IMPROVE- MENTS IN GAS PRODUCERS AND GAS FURNACES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles William Siemens of Queen Anne's Gate,
Westminster in the county of Middlesex for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GAS PRODUCERS AND GAS FURNACES"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles William Siemens
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th February 1883.
CHARLES WILLIAM SIEMENS of Queen Anne's Gate Westminster in the County
of Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS PRODUCERS AND GAS FURNACES"
In the Specifications to Letters Patent granted to me on the 5th December 1864
No 3018 and on the 31st August 1881 N° 3792 I described constructions of gas
producers and gas furnaces for the manufacture of steel. My present invention
relates to improvements in gas producers of the kind described in the said
Specifications so as to render them more strong and durable and applicable to the
treatment of various kinds of carbonaceous fuel, and also to improvements in the
structure of regenerative gas furnaces such as are described in the said Specifications
and to appliances connected therewith.
Referring to the construction of gas producer shewn in Fig. 12 of the drawings
annexed to the Specification N° 3792 of 1881, I modify the lower part in the
following manner. For the rapidly sloping conical bottom and bars I substitute a
shelf slightly inclining downwards towards the middle of the producer, this shelf
being covered with fire brick, and being at such a level as to allow a narrow
opening between it and the structure above for admission of air and introduction
of stirring bars; also from the central nozzle I make a horizontal shelf project all
round the nozzle and extending some distance beyond the inner edge of the slightly
sloping shelf above mentioned, there being a space left between the two shelves for
admission of air, for introducing stirring bars and for removal of ash and clinkers.
Instead of making the air passage to the nozzle stationary I make it as an upright
pipe with a screw thread cut on its lower part, this screw thread working in a nut
fixed in the foundation, and I make the upper end with a horn or several horns
projecting upwards within the hollow of the refractory nozzle. By means of a
Price G71

page_text: chain connecting a chain wheel on the pipe to a chain wheel on a shaft in an
accessible position beyond the producer, or by other convenient gearing, I from time
to time cause the pipe to revolve so that as its screwed part turns in the nut, the
projecting horns at the top of the pipe moving upwards and at the same time
turning round have the effect of breaking up clinkers or other obstructions in the
air passage of the nozzle and so keeping it clear. Air is supplied to the nozzle
either through the pipe, the draught being promoted by a steam jet, or from a
space under the projecting shelf; this space has inlets provided with doors or
valves by which the air supply can be regulated, or it is supplied with heated air.
When the producer is of the form shewn in Fig. 3 of the Drawings annexed to
the Specification No 3018 of 1864 above referred to, I employ instead of grate bars
at the bottom a slightly inclined shelf covered with fire brick and I close the ash
pit with a door in which is fixed an injector tube through which a steam jet is
directed to determine a supply of air to the fuel in the producer.
'In working regenerative gas furnaces of the kind shewn in Figs 1, 2 and 3 of
the drawings annexed to the Specification N° 3792 of 1881 above referred to, I
have found that the coverings of the gas inlets and the parts of the downwardly
arched roof which extend over these coverings without support are not so strong
and durable as desired especially as those parts are subject to different degrees of
I therefore, according to my present improvement,
expansion and contraction.
cover the gas inlets by brickwork stepping over them from each side, and I carry
up this brickwork in each case as a solid pier against the face of which the main
arch of the roof terminates. Between and beyond these piers the air inlets which
are carried higher up, are covered by small arches independent of the main arch of
the roof. When these furnaces are employed for producing and melting steel as
described in the Specification N° 3792 of 1881 above referred to, the ingots produced
at a casting are usually in such numbers that many of them become cooled before
they can be dealt with by the rolls. In order to avoid this loss of heat, and the
waste of time and fuel involved in the reheating of the cooled ingots, I provide
close by the ingot moulds a fornace like that described in the Specification to
Letters Patent granted to me on the 5th March 1866 N° 671 and shewn in Figs 8, 9
and 10 of the drawings annexed to the said Specification or, according to my present
invention, I arrange pits built up of or lined with refractory material and provided
with gas inlets, each pit having a cover made with wheels or rollers running on
side rails and faced on its underside with refractory material. When a number of
ingots are cast, before removing them from the moulds, I remove the cover of a pit
by running it along the rails, and into the pit, which had been previously heated
by the combustion of the gas within it, I introduce the hot ingots as they leave
their moulds, and again cover the pit. Here the ingots can be retained in a hot
condition with such combustion of the gas in the pit as may be required, and they
can each in its turn, be taken out hot and ready for rolling without requiring
re-heating. The air for supporting the combustion of the gases in the pit may be
admitted by special inlets, or sufficient clearance may be left between the upper
edge of the pit and the moveable cover to admit the quantity of air required. The
products of combustion may escape by this clearance space or they may be led of
by a chimney or flue opening preferably from the lower part of the pit.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles William Siemens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th August 1883.
CHARLES WILLIAM SIEMENS of Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster in the County
of Middlesex, now known as William Siemens, Knight. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS
PRODUCERS AND GAS FURNACES
"
In the Specifications to Letters Patent granted to me on the 3rd December 1864
No 3018, and on the 31st August 1881 N° 3792, I described constructions of gas
producers and gas furnaces for the manufacture of steel. My present invention
relates to improvements in gas producers of the kind described in the said Specifi-
cations, so as to render them more strong and durable and applicable to the
treatment of various kinds of carbonaceous fuel, and also to improvements in
the structure of regenerative gas furnaces such as are described in the said
Specifications, and to appliances connected therewith.
Referring to the construction of gas producer shewn in Fig. 12 of the drawings
amnexed to the Specification N° 3792 of 1881, I modify the construction as shewn
in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, which is a vertical section of a gas
producer according to my present invention. For the rapidly sloping conical
bottom and bars previously described, I substitute a shelf A slightly inclining
downwards towards the middle of the producer, this shelf being for certain kinds
of fuel entirely covered with fire brick, and for certain kinds of fuel presenting
occasional sets of fire bars as at A', and being at such a level as to allow a narrow
opening B between it and the structure above for introduction of stirring bars; also
from the central nozzle C I make a horizontal shelf D project all round the nozzle
and extend some distance beyond the inner edge of the shelf A, there being a
space E left between the two shelves A and D for admission of air, for introducing
stirring bars, and for removal of ash and clinkers.
Instead of making the air passage to the nozzle stationary, I make it as an
upright pipe F with a screw thread cut on its lower part, this screw thread
working in a nut G fixed in the foundation, and I make the upper end with
a horn or several horns H projecting upwards within the hollow of the nozzle C.
By means of a chain connecting a chain wheel on the pipe to a chain wheel on a
shaft K in an accessible position beyond the producer, or by other convenient
gearing, I from time to time cause the pipe F to revolve so that, as its screwed
part turns in the nut G, the projecting horns H at the top of the pipe moving
upwards and at the same time turning round, have the effect of breaking up clinkers
or other obstructions in the air passage of the nozzle C and so keeping it clear.
Air is supplied to the nozzle C either through the pipe F, the draught being
promoted by a steam jet L, or from a space M under the projecting shelf D, this
space having inlets provided with doors or valves N by which the air supply can
be regulated. The air may be heated as described in the Specification N° 3792 of
1881 above referred to, or by other convenient means. This gas producer may be
circular in plan, or it may be rectangular or of other shape.
When the producer is of the form shewn in Fig. 3 of the drawings annexed to
the Specification No 3018 of 1864 above referred to, I modify the construction as
shewn by the vertical section Fig. 2. For certain kinds of fuel I employ, instead
of grate bars at the bottom, a slightly inclined shelf A covered with fire brick, and
I close the ashpit with a door in which is fixed an injector tube F, through which
a steam jet is directed to determine a supply of air to the fuel in the producer;
or for certain kinds of fuel, the shelf A may be wholly or partly a fire grate, and
in that case I prefer to incline the injector tube F upwards towards the grate.
In working regenerative gas furnaces of the kind shewn in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of
the drawings annexed to the Specification N° 3792 of 1881 above referred to, I
have found that the coverings of the gas inlets and the parts of the downwardly

page_text: arched roof which extend over these coverings without support are not so strong
and durable as desired, especially as those parts are subject to different degrees of
expansion and contraction. I therefore, according to my present improvement,
modify the construction as shewn by the part longitudinal section Fig. 3 and part
transverse section Fig. 4. I cover the gas inlets A by brickwork B stepping over
them from each side or otherwise covering them, and I carry up this brickwork in
each case as a solid pier C, against the face of which the main arch D of the roof
terminates. Between and beyond these piers the air inlets E which are carried
higher up, are covered by small arches F or their equivalents, independent of the
main arch D of the roof. When these furnaces are employed for producing and
melting steel as described in the Specification N° 3792 of 1881 above referred to,
the ingots produced at a casting are usually in such numbers that many of them
become cooled before they can be dealt with by the rolls. In order to avoid this
loss of heat, and the waste of time and fuel involved in the reheating of the cooled
ingots, I provide close by the ingot moulds a furnace like that described in the
Specification to Letters Patent granted to me on the 5th March 1866 N° 671 and
shewn in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings annexed to the said Specification or,
according to my present invention, I arrange pits as shewn by the longitudinal
section Fig. 5 and transverse section Fig. 6. These pits are built up of or lined
with refractory material A and provided with gas inlets B, each pit having a
cover C made with wheels or rollers running on side rails and faced on its underside
with refractory material F. When a number of ingots are cast, before removing
them from the moulds, I remove the cover of a pit by running it along the rails,
and into the pit which had been previously heated by the combustion of the gas
within it, I introduce the hot ingots as they leave their moulds, and again cover
the pit. Here the ingots can be retained in a hot condition with such combustion
of the gas in the pit as may be required, and they can, cach in its turn, be taken
out hot and ready for rolling without requiring reheating. The air for supporting
the combustion of the gases in the pit, may be admitted by special inlets, or
sufficient clearance may be left between the upper edge of the pit and the moveable
cover C to admit the quantity of air required. The products of combustion may
escape by this clearance space or they may be led off by a chimney or flue opening
preferably from the lower part of the pit. A gas channel G may supply several
pits, each having an inlet B for gas, governed by a valve H.
Having thus described the nature of my invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, I claim :
First. The construction of gas producer, substantially as herein described and
shewn in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
Second. In combination with the air nozzle of a gas producer, the horns H, arranged
and operating substantially as described with reference to Fig. 1
Third. The construction of gas producer, substantially as described and shewn in
Fig. 2.
Fourth. The construction substantially as described and shewn in Figs. 3 and 4 of
the gas and air inlets of a regenerative gas furnace.
Fifth. The construction of ingot pit furnaces and their covers, substantially as
described with reference, to Figs. 5 and 6.
In Witness whereof I the said Charles William Siemens have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Twenty Fifth day of July in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
CING
WWETTA LENG
SIEMENS (I.S.)
formerly known as C. William Siemens