IMPROVEMENTS IN COOKING STOVES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Jeffries, of Reading, in the County of Berks,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COOKING STOVES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Jeffries at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
April 1856.
I, THOMAS JEFFRIES, of Reading, in the County of Berks, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN COOKING STOVES, to be
as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in cooking stoves relates principally to
those iron or other metal stoves which are complete in themselves without any
brickwork setting, & consist, first, in the arrangement of the flues for heating
the oven or baking chamber of the stove. The general external appearance
is somewhat of the ordinary character, with the fire showing in front through
the bars. In heating the oven the flue conducts the heat & flame up over
the top of the oven (which is immediately adjoining the fire) and down in
contact with the back-part, or that farthest from the fire, then along under-
neath the bottom of the oven, & thence by a return flue external of the
flues, herein-before described, away to the chimney; or it may pass away in part
by a flue at the end of the oven, or the end of the oven may form part of the
déscending flue. Thus, it will be observed, the oven with the exception of the
door is entirely surrounded, or very nearly so, by the heat of flues & fire, &

page_text: that the products of combustion, having been exposed to a large extent of
surface of the oven, pass away by the return flues at a comparatively low
temperature. In order to equalize & prevent excessive heat of the fire on the
oven where it is in contact with the metal plates thereof, I interpose double
plates, having an air space between them which, is also the case in some
portion of the flues.
The second part of my improvements consist in forming the top of the stove
with loose pieces or plates to fit between the holes for the reception of the
saucepans or other utensils, which loose pieces can be removed from between
the holes & form an opening or openings to receive saucepans or other
vessels or utensils of much larger size to be exposed to the direct heat of
the fire.
A further improvement in these stoves consists in forming fire doors just
above the bars and the fire, which can be opened to reduce the draught, &
for the purpose of throwing on fuel, instead of feeding the fire through the
holes in the top, as usual.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Jeffries, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JEFFRIES, of Reading, in the County of Berks, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, hearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Jeffries, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Jeffries, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Jeffries, 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 COOKING STOVES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Jeffries, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and. ascertain

page_text: 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 Thomas Jeffries, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of improvements in cooking stoves relates principally to
those iron or other metal stoves which are complete in themselves without
any brickwork setting; and consists, first, in the arrangement of the flues
for heating the oven or baking chamber of the stove; and secondly, in the
arrangement and construction of the openings in the top where saucepans
and other vessels are placed to be heated. The general external appearance
of this stove is somewhat of the ordinary character of such stoves, with the
fire showing in front through the bars. In order to heat the oven, the flue
conducts the products of combustion up over the top of the oven (which is
immediately adjoining the fire) and down in contact with the back part,
or that farthest from the fire, then along underneath the bottom of the
oven, and thence by a return flue, external of the before-mentioned flues,
away to the chimney; or it may pass away in part by a flue at the end of the
oven, or the end of the oven may form part of the descending flue. Thus, it
will be observed, the oven with the exception of the door is entirely surrounded,
or very nearly so, by the heat of flues and fire, and that the products of com-
bustion, having been exposed to a large extent of surface of the oven, pass
away by the return flues at a comparatively low temperature. In order to
equalize and prevent excessive heat of the fire on the oven where it is in
contact with the metal plates thereof, I interpose double plates, having an air
space between them, this is also the case with some parts of the flues.
The second part of my improvements consists in forming the top of the
stove with loose pieces or plates to fit in & between the holes for the recep-
tion of the saucepans and other small utensils, which loose pieces can be
removed and form an opening or openings to receive saucepans or other vessels
or utensils of much larger size to be exposed to the direct heat of the fire.
A further improvement in these stoves consists in forming fire doors just
above the bars and the fire, which can be opened to reduce the draught, and
for the purpose of throwing on fuel, instead of feeding the fire through the
holes in the top, as usual.

page_text: Z
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of a stove constructed according to my
Invention; Fig. 2 is an end elevation; Fig. 3, a plan of the same; Fig. 4
represents a transverse section on the line 1, 2, Figs. 1 and 3; while Fig. 5
represents a lateral vertical section on line 3, 4, Figs. 2 and 3. This stove is
adapted for the various purposes required in culinary operations. A is the
fire-place, closed by means of doors a, a, which may be opened or closed at
pleasure; b, b, upper doors above the level of the fire bars c, c, to be opened
for the purpose of throwing on fuel instead of introducing it through the holes
in-the top, as is usually the case in cooking stoves of this kind. These doors
also serve to regulate the draught through the fire, by opening or closing them
to a greater or less extent. B, B, is a saucepan rest, the middle part of
which draws out, as seen in the plan, Fig. 3. D is the ash-pit, in the lower
part of which an ash pan or tray E is fitted, which draws out for the purpose
of emptying when required. The front of the ash-pit is closed, and furnished
with an air regulator F, to regulate the admission of air under the bottom
grate of the fire. G is the oven, having the door II on the right. The oven
extends from end to end of the stove, and has the flues carried quite round it,
the arrows showing the direction taken by the products of combustion on their
passage from the fire to the chimney I. It will be observed that the front
part of the oven is subject to the heat of the fire, while the top part, the; back,
and the bottom are subject to the heat of the flues K, L, and M. These flues
are of the entire breadth of the stove, and wholly surround the oven G; a
return flue N is formed to the chimney I on the exterior of the flues L, M,
which assists to maintain the temperature of the inner flues L, M. Instead
of making the descending flue L the entire breadth of the stove, I sometimes
divide the breadth of the stove into three compartments by two partitions,
represented in red lines in Fig. 5, and forming thereby two descending flues
P, P, and one return ascending flue R, to the chimney I; the red arrows show
the direction of the passage of the smoke and heat when so arranged. The
partition f, f, is in this case omitted. In this arrangement there is less length.
in the traverse through the flues, while at the same time the oven is still
surrounded entirely by the fire and flues. It will be observed that an air
space 1, 7, is formed between the fire and the oven, and also on the top; this
may be dispensed with if a moderato fire only is used, taking care that an air
space is left between the back plate m of the fire and the side of the oven.
g, g, is a damper for regulating the opening to the chimney, which may be
opened more or less as required, and shut by the rod h.

page_text: The plan, Fig. 3, of top of the stove represents the openings to receive the
saucepans and other culinary utensils. As there represented, the openings show
one large one and two smaller ones. The large one S, S, is adapted for large
vessels, as shown dotted in Fig. 5; the round openings U, U, near the back
part are suited for the reception of smaller vessels. In order that these
openings may either do for the reception of large or small vessels, I fit into
the large openings S, S, pieces T, T, separately represented in Figs. 6 and 7;
these pieces are fitted into the larger openings S, S, and in these pieces T, T,
the smaller openings U, U, are formed; these openings are fitted with covers
W, W, to close these openings when not used. Thus, when small saucepans
or other vessels are used the covers W only are removed, and those vessels
placed in the smaller openings; but when larger vessels are used the whole
piece T, T, with the covers W, W, is removed, when it presents the appear-
ance and size of opening represented nearest the front in the plan Fig. 3.
X, X, are openings for cleaning out the flues, but which are closed at all other
times.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I claim as my
Invention, and to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
-
First, the arrangement and disposition of the oven in combination with the
fire and flues whereby it is heated, as herein-before described.
Secondly, I claim the construction and arrangement of the parts forming
the large and small openings in the top of the stove, as herein-before described.
Lastly, I claim the application of the upper doors b, b, as applied to stoves
in which the vessels or utensils are placed in openings in the top, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Jeffries, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
Oue thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
W. CLARK, Patent Agent,
58, Chancery Lane,
London.
T. JEFFRIES. (L.S.)