IMPROVE- MENTS IN FURNACE FIRE-GRATES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Ashley Wilson, of Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, and James Smith, also of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster aforesaid, Baker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FURNACE FIRE-GRATES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Ashley Wilson and
James Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 26th February 1863.
We, WILLIAM ASHLEY WILSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JAMES SMITH, also of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
aforesaid, Baker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACE FIRE-GRATES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of the parts forming furnace
fire-grates, and consists in the use or employment. of stationary bars and
travelling bars placed alternately to form the support for the fuel, and such
bars, herein-after more particularly mentioned, when so arranged, may be
distributed either lengthwise or across the furnace.
The stationary bars are of the usual kind and rest on bearers as at present.
The travelling bars are made of links or short bars jointed at suitable distances
apart so that they form an endless chain, and for this reason they are herein-
after termed "chain bars." At either end of the furnace fire-grate or at the
sides, should the bars be placed transversely, the said chain bars are carried
by and pass around a drum or shaft, from the surface or surfaces of which are
a number of projecting arms or tappets formed to fit into or between or other-
wise to catch the links of each separate endless chain of bars. Motion is

page_text: communicated to the said drum or drums, or shaft or shafts, in any convenient
manner from any available source, so that when in use one half of the chain
bars of each endless chain will be moving immediately in contact with the fire
and the other half in the ash-pit. In some cases we employ under the surface
of the said chain bars, in contact with the fire and parallel with the stationary
bars, so that they may rest on the same bearers, smaller stationary bars to keep
the chain bars from "sagging," and to maintain them in an uniform position
in relation to the stationary bars. Instead however of the chain bars
travelling continuously from end to end or from side to side in one direction by
a rotary motion, they may have communicated to them by cams or any other
well-known change gear attached to the drum or drums, shaft or shafts, a
reciprocating or an intermittent motion, so that they may travel any desired
length in one direction and as far or a shorter distance or length back again,
or they may travel a short distance, then stop, and so on alternately.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Ashley Wilson and James Smith in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 26th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
ASHLEY WILSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, and
JAMES SMITH, also of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster aforesaid, Baker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said William Ashley Wilson and James Smith, Her special licence, that
we, the said William Ashley Wilson and James Smith, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Ashley Wilson and
James Smith, our 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
FURNACE FIRE-GRATES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
William Ashley Wilson and James Smith, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said

page_text: 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 we, the said William Ashley Wilson and James
Smith, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of the parts forming furnace
fire-grates, and consists in the use or employment of stationary bars and
travelling bars placed alternately to form the support for the fuel, and such
bars, herein-after more particularly mentioned, when so arranged, may be
distributed either lengthwise or across the furnace.
The stationary bars are of the usual kind and rest on bearers as at present.
The travelling bars are made of short links or short bars jointed at suitable
distances apart so that they form an endless chain, and for this reason they
are herein-after termed "chain bars." At either end of the furnace fire-grate,
or at the sides should the bars be placed transversely, the said chain bars
are carried by and pass around a drum or shaft, from the surface or surfaces of
which are a number of projecting arms or tappets to fit into or between or
otherwise to catch the links of each separate endless chain of bars. Motion is
commmunicated to the said drum or drums, or shaft or shafts, in any convenient
manner from any available source, so that when in use one half of the chain
bars of each endless chain will be moving immediately in contact with the fire
and the other half in the ash-pit. In some cases we employ under the
surfaces of the said chain bars, in contact with the fire, and parallel with the
stationary bars, so that they may rest on the same bearers, smaller stationary
bars to keep the chain bars from "sagging," and to maintain them in an
uniform position in relation to the stationary bars. Instead, however, of the
chain bars travelling continuously from end to end or from side to side in one
O direction by a rotary motion, they may have communicated to them by cams
or any other well-known change gear attached to the drum or drums, shaft or
shafts, a reciprocating or an intermittent motion so that they may travel any
desired length in one direction and as far or a shorter distance or length
back again, or they may travel a short distance, then stop, and so on
alternately.
That our said improvements may be clearly understood, and that the details
of the shapes or forms and arrangements of parts which we have practically
carried into use may be scen, we have hereunto appended a Sheet of illustrative
Drawings.

page_text: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a plan view both of part of a
furnace fire-grate arranged or constructed according to our Invention, the
chain bars being set to travel or move continuously or without stopping.
a' represents the stationary bars; the chain bars of the same form as
those described in the Figures herein-after referred to; c' the front carrying
drum or shaft, from the surface of which the tappets d¹ project, and fit
into or against the chain bars b', so that as the drum or shaft revolves by
the motion communicated by the belt e', through the pulley f', the said chain
bars shall travel without stopping, preferably, from front to back of the
furnace. At the back of the furnace the chain bars may be carried and
propelled by a similar drum, or shaft with tappets, but usually it will be
sufficient to have a plain cylindrical drum free to revolve in its bearings.
But the Figures or views to be referred to presently shew the arrangement
which we prefer, for in that above described there is some little difficulty in
obtaining a motion sufficiently slow to give the fuel or gases evolved therefrom
time to make proper combustion.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section (taken through between the stationary and
travelling bars and looking on the chain bars); Fig. 4 a plan view; Fig. 5
a transverse section; and Fig. 6 a front elevation, the arrangement being such
that the motion given to the chain bars is a forward one for a short distance,
after which they are allowed to stop, and so on, moving and stopping alter-
nately. Like letters designate the same parts in all the views.
a represents the stationary bars, shewn of the usual shape, in two lengths, and
resting on cross bearers b, all of which, with the exception of those at the ends,
are notched and recessed to allow the stationary bars to pass through, and the
carrying bars c, to prevent the chain bars d from "sagging," to rest thereon.
The chain bars d are made of a good width and with air apertures e there-
through. At the under side the projecting pieces f (see enlarged view, Fig. 7)
fit into each other, and are coupled by pins or bolts g, preferably, with the
heads rivetted down, thus forming articulated bars; h shew transverse rollers
for supporting the chain bars underneath; i, the back chain bars supporting
roller, at freedom to rotate in its bearings which are part of the framework j;
k, the front supporting shaft resting in two screw sliding nuts l, so that by
the screws m passing through the front framework n, the chain bars may be
tightened or slackened at pleasure. Motion is communicated through or by
the bell crank o, connecting rod p and lever q, secured on or to the front
supporting shaft k, at the rate of about two double (that is up and down)
strokes a minute. Crank brackets r (shewn only in Fig. 3) to every chain of
bars, or two large crank brackets, one at either side, are secured to the shaft

page_text: or drum k. These crank brackets 7 carry for each chain of bars two impulse
pallets s jointed on pins t, or on rods passing from one side to the other, and
the motion above referred to, which is reciprocating, should preferably give a
throw sufficient to enable the pullets s to move the chain bars half a link each
stroke; u, a guard of metal or fire-brick to prevent the fuel from being carried
over the back of the fire-grate; v, the dead plate; w shews a hopper with
supply control slide x, door y, and coal guidez, which latter can be slid
upwards into the hopper out of the way when the "firing" is done by hand,
but as there is nothing new in the hopper or its immediate connections it need
not be further described.
All the Figures or views in the Drawings edo not shew every part that
would appear therein, some parts being omitted that a knowledge of the whole
might readily be obtained. In the Drawings also two stationary bars appear
placed together or alongside each other, and only one chain bar has inter-
vened between the pairs of stationary bars, but any arrangement in numbers
may be made, that is, there may be more than one stationary bar and travelling
bar placed together, and alternately, or there may be unequal numbers, but the
arrangements shewn will usually be found the best.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and set forth the
particulars of the same, we would have it understood that we do not confine
ourselves to the arrangements herein described and shewn in the Drawings,
as many modifications may be made, but what we claim is, the right to make,
use, exercise, and vend furnace fire-grates, in which stationary and travelling
or "chain bars" are placed alternately, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Ashley Wilson and James
Smith, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fifth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-three
WILLIAM ASHLEY WILSON. (L.B.)
(L.S.)
In the presence of
JOHN THOMSON KING,
JAMES SMITH.
Patent Agent,
4, Clayton Square,
Liverpool.