Mineral or other Substances or Materials.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 10th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 13th Dec., 1887
Mineral or other Substances or Materials.
We FRANCIS MUDIE SPENCE and DAVID DICK SPENCE both of Manchester Alum
Works, Manchester in the county of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemists, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to furnaces for heating drying or calcining certain mineral
or other substances or materials and consists in arrangements by which we are
enabled to perform the above-mentioned operations with greater efficiency and
economy than have been attained in furnaces as hitherto constructed.
In carrying our invention into effect we employ an annular rotating dry-luted
furnace provided with fixed sides and roof.
Across the bed of the furnace we place two vertical diaphragms at such distance
from each other as to allow room between them for the feeding arrangements and
discharge plate hereinafter described.
The bottoms of the diaphragms extend to the surface of the layer of material under
treatment lying upon the bed of the furnace.
On the right of the right hand diaphragm we form an aperture or apertures
through which aperture or apertures flame or other gaseous heating medium is
introduced into the furnace and passes round the annular bed over and in contact with
the material under treatment and then out of the furnace through an aperture or
apertures near to and on the left of the left hand diaphragm.
This arrangement may equally well be reversed by placing the aperture or apertures
for the admission of the flame or other gaseous heating medium on the left of the
left-hand diaphragm and the gas outlet aperture or apertures near to and on the right
of the right-hand diaphragm; but in the following description of our invention we
refer only to a furnace constructed in the first-named way.
Over the annular bed and the central space within the inside wall of the furnace
we arrange a series of concentric or other flues through which the waste licated gases
leaving the annular bed before referred to may be conducted.
Upon the floor or floors formed by the covering of these flues the material to be

page_text: treated may be dried or heated before being put on the annular bed and such material
may be worked over the surface of the floor or floors above mentioned by suitable
machinery or by manual labour and may be moved across or upon such floor or floors
as may be desired.
The waste heated gases are drawn along the flues above referred to by a chimney-
draught or when the floor or floors for preliminary drying or heating of the material
are not required the waste heated gases from the furnace may be conducted by means
of a suitable flue direct to the chimney.
The material to be operated upon we supply continuously to the annular bed on the
right of the left-hand diaphragm close to that diaphragm and across the whole width
of the bed.
The material is carried by the continuously rotating bed under the left-band
diaphragm round to the gas-inlet end of the furnace and then under the right-hand
diaphragm and against a discharge plate placed at such an angle that the whole
or practically the whole of the material is removed from the furnace at each revolution
of the bed.
To supply the material to the annular bed of the furnace we employ the arrange-
ment of apparatus to be next described.
We place a plate on the right of the left-hand diaphragm and at a short distanco
from it, the space between the plate and the diaphragin forming a hopper into which
the material to be operated upon may be continuously supplied and from which
hopper the material is delivered to the annular rotating bed.
To ensure the passage of the flame or other gaseous heating medium equally over
the inner and outer portions of the annular rotating bed we form the roof of the
furnace of the shape requisite to direct the flame or other gaseous heating medium to
those portions which otherwise would not be sufficiently heated.
Through the side wall of the furnace we form openings or apertures by means of
which the operations of the furnace may be inspected or controlled and we provide
the said apertures with covers or doors by means of which they may be closed when
required.
We rotate the annular bed before mentioned by means of suitable gearing and we
support the outside wall or walls upon girders or arches, or otherwise.
Dated this Ninth day of February 1887.
W. T. CHEETHAM,
Carlton Chambers,
18, Saint Ann's Street, Manchester,
Agent to the Applicants.

page_text: Mineral or other Substances or Materials.
We FRANCIS MUDIE SPENCE and DAVID DICK SPENCE both of Manchester Alum
Works, Manchester in the County of Lancaster Manufacturing Chemists 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:-
Our invention relates to furnaces for heating drying or calcining certain mineral
or other substances or materials and consists in arrangements by which we are
enabled to perform the above mentioned operations with greater efficiency and
economy than have been attained in furnaces as hitherto constructed.
In carrying our invention into effect we employ an annular rotating dry-luted
furnace provided with fixed sides and roof. Across the bed of the furnace we place
two vertical diaphragms at such distance from each other as to allow room between
them for the feeding arrangements and discharge plate hereinafter described.
The bottoms of the diaphragins extend to the surface of the layer of material under
treatment lying upon the bed of the furnace. On the right of the right hand
diaphragm we form an aperture or apertures through which aperture or apertures
flame or other gaseous heating medium is introduced into the furnace and passes
round the annular bed over and in contact with the material under treatment and
then out of the furnace through an aperture or apertures near to and on the left of
the left hand diaphragm. This arrangement may equally well be reversed by placing
the aperture or apertures for the admission of the flame or other gaseous heating
medium on the left of the left hand diaphragm and the gas outlet aperture or
apertures near to and on theright of the right hand diaphragm but in the following
description of our invention we refer only to a furnace constructed in the first named
way. Over the annular bed and the central space within the inside wall of the
furnace we arrange a series of concentric or other flues through which the waste
heated gases leaving the annular bed before referred to may be conducted. Upon
the floor or floors formed by the covering of these flues the material to be treated
may be dried or heated before being put on the annular bed and such material may
be worked over the surface of the Hoor or floors above mentioned by suitable
machinery or by manual labour and may be moved across or upon such floor or
floors as may be desired. The waste heated gases are drawn along the flues above
referred to by a chimney draught or when the floor or floors for preliminary drying
or heating of the material are not required the waste heated gases from the furnace
nay be conducted by means of a suitable flue direct to the chimney. The material
to be operated upon we supply continuously to the annular bed on the right of the
eft hand diaphragm close to that diaphragm and across the whole width of the bed.
The material is carried by the continuously rotating bed under the left hand diaphragm
ound to the gas inlet end of the furnace and then under the right hand diaphragm

page_text: and against a discharge plate placed at such an angle that the whole or practically
the whole of the material is removed from the furnace at each revolution of the bed.
To supply the material to the annular bed we employ the arrangement of apparatus
to be next described. We place a plate on the right of the left hand diaphragm and
at a short distance from it, the space between the plate and the diaphragm forming a
hopper into which the material to be operated upon may be continuously supplied and
from which hopper the material is delivered to the annular rotating bed.
To ensure the passage of the flame or other gaseous heating medium equally over
the inner and outer portions of the annular rotating bed we form the roof of the furnace
of the shape required to direct the flame or other gaseous heating medium to those
portions which otherwise would not be sufficiently heated.
Through the side wall of the furnace we form openings or apertures by means of
which the operations of the furnace may be inspected or controlled and we provide
the said apertures with covers or doors by means of which they may be closed when
required.
We rotate the annular bed before mentioned by means of suitable gearing and we
support the outside wall or walls upon girders or arches or otherwise.
In order that our invention may be fully understood and carried into effect we have
hereunto annexed drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section. Fig. 2 a
plan. Fig. 3 a view showing in section a portion of that which is shown in Fig. 2
and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the construction and operation of certain
parts. In the various figures some parts are necessarily omitted in order to avoid
confusion of lines.
I
In the drawings hereunto annexed a. b. are the walls of the furnace between which
walls a. b. is an annular chamber A the top of which is covered by a number of
tiles c.
Within the annular chamber A we place the annular revolving bed d formed
of tiles e supported in a metal framework f. To the framework are secured
brackets in which are mounted so as to be capable of being rotated therein rollers
or wheels h supported upon a circular rail j around which they may be caused to
travel. Secured to the framework f is a ring k of teeth into which gear the teeth of
a toothed wheel mounted fast upon a shaft m by means of which the bed d of the
furnace receives motion-Projecting from the walls a. b. of the furnace are circular
brackets n. o. provided with ribs n', o-The framework is provided with
ledges which projecting below the top of the ribs no respectively form dry
lutes when the channels formed by the ribs no are filled with suitable material.
p is a diaphragm and q is another diaphragm. The flame or other gaseous heating
medium passes into the furnace through the opening B situate immediately behind
the diaphragm q and then passes in the direction indicated by the arrows C until it
arrives near to the back of the diaphragm p when it passes through an opening D
into the flues E then down through a central flue F as indicated by the arrow G to a
chimney. The flues E, F. are covered by plates the upper surfaces of which plates r
form a floor H. The material if such treatment is requisite, may be spread upon the
floor H to be dried or heated before being supplied to the bed d. The material to be
treated is gradually fed into the hopper s which is formed by a plate t placed near
and attached in a suitable manner to the diaphragm p. The material fed to the
hoppers falls upon the bed d of the furnace, which bed d being rotated in the
direction indicated by the arrow K carries the material from the hoppers beneath
the lower edge of the diaphragm p. In order to regulate the quantity of material
supplied to the bed d we provide the hopper s with a plate p capable of being
lowered towards the bed d or raised therefrom by means of the screw
The material carried forward in the direction indicated by the arrow K
by the bed d will be carried in a direction opposite to that of the current of flame or
other gaseous heating medium supplied to the furnace until the said material passes
under the diaphragm q. In order to readily adjust the lower edge of the diaphragm q
relatively to the upper surface of the bed dwe provide the diaphragmn q with plates q
secured thereto by bolts 72 and nuts, the said plates g' being formed with slots
which permit the plates q' to be placed nearer to or further from the surface of the

page_text: bed d. Between the diaphragm p and the diaphragm 9 we place a discharge plate u
supported at one end by the diaphragm and at its other end by the diaphragm q
and at intermediate points by means of bolts e one end of each of which is secured to
the discharge plate u while the other end of such bolt passes through a bracket v
secured to one or more of the plates r. The upper ends of the bolts are provided
with nuts by means of which the discharge plate u can be adjusted relatively to the
bed d-As the bed & travels beneath the discharge plate the whole or nearly the
whole of the material passing beneath the diaphragm q will be removed from the
bed d by the discharge plate u. The material removed by the discharge plate falls
down an inclined plate to shown in Fig. 6 which is a diagram showing such inclined
plate w.
The openings formed through the outer wall a of the furnace admit air to circulate
beneath the revolving bed d such air serving to prevent the lower portion of the
revolving bed d and the parts situate beneath the revolving bed d from becoming
excessively heated.
The speed at which the annular rotating bed d is rotated requires to be adapted to
the nature of the material to he treated and the character of the treatment required.
Through the side wall a of the furnace we form openings or apertures y by means
of which the operations of the furnace may be inspected or controlled and we provide
the said openings or apertures y with doors z by means of which they may be closed
when requisite.
The waste heated gases are drawn along the flues E F by a chimney draught or
when the floor H for preliminary drying or heating of the material is not required
the waste heated gases from the opening D may be conducted by means of a suitable
flue direct to the chimney.
As hereinbefore mentioned to ensure the passage of the flame or other gaseous
heating medium equally over the surface of the annular rotating bed d we form the
roof of the chamber A of the furnace lower at those points where the flame or other
gaseous heating medium tends to pass in too large volume. The diaphragms p and q
are protected against being injured by the flame or other gaseous heating medium by
means of tiles suitably attached to the said diaphragms p and q.
Furnaces constructed according to our invention are adapted for heating, drying or
calcining suitable mineral or other substances or materials which will not fuse while
undergoing such heating, drying or calcining.
In furnaces constructed according to our invention the parts by means of which
the mineral or other substance or material is supplied to and discharged from the
annular rotating bed of the furnace are not injuriously exposed to the action of the
flame or other gaseous heating medium employed and the mineral or other substance
or material to be heated dried or calcined is not so liable to be drawn away by the
draught caused by the chimney as in furnaces in which such substance or material is
supplied to and discharged from the annular rotating bed of the furnace at parts of
it traversed by the current of flame or other gaseous heating medium and also in
furnaces constructed according to our invention the mineral or other substance or
material is during the whole of the time in which it is being heated, dried or
calcined, carried by the annular rotating bed d in a direction opposite to that
in which the flame or other gaseous heating medium passes around the chamber in
which is the said annular rotating bed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
9:
1. In a furnace of the kind hereinbefore described diaphragms such as and
plate such as t forming along with the diaphragm p a hopper such as s; openings
such as B and D provided respectively for the admission and exit of flame or other
gaseous heating medium and a discharge plate such as u all constructed arranged
and operating in conjunction with each other and in conjunction with an annular

page_text: rotating bed for the purposes and substantially in the manner herein before described
in reference to and indicated in and by the drawings hereunto annexed.
and q
2. In a furnace of the kind herein before described diaphragms such as
plate such as t forming along with the diaphragm p a hopper such as s and discharge
plate such as u and openings such as B and D provided respectively for the admission
and exit of flame or other gaseous heating inedium all constructed arranged and
operating in conjunction with each other and in conjunction with an annular
rotating bed substantially as herein before described so that the parts by means of
which the mineral or other substance or material is supplied to and discharged
from the annular rotating bed of the furnace are situate in a part not traversed by
the current of flame or other gaseous heating medium employed in the said
furnace.
3. The herein before described arrangement of furnace for heating, drying or
calcining certain mineral or other substances or materials in which arrangement the
flame or other gaseous heating medium passes over the substance or material being
heated, dried or calcined in a direction opposite to that of the movement of the rotating
bed and the substance or material thereon during the whole time such substance or
material is being heated, dried or calcined in the said furnace.
4. In a furnace of the kind hereinbefore described flues such as E for conducting
the waste heated gases from the annular chamber in which is the annular rotating
bed of the furnace to the chimney and so arranged beneath plates such as r forming a
floor such as H as to enable the waste heated gases during their passage from the
annular chamber in which is the annular rotating bed of the furnace to the chimney
to heat or dry the mineral or other substance or material to be treated before such
substance or material is supplied to the annular rotating bed of the furnace.
Dated this Ninth day of November 1887