IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES.”—A
communication from abroad by Philip Wallace Mackenzie, of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th September 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Ohancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do, hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES," to be
as follows
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th September 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Oivil Engineer, do, hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES," to be
as follows
This improved furnace is mainly designed for the burning of
bituminous coal, and its general object is to effect a more perfect
combustion of such fuel.

page_text: The Invention is applicable among other purposes or uses to furnaces
employed in the manufacture of steel and iron, including melting and
puddling furnaces, to forges, and to steam boilers.
This Invention consists firstly, in a novel construction of the com-
bustion chamber, which is made of fire-brick, fire-clay, or other t
refractory material or slow conductor of heat, and is contracted in
dimensions, and its arch or roof made falling or dipping towards the
rear or outlet, so that, while not impairing the draft which may be either
natural or artificial, the greatest intensity of heat is produced where the
fuel is supplied to the furnace. Air openings or passages are made in
or through the arch or roof of the combustion chamber, for the
introduction of air in sheets or jets directly over the fuel, to supply
oxygen for the combustion of the hydrocarbon gas as fast as it is
developed, so as to combine with the carbonic oxide produced from the
incandescent fuel on the grate. The hopper or hoppers for the supply
of fuel to the grate is surrounded with a water jacket. The grato bars
are placed in a sloping or inclined position so that it will be a self-
feeding grate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 4th March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 2
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, tho said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis- 3
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, tho said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES," being a communication to me from
abroad by Philip Wallace Mackenzie, of Blauveltville, in the State of
New York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
The improved furnace which forms the subject of the present
Invention is mainly designed for the burning of bituminous coal, and
its general object is to effect a more perfect combustion of such fuel
than is the case in furnaces of the ordinary construction.
The Invention is applicable among other purposes or uses to furnaces
used in the manufacture of steel and iron, including melting and
puddling furnaces, also to forges, and to steam boilers.
The Invention consists, firstly, in a novel construction of the com-
bustion chamber which is made of fire-brick, fire-clay, or other
refractory material or slow conductor of heat, and is contracted in
dimensions, and its arch or roof made falling or dipping towards the rear
or outlet, so that while not impairing the draft (which may be either
natural or artificial), the greatest intensity of heat will be produced
where the fuel is supplied to the furnace.
The Invention also consists in an arrangement of air openings or
passages made in or through the arch or roof of the combustion
chamber for the introduction of air in sheets or jets directly over the
fuel, so as to supply oxygen for the combustion of the hydrocarbon gas
as fast as it is developed, so that such gas may combine with the

page_text: carbonic oxide produced from the incandescent fuel on the grate. Tho
hopper or hoppers for the supply of fuel to the grate is or are
surrounded with a water jacket, and the grate bars are placed in an
inclined or sloping position so that the grate will be self-feeding.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents a front view of a t
furnace constructed in accordance with the Invention, and as applied to
the generation of steam in a tubular boiler. Fig. 2 is a plan of the
same with the boiler shown only in part, and Fig. 3 is a vertical
longitudinal section theroof, including the boiler in part. Fig. 4 is a
similar section to that represented in Fig. 3, but showing the Invention 1
as applied to a steel melting furnace :-A melting pot or crucible or
one row of such pots is shown in this Figure arranged within the
melting chamber.
The combustion chamber or furnace proper which forms the subject
of this Invention is shown as disposed on one side of the melting 1
chamber, but it may if preferred be arranged at the end thereof.
In the accompanying Drawing, A represents the combustion chamber
of the furnace, B its arch or roof, and O the outlet in the rear for the
gaseous products of combustion to be utilized as required. D is the
grate, and E the ash-pit: The grate or grates (if there be more than 2
one) may either be set horizontally or with a downward inclination
towards the rear to provide for a self-feeding arrangement of the fuel.
The grate or grates may be of an ordinary wrought or cast-iron
description, and either be solid or hollow to provide for a circulation of
water through them. The fuel may be supplied at intervals in limited 2
quantities, or it may be self-feeding and be supplied by one, two, or
more openings in the top of the furnace, or it may be supplied from the
front. It is preferred however to adopt a self-feeding arrangement
and to supply the fuel through one or more hoppers in the top of the
furnace, at its front as represented in the Drawing, and herein-after 3
more fully described. The combustion chamber A including its arch or
roof B, is built of fire-brick, fire-clay, or other refractory material or slow
conductor of heat, and is contracted in dimensions to the smallest limit
compatible with a perfect draught, which may either be natural or
artificial, and so that the greatest intensity of heat is produced where 8
the fuel is supplied, for which purpose or to effect which result the arch
or roof B is made to fall or dip from its forward portion in proximity
to where the fuel is admitted (as indicated by the water jacketed

page_text: hopper or hoppers F), to or towards the rear of the combustion chamber
or outlet C thereof. Air is admitted under the grate in tho usual or
any other suitable manner, and is also admitted if desired in front of the
grate, in close proximity to the fuel supply opening or openings, and in
sheets or jets of any desired size, as at b, b. The air thus admitted
supplies oxygen for the combustion of the hydrocarbon gas as soon as
it is developed, and the oxygen combines with the carbonic oxide
produced from the incandescent fuel on the grate. Such effect or effects
however is or are not made dependent upon the provision for the
admission of air as at b, b, which provision may be dispensed with, but
the novel feature of the Invention having this result or these results in
view, consists in an arrangement of air openings or passages G of any
suitable size, shape, and number, made in or through the backwardly
dipping arch B, and these passages are controlled by dampers or by a
sliding or other gate or gates H, to admit air directly down upon or over
the fuel on the grate, between the fuel supply opening or openings
and the outlet for the gaseous products of combustion in the rear of the
combustion chamber. The fuel hopper or feed tube or tubes may be of
brick, or tile, but (when a self-feeding arrangement of the fuel is
required) it is desirable to construct the hopper or hoppers F with a
water jacket to prevent the fuel from coking and sticking. It is also
desirable to make their delivery ends flaring or trumpet-shaped (as
represented in Fig. 3), to provide for the expansion of the fuel. In
Fig. 3 the delivery portions of the hoppers are shown as passing through
the brickwork of the arch in a sloping direction towards the rear
corresponding with the inclination of the grate. Steam generated by
the jacketed hoppers or otherwise produced may be introduced under
the grate to neutralize the sulphur. Hot blast (though not necessary
under ordinary circumstances) may be used to economise the waste
heat; and dust, slack, nut, or lump coal may be burnt in the furnace
with like effect.
In the operation of the furnace, the gases generated therein are
immediately carried to a high temperature, and there held, until
combined with oxygen. The cold air entering as described for the
supply of such oxygen, will not reduce the temperature of the gases
below one thousand degrees or eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit, or
thereabouts, before combustion takes place, after which, as a general rule,
no amount of air or other reducing influence will produce smoke.