Improvements in the Construction of Mechanical Stokers.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1894-Accepted, 1st Dec., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Mechanical Stokers.
I JAMES PROCTOR of Hammerton Street Iron Works Burnley in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates principally to such mechanical stokers for furnaces as are
known as coking stokers but part of the same is also applicable to shovels or other
sprinkler stokers.
Hitherto stokers of the coking class have been constructed to push the coal upon
or about "tiles" in order to ignite the said coal, and such arrangement necessitates
a great amount of heat upon the front part of the boiler which is most rigid and
least able to stand expansion and contraction, and also entails considerable cost
and trouble in removing and changing the "tiles."
The object of my invention is to construct a coking stoker without "tiles" and to
get the fire so far in the flue as not to be injurious to the boiler front. I accomplish
this object in the first place by pushing the coal upon the fire at some distance say
about six inches above the level of the bars so that it enables me to have a body of
incandescent fuel for the coal to be fed upon, and thus the latter has a better chance
of igniting or coking. Furthermore the hopper bottom or feeding plate extends
into the furnace for a short distance and I arrange two rams or pushers working in
connection therewith and having a simultaneous movement the one above and the
other beneath the said hopper bottom or feeding plate; the lower ram or pusher
projects further into the furnace than the upper one.
By these means the coal, instead of dropping from the edge of the feeding plate
or hopper bottom, falls upon the lower and projecting ram or pusher which carries
it along in its traverse forward in the fire, and on its return stroke the edge of
the hopper bottom or feeding plate acts as a scraper causing the coal to fall off the
lower ram and be distributed upon the fire in the return traverse of the said ram.
In the interval of the stroke the coal is partially coked by the incandescent fuel
upon which it is placed and on the next stroke this is pushed forward into the
furnace.
I further propose to employ a taper poker or pokers preferably fixed to and
depending from the lower ram or pusher to better break up the fire in its
movement; these pokers are made hollow, and a current of air passes through the
lower ram or pusher which is also hollow and circulates through the same and
through the ends of the pokers for the purpose of keeping them from burning.
I also, to further assist combustion, place a grid or grids right across the flue
beneath the feed plate which greatly assists the coking of the fuel.
The lower ram or pusher may also be applied to shovel or other sprinkling
stokers for the purpose of skimming and pushing forward the layer of black fuel
which sometimes accumulates on the top of the fire near to the front of the furnace
in place of the fireman having to push it forward with his rake.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1893.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Mechanical Stokers.
I JAMES PROCTOR of Hammerton Street Iron Works, Burnley, in the County
of Lancaster, 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 principally to such mechanical stokers for furnaces as are
known as coking stokers, but part of the same is also applicable to shovels, or other
sprinkler stokers.
Hitherto stokers of the coking class have been constructed to push the coal upon
or about "tiles" in order to ignite the said coal, and such arrangement necessitates
a great amount of heat upon the front part of the boiler, which is most rigid and
least able to stand expansion and contraction, and also entails considerable cost and
trouble in removing and changing the "tiles."
The object of my invention is to construct a coking stoker without "tiles," and
to get the fire so far in the flue as not to be injurious to the boiler front.
My invention will be readily understood from the following description on
reference to the annexed sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation with half of the front or door plate removed, Fig. 2 is
a sectional plan view and Fig. 3 is a side elevation shewing the application of my
invention applied to one flue of a double flued Lancashire boiler.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section through about the line A-B on Fig. 1.
In the first place I push the coal upon the fire at some distance, say about six
inches, above the level of the fire bars a, as clearly shewn by Fig. 4, so that I am
enabled to have a body of incandescent fuel b for the coal ¹ to be fed upon and
thus the latter has a better chance of igniting or coking. Furthermore the hopper
bottom or feeding plate c extends into the furnace for a short distance (see also
Fig. 2) and I arrange two rams or pushers d d' working in connection therewith
and having a simultaneous movement, the one (d) above and the other (d¹) beneath
the said hopper bottom or feeding plate c.
The lower ram d' projects further into the furnace than the upper one (see Figs. 2
and 4).
I prefer to provide the hopper bottom or feed plate c with an inclined division
plate directing the fuel to each side of the said plate, which is provided with two
rams or pushers d, and two rams or pushers d' (as seen by Figs. and 2). This
inclined division leaves space at the centre of the furnace for examining and
trimming the fire.
By these means the coal instead of dropping from the feeding plate or hopper
bottom c falls upon the lower projecting ram or pusher d¹ which carriès it along in
its traverse forwards in the fire (see dotted line Fig. 4), and the edge of the
hopper bottom or feeding plate c acts as a scraper causing the coal to fall off
the lower ram d¹ and be distributed upon the fire during the return traverse of the
said ram d'.
In the interval of the strokes, the coal is partially coked by the incandescent
fuel upon which it is placed, and on the next stroke this is pushed forward into the
furnace.
The lower ram d' is hollow so that the air therein will prevent it from becoming
burned.
In order to further assist combustion I also place a grid e (or grids) right
across the flue beneath the feed plate which greatly assists the coking of the
fuel.
The rams d d may be actuated by any convenient mechanism; I prefer however
to employ a crank or cranks f, or crank plate or plates, carrying a bowl or bowls g

page_text: acting against projections ¹ on a sliding frame h, to which the rams d d¹ are con-
nected, the rams d' being fixed thereto and the rams d by preference acted on by
the collars d³ between which the part 2 of the frame h works, so that the extent.
of the traverse of the rams can be adjusted with regard to that of the rams d',
according to the amount of fuel required..
The frame h slides in grooves or slots in the fixed brackets i. The interval.
between the strokes for coking as above described may be obtained by driving the
crank shaft f' intermittently by any suitable means.
It will be found advantageous to make the central part of the plate c removable,
as seen at c+ (Fig. 2), as the said plate is most liable to be burnt at that part.
The lower ram or pusher may also be applied to the shovel or other sprinkling
stokers for the purpose of skimming and pushing forward the layer of black fuel
which sometimes accumulates on the top of the fire near to the front of the furnace ;
in place of the fireman having to push it forward with his rake. This will be
evident without illustration.
Having now particularly described 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 :-
1. In a mechanical stoker the combination of a hopper bottom, or feed plate or
plates, extending into the furnace and raised some distance above the fire-bars, of a
pusher or pushers immediately below the said plate, and a pusher or ram above the
same, for pushing the fuel from the hopper over the edge of the said feed plate
upon the lower ram or pusher which distributes it upon the fire substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated by the annexed drawings.
2. The combination with the said hopper bottom or feed plate or plates and rams
or pushers of a grid or grids extending across the flue between the said hopper
bottom and the fire bars substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
the annexed drawings.
3. In a mechanical stoker the combination with a shovel or other sprinkling
device of a feed plate or plates extending into the furnace and a pusher or pushers
working immediately below the said feed plate substantially as and for the purposes.
herein before set forth.
Deted this 1st day of August 1894.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.