IMPROVEMENTS IN AND IN CONNECTION WITH HOLLOW BARS FOR FURNACES OR FIRE-GRATES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cain, of Lake Douglas, in the Isle of
Man, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND IN
CONNECTION WITH HOLLOW BARS FOR FURNACES OR FIRE-GRATES."
Sealed the 9th June 1874, and dated the 7th January 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cain at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th January 1874.
I, THOMAS CAIN, of Lake Douglas, in the Isle of Man, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND IN CONNECTION WITH HOLLOW BARS FOR FURNACES OR FIRE-GRATES," to be as
follows:-
:-
This Invention has for its objects mainly to pass water through the
fire-bars, so that at the same time the bar may be kept cool and the
water heated; to provide a means of effectually clearing the waterway
or passages in the bars, and to prevent to a very great extent the
formation of deposit in such waterway or passages.

page_text: I. This Invention consists in forming hollow bars of cast iron, or other
suitable metal or material, having two or more holes or passages running
longitudinally, so that water may pass through with the double object
of keeping the bar itself cool whilst the water is heated. The holes may
be partly formed by placing straight tubes of metal for the holes when
casting the bars, or of tubes as hereafter described.
II. Thes openings when required in the tail ends of the bars are to
be provided with screw plugs or other stoppers, which can be removed
when it is necessary to clean the water passages in the bars, and when
screwed or fitted in position a waterway is still left within or outside the
screwed plugs or stoppers. The screw plugs or stoppers may be in the
end or under and near to the end. The bars may be made single, or two
or more made in one, but at all times provided with holes sufficient in
number or size to admit water to keep the bars cool in proportion to the
work for which they may be required.
III. The water is supplied to the bars by means of a hollow bearer
having two chambers, which may be made separately or together. The
one chamber is placed over or above the other. The bottom chamber
supplies the bar, and the top is for the discharge. The open ends of the
bars are screwed into or bolted to the sides of the chambers in hollow
bearer, thus connecting the top holes in bars with the top chamber, and
the bottom holes with the bottom chamber in hollow bearer. The water
being supplied to the bottom chamber enters the bottom holes in bar,
and passes to the end of the bar, and returns by the top holes into the
top chamber, and is thence led away to any required place. When the
double chamber is thus placed holes may be put in the chamber opposite
the holes in the bars that the bars may be cleaned out without removal
by inserting a scraper or cleaner through the holes, and closing the holes
with screw plugs or stoppers when not used for cleaning.
IV. When very long bars are required, or as circumstances may
require, the double chamber is placed beneath the centre or near it of
such bar, the hole for cleaning coming through the end of the bars, and
closed by screw plugs or stoppers, as herein-before mentioned, with
respect to the end of the shorter bar.
I do not confine myself to the shape of the chambers, which may be
of round, square, or any other suitable section, and they may be made
either separately or together, and of either cast or malleable iron; and,

page_text: as herein-before explained, the bars may either be screwed into or bolted
to the hollow chambers or cast with or into them.
V. In using these bars for salt water, or water holding in solution
other matter which might cause large deposits, or for cooling the bars.
only, I use the condensed water from any kind of surface condenser
erected for that purpose. This water is supplied to the bars by a small
cistern situated above the bars, as may be convenient, and connected
therewith by flow and return pipes or from the engine surface condenser
if the engine be thus provided.
VI. The scraper or cleaner to be used for cleaning out the waterways
or water passages is by preference made spirally similar to a twist drill
or screw auger, and is provided with a cross handle, or is fitted on or to
a brace handle. To clean out the deposit from the waterways the scraper
or cleaner is used as if drilling or boring.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Cain in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
CAIN, of Lake Douglas, in the Isle of Man, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her-
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four,
in the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Cain, Her
special licence that I, the, said Thomas Cain, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Cain, 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND IN CONNECTION WITH HOLLOW BARS FOR FURNACES OR FIRE-GRATES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Cain,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
وو

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas Cain, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
This Invention has for its objects mainly to pass water through the
fire-bars, so that at the same time the bar may be kept cool and the
water heated; to provide a means of effectually cleaning the waterway
or water passages in the bars, and to prevent to a very great extent the
formation of deposit in such waterway or water passages.
This Invention will be clearly understood by the following description,
reference being made to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings :-
I. This Invention consists in forming hollow bars of cast iron, or other
suitable metal or material, having two or more holes or passages running
longitudinally, so that water may pass through with the double effect of
keeping the bar itself cool whilst the water is heated.
The holes may
be partly formed by placing straight tubes of metal for the holes in
casting the bars. A fire-bar of this description with two holes or
passages will be found at Figure I. in the Drawings, a, a, denoting the
bar in which are cast the tubes 61, 61, forming the holes or passages b, b.
In some cases the bar may be formed of wrought-iron tubes without the
cast-iron casing around them, their ends being entered into end or
bearing pieces.
II. The openings when required in the tail ends of the bars are to be
provided with screw plugs or other stoppers c, which can be removed
when it is necessary to clean the water passages b, b, in the bars, and
when screwed or fitting in position a waterway is still left within or
inside the screwed plugs or stoppers, as shewn in Figure I. The screwed
plugs or stoppers may be in the end, as shown, or underneath and near
to the end. The bars may be made singly, or two or more made in one,
but at all times provided with holes sufficient in number or size to
admit enough water to keep the bars cool in proportion to the work for
which they may be required.

page_text: III. The water is supplied to the bars by means of a hollow bearer d, d,
Figure I., having two chambers e, e, which may be made separately or
together, the one chamber e placed over or above the other. The
bottom chamber e¹ supplies the bar, and the top chamber is for the dis-
charge. The open ends of the bars are screwed into or bolted to the
sides of the chambers, or, they may be cast to them, in either case con-
necting the top holes in the bars with the top chambers e, and the
bottom holes in the bars with the bottom chambers e¹ in the hollow
bearer d, d. The water being supplied to the bottom chambers enters
the bottom holes in bar, and returns by the top holes into the top
chamber, and is thence led away to any required place. When the
double chamber is thus placed holes may be put in the chamber opposite
to the holes in the bars, so that the bars may be cleaned out without
removal by inserting a scraper or cleaner through the holes. The holes
can be closed by screwed plugs c or other stoppers after the cleaning
operation has been performed.
may
which
I do not confine myself to the shape of the chambers e, e,
be of round, square, or any other suitable section, and they may be made
either separately or together, and of either cast or malleable iron; and,
as herein-before explained, the bars may either be screwed into or bolted
to the hollow chambers or cast with or into them.
IV. A modification of my improved fire-bars is shewn in Figure 2.
In this case it will be seen that the chambers e and e¹ are cast on the
ends of the bars. The bars may be made in one or more with the supply
and discharge chambers made to each bar separately, or to two or more
made together. Each bar having thus its portion or part of the hollow.
bearer for the supply and discharge made together, one or more bolts
may pass through to fasten them.
V. In using these bars for heating salt water or water holding in
solution other matter which might cause large deposits I use the con-
densed water from a surface condenser. If for cooling the bars only I
use a cistern with flow and return pipes for conveying the condensed
water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is effected, what I

page_text: (1.) The construction of fire-bars having two or more holes or passages
running longitudinally for the purpose of connecting the upper and
lower chambers, as described in those sections of this Specification
marked I., II., and III.
(2.) The hollow upper and lower chambers, as described in those 5
sections of this Specification marked III. and IV., and illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2 in the Drawings, and so situated that the level of the
one is above the level of the other.
(3.) The construction of their fire-bars with the supply and discharge
chambers in such manner as is herein described and illustrated, so that 1
the water may be directly put into and led out of one end of the bar
without any curved or bent passages.
(4.) The construction of the fire-bars, the end pieces, and the hollow
chambers with holes to facilitate cleaning, and the providing of those
holes with screw plugs or other stoppers, also as described and 1
illustrated.
(5.) The use of condensed water from a surface condenser, and the
arrangement for that purpose, as described in that section of this Speci-
cation marked V.
Lastly. I claim the general construction and arrangement of fire-bars, 2
as in this Specification described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Cain, have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
-
THOMAS CAIN. (L.S.)
2