IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Yates, of Bromley, in the County of Middle-
sex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER AND
OTHER FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH."
Sealed the 2nd April 1861, and dated the 6th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Yates at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
October 1860.
I, WILLIAM YATES, of Bromley, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to
be as follows:
My Invention consists in the construction of steam boiler and other furnaces
and apparatus connected therewith in the following manner, for the purpose of
feeding the same and carrying the fuel gradually forward through the furnace
in such manner as to ensure perfect or nearly perfect combustion of the fuel
without the emission of smoke from the furnace.
I place above the mouth of the furnace a hopper with a bottom attached to
a transverse shaft, and which may be used by hand or otherwise so as to open
a free passage for fuel down into the furnace; I also connect several of the central
fire bars of the furnace together by transverse bearers or frames, supporting the
outer ends of them (or those nearest the front of the furnace) upon a rocking

page_text: quadrant, which is furnished with a lever and the inner ends upon a roller.
Then by means of a pin attached to the quadrant and a slot in the front
bearer or frame, or by any other suitable means, when the quadrant is turned
about its axis in one direction the said fire bars are drawn out from under the
fuel, which is prevented from moving forward with them by the closed door
of the furnace; and when the quadrant is turned in the other direction, the
fuel is carried back into the furnace on the fire bars, a fresh supply at the
same time falling in behind it from the hopper. Both the quadrant lever and
the lever of the hopper bottom may be worked by hand or by means of the
engine which the boiler supplies, but I prefer to work the quadrant lever by
the engine and the other by hand.
The door of the furnace is kept shut during the ordinary working of the
furnace and is provided with a hole shut by a slide through which hole the
condition of the furnace may be watched and the stokers tools applied, if
necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Yates in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
YATES, of Bromley, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Let-
ters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Yates, Her special licence that I, the said William
Yates, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Yates, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Yates, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
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

page_text: 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 William Yates, 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 follow-
ing statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto an-
nexed, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in the construction of steam boiler and other furnaces
and apparatus connected therewith in the following manner, for the purpose of
feeding the same and carrying the fuel gradually forward through the furnace,
in such manner as to ensure perfect or nearly perfect combustion of the fuel,
without the emission of smoke from the furnace.
I place above the mouth of the furnace a hopper with a bottom, attached to
a transverse shaft, and which may be moved by hand or otherwise, so as to
open a free passage for fuel down into the furnace. I also connect several of
the central fire-bars of the furnace together by transverse bearers or frames
supporting the outer ends of them (or those nearest the front of the furnace)
upon a rocking quadrant, which is furnished with a lever, and the inner ends
upon a roller. There is a pin attached to the quadrant, and a slot is formed
in the front bearer or frame for imparting motion to the quadrant, or any other
suitable means may be adopted.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a longitudinal, and Figure 2 a
horizontal section of the front part of a boiler furnace and apparatus con-
structed according to my Invention; Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the
front part of the furnace, with some of the bars, and other parts removed; and
Figure 4 is a front elevation of the same. The same letters of reference indicate
similar parts in all the Figures.
a is the hopper fitted to the front and mouth of the furnace; b is the quad-
rant-shaped frame at the bottom thereof, which is free to move about the
transverse shaft b', in order to regulate the supply of fuel to the furnace; c, c,
are the central fire-bars connected together by transverse bearers d, d; e is the
quadrant at the front of the furnace, upon which the front end of the bars c, c,
is supported; 9 is a roller for supporting the other end of the said bars; f is a
lever by which motion is communicated to the quadraut e, and thence trans-
mitted to the bars c, c; h is the furnace door provided with a hole, which is
closed by a transparent slide i; k is the stirrer or agitator in the hopper.
Fuel is fed into the furnace by the hopper a, and its supply to the fire is
regulated by the quadrant 6 moving about the transverse shaft b'. When the

page_text: quadrant e is turned about its axis in one direction, the fire-bars are drawn out
from under the fuel, which is prevented from moving forward with them by
the closed door of the furnace; when the quadrant e is turned in the other
direction, the fuel is carried back into the furnace on the fire-bars, a fresh
supply at the same time falling in behind it from the hopper. Both the
quadrant lever and the lever of the hopper bottom may be. worked by hand, or
by means of the engine which the boiler supplies.
The door of the furnace is kept shut during the ordinary working of the
furnace, and is provided with a hole shut by a slide, through which hole the
condition of the furnace may be watched, and the stoker's tools applied, if
necessary.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim the construction of
steam boiler and other furnaces and apparatus connected therewith, in such
manner that the fuel is supplied and gradually carried forward through the
furnace, and consumed or nearly so without the production of smoke, substan-
tially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Yates, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one