US501139A

US501139A - heaton

Info

Publication number: US501139A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1893-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 1910-07-11

Description

(No Model.) v v v 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. HEATON 8v G. H. HOLDEN, APPARATUSAFOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL 0R IRON.

No. 501,139. Patented July 11, 1893.

g W E W;

(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. HEATON 811 G. H. HOLDEN. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL 0R IRON.

No. 501,139. Patented July 11, 1893 awn/W Wimessea UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOHN HEATON AND GEORGE HENRY HOLDEN, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL OR IRON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,139, dated July 11, 1893.

Application filed March-1, 1892. Serial No. 423,424- (No model.) Patented in England May -7, 1890, No."7,070; in France March 1, 1891, No. 94,019; in Belgium March 5, 1891, No. 211,904; in Germany March 5, 1891,No.10,873; in Luxemburg March 6, 1891, No. 1,416, and in Canada September 17, 1891, No. 37,421.

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN HEATON and GEORGE HENRY HOLDEN, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented Improvements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Steel or Iron,

' (said invention having been patented in the following foreign countries: Great Britain, No.

[0 7,070, dated May 7, 1890; France, No. 9 1,019,

dated March 1, 1891; Belgium, No. 211,904,

dated March 5, 1891; Germany, No. 10,873,

dated March 5, 1891; Canada, No. 37,421,

dated September 17, 1891, and Luxemburg,

No. 1,416, dated March 6, 1891,) of which the following is a specification.

In the specifications of British Letters Patent granted to one of us, viz., the said John Heaton, dated respectively March 17, 1866,

:o No. 798, and May 3, 1867, No. 1,295, there is described the manufacture of steel or ingot iron from east or pig iron by subjecting such iron when in a molten state to the action of nitrate of soda, nitrate of potash, chlorate of soda 2 5 or chlorate of potash. Now the present invention has reference to improvements in the machinery or apparatus employed in such manu-' facture as I will now proceed to describe by reference to the accompanying drawings in Which- Figure 1 is a side view partly in sect1on of apparatus constructed according to this 1nvention. Fig. 2 is avertical section in a plane at right angles to Fig. 1 showing apart of 5 such apparatus. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the complete apparatus.

a is a cupola furnace in which the cast or pig iron to be converted into steel or ingot iron according to the process referred to, is

0 melted.

b is a measuring vessel into whicha desired quantity of molten metal is run from the enpola furnace aby means of the spout c. This measuring vessel is formed to hold a certain 4 5 quantity of molten metal, and is provided with a lid b which is closed after the molten metal has been run into the vessel 19.

d is a I-Ieaton converter of the well-known f (Figs. 5 and 6) provided with wheels f capatype comprising a vertical cylindrical converting chamber having a removable bottom and surmounted by a shaft or flue, these parts being lined with refractory material. The interior of the measuring vessel communicates with the interior of this converter d by means of a lateral passage b capable 5 of being at times closed by means of one or more suitable plugs or valves 19 that serves or serve to allow the molten metal to flow from the measuring vessel into the converter and also to prevent sparks or flame from passing from the converter into the measuring vessel while the converting operation is in progress. At the commencement of each shift or converting operation, the lower portion at of the body of the converter d is or may be heated by any suitable means, preferably by a suitable gas arrangement, to a low red heat in order to prevent undue lowering of the temperature of the molten metal during the converting operation so that the required uniformity of production may be secured.

eis a vessel or chamber, hereinafter called. the lower portion of the converter, employed to contain the charge of nitrate or chlorate. 7 5 ofsoda or potash (hereinafter referred to as nitrate of soda) employed in carrying out the converting process. It is provided with trunnions e by which it is supportedupon a truck ble of running upon the rails g. In order to admit of its being readily and conveniently placed in position beneath the converter d, the truck f is run beneath the converter d and onto the table it of a hydraulic ram h, or other suitable means such for instance as screws or levers, by which the'trnck f can be raised until the lower portion 6 of the converter carried thereby, comes in contact with and into position beneath the converter d to which it is firmly secured by suitable appliances such as clamps d as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that should the hydrau lic ram h or other means employed, from any cause cease to support the lower portion 6 of the converter, such lower portion of the converter will not become separated from the upper part of the converter. The trunnions c admit of the lower portion e of the converterbeing readily adapted to the converter (1.

In order that the charge of metal obtained by the converting operation may be reheated to such a temperature as to effect the elimination of the gaseous and other impurities which remain incorporated with it at the completion of the converting operation and to render the metal sufficiently fluid to be run into ingots, the lower portion a of the converter after being removed from the upper part, is moved by its truck f along suitable rails g or in any other convenient manner to raising and lowering mechanism such asthe table-v of a hydraulic rain j arranged below an opening in the bottom of a reverberatory furnace Z. This furnace is preferably of the regenerative type as shown,being in communication with a gas producer on and provided with a passage 12 for supply of air. With the construction described, when the truck f is and the lower portion 6 of the converter low-.

ered and conveyed to any suitable point where its liquid contents are poured into ingot molds orotherwise disposed of.

The upper end of the converter d may be in direct communication with the external atmosphere. In order however to recover certain useful by-products which would otherwise escape from the upper part of the converter during the converting operation, and be lost, it is advantageous to connect the upperportion of the converter with condensing apparatus as described in the specification of another application for Letters Patent filed by us of even date herewith,Serial No. 423,426.

This condensing apparatus comprises a condensing tower 0 containing brickwork arranged checker-wise after the manner of the brickwork in a Siemens regenerator, and into the lower end of which the gaseous or vaporous products of the converting operation are led for the purpose mentioned. For this purpose the lower end of the condensing tower is connected to the upper part of the converter (1 by a vertical pipe 1), a horizontal line q and a horizontal branch pipe 1* which isfitted with a valve 3 connected with a chain wheelt and by-means of which the communication between the converter and the flue q can be controlled. The upper part of the converter is also fitted with a valve it provided with a chain wheel 1) for controlling the communication between the converter and the external atmosphere. When the valve sis closed and the valve a is opened, the gaseous or vaporous products of the converting operation will escape from the upper part of the converter into the atmosphere. It the valve u be closed and the valve 3 opened, the said products will pass through the branchpipe r, flue q, and pipe 1) into the bottom of the condensing tower o. In some cases, in order to assist the condensing and collecting of the by-products, the condensing tower may be cooled by a shower of water admitted through a pipe 10, with distributing branches. The water or other liquid or liquidsemployed in cooling the gaseous or vaporous products, and which will dissolve a great partof the valuable by-products therein, may be run off by a pipe 00 and be afterward treated in any suitable manner for the recovery therefrom of the by-products contained therein.

Steel or ingot iron ismanufactured in the above described apparatus as. follows :-The

pig-iron to be converted into steel or wrought iron is placed in the cupola furnacea and melted, and a portion of it is allowed to run along the spout 0 into the measuring vessel b. When a suliicient quantity of pig-iron has been run from the cupola furnace into the measuring vessel, the supply of metal from the cupola furnace at is shut off. The lower portion act the converter having been charged with the requisite quantity of nitrate of soda, is, by means of the truck f and rails g, run upon the table h which-is then raised until the upper edge of the lower portion 6 of the converter is brought into contact with the lower end ofthe upper part of the converter (1 to which it is secured by means of the clamps (P. The plug or valve b is then raised and the molten iron contained in the measuring vessel 1) is allowed to flow into the converter and to come into contact with the nitrate of soda therein by the oxidizing action of which the cast iron is converted into steel or ingot iron according to the quantity of nitrate of soda employed, as described in the said prior British specification No. 1,295 of 1867. When the charge of cast iron in the lower portion 6 of the converter hasbeen converted into steel or ingot iron, the clamps b are removed or loosened, and the table h and lower portion a of the converter are lowered. The lower portion 6 of the converter is then removed to the reverberatory furnace Z where its contents are heated as in the mannerand for the purpose hereinbefore described after which the purified metal is poured into an ingot moldor otherwise treated. By the apparatus hereinbefore described, the process described in the said prior British specification No. 1,295 of 1867 can be very readily carried out with the employment of comparatively little manual labor.

In the preceding description the term ingot iron is used to denote a metal having a composition character and properties similar to those of metal ordinarily designated wroughtprocess, comprising a cupola, a measuring iron.

What we claim is- 1. Apparatus for the manufacture of steel and iron by the Heaton process, comprising a cupola, a converter having alower removable portion, a measuringvessel arranged between and adapted to be placed in communication with said cupola and converter, a carrier whereon the lower removable portion of said converter is mounted, means for raising andlowering said lower portion with its carrier to and from the upper portion of said converter, a reverberatory furnace havingian opening throughits lower side against which said lower portion of the converter can be held, raising and lowering mechanism below said furnace, and a'suitable way arranged between said converter and reverberatory furnace and above said raising and lowering mechanism and whereon said carrier can travel substantially as herein described for the purposes specified. 1

2. The improved apparatus or plant for the manufacture of steel and iron by the Heaton vessel, a converter having a lower removable portion, a wheeled truck whereon said lower portion is journaled, a hydraulic ram with table harranged below said converter, a reverberatory furnace'l having an opening k through its lower side,a-hydraulic ram j with table 1', and rails g, extending from said table it to said table 1', these parts being arranged substantially as herein described for the-purposes specified.

In testimony whereof we havesigned our names to this specification in the presence of two subseribin g witnesses. 4

JOHN HEATON. GEORGE HENRY HOLDEN.

Manchester.