IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COKE OVENS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Philippe Amédée Devy, of 10, Old Jewry Chambers,
Old Jewry, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
COKE OVENS."A communication.
Sealed the 12th June 1855, and dated the 11th April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Philippe Amédée Devy at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th April 1855.
I, PHILIPPE AMÉDÉE DEVY, of 10, Old Jewry Chambers, Old Jewry, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF COKE OVENS " to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction of coke
ovens, by means of which the flame and heat passing from the interior of a
coke oven are used to heat the oven externally. For this purpose, a coke oven
is formed, by preference, with an arched top; it is closed at the front end
by a door, and at the back end the oven is closed by a wall, having within
it two flues, which at their upper ends open into the interior of the oven, and
at their lower ends they open into a transverse flue, which communicates with
five branch flues under the bottom of the oven, these flues being made in a
direction from back to front of the oven. The front ends of such five flues
communicate with or open into a transverse branch flue, which cominunicates
with two chambers or flues, one on either side of the oven, which chambers are

page_text: connected to and form part with a chanıber or flue at the back end of the oven,
from which the products pass to the chimney.
The five branch flues under the bottom of the oven have openings at the
front ends, by which they can be got at to admit of their being cleansed and
otherwise, as may be required. In making coke in such an oven, a charge of
coal is thrown in and ignited; the flame and heat arising pass out through the
openings at the back and thence into the several flues, by which the bottom
and other parts of the oven are exteriorly heated by the flame and heat passing
from the interior of the oven. When the coking process has been completed
the coke is drawn from the oven, and this is facilitated by the bottom of the oven
being inclined in a direction from the back end; to the front end thereof
water is thrown on the coke and the oven is re-charged.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Philippe Amédée Devy in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHILIPPE
AMÉDÉE DEVY, of 10, Old Jewry Chambers, Old Jewry, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Philippe Amédée Devy, Her special licence that I, the said Philippe
Amédée Devy, iny executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Philippe Amédée Devy, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COKE OVENS," (communicated to me from
abroad,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Philippe Amédée
Devy, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Philippe Amédée Devy, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):-
This Invention has for its object a peculiar construction of coke oven, with
a view constantly to carry on the process of coke making partly by the aid of
external heat obtained to the mass of a coke oven by the ignited products
which pass or are distilled off from the coal in the oven; and by introducing
air at an opening or openings over the charging door, the whole of the pro-
ducts coming off from the coal may be consumed in such manner as not to
allow any dark or dense smoke to pass from the chimney.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a front view of a retort; Figure 2 is a vertical section of the
retort from front to back; Figure 3 shows a horizontal section, and Figure 4
a transverse section, of the retort such as is preferred to be used in carrying
out the Invention.
In the construction of retort shewn by the Drawing, the back end and the
two sides, as well as the under part of the retort are made hollow, and there
are openings and passages formed in the end wall of the oven in such manner
that the flames or ignited gases from the coal in the oven passing out of the
oven are, from the commencement to the end of the process, forced to pass in
a tortuous or extensive flue or passage before any of the products of combustion
can pass into the atmosphere at the chimney.
a, a, is the interior of the oven; b is the door where the charging and
discharging takes place; c is the bottom or floor, of the oven, which is to
be made inclined somewhat from the back to the front; d are openings
above the door for the admission of air above and over the charge coal in
the oven.
The three holes d are each of the size of a brick; these holes
at the commencement are left open, and then closed gradually as the process
progresses, by which all the products passing off will become ignited in the
flues and passages before arriving at the chimney, by which the whole mass
of the oven will be kept highly heated, and the coal will be distilled and
converted into coke under the most favorable circumstances. e, e¹, are two
openings in the back of the oven above the height to which the charge of coal
therein reaches; these openings communicate respectively with two descending
passages ff, formed in the wall, which closes the end of the retort. The
descending passages f may be made to communicate with the same under
flues, or they may be made to communicate with separate under flues.

page_text: In the arrangement shown in the Drawing, the passage e communicates with
the outermost horizontal flue f¹, which, near its front end by a branch f2, com-
municates with the flue f³, which, by an opening f' through the back end wall,
communicates with the enclosed space h, h, which is formed at the back end
and at the two sides for a portion of the length of the oven, as is shown, and
this space h, h, communicates with the chimney at i. The products which pass
out at the opening e¹ pass down the passage f into two horizontal flues ff;
and at the front ends, by branches f7 and f³, the products pass into the flue ƒ³,
and thence, through an opening f in the back wall, the products pass into the
enclosed space h, h, and from it to the chimney. If desired, the flues or hollow
spaces exterior of the oven may be made even more extensive than what is
shown, and the upper parts as well as the sides may be hollow, and be arranged
to form part of the flue way between the oven and the chimney. The coking
being completed, may then be at once drawn from the oven into water, or
allowed to cool in the oven, or to some extent cooled in the oven, and water
or steam introduced therein.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
peculiar construction of oven for the manufacture of coke therein, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Philippe Amédée Devy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
PHILIPPE AMEDEE DEVY. (L.S.)
Witness,
EDWARD LILLEY.