Improvements in or connected with Steam Generator and other Furnaces, and in Steam-jet Blowing Apparatus used in connection therewith.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 18th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 8th Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Steam Generator and other
Furnaces, and in Steam-jet Blowing Apparatus used in connection
therewith.
We, JAMES JONES MELDRUM, Engineer, and THOMAS FREDERICK MELDRUM, Engineer,
both of 25 Cathedral Yard, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare
the nature of our said invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference mainly to the combustion of fuel such as coal
generally, but more especially small and poor fuels, such as coke dust, breeze, coal dust,
ashpit refuse, and the like, and has for one of its objects to utilize the fuel to the best
advantage, that is, to effect complete combustion of it.
The invention is applicable to the furnaces of steam generators generally; heating,
puddling, chemical, and other like, or analogous furnaces.
According to this invention, the air used to support combustion of the fuel is
introduced below the grate bars of a furnace by artificial means, namely, by a steam
jet, blower or blowers; and this blower consists of a steam nozzle, combining cylinder
or chamber, coned inlet, and diverging outlet tube, the main or major portion of
the body of the blowers lying within the ash-pit, or shell or case of the furnace,
and the inlet portion of the blowers projecting only a small distance outside of the
furnace.
According to one arrangement, in applying the blower or blowers to, say, a
horizontally arranged furnace, they the blowers are disposed beneath the fire-bars or
bearers in a horizontal position, and, if two are used, and the furnace be provided
with a front plate and closed ash-pit, they may be arranged to lie one at each side
or corner thereof, the ash-pit door being disposed between them. The inlet and
steam jet are protected by a shield, arranged and connected in such a manner,
that the entrance of air takes place from below, or at the side, or both; by this
means, the inlet of the blower and steam nozzle are guarded or shielded against
coal, cinders and other matters being thrown or falling into them: this guard
projects only a little in front of the face or plate of the furnace or its ash-pit.
These guards may form part of the ash-pit enclosing plate when one is used, or be
separate things suitably connected.
If the blower is fixed in position to a furnace or ash-pit, to the front plate, the
body, that is the mouth thereof may he clipped by means of a ring nut with one
or more small lugs to prevent rotation, the blower having a collar on the opposite
side..
The steam nozzle in the above case, may be suitably and conveniently secured in
position in and to the guard and shield into which it is screwed, or it may be secured
to and in a steam chamber which is fixed to the shield by means of a nut or like
device; in either case cleaning plugs are provided for obtaining access to the inside
of the nozzle.
.
The steam in the above case or arrangement, is preferably conducted to the nozzle
or steam chamber through the metal of the shield or inside same, in such a manner
that such conduit does not form a projection or lie outside the shield.
In the application of the invention to one form of steam generator, such as of
the Cornish or Lancashire or other analogous or like kind, the ash-pit door may be
provided with a lug on each side resting on projections, brackets being provided
therefor having adjustable set-screws which fit against a wedge or projection on
the plate.
A modified construction of blower inlet and steam jet arrangement more particu-
larly suitable in cases where the blower is fixed in a vertical position say outside the

page_text: ash-pit or furnace, consists in fixing the nozzle in'n bridge across the inlet, through
which bridge the steam is conducted to the nozzle- by a suitable conduit formed in
said bridge. This bridge, when used in cases where the blower is fixed to the plate
at the inlet. end, may be provided with or formed on a ring nut. which is adapted to
screw onto the outside of the inlet in such a manner as to clip it (the blower) to said
plate.
In the above description we have specified or described our invention for convenience
as applied in certain manners and to certain types of furnaces, but we wish it to be
understood that the arrangement and construction of the blowers and their parts,
may be applied to various kinds of furnaces, and in modified manners; and that also
the construction and arrangement of parts of the steam nozzle and inlet parts of the
blowers may be used in connection with or applied to other forms and arrangements
of blowers.
1
101 y of Donember 1880
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicants' Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Steam Generator and other
Furnaces, and in Steam-jet Blowing Apparatus used in connection
therewith.
We, JAMES JONES MELDRUM, Engineer, and THOMAS FREDERICK MELDRUM;
Engineer, both of 25 Cathedral Yard, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement, that
is to say
This invention has reference to the combustion of fuel such as coal, but more
especially small and poor fuels, such as coke dust, breeze, coal dust, ashpit refuse,
and the like, and has for one of its objects to provide improved apparatus for
utilising the fuel to the best advantage, that is, to effect complete combustion of it.
The invention is applicable to the furnaces of steam generators generally, heating,
puddling, chemical, and other like or analogous furnaces.
According to this invention, the air used to support combustion of the fuel is intro-
duced below the grate bars of a furnace by a steam jet blower or blowers: and this
blower consists of a steam nozzle, combining cylinder or chamber, coned inlet, and
diverging outlet tube, the main or major portion of the body of the blowers being
within the ashpit or shell or case of the furnace, the inlet portion of the blowers
projecting only a small distance outside of the furnace.
The
The blower or blowers, in a horizontally arranged furnace, is or are disposed
beneath the firebars or bearers in a horizontal position, and, if two are used, and the
furnace be provided with a front plate and closed ashpit, they may be arranged to lie
one at each side or corner thereof, the ashpit door being disposed between them.
inlet and steam jet are protected by a shield, arranged and connected in such a manner,
that the entrance of air takes place from below, or at the side, or both: by this
means the inlet of the blower and steam nozzle are guarded and shielded against coal,
cinders, and other matters being thrown or falling into them. These guards project
only a little in front of the face or front plate of the furnace or its ashpit; and they
may form part of the ashpit enclosing plate when one is used, or be separate pieces
suitably connected.
If the blower is fixed in position to a furnace or ashpit, the mouth of the blower
may be clipped to the ashpit front by means of a ring nut provided with one or more
small lugs to prevent rotation, the blower having a collar on the opposite side.
The steam nozzle in the above case, may be suitably and conveniently secured in
position to the guard or shield, into. which it is screwed or it may be secured to and
in a steam chamber which is fixed to the shield by means of a nut or like device.

page_text: In either case cleaning plugs are, provided
nozzle.
Obtaining access to vie Site of C
The steam in the above case or arrangement, is preferably conducted to the nozzle
or steam chamber through the metal of the shield, or inside same, in such a manner
that such conduit does not form a projection or lie outside the shield.
In the application of the invention to one forin of steam generator furnace, such
as of the Cornish or Lancashire or other analogous or like kind, the ashpit door may
be provided with a lug on each side resting in inclined projections; or, brackets
having adjustable set screws which fit against a wedge or projection on the plate may
be provided therefor.
A modified construction of blower inlet and steam jet arrangement consists in
fixing the nozzle in a bridge across the inlet, through which bridge the steam
is conducted to the nozzle by a suitable conduit formed in said bridge. This
bridge, when used in cases where the blower is fixed to a plate at its inlet end,
may be provided with or formed on a ring nut which is adapted to screw onto
the outside of the inlet in such a manner as to clip the blower to said plate.
In the above description we have specified or described our invention for convenience
as applied in certain manners and to certain types of furnaces, but we wish it to be
understood that the arrangement and construction of the blowers and their parts, may
be applied to various kinds of furnaces, and in modified manners: and that also
the construction and arrangement of parts of the steam nozzle, and inlet parts of
the blowers, may be used in connection with or applied to other forms and arrangements
of blowers.
In the drawings which serve to illustrate this invention we shew examples of
apparatus provided with, or constructed according to, the improvements the nature of
which has been above generally described.
In these drawings,
Figure 1 shews a front elevation of a steam generator furnace provided with
improvements according to our invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation thereof taken at the lines X X Figure 1; and
Figure 2 is a detail showing the shield and steam nozzle.
Figure 3 is a front view of the ashpit door,
Figure 4 is a sectional side elevation of same at the line X X Figure 3, and
Figure 5 is an elevation taken through the plate in connection with which the door
is fitted shewing the door in outside side elevation.
Figure 6 is a front elevation, and
Figure 7 a longitudinal elevation in section, of the steam jet blower wherein the
steam is conducted to the nozzle through a hollow bridge.
Figure 8 is a front elevation of a Cornish boiler provided with two blowers of the
type set forth with reference to Figures 6 and 7; and
Figure 9 shews in front elevation a brick furnace provided with blowers of the type
set forth with reference to Figures 6 and 7.
In the various views the same letters and figures of reference are used to denote the
same or equivalent parts wherever they occur.
With reference generally to the drawings, a designates the blower, which consists
of a coned or rounded inlet b, combining cylinder or mixing tube c, diverging outlet d,
and steam nozzle e; f is the door used to close the aperture by which access is had to
the ashpit of the furnace below the bars; is the plate to which the door f is fitted
and by which it is supported, and to which also the blowers a in Figures 1, 2, 6 and 7,
are fitted; i is the steam pipe by which steam is conveyed to the blowers; & is the
furnace front plate; is the furnace door; m is the furnace; and n is the ashpit.
Referring now more particularly to Figures 1, 2, and 24, the entrance or inlet b
and steam jet nozzle of the blowers, a, in this case are guarded by the shields o.
These shields in this example are formed on the ashpit plate h, and are open at the
ower part and at the outside, the upper and inner sides being closed as shewn.
Through this open part of the shields the air, which is caused to flow into the blowers,
enters. As previously stated the end served by these shields is that they prevent all

page_text: coal, ashes, cinders, dust, etc., which may fall from that being passed into or out of
the furnace or ashpit, from entering the blowers, thereby rendering their operation
free from possible hindrances or impediments, which might follow or result, if such
matters should enter the:n.
The inlet end of the blower a in Figure 2 passes through the ashpit plate h, and.is
fixed to it by a ring nut y, which screws onto said end, and a flange g provided on
the blower and which bears upon the inner side of the plate h. By turning and
screwing up the blower bodies into the nut g, it will be seen, they will be drawn up
rigidly to the plate h, and firmly held in the horizontal position, as shewn. The
blowers lie, practically, wholly within the ashpit n.
.
The nozzle e in this case is fixed to the metal plate forming the shield o, and it is
fastened thereto by a nut el, which screws onto the shank into which the nozzle e
screws, and which shank passes through the metal of the shield, and is provided in the
inner side of the shield by a shoulder 3. The shank e constitutes a steam chest or
chamber into which the steam pipe i is screwed and through which the steam enters
the bore of the nozzle e. The bore of the nozzle is carried through the shank e²,
and at this the shank-end is provided with a removable screwed plug e. This
construction provides a means by which the nozzle may be cleaned, it being merely
necessary to remove the plug e and pass a suitable bar or rod or other cleaning
device through it, when all obstructions can be at once removed.
The ashpit door f (by which the aperture for gaining access to the ashpit for
withdrawing ashes from below the grate or other purpose is, under ordinary working
conditions, closed), is provided with a wing or lug on each side, the front surface
of which lugs are planes, inclined downwards and backwards, forming wedges, which
fit into corresponding recesses formed between the plate h and projecting catches h²
provided thereon (see Figures 3, 4, and 5). The door is adapted to be taken off and
put on by the handle f. It will be plain that when the door is put on-that is, its
lugs slipped into the recesses formed between the plate h and the catches h²-the
action which takes place due to the wedge shape of said lugs and recesses, is, that the
door by its own weight automatically brings itself to a seat with the edge of the metal
surrounding the aperture at all points, and makes the required joint therewith. This
construction of door is provided on all the examples of steam generators having our
improvements and shewn in the drawings.
In the construction and arrangement of steam jet blower shewn in Figures 6 and 7
of the drawings, the nozzle e is secured to a hollow bridge o fixed across the inlet b,
and the steam is conducted to the nozzle from the steam pipe i by way of this bridge,
the steam pipe being connected to a hollow neck o¹ connected with the bridge o and
running at right angles thereto. This construction is particularly applicable to cases
where two or more blowers are employed in a furnace, as a common steam pipe is
employed for both; that is to say, steam is led to one blower by the pipe i, whilst
the steam to the other blower is supplied from the former blower by a pipe (such as i¹
in Figures 8 and 9) connecting the said necks o' of the two instruments together. Of
course, in cases where one blower only is required, one side of the neck o¹ can be
dispensed with and the passage in the neck and bridge is in the form of a simple
elbow instead of a T shaped one; or, the steam may be led direct into the hollow
bridge o.
In this last described arrangement the bridge o and neck o' are fixed on, or form
part of, the ring or nut which screws on the neck of the blower a, and by which the
blower is fixed to and held by the plate in the manner of the ring nut g specified
with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Also in this case, a screwed plug 6' is provided in
the bridge o over the bore of the nozzle e, for the purpose, mainly, of enabling the
nozzle to be cleaned when required.
When a blower of this type is not secured by the head to a plate as in the above
case, the hollow cross bar o may still be fitted to the blower by a ring nut such as g;
or it may be connected in other suitable ways.
It will be seen upon reference to Figures 1 and 2, that the ashpit is wholly closed
by the plate with its door f, and that the blowers are set in this plate one. on

page_text: each side of the door, the steam being led to the blowers by the pipe t.. In.
Figure 8 the steam is led to one blower by the pipe i, and from this it is carried to the.
other through the hollow neck o¹ of the first, and the pipe ¹, which couples the two
blowers together.
The arrangement shewn in Figure 9 consists of the application of the parts herein.
described to a brickwork furnace. In this case the plate is set in the front brickwork
wall H in any suitable way, the door f being fitted to the plate in the manner above
described; and the blowers a are set in the brickwork of the wall and pass through it
under the grate bars of the furnace in the same manner as set forth with reference to
the above figures. As a modification of this arrangement the plate h may be made
large enough to have fixed to it the blowers as well as the door f-as in the Cornish
furnace.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what mauner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. The herein described construction and combination of parts for supplying air to
steam generator or other furnaces, consisting of a closed ashpit having an ashpit
door f, one or more steam jet blowers a, and a shield or shields o over the inlets of said
blowers; substantially as set forth.
2. In steam jet blowers adapted to supply air to steam generator or other furnaces, a
shield, such as o, having connected to it the steam nozzle e of the apparatus; for the
purposes set forth.
3. In a steam jet blower adapted to supply air to steam generator or other furnaces,
a shield such. as o, having connected to it the stean nozzle e of the apparatus,
and said steam nozzle having in its outer end a plug e; for the purposes set
forth.
4. In a steam jet blower adapted to supply air to steam generator or other furnaces,
a steam nozzle e having connected with it a steam chest or chamber c, introduced
between the steam supply pipe of the apparatus and the nozzle; substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
6. In apparatus for supply air to steam generator or other furnaces, the combina-
tion of parts particularly described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 2 by which
the blowers are held in position and the steam nozzle supported, that is to say,
connecting the inlet ends of the blowers to the ash-pit plate h by ring nuts g on the
outside of the plate, a collar or shoulder gl being provided on the blowers on the inside,
and the steam nozzle e of the apparatus being fixed and supported by the guards o over
the mouths of the blowers.
6. The steam jet blowers set forth with reference to Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings,
consisting of the combining cylinder c, the rounded or coned inlet b, the diverging
outlet tube d, the central steam nozzle e, and a hollow cross bar o to which said nozzle e
is connected and through which the steam passes to the nozzle.
7. A steam jet blower having a cross bar o across the inlet thereof, said cross bar
being hollow and having connected to it the steam nozzle of the apparatus, and
adapted to convey the steam from the steam supply pipe of the apparatus to the nozzle ;
substantially as set forth.
8. A steam jet blower having a hollow cross bar o across the inlet thereof, a nozzle e
fixed to said bar and through which bar the steam is supplied to the nozzle (as
specified in the preceding claim 7), and a cleaning plug e; substantially as set
forth.
9. The combination and construction of parts set forth with reference to Figures
and 7 of the drawings, consisting of the combination with the inlet or mouth b of the
blower, of a ring nut g by which the blower is secured to the ashpit plate h, and a
hollow cross bar o formed on said ring and supporting the steam nozzle e, and
through which steam is supplied to said nozzle; for the purposes specified.
10. The herein described improvement in a steam generator or other furnace
having a closed ashpit and adapted to be worked under a pressure greater than the

page_text: atmosphere; consisting of the use in connection with the ashpit thereof, of a door having
connected with it a wedge or wedges or inclined plane or planes so arranged thereon,
that the weight of such door acting through such wedge or inclined planes, in
connection with suitable provisions on a seat provided in or in connection with the
ashpit, presses the door against its seat.
11. In a steam generator or other furnace having a closed ashpit and adapted to be
worked under a pressure greater than that of the atmosphere, the ashpit door f having
wedge shaped lugs f¹ and used in combination with a plate forming a seat for the
door, and provided with catches adapted to receive said lugs f¹, the wedge shaped
lugs and the catches being so arranged that the weight of the door causes it to
automatically come onto its seat; substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
12. The arrangement and combination of the parts constructed as described,
specified particularly with reference to Figure 8, consisting of the closed ashpit
having a front enclosing plate h, door f provided with lugs f¹, a steam jet blower
at each side of such door of the form, and fixed at and by their inlet ends to said
plate, as specified, and having a hollow cross bar o across the entrance of said mouth
to which the steam jets are fixed and through which the steam is supplied, and a
steam pipe connecting such blowers by the necks o'; all as set forth with reference
to the drawings.
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