IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM-ENGINE BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HOPKINS, of Exmouth Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Sur-
veyor, send grecting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighteenth day of June, in the sixth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, Iis heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Hopkins, Iis especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said John Hopkins, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Hopkins, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, frean time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM-ENGINE BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John
Hopkins, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Hopkins, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say :-
My Invention consists in constructing the fire-bridge of a curved form in
such manner that it will throw or turn back the flames from the end of the
furnace, and cause them in some measure to pass back over the burning fuel,
and hence the vapours arising from that portion of the fuel which is only partly
ignited will come in contact with such flames so turned or directed back by the
curved fire-bridge, by which means the fuel will be usefully burned, and the
escape of smoke for the most part prevented. Having thus stated the nature
of the Invention, I will describe the Drawing hereunto annexed, which repre-
sents the furnace of a steam-engine boiler having my improved construction of
fire-bridge made of fire-brick, as shewn at a, the nature and construction of
which will readily be understood by an inspection of the Drawing, and it will
be seen that the fire-bridge a, in place of rising up and merely intercepting the
flames and heated vapours and causing them to rise upwards and impinge more
effectually on the boiler, as has been the construction of ordinary fire-bridges
of steam engines and other boiler furnaces, the bridge a shown in the
Drawing curves forwards, and in addition to causing the flames and heated
air to pass upwards, and bring them more closely to the boiler, those flames
from the ignited fuel nearest the bridge are turned back, and have a tendency
to pass towards the fire door; and hence the vapours arising from the partially
ignited fuel must mix with and be consumed by such flames so directed back
by the curved construction of flue, as above described; and will be evident
that in marine and some other construction of boilers, the fire-bridge, in place
of being of fire brick, may be formed of metal, and hollow, for the water of the
boiler to pass into and become heated therein, either by pipes connected there-
with or by the bridge being connected to the sides of the boiler, where the
construction is such as to have the furnace within, all which will be readily
understood by an engineer accustomed to the arranging and constructing
boilers; and it will be evident that although I have only shewn and described
furnaces for steam-engine boilers, the Invention is equally applicable to the
furnaces of other boilers, wherein bridges of the ordinary construction have
been heretofore used.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, 1 would have it understood that I claim the