IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE GRATES
Year: 1885

page_text: We JOSEPH JOHNSON SUMNER of Newtown, New Mills, in the County of
Chester, Millwright and EDWIN HIGGINBOTHAM of the same place Ironmonger do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
GRATES to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to domestic firegrates and consists of novel means for
clearing the bottom of the grate, so as to promote combustion and ensure the
complete and economical consumption of the fuel at the same time preventing to a
great extent the emission of smoke. In a grate constructed according to our
invention the ordinary bottom bars are or may be dispensed with and we employ
a frame or it might be more than one frame which is supported from the bottom
of the grate. The said frame or frames is or are provided with an oscillating bar
or with oscillating bars preferably arranged across the grate and pivotted upon the
aforesaid frame or frames. The said oscillating bars are formed with fingers which
enter between corresponding fingers projecting from fixed bars formed on or secured
to the frame and which are arranged to alternate with the said movable or
oscillating bars. Each of the movable or oscillating bars has a downward
projection by which the bar or bars can be rocked from the front of the grate, the
manipulation of the bars being effected either by the poker or by a rod specially
formed to engage with the said projection. When more than one movable bar is
employed, the several movable bars of a set may be linked together so that when
any one bar of a set is operated the remainder will be correspondingly rocked.
Instead of being arranged across the grate as described the bars might be arranged
to extend from front to back. In a grate having a bottom of the indicated con-
struction, dust and ash at the bottom of the fire is easily got rid of by rocking the
bar or bars as described, whereby the bars are cleared and combustion promoted
by the free admission of air. To prevent the fuel from falling through the front
of the grate, we may provide a set of bars arranged sufficiently closely together
and formed in one piece with or attached to the aforesaid frame which carries the
oscillating bars. The said closely set bars or their equivalent such for example as
a piece of wire mesh are placed behind the usual front bars of the grate.
DUTTON & FULTON,
Agents.

page_text: We JOSEPH JOHNSON SUMNER of Newtown, New Mills in the County of
Chester Millwright and EDWIN HIGGINBOTHAM of the same place Ironmonger do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
GRATES" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying
drawings:-
Our Invention relates to domestic fire grates and consists of novel means for
clearing the bottom of the grate so as to promote combustion and ensure the
complete and economical consumption of the fuel at the same time preventing to
a great extent the emission of sinoke. In a grate constructed according to our
invention we employ a frame or it might be more than one frame which is
supported from the bottom of the grate and is provided with an oscillating or with
oscillating bars preferably arranged across the grate and pivotted upon the afore-
said frame or frames. The said oscillating bars are formed with fingers which
enter between corresponding fingers projecting from fixed bars formed on or
secured to the frame and which are arranged to alternate with the said movable
or oscillating bars. When more than one movable bar is employed the several
movable bars of a set may be linked together so that when any one bar of a set is
operated the remainder will be correspondingly rocked.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood we will now
proceed more particularly to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1 of the said drawings is a front elevation of the frame which carries the
fixed and oscillating bars. The bottom stand a. is provided with feet b. which rest
upon the ordinary grate bottom or upon any other suitable points of support if the
ordinary grate bottom is not used. The stand a is of the rectangular form shown
by the plan view Fig. 2 and is cast or formed with fingers or projections c. of the
indicated shape. An oscillating bar d. is carried in bearings e. formed at each end
of the stand a the said bar d. being formed with fingers or projections f. similar to
the fixed fingers c. and occupying the spaces between the said fingers c. as shown
at Fig. 2. To provide means for oscillating the bar d. we cast a projection g. on
the lower side of the bar into the lower extremity of which we screw or otherwise
fasten a rod has seen more clearly at Fig. 3 of the drawings which is a vertical
cross section of the frame. When it is desired to oscillate the bar d. we slip a
handle over the outer end of the rod h and rock the bar on its pivots at e. as
indicated by the dotted lines Fig. 3 so as to clear the bars and promote combustion.
We may however dispense with the rod h and handle i. and oscillate the bar d. by
means of a poker or by a hooked or other shaped rod. As shown by the sectional
view at Fig. 3 the frame may be set within the ordinary grate which is indicated
in dotted section marked x. To prevent the fuel from falling through the front of
the grate we prefer to provide a set of front bars k. which might be formed in one
piece with the stand a. but which is preferably made so as to be easily attached to
the said stand. In the example the means of attachment consist of pins or studs l.

page_text: which enter holes m formed to receive them in the stand a as shown. We might
however dispense with this set of front bars or as a substitute we might use a
piece of wire mesh. The stand a may contain more than one movable bar d. and
when more than one such bar is used we couple the respective bars together as
shown at Fig. 4 of the drawings, so that when any one bar of a set is operated the
remainder will be correspondingly rocked. It will be evident that instead of being
arranged across the grate as shown the bars might be arranged to extend from
front to back.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
1. In fire grates of the indicated nature the employment of bars capable of being
rocked or oscillated as described and formed with horizontal fingers or projections
entering spaces between correspondingly formed fixed fingers or between the
fingers of adjacent movable bars for the purposes and substantially in the manner
hereinbefore described and shown.
2. The general arrangement construction and combination of the stand a the
rocking bar d. and the front bars k. substantially as described and shown.
1 1000
DUTTON & FULTON,
Agents.