Patent GB-190220029-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Fuel Feeding and Distributing Apparatus.
Filed: 1902-09-13
Granted: 1903-09-12
Abstract: 20,029. Stones, W. G., and Smoke Preventer Co. Sept. 13. Mechanical stoking; firebars and grates.-Relates to various improvements in detail, in apparatus with reciprocating feeders, rotating distributers or fans, and fixed, but adjustable, distributers or deflectors, of the kind described in Specification No. 20,558, A.D. 1898. The lever 6 by which the reciprocating feeders 2 are actuated, is pivoted below and worked by a crank of adjustable throw, the crank-pin 12 being attached to a plate 11, which is pivoted at one end to the crank-disc 9 and adjustably attached thereto at the other. The lever acts on a "bonnet" 14, which slides on a bar 15 and is attached to bars 17 by which the feeders 2 are operated. Each of the bars 17 passes through specially-arranged recesses in the walls of the feeder box and operates a pair of feeders by means of a double bell-crank lever 19, 20, Fig. 4. Either the connections of the arms 19 with the feeders, or the tappets acting on the arm 20, may be adjustable to vary the stroke of the feeders. In the latter case, the tappets may he adjustable by a right and left handed screw. The shafts of the rotary distributers or fans 4 are passed through slots in the walls of the fan casings, these slots being covered by brackets supporting the adjusting-mechanism of the fixed distributers or deflectors, which consists of a screw and wheel-nut 28, the latter having recesses in its periphery to engage a locking-screw. The feeders 2 work side by side, each pair in a single box with a space between them of the form shown in Fig. 1 for the passage of the lever 31 for adjusting the fixed deflectors 5. This form of feeder also produces an agitation of the fuel, and rotary stirrers may be dispensed with. The hopper 1 is made with its rear face at a greater inclination in its lower part, to promote a ready flow of the fuel. The arms of the fans are cut away at the sides, as shown in Fig. 1. The front of the fan case is held in place by spiral springs 34, which allows it to yield when an extra large piece of fuel passes. The fixed distributers or deflectors 5 are now formed with their upper and lower portions in one piece. They are hinged at 38, Fig. 10, to plates 38x, which are pivoted below to a vertically-adjustable plate 35, and so fixed that their inclination may be varied. The plates 35 are adjusted by means of a centrallypivoted horizontal lever 31 operated by a screw and hand-wheel nut 28, Fig. 1. Alternative means for fixing and adjusting the pivoted plates 38<x> are described. The firebars are so arranged that some move to and fro longitudinally while others are raised and lowered. Preferably every third bar rises and falls only, and the two intermediate bars move to and fro at different or equal speeds, being moved forwards when the third bar is lowered and moved back when it is raised. These movements are effected by cams 45, 46, Figs. 16 and 17, on a prismatic shaft 44. The rising and falling bars have a yoke-piece 47, Fig. 17, and the sliding bars are prevented from rising by a projection 48 beneath the dead-plate, and their rear ends are forked, as shown in Fig. 18. They are supported in front by a rod 51, which may be in front of the cams. A movable shield 52 protects their front ends. They may be arranged in carriers or cradles, one, two, or more in each, the cradles being moved as above described. The cam shaft 44 is preferably rotated by ratchet gear from the fan sh'1ft 26, Figs. 1 and 3, through the medium of the crank shaft operating the lever 6. The crank-disc 9, which is driven by worm gearing from the shaft 26, has an eccentric boss, which acts as a cam to raise and lower a slide 55. This carries a pawl 54, with an adjustable claw engaging the ratchet-wheel 53 on the cam shaft 44. A hinged slotted plate 61 is provided for guiding the top of the pawl, and to this is hinged another plate 62 with a hole for receiving the end of the pawl and holding it out of gear when desired.