Improvements in Steam Boiler and other Furnaces.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1892-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam Boiler and other Furnaces.
I, EVAN WILLIAM JONES, of 146 Harrison Street, Portland, in the County of
Multnomah, and State of Oregon, United States of America, Manufacturer of
Enginery and Machinery, 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:—
My invention relates to an improvement in boiler and other furnaces.
My invention consists in a novel construction, combination and arrangement of
means in furnaces in which the fuel is forced into the mass of burning coals from
a point below said mass, instead of being discharged on top of said mass of burning
fuel, said means serving to force the supply of air directly over the fresh or green
fuel, and at the same time under the mass of burning fuel, thereby causing the
gases from the green fuel, and the air supplied, to become thoroughly mixed before
they pass through the burning fuel and off into the flue or flues; said means also
serving to regulate this supply of air and thus ensure complete combustion; said
means also serving to prevent inconvenience from the formation of clinkers, and
avoid the waste of fine coal, they also providing for the destruction of clinkers in
the event of such being formed; and the construction and combination being such
that the fire can be run for a very long period without ashes or clinkers interfering
with its perfect operation, and all the fuel shall be practically burned before it
reaches the grates proper of the furnace; and the quantity of fuel regulated.
The said improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure is a broken vertical longitudinal section, illustrating my invention 'as
applied to a brick boiler furnace.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the furnace shown in Figure 1 on the liner, v
of said figure.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross section, in the line y, y, of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a vertical cross section of a marine boiler furnace with my improve-
ment, and
Figure 5 is a similar section to Figure 4 illustrating the mode of applying the
invention to a water leg, fire box boiler.
Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of the steam ram, fuel hopper and the top
plate of the fuel opening of the fire box as arranged for being operated by a hand
lever.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a portion of the fire box, fuel hopper and the
steam ram shown in Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a detail sectional view of the valve for controlling the influx and
efflux of the steam.
Figure 9 is a similar view to Figure 6, the hand lever being substituted by an
automatic means for controlling the influx and efflux of the steam.
Figure 10 is a similar view to Figure 7, the hand lever being substituted for the
automatic means shown in Figure 9; and
Figure 11 is a detail view of the arm for operating the valve of the automatic
mechanism.
Referring to the drawings, A in Figure 3 indicate ash pits arranged on the side
of the fuel feeding magazine B, said magazine being provided with an upwardly
curved bottom E, (see Fig. 1) upwardly Hared, closed sides 13, and an inwardly
and upwardly extended hood or overhanging top portion B³. The fuel feeding
magazine has a mouth coinciding in size with the feed entrance opening a in the
front wall of the fire chamber D of the furnace E, said mouth being fitted into
said opening as illustrated in the drawing, or in any other suitable and substantial
077

page_text: manner, while the forward end of said magazine is.firmly supported upon a casting F
mounted upon the brick work of the bridge wall of the furnace, and substantially
secured in position. Outside and coinciding with the mouth of the magazine B, a
fuel box G is provided, and just over an opening in the top of said box, a fiel
hopper H is arranged, the same being of a size which adapts it for containing the
requisite quantity of fresh fuel. Connected to the fuel box is a ram H' for forcing
the fresh fuel into the magazine B, and therefrom upon side grates I, which are on
a plane somewhat lower than the apex of the mass of fuel when the same is fully
on fire at the top of the magazine, about as illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing.
The ram H may be constructed and applied substantially as shown, or it may be of
any equivalent suitable construction, and the power employed for actuating the
plunger head H2 of the ram, may be either steam, compressed air, or hydraulic
pressure or a cam, eccentric, crank, rack and pinion, or screw, but the preferable
means for operating it are those represented in either Figures 6, 7 & 8, or in
Figures 9 & 10, a description of which will be presently given. When the rain
plunger Eis drawn back, the fuel in the hopper falls into the fuel box G under
the hopper H, and on the return stroke of the ram plunger, the fresh fuel is forced
into the magazine B; and during the operation of the furnace and the burning
away of the fuel previously supplied, the fuel will be forced up higher and higher
until it reaches and becomes completely impacted against the mass of burning fuel
above it, and thus becomes a part of the burning mass of fuel, but always occupying
a position beneath the mass of live coals. The bottom of the fuel magazine can
be of iron or brick, and it can be curved on a slight incline, or the incline may be
straight, and of any angle suitable for ensuring the free gliding up of the fresh
fuel which is being forced in by the ram.
Now,
The construction and operation of the piston H³ that controls the forcing ram H¹
is as follows: Referring to the drawings, Figures 6, 7 and 8, it will be seen that on
the underside of the upper flange of the plunger head H2 of the ram H' is a slotted
- projection H; and that through this flange passes loosely the end of a lever H³,
which is fulcrummed at Hand has one of its ends bifurcated so as to admit between
its prongs a rod H. The result of this construction and combination is to give
(through the bifurcated end of the lever H³) a reduced reversed motion to the
plunger H. The rod H' is connected to the arm H. On the end of rod H' are
adjustable tappets H1 H13. When the valve His placed in the position shown
in Figure 7, the pressure forces the piston to the end of the stroke, and the end of
the lever H will strike the tappet H³ and place the valve in the position shown in
Figure 8, thereby closing the exhaust, and putting pressure on both sides of the
piston at the same time. The same result is attained at the other end of the stroke-
the lever H striking the tappet H. The object of this construction is to cushion
the piston and avoid slamming of the same at each end of the stroke.
referring to Figures 9, 10 and 8, it will be seen that when the valve H is to be
operated automatically it can be done by the addition of certain parts shown in
said Figures 9 and 10. In this arrangement, the shaft Q and grooved cam Qare
caused to make the desired number of revolutions, said parts being located at any
convenient point so as to give a vibrating motion to the shaft Q2. It will be seen
that the shaft Q2 carries an arm Q³, to one end of which is attached a rod Q¹
which carries a hook Q on its outer end; said hook catching over the wrist
pin Q of the arm Q Both arms and Q are secured to the valve
stem QTo an arm Qis secured the lower end of the vertical rod Q
and to the shaft a roller Q" is secured, said roller working in the groove of
the cam Q The upper end of the rod Q works through a guide Q¹2
It will be seen that when the cam is caused to revolve in the direction of the arrow,
and the roller Q is brought into the position, that the valve H" will be brought
into the position shown in Figure 10, and as the cam continues to revolve, the
valve is soon brought into the position or that shown in Figure 8, which closes
the exhaust and places pressure on both sides of the piston at once. It will be
seen from the shape of the groove of the cam that the valve is held in this position

page_text: until the cam reaches the point a, at which stage the valve is placed in the
position and admits steam to the opposite side of the piston. It will be seen
from this construction and combination that when the cam Q₁ is caused to revolve
any desired number of revolutions, that it will produce an intermittent vibrating
motion of the shaft Q, which, in turn, will operate valve H so as to produce a
quick opening and closing of the ram H with an interval of rest while closed. The
object of the hook Q is to allow the rod Q to be detached from the pin Q,
whereupon the valve H can be operated by the hand lever H. The arm Q',
Figure 11, is made thin as shown at Qi, so as to spring a little when the lever H
strikes the tappets H1 H1 at each end of the stroke. "The tappets H H13 can be
adjusted to give the ram H any desired stroke or opening so as to allow more or
less fuel to fall in front of it at each stroke. In practice, it is contemplated to
have the shaft Q connected with the motor that drives the blower or compressor
which supplies the air to the furnace, and to cause said shaft Q to revolve only
when the blower is running; then when it is desired to increase the quantity of
coal that is fed into the furnace, to increase the speed of the shaft Q, and also the
speed of the blower at the same time, thus either giving more air with more coal or
less air with less coal. This object will be attained by having an independent
steam engine or other motor to operate the blower and shaft Q, so that when the
speed of the engine is reduced, the speed of the blower and the speed of the shaft Q
will also be reduced at the same time, thus proportioning the amount of air to the
amount of fuel being consumed. The shaft Q² can be extended so as to operate
any suitable number of valves or feeders.
On top of the sides of the magazine B, a suitable air pipe or tuyer J is applied.
Within
The upper side of the air pipe is exposed to the intense action of the fire.
the air pipe is fitted a pipe K for the circulation of water, as shown. By means of
the water pipe, the upper side of the air pipe is protected, this being effected
by the circulation of water through the pipe. The pipe K is of wrought iron and
shaped as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. When in position, the wrought iron
pipe is connected with the feed pump or with the water in the boiler; or to any
other suitable source of water supply. The air pipe or tuyer might also be of
wrought iron with a hollow shell for the circulation of water over the air space as
shown in Figures 4 & 5. The air pipe or tuyer J has oblong slots in its inner
surface which allow the air under pressure to penetrate the fuel at these points.
Instead of the slots, a series of holes may be made in the pipe or tuyer. To the
outer end of the pipe or tuyer another pipe M is connected, and this may be con-
nected to an air supply apparatus under any suitable pressure. The pressure of
the air may be controlled by a suitable valve in the pipe M. The air pipe J can
be made in independent sections, and any number of such pipes may be placed in a
furnace. At the outer end of the tube a removable cap N is placed for the
purpose of blowing out any cinders or dirt that may pass into the tube through the
slots L, and tend to clog the same. Pindicate vertical slice bars operated by
pinions and levers I, a bar P³ and pins 14, said mechanism being connected to
the ram plunger H. The slice bars Ppass through suitable openings in flanges of
the sides of the magazine. The lower edges of the slice bars have rack teeth which
engage in the pinions P, and the back edges of said bars bear against small double
flanged rolls, said rolls and pinions turning freely upon studs fixed in the
inclined sides of the magazine. The hubs of the pinions are provided with
slots cored through them, through which the levers slide freely, the said slots being
outside of the studs upon which the pinions turn.
The lower forked ends of the
levers connect to the sliding bars P³, and said bars in turn are connected by
means of the wrist pins to the ram plunger H. The outer ends of the bars P³ are
supported in grooved bracket guides P From this description, it is evident that
when the ram plunger is drawn out to receive a fresh supply of fuel, the slice
bars P will be forced up past the slotted face of the air pipes and push up any
clinkers that may have fallen at that point; and that on the return stroke of the
ram plunger, the bars will be lowered to their normal position out of the live coals,

page_text: and the fresh fuel will be forced in, lifting the clinkers higher above the air pipes
until they are finally crowded over with the other incombustible debris and ashes
upon the side grates to be removed by being ground down through the grates, or
drawn out through the front door once or twice a day as occasion may require. It
will be understood that the side grates are not depended upon for the supply of air
to carry on combustion, and therefore the ashes and other debris may be allowed
to pile over from them to any reasonable depth. The side grates may be stationary
or they can be made to shake and grind down the ashes and cinders, and these are
prevented from getting in contact with the slice bars and their connections by
means of guard plates R. By the construction of the magazine with side walls
which are inclined outwardly from their lower to their upper edges, the fuel is
packed tight between the walls of the magazine from bottom to top, and is allowed
to expand after it is forced up to a plane on a level with or above the air pipes.
The air that is forced under pressure through the slots in the air pipe will meet
with less resistance from above than from below, consequently the air will go up
through the fuel instead of down into it, and the result is, that combustion takes
place over or above the slots in the air pipe with the hottest part of the fire on top
and next to the boiler, while the coal or fuel over the slots will be coking and
expanding into a spongy mass, thus allowing the forced currents of air from
the slots in the air pipe to penetrate the whole mass of the fuel over and in
close contiguity with said slots; and said currents of air will carry with them the
gases from the fresh fuel through the hot coals and thereby effect complete
combustion.
The plunger of the ram may have its forward end protected by a fire brick
lining.
In the furnace herein described, the fresh or green fuel is forced up into the
body of the fire, and the gases which are liberated from this fuel pass through the
body of burning coal which is above the fresh fuel, and the air for promoting
combustion is supplied at the points where the fresh fuel is supplied to the mass of
burning fuel above, and the said furnace herein described differs essentially from
other furnaces which are provided with fuel forcing means which do not constitute
both a supporting fire bed for the underlying mass of fuel as well as the super-
incumbent mass, and do not serve for conducting the fresh fuel directly up within
the fire chamber amidst the mass of burning coal during the operation of forcing
the fresh fuel from the fuel box into the fire chamber by the ram.
For the purpose of starting the fire and removing any clinkers that cannot be
destroyed by the slice bars, doors, S, shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, may be
provided in the furnace above the grates.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. A furnace provided with a fuel opening below the line of the fire, a supporting
bottom for the fuel within the fire chamber, sloping upward and backward from
the supply opening and having flaring sides, which with the bottom and the
furnace wall form a chamber or magazine for the fresh or green fuel directly
under the means for supplying air for promoting combustion, and a forcing means
entering through the wall of the furnace, whereby the fuel may be forced up into
tlie fire through the opening at the lower end of the sloping bottom of the
magazine, said sloping bottom forming a support for the fuel independent of the
position of the feeding mechanism, substantially as described.
2. A furnace provided with a downwardly contracted chamber having a solid
inclined or curved bottom forming at all times a firm support for the fuel, and
provided with air supply passages at the top, and an opening at the bottom of
the incline; and a rain for forcing the fuel through the opening, said fuel being
forced up into the fire by sliding it up the inclined bottom of the fuel magazine
between the solid flaring sides thereof, substantially as described.

page_text: 3. A furnace provided with a fuel chamber directly under means for supplying.
air for promoting combustion, said chamber having upwardly and outwardly
inclined closed sides, a concave or inclined bottom. means for forcing the fuel up
into the fire, means for forcing air under pressure directly over the fuel magazine,
side grates near the top of said fuel magazine, ash pits below said grates on
cach side of the fuel magazine, and air pipes located near the top of the magazine-
under the mass of burning coal for the purpose of supplying air under pressure-
under said coals and over the green fuel in the magazine, substantially as.
described.
4. A furnace with a fuel chamber having an upwardly expanding cross section.
and located below the line on which the air is forced into the fuel, slice bars
for breaking loose clinkers and loosening up the fire, and means for operating
said bars by power, substantially as described.
5. A furnace provided with a concave or inclined bottom and flaring sides which
form a fuel chamber or magazine, and with a ram for forcing the fuel into the
furnace, and slice bars to break up the clinkers and loosen up the fire, connected to
and operated by said ram, substantially as described.
6. A. furnace with a fuel chamber or magazine, and provided with perforated
pipes connected with a pipe of an air supplying apparatus, whereby air is forced
under pressure directly over said fuel chamber and under and through the burning
coal, and with a device for forcing the fresh coal up into the fire, substantially as
described.
7. The furnace provided with the air pipe or tuyers, and with the water-
circulation pipes to protect the same from action of the fire, and with removable
caps for admitting access into the air pipe, substantially as described.
8. The furnace provided with a chamber or magazine, side grate bars, slice bars,
and mechanical devices for operating said bars, whereby clinkers can be broken up
near the air supply pipes, substantially as described.
9. A furnace provided with an upwardly expanding chamber closed at bottom
and sides, and having connection with an air supplying apparatus at or near its top,
whereby the fresh or green fiel is confined while air is being forced first over the
top of the fresh fuel below the mass of burning fuel, and through the burning fuel,
in combination with a device for forcing fresh fuel up into the burning fuel,
substantially as described.
10. A furnace provided with a ram for forcing in the fuel, and devices, com-
prising a valve mechanism, for operating said ram with a variable stroke, so that
more or less fuel can be forced in at each stroke, this combination being such that
the operation may be by power or hand, substantially as described.
11. The combination with the forcing ram, of the slotted projection H1, lever H,
fulcrummed at H and having one of its ends bifurcated," rod H, arm H¹º,
adjustable tappets FL and H13, and valve H", substantially as and for the purpose-
described.
12. The combination with the forcing ram, of the slotted projection H*, lever H,
fulcrummed at H and having one of its ends bifurcated, the rod H', arm Ho,
adjustable tappets H2 H3, valve H, shaft Q, cam Q, shaft Q³, arm Q³, rod Q
book Q, wrist pin Q, arms Q and H, valve stem Q, arm Q, vertical rod Q¹º.
and roller Q", substantially as and for the purpose described.
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant..