IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND DEPOSIT FROM THE HEAT-ABSORBING SURFACES AND FLUES OF STEAM GENERATORS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Horrocks Mather, James Ormesher, William
Ormesher, and Samuel Brown, all of Middleton, in the County of Lancaster,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS
FOR REMOVING SOOT AND DEPOSIT FROM THE HEAT-ABSORBING SURFACES
AND FLUES OF STEAM GENERATORS.”
Sealed the 26th January 1877, and dated the 28th September 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Horrocks Mather,
James Ormesher, William Ormesher, and Samuel Brown at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 28th September 1876.
66
SAMUEL HORROCKS MATHER, JAMES ORMESHER, WILLIAM ORMESHER, and
SAMUEL BROWN, all of Middleton, in the County of Lancaster. IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND DEPOSIT FROM
THE HEAT-ABSORBING SURFACES AND FLUES OF STEAM GENERATORS."
Our Invention relates to apparatus employed in the generation of steam, and has
for its object to maintain the heating surfaces or parts of such surfaces in a better
condition to absorb heat, and also to keep the flues more free from soot as compared
with steam generators working under ordinary conditions. To this end we in the
first place employ reciprocating scrapers to act within the flues upon the heat absorb-
ing surfaces of the generator. The said scrapers are formed to suit the shape of the
parts of the generator which are to be acted upon, and are mounted on a frame rod
or shaft which can be moved to and fro continuously or at intervals by a suitable
arrangement of gearing or apparatus which may be actuated by power derived from
a steam engine or prime mover.
In the case of an ordinary Lancashire boiler we mount the said scrapers within
the side flues, or within the side flues and the bottom flue.
In ordinary cases the scrapers may be caused to reciprocate to and fro in contact
with the shell of the boiler between the edges of the rings and the lines of rivets.
We may employ springs or weights to keep the scrapers in contact with the shell of
the boiler or flue.
It may be found to be advantageous to apply the said reciprocating scrapers in

page_text: the internal flues of boilers. In the second place we employ reciprocating or
travelling scrapers to remove the soot from the flues of steam generators. The said
scrapers when caused to reciprocate are hinged so as to give way when moving in
one direction, and to be rigid when moving in the contrary direction; or are lifted
when moving in one direction. The soot collecting in the flue is moved by the
action of the scrapers towards one end of the flue and falls into a cavity or chamber,
whence it may be removed at intervals. This part of our Invention may be used
in connection with the first part thereof, and all the scrapers be actuated by the
same arrangement of mechanism.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Horrocks Mather, James Ormesher, William Ormesher, and
Samuel Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th March 1877.
SAMUEL HORROCKS MATHER, JAMES ORMESHER, WILLIAM ORMESHER, and
SAMUEL BROWN, all of Middleton, in the County of Lancaster. IMPROVEMENTS
"
IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND DEPOSIT FROM
THE HEAT-ABSORBING SURFACES AND FLUES OF STEAM GENERATORS."
Our Invention relates to apparatus employed in the generation of steam, and has
for its object to maintain the heating surfaces or parts of such surfaces in a better
condition to absorb heat and also to keep the flues more free from soot as compared
with steam generators working under ordinary conditions. To this end we in the
first place employ reciprocating scrapers to act within the flues upon the heat-
absorbing surfaces of the generator. The said scrapers are formed to suit the shape
of the parts of the generator which are to be acted upon, and are mounted on a
frame rod or shaft which can be moved to and fro continuously or at intervals by a
suitable arrangement of gearing or apparatus which may be actuated by power
derived from a steam engine or prime mover, or by other means.
In the case of an ordinary Lancashire .boiler we mount the said scrapers within
the side flues, or within the side flues and the bottom flue. In the second place we
employ reciprocating or travelling scrapers to remove the soot from the flues of steam
generators. The said scrapers when caused to reciprocate are hinged so as to give
way when moving in one direction, and to be rigid when moving in the contrary
direction; or are lifted when moving in one direction. This part of our Invention
may be used in connection with the first part thereof, and all the scrapers be
actuated by the same arrangement of mechanism.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we have appended
hereunto two. Sheets of Drawings, made with the exception of the last Figure, to a
scale of about one-eight of the full size and marked with letters of reference, corre-
sponding marks indicating the same parts in the various Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a vertical cross
section of one of the side flues and of the bottom flue of a boiler fitted with our im-
proved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus in the said side flue;
and Fig. 3 is a corresponding view of the apparatus in the said bottom flue.
In Fig. 1 A indicates the end of the boiler, which may be of the Lancashire type
or be of any other form and construction to which our Invention will apply.
In Figures 1 and 2 a is a travelling frame, consisting in the example of a cast-
iron bar, which for greater convenience may be cast in suitable lengths, and be
bolted together to form a continuous bar of a length sufficient to carry all the
required scrapers. The said bar is mounted upon and between carrier and guide
wheels b, b, which are mounted upon standards c. In Fig. 2 only one standard
provided with a pair of wheels is seen, but it will be understood that as many are
provided as may be considered necessary to sustain the said bar with the
attached parts, as, for example, the said standards may be fixed about six or

page_text: eight feet apart. The scrapers d, d, are curved to suit the curvature of the
shell of the boiler, and are by preference formed to scrape the said shell when.
moving in either direction. Each scraper is connected with the bar a by means of
a link e which is jointed by one end to the scraper, and by the other end to the said
bar, or, as in the example, to a fixing which is bolted to the bar.
By reason of the arrangement the scraper is held against the boiler plate with a
pressure due to the weight of the scraper and to some extent of the connecting
link, and therefore additional pressing weights or springs are not required. In the
Drawings the laps and joints of the plato are disregarded as they vary in practice.
It will be understood that the form of each scraper must be suitable to the part
upon which it is to operate, and that in case any scraper has to operate upon a part
which is crossed by a horizontal lap joint or by the covering plate of a joint, such
scraper must be formed to clear the joint.
وز
Fig. 4 represents a portion of a scraper formed to clear an ordinary "butt joint; '
each scraper is arranged to operate upon the clear portion of a ring of the shell;
that is to say, on the portion extending from one vertical joint to another between
the edges of the rings, or between the lines of rivets, or between the edge on one
side and the line of rivets on the other, as the case may be. Arms f, f, are mounted
upon studs, which are secured to the bar a, and to the lower ends of the said arms
are bolted scrapers g, g, the connection of the said arms and scrapers permitting the
latter to be adjusted in height to suit the irregularities of the floor.
The upper part
of each arm f is formed with a shoulder which projects on one side and bears
against a stud or part which projects from the bar a as seen at h, h; this arrange-
ment causes the said arms, with their attached scrapers, to be rigidly held when the
bar is moving in one direction, and permits the said scrapers to yield when moving
in the other direction, the result being that the deposit lying upon the floor of the
flue is moved towards one end of the flue; the soot may thus be raked towards the
front or back of the boiler according as the scrapers are arranged to be rigid when
moving in the one direction or in the other. It will be seen that the scrapers g are
closer together than the scrapers d. It is necessary or desirable that the distance
apart of the scrapers g shall bo less than the length of traverse in order that their
paths of traverse may overlap the soot, being thereby more effectually removed.
The soot may fall into a cavity or chamber formed at one end of the flue, whence
it may be removed at intervals.
In Fig. 1 and 3 the reciprocating frame consists of two bars, i, i, which are con-
nected together at intervals by means of cross bars j, and the bars i, i, are sustained
by wheels k, which are mounted in suitable standards and are arranged at suitable
intervals apart as in the case of the wheels b, b, in Figs. 1 and 2. The cross bars j
are formed with uprights l, to which are bolted or secured a bearer m, which in the
example consists of two side cheeks or bars east or connected together. In notches
formed in the said bearer are mounted the gudgeons of levers n, n; to the shorter
end of each lever is secured a curved scraper o, which is held in contact with the
lower surface of the boiler by the preponderance and leverage of the longer end of
the said lever. The said scrapers are similarly formed to the scrapers previously
described, and are arranged to act upon the clear surfaces of the plates between the
edges or lines of rivets as herein-before indicated; notches are also formed in the
upper edges of the bars i, and in these notches are mounted the lower scrapers.
These do not appear in Fig. 1, but one of the scrapers is shown in the detached
Figure 5, wherein p, 1, are arms which are formed with gudgeons which rest in the
notches in the bars i, i; to the lower ends of the said arms are riveted or secured a
scraper g, which acts in a similar manner to the scrapers g in the side flues. The
scrapery may be made of hoop iron, and the arms p of cast iron, or the scraper and
arms may be made in one piece. The said arms are arranged to yield only in one
direction as in the case of the scrapers.g.
It will be understood that the other side flue not appearing in the Drawing is
fitted with an arrangement corresponding to that in the flue shown. The frames

page_text: and scrapers may be moved to and fro at intervals, by hand or by power, or may
receive a slow constant to-and-fro movement from the steam engine, or from a
suitable prime mover, and arrangements for actuating the said frames and scrapers
most suitable to each case may be employed.
In Fig. 6, which is drawn to a smaller scale than the other Figures, one method
of actuating the scrapers is indicated. In this example the bars a and i are con-
nected by links to levers 8, which are arranged to vibrate on fulcra at t. The
upper ends of the said levers are connected by means of rods u, with a crank v
fixed on a shaft, to which is imparted a slow revolving motion derived from a
steam engine, and transmitted through worm and worm wheel gearing, or through
other suitable gearing for reducing the speed. A single lever is connected with
the two frames i, i, and a separate lever with each frame or bar a in each side flue.
The rods u, which connect the upper ends of the two levers which actuate the
bars a with the crank, proceed in a diagonal direction towards the crank, and meet
thereat, the ends of all the three rods being mounted on the same crank pin. The
said two levers are also connected by means of a cross bar, so as to prevent the
spreading or bending sideways of the two levers, which would otherwise result from
the diagonal thrust of the connecting rods. This arrangement is only described by
way of example, and therefore we do not confine ourselves thereto.
If preferred each lever may be actuated by means of a separate crank; as, for
example, a line shaft may actuate three sets of gearing, each of which gives motion
_to_a_crank, or in the case of more-than-one-boiler-the-same-shaft-may-actuate-as-
many sets of gearing as may be required; also we do not confine ourselves to the
use of levers, as vertical shafts and racks and pinions or other means may be
employed, and in some cases the actuating apparatus may be at the front or back or
at the side of the boiler, that is to say, more on the same level as the scraping
apparatus.
Instead of arranging the scrapers g and q to yield preparatory to or when being
moved backwards, they may be lifted so as to clear the soot upon the floor, and be
lowered preparatory to or when being moved forwards.
In some cases we may apply the scrapers only to side flues, and in other cases
only to bottom flues or to a bottom flue, and in some cases it may be considered to
be advisable to apply the scrapers to the internal flues of boilers.
Although we have shown and described the scrapers which clear the floors of the
flues as being mounted upon the same bar or frame as the scrapers which act upon
the boiler, we may mount the two sets of scrapers upon separate bars or frames, and
also we may use the scrapers to clear the heating surface of the boiler without
necessarily employing the other sets of scrapers for cleaning the floors of the flues.
It must also be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the forms and
arrangements of the bars or frames upon which the scrapers are mounted, nor to the
method of mounting the said scrapers, although the arrangements illustrated and
described are such as we have found to be efficient, and such as do not prevent
access to the flues when it is desirable to inspect the boiler.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which we now carry the same into practical effect, we would have it
understood that we claim,-
First. The employment of scrapers mounted within the flues of steam generators,
and capable of being actuated at intervals or continuously during desired intervals,
without an operator entering the said flues, in order to prevent the excessive accu-
mulation of soot upon the heating surfaces of the said steam generators, substantially
as herein-before set forth and indicated.
Secondly. The employment of reciprocating scrapers to prevent excessive accumu-
lations of soot and deposit upon the floors of the flues of steam generators, substan-
tially as herein-before set forth and indicated.
Thirdly. The employment of scrapers mounted upon bars or frames, to which a
reciprocating motion can be imparted, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before set forth and indicated.

page_text: And, lastly. The combinations and arrangements of parts acting substantially as
and for the purposes set forth and indicated herein-before, and in and by the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Ormesher, for myself and on behalf of
the said Samuel Horrocks, Mather James Ormesher, and Samuel Brown,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Signed and sealed by the said
William Ormesher, in the
presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentees,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
°
WILLIAM ORMESHER. (L.S.)