IMPROVEMENTS IN MOVEABLE FIRE-BARS FOR FURNACES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE SAME
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOVEABLE FIRE-BARS FOR FURNACES, AND
IN THE MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE SAME." A communication from abroad
by Alphonse Edouard Wackernie, of Paris, in the Republic of France,
Engineer.
Scaled the 27th February 1877, and dated the 29th August 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Powley Alexander
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th August 1876.
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent. IMPROVEMENTS IN MOVE-
ABLE FIRE-BARS FOR FURNACES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE SAME."
A communication from abroad by Alphonse Edouard Wackernie, of Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer.
This Invention has for its object the prevention of the fouling of the fire-bars of
steam boiler or other furnaces whether stationary or locomotive, and relates to a
peculiar construction of moveable fire-bars, and to the mode of mounting and
actuating the same.
According to this Invention the fire-bars are of a composite construction, each bar
comprising, say five single bars, with suitable air passages between them. These
composite bars rest at one extremity upon a stationary bearer, whilst the opposite
extremity is connected with a vertically adjustable horizontal support, which passes
transversely beneath the series of fire-bais, there being a stationary bearer and an
adjustable support under each end of the series of fire-bars, so that the front end of
one fire-bar may rest upon the front stationary bearer, whilst the rear end of the
same bar rests upon the rear adjustable support, the order being reversed for the
adjoining bar.
The said adjustable supports are connected at each end by a vertical connecting
rod or link with the short horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever mounted on two
rocking shafts situate respectively at the front and rear ends of the ash-pit, the
vertical and longer arms of the said bell-cranks being coupled by connecting rods,
and an actuating lever handle being secured to the front rocking shaft, so that on
moving the said handle both shafts will rock in their bearings, and will cause the
[Price 6d1

page_text: corresponding ends of the alternate fire-bars to be lifted or lowered together, whilst
at the same time preserving the parallelism of the bais.
The stationary bourers are knife edged, and are provided with projections, which
maintain the proper spacing of the fire-bars, whilst the pieces which connect
each bar to its adjustable support serve also to prevent the bars from falling over
laterally.
The bearings for the rocking shaft are adjustable horizontally and vertically to
facilitate the mounting of the apparatus
In order to prevent injury to the fire-bridge a horizontal metal bar is fixed
between the moveable ends of the fire-bars and the front of the bridge. In cases
where it is desirable that provision be made for lowering one end of the series
of fire-bars for the immediate discharge of the fuel, as in locomotive boilers for
example, it is proposed to mount one of the bearers upon levers so arranged
that on lowering the same the entire series of fire-bars will also be lowered at
one end. In this case the adjustable supports will be jointed to opposite ends of
balance bars or lovers working on a fulcrum in the centre.
In lieu of using an arrangement of levers, for the purpose above set forth, the
bearer may be connected at each end by travelling nuts to vertical screw spindles
worked simultaneously by bevol gearing and a hand wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edwin Powley Alexander in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th February 1877.
""
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MOVE-
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.
ABLE FIRE-BARS FOR FURNACES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE SAME."
A communication from abroad by Alphonse Edouard Wackernie, of Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer.
The said Invention has for its object the prevention of the fouling of the fire-bars
of steam boiler or other furnaces, whether stationary or locomotive, and relates to
a peculiar arrangement and mode of mounting and actuating moveable fire-bars
According to this Invention the fire-bars are of a composite construction, each bar
comprising, say five single bars, with suitable air passages between them. These
composite bars rest at one extremity upon a stationary bearer, whilst the opposite
extremity is connected with a vertically adjustable horizontal support which passes
transversely beneath the series of fire-bars, there being a stationary bearer and an
adjustable support under the respective ends of each of the series or groups of fire-
bars, so that the front end of one fire-bar may rest upon the front stationary bearer
whilst the rear end of the same bar rests upon the rear adjustable support, the order
being reversed for the adjoining bar of the other group.
The said adjustable supports are connected at each end by connecting rods or
links with the short horizontal arms of bell-crank levers mounted on rocking shafts
situate respectively at the front and rear ends of the ash-pit. The vertical and
longer arms of the said bell cranks are coupled together by horizontal connecting
rods, and an actuating lever handle is secured to the front rocking shaft, so that on
moving the said handle both shafts will rock in their bearings, and will cause the
corresponding ends of the alternate fire-bars to be lifted or lowered together, whilst
at the same time preserving the parallelism of the bars.
The stationary bearers are knife edged, and are provided with projections which
maintain the proper spacing of the fire-bars, whilst the pieces which connect each
bar to its adjustable support serve also to prevent the bars from falling over
laterally.
The bearings for the rocking shafts are adjustable horizontally and vertically to
facilitate the mounting of the apparatus.

page_text: In order to prevent injury to the fire-bridge a horizontal metal bar is fixed
between the moveable ends of the fire-bars and the front of the bridge. In
cases where it is desirable that provision be made for lowering one end of
the entire series of fire-bars for the immediate discharge of the fuel, as in loco-
motive fire-boxes for example, it is proposed to mount one of the bearers upon
levers so arranged that on lowering the same the entire series of fire-bars will also
be lowered at one end. In this case the adjustable supports will be jointed to
opposite ends of balance bars or levers working on a fulcrum in the centre.
In lieu of using an arrangement of levers for the purpose above set forth, the
bearer may be connected at each end by travelling nuts to vertical screw spindles
worked simultaneously by bevel gearing and a hand wheel.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a longitudinal vertical section of part of a stationary
boiler furnace provided with the said improved arrangement of moveable fire-bars;
Figure 2 is a corresponding transverse vertical section of the same; Figure 3 is a
sectional plan corresponding to Figuro 1; and Figures 4 and 5 are details of the
adjustable supports for the bearers.
Each of the bars A rests at one end upon one of the bearers B, whilst the other
end is connected by a metal strap C with one of the horizontal rods D through the
agency of which rods the lifting movement is effected. The connection of the
groups of bars with the metal straps C is effected by the aid of two parallel lugs a
formed on the bar, and containing between them a projection c cast on the metal
strap C. The overturning of the groups of bars is prevented by the projections 6
which are formed upon the tops of the bearers, and which serve as guides to the
lateral faces of tho bars, as will be seen more clearly in Figure 2.
Two rocking shafts E, E, carrying at their extremities the bell-crank levers F, F,
impart the lifting movement through the vertical connecting rods G, G, which are
jointed at one end to the shorter arms of the bell cranks, and connected at the other
end to the metal straps C The longer arms of the bell cranks F coupled together
by the coupling rods H, H, serve to connect the two movements of the groups of
bars. The lever handle I which is keyed on to one end of the front rocking shaft
serves to impart the lifting motion to both series of bars. As the short arms of the
bell cranks F work in opposite directions it follows that when one group or series
of bars is being lifted to a given extent at one end, the other group or series is
lowered to the same extent at the opposite ends. This simple arrangement ensures
a parallelism between the surfaces of the two series of bars, whether they be
elevated or lowered. The dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2 clearly indicate this
movement. The double sliding or adjustable bearings J admit of the positions of
the rocking shafts E to which they serve as supports being adjusted both vertically
and horizontally, and facilitate the expeditious fitting of the entire system.
With a view to obviate any wear and tear of the fire-bridge by the movements
of the bars, there is fitted behind the rear ends of the said bars and in front of the
bridge a cast-iron plate or bar K which prevents all contact between the ends of the
bars and the fire-bridge.
The herein-before described arrangement will be found to answer perfectly for
ordinary furnaces, but when it is desired to apply the arrangement to locomotive
and other similar furnaces or fire-boxes, wherein it is expedient that provision be
made for rapidly discharging the burning fuel or emptying the fire-grate at a
moment's notice, certain modifications which I shall now proceed to describe will be
requisite.
The following illustrations afford examples of such modifications:-Figure 6 is a
longitudinal vertical section of such a modified arrangement applied to the fire-box
of an ordinary locomotive boiler; Figure 7 is a corresponding sectional plan of the

page_text: same, one half showing the fire-bars in position, and the other half showing the
actuating mechanism. This mechanism is also represented in one half of Figure 8,
which is a transverse vertical section of a portion of the fire-box corresponding to
Figuro 6 taken along the lines 1-2 and 3-4 in that Figure.
Figures 9 and 10 represent respectively a front and side view in detail (drawn to
a smaller scale) of another arrangement for effecting the canting or inclination of
the grate bars with a view to the ready discharge of the burning fuel or residuum
when required. No change is effected in the main features of the first-described
arrangement, which consist in elevating the fire-hars by means of rods and levers in
such a manner that each group is isolated from its neighbour, and is lifted at one
end whilst the opposite end rests upon the bearer, and vice versa. The rear bearer
B is supported and rendered moveable in its entirety by the intervention of the
Oscillating levers or bars J actuated by the rods or links F and a lever L. The
movement of this mechanism acts upon the entire series of fire-bars A which it
causes to be lowered at the rear end as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 6.
The object of this arrangement is to cause the clinkers and residue of the burning
fuel to be rapidly discharged into the ash pan or pit after the same have been
loosened or detached from the bars by their first movement It will be observed
that the straps C connected to the groups of bars and to the rods G are actuated in
this modification by two balanco levers H keyed to the transverse horizontal rocking
shaft E, which levers are caused to oscillate by means of the lever I to the extent.
required to detach or separate the two series or groups of fire-bars alternately, and
to cause them to assume a position parallel to each other, as shown by the dotted
lines in Figure 6. The bearers B are also modified. In the first arrangement they
have knife edges, whilst in the modified arrangement they consist simply of round
bars. In lieu of securing the two sides of the straps C by bolts a key c is em-
ployed, the slot for which is made in the enlargements of the rods D to which the
said straps are secured. These keys may be held in position by split cottars, or
otherwise, as is well understood. Figures 9 and 10 represent another arrangement
for inclining the grate and causing the residue of the fuel to fall into the ash pan or
pit. This arrangement consists of two screws V, V₁, provided with travelling nuts
which support the rear bearer B. These are actuated by the bevel gearing K keyed
on to the horizontal shaft U and on the ends of the screw spindles V, V₁,
respectively. On rotating the shaft U by means of the hand wheel v or otherwise
the bearer B which supports the rear ends of the fire-bars will be caused to rise
or fall.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I
would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
First. The peculiar arrangements for effecting the working of moveable fire-bars
disposed alternately in separate groups in such a manner that each group of bars
shall be raised or lowered at one end without interfering with the parallelism of
the surfaces of the groups of bars as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings annexed.
Secondly. The application of the said arrangements for working fire-bars to
stationary and locomotive or portable furnaces as herein-before described and illus-
trated by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.