AN IMPROVED CON- STRUCTION OF STOVE GRATE
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Jeakes, of Great Russell Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF STOVE GRATE."
Sealed the 8th August 1854, and dated the 25th May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Jeakes at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th May 1854.
I, JOHN WILLIAM JEAKES, of Great Russell Street, in tho County of Mid-
dlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STOVE GRATE" to be as follows:-
'The object of this Invention is to construct open fire-places, so that the
smoke given off by the burning fuel will be consumed, and the fire will burn
throughout the day without requiring the addition of fresh fuel.
For this purpose, in place of the ordinary fire-place I provide the stove
grate with a receptacle for fuel of capacity sufficient for holding, say, one day's
consumption, and in front of this receptacle I fit a sliding frame which carries
the fire-bars, and below them a curtain or plate for forming the front of the
fuel chamber, and concealing all but the upper part of the fuel, and like-
wise for preventing free access of air to the lower part of the fuel. When the

page_text: fire is lighted, the upper part of the fuel will burn as in the common open fire-
place, but smoke will be slowly emitted from the lower mass of fuel, and
passing through the bright fire will be consumed. The frame which carries
the fire bars and curtain is worked up and down by a rack and pinion, worm
and wheel, or other suitable means; and as the fuel burns away it is lowered,
to expose fresh fuel to sight, and to the action of the air, which will pass to
it through the bars.
When the fire is required to be put out, the curtain is drawn up, and the
supply of air being cut off, the fire will be damped and soon extinguished.
To render the draft equable, it may be desirable to fill in the upper part of
the sliding frame with a plate or panel, and thus the opening for the passage
of the air above the fuel to the chimney will be the same whatever may be the
position of the fire bars.
It may also be necessary in some cases to provide means for passing air
through the bottom of the fuel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John William Jeakes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 25th November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILLIAM JEAKES, of Great Russell Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Uer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John William Jeakes, Her special license that I, the said John
William Jeakes, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John William Jeakes, 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 law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OP STOVE GRATE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John William Jeakes, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John William Jeakes, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 inarked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is so to construct open fire-places that the
smoke given off by the burning fuel will be consumed, and the fire will burn
for several consecutive hours without requiring the addition of fresh fuel.
For this purpose, in place of the ordinary fire-place I provide the stove grate
with a receptacle for fuel of a capacity sufficient for holding, say, one day's
consumption, more or less, and in front of this fuel chamber I fit 'a sliding
frame, which carries the fire bars, and below them a curtain or plate, for
preventing free access of air to the lower part of the fuel. When the fire is
lighted, the upper part of the fuel will burn as in the common open fire-place,
but smoke will be slowly emitted from the lower mass of fuel, and passing
through the bright fire will be consumed.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shews my improved stove grate in
front elevation; and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1. The sides and back of the fire-place a, a, are, by pro-
ference, composed of fire brick, and the hearth is of metal, supported by
brickwork, which rises a little above the level of the floor of the apartment
in which the stove is set. The stove grate front b, b, is formed of cast iron as
usual, and its inner edges are rebated, as shewn in the cross section, Fig. 3, to
receive the sliding frame c, c, and guide it in its vertical movements. Affixed
to the front of this sliding frame (which is shewn detached in front view and
in vertical and cross section at Figs. 4) are the fire bars d and the curtain e,
and to the back of the frame a vertical rack f is bolted. Gearing into
this rack is a pinion g, keyed to an axle h, which has its bearings in the
stove grate front. The outer end of this axle is squared to receive a key,
by means of which the attendant rotates the pinion g, and thereby raises or
lowers the frame, as desired. Space is provided below the floor of the apart-
ment to permit of the depression of the curtain, as shewn at Fig. 2, and
instead of a stone hearth I prefer to have a removeable metal screen i, covering

page_text: an ash pit k, into which the ashes will fall from the fire-place and be out of
sight.
The following is the mode of using this improved stove grate :-Before
charging it with fuel, I raise the sliding frame c, by means of the rack and
pinion, to its highest position, which is indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 2;
and while the bars and curtain are thus elevated, I throw into the fuel
chamber a full charge of black coals; I then throw on the top of these a
shovel full of red hot coals to ignite the upper stratum of black coals, or I
effect the ignition by the use of firewood, if more convenient. The coals being
now fairly ignited, the combustion will proceed regularly, the fire gradually
extending itself downwards, and liberating the smoke from the coals below,
which smoke, passing upwards through the superincumbent red hot fuel, will
be thereby effectually and profitably consumed. This downward extension of
the fire will necessarily be slow, as when burning good house coals. I make
no provision for the admission of air below the upper edge of the curtain c.
When the fire shews symptoms of dulness, I lower the sliding frame slightly
by turning the pinion, and a fresh portion of fuel will then be exposed to the
action of the air which passes between the fire-bars d to the fire. This de-
pression of the frame c I effect from time to time, at intervals, say, of three
hours, more or less, according to the nature of the fuel or the briskness of fire
required, and thus I am enabled to keep up a good and equable fire until the
whole of the fuel is consumed, and at the same time effect the combustion of
the smoke evolved therefrom. In order to preserve as near as may be an
uniform draft, I fill in the upper part of the sliding frame, as shewn at c
which filling will, when the fuel chamber is first charged, be in great part
hidden behind the cast-iron front, but will, as the bars d are depressed, come
into view, and thus the same capacity of opening for the passage of air above
the fuel to the chimney will be maintained.
When it is desired to put out the fire, it will only be necessary to draw up
the curtain, and the supply of air being thereby cut off, the fire will be damped
and quickly extinguished.
In some cases it may be desirable to provide means for passing a smal
supply of air through the fuel. This supply must, however, be under the perfec
control of the attendant, and need never be used when free burning coals are
employed as the fuel.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved Con
struction of Stove Grate," and shewn the manner of carrying the same int
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letter

page_text: Patent I claim, the application to stove grates, the bottom of the fire-place or
fuel chamber of which is stationary, of a sliding curtain and fire bars for regu-
lating the indraft of air to the burning fuel, as above described, and exposing
fresh fuel as the upper stratum becomes consumed.
In witness whereof I, the said John William Jeakes, have hereunto set
year of
hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of November, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
my
0
Witness,
W* WOODMAN,
51, Gt. Russell Street.
J. W JEAKES. (L8.)