IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS COOKING APPARATUS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick William Hartley, of Union Grove, Wandsworth
Road, in the County of Surrey, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS
COOKING APPARATUS."
'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick William Hartley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd April 1880.
FREDERICK WILLIAM HARTLEY, of Union Grove, Wandsworth Road, in the
County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS COOKING APPARATUS."
This Invention relates to improvements in that class of cooking stoves or cookers
in which the ascending, and in part, sometimes, the deflected heat of burning coal
gas or of any other suitable combustible gas, is made use of for the purposes of
cooking articles of food, the heating and boiling of water, &c.
The objects of this Invention are as follows, viz., a higher degree of efficiency,
combined with greater convenience for use and economy in the consumption of gas
than is obtained with cookers heretofore produced of the class above mentioned.
My cookers will be made generally of rectangular shape in horizontal section,
but for some purposes will also be made cylindrical, or in other forms.
The novelties which constitute my Invention cousist,
First. In making each cooker with a chamber or with chambers or gas burners
below the level at which the heat is to be utilized to contain the gas burner, so as
to protect as far as I deem necessary, the burner or burners from contact with
fluid or solid matters which may fall from the viands that are being grilled, fried,
roasted, or baked, the which fluid and solid matters frequently in ordinary cookers
clog the orifices for the emission of gas, and tends to destroy or render the burner
or burners imperfect. In my cookers the heat will be generated in the chamber
or chambers above specified, and then ascend and flow into the cooker instead of, as
usual, rising directly upward.
Second. In applying such chambers and burners in double or triple scries at or
near the base, and at suitable heights above, that is to say, that one or more
burner chambers being formed at the lower part of a cooker, it is proposed to have
one or more burner chambers at a higher part of the cooker, the number of such
chambers in scries over each other being dependant on the size and height of the
Din 1

page_text: cooker. In this arrangement any one of the burners or of the sets of burners may
be used, while the others are out of action, proper shields, guard plates, or trays
being employed to prevent undue admission and flow of air. By this arrangement
the cookers will be rendered more widely useful, and when all the burners are in
action the temperature throughout the cooker may be made more uniform than is a
usual, or a greater temperature may be obtained at the higher parts.
Third. In means for the utilization when desired of a portion of the heat
produced in the burner chamber or chambers by the application of a suitably
shaped vessel or suitably shaped vessels placed over or in connection with the
burner chamber or chambers, in some of which water may be heated and boiled, in ]
others food cooked in water, and in others steam generated for various purposes.
Fourth. In the utilization when required of the hot air issuing from the vent or
eduction opening or openings of my cooker for heating a plate warmer or hot
closet.
The material or materials which I propose to employ generally in the con- 1
struction of my cooker is wrought iron or cast iron, or both, but I do not restrict
myself wholly to the use of iron, as other known materials suitable for their
construction may be employed, such as slates or plates of a refractory substance.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick William Hartley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd October 1880.
FREDERICK WILLIAM HARTLEY, of Union Grove, Wandsworth Road, in the
County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS COOKING APPARATUS."
This Invention relates to improvements in that class of cooking stoves or cookers
in which the ascending, and in part, sometimes, the deflected heat of burning coal
gas or of any other suitable combustible gas, is made use of for the purposes of
cooking articles of food, the heating and boiling of water, &c.
The objects of this Invention are as follows, namely, a higher degree of efficiency
combined with greater convenience for use and economy in the consumption of gas
than is obtained with cookers heretefore produced of the class above mentioned.
My cookers will be inado generally of rectangular shape in horizontal section, but
for some purposes will also be made cylindrical, or in other forms. The novelties
which constitute my Invention consist-First, in making each cooker with a
chamber or with chambers or gas burners below the level at which the heat is to
be ntilized to contain the gas burner, so as to protect as far as I deem necessary,
the burner or burners from contact with fluid or solid matters which may fall from
the viands that are being grilled, fried, roasted, or baked, the which fluid and solid
matters frequently in ordinary cookers clog the orifices for the emission of gas, and
tends to destroy or render the burner or burners imperfect.
In my cookers the heat will be generated in the chamber or chambers above
specified, and then ascend and flow into the cooker instead of, as usual, rising
directly upward.
Second. In applying such chambers and burners in double or triple scries at or
near the base, and at suitable heights above, that is to say, that one or more burner
chambers being formed at the lower part of a cooker, it is proposed to have one
or more burner chambers at a higher part of a cooker, the number of such chambers
in series over each other being dependant on the size and height of the cooker. In
this arrangement any one of the burners or of the set of burners may be used
while the others are out of action, proper shields, guard plates, or trays being
employed, to prevent undue admission and flow of air. By this arrangement the
cookers will be rendered more widely useful, and when all the burners are in action
the temperature throughout the cooker may be made more uniform than is usual,
or a greater temperature may be obtained at the higher parts.
Third. In means for the utilization, when desired, of a portion of the heat
produced in the burner chamber or chambers by the application of a suitably
shaped vessel or suitably shaped vessels placed over or in connection with the
burner chamber or chambers, in some of which water may be heated and boiled, in
others food cooked in water, and in others steam generated for various purposes.
Fourth. In the utilization, when required, of the hot air issuing from the vent
or eduction opening or openings of my cooker for heating a plate warmer or bot
closet.
The material or materials which I propose to employ generally in the construction
of my cooker is wrought iron or cast iron, or both, but I do not restrict myself
wholly to the use of iron, as other known materials suitable for their construction
may be employed, such as slates or plates of a refractory substance.
The manner in which I carry my Invention into effect is shown in the
accompanying Drawings. Figs. No. 1 to No. 10 relate to the smaller sizes of my
improved cooker; Fig. 1 being a front elevation; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 3,
a back elevation; Fig. 4, a plan of the top; Fig, 5, a section through Y, Z, of
Fig. 4, and Fig. 6, a section through W, X, of Fig. 2. This and the other cookers
herein described are shown rectangular in section, such being the best shape, and
that which I prefer, but my smaller cookers may be readily made cylindrical
in form. In all the Figs. the corresponding part of each cooker is indicated
by similar letters, other letters being also employed to mark additional parts or

page_text: variations in form or construction. B is the burner chamber with an opening A,
Figs. 3 and 5, at the lower part of the back or side for the admission of air
C is the burner, Figs. 3, 5, and 6, the projecting nosepiece of which with bulb
for the admission of air to mix with the gas before it is burned being shown
in the other Figs.; D is a shield or plate, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, with an
opening at O, which shield or plate forms one end of a pan E, Fig. 5, that slides
into the body of the cooker, and may be withdrawn at will. This sliding pan
supports a grid or frying pan, or a plate of metal or of other suitable material such
as fire-clay, according to the nature of the article of food to be cooked, the frying
pan or plate employed in place of the grid being rather less in length or width
than the chamber in which the viands are cooked, or part of one of its edges may
be cut away, as shown in Fig. 7, the object of this being to cause the heated gases
flowing from the burners to pass under the pan or plate to the front, then to rise
and escape through the opening O, shown in Fig. 1.
In the Figs. referred to the burner chamber is shown to be surmounted by a
vessel G, which may be a kettle, a saucepan, or pot, in which water may be heated
or food cooked, the opening in the top of the burner chamber being closed by a
suitable cover of metal or refractory material when the kettle or other vessel is
removed. Instead of a mere open vessel or kettle a vessel closed with a screwed
cap and having an outlet pipe for steam may be employed, and the generated
steam utilized in another suitable vessel for cooking purposes.
The lower part of the vessel G is shown to project downwards in the Figs.
referred to, but the burner chamber may be reduced in height, and the vessel G
made with a flush bottom, so as to rest flat upon the top of the burner chamber
and cover the opening, as shown in Fig. 9. In some cases the burner chamber has
no opening at the top, as shown at T, Fig. 8, but in such cases a vessel placed upon
the top of the chamber will be more slowly heated. In other instances the burner
chamber is extended, as shown in Fig. 9, so as to allow a wider vessel G to be
used when desired. In this Fig. a method is shown for utilizing part of the heat
from the top of the cooking chamber, a second vessel being represented at G'.
Hinged cover plates are also shown which when turned down serve to close the
top openings. Loose plates may be used, but the hinged ones are preferable, as
they are always in position and therefore not liable to be lost.
Fig. 10 shows another form in which my cooker may be made. This is of the
same height from end to end, but an opening is made in the top at the end over
the burner, through which opening a vessel G, Fig. 10, or angle plate P, Fig. 11,
of suitable shape and dimensions is inserted so as to form a proper burner chamber,
corresponding with B in the previous Figs. behind and below the level of the grid,
pan, or plate in the cooking chamber.
Fig. 12 represents a front elevation, and Fig. 13 a plan of a larger cooker with a
burner chamber on each side, which chambers may sometimes be also extended
wholly or partly along the back of the cooker. When, as shown, the burners are in
chambers at the sides I prefer to allow the heated gases and vapours to escape at
the centre of the top of the cooker, and when only half the cooker is wanted in
use and one burner is used, to insert a vertical guard plate through the centre of
the grid or shelf, or in the case of a pan, to employ one of half the size of the
cooking chambers, and to insert a guard plate or partition midway in the cooker.
In respect to heating vessels containing water only or food, these larger cookers
may be made with openings over the burner chambers and over the cooking
chambers, as already shown for the smaller kinds. In some cases instead of
utilizing the heat from the top of the cooking chambers, in the way shown in Fig. 9,
the cooker may be surmounted by a box or closet in which plates or other things
may be heated or kept hot, one method being shown in Fig. 14.
With the exception of the burner chambers and the arrangement of the burners
and pipes therewith connected, the construction of the cooker, shown in Figs. 15
and 16 is similar to the construction of those generally in use, that is to say, it is
rectangular in cross section, it is fitted internally on the sides with a series of
bearing bars, it is. furnished with a series of closely fitting trays and grids, which

page_text: when in use rest upon the side bearers, and upon which grids or trays viands are
placed. The cooker is also made suitable in the usual manner for the use of hooks
to suspend joints. It has an outlet as usual at the upper part for the escape of
heated gases and vapours, and its front is closed by a tightly fitting door or doors
hinged on one side, and so attached to the body of the cooker. Fig. 15 shows a
side view of the arrangement of burners, burner chambers and pipes, and Fig. 16
a section through U, V, of Fig. 15; B, B, B, B, are the burner chambers with
openings for the admission of air at A, A, A, A. The gas being delivered through
a connection S in a cross pipe below the floor of the cooker passes each way to the
burners, and is controlled or shut off by means of the cocks R. When any largo
article of food has to be cooked it is placed on a grid or suspended in the lower
part of the cooker above the level of the lower burner chambers in which gas is
burning. The heated gases and air flow into the cooker, pass over the joints and
upwards, and serve also to cook any other viands which may be placed on grids or
shelves in the upper part of the oven, the hot gases and vapours finally escaping
from the opening provided. When the lower burners only are in use the doors Q, Q',
are closed, as shown at Q, but when for the purpose of cooking rapidly in the
upper part it is desired to supplement the heat from the lower burners by that
from the gas burned in the upper burners, the doors Q, Q, are opened, as shown
at Q. When the upper burners alone are wanted the dripping pan E, which fits
the body of the cooker closely, is raised to the position E', and a grid or perforated
shelf placed over at F to carry the viands. If chops or steaks have to be cooked,
a closely fitting shelf is placed at H above the grid, such shelf having one
central slot or hole extending nearly from back front, similar to that shown
in Fig. 13, so that the heated gases and vapours may after passing over the
viands escape upwards.
In the Drawings, Figs. 15 and 16, only two tiers of burner chambers are
shown, but I do not limit myself to two, as the number of tiers will depend
upon the dimensions of the cookers.
Having now particularly described and set forth the nature of this Invention
and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I
would observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict myself to the
precise details or arrangements which I have described or referred to, as variations
may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features
of this Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters
Patent is,―
First. The construction of cookers each with a chamber or chambers to contain
the burner or burners, so that the heat shall be generated in such chamber or
chambers and then flow into the cooking chambers, as herein described and shown
on the Drawings.
Second. In applying such chambers in series over each other, as herein
described and shown on the Drawings.
Third. The construction of cookers, so that part of the heat generated in the
burner chambers may be utilized for the purpose of heating water, generating
steam, or cooking food, and as herein described and shown on the Drawings.
Fourth. The construction of cookers with closets over the cooking chamber, so
that the waste heat from the cooker may be made available for heating plates, food,
or other articles, and as herein described and shown on the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick William Hartley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.