IMPROVEMENTS IN STOVES OR FURNACES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William John Roffe, of Upper Holloway, in the.
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STOVES OR FURNACES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William John Roffe at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th October 1855.
I, WILLIAM JOHN ROFFE, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOVES OR FURNACES" to be as follows:-
I propose to construct a stove or furnace, the body or grate of which may
stand at any distance from the chimney or fire-place of a room. The stove
may be constructed of any form or shape, so that a perforated cover is fitted to
the top. I propose the receiver of the fuel to be egg-shaped, and to place a
shade or curtain before and behind the furnace bars, in the inside thereof,
moveable at pleasure, either by means of a poker being inserted into one of
the perforations in the cover, or by other mechanical contrivance, thereby.
increasing or diminishing the draught of air. The flue will run on the hearth
stone, and make its way to the back of the chimney, and will be carried up it
as far as may be found desirable. A reflector will be placed behind the stove,
filling the opening usually made for the ordinary stove; from which arrange-

page_text: ment I expect to save all the caloric produced from the stove or furnace, and
to add thereto a considerable amount from the reflector, at the same time
economizing fuel, and having an open or close fire at pleasure; the whole
of the stove apparatus being removeable in summer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William John Roffe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHN ROFFE, of Upper Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William John Roffe, Her
especial license that I, the said William John Roffe, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William John Roffe, 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 STOVES OR FURNACES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William John Roffe, by an
instrument 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 William John Roffe, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed, on
which Figures or Diagrams illustrating the said Invention are designed, and
similar letters of reference are placed upon and denote similar parts in each of
the Figures respectively.
The object of my Invention
to obtain a much greater amount and also a
more uniform distribution of caloric in rooms or other places, with the smallest

page_text: expenditure of fuel, care being taken that the means by which such object is
accomplished shall be consistent with gracefulness of appearance and cleanli-
ness of use. Among the advantages accruing from the use of the improved
arrangement of stove or furnace, which I call "Roffe's" stove, is economy. It
will be found that with the peculiarly shaped receiver for fuel, herein-after
described and shewn, the quantity of fuel used is, by comparison with stoves of
ordinary construction and of similar capacity, considerably reduced, as, owing
to the receiver being egg-shaped at its bottom, the combustion goes on more
regularly and freely. I also throw the whole of the heat into the appartment
where my stove is fixed by the use of a reflector; the heat by being thus
reflected, instead of being merely radiated, becomes greater, and attains a more
uniform expansion. The furnace, by being placed at different distances from
the reflector, may be made to extend the heat either in divergent, parrallel, or
convergent rays, as may be found desirable, from the configuration of the apart-
ment, or other causes. I establish a more perfect control over the fire, the lid
or cover of my furnace being perforated; I pass a poker through one or other
of the perforations, and by turning I displace one or both of the shades or
curtains (which are inserted within the casing), and by such displacement cover
a portion of the furnace bars both in front and rear of the stove. This opera-
tion discloses the fire either in the face or otherwise, and serves to moderate in
any required degree the draught of air up the flue. The casing of the stove is
constructed of any shape, of the most elegant and highly ornamental vase or
urn form, or without ornament; it takes up little space,
and may
with perfect
convenience at any period of the year be altogether removed from the room.
Should the projection of the furnace be objectionable, the reflector can be made
more concave; its focus thereby being nearer will allow the stove or furnace
to be placed proportionably closer.
Having stated some of the advantages to be derived from the use of my
stove, I will now proceed to describe its construction.
Figure 1 in the Drawing is a front view of the fire-place and stove as fixed;
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the entire stove and apparatus from front to
back, shewing the reflector and course of the flue, as well as the stove, with
outline of the chimney breast and back brickwork, and the fire holder fixed in
the outer casing, the draught being a down draught; Figure 3 shews a vertical
section of the cylinder, to be placed in the outer casing; Figure 4 shews an
elevation of the back of the reflector, with its bracket, hinges, and flue;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the fire bars and inner casing; Figure 6, a vertical
section of the shade or curtain, which is moveable on pivot K at top, and can
be brought before the bars to regulate draughts, either in front of the fire or

page_text: at the back, or both, so as to render the fire visible at pleasure, and regulate
the draught; Figure 7 shews a side view of a portion of the reflector partly
open; and Figure 8 shews the application of the reflector to an up-draught
stove.
I will describe the Figure 2, which being done will include all the other
Figures or Diagrams. a, a, is the outer casing of the stove or furnace; b, a
cylinder with dome-shaped top; resting and attached to its base by screws, the
pivot ċ being cast thereon; d, d, are openings in this cylinder, serving to admit
the bars e, e, to be fixed in their places; the front set of bars to be made move-
able for the more conveniently lighting or cleansing the stove. f, Figure 3, shews
the opening for the ash pan or drawer, made slightly narrower than the bottom
grating for support, and attached to the sides of the fire-place by flanges and
screws, as shewn. This ash pan or drawer should have a grating to correspond
with the bottom bars of the furnace, so that by pulling it out about half an
inch it damps or prevents the draught from passing through the fire at its
bottom. 9,9, Figure 6, is the curtain, or blower, shewn in dotted line at
Figure 2, which is cylindrical and dome-topped, corresponding with the cylin-
der b, and fitting loosely over it, having openings to correspond with. the
openings d, d, of the cylinder, and which, by means of the knob h, turns on the
pivot before mentioned, causing the blank sides of the curtain or shade to be
brought across the front and back of the fire, as shewn by the dotted lines,
thus causing the entire draught to pass through the opening and the bottom
grating of the fire-place over the sides i, in the direction of the arrows, under
up the
the ash drawer, through the pipe j in the base of the casing, into and
pipe behind the reflector k, and thus producing a rapid draught; the closing
of the shade or curtain acts as a damper, and withdraws the fire either wholly
or partially from view. 1, 1, are openings through case a, made good with
spandrils close to the outer side of the curtain, leaving room for it to 'turn
freely. Perforations of any form are made through the outer case (as at
Figure 1) for the entry and exit of a free current of air round the fire-place.
The reflector k is placed, as shewn at Figure 2, under the chimney breast, and
projects at its centre, as shewn. This reflector is to be made of metal, or any
other suitable material, and its extreme projection m is to be in its centre. The
'distance from the back of the fire to the reflector must be regulated as occasion
inay require; or 'should it be deemed desirable for lessening projection into
chamber, the reflector must be placed farther back in the chimney, as shewn
in the dotted line, and when this is done the furnace or stove should be placed
proportionably back.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the means by
:

page_text: which it is carried into practical effect, I desire it to be distinctly understood
that I lay no claim to the exclusive use of any of the parts or portions of the
material used in the construction of my said stove or furnace (except in so far
as the reflector herein-before described, and shewn in the Drawings at Figures
2 and 8, may be deemed a part or portion,) taken as parts or portions, when
used seperately and not in combination, for the purposes of my Invention; nor
do I confine myself to the exact modifications of construction or arrangement
herein described, nor to the proportion of parts to each other, as such may be
and indeed must be varied to suit various sizes and positions of stove; but I
declare to be of my Invention, and I claim the eclusive right to construct
stoves in form and manner herein-before described, in conjunction with reflec-
tors, for the more efficient reflection or distribution of caloric, and for effecting
economy in the use of fuel.
In witness whereof, I, the said William John Roffe, have hereunto.
affixed my hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
JAMES COLLINS.
WILLIAM JOHN ROFFE. (L.S.)