CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARBONATE OF LEAD
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
WHITE BENSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturing
Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty hath granted unto me
Her Letters Patent, sealed at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of June,
in the second year of Her, reign, for making, using, exercising, and vending
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARBONATE OF LEAD," subject
to the usual proviso, obliging me to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, and to cause the same to be enrolled
in the High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edward White Benson, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as follows
(that is to say) :
It is well known that certain oxides of lead may be used in making car-
bonate of lead, and in the Specification which has been inrolled in pursuance
of certain Letters Patent which were granted to me and one William. Gossage
by His late Majesty King William the Fourth, and which bear date the
Twenty-ninth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, a
process is described which for making carbonate of lead, a mixture may be

page_text: used which is not reduced to such a state of fluidity as to allow of its flowing
as a liquid from one vessel to another. In the process described in the said
Specification this mixture is spread upon trays or shelves, placed in a case or
apartment, and it is there exposed to the action of carbonic acid gas, for the
purpose of absorbing such gas.
The object of my said Invention is to provide a mode of accelerating the
absorption of carbonic acid gas by any mixture which may be used for the
purpose of making carbonate of lead, and which shall not be in such a state of
fluidity as to allow of its flowing as a liquid from one vessel to another, which
acceleration is effected by exposing new surfaces of such mixture to the action
of such gas; and I effect this object by means of a machine, consisting of a
frame which travels over the tray or shelf upon which the mixture is spread,
and of machinery by which such blades as are capable of disturbing or turning
such mixture, as aforesaid, are caused to move more. rapidly than the frame,
and to pass through the mixture upon the tray or shelf in a direction opposite
to that in which the frame is travelling; or by means of a machine, consisting
of a frame which travels as aforesaid, and of blades which are capable of dis..
turbing or turning such mixture, as aforesaid, and which are supported by and
travel with the frame in such manner as to pass through the mixture upon the
tray or shelf over which the frame is travelling with a speed equal to and in
a direction corresponding with that of the frame; and when such mixture as
aforesaid has a tendency to adhere to the tray or shelf on which it is spread, I
facilitate the working of each of these machines by means of instruments,
which I attach to the frame thereof, and which are so arranged as to detach
the mixture from the said tray or shelf.
I shall now describe the machine to which I have first referred, and its
mode of action; and in order that such description may be better understood,
I refer to the several Drawings hereunto annexed, in which I would observe
that I have always used the same letter to denote each particular part of the
machine.
Figure 1 is a cross section of the machine to which I have first referred;
Figures 2 and 3 are elevations of the ends or sides of the same machine, and
Figure 4 is a plan, in which the same machine is represented as. broken in the
middle, for the purpose of shortening the Drawing. m,'m, are plain railways,
secured to the sides of the tray or shelf upon which the mixture is spread, for
the purpose of being exposed to carbonic acid gas, and which railways are
enclosed within the case or appartment used for that purpose. a, a, a,. a, are
wheels to travel upon these railways, and turning loose upon the shafts N, n,
which support the frame of the machine. The railway and wheels may be

page_text: constructed in any ordinary method to prevent the wheels from running off
the railway, but I use wheels with flanches for this purpose. g. g, are the sides
of the frame of the machine; h, h, are cross bars, connecting the two sides of
the frame of the machine; c, c, are racks or cogged railways, attached to the
plain railways m, m; B, b, are spur wheels, fastened or keyed to the shaft N,
and with their cogs taking into the cogs of the railways c, c; d is a pinion,
fast to the shafts, and driven by the wheel B; e is a spur wheel, larger in
diameter than the pinion d, and is made fast to the shaft s, in order that this
wheel and the pinion may revolve together; y is a pinion, in gear with the
wheel e, and fast upon the shaft of that part of the machine which I call the
agitator. This part which I call the agitator consists of the shaft f, with arms
2,,, fixed to such shaft, and radiating from its centre like the spokes from
the nave of a common wheel, and having narrow blades k, k, k, fixed flat
upon the ends or heads of the arms in parrallel lines running along such shaft
in a slightly oblique direction. These arms must be of equal length, and the
blades may be constructed of narrow strips of sheet iron or wood, or any other
suitable material. I have found it convenient to be able to raise or to depress
the agitator, and for this purpose I fix the chairs or brasses of the journals of
the shaft f in vertical slots, and attach screws to each side of the frame of the
machine, above and below such journals, in such manner as to act against
such chains or brasses, as shewn in Figure 3. When this machine is drawn
or propelled upon the railways, the wheels B, 6, being in gear with the rail-
ways c, c, and fast to the shaft N, will revolve together; and the pinion d being
in gear with the wheel B will be turned in a direction opposite to that in which
the wheel B revolves, and with the same velocity as if such pinion were imme-
diately in
gear with the railway; the wheel e and pinion d, being both fast upon
the shaft s, will revolve together, and the pinion y being in gear with the wheel
e, this pinion will revolve in a direction opposite to that in which the wheel e
revolves, and with a velocity greater than that of the wheelc, proportionate to
the inverse ratio of their diameters, and the pinion y, being fast upon the shaft
of the agitator, the agitator will revolve with such pinion, and the diameter
of the agitator being greater than the diameter of the pinion y, the circum-
ference of the agitator will move more rapidly than the circumference of such
pinion; and the blades herein-before referred to will act in a direction opposite
to that in which the frame of the machine moves, and will disturb or turn and
renew the surfaces of the mixture spread upon the tray or shelf as such blades
successively come in contact therewith.
I shall now describe the second machine to which I have referred. This
machine consists of a frame similar to that which I have already described,

page_text: and supported in like manner upon wheels which travel upon plain railways,
secured and enclosed in the same manner as I have described in respect to the
plain railways already mentioned; cogged railways will not be required with
this machine if the power employed to move it is applied equally to both sides
of it, but otherwise cogged railways and cogged wheels fast upon the same
shaft and in gear with the railways will be desirable, in order to keep the
machine square with the railways. To the frame of this machine I attach
blades in such manner as that their lower surfaces or ends shall be in contact,
or nearly in contact, with the tray or shelf; these blades may be of suitable
any
form to disturb or turn and renew the surfaces of such mixture, as herein-
before mentioned, but the form which I have found best adapted to effect
these purposes
is that of the curved side of an ordinary ploughshare. Blades
of this form must not be fixed in a line at right angles with the sides of the
frame of the machine, but in such a diagonal line as that the portion of the
mixture which has been turned up by the second and each succeeding blade
in such line may fall behind the blade which is in advance; and in order to
provide for the turning of the mixture as well during the return as during
the advance of the machine, and to prevent an inconvenient accumulation
of the mixture at either side of the tray or shelf, when I use blades of
the form which I have described, I use two sets of these blades, and fix
one set immediately behind and in a line parrallel with the other set, each set
having its points in an opposite direction to the points of the other set, in such
manner that in every return of the machine the mixture may be turned back
in the direction opposite to that in which it was turned during the advance of
the machine.
The machines which I have described may be drawn or propelled from one
end to the other of the railways alternately by any power suitable for the
purpose, which may be applied by any convenient means; but in applying the
power which I employ, I use an endless chain (composed of flat links) attached
to the machine, and passing through a small aperture at each end of the case
or apartment round a chain wheel, which is made to revolve in one direction
until the machine is drawn to one end of the railways, and then to revolve in
the opposite direction until the machine is drawn back to the other end, and so
from time to time continually; but I do not more fully describe the means of
communicating motion to the machines because I do not claim this as part of
my Invention.
I shall now describe the instruments which I use to detach such mixture,
as herein-before mentioned, when it has a tendency to adhere to the tray
or shelf upon which it is spread; and in order that my description may be

page_text: better understood, I refer to the Figures 1 and 4 in the Drawings hereunto
annexed. x, x, are shafts fixed to the cross bars h, h, which connect the sides
of the frame; 0, 0, 0, are arms, capable of being turned upon the shafts. by
any slight resistance acting against the under sides of such arms or of the
blades which are attached to them; and to prevent these arms from sliding,
they are secured at convenient distances along the shafts by fixed collars. The
arms which turn upon one shaft should incline in a direction opposite to the
inclination of those which turn upon the other shaft, and all the arms should
be long enough to allow of the blades which are affixed to them coming in
contact with the tray or shelf at such an'angle as is herein-after mentioned for
that purpose; 1, 1, 1, are narrow blades, of such length and fixed in such
position as to allow of their passing over the surface of the tray or shelf; these
blades may be constructed of wrought iron or any other suitable material, and
are to be affixed to the arms o, o, o, in any manner which will allow one edge
of each blade to be in contact with the tray or shelf at any angle at which it
will be capable of sliding upon the surface of the tray or shelf.
When the frame is put in motion, one set of these blades will slide between
the tray or shelf and the mixture which is spread upon it, and will thus detach
the mixture from the tray or shelf, leaving it to fall again upon the tray or shelf
after the blade has passed under it; and when the machine returns in the
opposite direction, the other set of blades will act in like manner.
I have described the construction of two machines for accelerating the
absorption of carbonic acid gas by such mixture as herein-before mentioned;
one of which machines is so constructed that blades are successively brought
into contact with such mixture when it is placed on trays or shelves, and
are caused to disturb or renew the surfaces of such mixture, and in which
machine this action is effected by the machine travelling over the trays or
shelves, and the blades being caused to move more rapidly than the frame
of the machine, and to pass through the mixture upon the trays or shelves in
a direction opposite to that in which the machine is travelling; and the other
of the said machines is so constructed that the blades which are attached to
the frame of it disturb or renew the surfaces of such mixture, as herein-before
mentioned, by being caused to pass through the same with a speed equal to
and in a direction corresponding with that of the frame of the machine. And
I have also described certain instruments by which such mixture as herein-
before mentioned may be detached from the trays or shelves on which it is
spread for the purpose of absorbing carbonic acid gas.
I have described the particular construction of such machines as I consider
best adapted for the purposes aforesaid, but it will be obvious that various

page_text: modifications of the several parts may be adopted, which will still provide for
the machine travelling over such mixture as herein-before mentioned, and for
giving rotatory reciprocating or rectineal motion to blades or other instruments
for the purpose of disturbing and renewing the surfaces of such mixture as
aforesaid, in order to promote or facilitate the absorption of carbonic acid gas
by such mixture, or for detaching such mixture from the trays or shelves upon
which it is spread to absorb such gas. Therefore I claim as my Invention
the use or application, of the manufacture of carbonate of lead, of machines
which travel over the trays or shelves upon which such mixture, as herein-
before mentioned, is spread to absorb carbonic acid gas, and which by means of
blades or other instruments passing through such mixture, at whatever speed
ór with whatever motion, either disturb and renew the surfaces thereof for the
purpose of promoting or facilitating the absorption of carbonic acid gas by
such mixture, or detach such mixture from such trays or shelves for promoting
or facilitating the disturbing or renewing of the surfaces thereof for the
purpose aforesaid; and I do not confine my said claim to the use or application
of my said Invention in the manufacture of carbonate of lead from any
material in particular, or from any mixture in particular; but I claim such
use or application in the manufacture of carbonate of lead from any mixture
ór material which is not in such a state of fluidity as to allow of its flowing
as a liquid from one vessel to another.
In witness whereof, the said Edward White Benson hath hereunto
set his hand and seal, the. Twenty-sixth day of December, in the
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of
December, in the year of our Lord 1838, the aforesaid Edward White Benson
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
*TTOILT