Orifices formed in Steam Generators and the like.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Feb., 1887.
Specification.Accepted, 29th .Mar., 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by THE BABCOCK AND WILCOX COMPANY, of New York
City, in the United States of America, Steam Boiler Manufacturers.]
Orifices formed in Steam Generators and the like.
I, WALLACE FAIRWEATHER, C.E. of the firm of Cruikshank & Fairweather,
Glasgow, Lanarkshire Fellows of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
bo particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to hand hole plates for use in any vessels of malleable iron
boiler plate in which pressure is contained and a tight joint is required, and the object
of the improvements is to utilize in the manufacture of the same the plate scrap
otherwise wasted, which is punched from the boiler plate in the operation of forming
the hand holes and tube holes.
In the accompanying drawings figure 1 is a front elevation, figure 2, a plan view
and figures 3 to 7 inclusive detail views illustrating an application of my invention to
the header of a sectional steam boiler.
Figures 1 and 2 represent a wrought iron header in which a series of circular
holes a, are punched on the one side for the reception of boiler tubes and a series of
oblong holes b, are punched on the opposite side thereof corresponding in position
with the tube holes to afford access thereto.
The plate scrap a', of circular form and 6¹ of oblong form punched from these holes,
and shown detached in figure 2, and enlarged figures 3 and 4, are punched at their
centres with holes a², prior to or during or succeeding their production from the
header A, said holes a², 6 being of such size as to closely fit a bolt c. figure 5.
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The integral hand hole plate having a shank, shown in sectional and inverted plan
views, Figure 7 is produced from the several pieces in the following manner :-the
plates a, b, are placed one upon the other in the position shown in Figure 6, and the
bolt c, driven in. The bolt may be of sufficient length to extend through the
D1

page_text: plates as shown at g, in cases where the required stock is lacking in the plates
the same being upset when forged. The whole is now heated to forging heat and
placed in the dies of a drop forging machine, which welds the several parts into a
homogeneous mass; the said dies having a form which imparts the shape illustrated
in Figure 7, in which the plates are expanded diametrically so as to form the
overlapping shoulder d, having a counter rim which exactly fits the oblong hand
hole 6, in the header A. The shank c, is screw threaded by subsequent operation to
receive a nut, (Figures 1 and 2) which with the yoke e or e¹, secures the plate in
position on its seat within the header.
The holes b, are made of oblong form in order to permit the insertion of the hand
hole plate but instead of being elliptical they have portions of their edges formed in
straight lines, as will be observed in the several views, in order that as great a width
of metal as possible may be left between the said holes when cut in the relative
position shown in the corrugated header Figure 1.
The guard or yoke e is constructed with two of its arms arranged at such an angle
as to bear directly upon the centre line of the header as shown in Fig. 1, where in
this instance the header is most likely to yield when under internal pressure, and by
such arrangement said guard or yoke acts to resist such effect of the pressure. Or
the guard may be solid and dished out in the form shown at e¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me, I declare
that what I claim is :-
1. A solid wrought iron hand hole plate and bolt, composed of the bolt end and the
scrap removed from the boiler plate to form the hand and tube orifices as herein
set forth.
2. In combination a wrought iron header, a hand hole plate of the formation
described and a guard or yoke e or e¹ for securing said plate constructed and arranged
substantially as herein set forth.
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