IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO TORPEDO BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, of the Firm of Yarrow and
Company, of the Isle of Dogs, Poplar, Shipbuilders, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO TORPEDO BOATS AND OTHER
VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfréd Fernandez Yarrow
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th September 1881.
ALFRED FERNANDEZ YARROW, of the Firm of Yarrow and Company, of the
Isle of Dogs, Poplar, Shipbuilders. IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO
TORPEDO BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS."
66
This Invention relates to improvements in or applicable to torpedo boats and
other vessels, and has for its object protecting the fire of the boiler or boilers in
such vessels from being extinguished by the ingress of water into the vessel. In
order to effect this object I completely enclose that part of the boiler containing
the furnace by a water tight casing extending upwards, by preference, considerably
above the level of the water outside, so that in the event of the water entering the
boiler compartment it shall not gain access to the fire. A convenient mode of
accomplishing this result is to connect the ash pan which is generally immediately
below the furnace with the coal bunker plates on each slde, thus forming two sides
and a bottom of a water tight box, the ends being formed in any convenient
manner. In carrying out these improvements as applied to a horizontal type of
boiler, provision may also be made for preventing the access of water to the
interior of the smoke box and to the tubes, which object may be attained by
making the smoke box watertight or otherwise.
When the furnace of the boiler is made of a shallow depth and provided with a
fire bridge at the extremity of the fire bars at a short distance from the tubes of
the boiler, it is found in practice that the space between the fire bridge and the
tube plate is liable to become filled with cinders and ashes, thus obstructing the
passage through the lower sets of tubes. Now according to my Invention I employ
a jet or jets of steam, compressed air, or other vapor or gas, which are directed
into the space, whereby the particles of cinders or ashes which may have settled.in
the said space are removed or ejected therefrom, so as to be carried through the
tubes by the draft in the usual manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Fernandez Yarrow in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th March 1882.
ALFRED FERNANDEZ YARROW, of the Firm of Yarrow and Company, of the
Isle of Dogs, Poplar, Ship Builders. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO
TORPEDO BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS."
My said Invention relates to improvements in or applicable to torpedo boats and
other vessels, and has for its object to protect the fire or fires of the boiler or
boilers in such vessels from being extinguished by the ingress of water to the
vessel. In order to effect this object I completely enclose that part of the boiler
containing the furnace or furnaces, or by which water could obtain access to the
furnace or furnaces (in case of fracture or leakage of the shell or body of the vessel)
by a water tight casing, extending upwards by preference, to a level considerably
above the level of the water in which the said vessel floats, so that in the event
of the water entering the boiler compartment it cannot gain access to the fire
or fires.
In cases where the furnace is shallow and is provided with a fire bridge at the
extremity of the fire bars at a short distance from the tubes of the boiler, it is
found in practice that the space between the said bridge and the tube plate is liable
to become filled with cinders and ashes, thus obstructing the passage through the
lower sets of tubes. According to my Invention, in order to obviate this I employ
a jet or jets of steam, compressed air, or other vapour or gas, which is or are directed
into the space between the bridge and tube plate, whereby the particles of cinders
or ashes are removed or ejected from the said space and carried through the tubes
by the draught
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed to describe a system, mode, or manner in which the same may be carried
into effect, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding-parts-in-both-the-Figures.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a transverse section of a part of
a vessel and boiler, shewing a convenient mode of carrying my Invention into effect.
The shell or body of the vessel is marked A, the boiler B, the furnace C, and the ash
pit or pan D. The said ash pit or pan is continued upwards on either side, and at
front and back, being connected at the ends to the lower part of the front of the
fire box or furnace, and to the body of the boiler respectively, as shewn clearly
at d², d, in Figure 1, and the sides are continued upwards to a level above the
level of the water outside the vessel as at d, d. The said sides may be formed by
or may themselves form the coal bunker plates. End plates (which may be
continuations of the end pieces d³, d), are connected to the ends of the said side
continuations and the adjacent part of the fire box or furnace and body of the
boiler at each end, thus making a water tight box or barrier between the space
between the shell or body of the vessel and the part or parts by which water could
otherwise gain access to the fire or fires in the event of fracture or leakage of the
said shell or body of the said vessel. The door or doors of the fire box or furnace
is or are made capable of being closed so as to be water tight; and the smoke box
may also be made water tight to prevent access of water to the interior thereof,
and thence by the tubes to the fire or fires; or the water tight box or barrier may
be continued around the smoke box or around the stoke hole, or around both,
forming a kind of water tight well for all the parts comprised with the boiler
compartment and stoke hole. The air gains access to the ash pit or pan over the
open top of the box or barrier, and through an opening or openings, or a space or

page_text: spaces at the sides of the ash pit or pan, as indicated by the arrows. The Drawing
shews one of the ends of the water tight box or barrier E as being formed by a
partition extending to the sides and deck or upper part of the vessel through
which air passes by an opening or openings, as at e.
Figure 1 also illustrates the means according to my Invention for ejecting
cinders or ashes from the space between the fire-bridge and the tube plate.
A pipe g is led from the steam space of the boiler or from a reservoir of com-
pressed air or other fluid, and is furnished at the part towards or in the said space
with jets directed upwards. It is also provided with a cock outside the fire box
and boiler, so that by opening this cock the fluid under pressure is injected or
issues with considerable force into the said space, displacing the cinders or ashes
therefrom so that they are carried through the tubes by the draught.
In place of the water tight sides or barriers being continued only along the sides
of the furnace, as shewn, they may extend if desired along to the smoke box or
therearound, and along the sides of and around the end of the stoke hole, forming
in any case a water tight barrier between the space between themselves and the
outer shell or body of the vessel and the part or parts by which otherwise water
could enter the furnace or furnaces in the event of the fracture or leakage of the
said outer shell or body of the vessel.
It will be understood that where more than one fire box or furnace and other
parts are used that the arrangements described may be duplicated, or multiplied, or
extended, so as to apply to all the fire boxes or furnaces and other parts.
My Invention is applicable to torpedo boats and other vessels with boilers other
than horizontal. Its application will be essentially similar to that described with
reference to a horizontal boiler, as will be readily understood without further
illustration or description.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same may be carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of my Invention; for example, in place of the sides forming a continuation
of or extending upwards from the bottom of the ashpit or pan, the said ash pit
or pan may be completely closed in water tight, and air be admitted to the furnace
by a pipe or passage or pipes or passages opening into the said ash pit or pan, and
extending upwards to a level above the level of the water outside the vessel, and
if preferred through the deck or upper part thereof to the outer air, where their
openings may be protected by hoods or funnels. What I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore
in part recited Letters Patent is,―
Firstly. In torpedo boats and other vessels providing the ash pit or pan, or ash
pits or pans, with a water tight casing or closure, or water tight casings or closures,
with means for admitting air thereunto, extending to and opening at a level above
the level of the water outside the vessel, substantially as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described.
Secondly. In torpedo boats and other vessels providing the ashpit or pan, or ash
pits or pans, and also the furnace or furnaces, the boiler or boilers, and the smoke
box or smoke boxes, one or more of them with a water tight casing or closure, or
water tight casings or closures, extending therearound, or along the sides thereof
and thereunder, and upwards to a level above the level of the water outside the
vessel, substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
Thirdly. In torpedo boats and other vessels, the combination of an ash pit or
pan, or ash pits or pans, having a water tight casing or closure, or water tight
casings or closures, and means for admitting air thereunto, as claimed by the
preceding first claiming clause of a furnace door or furnace doors capable of being
closed water tight, and with or without a water tight smoke box, or water tight
smoke boxes, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Fourthly. In torpedo boats and other vessels, the means hereinbefore described

page_text: and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings for protecting the furnace or
furnaces from the entrance of water thereunto in the event of the fracture or
leakage of the shell or body of the vessel.
Fifthly. In torpedo boats and other vessels providing the space or spaces between
the bridge or bridges of the furnace or furnaces, and the tube-plate or tube-plates,
with means for injecting or forcing thereunto steam, or air, or. other fluid or fluids
under pressure, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
A. F. YAKKUW. (L.S.)