IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE AND GAS CONSUMING FURNACES
Year: 1884

page_text: I ARTHUR CHARLES HENDERSON of 47, Museum Street Oxford Street in the
Parish of Bloomsbury and county of Middlesex Civil Engineer and Patent Agent
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
SMOKE AND GAS CONSUMING FURNACES and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to a new construction of smoke consuming furnace.
It consists in the combination of a bin or reservoir placed within the furnace
with an inclined grate a series of sliding blocks or plungers fitted to reciprocate
back and forth under the fuel aperture upon the upper end of the grate and
actuated by a rock shaft and lever outside of the furnace.
It consists further more, in the combination with the parts already referred to
of a series of air flues in the sides and top of the furnace to produce a delivery of
hot air into the fire box over the fire as hereinafter fully described, for the purpose
of ensuring a complete combustion of the smoke and gases.
It also consists of other features of improvement hereinafter more fully
described.
In the drawing Figure 1 is a front view of my improved furnace.
Figure 2 a vertical cross section of the same on the line c, c figure 3.
Figure 3 a vertical longitudinal section of the same on the line K. K. figure 1.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the same on the line C. K, figure 1.
A, in said drawings represents the fire box or combustion chamber of my
improved furnace. B the inclined grate. C the ash pit, D a bin or reservoir for
fuel, formed within the furnace over the front or upper end of the grate.
E, is a hot air chamber formed over the fire box; F is the mouth of the furnace
from which its heat and products of combustion are led off under the boiler to be
heated.
The inclined grate or in some cases its upper end only is constructed of a series
of parallel bars N, N. having teeth which project like the teeth of a comb from
said plates. The plates N, N, with their projecting teeth b, b. are arranged
horizontally one over the other so that the teeth of the one tier of plates shall

page_text: project over the solid portion of the plates beneath as shown; the front ends of the
teeth being bevelled to form an incline. By this arrangement the ashes and
unconsumed fuel, falling from each upper tier drops upon the tier below it, where
they are subjected to a fresh draught of air and their combustion is so promoted
thereby, by reason of a fresh supply of oxygen as to burn up finally all the
combustible matter: The constant progression of the fuel over the grate bars for
this purpose is assisted by a mechanical pushing forward of the fresh fuel by means
of the pushers or pistons c. 6. arranged at the upper end of the grate, to slide back
and forth thereon. The plate or plates N of the upper tier may be set at an
inclination corresponding with the plane of inclination of the teeth of the tier
below, and the teeth b. of these upper plates are bevelled on their under side, so ag
to leave a horizontal opening of uniform width between the upper tier and that
next below. The grate may be constructed entirely of these "comb" plates.or in
many cases, I profer to construct the upper part only of the inclined grate with
said plates, and the lower portion of a series of parallel hollow. ginto bars c. c,
which are supported at an inclination conforming to that required in the grate.
The lower ends of these bars c, are left open and terminate immediately over a
binged plate or door a at the bottom of the fire box. An opening is formed on the
under side of their upper flanges so that a current of air will be constantly
drawn through them from the ash pit below and discharged therefrom into the
bottom of the fire box against its rear wall. This current of air passing through
each bar c, will not only cool it and prevent it from burning out but becoming
thoroughly heated, will when discharged into the fire box, serve to produco a
perfect combustion of the smoke and gases therein.. The hinged door a, in the
bottom of the firo box and at the lower end of the grate, is opened from without
by means of a lover H for the purpose of discharging any clinker or ashes
accumulating thereon. The pushers or plungers e, o adapted to slide back and
forth on the upper end of the grate are cach connected by a coupling rod with a
crank shaft g, supported in brackets upon the outside of the furnace and which is
operated by a lever g
The fuel may be thus forced forward down the grate without opening the
furnace. The cranks are so disposed on the shaft g, that the plungers shall
reciprocato alternately so that as one advances that next to it will move back, and
vice versa.
The upper surface of this serios of plungers is made to constitute the bottom
of the coal bin or reservoir D formed in the upper front portion of the furnace, so
that the coal shall drop from the bin over the front edge of tlie plungers down
upon the grate, its delivery from the bin being controlled or arrested by means of a
vertical slide J, on the rear side of the bin. This slide is moved up and down by
means of a lever K pivoted to the side of the bin at one end thereof, whose shorter
arm is connected to the slide by a link h, and whose longer arm projects out in
front of the furnace as shown.
The height at which the slide J is set determines the depth of the fuel upon the
grate.
The coal is fed into the bin D tlirough a shoot or front hopper I closed by a
door d. To complete the combustion within the fireschamber of the furnace.an.nir
inlet passage is formed over the top of the bin D to extend down behind it and
open into the fire box immediately in front of the feed opening that is closed by
the slide J.
This air passage is governed by a register L at the front of the furnace.
Air passages K, K, are also formed in the side walls of the furnace to lead from
the front thereof to the rear, and thence back again, to communicate with the side
of the cold air passage i so as to deliver a volume of heated air in front of the fuel
entering the fire box of the top of the grate.
A circulation of air is also established by means of suitable passages 7. between
the air chamber E over the furnace and the air inlet i, to heat thereby the air
supply furnished to the firo box.

page_text: The discharge opening or mouth F of the furnace is above the level of the upper
end of the grate, and for use with a cornish boiler, the furnace is built in front of
the boiler and its mouth is extended into the central flue thereof, as shown in
figure 3.
In this case the mouth F of the furnace is adapted to extend into the end of the
flue, a non-conducting lining being interposed to protect the seam or joint of the
flue and boiler, and supported by means of a metallic band or wing m.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1 The combination of the inclined furnace grate with a coal bin or reservoir D
arranged to deliver the fuel upon said inclined grate and with the series of
reciprocating plungers e. e crank-shaft g, and lever g³. substantially in the manner
and for the purpose herein set forth.
2nd The combination with an inclined furnace-grate of an ash door a.. at the
bottom thereof adapted to be opened or closed from without the furnace by the
lever H substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
3 The combination in a furnace with the inclined grate B, of a fire box A.
plungers e. e fuel bin D, air passages K¹. K' and 2, slide J, register L, and bottom
door a, substantially as herein shown and described.
4th The combination of the coal bin D, over the upper end of the inclined
grate B, and the plungers e, reciprocating thereon, with the sliding feed door J,
controlling the opening from the bin to the grate, lever K extending out from the
bin, and connecting it with the door whereby the opening of the door and
consequently the depth of fuel upon the grate is controlled from without the
furnace, without opening the same, substantially in the manner and for the purpose
herein set forth..