IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS KILNS FOR BENDING AND FIRING STAINED AND OTHER GLASS
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION,
I EPHRAIM CUTLER of No 272 Broad Street Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Glass Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of iny. invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS KILNS FOR BENDING AND FIRING STAINED AND OTHER
GLASS to be as follows, that is to say :-
39
My Invention has for its object Improvements in Gas Kilns for bending and
firing stained and other glass by which greater uniformity of heat is obtained over
large sheets of glass and the cooling of the kiln after the glass has been burnt is
far more gradual and regular and the glass is thus more thoroughly annealed and
much less liable to break than is the case in kilns now constructed, I will now
describe my improvements :-
The heating chamber of my kiln is formed above a secondary chamber or flue
this flue being formed by two walls which also serve as roadways for the carriage
which carries the glass in the heating chamber above. The bottom flue runs longi-
tudinally under the heating chamber and is covered with an arch There are also
two side archways at the back end communicating with the longitudinal flue and
all these three inlet archways are mounted with tightly fitting doors. The heating
chamber is also covered with a flat arch. The carriage is mounted upon wheels
running upon the two walls aforesaid with iron frame and stone bed covered with
plaster of Paris upon which the glass is laid. Now over this carriage I place a
metal bonnet or shield which is rather more curved on the top than the arch of the
kiln thus forming two arched and tapered spaces above the said bonnet. The Gas
pipe runs across the front of the kiln with two branch pipes running along, one
under each side of the heated chamber from which jet pipes rise up and bend over
into the mouth of the tapered space on each side above the bonnet. The draft
holes lead through the top of the heating chamber into the waste flue which is
fitted with dampers. The heat is thus distributed from the jet pipes over the
bonnet while the bottom doors are open and the top dampers open, but immediately
the top dampers are closed and the bottom doors are closed the whole kiln is so
shut up that no air can get in and the cooling is most gradual.
Dated this Oith day of New 1981
JOHN KENDRICK,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: "
I, EPHRAIM CUTLER of 272 Broad Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Glass Merchant do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GAS KILNS FOR BENDING AND FIRING STAINED AND OTHER GLASS and in
what manner the same is to bo performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention has for its object improvements in Gas kilns for bending and firing
stained and other glass by which greater uniformity of heat is obtained over large
sheets of glass and the cooling of the kiln after the glass has been burnt is far
more gradual and regular and the glass is thus more thoroughly annealed and
much less liable to break than is the case in kilns as now constructed. I will now
describe my improvements :-
•
The heating chamber of my kiln is formed above a secondary chamber or fluo
this flue being formed by two walls which also serves as roadways for the carriage
which carries tho glass in heating chamber above. The bottom fluc runs longi-
tudinally under the heating Chamber and is covered with an arch. There are also
two side arch ways at the back end communicating with the longitudinal flue and
all these three inlet archways are mounted with tightly fitting doors. The henting
chamber is also covered with a flat arch. The carriage is mounted upon wheels
running upon the two walls aforesaid with iron frame and stone bed covered with
plaster of Paris upon which the glass is laid. Now over this carriage I placo a
metal bonnet or shield which is rather more curved on the top than the arch of the
kiln thus forming two arched and tapered spaces abovo the said bonnet. The gas
pipo runs across the front of the kiln with two branch pipes running along one
under each side of the heating chamber from which jet pipes rise up and bend over
into the mouth of the tapered space on each side above the bonnet. The draft
holes lead through the top of the heating chamber into the waste flue which is
fitted with dampers. The heat is thus distributed from the jet pipes over the
bonnet while the bottom doors are open and the top dampers open but immediately
the top dampers are closed, and the bottom doors are closed the whole kiln is so
shut up that no air can get in and the cooling is most gradual.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and more readily carried
into practice I have appended hereunto a sheet of drawings upon which Figure 1
is a cross sectional elevation of my kiln on line A. B.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the centre of the same kiln.
Figure 3 is a plan on line C. D through the upper chambers.
Figure 4 is a plan on line E. F through the lower chamber and
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation showing the junction of the gas pipes.
Referring to the drawings G is my upper or heating chamber and H is the
lower or air chamber with the doors H¹ leading to the lower chamber and similar
doors G¹ fitted to the G or upper chamber which are now open so as to show the
inside The lower chamber H has also two entrances H and H³ which are fitted
with doors h* and h*.
The upper chamber G has its bottom formed upon the arch J which is supported
by the walls K, K which also extends out to K' serving as supports for the
rails, which carries the carriage ML which is built up of an iron frame with a
substantial Godstone stone which is afterwards covered with plaster in the usual
way and upon which the glass to be burnt rests. After laying the glass upon the
plaster I cover it with a bonnet N which leaves a tapering space P between the
upper arch and the top of the bonnet N. The gas pipe R runs across the front of

page_text: the kiln with two branch pipes R' and R running longitudinally along the kiln in
a trough in the brick work under each side of the upper or heating chamber G.
Ordinary atmospheric jet pipes S on the principle of the Bunsen burner so well
known in gas stoves and ovens rise at intervals and turn round pointing into
the space between the top of the bonnet N and the upper arch T-The junction
of these jet pipes are shown at Figure 5.
The working of the kiln is as follows:-The carriage being run into the kiln
having the sheet or sheets of glass under the bonnet Ñ the gas is turned on and
lighted at the jets and the top doors G are closed the top heating chamber perfectly
sealed up at the front. While the furnace is burning the front bottom doors H' are
kept open and if necessary also doors h' and ho so that sufficient air is supplied to
the jet pipes through U into the, channel or other recess in which the pipos R¹
and R2 lie thus communicating air direct to a position where it may enter the
atinospheric gas pipe and also supply the necessary air to the kiln for combustion-·
The air so supplied passes up as it is required in a vertical current or currents
partly mixing with the gas in the pipes and also supplying the necessary air for
combustion in a manner which is not injurious to the glass under treatment-By
this arrangement of feeding the air from an independent chamber is controlable by
a door H or several doors according to the size of the kiln and the position whero
it is fixed I can at one regulate the amount of entrance air or cut it off entirely→
Indeed so effective is this arrangement that when the doors are all closed and the
gas turned off my kiln will take over twenty hours to cool down whereas similar
kilns I have tried would cool down in a quarter of the time but of course to the
injury and breakage of much of the material under treatment. Instead of the
doors H and H the back end of the kiln may be formed just the same as
the front end so that the glass may be taken out of either end and that a through
current of air may be obtained for feeding the burners or cooling down the kiln
when necessary.
The air may be supplied from one or two or more separate air chambers at the
side of the kiln or from an outer air pipe or tube which entirely covers or seals the
atmospheric tubes or burners or inlet pipes S from the outside except in regard to
that air purposely admitted and under perfect control from the end or ends or sides
of the pipes by proper doors or valves. This being done the arrangement and
general design may be varied to suit varying circumstances.
Having now particularly described and and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
:
First I claim the Improvements in gas kilns having a secondary or air
chamber H or its equivalent such as the side chambers explained or arranged in
such a manner that all the air both for the atmospheric burners and for the supply
of the kiln shall be regulated by doors or valves in order that the air supply
may be so effectively cut off that no currents shall remain to play upon the glass
or other article under treatment when the gas is turned off.
Second: I claim the Improvements in gas kilns with the convenient arrangement
of vertical burners S rising from the pipe R2 with the inlet passage U substantially
as herein set forth and shown on the accompanying drawings.
"