IMPROVE- MENTS IN GRATE BARS FOR STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Whight, of Ipswich, in the County of
Suffolk, Machine Manufacturer, for the Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GRATE BARS FOR STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES."- A
communication from abroad by William Bolton Rogerson, of Pater-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Whight at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th July 1873.
I, GEORGE WHIGHT, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, Machine
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GRATE BARS FOR STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES," a
communication, to be as follows:-
1141
My Invention relates to the novel construction of furnace grate bars,
and is designed to afford the means whereby a free supply of air may
be admitted to the fire upon the said bars without any costly or incon-
venient appliances for that purpose. And the said bars will permit
the use of finer or smaller coal than can be burned upon ordinary
grate bars.

page_text: -
The said improved grate bars are constructed as follows:-Each
bar is cast with a row of channels on each side extending from the
lower to the upper surface of the bars. These channels are preferably
so shaped that each forms the half of a circular passage or hole. And
the said bars must be so formed and fitted together in the furnace
that the channels in any two adjacent bars will lie together and form
holes through which the air can enter the fire. The channels on the
two sides of each bar are not made opposite each other, but those
on one side are between those on the other side so that when the
bars are put together in the furnace, the holes in every row will be
opposite the spaces between the holes of the adjacent rows. The said
channels are made largest at the lower side of the bars, so that the
holes or air passages will be taper or conical, thus economizing metal,
and permitting the air to pass freely through the bars without having
very large openings in the upper surface of the same.
The bars are placed laterally close together, or nearly so; they are
supported at the front and back of the furnace in the usual manner;
and if desired in some cases I may place girders either longitudinally
or transversely below them. By casting the said bars with channels
in the sides as above described I avoid the necessity of cores for forming
the holes or air passages.
The bars are produced at a small cost, and may be made of any
required strength, with comparatively little weight. They will more-
over be very durable as it will be almost impossible for them to burn.
The admission of air to the fire in the manner above described will
render these bars very desirable for the furnaces of locomotives and
steam ships, and in all cases where a high-pressure of steam or a rapid
and perfect combustion of fuel may be required..

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Whight, Her special licence
that I, the said George Whight, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Whight, 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 lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GRATE BARS FOR STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES," a communication
to me from abroad by William Bolton Rogerson, of Paterson, New
Jersey, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Whight, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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 George Whight, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
My Invention relates to furnace grate bars of novel construction,
and is designed to afford the means whereby a free supply of air may
be admitted uniformly to all parts of the fire in a furnace without
any costly, complicated, and inconvenient appliances for that purpose.
This object is fully accomplished by my Invention, and moreover, the
said bars will permit the use of very small coal or slack, and other fuel
in small pieces which cannot be so advantageously burned upon ordinary
grate bars.
M
1

page_text: Figure 1 shows the top of one of my improved furnace bars; Figure 2
shows the bottom of the said bar; Figure 3 is a side view of the same;
Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 5.
is a plan showing the arrangement of the said bars in a furnace. Like:
letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
Each bar a is cast with channels or hollows 6 on each side extending
from the lower to the upper surface of the bars. These channels are
preferably so shaped that each forms the half of a hole or aperture,
as shown in Figures 1 and 2. And the said bars must be so formed
and fitted together in the furnace that the channels in any two adjacent
bars will fit together and form holes or openings through which the
air can enter the fire in small streams or currents. But I prefer that
the said bars should not fit quite closely together, so that in addition
to these holes or openings there will be a narrow aperture c extending
the entire length of the said bars, as shown in Figure 5. These long
narrow apertures or spaces will not allow any of the fuel to fall through
them, but they will permit the insertion of a scraper or pricker for
removing clinkers or cinders from between the said bars; these apertures
c between the bars are obtained by making the heads or ends a¹ of
the bars slightly wider than the central portion of the same.
The channels 6 on the two sides of each bar, as will be seen by
referring to the Drawing, are not made opposite each other, but those
on one side are between those on the other side, so that when the
bars are put together in the furnace, as shown in Figure 5, the holes
or openings in every row will be opposite the spaces between the holes
of the adjacent rows. By this arrangement of the said holes the metal
of the bars is economized, and the distribution of the air as it enters
the furnace is uniformly effected throughout the entire area of the
bars. The said channels are made largest at the lower side of the
bars so that the holes or air passages will be taper or conical, and will
permit a free passage of the air through the bars without having very
large openings in the upper surface of the same.
.
The bars a are supported at the front and back of the furnace in
the usual manner; and if desired in some cases I may place girders
either longitudinally or transversely below them. By casting the said
bars with channels in the sides, as above described, I avoid the necessity
of cores for forming the holes or air passages in casting the bars.

page_text: The said bars are produced at a small cost, and may be made of
any required strength with comparatively little weight. They will
moreover be very durable as their burning will be almost impossible.
The admission of air to the fire in the manner above described will
render these bars very desirable for the furnaces of locomotives and
steam ships, and in all cases where a high-pressure of steam, or a rapid
and perfect combustion of fuel may be required.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. The construction of bars for steam boiler and other furnaces
with channels or passages in the sides extending from the under to the
upper surface of the bars, as herein set forth and for the purposes
specified.
Second. A series or set of bars, constructed as above described, so
arranged together in a furnace that there will be between the bars rows
of holes or openings through which air is admitted to the fire, as herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Whight, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
H. J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
GEORGE WHIGHT. (L.S.)