1844.1 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



407 



dinary way ; the working' and feeding doors, the tap liole, and the general 

 appendages of furnaces for this purpose being such as are well known. 



The inventor claims as new the efiecting of such reduction hy mixing in 

 due proportion the ores known as oxides, and as carburets of iron, and by 

 exposing them to a proper temperature in a puddling furnace, without the 

 addition of any of the ordinary fluxes, or the necessary admixture of carbona- 

 u CO s matter therewith. 



Specification of a patent for *' an imp7-ovemeni in the maimfacturing of steel. 

 Granted to Simeon Broadme.vdow, of the city of New York.— May 25, 1844 

 The improvement is in the construction of the furnace for converting iron 

 into steel by cementation, and in the process of manufacturing such steel. 



In the ordinary mode of constructing the converting {furnace, the bars of 

 iron, after being piled in the coffer, or oven, in combination with carbona- 

 ceous matter, to the proper height, arc covered with a stratum of fire clay 

 and sand, or some analogous substance, which has to be renewed every time 

 the oven is cliarged. The inventor's improvement in the structure consists 

 in the using of a permanent roof of fire stone, or fire brick, in place of the 

 temporary ;covering heretofore employed ; he also uses a sliding shutter, 

 which is placed in front of the furnace, so that it may be brought down as 

 required for a purpose to be presently made known. This improvement in 

 the manufacturing of the steel, after the process of cementation has been com- 

 pleted, consists in the taking of the bars first from the upper part of the con- 

 vertory, whilst they are at the highest temperature to which they are to be 

 brought, and subjecting them immediately to the action of tilting, or of rol- 

 ling, without the necessity ot re-heating. To do this, a part of the upper layer 

 of bricks which enclose the converting oven is first removed, so as to enable 

 him to draw out the upper bars, and as the bars are successively operated 

 upon, the bricks are further removed, until the whole contents of the con- 

 vertory have been tilted, or rolled. As this process goes on, the sliding shut- 

 ter is brought down so as to enclose the part from w hich the bricks have been 

 removed. By this procedure several advantages are atlained, in the process 

 of manufacturing steel. Under that liitberto followed, the whole charge has 

 been allowed to cool down before removing the stee! from the convertory. 

 and this necessarily resulted in great less of lime; the bars after being re- 

 moved had lobe re-heated, in order to their being tilled, or rolled ; by this 

 re-heating time was consumed, and ihe steel actually injured, it being a well 

 established fact, that every time steel is highly heated, it is deteriorated. The 

 steel manufactured by the improved process, has proved to be very superior 

 to that made from the same iron in the ordinary way ; it has, in this parti- 

 cular, exceeded the anticipated benefit. 



In the accompanying drawing, fig. 1, is a front view of the converting fur- 

 nace, the temporary brick work which is used to enclose the cofler, or oven, 

 and likewise those that enclose the flues A, A, the arch B, and the chimney 

 stack C, being removed. D, is the roof of fire stone, or fire clay, which ex- 

 tends over the whole top of the coffer, or oven E. Fig. 2, shows the top of 

 this roof in plan, being a horizontal section of the furnace, in the line X, X, 

 of fig. I ; D, is the roof stone, and A, A, the flues leading from the fire 

 chamber into the arch, as usual. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig.; 



The inventor claims as new, the improvement of taking the steel from the 

 oven in its heated state, and subjecting it to the action of rollers, or of the 

 tilt-hammer, without the necessity of reheating the bars, by which improve- 

 ment the said manufacture is greatly facilitated, and the quality of the steel 

 much improved. 



REGISTER OF NEW PATENTS. 



(Uniltr this heart wr propose giving abslracis of tlie speciBcations of all tile most im- 

 portant patents as tliey are enrolled. If any additional Informatiori be required as to any 

 ??>r,'';^V,'. , ?"""* ""^y ^^ obtained by applying to Mr. LAXTON at the Office of tilis 



RAILWAY RAILS AND WHEELS. 

 ANnRE Deonot de Charlieu. of the SablioniSre Hotel, Leicester Square, 

 Middlesex, gensleman, for " Improvement.-! in rails for railways and in wheels 

 for loromotive earriages." (Communication.)— Granted March 20 ; Enrolled 

 September 20, 1844. 



This invention consists in manufacturing the rails with 

 an angular projecting flange at one edge or side ot the rail, 

 to prevent the carriages from running ofi'. The rail may be 

 so made that the flange shall form a portion of it, and there- 

 fore be inseparable from it , or the same may be made distinct 

 and bolted to it. Another improvement consists in covering 

 rails of wood or other material with flat plates of metal in 

 such manner ihat the wheels of the carriage shall press 

 upon such parts, whereby the rails may be made much 

 thinner than those heretofore constructed. The improvements in wheels for 

 locomotive carriages consists, in making them without a flange as such will 

 not be required when rails of the above description are employed. The an- 

 nexed wood engraving shows a section of one of the rails with a loose flange 

 wheels may be bolted to the side of the rail ; the drawing of the specification 

 shows several forms of rails, in some of which the flange furms a portion of 

 the rail, and which flange the patentee prefers to be at an angle of 105 de- 

 grees, but does not confine himself to that angle, and concludes by saying, I 

 would have it understood that I am aware that rails have been constructed 

 with a flange, but in such case the flange was at a right angle to the rail or 

 nearly so, 1 do not therefore claim the so constructing rails wilh flanges, but 

 what I claim is the constructing rails with flanges when the flange is at an 

 angle to the rail at not less than 93 degrees, whether such flange is fixed or 

 bolted to the rail, and also the application of metal bands to wood or other 

 rails. And lastly, the dispensing with flanges on the wheels of locomotive 

 carriages. It evidently appears from the above that the inventor claims the 

 making or application of a rail, having a projecting flange of not less than 93 

 degrees, (as much more as you like], rails having been constructed with a 

 projecting flange at right angles to the rail, that is to say, 90 degrees, or 

 nearlij so, consequently the angles from 90° to 92° 59', are not included in 

 this patent, and a rail having a projecting flange of 92° 59', may be made 

 and employed without infringing on the same, presuming the patent to be 

 good. 



LIFE PRESERVER. 



Charles Whliam Spioer, of Portman Square, Middlesex, Esq., for "an 

 invention called a nautilus or portable life preserver and swimming belt,'* — 

 Granted March 28; Enrolled September 28, 1844. 



Fig. 1. 



T-T^irfWf 



Fig. 3. 



ig- 



The annexed drawing .shows the nautilus or life preserver in two positions. 

 Fig. 1, being in an inflated state ready for use, and fig. 2, in a portable state. 

 The following is a description of the apparatus and its mode of construction ; 

 a, a, fig. 3, is a spiral spring attached at each end to ring b; e,e, e, are four 



