IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE PREVENTION
Year: 1874

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by John Waugh at the Office of
:
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 30th June 1874, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
L
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WAUGH, of Bradford, in the County of York, Engineer; send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SMOKE PREVENTION," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for
the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the first and
true Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Waugh, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:
This Invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for
the prevention of smoke passing away from furnaces of steam boilers
and other fires not used for domestic purposes..

page_text: In carrying out this Invention I use one or morc very small jets of
steam or compressed air heated or otherwise, so arranged as to issuc
from nipples placed at a proper distance from the mouths of tubes and
various sized conduits of larger dimensions, to which are given such an
inclination as to concentrate the current of heated air and steam upon
the centre of the fire, and by forcing the gasses into the red hot cinders,
flame at that point is insured, and ignition of the surrounding gasses
instantaneous, this inclination also prevents the currents of air coming
in contact with the heated plates of the furnace crowns; this prevents
oxidation of such plates.
Steam jets have been in use for years and their efficacy to create the
necessary current of air to effectually consume the smoke is generally
admitted; they have consisted of pipes varying from eighth of an inch to
half an inch in diameter passed through the plate over the furnace
doors, and have fallen into disuse on account of the large quantity of
steam used.
In my Invention the jets of steam or heated and compressed air are
only used to create the current of air necessary to insure a proper supply
of oxygen to the furnaces when fired or raked.
In practice it is found that if a continuous stream of cold air be
allowed to enter the furnaces, it acts injuriously upon the boiler plates,
causing oxidation through excessive heat at one moment, and sudden
cooling in the next (moreover the air supplied in excess of requirements
acts prejudically by diluting the temperature of the furnace and
carrying heat away up the chimney), as is shewn by the pressure gauge
indicating a decrease of pressure whilst such supply is used.
In my plan the supply of air is warmed; it is admitted at the right
time and concentrated in the right place, and the steam gauge shews an
increase of pressure during the operation. Such is the efficacy of my
arrangement that from the moment the jets are turned on and com-
bustion takes place no smoke passes away from the furnace, the time
required for the escape of the smoke which had passed into the flues
during the operation of stoking is the time required to clear the top of
the chimney, thus shewing that smoke is the result of a failure of supply
of air preparatory to combustion.
Such being the nature of my said Invention, I will now proceed to
describe the apparatus employed and shewn in the accompanying

page_text: Pine parts are marcated by the same letters anu
figures in the Drawings.
Fig. 1, A is a plate to which is attached the different parts in
connection and which is secured to front of furnace; b, slides secured to
plate A to guide sliding door into position; c, conduits or funnels made
in different sections; d, superhcated steam or air pipe; d, d², con-
tinuation of steam or air pipe closed at ends and placed in the best
suitable position in front of conduits c; c, steam or air tap on pipe d
and connected to pipes d', d²; f, nozzles or jets inserted at intervals in
pipes d, and d²; g, sliding door to cover front of conduits when
apparatus is not working, and held in position by slides b, b; h, toothed
rack attached to sliding door g and held in position by slide b'; i,
toothed quadrant gearing in toothed rack ; i, iron stud secured to
plate A to which quadrant is attached and allowed to radiate; j, forked
lever one end secured to quadrant i, the other end prepared with a
square slot or otherwise to receive the plug end of steam or air tap e;
k, bracket acting as a stay betwixt plate A and steam or air pipe d.
.
The apparatus is set to work in the following manner:-The handle j
is brought or set to position, as shewn in Drawing, which gives motion to
sliding door g, raising it from front of conduits c by means of quadrant
i and toothed rack h; when the sliding door is raised above the line of
nozzles f, the steam or air commences.to blow through jets ƒ into
conduits c and on to the fire, which completes the operation.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1, showing arrangement of jets to
conduits and general arrangement of parts.
Fig. 3 is a plan of Fig. 1, shewing arrangement of slides for sliding
doors and forked lever or handle.
Fig. 4 is a front clevation of smoke burner; A is a plate to which is
attached the different parts in connection, and which is secured to front
of furnace; b, slides attached to plate A to guide sliding doors 9 into
position; c, conduits or funnels made in different sections and secured
to plate A; d, steam or air pipe; d, d², continuation of pipe a closed
at ends and placed in a suitable position in front of conduits c; e, steam
or air tap on pipe d and connected to pipes d', d; f, nozzles or jets
inserted at intervals in pipes d', d; g, sliding doors to cover front of
conduits when apparatus is not working; h, spindle or rod on which is
secured the sliding doors g; i, toothed rack secured to spindle or rod h;

page_text: j, short shaft on which is secured at one end the toothed wheel k, on the
other end the toothed wheel m; k, toothed wheel worked into toothed
rack ;, bracket secured to plate A for supporting short shaft j, the
toothed wheel kc, and on the other end the toothed wheel m; m, toothed
wheel on shaft ; gearing into ; n, toothed wheel on plug end of steam
or air tap e; o, shaft connected to plug of tap e brought forward for
convenience in working; p, hand wheel on end of shaft o.
The apparatus is set to work in the following manner:-The hand
wheel p is turned to right or left, as the case may be, which causes the
sliding doors to move from front of conduits c, at the same time the
tape is opened and the steam or air rushes into the pipes d, d², d², and
through jets f into conduits c into the furnace which completes the
operation.
Fig. 5 is a plan of Fig. 4 showing arrangement of conduits and
nozzles and general arrangement of parts connected.
Fig. 6 is a front elevation of furnace door shewing arrangement of
conduits of a different section and their application to furnace.
Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of a furnace shewing by dotted lines
the action of steam or air on fire, which can be altered at leisure by
turning round the pipes d', d², to position required, or otherwise by
altering position of conduits c.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Waugh, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the above-named John Waugh,
in the presence of
JOHN GILL,
Engineer,
JOHN WAUGH. (L.S.)
Bradford.