IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES OR FIRE- PLACES AND BOILERS for the GENERATION OF STEAM
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES OR FIRE-
PLACES AND BOILERS for the GENERATION OF STEAM."-A communication
from abroad by Johu Martin, of Melbourne, Australia.
Sealed the 12th March 1872, and dated the 14th September 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th September 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES OR FIRE-
PLACES AND BOILERS FOR THE GENERATION OF STEAM," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to generate steam more quickly and
economically than heretofore, to which end the heated gases arising from
the combustion of the fuel in the furnace or fire-place are more
effectually consumed and caused to act more energetically on the

page_text: surface of the boiler, and are prevented from escaping to the chimney until
they have parted with the greater portion of their heat. The water in
the boiler is moreover kept in continual circulation and is made to
impinge on the heated surfaces of the flue or boiler plate so as to take up
the heat from the gases as they pass along the flues.
The objects of the Invention are effected by the use of what may be
called obstructing plates, some of which are placed in the flues or hot
air passages in order to cause the heated gases as they pass along
to impinge on the surface of the boiler plates and impart their heat
thereto. Other obstructing plates are placed inside the boiler so as to
cause the water in its circulation to impinge against the highly heated
sides of the boiler. The obstructing plates in the flues also serve
another purpose, inasmuch as they divide the flues and hot air passages
into a number of combustion chambers in which the gases are retained
until they are consumed, thereby greatly economizing the fuel and
increasing the heat. The boiler is divided alternately into two, three, or
more water spaces by means of concentric tubes, to the outer one of
which the obstructing plates are affixed. By this means the water will
be made to pass up one water space and down another and return again,
thereby keeping up a constant circulation, so that as the steam is
generated it can easily escape from the water and enter the dome or
steam space above. The obstructing plates in the furnace flue or air
passage may be fixed to the sides or they may be mounted on a rod or
bar so that they may be moved, thereby acting as dampers for regulating
the size of the air passages and the draught, and consequently the
consumption of the fuel and generation of steam are controlled.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 14th March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 3
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for " IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES OR FIRE-PLACES AND BOILERS FOR THE
GENERATION OF STEAM," being a communication to me from abroad by
John Martin, of Melbourne, Australia, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or
3 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 same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
I
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward! Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
i
The principal object of this Invention is to generate steam more
quickly and economically than heretofore, to which end the heated gases
arising from the combustion of the fuel in the furnace or fire-place are
more effectually consumed, and are caused to act more energetically than
heretofore on the surface of the boiler, and are prevented from escaping
to the chimney until they have parted with the greater portion of their
heat. The water in the boiler is moreover kept in continual circulation,
and is made to impinge on the heated surfaces of the flue or boiler plate
so as to take up the heat from the gases as they pass along the flucs.
The objects of the Invention are effected by the use of what may be
called obstructing plates, some of which are placed in the flues or hot

page_text: ´air passages in order to cause the heated gases as they pass along to
impinge on the surface of the boiler plates and impart their heat thereto.
Other obstructing plates are placed inside the boiler so as to cause the
water in its circulation to impinge against the highly heated sides of the
boiler. The obstructing plates in the flues also serve another purpose,
inasmuch as they divide the flues and hot air passages into a number of
combustion chambers in which the gases are retained until they are
consumed, thereby greatly economizing the fuel and increasing the
heat.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section
and Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section of a horizontal, cylindrical, or
Cornish boiler furnace, constructed according to the present improve-
ments above referred to. Fig. 3 is a vertical section, and Fig. 4 a
horizontal section of an upright or vertical boiler and furnace. In the
vertical boiler shewn at Figures 3 and 4 the boiler is divided into two
water spaces, but it will sometimes be found convenient to divide it into
three or more by means of concentric tubes, to the outer one of which
the obstructing plates are to be affixed. By this means the water will
be made to pass up one water space (the outer one) and down another,
and return again, thereby keeping up a constant circulation, so that as
the steam is generated it can easily escape from the water and enter the
dome or steam space above.
In Fig. 3 there are only two water spaces formed by means of a
central tube a, a, which in this instance is made slightly conical instead
of being cylindrical. The obstructing plates b, b, are attached to the
outside of the central tube a so as to cause the water in its circulation
upwards (as indicated by the arrows) to impinge against the heated skin
c, c, of the boiler, which is surrounded by the vertical flue f. The
obstructing plates d, d, in the furnace flue or air passage may be
fixed to the sides of the fluc, as shown in the Drawing, or they may be
mounted on a rod or bar so that they may be moved and thereby made
to act as dampers for regulating the size of the air passages and the
draught. By this means the consumption of the fuel and the generation
of steam may be controlled.
It will be seen that by adapting these obstructing plates d to
boiler flues and stove and other flues, a series of chambers will be
formed through which the heated gases from the fire will circulate, and

page_text: 1
in going from one chamber to another over the surface of the boiler (as
indicated by the arrows) they will pass through narrow passages. The
hot air in the flue passing with increased velocity through these narrow
passages will impinge on the surface of the boiler or stove plate, which
will present constantly and rapidly changing heating surfaces. The
plates or obstructions d in the flue may be placed in any position and at
varying distances from each other, but should preferably be placed at an
angle with the flues and arranged one in advance of the other so that
the space between one plate and another will forn the chambers
previously mentioned. These plates may be made of any convenient
size, shape, and material, but they are usually so fitted into a section of
the flue that the only passage from one of the before-mentioned
chambers to another is through a narrow open space, and over, on, and
along the surface of the boiler plate, as shewn at Figures 1 and 3.
1
When the flue passes through a horizontal or Cornish boiler, as shewn
at Fig. 1, the series of alternating chambers and narrow passages in the
flue are of a similar nature to those previously described, but in this case
the plates or obstructions d are usually of such a shape and of such a
size that the narrow passage encircles the plates or obstructions, and
such narrow passage lies between the outer circumference of the plates
or obstructions d and the surface c of the boiler plate at that part in
which it is placed. In Fig. 1 the plates or obstructions d, d, in the flue
are, loose, and rest on brackets or on fect or chairs e, e, or they may be
suspended or attached in any manner, cither by hinges or otherwise, to
or on and in the flue in which they are placed. In Fig. 3 the
water is made to impinge on and flow against the outer skin ċ
and hollow part of the boiler plate, and when the shape and position
of the boiler admit of it (as in this instance) the stream of water
is made to pass down through a tube of any size or shape, but usually of
the same or somewhat similar shape as the boiler but of smaller size,
and up through the series of chambers and narrow passages formed by
the plates or flangos fixed on to the outer surface of the inner tube a,
the water flowing between the outer circumference of the flanges or
plates b and the surface c of the boiler plate, and down again through
the inner tube in an endless stream.
1
Hot air stoves may be made of a series of alternating chambers and
narrow passages of a similar nature to those before described. The
plates or obstructions may be of any shape, size, and material, and placed

page_text: in any position, and loose or fixed, or attached in any convenient
manner, but usually they are of the same shape as that part of the stove
in which they are placed, but of smaller size, and are fixed rigidly on a
bar running through the stove. The stove casing may be contracted, or
of lesser diameter at those parts respectively in which the plates or
obstructions are placed. By this arrangement the narrow passages may
be simultaneously made larger or smaller, shallower or deeper, according
to pleasure, by raising or depressing the rod and plates or obstructions,
which may easily be done by means of a thumbscrew or other equivalent
mechanical device. By a curved shape being given to the stove or
casing between those parts in which the plates or obstructions are
placed, the stream of hot air may be distributed more effectually over
the whole surface of the stove or casing.
Having now described the Invention of " Improvements in Furnaces
or Fire-places and Boilers for the Generation of Steam," as com- ]
municated to me from abroad, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim, as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
+par
First. Adapting to the flues of furnaces or fire-places plates or
obstructions for the purpose of causing the heated gases to impinge on 2
the sides of the flues and give up their heat as herein set forth.
Second. I claim constructing boilers or steam generators with a series
of plates or obstructions arranged internally for the purpose of pro-
moting the circulation of the water and causing the latter to be
deflected so as to impinge against the heated surfaces of the boilers, 2
as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.