Improvements in and relating to Steam Boilers and Furnace Grates therefor.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1891-Accepted, 25th July,
1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE REAGAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.]
Improvements in and relating to Steam Boilers and Furnace
Grates therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this 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 relates to water-bar grates, having end bearing bars, composed of
sections united together and to the water bars to admit of the expansion and
contraction of the same without producing leaking joints and impairing the grate.
The objects of the said invention are, first, to provide a simple, durable and
economical construction of end-bearing-bar sections, which are bolted together end
to end with intervening air spaces, and are so connected to the water-bars that
water-way couplings between the ends of the sections are dispensed with, thus
materially reducing the number of water joints in the grate, making it more
durable, reducing its cost of manufacture and providing for cheap and easy
replacement of parts when in the fire box; second to provide perforated, slotted
and edge corrugated or nicked shaker or chopper bars; to increase the volume of
air supply for and distribute it more uniformly and evenly to all parts of the grate ;
third, the provision of a water-feed for the grate, which feed is partly composed of
the hot water from the boiler and partly that from the pump or injector, so as to
obtain a
"divided feed" which will be of a high temperature before entering the
grate; fourth to provide an automatic circulation of water from the boiler to and
through the grate and back to the boiler when the feed is cut off and fifth,
delivering the water from the grate to the boiler at or near the top of the water
line, and thus avoid chilling the bottom shell of the boiler and provide for blowing
off from the top or water line of the boiler back through the grate or line of feed
to remove all sediment in the grate and also any scum or foreign material at the
water line of the boiler while the latter itself may afterwards, or at any time be
blown off from its bottom, thus securing the best possible advantage of and economy
in utilizing fuel for steam purposes.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional plan of a preferable form of grate embodying the present
improvements.
Figure 2 is a section through an end bearing-bar.
Figure 3 is a section of a grate showing curvilinear shaker or chopper rods
therefor.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a preferable form of chopper shaker bar.
Figure 5 a like view of a preferable form of bridge bar for supporting the middle
or intervening lengths or parts of the grate.
Figure 6 is an elevation of grate and boiler with pipe connections and valves for
obtaining feed-water of high temperature for the grate, automatic circulation
between grate and boiler when the feed is cut off, and for blowing off the grate and
boiler.
Figure 7 is a modification of same adapted for locomotive or analogous boilers.
A A represent the front and rear end bearing bars, for the water bars, B, B'
and B2 both said bearing bars A, A' are composed of hollow sections a and a¹ having
depending edge lugs a² with suitable slotted openings through which pass bolts a
for securing said sections together to form the respective bars A A', see more

page_text: plainly Figure 2. These hollow sections a a¹ have solid ends which contact and
are preferable recessed to form intervening air spaces a' so that they do not have
any water-way connections with each other at their ends, but only with the water-
bars or pipes B B and B². The bars or pipes B1 B2 which are the outside
water-bars of the grate, pass entirely through the end sections a¹ of the front
bearing-bar A, for purpose of pipe connections as hereinafter described and shown
in Figure 6; and hence the end sections a¹ of bar A form no part of the water-way
through the grate as is indicated by the direction of arrows in Figure 1; the
pipe B being the feed or inlet pipe and pipe B2 the outlet to the boiler. The
advantage of making the sections a a' and connecting them together as set forth is,
that there are no water joints between their ends, the joints being between the
pipes B B' and B² and said sections, hence all parts are free to expand without
leaking of joints, and said sections are cheaply and expeditiously secured together,
are durable and may be easily replaced when necessary.
Any suitable form of solid, hollow or perforated extensible or nonextensible
bridge-bars C may be used to support the grate between its end bearing bars, see
Figure 1, a preferable form of such bridge bar is shown in Figure 5 having lugged
openings for supporting the water-bars, and large openings el in the body of the
bar, both of which openings are provided to admit air to the grate. Any form of
shaker bars may be used in conjunction with the above described sectional end
bearing bars, and their connecting water bars; in Figure 3 is shown the curvilinear
rocking-bar or shaker D which may be arranged one for each water-bar as shown
to the left of said figure, or two for each of the latter, as illustrated at the right of
said figure, and these bars D may extend from end to end of the water-bars or be
divided into series, and each series having separate shaking levers, so that any part
of the grate fire can be shaken without necessitating a like movement or operation
of all of it.
and
In Figure 1 is shown a form of short chopper shaker-bar D¹ having an oscillating
motion between the water-bars, instead of a curvilinear motion to and over the
water-bars. These chopper bars D' are mounted on suitable cross-bars in any
suitable manner, and connected in series as shown or as desired, each such series
having preferably its own shaking bar or lever a. These chopper rods are
preferably constructed hollow with nicked or corrugated top straight edges
curved ends d², and are keyed to the cross-bars 3 as shown in Figures 4 and 1; a
construction which admits air through the chopper bars D' to the grate and admits
of readily setting them up in position and replacing any of them when necessary,
while the corrugated curved ends for said choppers or shakers admit of them more
readily crushing the clinkers in the path of their movement, and thus provide for
more effectually cleaning the fire. The inlet and outlet water-bars B1 and B2
may be connected to any suitable arrangements of pipe connections provided
with valves for feeding water through the grate, and for obtaining an automatic
circulation from the boiler to and through the grate back to the boiler, but it
is preferable to provide such pipe connections as shown in Figure 6 wherein
the inlet water-bar B¹ has a connection n with a feed pipe N, the lower part n²
of which pipe N answers as a blow-off pipe and is provided with a valve n³ which is
normally closed. The upper part of pipe N leads to the bottom of the boiler and
is provided with a valve which is normally open; below valve n', and preferably
as near to the coupling connection of pipe B1 with pipe N as is admissible, a
suitably constructed check valve n is located in pipe N, which check valve n°
closes against the pressure of the water fed to the grate, and opens under pressure
from the boiler. The outlet water-bar B2 is coupled to a pipe M which leads into
the boiler preferably just below the water line of the same, and is continued into
the boiler preferably to beyond the bridge wall, as indicated at m; said pipe is also
provided at or near its boiler connection with a valve m', which is normally open,
and also with a branch pipe m² having a normally closed check valve m³ for the
escape of air from the system including the grate and its pipe connections, to avoid
the formation therein of air traps which would obstruct the water circulation, but

page_text: such air being allowed to escape no such air traps are formed, and the circulation
is continuous and free.
The valves and m¹ being normally open, and the blow-off valve n³ closed, the
feed water from the pump or injector passes into the pipe N and thence to the inlet
water-bar B¹ of the grate, and through the latter to the pipe M to the top of the
boiler; any air or steam in such pipes escapes through the check in branch m².
When a pump is used for feeding, or when an injector is employed at a slow feed,
as is usually the case, the boiler pressure on check partially opens the same, or
it has a wave-like or to and fro movement, permitting the hot water from the boiler
to escape into pipe N below said check and commingle with the feed-water, so
that the latter is raised in temperature before it is forced to the grate water-bars
or through the grate, or, in other words, the feed water is a divided one; being
partially that from the pump or injector and partially that from the boiler, the
effect whereof is that the water in the grate as it flows or is fed through the same
is quickly raised to such a high temperature that when it escapes into the boiler, it
is in a condition or approximately so to burst into steam; if not, it is hot and being
emptied into the boiler just below its water level, it does not cool or chill the
bottom of the boiler, as is the case, when the feed is at the bottom, and hence the
water next to the bottom is, therefore, receiving or being heated by the full force
or temperature of the fire-box and a high economy of fuel is effected. As the grate
is the lowest part of the boiler, the sediment in the latter will be deposited or find
its way into the grate, and such sediment is blown off by closing valve n in pipe N
and opening blow-off valve . The boiler pressure in the top of the boiler then
acts through pipe M, and the grate valve m' being open, to clean said fixture
reversely to the line of feed therethrough, which keeps them clean and bright. By
closing valve m' and opening valve n, the blow-off valve being open, the bottom
of the boiler is blown off through pipe N, and its lower end n².
When all the said valves are in their normal condition for feeding and the latter
is cut off, an automatic circulation from the boiler to and through the grate back to
the boiler takes place to keep water in the grate and prevent burning out of the
same.
By continuing the end of pipe M through the boiler and into a coil in the stack,
and from the latter back to the boiler below the water line as indicated by dotted
lines 1-1 Figure 7, the feed is raised to a still higher temperature, and all the
foregoing advantages still maintained. In locomotive boilers, which is the form
shown in Figure 7, said pipe M may be conducted through the top of the fire box,
or it may be surrounded with a water pipe in communication with the boiler as
indicated by lines 2-2 in Figure 7.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The construction and arrangement of the sections a a' for the end bearing-
bars of a water-grate, the same being bolted together end to end with or without
intervening air-spaces, to avoid all water-way joints between said sections as set
forth.
Second. The construction of the sectional end bearing-bars, water-bars and
hollow or perforated chopper or shaker bars, as set forth.
Third. The construction and arrangement of the hollow and nicked or corrugated
chopper shaker bar, as set forth.
Fourth. The pipe connections between the grate and the boiler, with the valves
and the checks in to provide for feed of boiler and pump or injector water to the
grate and thence to the boiler, escape of air from the system, automatic circulation
between boiler and grate when the feed is cut off, and blowing off of the boiler from
its top or water line and from its bottom as set forth.
Fifth. The pipe connections with valves and check valves between the grate and

page_text: boiler for feeding a divided feed to the grate and for securing automatic circulation
between the boiler and grate when the feed for the latter is cut off, as set forth.
Sixth. The water-bar grate having sectional end bearing bars A. A', shakers or
choppers D' actuating mechanism for the latter and feed connections for the grate,
as set forth.
Seventh. The system of feeding water to a water-bar grate and feeding from the
grate to below the top of water line in the boiler, as set forth.
Dated this 17th day of June 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.