Improvements in the Fire Grates of Steam Boiler and other Furnaces.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 26th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Fire Grates of Steam Boiler and other
Furnaces.
I, CONRAD CHRISTIAN SEVERIN KNAP, of 11 Queen Victoria Street,
London E.C., Consulting Engineer (partly a communication from abroad by
Thomas Birch Freeman Sam, of Cape Coast Castle and Adjah Bippo, West
Africa, Engineer) do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the fire grates of furnaces generally, such as of tubular
and other steam boilers for stationary, locomotive, marine and like engines, also to
furnaces for heating and metallurgical purposes, and has for its object, primarily,
the cleaning of the grates, or the getting rid of the ashes, during full working or
otherwise, without drawing the fires.
Thus, the furnace grates are so constructed that the same, whilst in full work, and
without stoppage or hindrance of any kind, are capable of being ridded of asb or
clinker accumulations, without drawing the fires.
Now in water tube and like steam boilers where a heavy deposit of ashes
frequently accumulates at the back of the grate, against the bridge and amongst
the tubes, the efficiency of the heating surface is, in consequence, considerably
reduced, and the fire grate becomes partly inoperative through being clogged up.
Again, where such fuel as wood or brush, cane, &c. is employed, the accumulation
of ashes becomes so considerable as to render it difficult to keep up steam, and in
consequence of which frequent stoppages for cleaning (which are a great dis-
advantage) must inevitably occur.
By this invention, those parts of the furnace grate where such ash accumulations
occur, or the whole or any sectional parts of the grate, are hinged or pivoted in
such a manner that the said ash accumulations admit of being bodily emptied into
the ashpit below the furnace, without drawing the fires or otherwise interfering
with the furnace generally.
In carrying out one form of this invention in connection with a water-tube
boiler, I hinge or mount the offside of the back dead plate, which is preferably
pierced grating-wise, upon joints or pivots, so as to admit of the said dead plate
swinging or dropping down, from the front side, into the ash pit, and thereby
emptying the deposit of ashes upon the topside of it into the ash pit. A fixed and
rectangular shaped casting, of a little greater area than the dead plate, and with
the bearing portions wherethrough an axis or joint spindle passes being bossed, is
employed, whilst an extending end of the said spindle is fitted with a weighted
lever, so that when the said dead plate is released from its normal position by the
withdrawing of cottar stops or equivalents employed for supporting the same, the
front part of the said dead-plate falls flap-wise and is assisted in its rapid descent
by the balance weight, and as the said dead plate strikes against a fixed and lower
stop, the whole of the ashes and other accumulations carried by it are shaken off
into the ash pit.
The holding-up stop may consist of a circular bar, taking through a hole in the
casting or frame, and with its inner end coming under the fore part of the dead
plate, or the said plate may be held up by sliding bolts, or by rotating catches, or
by other means.

page_text: It is also proposed that the whole of the fire grate should be made up in sections
and that each section should be hinged flap-wise, so as to admit of the unhinged
part being dropped into the ash pit, and the ashes resting thereon being removed.
By such arrangement, the fire bars can be cleaned without any interruption of the
working, as such respective sections are capable of being ridded of their ashes or
cleaned at intervals.
This making of the fire grate up in sections is particularly useful in marine
boilers.
The fire bars of the grate may, if necessary, be secured to, and carried within,
section frames.
As a modification of the invention, the said dead plate or plates, or the fire bars
carried in section frames, may be mounted upon end and centrally disposed pivots,
so as to admit of the said dead plates or section fire-bar framings, turning over or
revolving, so as to bring the top-side undermost, and so tipping the ashes and other
accumulations into the ash-pit, such turn-over parts being secured in their normal
positions by bolts, catches or their equivalents.
In carrying out a further form of the invention, the furnace is provided with an
apparatus alike unto an agricultural drag rake, fitted with a long stock or stem, and
which, when out of use, lies within a recess in the brickwork of the furnace, and
which is so arranged that end portions take upon shelf-like bearers, so that on the
drag being pulled forwards, and the apparatus being tilted upon the bearers as a
fulcrum, the tooth-like members pass through the openings between the fire bars,
and then by a backward and forward traverse in that position, the spaces between
the fire bars are opened and the clinkers are broken up.
Dated this 12th day of January 1895.
Improvements in the Fire Grates of Steam Boiler and other
Furnaces.
I, CONRAD CHRISTIAN SEVERIN KNAP, of 11 Queen Victoria Street,
London E.C., Consulting Engineer, (partly a communication from abroad by
Thomas Birch Freeman Sam, of Cape Coast Castle and Adjah Bippo, West
Africa, Engineer) do hereby declare the nature of this 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 the fire grates of furnaces generally, such as of tubular
and other steam boilers for stationary, locomotive, marine and like engines, also to
furnaces for heating and metallurgical purposes, and has for its object, primarily,
the cleaning of the grates, or the getting rid of the ashes, during full working or
otherwise, without drawing the fires.
Thus, the furnace grates are so constructed that the same, whilst in full work,
and without stoppage or hindrance of any kind, are capable of being ridded of ash
or clinker accumulations, without drawing the fires.
Now in water tube and like steam boilers where a heavy deposit of ashes
frequently accumulates at the back of the grate, against the bridge and amongst
the tubes, the efficiency of the heating surface is, in consequence, considerably
reduced, and the fire grate becomes partly inoperative through being clogged up.
Again, where such fuel as wood, brush or cane is employed, the accumulation of
ashes becomes so considerable as to render it difficult to keep up steam, and in

page_text: consequence of which frequent stoppages for cleaning (which are a great dis-
advantage) must inevitably occur.
By this invention, those parts of the furnace grate where such ash accumulations
occur, or the whole or any sectional parts of the grate, are hinged or pivoted in
such a manner that the said ash accumulations admit of being bodily emptied into
the ashpit below the furnace, without drawing the fires or otherwise interfering
with the furnace generally.
In carrying out one form of this invention in connection with a water-tube
boiler, I hinge or mount the offside of the back dead plate, which is preferably
pierced, grating-wise, upon joints or pivots, so as to admit of the said dead plate
Swinging or dropping down, from the front side into the ash pit, and thereby
emptying the deposit of ashes upon the top side of it into the ash pit. A fixed
and rectangular shaped casting, of a little greater area than the dead plate, and
with the bearing portions wherethrough an axis or joint spindle passes being bossed,
is employed, whilst an extending end of the said spindle is fitted with a weighted
lever, so that when the said dead plate is released from its normal position by the
withdrawing of cottar stops or equivalents employed for supporting the same, the
front part of the said dead-plate falls flap-wise and is assisted in its rapid descent
by the balance weight, and as the said dead plate strikes against a fixed and lower
stop, the whole of the ashes and other accumulations carried by it are shaken off
into the ash pit.
The holding-up stop may consist of a circular bar, taking through a hole in the
casting or frame, and with its inner end coming under the fore part of the dead
plate, or the said plate may be held up by sliding bolts, or by rotating catches, or
by other means.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents, partly in vertical section,
and partly in elevation, a water tube boiler, with the back dead plate mounted or
provided with improvements according to my invention.
Figure 2 represents a horizontal section of the fire grate, showing the dispositions
of the said back dead plate, and the means of pivotally mounting the same so as
to enable the outer edge to drop down flap-wise and deposit the ash or clinkers
into the ashpit below, hence the saving of the drawing of the fires.
In Figures 1 and 2, a is a water tube boiler, situated above a fire grate b, which
is made up of a series of sectional fire bars b', carried by bearers 62, elevated above
the ash-pit c, and with the back dead plate d, having upon the rear part of its ends,
excentrically disposed pivot axes or trunnions d', ds, with stop collars d², and with
the necks d³, working within bearings e¹, of bearers e, e³, and with the axis or
trunnion d', carrying at its end, an arm do, with its end carrying a drop-weight d',
for accelerating the falling motion of the dead plate and assisting in jerking the
ashes and clinkers from the same.
fis a bolt stop, working within a combined bearing and guide es, in the bearer e²,
and with the outer end provided with a hand wheel f', whilst the inner end f²,
comes under the fore part d³, of the back section d, of the fire grate, whereby the
said section is held up. On the said bolt being withdrawn, the flap-hung dead
plate is allowed to drop and so deposit the ashes and clinkers into the ashpit
below.
It is also proposed that the whole of the fire grate should be made up in hinged
and flap-like sections supported, when in use, by stops or equivalents, but when ash
is required to be got rid of, then the un-hinged sides admit of being dropped and
the sections swing about their centres on the stops being withdrawn, thus
discharging the ashes into the pit. By such arrangement, the fire bars can be
cleaned without any interruption of the working, as such respective sections are
capable of being ridded of their ashes or cleaned at intervals.
This making of the fire grate up in sections is particularly useful in marine
boilers.
The fire bars of the grate may, if necessary, be secured to, and carried within
section frames.

page_text: Figure 3 represents a sectional view of such an arrangement in which the whole
of the sections of the grate are flap-wise mounted alike unto the back dead plate
described in the preceding arrangement, so that any one section can be ridded of
the clinkers or ashes when the grate is in use and without materially interfering
with its general efficiency.
b is the fire grate, c the ash-pit below and d are a series of flap-hung and drop-
down fire bar sections, turning upon pivots d², and supported in their elevated
positions by bolts for their equivalents.
The joints of the said bars are supported in bearings of bearers, so also the rest
stops or bolts.
As a modification of the invention, the said dead plate or plates, or the fire bars
carried in section frames, may be mounted upon end and centrally disposed pivots,
so as to admit of the said dead plates or section fire-bar framings, turning over or
revolving, so as to bring the top-side undermost, and so tipping the ashes and other
accumulations into the ash-pit such turn-over parts being secured in their normal
positions by bolts, catches or their equivalents.
Figure 4 represents such an arrangement in which the ends of the bar turn upon
central pivots.
b is the fire grate, and d are sectional fire bar frames, each having central end
pivots d³, about which they turn. fare the stops for supporting the sections when
in use.
The arrangements shown in Figures 3 and 4 may be operated by the means
shown in Figures 1 and 2 or by any other suitable mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
First. In the fire grates of steam boiler and other furnaces, providing the same
with a drop-down and flap-hung dead plate, or fire bar or bars, or section or
sections, supported by stops or equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose
described and set forth.
Secondly. The improvements in drop-down and flap-hung fire-bars, sections or
dead plates for the fire grates of steam boiler and other furnaces, and in the means
of operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose described and set forth
in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Thirdly. In steam boiler and other furnaces, mounting fire-bars, dead-plates or
the sections of fire grates upon central pivots, whereby the said bars, plates or
sections admit of having a turn-over action, substantially as and for the purpose
described and set forth.
Dated this 25th day of September 1895.
CONRAD CHRISTIAN SEVERIN KNAP,
By Henry Skerrett,
24 Temple Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.