Improvements in connection with Machines or Apparatus for Charging Pig Iron or other Materials into Furnaces.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 24th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 10th May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in connection with Machines or Apparatus for
Charging Pig Iron or other Materials into Furnaces.
We JAMES POWELL of Wilfred Villas Wilfred Street Stockton on Tees in the
County of Durham Steel Manager and LEWIS JOHNSON of 14 Mill Street Stockton on
Tees aforesaid Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide means or apparatus for feeding pig iron
or other material to machines used for charging furnaces more rapidly than hitherto
thereby dispensing with the laborious work of feeding the said machines by hand
labour, also reducing the cost by bringing the pig iron direct from the trucks without
having to lift it as hitherto. The invention is more especially intended for use with
the furnace charging machines described in our Specification of our application for
Patent No. 16443 of 13th November 1888. We employ compressed air or other fluid
or gas under pressure to actuate the machine in the manner hereinafter described.
Upon standards or framework which can be placed upon wheels or not are mounted
drums or tumblers which are caused to revolve by two cylinders and pistons one being
upon each side of the machine. These actuate an endless chain or endless chains
whereon are placed beds of sheet iron or other material on which to pack the pig iron
or the like. Upon the top of the standards or framework there is another cylinder
containing a piston two piston rods and a block for the purpose of pushing the pig
iron or the like onto the tray of the charging machine whence it is taken into the
furnace. When the feeder returns it will have passed through half a revolution and
will again be ready to push on another load and so on until the furnace is charged.
Dated this 22nd day of Iun 1880
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.Ć., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in connection with Machines or Apparatus for
Charging Pig Iron or other Materials into Furnaces.
We JAMES POWELL of Wilfred Villa Wilfred Street Stockton on Tees in the
County of Durham Steel Manager and LEWIS JOHNSON of 14 Mill Street Stockton on
Tees aforesaid Engineer 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:—
The object of this invention is to provide means or apparatus for feeding pig iron or
other material to machines used for charging furnaces more rapidly than hitherto
thereby dispensing with the laborious work of feeding the said machines by hand
labour, also reducing the cost by bringing the pig iron direct from the trucks without
having to lift it as hitherto. The invention is more especially intended for use with
the furnace charging machines described in our Specification to Letters Patent
No. 16443 bearing date the 13th November 1888. We employ compressed air or other
fluid or gas under pressure to actuate the machine in the manner hereinafter described.
Upon standards or framework which can be placed upon wheels or not, are mounted
drums or tumblers which are caused to revolve by two cylinders and pistons or other
convenient means. These drums or tumblers carry an endless chain or endless chains
whereon are fixed beds or trays of sheet iron or other material on which to pack the

page_text: pig iron or the like. Upon the top of the standards or framework there is another
cylinder containing a piston the rod of which is attached to a block for the purpose of
pushing the pig iron or the like onto the tray of the charging machine whence it is
taken into the furnace. When the feeder returns the next tray on the endless chain
will have been brought into position to have its load pushed onto the tray of the feeder
and so on until the furnace is charged.
In order that our Invention may be more clearly understood we will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is
a side elevation partly in section and Figure 2 a plan of an apparatus constructed
according to our Invention. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the figures.
Affixed between and upon two plate frames or girders A are two cylinders B in
which fluid under pressure is employed to rotate the crank shaft C in the usual manner
by piston rods b and connecting rods 2. The crank shaft is provided with a pinion
which gears with a spur wheel y fast on a shaft D mounted in bearings in a standard
or frame c to which one end of the plate frame or girders A are connected the opposite
end of the said plate frame or girders being attached to a similar frame d in which a
shaft D rotates. The side plates of each of the standards or frames cd are maintained
at the proper distance apart by means of struts f. A drum or pair or tumblers c³ is
secured to the shaft D and a similar drum or pair of tumblers c is secured to the
shaft D each drum or pair of tumblers consisting of two plates having at opposite
points upon their two circumferences a succession of flats or straight edges as at h
each flat being of a length suited to receive the flat underside of beds or trays i of
sheet iron which are fixed to alternate four-bar links of an endless chain of pin-con-
nected links j each bed or tray being connected by a two-bar link to the preceding
bed and by a similar link to the following bed. The endless chains bear upon the
edges of the pair of plates of which each drum or tumbler is composed and pins or
studs k screwed into or secured upon the internal faces of the said plates in the angle
between each flat, form hearings for the links as the chain is taken upon or from the
tumblers in their rotation.
Grooved guiding pulleys are carried in bearings 12 secured to the plate frames A
in order to prevent the loaded portion of the endless chain from sagging during its
passage from the tumbler c³ (at which the beds or trays receive their load) to the
tumbler 2 at which point the load is pushed from each bed on to the tray of the
charging machine herein before referred to by a block n operated by the piston rod n
of a piston n³ moved in the cylinder N by fluid pressure. Two guide rods n' are
secured to the block n and work in holes n in the cylinder casting, to ensure rigidity
and smoothness of action. The admission of fluid pressure to the cylinder N is
regulated by a piston valve o of a well known type operated by the lever o³ and valve
rod 03. Fluid under pressure is admitted by the opening p to the valve casing and
between the two pistons p³ ³ of the valve. Upon the valve being moved out of its
present position the cavity between the two pistons is placed in communication with
either one of the passages p p and the working fluid admitted to one end of the
cylinder to move the piston the other passage being thus simultaneously placed in
communication with the outflow openings q at the ends of the valve casing any fluid
from the opposite end of the cylinder may exhaust freely.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1st. In or for machines or apparatus for charging pig iron or other materials into
furnaces means substantially as herein before described for feeding the iron or other
material to the said machines or apparatus.
2nd. In combination with machines or apparatus for charging pig iron or other
materials into furnaces standards or framework carrying drums or tumblers and an

page_text: endless series of beds or trays actuated by cylinders and pistons and a device for
pushing the iron or material onto the tray or charging portion of the machine sub-
stantially as herein before described.
3rd. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the apparatus for
feeding pig iron or other materials to furnace charging machines as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 94th day of March 1890
JAMES POWELL.
LEWIS JOHNSON.