IMPROVEMENTS IN GRATES FOR STEAM-BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to, William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN GRATES FOR STEAM-BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES." A
communication from abroad by Thomas Murphy, of Detroit, Michigan, United
States of America.
Sealed the 1st August 1879, and dated the 11th February 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th February 1879.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRATES FOR STEAM-BOILER
AND OTHER FURNACES." [A communication from abroad by Thomas Murphy, of
Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.]
This Invention has for its object to provide the furnace of a steam-boiler with a
grate which will permit a greater volume of air than is usual to pass into and
through the superimposed incandescent fuel, and thereby enable all kinds of coal,
but more especially slake and refuse coals, to be successfully burned; also to so
arrange the grate-bars as that every second one may be vibrated to free the grate
from ashes and to collect the clinkers and refuse at certain points where they can be
removed or ground up and then removed by toothed cylinders rotated by cranks on
the outside of the furnace.
The
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a pair of parallel bars cast
with girths connecting them at the ends and intermediately, making a frame which
can be supported longitudinally in a furnace by bars or brackets on the front and
back walls thereof. One, two, or three of these frames may be employed.
girths of each frame are hollowed on the upper edge to receive and support a toothed
cylinder whose front end extends through a thimble in the front leg of the furnace
or beneath the front in the draught opening, where it is squared to receive a crank
by which it may be rotated. This cylinder has a series of studs projecting from its
surface. A series of bars is set up at an angle of about forty five degrees, as
circumstances may require, against the furnace sides, supported at the lower ends by
the outer edge of the frame, the lower ends of the bars being notched to project
over the edge of said frame. There is a pendant leg at the lower end of each bar
with a pear-shaped opening in it; there is also an enlargement of the upper end on
Price 6d1

page_text: one side to form a spacer through which a hole is cored in casting. A bar is provided
of nearly the same shape having a pivot-lug on its upper end to insert in the said
hole; between each pair of said bars it is intermediately placed. Instead of the
open lug at the lower end it has a segment-shaped lug with a notch, in its upper
side in which the rib of a rock-shaft enters. The front end of this rock-shaft
extends. either through a thimble in the front leg of the furnace or through the
draught-opening, and when oscillated by a crank a feather of the rock-shaft engages
with the notches of all-the-last-named bars and vibrates them, freeing the grates
-of-ashes-and-carrying-the-partially-consumed_coal_and_the_clinkers_to_the lower
ends of the grate-bars and upon the said toothed cylinders. There is a series of
triangular grate-frames-having-a-notch-at-each-end-to-engage-with-the-side_bar_of_
one of the said frames, it being placed between two contiguous frames on which it
"rests. The bottoin piece or girth of each of the said triangular frames is hollowed
out to form a bearing for the said rock-shaft, whose front end like the others projects
through a thimble in the boiler-front or into the draught-opening. There is a
similar frame, but without the notches at the ends, and it is intermiadtely placed
between pairs of the said first named triangular frames, its ends resting upon the
frames first herein mentioned. Its girth has a socket in the lower edge which receives
the rib of the rock-shaft, which when oscillated on its axis vibrates all the said
intermediate triangular frames in the series laterally to and fro, freeing that part of
the fire-bed from ashes and throwing the unconsumed coal down toward the foot,
and the clinker's upon the said toothed cylinders which grind and remove them
when rotated.
Fresh fuel is thrown on the tops of the grate-frames and tops of the inclined bars
at the sides of the furnace, and there remains until coked and partially consumed
until the time for firing the furnace the next time, when the incandescent coke may
be pushed off by the fire-hoe or by vibrating the grates. Fresh fuel being then
introduced and thrown upon the incandescent mass will have its gases ignited and
consumed while coking owing to the free admixture of large volumes of atmospheric
air at a very high temperature.
When the furnace is not wide, one set of the triangular grates may be omitted,
as also the intermediate toothed cylinder; and in a very narrow or contracted
furnace the said triangular grates may be omitted altogether, using only the inclined
grates at the sides and an intermediate clinker-grinding cylinder.
It is evident that these grates may be modified in arrangement to suit the require-
ments of various forms of air-heating and other stoves and furnaces without
departing from the spirit of the said Invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th August 1879.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRATES FOR STEAM-BOILERS
AND OTHER FURNACES." A communication from abroad by Thomas Murphy, of
Detroit, Michigan; United States of America.
This Invention has for its object to provide a steam-boiler or other furnace with
a grate which, will permit a great volume of air to pass into and through the
superimposed incandescent fuel, and thereby enable all kinds of coal, but more
especially slake and refuse coal, to be successfully burned; also to so arrange the
grate-bars that every second one may be vibrated to free the grate from ashes and
to collect the clinkers and refuse at certain points where they can be removed or
ground, and then removed by toothed cylinders rotated by cranks on the outside of
the furnace.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the furnace of a marine boiler, the front of the
same being broken away to show my improved grates applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a cross-section of the grates, their supports, and the operative parts
seen in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the grate-supporting frames.
Figure 4 is a similar view of a toothed cylinder used for grinding clinkers and
removing ashes.
Figure 5 is a similar view of a feathered rock-shaft for vibrating the grate-
bars.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a triangular stationary grate-frame.
Figure 7 is a similar view of an intermediate triangular vibrating grate-
frame.
Figure 8 is a similar view of one of the stationary inclined bars such as are
erected at the sides of the furnace.
Figure 9 is a similar view of an intermediate vibrating bar.
A represents a pair of parallel bars cast with girths connecting them at the ends
and intermediately making a frame which can be supported longitudinally in a
furnace by bars or brackets on the front and back walls thereof. In the furnace
shown three of these frames are employed, but in a narrower furnace one or two
may be sufficient. The girths of each frame are hollowed on the upper edge to
receive and support a toothed cylinder B whose front end extends through a thimble
in the front leg of the furnace or beneath the front in the draft opening where it is
squared to receive a crank by which it may be rotated. This cylinder has a series
of studs projecting from its surface, as seen in Figure 4. D is one of a series of
bars set up at an angle of about forty five degrees against the furnace sides and
supported at the lower ends by the outer edge of the frame A, the lower ends of
the bars being notched to project over the edge of said frame: There is a pendent
lug at the lower end of each bar D with a pear-shaped opening in it. There is
also an enlargement of the upper end on one side to form a spacer through which a
hole f is scored in casting. D¹ is a bar of nearly the same shape having a pivot-
lug f¹ on its upper end to insert in the hole fƒ of the bar D, the said bar D¹ being
placed between each pair of the bars D. Instead of the open lug at the lower end
it has a segment-shaped lug with a notch e' in its upper side in which the rib c of
a rock-shaft C enters. The front end of this rock-shaft extends either through a
thimble in the front leg of the furnace or through the draft-opening, and when
oscillated by a crank the feather c of the rock-shaft engages with the notches of all of
the bars D and vibrates them, freeing the grates of ashes and carrying the partially-

page_text: consumed coal and the clinkers to the lower ends of the grate-bars and upon the
-toothed cylinders B. E is one of a series of triangular grate-frames, having a notch
at each end to engage with the side bar of the frame A, and placed between two
. contiguous frames A on which it rests. The bottom piece or girth of each frame Ẹ
-is-hollowed out to form a bearing for the rock-shaft C whose front end like the
others projects through a thimble-in-the-boiler-front or into the draft opening. E' is
a similar frame but without the notches at the ends, and is intermediately-placed.
between pairs of the frames E, its ends resting upon the frames A. Its girth has a
socket i-in-the-lower edge which receives the rib of the rock-shaft; the latter when
oscillated on its axis vibrates all of the frames-El-in-the-series laterally to and fro,
freeing that part-of-the-fire-bed from ashes and throwing the unconsumed coal-
down toward the foot, and the clinkers upon the cylinders-B-which_grind_and
remove them when rotated.
Fresh fuel is thrown on the tops of the grate-frames and tops of the inclined bars
at the sides of the furnace, and there remains coked and partially consumed until
the time for firing the furnace the next time, when the incandescent coke may be
pushed off by the fire-hoe or by vibrating the grates. Fresh fuel being then
introduced and thrown upon the incandescent mass will have its gases ignited and
consumed while coking, owing to the free admixture of large volumes of atmospheric
air at a very high temperature.
In a furnace of a width less than that shown, one set of triangular grates may
be omitted, also the intermediate toothed cylinder; and in a very narrow or
contracted furnace the said triangular grates may be omitted altogether, using only
the inclined grates at the sides and an intermediate clinker-grinding cylinder.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that these grates may be modified in arrangement to suit the requirements of
various forms of air-heating and other stoves and furnaces without departing from
the spirit of this Invention, and that I claim,---
First. The combination of two sets of alternating and inclined bars D, D¹, with
a supporting frame and a feathered rock-shaft adapted to vibrate the bars D' of
each set, substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the toothed cylinder with the frame and stationary
and vibrating bars, substantially as described and shown.
Third. The combination with the frames A. of the triangular grate-frames E, E¹,
in an alternating series, the frames E being susceptible of a lateral vibration from
the rock-shaft hung in the framics E, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fourth. In a furnace or fire-box the combination of two sets of transverse grate-
bars inclined from the sides of the fire-box toward each other, and revolving toothed
cylinders, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight-hundred-and, seventy-nine.