IMPROVEMENTS IN THE Feeding of FURNACES AND FIRES WITH FUEL, AND IN MECHANISM OR FEEDERS FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Archibald Connal Stevenson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th April 1877.
ARCHIBALD CONNAL STEVENSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Glass Bottle Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE Feeding of FURNACES
AND FIRES WITH FUEL, AND IN MECHANISM OR FEEDERS FOR THAT PURPOSE."
This Invention has for its object the feeding of coal or other fuel into furnaces or
other fire-places in an improved manner, and by special new or improved means
and arrangement of mechanism or feeders for the purpose. And the nature and
novelty of the Invention consist generally and essentially in fitting a charging
Imouth-piece at, or a little above, the level of the floor of the fuel chamber, some
distance in front, or to either side of the furnace or fire, and directly connected with
and leading down into the smallest outer end of a semicircular or other hollow
seginental or curved and gradually enlarging fuel-conducting pipe or passage, which
after descending rises in its continued curve up from below, and opens through the
fire-hearth or grate bars, or between these, its inner large discharge end opening
directly into the fire-place. This fuel-conducting pipe is preferred to be made of
iron, secured at its inner wide end to an orifice in a strong iron plate in the lower
part of the furnace or fire-place, and at its small end to a similar plate level with
the floor outside, where the charging mouth is secured, preferably made parallel
and a little smaller than the small end of the fuel-conducting pipe, into which it
leads. The filler is fitted on top with a compressing plate or plunger mounted at
the lower end of a screw spindle, with hand lever and wheel curved and working
in the screwed eye of open cross arms above, which admit of the fuel being freely
filled in by a hand shovel, or otherwise, when the presser is then let down over the
fuel, and the screw turned so as to press the fresh charge down into the curved fuel-
conducting pipe, and cause an equivalent quantity or charge of fuel to pass forward
and rise up, and be freely fed or delivered into the furnace or fire-place from the
wide discharge end of the curved pipe, and then be spread over the grate bars and
fire by the ordinary hand rakes, or otherwise. One, two, or more of these new or
improved feeders may be fitted to each furnace according to size and convenience.
Although a screw spindle has been described for pressing and feeding forward the
fuel through the mouth-piece conducting passage, this being preferred, it is to be

page_text: understood that levers, or hydraulic power, or other equivalent arrangement of
mechanism therefor might be used, worked by hand or motive power. And further,
that a large screw with fine angled blades or threads, and driven at a slow speed,
or at intervals, by hand, in the charging mouth, might also be used for feeding
forward the fuel.
Under these improvements the fires may be attended and kept in proper order
through doors in front or at either side of the furnace, or they may be cleaned and
have the clinkers removed from the under side of the grate bars in the "cave" or
ash-pit, as is done in glass-house furnaces.