IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FURNACE APPARATUS OF STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Newton at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th May
1867.
I, ROBERT NEWTON, of Lower Providence Mill, near Keighley, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FURNACE APPARATUS OF STEAM BOILERS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention has for its purport the two-fold object of economizing fuel
and the better combustion of smoke. For this purpose to either side of the
circular flue (when applied to a flued boiler for example) I affix a guide
framework consisting of a centre rib, and also of an upper and lower one
above and below the centre rib and equidistant from it, the three forming part
of or being connected to the backing, which is affixed to the sides of the flue
(unless it is desired to affix them directly to the boiler flue) and extending.
from the front part of the boiler almost to the bridge of the furnace. Within.
these guides I place an endless chain of transverse horizontal fire-bars, the
upper portion of the chain resting upon the upper surface of the centre rib,..
whilst the lower portion rests upon the upper surface of the lower rib.. I also
make such fire-bars, by preference, of wrought iron, the sections of the same
being either triangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, septagonal, octagonal,
or even of a larger number of sides if desired, though I prefer the octagonal
one. The ends of these bars which rest within the guides (when not in
motion) may be of the same section as the remainder of the bars. I cause-

page_text: the set or chain of fire-bars to extend beyond the front of the boiler, such
projecting portion being covered by a hopper, from which it receives its supply
of fuel, and at either end and within the endless chain of fire-bars I place a
shaft transversely, having near each end of the fire-bars a wheel, the teeth of
which are cut according to the section of bars used; these wheels by means
of motive power applied to the front shaft carrying the bars slowly forward,
and consequently the fuel that is upon them, being guided by the centre and
upper ribs, and returning them between the centre and lower ribs, the action
of returning at the bridge end breaking "clinkers" and dross. I may here
mention that each adjoining pair of bars are coupled together near to the
guide bars by a link the upper edge of which may be flat and the lower one
of semicircular form, in order that it may easily roll over the shafts at either
end of the chain a similar additional link is also placed between the above
link and the guide bars, and connected respectively to the two adjoining bars
of two adjoining pairs of bars. I am thus enabled by this two-fold arrange-
ment of links to keep the bars at an uniform distance from each other and
to make them as it were a compact body of bars.
In conjunction with the above apparatus I use the apparatus (if desired)
described in my former Patent, No. 878, dated March 24th 1866, with the
object of keeping the bars cool as well as more perfectly attaining the objects
of my Invention, viz., economy of fuel and combustion of smoke, as by the
combination I am enabled to use an inferior and therefor a cheaper class of
fuel.