AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IN FUEL TO FURNACES AND FIRE BOXES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IN FUEL
TO FURNACES AND FIRE BOXES."-A communication.
Scaled the 24th November 1857, and dated the 16th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th June 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR
FEEDING IN FUEL TO FURNACES AND FIRE BOXES," to be as follows:-
This Invention of an improved mode of and apparatus for feeding in fuel
to furnaces and fire boxes relates to a mode of introducing fuel to furnaces
and fire boxes from below. Beneath the fire box, which is stationary, and
is provided with suitable openings at its lower part to admit air to support
combustion, is placed a moveable box or receptacle, which is provided with
a moveable bottom or piston, and is mounted in horizontal guides, so as
to enable it to traverse to and fro under the fire box.
To the upper
side of this moveable box or receptacle is attached a perforated plate or
grating, which, when the box is moved forward, is drawn under the fire

page_text: box, and of course takes the place of the moveable box, and supports the fuel
in the stationary fire box.
To give motion to the box the Inventor proposes to use a crank and winch
handle, but other mechanical arrangements may be employed to effect the
desired object.
In order to supply fuel to the furnace, the moveable box is first brought
forward and filled with fuel, then upon turning the crank. in the opposite
direction the box will be moved back again until it comes beneath the open
end of the fire box or furnace, and by continuing to turn the crank the
moveable bottom of the fuel chamber is raised by means of a lever, and the
fuel is pushed up into the midst of the incandescent fuel in the furnace.
When this has been done, the fuel chamber may be brought forward again
until the grating or perforated plate behind it is brought under the fuel to
support the same like ordinary grate bars. The fuel chamber is then filled
a second time, so as to be ready to supply the furnace with another quantity
of fuel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing -date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself,. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward. Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Kingdon of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVED MODE OP AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IN FUEL TO FURNACES AND FIRE
BOXES," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in
.

page_text: writing under my hand and seal, 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 immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
relates to a mode of introducing fuel to furnaces and fire boxes from below.
Beneath the fire box, which is stationary, and is provided with suitable
openings at its lower part to admit air to support combustion, is placed a
moveable box or receptacle, which is provided with a moveable bottom or
piston, and is mounted in horizontal guides, so as to enable it to traverse to
and fro under the fire box. To the upper side of this moveable box or
receptacle is attached a perforated plate or grating, which, when the box is
moved forward, is drawn under the fire box, and of course takes the place of
the moveable box, and supports the fuel in the stationary fire box.
To give motion to the box the Inventor proposes to use a crank and winch
handle, but other equivalent mechanical arrangements may be employed to
effect the desired object.
In order to supply fuel to the furnace, the moveable box is first brought
forward and filled with fuel, then upon turning the crank in the opposite
direction the box will be moved back again until it comes beneath the open
end of the fire box or furnace, and by continuing to turn the crank the
moveable bottom of the fuel chamber is raised by means of a lever, and the
fuel is pushed up into the midst of the incandescent fuel in the furnace.
When this has been done, the fuel chamber may be brought forward again
until the grating or perforated plate behind it is brought under the fuel to
support the same like ordinary grate bars. The fuel chamber is then filled
a second time, so as to be ready to supply the furnace with another quantity
of fuel.
In order, however, that the Invention may be clearly understood, I have
in the accompanying Drawings shewn various views of the mechanical
appliances whereby the intended object may be carried into effect.
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section through a fire box, and showing the
apparatus by which the fuel is fed into it; Fig. 2 is a view looking up from

page_text: the under side of Fig. 1, or of Fig. 1 turned upside down; Fig. 3 represents
the feed box and grate or cut-off detached; and Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7
represent views of the several pieces for operating the feed box and grate or
cut-off detached and uncombined with each other. Similar letters in the
several Figures denote like parts.
A is the top plate of a stove or furnace, in the centre of which is placed
a fire box B, the bottom of which is open, and the sides are furnished with
openings a, a, a, to admit air to the burning fuel. The fire box is bowl-
shaped, or increasing in diameter from its bottom upwards, the object being
to supply the fresh fuel to the centre of the burning mass for two purposes;
first, to cause the gases from the fresh coal to pass through the burning mass
above it, and thus be consumed; and, secondly, to protect the sides of the
fire box from the intensity of the fire, by keeping the lesser heat of the mass
in contact with the sides. This admits of the fire box being made of thin
metal. C, C, are two ways underneath the top plate A, and in which the
feed box D and grate or cut-off plate slides, as will be described; E is a
bracket or bail, extending downwards from opposite sides of a ring b (as seen.
in the detached view, Fig. 7), and in the lower ends of which bracket or
bail is mounted a wrist pin c, to which one arm of a divided or forked lever F
(seen detached at Fig. 5) is connected, the fulcra of said lever being at d;
G (Fig. 4) is a slotted piece of metal, firmly united to the feed box D, and
having a projection e upon it, which receives the ring 6 (Fig. 1) when it comes
to the bottom of the feed box, and prevents it from dropping too low.
The lever F is fastened or pivoted to the piece G at d. On the side of the
piece G is pivoted at f a trigger H, in the edge of which a slot or notch g is
cut to receive a pin h in the lever F, for the purpose of holding up the lever
F, and then tripping the ring c, as will be described in the operation of
feeding in the fuel. I is a crank shaft, supported in the suspended arms J,
and having a winch or handle K upon one end thereof for the purpose of
rocking or turning it. The crank part of this shaft I works in the slot L
of the piece G, and imparts thereto and to the several parts connected with
it a reciprocating motion each way of the centre of motion of the crank shaft.
This motion will be variable, for as the crank part of the shaft is moving
vertically, either in going up or coming down, it will but slightly move the
part G, if at all, but when at the upper or lower part of its arc it will move
the piece G and its accompanying parts over a space equal to twice the length
of the crank.
I have spoken of one arm of the lever F and its function; there is also
another though shorter arm M of the said lever, which projects across the

page_text: slot L, and as the crank shaft rises in the said slot it catches underneath the
arm M and raises it, together with the lever F (of which it is a part) upwards,
until the pin h takes into the slot or notch g.
In raising up F, of course the ring b in the feed box which is connected to
it rises also, and just before the crank part of the shaft I slips past the arm
M the pin has entered the slot or notch g in the trigger H, which
continues to hold up the lever F after the crank shaft I has passed the
arm M. By this means the ring band its cover i, which forms a tight
bottom (though a moveable one) in the feed box D, is held up until the box
is first (by the continued operation of the crank) moved in its ways C, and
the descent of the crank part forces the trigger H away from the pin h,
which allows the ring b to drop until it reaches e, where it is held. Before
the crank shaft trips the trigger H, the shaft has passed below the arm M,
which leaves this arm in the proper position for the next operation. In
Fig. 3, D represents the feed box, and D¹ the grate bars or cut-off plate.
These two are connected together, so that as they are slidden to and fro
underneath the fire box B one or other of them shall hold up the fire in
such box.
The bars D¹ are not necessarily grate bars, though the Inventor prefers
them as such, for by a simple working of the crank K the fire can be raked
down or agitated. The particular duty of D¹ is to retain the coal in the box ;
a proper draft to the fire can be introduced elsewhere, if not sufficient, through
the openings a, the open plate D₁ therefore only necessarily acts as a cut-off
to prevent the coal from falling out of the fire box.
The advantages arising from the feeding in of the coal underneath the mass
is that the gases arising therefrom pass beneath the burning mass on the top
of it and are consumed, which saves fuel, whilst the gas pipe, which is
ordinarily several inches in diameter, for leading off the gases, need not in
the present case be over two inches in diameter for stoves. The burning out
of the fire box is also prevented by keeping the dense heat and burning gas
in the centre of the fire, and keeping the surrounding though less heated
products as a shield for the metal.
The operation of feeding in the coal is as follows:-The feed box D is run
out to the opening in the top plate A (Fig. 2), and the coal thrown into said
box, the bottom plate i being down, as seen in Fig. 1. The crank is now
turned, and the feed box will be immediately drawn underneath the fire box,
and by continuing the turning, the bottom of the feed box and the ccal on it
is forced up into the fire box underneath and amidst the burning fuel
therein.

page_text: By continuing to still further turn the crank, the feed box D is run back
while the grate bars or cut-off plate D¹ takes its place and holds the coal in
the fire box. Kindling materials may be introduced in the same way to the
fire.
By removing the lid or cover i from the ring, and running the feed box
empty underneath the fire box, its whole contents will drop through said feed
box into the ash-pit below.
. This mode of feeding in fuel to furnaces is intended to be applied to loco-
motives, heaters, and stoves of all kinds, and the mechanical means will of
course vary with the particular fire box or chamber to be fed, or its locality.
But these changes would be obvious, and fairly come within the scope of the
present Invention.
Having thus fully described the nature of the Invention that has been
communicated to me as aforesaid, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
1
First, the mode herein shewn and described of feeding in fuel to the under
part of the burning mass in the fire box. I claim particularly the combined
use of the feed box and grate bars, or cut-off plate, or their mechanical
equivalents, as described.
I also claim the combination of the crank shaft I, slotted piece G, lever F,
and trigger H, or their mechanical-equivalents, for sliding the feed box and
grate or cut off, and for raising and lowering the bottom of the feed box, as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)