Patents by Inventor Colin F. Widmer

Colin F. Widmer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4326770
    Abstract: An electrical contact assembly between two conducting elements disposed face to face comprises wedge-shaped graphite inserts (26) located in similarly shaped grooves (22) in one of the faces (20). One end of each insert (26) lies short of the end of the groove (22) and the other end is proud of the face (20), so as to make good electrical contact with the other face (34) when the two faces (20,34) are pressed together. The invention achieves good electrical contact and conduction of current in applications where this has proved difficult in the past. Particular examples are clamps for graphite electrodes and connections to steel billets used as electrodes in an electro slag refining process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1980
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1982
    Assignee: James Brown & Sons, Ltd.
    Inventor: Colin F. Widmer
  • Patent number: 4314695
    Abstract: A cooling means for a furnace, particularly a blast furnace, is mounted to the furnace by means of a bellows, the rear end of which is attached to a collar surrounding one or more of the conduits for cooling water and the front end of which is adapted for attachment to the furnace shell or a member rigid therewith. In this way the cooling element is firmly and sealingly mounted in the furnace shell, the bellows allowing movement of the element with respect to the shell caused by settling of refractory material in which the cooling element is located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1982
    Assignee: James Brown & Sons
    Inventor: Colin F. Widmer
  • Patent number: 4310147
    Abstract: To improve the resistance to abrasion during use of cooled components, such as tuyeres and stack and bosh coolers, in furnaces a refractory or a metal with greater abrasion resistance than the metal, which is normally copper or a copper alloy, used for the main body of the component is introduced during casting into the cast walls of the components. The added material may be in the form of one or more segments, a mesh, or in discrete particles and is located at or just below the surface at the nose (24) of the component. Examples of the materials which may be used are particles (44,48) of so-called "hard metals" which comprise hard sintered carbides, such as tungsten carbide; stainless steel meshes and expanded elements (10,40,42) of varying thickness; and various compressed refractories capable of withstanding the thermal shock in a matrix of copper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1979
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1982
    Inventor: Colin F. Widmer
  • Patent number: 4201372
    Abstract: A tuyere is disclosed with a partition blocking the direct path between the inlet and outlet orifices (16,18) in the main cooling chamber (14). Guide members (30,32) extend from the far side (from the partition) of the orifices (16,18) towards but not reaching the nose-end wall of the cooling chamber (14). Therefore whichever orifice (16,18) is used as the inlet for cooling fluid, a fast moving stream is ensured at the nose end of the chamber (14) near the partition. This assists the cooling of the tuyere in this area, which otherwise tends to form a marked hotspot, especially when the inlet and outlet orifices (16,18) are close together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1980
    Assignee: James Brown & Sons Limited
    Inventor: Colin F. Widmer