, welded, or

page_text: otherwise operated upon. The carriage carrying the moveable bottom may
be loaded with the pile or mass of iron or steel on the side of the furnace
opposite to that at which the heated mass is operated upon, that is the
carriage being wheeled from under the reverberating arch and the heated
mass delivered on one side of the furnace, the said carriage is wheeled back
under the furnace and out on the other side where the pile or mass to be
heated is hoisted and lowered on the carriage. The cinder or slag produced
during the heating of the iron or steel falls on the bottom of the furnace, which
said bottom is made concave and inclined downwards from the middle towards
either side. The melted slag or cinder is thus conducted to the sides of the
bed of the furnace, from whence it falls into two cinder wagons, one placed
under the carriage at each side to receive it. The cinder wagons work under
the carriage carrying the moveable furnace bottom. The carriage and wagons
work on inclined tramways. The sides and bottom of the furnace are closed by
doors, the doors closing the upper part of the sides of the reverberating arch
open by a vertical sliding motion, and are supported on balanced levers. The
doors closing the space underneath the bed of the furnace work upon hinges
and are provided with ventilators, by which air can be admitted to the
pile, to regulate its temperature. The sliding doors have small sight doors
working on hinges. The carriage is moved by means of a chain, which may
be worked by a steam engine or other means. I employ double grated fur-
naces, the bottoms of which are concave. Each grate has a door working on
hinges with a small ventilator in its middle to regulate the quantity of air
entering the fire.
My improvements in economizing the waste heat of the said furnaces
consist in causing the said waste heat to heat two horizontal steam boilers
situated over the furnace. The said boilers are supported on columns, and are
provided with tubular flues, through which the heated air from the furnace
passes and heats the said boilers, and from thence passes to two vertical stacks
or, chimneys.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Clayton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLAYTON, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Furnace Builder,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Clayton, Her special licence that I, the said John Clayton,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Clayton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES FOR HEATING LARGE MASSES OF IRON AND STEEL,
AND IN ECONOMIZING THE WASTE HEAT OF THE SAID FURNACES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Clayton, 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 John Clayton, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in reverberatory furnaces for heating large masses ofiron
and steel are as follows:-I make the bottom of the middle of the furnace
moveable, the said middle of the bottom of the furnace being supported on a
carriage having four or other number of wheels. By this arrangement the
bottom of the furnace can be wheeled away or drawn from under the rever-
berating arch of the furnace, and the mass of iron or steel to be heated placed
thereon. The moveable bottom may then be restored to its place under the
reverberating arch, and the mass of iron or steel heated. The heated mass
may be removed on the moveable bottom to the rolls or other machinery by
which it is to be rolled, hammered, welded, or otherwise operated upon. The
carriage carrying the moveable bottom may be loaded with the pile or mass of
iron or steel on the side of the furnace opposite to that at which the heated
mass is operated upon; that is, the carriage being wheeled from under the
reverberating arch, and the heated mass delivered on one side of the furnace,
the said carriage is wheeled back under the furnace, and out on the other side
where the pile or mass to be heated is hoisted, and lowered on the carriage.

page_text: The cinder or slag produced during the heating of the iron or steel falls on the
bottom of the furnace, which said bottom is made concave, and inclined down-
wards from the middle towards either end. The melted slag or cinder is thus
conducted to the ends of the bed of the furnace, from whence it falls into two
cinder wagons, one placed under the carriage at each end to receive it. The
cinder wagons work under the carriage carrying the moveable furnace bottom.
The carriage and wagons work on inclined tramways. The sides and bottom
of the furnace are closed by doors. The doors closing the upper part of the
sides of the reverberating arch open by a vertical sliding motion, and are
supported on balanced levers. The doors closing the space underneath the
bed of the furnace work upon hinges, and are provided with ventilators, by
which air can be admitted to the pile to regulate its temperature. The sliding
doors have small gight doors working on hinges. The carriage is moved by
means of a chain, which may be worked by a steam engine or other means.
I employ double grated furnaces, the bottoms of which are concave undermost
and convex at top. Each grate has a door working on hinges with a small
ventilator in its middle to regulate the quantity of air entering the fire.
My improvements in economizing the wasteheat of the said furnaces consist
in causing the said waste heat to heat one, two, or more horizontal or vertical
steam boilers, situated over or at the end of the furnace. The said boilers are
supported on columns, and are provided with tubular flues, through which the
heated air from the furnace passes,and heats the said boilers,and from thence
passes to the stacks or chimneys.
Having now explained thenatureof my Invention, I will proceedto describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent a reverberatory furnace for
heating large masses of iron and steel with two steam boilers combined there-
with,constructed according to my Invention, Figure 1 being a side elevation
of the said furnace and boilers; Figure 2, an end elevation of the same;
Figure 3, a horizontal section of the same, taken through the line A, B, of
Figure 1; Figure 4, a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of the same,
taken through the line E, F, of Figure 3; Figure 5 represents a transverse
section of the furnace, taken through the line I, J, of Figure 3; Figure 6 is
an end elevation of the furnace and boilers, taken at the line C,D,of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is an end elevation, taken at the line G, H, of Figure 3; and Figure 8
represents in elevation and section, on a smaller scale, one of the stacks or
chimneys of the said furnace and boilers. The same letters of reference are
employed to indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

page_text: a is the reverberatory furnace, and 6 the moveable bottom of the same, the
said bottom b being supported upon a carriage c, having four wheels markedd.
Upon the bottom b fire-brick slabs e are placed, upon which the mass or pile
of iron or steel frests. The wheels of the carriage c work upon an inclined
tramway g, passing underneath the furnace. By the arrangement represented
the bottom b of the furnace can be wheeled away or drawn from under the
reverberating arch h of the furnace, and the slab or pile of iron or steel/ to be
heated placed thereon. The moveable bottom may then be restored to its
place in the furnace, as represented, and the slab or pile heated. The heated
mass may then be removed on the moveable bottom to the rolls or other
machinery by which it is to be operated upon. The cinder or slag produced
during the heating of the iron or steel falls on the bottom of the furnace
which said bottom is made concave transversely, and inclines downwards
longitudinally from the middle towards either end; that is, the highest points
of the said bottom are at the sides of the said bottom, as will be understood
by referring to Figures 4 and 5. The melted slag or cinder is thus conducted
to the ends of the bottom or bed of the furnace, from whence it falls into the
cinder wagons i,k, one placed under the carriage c at each end to receive it.
The said wagons may work on inclined tramways. Thes i des or upper part of
the reverberating arch of the furnace are closed by doors l, m, the said
doors l, m, opening and closing by a vertical sliding motion, being supported
on balanced levers n, o, (see Figure 1). The space underneath the bed of
the furnace is closed by doors p, q,on either side. The said doors work upon
hinges, and are provided with ventilators r, r, (see Figure 1,) by which a
regulated amount of air can be admitted to the reverberating arch h. The
sliding doors l, m, are provided with small sight doors s, s, working on hinges
The carriage c, and parts carried by it, are noved by means of a chain, which
maybe worked bya steam engine or other means. By arranging reverberatory
furnaces according to my Invention the pile or mass of iron or steel may be
readily and expeditiously introduced into and removed from the furnace.
I use two fire-gratest,u, with the furnace, the bottoms of the said grates being
curved of the figure best seen in Figure 7; v, v, are the main bearers of the
fire-grate, supported on the standards w, w. The said main bearers v, v
support the curved bearers a, a, upon which curved bearers the fire-bars y, y,
are placed. Each of the grates t, u, is provided with inclined sides marked y².
Air is supplied to the sides of thefire-grates through the passages or channels
z, z, (see Figure 4,) between the sides of the furnace and the standards w, w
The said channels extend from top to bottom on either side of the ash-pit.
Each grate has a door t, u², working on hinges, with a small ventilator in its

page_text: middle to regulate the quantity of air entering the fire. Air may also be
admitted to the fire-places through the lateral doors t³, u³.
To use the waste heat of the furnace, I place over the said furnace two
horizontal steam boilers marked 2, 3, through the flues of which boilers the
waste heat passes and heats the said boilers. The said boilers 2, 3, are
supported at either end on columns 4. The columns, at the fire-place end of
the furnace, also support the chimneys or stacks 5, 5. The waste heat from
the fire-grates t, u, is conducted through the flues 6, 6, to the tubular flues of
the boilers, from whence it passes to the vertical stacks or chimneys 5, 5.
Although I prefer to arrange the boiler or boilers horizontally, over my
improved furnaces, yet the said boiler or boilers may be placed verticall yat
the end of the furnace, and be heated by the waste heat of the said furnace.
Instead of placing the fire-grates on one side only of the moveable bed or
bottom carrying the pile or mass to be heated, one or more grates may be
placed on either side the moveable bed or bottom.
Figure 9 of the Drawings represents in horizontal section, and Figure 10
in longitudinal vertical section a portion of a reverberatory furnace modified
in the way last described. The same letters indicate the same parts in
Figures 9 and 10.
a is the moveable bottom or bed of the furnace, supported on a carriage, as
in the furnace Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; b is the pile supported on
the said bottom or bed. On either side the said bottom is a fire-grate c,d, by
the heat from which the pile b is raised to the proper heat. In this modifica-
tion of my Invention the moveable bottom a is removed from and introduced
into the furnace at one end thereof,instead of being moved across the furnace,
as in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The furnace, Figures 9 and 10, is
specially suited for heating piles for propeller shafts, and large shafts for
machinery, and for heating large ingots of iron and steel.
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, and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the improvements in reverberatory furnaces for heating large
masses of iron and steel herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making the middle of the bottom of
the said furnaces moveable upon a carriage, on which moveable bottom the
mass of iron or steel to be heated is supported, the said moveable bottom
having a figure suitable to carry off the slag or cinder formed during the

page_text: heating of the mass of iron or steel. Also arranging the parts of the said
furnaces in the manner described and illustrated to fit them for the reception
and use of the said moveable bottoms.
Secondly, the improvements described and illustrated in economizing the
waste heat of furnaces of the construction represented in the Drawings, that
is to say, by causing the waste heat of the said furnaces to be conducted to
the flue or flues of a steam boiler or steam boilers supported over or at the
end of the said furnaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clayton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
SAMUEL ROBERTS.
JOHN CLAYTON. (L.S.)