Year: 1886

page_text: I, HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the
nature of the invention 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 hot air furnaces employed for heating dwellings and
other buildings or apartments, and an important object of the invention is to
provide a furnace in which the gases of combustion cannot become mingled with
the air which is to be heated, by reason of leaky joints; and in which the air
heating surface will not become overheated, or heated to a red hot condition, which
will have the effect of impairing the oxygen of the air.
The invention consists essentially in an air-heating vessel which is provided
with pipes for supplying cold air. thereto, and for delivering hot air therefrom, and
which is so arranged with relation to the fire place, that heat will be applied to
the exterior of the vessel for heating the air which is contained therein during
the passage of the air from the supply to the delivery pipes. This vessel may
advantageously be made of concave form, and be suspended with the heating
chamber, with which a fire place communicates, and the vessel may be closed by
a did or cover which is connected therewith by a joint, external to the heating
chamber, and which therefore can never admit the gases of combustion to the
interior of the vessel, even if it should become leaky. This air heating vessel may
consist of a single casting or shell of metal, or it may be composed of outer and
inner shells forming between them a space which is filled with lead or fusible
metal, or other heat conducting substance, and in this latter construction, the lead
or other heat conducting substance will prevent the inner shell, with which it is in
contact, from becoming red hot, and from vitiating the quality of the hot air.
Within the vessel, deflectors may be used, which cause the air to pass in contact
with the inner surface of the vessel in its passage from the supply to the delivery
pipes, and which therefore insure the proper heating of the air before it makes its
escape at the hot air pipes.

page_text: In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a furnace em-
bodying the improvements, and in which the air heating vessel is composed of a
single shell or casting; and Fig. 2 represents a similar furnace in which the air
heating vessel is composed of outer and inner shells forming between them a space
which contains lead or other heat-conducting filling.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.
In the example of the invention shown in Fig. 1, A designates the air heating
vessel, which, as here represented, consists of a concave casting depending within
brick walls B, which form a heating chamber B.-This vessel A is closed by a lid
or cover A' and a flanged joint 6 between the lid or cover, and the vessel is
external to the heating chamber, and forms a means for suspending the vessel A
within the heating chamber.
C designates a fire place which communicates by an opening c with a distributing
chamber C¹, and this distributing chamber is separated from the heating chamber B¹
by a wall containing numerous perforations c¹, through which the hot products of
combustion escape into the heating chamber B¹, and from thence through the
smoke escape pipe B-The distributing chamber C¹, and the wall with its
numerous perforations c¹, provide for properly distributing the heat throughout
the height of the heating chamber B₁, and in order to prevent the over-heating
of the vessel A opposite the perforations c¹, the vessel may have applied to its
exterior, a shield of asbestos or other suitable refractory or heat resisting
material.
The furnace C is provided with the usual grate c³, and fire and ash pit
doors c³, c*.
Cold air to be heated is supplied to the heating vessel A through the pipe D,
which, as here represented, enters the bottom of the vessel, and the hot air makes
it escape from the upper part of the vessel through pipes D¹, which lead to the
several apartinents to be heated. In order to insure the proper contact of the air
with the inner surface of the heating vessel as it passes from the supply to the
delivery pipes, deflectors d are attached to, and project inward from the wall of
the vessel A, and other deflectors d¹, which are here shown as suspended by a
rod d², and which project outward between the deflectors d. By means of these
deflectors, the air is caused to take a circuitous course, indicated by the arrows, in
passing from the supply pipe D to the delivery pipes D¹, and hence its proper
heating is insured. As here represented, the pipe D, which enters the bottom of
the vessel A, is surrounded by brick work, so that the joint between this pipe and
the vessel A shall not be exposed to the hot gases in the chamber B₁, and hence, if
this joint should become leaky, no injurious gases can enter the air heating vessel A
and vitiate the air therein. The arrangement of the joint b outside the heating
chamber B¹ is also very advantageous, for a like reason.
In order to moisten the air before its delivery from the furnace, a water vessel e
is arranged in the upper part thereof, and this vessel may be supplied with water
through a pipe e¹, until the water overflows therefrom thro' a pipe e², which will
indicate that the vessel is sufficiently full.-As here represented, the vessel e is
supported by a perforated plate or partition e³, which serves both to support
said vessel and to distribute the hot air, so that it will be uniformly delivered
through the several pipes D¹. As here represented, the rod d³, for supporting the
deflectors d¹, is suspended from this partition es, but it may be otherwise supported.
In the example of the invention shown in Figure 2 the construction is very
similar to that before described, but in this case, the fireplace, C, communicates
by a single aperture c with the heating chamber B¹, and the vessel A is provided
with a shield b¹ of asbestos or similar heat-resisting material opposite the opening c.
In the example of the invention shown in Figure 2, the vessel A is composed of an
inner shell similar to the shell or casting shown in Figure 1, and an outer shell A³,
which is separated sufficiently therefrom to form a space into which is placed lead
or fusible metal, which will melt at a low temperature, or other heat conducting
filling f-As represented, the two shells which compose the air heating vessel A,
1.

page_text: are flanged at their upper edges, and they may be secured together with a lid or
covering A¹, by means of clamps f¹, or by any other suitable means.-In this latter
example of the invention, the air inlet pipe D enters downward through the top of
the vessel, and is prolonged nearly to the bottom thereof, and upon this pipe, a
deflector is placed, whereby air will be caused to pass in contact with the inner
surface of the vessel A before escaping to the hot air pipes D¹-It is advantageous
to have a filling of heat conducting material between the two shells of which the
air heating vessel A consists, because this heat-conducting material will prevent
the inner shell or casting of the vessel A from becoming red hot, and thereby
impairing the oxygen of the air which is heated in the vessel A. This filling is
not however indispensible, and the air heating vessel may be made of a single shell
or casting, as shown in Fig. 1.
Instead of the cold air pipe D entering the upper part of the vessel A, as shown,
it may be extended upwards from the bottom thereof, as shown by dotted lines in
Fig. 2, but where it extends downwards and nearly to the bottom of the vessel,
a deflector may be employed, which will prevent the heat from the bottom of
the vessel from striking directly upward into the pipe D, and will thereby ensure
a downward draught through the pipe D, as is necessary to the operation of the
furnace. For a like reason, the pipe D may be covered with asbestos, or other
suitable nonconducting material b¹.
It will be seen that by this invention, a furnace is provided in which there is no
chance of the gases of combustion becoming mingled with the heated air, and by
means of the heat conducting filling f, the surface with which the air comes in
contact while being heated, may be prevented from becoming red hot.
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 by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a hot air furnace, the combination with an air heating vessel, and pipes for
supplying cold air thereto, and delivering heated air therefrom, the vessel preferably
having deflectors for causing the air to pass in contact with its interior surface, in
order to reach the hot air pipes, of a fire place whereby heat is applied to the
exterior of the vessel for heating the air contained therein; substantially as herein
described.
2. In a hot air furnace, the combination with a heating chamber and a fire place
communicating therewith, of an air heating vessel depending within the heating
chamber, and closed by a cover joined thereto outside the heating chamber, and
pipes for supplying cold air to the vessel, and delivering heated air therefrom;
substantially as and for the purpose herein described.
3. In a hot air furnace, the combination with an air heating vessel composed of
double shells, forming between them a space containing a lead or other heat-
conducting filling, and pipes for supplying cold air to the vessel and for the
delivery of heated air therefrom, of a fire-place whereby heat may be applied to
the outer shell, to be transmitted through said shells, and interposed heat con-
ducting filling for heating the air contained in the vessel; substantially as and for
the purpose herein described.