Improvements in Refining Apparatus or Furnaces for Camphor or similar Substances.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM VALENTINE MCKENZIE, Mechanical
Engineer, of Rahway, New Jersey, and HENRY JOHN BRAKER, Manufacturer,
of New York, State of New York, both in the United States of America.]
Improvements in Refining Apparatus or Furnaces for Camphor or
similar Substances.
I HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 consists in a furnace and a refining pan having a tightly closed
cover to which the refined material adheros, and a suitable valve is provided in the
cover to allow of the escape of gas.
In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of the furnace embodying my invention..
Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line xx of Figure 3 and Figure 3 is a top view
with the refining pan removed.
Referring by letter to the drawing, A designates the furnace which is here shown
as rectangular in form and consisting of the metal bottom a, the outer metal side
walls a' and the inner metal side walls a².
The walls a' a' form a double wall all around the furnace and in order to better
retain heat within the furnace a packing B is placed between the walls. For this
packing I prefer to use asbestos, and a thick layer of asbestos, B¹, is spread upon the
inner surface of the bottom a.
The furnace may be supported upon legs and it is provided at one side with a
hinged door b¹ having a mica panel 6*.
I find gas a suitable means for supplying heat to the furnace and therefore extend
tubes C from the supply pipes c through openings cl in the bottom of the furnace
into the space between the bottom of the furnace and the refining pan and openings o
in the side walls provide a suitable draft.
I have here shown five openings
less number may be provided.
for gas tubes but it is obvious that a greater or
D designates the refining pan, of suitable metal, placed within and extending
nearly to the bottom of the furnace. The side walls d of the pan converge down-
ward so that the heat from the gas burners will be distributed on all parts of
the pan.
The upper edges of the walls d are flanged outward as at d¹ and upward as at d³.
The portions d rests upon the upper edges of the furnace wall a³, which is extended
above the wall a', and the upturned portion of the flange serves to retain a packing
as hereinafter set forth.
E is a cover for the pan. This cover rests upon the portion d' of the flange and
has its edge slightly turned up to retain the clay or other packing d as plainly shown
in Fig. 2. The cover E has an opening e through it which may be closed by a pivoted
or sliding cover or valve e¹.
When in use for refining it is necessary that the pan should be air tight, therefore, a
suitable packing such as clay may be placed around the edges of the cover e', as well
as around the edges of the cover E, and as a further means of holding the cover E
against the pressure exerted within the pan, we employ clamping screws e³ in the
manner shown in Figure 2.
In refining camphor or like material in our apparatus the crude material is placed
within the pan and the cover is clamped and sealed in place as heretofore described
and when the crude material is subjected to sufficient heat the refined portion adheres

page_text: to the inner surface of the cover E from which it may be scraped when the refining
shall have been completed.
-
Before the cover E is removed for the purpose of scraping the camphor therefrom,
the cover should be opened to allow the escape of gases and harden the camphor in
the cover E.
I have here shown a single refining furnace but in practice a series of furnaces
may advantageously be employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a refining apparatus, the combination with a heat supply, of a furnace
comprising double side walls, asbestos between said walls, and a bottom having a
layer of asbestos and provided with openings for tubes and a refining pan extended
into the furnace and provided with a cover having a valve to allow the escape of gas
when the refining is completed, substantially as specified.
2. In a refining apparatus, the combination with a heat supply and a furnace
substantially such as described, of a refining pan having downwardly converging side
walls, an outwardly and upwardly turned flange, a cover resting on said flange and
having an opening through it, a cover for said opening and a packing and holding
device for said cover, substantially as specified.
3. In a refining apparatus, the combination of a furnace having an opening or
openings in its bottom, a refining pan extending into said furnace nearly to its
bottom and tubes for a heat supply extending through the opening or openings into
the space between the bottom of the furnace and the pan, substantially as specified.
4. In a refining apparatus, the combination with a heat supply and a furnace
substantially such as described of a refining pan having an outwardly and upwardly
turned flange, a cover resting on said flange and having a valve in its top, and a
packing and holding device for said cover, substantially as specified.
Dated this 8th day of Anril 1890
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.