Improvements in the Manufacture of Devices for Facilitating and Promoting the Ignition and Combustion of Coke, Anthracite, and other Fuel in Fire-places.
Year: 1897

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883), as required by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 6th day of July 1898.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Devices for Facilitating and
Promoting the Ignition and Combustion of Coke, Anthracite, and
other Fuel in Fire-places.
*
I, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of 82, Sutherland Avenue, Maida Hill, in the
County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of devices for facili-
tating and promoting the ignition and combustion of fuel, especially such as coke
and anthracite, in fireplaces by producing a forced draught and also in some
cases by storing up and economizing the heat evolved and in all cases by prevent-
ing dust &c. from filling up ventilating apertures.
A device for these purposes according to this invention preferably consists of
a hollow body of fireclay, cast iron, or other suitable refractory material closed,
or provided with closing means, at the bottom, and open, or provided with opening
means, at the top, and having one of its walls formed with a number of holes
having a considerable upward inclination towards the interior of the device. The
device, as just described, is intended to be placed at the back, or at the back and
sides, of a fireplace with its perforated wall arranged so as to be contiguous to the
fuel, in which position its action is to produce a thorough ventilation of the fire
since the air within the device is heated by the fire and, rising, causes external air
that is to take its place to pass through the fuel and into the interior of the device
through the inclined holes, the steepness of which prevents their being stopped up
by dust, ashes, and the like resting therein and also increases the length of the
holes and so causes the device to be more quickly and intensely heated by the hot
gases or flames passing therethrough.
As will be obvious, a device of this kind may be made in various forms. It
may, for instance, be rectangular in cross section and adapted to fit or nearly fit
the back of a firegrate; or it may be made with three hollow sides so as to fit or
approximately fit the back and the sides of a grate, in this case consisting either of a
single piece or of three pieces, one for the back and one for each side of the grate;
or the device may in cross section be of D or other suitable shape so as, when
.

page_text: placed at the back of the grate, to project forward in the middle considerably and
have a large interior. The front face of the device, or of each side thereof, may
be straight in vertical section or it may be stepped; in the latter case the upper
surface of each step will slope upwards, and the remaining surface thereof will
slope downwards, towards the interior of the device, and the holes in the device
will pass therethrough from the downwardly and inwardly directed surfaces,
with the object of more completely preventing dust, ashes, and the like from
resting in the said holes. The top of the device may be left open or it may be
provided with a cover which may be pivoted so as to be capable of being turned
about a horizontal axis. When the device is sufficiently heated and its top has
been closed, the flames from the midst of the fire are still drawn in through the
lower holes, highly heat the device in passing through it, and issue through the
upper holes and are by them directed down upon the fuel, rendering the upper
part thereof intensely hot and thus doing double duty instead of escaping up the
flue.
"
The device may either be made removable or be fixed in a grate. When the
device is fixed, the bottom and the top of the device may be provided with dampers,
the lower damper being for the purpose of letting out any soot, dust, or ashes
that may accumulate in the device, and the upper one being adapted to control
both the upper open end of the device and the other opening from the fireplace
or firegrate into the flue or chimney so that when either of these openings be closed
the other will be open or so that both may be simultaneously partly open.
By using a wire guard or network temporarily placed between the front bars
of the grate and the fuel and extending upwardly above the front bars, a much
higher device may be used, and a larger radiating surface of glowing coke or
other fuel can consequently be presented to the room than would be otherwise
possible.
Instead of making the hollow refractory device open, or provided with opening
means at the top, it is obvious that its top may be made closed and some of the
upper inclined holes, or one or more special holes, in the perforated wall be used
as the outlet of the device.
D
1
041 2
Improvements in the Manufacture of Devices for Facilitating and
Promoting the Ignition and Combustion of Coke, Anthracite, and
other Fuel in Fire-places.
I, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of 82, Sutherland Avenue, Maida Hill, in the
County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of devices for facili-
tating and promoting the ignition and combustion of fuel, especially such as coke
and anthracite, in fireplaces, by producing a forced draught and also by storing
up and economizing the heat evolved and preventing dust etc. from filling up
ventilating apertures.

page_text: A device for these purposes according to this invention consists of a hollow body
of fireclay, cast-iron, or other suitable refractory material, closed, or provided with
closing-means, at the bottom, and open, or provided with opening-means, at the
top, and having one of its walls formed with a number of holes whose bottoms
have a considerable upward inclination towards the interior of the device. The
device, as just described, is intended to be placed at the back, or at the back and
sides, of a fireplace, with its perforated wall arranged so as to be contiguous to
the fuel, in which position its action is to produce a thorough ventilation of the
fire, since the air within the device is heated by the fire, and, rising,
causes external air that is to take its place to pass through the fuel and
into the interior of the device through the inclined holes, the steepness of the
bottoms of which prevents their being stopped up by dust, ashes, and the like
resting therein, and also increases the length of the holes and so causes the device
to be more quickly and intensely heated by the hot gases or flames passing there-
through.
It
As will be obvious, a device of this kind may be made in various forms.
may, for instance, be rectangular in cross section and adapted to fit or nearly fit
the back of a fireplace, as is the example shown in perspective in Fig. 1, and in
section, according to the line a y of Fig. 1, in Fig. 2, of the accompanying draw-
ings in this example the holes 1 in the hollow body 2 are arranged in a number
of vertical rows, and the interior of the device is divided up by a number of par-
titions 3 into several compartments 4 into each of which open the holes 1 con-
stituting one of the vertical rows; for convenience of manufacture the upper
surfaces 1 of the holes are made horizontal or approximately so. Or the device
may be made with three hollow sides so as to fit or approximately fit the back and
the sides of a grate, in this case consisting of one piece or of more pieces, as
desired in this case, however, I consider it advisable to manufacture hollow
bodies, similar as regards their holes 1, partitions 3, and compartments 4, in pairs
such as shown at 2 and 2b in perspective in Fig. 3, each of the bodies being
adapted to fit one side and a portion of the back of a fireplace and having a
tongue 5 adapted to fit into a groove 6 in the other, and to provide other hollow
bodies or filling pieces 2° similar to the body 2 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but being
preferably only two inches (i.e., the difference in width between successive sizes
of grates) or a multiple thereof in width and each having a groove 7 and a tongue 8
corresponding respectively to the tongue 5 and groove 6 of the pieces 2b and 2ª,
so that for a narrow grate a pair of pieces 2ª and 2b may be fitted together and
used alone and for wider grates similar pieces may be used with
filling piece 2° of corresponding width. Or the device may in cross
section be of D or other suitable shape so as, when placed at the back
of the grate, to project forward in the middle considerably and have a large
interior: Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively an elevation and a plan of an example of
D-shaped cross section and having a single internal chamber 4°.
a
The front face of the device, or of each side thereof may be straight in vertical
section, as shown in Fig. 2; or it may be stepped, as in the example shown in
Fig. 3, which is provided with two steps 9, one at each side of the device, the
object being to hold the fuel up at the sides of the fire in order to allow air to
reach the middle of the fire more readily: when stepped, the upper surface 9ª of
each step will slope upwards, and the remaining surface 9b thereof will slope
slightly downwards towards the interior of the device, the upward slope being for
the purpose of enabling the ash to slide down.
The top of the device may be left open, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or it may
be provided with a cover, as shown at 10 in Fig. 4. 10 is an eye whereby the
cover may be removed by means of a poker. When the device is sufficiently heated
and its top has been closed, flames from the midst of the fire will still be drawn in
through the lower holes, highly heat the device in passing through it, and issue
through the upper holes.
The device may either be made removable or be fixed in a grate.
When the

page_text: device is fixed, the bottom and the top of the device may be provided with
dampers 11 and 12 respectively as shown in vertical section in Fig. 6, the lower
damper 11 being for the purpose of letting out any soot, dust, or ashes, that may
accumulate in the device, and the upper one 12 being adapted to control both the
upper open end 13 of the device and the opening 14 (see Fig. 7) from the fireplaces
or firegrate direct into the flue or chimney 15, so that when either of these open-
ings 13 and 14 is closed the other will be open, or so that both may be simul-
taneously partly open.
In Fig. 6 the opening 14 is closed and the opening 12 free, whilst in Fig. 7,
which is a similar view to Fig. 6, the fire place is shown in direct communication
with the chimney 15 through the opening 14 and the opening 13 is closed. Instead
of providing the bottom of the device with a damper as shown in Fig. 6, the bottom
of the device may be permanently closed, as shown in Fig. 7-in this case dust or
ashes will mostly escape from the interior of the device through the lowest holes,
but it is preferred to employ the damper 11 when the device is fixed, for the sake
of the greater facility afforded for properly cleaning out the interior. In this case
the device may either be flat as in the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or be three-
sided in cross section as in that shown in Fig. 3, the upper damper being, of course,
of corresponding outline. It is obvious that in an arrangement having a damper 12
adapted to act as just described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7, it is not absolutely
necessary that the perforated device be fixed in positions although this is preferred.
It is obvious that the arrangements employed for enabling the passage of the
products of combustion from a fire into a chimney or flue through the perforated
device and direct, may be other than those shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Thus,
especially in cases where the perforated device is of considerably less height than
the fireplace and where the perforated device is removable, there may be provided
a hood or casing adapted to close the opening above the fire direct into the flue or
chimney and therefore to compel the products of combustion to pass through the
device but having an aperture furnished at the back with a sliding damper having
a flange at the bottom, the arrangement being such that when the damper is in its
lowest position the upper end of the device will be closed and the said aperture will
be open whereas when the damper is in its highest position the aperture will be
closed and the upper end of the perforated device open.
Instead of making the hollow refractory device open or provided with opening
means at the top, it is obvious that its top may be made closed and some of the
upper inclined holes, or one or more special holes, in the perforated wall be used
as the outlet of the device.
By using a wire guard or network temporarily placed between the front bars
of the grate and the fuel and extending upwardly above the front bars, a much
higher device may be used, and a larger radiating surface of glowing coke or other
fuel can consequently be presented to the room than would be otherwise possible.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I would have it understood
that I am aware of the Specification of Letters Patent No. 28693/96 and I make
no claim to anything described and claimed therein, but I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A device for facilitating and promoting the ignition and combustion of coke,
anthracite, and other fuel in fireplaces, consisting of a hollow body of fire-clay,
cast-iron, or other suitable refractory material adapted to fit the back or back and
sides of a fireplace and closed, or provided with closing-means, at the bottom, and
open, or provided with opening means, at the top, and having one of its walls formed
with a number of holes whose bottoms have a considerable upward inclination
towards the interior of the device, substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the drawings annexed.
2. The improved devices for facilitating and promoting the combustion of coke,
anthracite, and other fuel in fireplaces herein before described with reference

page_text: respectively to and shown in Figs. 1 and 2; in Fig. 3; and in Figs. 4 and 5 of
the drawings annexed.
3. The combination in a fireplace of a device specified in either of the preceding
claims and means for controlling the passage of products of combustion from the
fire into a flue or chimney, both through the device and direct, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.