Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 2nd June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 20th Sept., 1887
I, CHARLES SCOTT SNELL, of Cadby Hall Works, Hammersmith, in the County of
Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Our invention relates to shovels such as are usually used for gathering up the
ashes from the hearth stones or ash pans of domestic or other fires, and is designed to
enable such shovel to be used for separating the burned out ash from the partially
burnt cinders, so that the cinders may be returned to the fire without the ashes or
dust.
To carry out our invention we form the blade or body of the shovel with a com-
partment, the front of the compartment consisting of an inclined plate rising from
near the end of the shovel and extending, in one arrangement, to within a short
distance of the back; the under side of the compartment is formed by the blade of the
shovel itself. We place a grid sieve or perforated plate over and some little distance
above the front face of the said Compartment, the materials shovelled up such as
cinders, ashes, and dust, being received upon the said grid, sieve or perforated plate.
The space at which the bars of the grid are placed from one another, or the size of
the perforated holes, or of the sieve, will determine the magnitude of the smaller
particles allowed to pass through the said sieve or grid. By slightly inclining the
shovel, so that the handle is the lowest part, the dust and similar particles, which have
passed through the grid, slide along the front plate of the ash compartment until they
reach its upper edge which does not reach so far as the back of the shovel. The
ashes and dust thus fall into the ash chamber formed in the blade or body of the
shovel, whilst the cinders remain upon the surface of the grid or perforated plate.
Upon reversing the inclination of the shovel, the cinders may be readily returned to
the fire, whilst the dust or ash is retained in the ash compartment, which is provided
with a suitable aperture from which the contents may be emptied.

page_text: As a modified form we may in place of the grid, employ a deeply corrugated plate
which may itself form the front face of the ash compartment and be carried
completely to the back of the shovel.
The upper portions of this plate may be perforated in the channels of the
corrugations, so that the dust, which will most readily be in the bottom of the
corrugations, may there fall through into the ash chamber underneath.
By the use of this invention the grate may be kept perfectly free from dust, and
all available cinders may be completely consumed as they are formed, without choking
the fire with dust or ash, the result being a great economy in fuel, constant cleanliness
of the hearth, and a minimum of work in relaying the fires.
Dated this Second day of September 1886.
FELL & WILDING,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, CHARLES SCOTT SNELL, of Cadby Hall Works, Hammersmith, in the County
of Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, 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 :—
This invention relates to improved means of sifting and retaining the smaller
particles in a receptacle provided for the purpose and is chiefly applicable to ashes and
cinders produced by coal coke wood or similar fires but is also useful in all cases
where it may be desirable to separate the larger particles from smaller ones and
retain the latter in a separate receptacle as in grain sugar peas beans and similar
articles or substances.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a section of a Shovel or Scoop constructed according to my invention
and for clearness this and other drawings will be described throughout in the special
application to sifting the ashes or cinders of Fires as above specified. In this
example the ashes or combined dust and cinders are received upon a grid J having
underneath it the plate K which forms the upper part of the retaining receptacle.
It will be readily seen that the dust or smaller particles fall through the grid upon
the plate K the cinders being retained upon the grid and upon sufficient inclination
being given to the shovel the fine particles follow the direction of the arrows
in the drawing and pass into the chamber below from which the contents can at
any time be withdrawn through the opening at L temporarily closed by a plate
turning on a stud at its extremity or by equivalent means, as for instance a sliding
plate in the bottom of the shovel covering a corresponding opening. A section
thro. A-B is shown at E and indicates the employment of longitudinal bars to
form a grid but if deemed desirable it is obvious the transverse bars as at F may be
substituted and further a curved or irregular contour may be given to either the grid
or plate or to both as shown dotted at P. The bottom of the Shovel may be pressed
up in the vicinity of the rivetted ends of the longitudinal bars to prevent the heads
wearing off and the plate K may be so cut or formed that tongues are left on its sides
so as to pass thro corresponding slots in the sides of the shovel and these tongues by
being turned up or down or rivetted will firmly secure the plate in place. The
materials used throughout all forms herein specified may consist of steel, iron, brass
or similar suitable materials or combination of the same. The whole of the body of
this form of shovel may be constructed in one piece and formed by bending up the
two sides and turning up the back the whole being held together by tongues left on
one portion corresponding with and interlocked with slots formed in the other
adjacent portions or by soldering or similar well known means.
The handle may be
attached by any of the ordinary methods.
In Fig. 2 is shown a corrugated plate N the section thro. C. D. being given at G
the cinders in this case travelling upon the upper ridges and the finer particles and

page_text: dust along the channels until they pass thro the perforations in the upper end of the
plate into the chamber below and ejected thro. a similar opening to that shown in
Fig. 1. or in this or any other case a hollow handle O with a stop or plug may be
employed. Or the handle may be solid and form a plug for the opening in the back
of the Shovel. The inclination of the shovel in a direction that would slide the
cinders off the grid has the effect of transferring the finer particles or dust more
towards the extreme end or toe of the chamber and effectually preventing their return
until deemed desirable to release or eject same.
At H Fig. 2 is shown a modification of the corrugation which may obviously be of
a variety of shapes and at I is shown longitudinal plates in place of rods which rest
upon or form part of the plate form part of the "retaining chamber." These also
may be formed so that their upper edges have a curved contour as explained in
reference to Fig. 1.
Other modifications are shown in Figs. 3 & 4 in which a number of transverse
plates with or without intermediate bars are employed these may moreover be flat or
curved and the dust emptied by inverting the shovel or by side openings as before
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
1st. The combination of a separating "grid" as fully described in relation to
Fig. 1 and illustrated at E & F and a chamber for retaining the finer portions when
separated.
2nd. The combination of a chamber as above described with an opening for
discharging the contents thereof and capable of being temporarily closed substantially
as described in relation to Figs. 1 & 2.
3rd. The combination of a chamber as above with a hollow handle fitted with a
removeable stop as fully set forth and described in Fig. 2.
4th. The use of a grooved or corrugated diaphram for separating substantially as
set forth and described in relation to Fig. 2 and illustrated in Figs. G. H. & I.
5th. The combination of a two or more diaphrams with or without transverse
bars as described, and illustrated in Figs. 3 & 4.
Dated this 2nd June 1887.