IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND OTHER DEPOSIT FROM THE TUBES OF STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Green, of the Firm of Edward Green and
Son, of the Phoenix Works, Wakefield, in the County of York, and
of 11, Saint Ann's Square, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Fuel Economiser Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND OTHER DEPOSIT FROM THE TUBES OF
STEAM BOILERS."
Sealed the 4th October 1870, and dated the 5th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Green at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th April 1870.
I, EDWARD GREEN, of the Firm of Edward Green and Son, of the
Phoenix Works, Wakefield, in the County of York, and of 11, Saint
Ann's Square, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Fuel Economiser
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND OTHER DEPOSIT PROM THE
TUBES OF STEAM BOILERS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to so shape the scrapers and the parts
connected with them that they shall be free to conform themselves to

page_text: the sides of the tubes under all conditions and without fear of sticking
or gagging.
This I accomplish in the following manner :-I make the scrapers in
sections, say, three or four, and I pivot each section upon an inclined
surface or upon the edge of a lug or projection on the lifting bar or
frame, so that each section is free to fall or slide down the incline to
keep its face or scraping edge against the tube, or in licu of the inclined
surface I make a ball or circular lug upon the scraper band or bar which
is lodged in a semicircular socket in the lifting bar or frame; a swinging
action is thus imparted to the scrapers which keeps them in a scraping
position although the frame to which they are connected may get out
of level.
The scraper is composed of two parts connected by a bar or rod to keep
them apart, as represented in the annexed Drawings in Figures 1 to 6,
where a, a, are the scrapers, and the bar or rod. The inclined surface
or the ball c is arranged a little distance below the centre of the bar, so
that the greatest weight is above it, whereby the tendency of the scraper
will be to fall towards the tube and thus slide down the incline. The
joints of the scrapers are arranged so that one is not under the other,
and thus I am enabled to scrape the entire circle or circumference of
the tube.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Green in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD 2
GREEN, of the Firm of Edward Green and Son, of the Phoenix Works,
Wakefield, in the County of York, and of 14, St. Ann's Square, Man-
chester, in the County of Lancaster, Fuel Economiser Manufacturers,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her a
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant. unto me, the said Edward Green, Her special licence

page_text: that I, the said Edward Green, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Green, my exccutors,
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 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SOOT AND OTHER DEPOSIT FROM THE TUBES 07
STEAM BOILERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edward Green, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Edward Green, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to so shape the scrapers and the parts
connected with them that they shall be free to conform themselves to the
sides of the tubes under all conditions and without fear of sticking or
gagging.
This I accomplish in the following manner :-I make the scrapers
in sections, say, 3 or 4, and I pivot cach section upon an inclined
surface or upon the edge of a lug or projection on the lifting bar or
frame, so that cach section is free to fall or slide down the incline to
keep its face or scraping edge against the tube, or in lieu of the inclined
surface I make a ball or circular lug upon the scraper band or bar which
is lodged in a semicircular socket in the lifting bar or frame, a swinging
action is thus imparted to the scrapers which keeps them in a scraping
position although the frame in which they are connected may get out of
level. The scraper is composed of two parts connected by a bar or rod
to keep them apart. The inclined surface or the ball is arranged a little
distance below the centre of the bar, so that the greatest weight is above
it, whereby the tendency of the scraper will be to fall towards the tube
and thus slide down the incline. The joints of the scrapers are arranged

page_text: so that one is not under the other, and thus I am enabled to scrape the
entire circle or circumference of the tube.
The Invention will be readily understood on reference to the annexed
Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a face view of two of the scrapers a and b
connected by a bar or rod c. It will be observed that the upper scraper a
is more to the left of the bar, while the lower is more to the right. By
this arrangement when three or more of such segments or sections are
fitted in the frame to form a circle, as they would do in practice, the
meeting ends of the top scrapers are out of the vertical line of the ends
of the bottom scrapers, so that in work all soot is removed from the
entire surface of the pipe or tube over which they pass, what may be left
by the spaces between the ends of the segments of the first scrapers
being removed by the full parts of the second. The inner or working
faces of the segments which form the scraping edge are tapered almost
to a knife edge to offer as little resistance as possible to their up-and-
down motion, and also to enable the edges to act efficiently against tho
tubes e as they become worn. The outsides of the bars a little below the
central part have cach a ball, as seen at d, Figure 2, which shows the out-
side of the bar and scrapers shown at Figure 1, as well as two others to
form the circle. These balls d are lodged on inclined surfaces formed on
the top face of the lower portion ƒ of the lifting frame. These inclines
are so made that the balls with the bars and scrapers have a tendency to
fall against the tubes which they are intended to scrape. The object of
placing the balls below the central part of the bar is that the upper
portion of the latter which is the heavier throws or keeps the top scraper
always against the tube with an amount of friction corresponding to its
own pressure. To prevent the balls leaving the lower frame as tho latter
descends another frame g is placed over it and its weight is sufficient to
prevent the balls leaving the inclines should the scrapers by any chance
become clogged from the tarry nature of the coal used or from other
causes.
It will be observed that the bars do not touch the tubes as the faces
or scraping edges of the sections are at a distance from them. I have in
this description only mentioned three segments or sections to form the
circle, but any number found convenient in practice may be used, and
in this case each will have a separate ball or pivotting point.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2, only instead of the balls d I
have shewnues or projections & with inclined under surfaces which

page_text: rest upon other inclined surfaces of the lower frame f. This will be
understood by referring to Figure 4, which is a plan view of the upper
surface of the lower frame with one circle or set of segments in
position.
Figure 5 is a detached view of the upper plate, which is passed over
the lifting rods i and bears upon the top of the lower frame in the
manner and for the purpose before explained. The frames for supporting
the segments are preferably made of castings in a skeleton form, as
shown in Figures 4 and 5, but they may be made of wrought metal in
any other manner. In some cases I dispense with the incline on the
lower frame and rest the balls or inclined lugs on the edge, forming the
angle of a square portion of the lower frame, as seen in the detached
view, Figure 6.
I do not confine myself to the exact details of shape or form of the
scrapers and parts connected with them as those may be varied to suit the
particular tubes they may be required to scrape; but what I do consider
novel and desire to claim as my Invention of apparatus for removing
soot and other deposit from the tubes of steam boilers is,-
The construction and employment of scrapers connected by a bar
formed with lugs or projections or balls which are free to move down
inclines to keep the scraping edges against the tubes, in the manner and
for the purpose as herein-before described and represented in tho
accompanying Drawings.
And, secondly, I claim the construction of scrapers which are con-
nected by a bar in the manner aforesaid with the lugs or balls fixed
below the centre of the bar in order to give a swinging action to the
scrapers, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described and
represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Green, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of October One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.