IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR SUPPLYING HEAT TO STEAM GENERATORS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Horrocks, of Eccles, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR
SUPPLYING HEAT TO STEAM GENERATORS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,

page_text: with wheels to run on rails inclined to some extent, so that the said door
or lid may be readily drawn or pushed to one side when the furnace has
to be fed with fuel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Horrocks in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HORROCKS, of Eccles, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Horrocks, Her special
licence that I, the said James Horrocks, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Horrocks, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FURNACES FOR SUPPLYING HEAT TO STEAM GENERATORS, AND FOR OTHER PUR-
POSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Horrocks, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Horrocks, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of certain improvements in a former Invention

page_text: for which Her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth
of July, in the year One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, have
been granted to me.
In a furnace constructed in accordance with the said Inventions the
fuel is consumed in a vertical chamber having a fire-clay or refractory
Jining through which air is admitted.
According to a part of my present Invention I form the said lining of
perforated bricks or blocks of burnt fire-clay or refractory material, the
perforations being comparatively small and close together, so that air can
flow from a space between the said lining and the outer shell of the
furnace through such perforations in a considerable number of fine
streams, which become heated in flowing through the perforations, and
thus tend to cool the lining.
A further improvement consists in forming separate air spaces com-
municating through passages or perforations with the interior of the
furnace, and provided with air inlet ports or openings fitted with sliding
shutters, or otherwise so fitted as that the inlet of air into any one of the
sections can be regulated or be shut off without interfering with the
admission of air into the other air spaces. I am thus enabled to regulate
the admission of air to different sections of the furnace and to admit air
only at the lower part of the furnace when the furnace is not required to
be in active operation. I may also admit steam at certain times into one
or more of the said air spaces or into the air space when there is only
one air space to check the combustion or to lower or put out the fire
during the night or at other times.
According to a further improvement I form a chamber at the bottom
of the furnace of less diameter than the remainder of the furnace, and
I support the upper lining independently of the wall or walls of the
said chamber, so that the said wall or walls or any part of the said
chamber can be renewed without disturbing the said upper lining.
Perforations in the wall or walls of the said chamber communicate with
a surrounding air space, into which air can be admitted when the other
air inlets are closed.
According to another part of my Invention I force air by mechanical
1
11

page_text: furnace with a door or moveable cover or valve, as for example, I may
provide the feed opening for fuel with a door or lid which is fitted with
wheels to run on rails inclined to some extent, so that the said door or
lid may be readily drawn or pushed to one side when the furnace has to
be fed with fuel.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I have
supplied a Sheet of Drawings, to which I will immediately refer, the said
Drawings being made to a scale of about three-quarters of an inch to
the foot and marked with letters of reference, similar marks indicating
corresponding parts in the various Figures.
In the said Drawings Fig. 1 represents an elevation; Fig. 2, a vertical
section; and Fig. 3, a horizontal section of a furnace constructed in
accordance with my Invention.
In the said Figures A is the outer shell, which is constructed of cast
iron, as in my said former Invention, but I do not wish to confine myself
to the use of this material.
The said shell is formed in sections a, b, c, and d, which have internal
flanches by means of which they may be bolted or secured together.
The said flanches also serve as supports for the inner refractory lining 1,
which is formed of fire-clay or other suitable refractory material. In
practice I build up the said lining of blocks f,f, which are moulded in
the form of a sector of an annulus, so that when a number are arranged
together they form a circle as seen in Fig. 3.
In the process of moulding each block is formed with a number of
perforations extending through the block from the convex side to the
concave side thereof. In the case of a furnace which I have constructed,
and which is now in action, each block is formed with forty-two per-
forations, and measures about seven inches by nine inches on its inner or
concave side.
I prefer that the whole of the inner lining with the exception of the
upper part thereof shall be formed of perforated blocks or bricks. The
said upper part, that is to say, the lining of the upper section a, not
being exposed to excessive heat, does not require to be perforated.
Spaces g, h, i, and j, are left between the outside of the said lining and the
inner side of the shell A, the said spaces being separated by the flanches

page_text: formed on the sections a, b, c, and d. Openings k, k, fitted with sliding
shutters 7, 1, are formed at one or more points in the said outer shell.
The amount of air admitted to any section of the furnace, that is to say,
into any one of the air spaces g, h, i, j, can be varied so that the action
of the furnace can be better regulated than if there were only one air
space around the lining as in my said former Invention.
The forms and arrangements of such inlets, and the method of regu-
lating the area for the passage of air through such inlets, may be varied
without departing from the intent of my Invention.
The lower section of the furnace is contracted in diameter, and is
surrounded by an air space j, which is separated from the other air
spaces. The whole of the lining with the exception of the said lower
section is supported on a flanch m which projects from the shell A, so
that the lining of the said lower section can be repaired or be entirely
removed and be replaced with a new lining without disturbing the lining
of the upper sections. I prefer to maintain the greatest heat in the said
lower section, especially at times when the furnace is not required to be
in active operation. As the incombustible remains of the fuel enter the
said lower section they are melted by the intense heat and flow from the
furnace through an opening n. At times when it may be desirable to
reduce the consumption of fuel to a minimum, as for example, during
the night, the air inlet openings of the upper sections may be closed or
nearly closed and air be admitted only or to the greatest extent into the
air space surrounding the lower section. At such times and at other
times when considered to be desirable I may admit steam into one or
more of the sections for the purposes herein-before indicated.
The upper part of the furnace is contracted by means of the casting o,
in which is formed an opening for the admission of fuel. The said
opening is provided with a door p, which is fitted with wheels r, r. The
said wheels are arranged to run upon inclined rails, one of which is seen
When the door is drawn by suitable means, as for example by
means of a chain and windlass, the door is raised from its seat by reason
of the wheels r ascending the said rails, and the said door may then be
readily withdrawn from over the said opening.
at 8.
This arrangement may be modified, as for example, the door may be a
hinged to the casting o. Excepting at times when the inlet of air to the

page_text: upper part of the furnace is to be checked or stopped as aforesaid it may
not be necessary to close the said opening. When the furnace is worked
with a forced draught the door p is only withdrawn at times when a
charge of fuel has to be admitted into the furnace, the said opening being
closed immediately after the admission of each charge. In such a case
I dispense with the inlet openings k, k, or close the said openings, and I
force air by means of a fan or other suitable appliance into the air
spaces g, h, i, and j, or into one or more of them, as may be desired, the
pipes or conduits which convey the air into the said spaces being fitted
with valves or means whereby the admission of air may be regulated.
I prefer to admit the air by separate pipes into each space and to have
means for separately regulating the admission of air into each space.
This part of my Invention may however be used in furnaces having only
one air space, as in my said former Invention. B, B, are the outlet
passages which convey the heated products of the combustion of fuel in
the furnace to the steam generator or generators, or to the puddling
furnace or other construction or appliance, in which such heated
gates are to be usefully employed. The form and number of such
openings may be varied.
The action of the improved furnace and the method of working or
managing the same, and also the manner in which it may be connected
with a steam generator or other appliance, will be better understood if
reference is made to the Specification and Drawings of my herein-before
mentioned former Invention.
Having now fully described and indicated the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same may be carried into effect,
I would in conclusion have it to be understood that with reference to
furnaces substantially of the description to which my herein-mentioned
Inventions principally relate, I claim,-
First. The furnace constructed, fitted, and arranged substantially as
and for the purposes herein-before set forth, and as illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The perforated lining through which air is admitted in
numerous streams, substantially as and for the purpose set forth and
indicated herein-before and in the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Thirdly. The arrangement for separately regulating the admission of
air into different parts of the furnace, substantially as and for the purpose
or purposes set forth and indicated herein-before and in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Fourthly. The formation and arrangement of the lower section or
chamber and the arrangements for facilitating the repair or renewal of
the lining or walls of such chamber, substantially as set forth and
indicated herein-before and in the accompanying Drawings.
And, lastly. Forcing air by means of a fan or other suitable appliance
through the said perforated lining into the furnace.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Horrocks, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Signed and sealed by the said
James Horrocks in the pre-
sence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
JAMES HORROCKS. (L.S.)