IMPROVEMENTS IN PRE- PARING METAL PLATES FOR BEING COATED, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPA- RATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Grey, of Maesteg, near Bridgend, in the County
of Glamorgan, South Wales, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRE-
PARING METAL PLATES FOR BEING COATED, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPA-
RATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR.”
33
Sealed the 26th August 1879, and dated the 23rd May 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Grey at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd May 1879.
DAVID GREY, of Maesteg, near Bridgend, in the County of Glamorgan, South
Wales. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING METAL PLATES FOR BEING COATED, AND
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR."
"
My Invention relates to improved machinery or apparatus for pickling, swilling,
and otherwise preparing metal plates for being coated with metal or alloy, or with
paint, varnish, or any other material which requires that the surface of the metal
plates to be coated should be clean and free from oxide, scales, roughness, or any
other impurities before being coated, and most particularly plates of iron or steel
to be coated with tiu or terne metal, which plates are commonly called tinned and
terned plates.
For the purpose of what is generally termed and known in the trade as "black
pickling" I proceed as follows, viz.:.
I place the plates as they come from the openers in the mills departments in
bunches or quantities of from five to twenty sheets (more or less) on their ends or
sides in rows on carriers. These carriers are four in number; more or less
may be used, but four I prefer using in the preparation of iron or steel plates for
tinning or terning. The carriers are suspended from a continuous railway over-
head, and fitted in such a way that they can be easily moved backwards and for-
wards as desired. I make this continuous railway circular, oval, or any other form
or shape, but for the purpose of preparing iron or steel plates for tinning or terning
I prefer it to be oval, but with elongated and flattened sides.
There is a portion of about eight feet of this continuous railway made movable.
This inovable part I call the "lifter," and it is fitted with proper balance weights,
chains, guides, and the like, and is also attached by chains and rods to the piston

page_text: rod of a steam engine, which engine when being acted upon raises and lowers the
said "lifter" to any distance or at any speed required.
Under the said "lifter" I place two or more tanks or troughs, but I find that
two tanks answer all the purposes for preparing iron or steel plates for tinning or
terning. In the first of these two tanks I place the usual admixture or pickle made
of sulphuric acid and water, muriatic acid and water, or any other liquid or mixture
generally used for the cleaning and preparing the surface of metal plates.
In the second of these two tanks I keep a continuous supply of clean fresh water
as pure and free from acid and earthy matter as I can procure.
In the first place I load one of the said four carriers, which I will call No. 1,
with plates while it is suspended from the continuous railway overhead.
When it
is properly loaded with plates I bring it forward and place it on the lifter right
over the tank containing the pickle; then by means of the said steam engine I
lower the lifter, thereby bringing the carrier No. 1 and its contents into the pickle,
and there plunging it up and down until the plates are free from oxide of iron or
any other impurities. When this is done the lifter is again brought into its proper
position in the continuous railway, then the carrier No. 1 and its contents (just
taken from the pickle tank) is brought forward right over the water tank.
While the plates in the pickle tank or carrier No. 1 were being operated upon
another carrier (No. 2) is being loaded with plates. Then the carrier No. 2 is
brought to the lifter, and there placed right over the pickle tank. The steam
engin is again put into motion, thereby plunging at the same time carrier No. 1
and its contents in the water tank, and carrier No. 2 and its contents in the pickle
tank: When the plates are properly cleaned in the pickle tank the lifter is again
brought up into position in the continuous railway, and the carrier No. 1 is brought
forward to near the assorting table, and the plates are then taken from it and placed
on the said table. While the plates in carriers No. 1 and No. 2 are being operated
upon in the pickle and water tanks carrier No. 3 is being loaded, then after carrier
No. 1 is taken from its position over the water tank carrier No. 2 takes its place,
and carrier No. 3 takes the place of carrier No. 2 over the pickle tank, then the
steam engine is again put into motion, and carriers Nos. 2 and 3 are plunged up
and down in the pickle and water tanks. While this is going on carrier No. 4 is
being loaded and carrier No. 1 is being discharged and brought back by the con-
tinuous railway to the place to be again loaded, and thus the work is carried on as
long as required.
After the plates are taken from the carriers and placed on the assorting table
they are assorted and passed through one or more pairs of india rubber rollers.
By passing them through a said india rubber rollers they are freed from the
water they may have on them after leaving the water tank, and are made nearly
free from moisture before being placed on the annealing stands, thereby causing a
very great saving in the wear and tear of the annealing pots and stands, and also
in the consumption of fuel, as the plates anneal and clear with much less heat than
if placed on the annealing stands (in the old way) without being passed through
the india rubber rollers first.
For the purpose of what is generally termed and known in the trade as "white
pickling" I proceed as follows, vizt. :-
I take the plates after they have undergone the process of what is generally
termed "white annealing" from the annealing stands and place them on the carriers,
just the same as when placing them for black pickling, and I also pass them
through the pickle and water tanks the same as for the black pickling, the only
difference between the two processes being that the plates in the white pickling
process are taken direct from the carriers and placed into water tanks, where they
are kept well covered with water until they are taken to the tinning department
to be coated with tin or terne, or any other metal or coating.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said David Grey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd
November 1879.
DAVID GREY, of Maesteg, near Bridgend, in the County of Glamorgan, South
Wales. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING METAL PLATES FOR BEING COATED, AND
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR."
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of and in the machinery
or apparatus to be used in or for pickling, swilling, and otherwise preparing metal
plates for being coated with metal or alloy, or with paint, varnish, or any other
material which requires that the surface of the plates to be coated should be clean
and free from oxide, scales, roughness, or any other impurities or imperfections, the
Invention being particularly applicable to the preparation of plates of iron or steel
for being coated with tin or terne metal for the production of what is generally
termed "tinned" and "terned" plates.
J
The improved machinery or apparatus is illustrated on the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings in Figures 1, 2, and 3, which respectively represent sectional, end, and
side elevations, and a plan view thereof, drawn to a scale of half an inch to a foot.
The apparatus is constructed with a series of carriers 1 suspended from a con-
tinuous railway 2, supported by longitudinal beamis 3 running from end to end of
the pickling house or structure 4. The carriers 1 are each made as a light metal
open partitioned framing, of a round, square, oblong, or any other desired shape
or form, and of sufficient size and strength to support a load of, say, from five to
fifteen hundredweight, though they may be made of a less or of a greater size and
strength, depending upon the amount of work required to be turned out or operated
upon at a time. Any required number of these carriers may be used, but I prefer
as a very convenient number to use four in each apparatus, so as to render the
process continuous in the manner hereinafter described. The carriers are each
suspended by chains 5 from a traveller 6 provided with wheels, which run along
the railway 2, and which allow of the carriers being easily moved backwards or
forwards by hand or otherwise, as desired.
The railway 2 is preferably made continuous, as above mentioned, to allow of
continuity in the working, and it may be made circular, oval, or of any other suit-
able form, but I prefer to make it with flattened sides and rounded ends, as illus-
trated in Fig. 3, and I prefer to suspend or fix it above the pickling and washing
tanks 7, 8. It may however be made terminal if required, or if space will not
permit it to be continuous, and it may be fixed on a level with the tops of the
tanks 7, 8, or in any other desired position.
The part or portion 2× of the railway which is immediately above the tanks 7, 8,
is made capable of vertical movement below the line of the rail, and I term it the
"lifter." This movable part or lifter 2× is bolted or rivetted to the lower part of a
framing 10 provided with stops 11, which by coming against the upper and under
sides of cross beams 12 running from side to side of the structure 4 limit the
vertical rise and fall of the lifter and what it supports. The lifter and what it
supports is balanced by counterweights affixed to the opposite ends of chains 13
running over pullies 14 on shafts 15, running in suitable bearings carried by
the upper cross beams 12; or the shafts may be fixed and the pullies be loose
thereon.
The vertical movements of the lifter and what it supports are effected at any
required speed by means of an engine 16, which may be worked by steam, air, gas,
or water, and the piston rod of which is connected to the framing 10 of the lifter
by a chain 17 running over pullies 18 on the shafts 15.
Under the lifter 2* I place any required
two will be generally found to be sufficient.
of any other desired shape, but I prefer to
annexed Drawings.
number of tanks or troughs 7, 8, but
They may be made round, square, or
make thein oblong, as shown on the

page_text: In the tank 7 I place the usual admixture of "pickle," made of sulphuric acid
and water, muriatic acid and water, or any other liquid or- mixture generally used
in or for the cleaning and preparing the surface of plates in the manner herein-
before referred to, the waste running off by the pipe 19; and in the tank 8 I keep
a continuous supply of fresh water as pure and free from acid and earthy matter
as I can procure, the water being admitted by the pipe 20, and the waste running
off by the pipe 21.
One end of the railway 2 is situated adjacent to the assorting table 22, above
which I place one or more pairs of closely fitting india rubber or other squeezing
rollers 23 for the purpose rendered apparent hereinafter.
24 represents ventilating "louvres" adapted to the roof of the structure 4 to
give vent to the fumes arising from the pickling bath.
For the purpose of what is generally termed and known in the trade as "black-
pickling," the plates intended to be subsequently tinned or terned or otherwise
coated, I load one of the carriers, when it occupies the position a, Fig. 2, by placing
the plates as they come from the "openers" in the mills-department in quantities of
five to twenty sheets in each space or division thereof, or in any less or greater
quantities, on their ends or sides in rows thereon. I then move this carrier and
its load along the railway 2 until it occupies the position b on the lifter 2* imme-
diately over the pickle tank 7. I then actuate the engine 16, so as to cause the
carrier and its load of plates to be plunged several times (or as long as is required
to free them from oxide of iron or any other impurities or imperfections) up and
down in the liquor in the pickle tank. I then bring the lifter up again to a level
with the railway by means of the engine, and a second carrier having been in the
meantime loaded in the position a I shift the pickled load to the position c on the
lifter 2* immediately over the water tank 8, and the second load to the position b
this one vacates, and I again actuate the engine 16, so as to cause the carriers
occupying the positions c and b on the lifter 2* and their respective loads to be
plunged up and down in the liquors of their respective tanks 8, 7, the one to be
washed from the acid adhering to it from its former treatment in the pickle tank,
and the other to be treated or pickled as the first one was previously. I then
again bring the lifter up to a level with the rail-way, and a third carrier having
been in the mean time loaded in the position a I shift the carriers and their loads
occupying the respective positions c, b, a, to the respective positions d, c, b, and so
far as regards those in the positions c, b, I proceed as formerly described, and the
one in the position & having now been pickled and washed, and being close to the
assorting table 22, may now be unloaded, the plates being placed on the assorting
table. I then again proceed as above, and shift all the carriers, the fourth one
having been in the meantime loaded in the position a from the positions d, e, b, a,
to the respective positions a, d, c, b, and then re-fill the empty one, which was
removed from the position d to that a along the unobstructed side of the rail-way 2,
and repeat these successive processes, only keeping all the carriers in constant work,
a being the loading position, b the pickling position, c the washing position, and
d the unloading position of each carrier, till it is required to finish off the turn
out. As the cleaned plates are taken from the carriers when they occupy the
position d, and placed on the table 22, they are assorted and passed through or
between the rollers 23, by which they are freed from any water adhering to them
from the water tank, and made nearly free from moisture previously to being
placed on the annealing stands. This treatment is of very great advantage in
effecting a great saving in the wear aud tear of the annealing pots and stands, and
also in the consumption of fuel, as the plates "anneal" and "clear" with much
less heat than if placed on the annealing stands in the ordinary way, that is, with-
out being previously passed through or between the squeezing rollers 23.
desired however the plates may be taken direct from the assorting table or bench
as they come from the carriers and packed on the annealing stands in the ordinary
way.
If
For the purpose of what is generally termed and known in the trade as “white

page_text: pickling," the plates intended to be subsequently tinned or terned or otherwise
coated, I take the plates, after having been what is termed "white-annealed," in
quantities or batches of from ten to fifty at a time, or in any less or greater
quantities, and place them on one edge on a thin layer of sand spread evenly on a
flat board, plate, or other surface. I then move the batches of plates to and fro in
the sand, holding them loosely in the hands, so as to cause or assist the sand to
penetrate between the plates, and after this treatment I place the batches of plates
on their edges, with the sanded edge upwards, on the carriers, just the same as I
do when placing them for the "black-pickling," as previously described, and I then
pass them through the pickle and water tanks, also as previously described, and
when they have been sufficiently operated upon in the water tank I take the
plates direct from the carriers and place them into other water tanks, wherein they
are kept well covered with water until they are required to be taken to the tinning
departiment to be coated with tin, or terne, or any other metal or coating.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature and object of my
said Invention, together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as constituting the Inven-
tion secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The use in combination in machinery or apparatus for pickling, swilling,
or otherwise preparing iron, steel, or other metal plates for being coated with tin
or terne or other coating material, of a series of carriers, by which the plates are
supported while being operated upon, provided with a travelling arrangement, with
an over head or other continuous or terminal railway from the travellers, running
on which the carriers are suspended by chains, or are otherwise suitably supported
thereon, a portion of such railway being capable of vertical movement below the
line of railway, and between it and the pickling and washing tanks, being secured
to a framing provided with counterweights and suitable stops, and actuated by a
steam, air, gas, or water engine, so as to cause a series of plunging movements of
the carriers and the plates they carry in the pickle and water in the respective
tanks, and with or without one or more pairs of india rubber or other squeezing
rollers arranged adjacent to the assorting table for the purpose specified, all sub-
stantially as herein before described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings.
Second. The use in such apparatus of a continuous railway provided with a
section capable of being removed from the continuous line thereof, as and for the
purpose herein before stated.
And Third. The above described improved method of pickling, swilling, or pre-
paring the plates to be cleaned by plunging batches of them while supported in
suitable carriers up and down in the pickling and swilling tanks at the same time
(or it may be alternately), the one batch in the pickling tank, and the other in the
water tank, and the subsequent expression of the adhering water from the pickled
and washed plates by passing them through or between suitable squeezing rollers,
all substantially as hereinbefore described, and according to which fully described
improved method the process is rendered continuous, more expeditious, and more
economical than heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Grey, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine
DAVID GREY. (L.S.)