AN IMPROVED CON-- STRUCTION OF STOVE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Roberts, of Upnor, in the County of Kent,.
Terra Cotta Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CON--
STRUCTION OF STOVE."
Sealed the 16th November 1858, and dated the 9th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Roberts at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th June 1858.
I, JOHN ROBERTS, of Upnor, in the County of Kent, Terra Cotta Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF STOVE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel construction of stove, in which the fuel
may be made to burn for a considerable time and give off an equable heat
without requiring replenishment or even attention. A chamber, formed by
preference of sheet iron, is used for receiving the fuel; this chamber is set
upon a stand, and it is perforated at bottom to admit of air passing up through
the fuel. Over this chamber is placed a bell-shaped cover (made by preference
of earthenware) which rests upon a ledge of the stand and completely
envelopes the fuel chamber, leaving however a space around it for the free
circulation of the heated gases of combustion. In the side of this cover an
opening is made for the escape of the heated gases, and a tube or collar
surrounding the opening is moulded on the cover to facilitate the attachment
of a pipe for leading off the smoke, &c. to the chimney. In order to use the
stove the bell-shaped cover is lifted off the stand; the charge of fuel is then

page_text: placed in the iron chamber, and fire is applied to the upper surface thereof.
The cover is then replaced, and a slow combustion will then take place, the
air to support it being drawn through openings in the stand and through the
perforations in the bottom of the fuel chamber. The gases of combustion
will then rise and circulate in the space between the fuel chamber and the
enveloping cover, thereby heating the extended surface of the latter, and
finally they will make their escape through the smoke pipe leading to the
chimney.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Roberts in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBERTS, of Upnor, in the County of Kent, Terra Cotta Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Roberts, Her special license that I, the said John Roberts, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Roberts, 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 "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
STOVE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Roberts,
by an instrument in writing under my band and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the 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, tho said John Roberts, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thercon (that is to say) :-

page_text: The object of this Invention is to construct a stove in which the fuel may
be made to burn for a considerable time and give off an equable beat without
requiring replenishment or even attention. To this end I employ a com-
bination of well-known parts, but slightly modified in construction, whereby I
am enabled to burn the fuel from the top downwards until the whole or the
greater portion thereof is consumed.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shews in front elevation my im-
proved stove, Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the sanic, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal
section. In these Figures a, a, is a cast-iron stand, which supports the fire
chamber b; this stand is perforated at bottom to admit of air passing up
through the fuel contained in the fire chamber, and it is furnished with an
annular recess to receive the lip of a cover c (made by preference of earthen-
ware) which completely envelopes the fire or fuel chamber and forms a
chamber above and around it for the free circulation of the heated gases of
combustion before they escape to the chimney. In the side of this cover c
an opening is made for the escape of the gases of combustion, and a nozzle d
surrounding the opening is moulded on the cover to facilitate the attachment
of a pipe for leading off the smoke, &c. to the chimney. The fire box or
chamber I form either of sheet iron, as shown at Fig. 2, or of fire-clay, as
shewn in elevation and plan view at Figs. 4, and I fit it with a loose bottom
of plate iron pierced with holes, and cover it, if need be, with a plate of
pierced metal b. The application of this latter plate tends to retard the
burning of the fuel, and may be used or not, as thought desirable. The
advantage of the fire-elay fuel box over metal, and also of an earthenware
cover c in lieu of cast iron, which I sometimes propose to use is, that they
will retain the heat for a much longer time than the metal. To prevent the
fire-clay box or chamber being injured by the action of the fire, I mould it
of a circular form, with vertical indents or cuts on its periphery, which will
permit of its contraction and expansion without injury to the structure, and I
secure the partially severed portions of the cylinder together by hoops of iron,
as shewn in the Drawing. When using the stove it must be placed with its
nozzle d near a chimney flue, and in order to charge it the enveloping metal
or earthenware cover c is first lifted off the stand a. A charge of small coal
(about the size of a walnut) free from dust is then placed in the chamber b
and fire is applied to the upper surface thereof. The cover c is then quickly
replaced to prevent the smoke from the inflammable substance applied to the
coal entering the apartment, and a thorough ignition of the upper portion of
the fuel will quickly take place. The coal or other fuel will then continue to
burn slowly, the air to support combustion being drawn through openings in

page_text: the stand and through the perforations in the bottom of the fuel chamber.
The gases of combustion, as they are generated, will rise and circulate in the
space between the fuel chamber and the enveloping cover, thereby heating
the extended surface of the latter, and finally they will make their escape
through the nozzle d, and thence pass up the chimney.
In some instances it may be thought desirable to permit of an inspection
of the fire without removing the cover c. For this purpose an opening may
be made in the front of the cover c and closed with a sliding door, as shewn
at Fig. 5, the door being supported by means of strips of metal rivetted to
the cover e, or a spy hole may be made therein and covered with tale.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved Con-
struction of Stove," and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, I claim the combination of fire chamber and enveloping chamber,
as herein described, whereby I am enabled to maintain an equable heat for
several consecutive hours by the consumption of a comparatively small
quantity of coal or other fuel without the fire requiring attention when once
ignited.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Roberts, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JOHN ROBERTS. (L.S.)