CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF FEEDING FURNACES OP EVERY DESCRIPTION, STEAM ENGINE AND OTHER BOILERS, WITH COAL, COKE, AND FUEL OF EVERY KIND
Year: 1821

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN BATES,
of Bradford, in the County of York, Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster,
the Ninth day of November One thousand eight hundred and twenty-one,
give and grant unto me, the said John Bates, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Bates, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said John Bates, my exccutors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF FEEDING FURNACES
OP EVERY DESCRIPTION, STEAM ENGINE AND OTHER BOILERS, WITH COAL, COKE, AND
FUEL OF EVERY KIND;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said John Bates, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to cause a particular and exact description of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately ensuing the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Bates, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the following description
thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in the application of toothed conical or cylindrical
rollers to the breaking or reducing of the coals or other fuel employed to feed
the said furnaces into smaller fragments, and regulating the greater or lesser
supply thereof according to the purpose- or- purposes-intended-to be answered
thereby, and in particular to those grates of furnaces which are moveable, and
either revolve, and thus present fresh portions of their surfaces in succession to
receive supplies of fuel continually, or traverse backwards and forwards to pro-
duce the same effect; and the object of which contrivance is to cause the fuel
to be more perfectly consumed, and the smoke, ordinarily produced thereby to
be converted into flame; and thus rendered more effectual in the heating and
performing other useful services, instead, of being wasted and converted into a
public nuisance, and also to effect a considerable saving in the quantity of fuel
employed.
I shall now proceed to describe one method of carrying my said. Invention
into effect by a reference to the Drawing hereunto annexed as aforesaid, reserv-
ing to myself, however, the liberty of employing my Invention in any other
manner whatever whereby the said beneficial results may be obtained.
In the Drawing Figure 1 is an end view of a steam engine boiler, fire-place
or furnace, &c. of a twenty-horse power engine; Figure 2, a longitudinal
section thereof.;, and Fig. 3, a plan of, the same; in all of which Figures the
same letters and figures of reference apply to the similar parts of the apparatus.
A, A, is the boiler, set in brickwork, having. a semicular projection or end,
under which the revolving grate B moves; C is a narrow opening or tube
made through the end of the boiler to allow the fuel. to pass and fall upon the
grate; D is a cast or wrought iron box or frame, which contains the two iron
conical toothed rollers E, E, turning on necks or pivots F, F, &c. in supports
made in the ends of the frame D; one of these rollers is made to open and
close more or less according to the quantity of fuel required; G is a hopper to
contain a supply of fuel, and is to be filled from time to time as required.
The axes of the rollers E, E, have each a toothed bevel or conical wheel H, H
affixed to them, working or acting in each other, and thereby causing the
rollers to turn inwardly or towards each other, and thus to draw the fuel in
between them, crush it, and feed the fire as required: On the axis of one
of the rollers a toothed wheel I is fixed, which is driven by the pinion J; turn-

page_text: ing upon a stud K, firmly affixed to the arm L (shewn in Figure 3), which is
secured to the frame D. An endless screw wheel M is united to the pinion J,
which is actuated by the endless screw N working in it. The endless screw N
turns upon an axis O, having necks or pivots P, P, turning in brasses, mounted
in plummer blocks as usual. Upon the axis O is affixed the bevel pinion Q;
this works into a bevel wheel R, upon the top of the upright shaft or axis S,
having necks or pivots turning in the plummer blocks T, T, affixed to ironwork
secured to the brickwork of the furnace. At the lower end of the upright shaft S
is a bevel pinion U, which works into a bevel wheel V, fixed near one end of
a horizontal shaft W, with necks X, X, turning in plummer blocks securely
attached, the one to the circular reservoir (which will be described hereafter),
and the other to any convenient framework of the machine. On the other
end of the shaft W a bevel pinion Y is fixed, which acts in a circular ring of
teeth Z, Z, on the under side of the revolving grate B, and thereby puts
it into motion. The circular grate B is mounted upon an upright axis a,
having a neck at b turning in a plummer block at c, affixed to the bar d, which
is secured in the brickwork of the furnace, and a pivot e turning in the step f,
secured to a flagstone or iron plate in the ashpit of the furnace in the follow-
ing manner:-The step f has a screw underneath, and an adjusting nut g fitted
to the screw, which rests upon the top of a guide cylinder h, having holes in it
above and below for the screw to rest in. To the top of the guide cylinder h
is affixed a plate or flange with holes in it for screws to pass through, whereby
it is secured to the bottom of the ashpit, and, by turning the screwed nut g
either way, the
grate may be raised or lowered as required. On the under
side of the grate B a circular rim or ring i, i, of plate iron is affixed; this rim
dips into water contained in a circular reservoir j, j, which is lodged upon the
brickwork of the furnace, and thus prevents any access of air to the fire except
through the bars of the grate.. As, however, some of the ashes of the fuel
fall over and around the outside of the revolving grate and lodge upon
the shoulder or flange k, k, one or more scrapers are affixed to the grate and
revolve with it; there are also apertures made in the flange k, k, with doors
fitted to open or close occasionally, and suffer the ashes to be driven out from
time to time by the action of the scraper 7. The supply of water to the boiler A
may be regulated in any of the ways usually employed. m, m, is a pipe fixed
in the top of the boiler, and reaching nearly to its bottom; the water enters
this pipe at its lower end, and is driven by the pressure of the steam in
the boiler until it reaches the bottom of the hollow vessel or float n (shewn
in Figure 2). This float is suspended to the chain o, o, which passes over the
pulley p, turning open its axis on pivots acting in holes made in the forked
support q affixed to. the pipe m, m. To the other end of the chain o, o, is
may

page_text: suspended the counterbalance weight 1, (shewn in Figure 1); upon the axis
of the pulley p is also affixed another pulleys of a smaller diameter, having
one end of the rope or line t, t, secured to it, which passes underneath the
pulley u, and the other end of which rope is affixed to a guide carriage v
having also another line or rope w attached to it, which passes over another
pulley (not shewn in the Drawing), and has a stretching weight hung to it
(also not shewn), whereby the guide carriage vis suspended in a horizontal
position, and is allowed to move backwards and forwards as required, and as
hereafter described. Upon, the axis O is affixed a conical drum or barrel x,
and upon another axis y, placed above as here shewn, or in any other con-
venient situation, and turning upon necks or pivots, one of which is shewn at a,
the proper supports. Another similar drum is also fixed, but in a reversed
position to the drum x, that is, with its smaller end opposed to the larger
end of the drum x. 2 is an endless band or leather strap passing over
and around the drums x and 1; and, owing to both drums being of similar
dimensions, the band will keep tight in any required situation upon those
drums. This endless band 2 passes through the guide carriage v, which is
furnished with two friction rollers 3, 3; and as that guide carriage is moved
backwards or forwards by the rising or falling of the float n, occasioned by the
greater or lesser pressure of the steani in the boiler, so the endless band 2 is
conveyed towards either end of the drum x, and the motions of the conical
toothed rollers E, E, will be increased or diminished accordingly through the
means of the wheelwork connecting them with the axis O, and also the motion
of the grate B will vary accordingly, and thus the supply of fuel will be
increased or diminished so as to preserve a nearly equable motion of the
machinery at all times. The altitude of the float n ought to exceed that of
the water in the boiler in proportion as the pressure of the steam exceeds
that of the atmosphere, so that when the steam is of a proper degree of
strength for working the engine, the water shall just reach up to the bottom
of the float, and when it exceeds that strength or pressure it will rise and
elevate the float, and thereby reduce the supply of fuel in the manner above
described, and the consequent heat of the fire, until the elasticity of the steam
be reduced to its proper degree. The circular rope i, i, is supplied with water
constantly flowing in and out by a feeding pipe. The rollers E, E, consist of
alternate pairs of toothed and plain circular plates, with a square hole in the
middle of each to fit upon the square of the axis. Figure 4 is an end view
of one pair of the plates, and Figure 5 an edge view thereof. It will be seen
by Figure 3 that the toothed parts of one roller are placed opposite to the plain
parts of the other roller, so that the teeth never touch each other, but crush
the fuel between the toothed and plain parts of the rollers. Figure 6 is a plan

page_text: of a pair of cylindrical rollers mounted in a frame, and which are applicable
to a grate which traverses alternately backwards and forwards. These rollers
are to be driven by a pair of toothed wheels fixed upon their axes in a similar
manner to the rollers E, E. Figure 7 is a cross section of the box D, and
rollers E, E. 4, 4, are two plates with gaps in them to admit the teeth of the
rollers to pass through them; their use is to prevent the fuel from falling over
to the back parts of the rollers. 5 is a scraper to clear the roller of any fuel
which might adhere to it. 6, 6, are two other plates to guide the fuel into th>
fire-place. 7 is one of two sliding plummer blocks, with adjusting screws for
the necks of the roller.
I have thus shewn the manner of carrying my said Invention into complete
effect, and in order thereto may have described several parts which are already
known and in use. It is not, however, my intention to claim such parts as my
said Invention, but only those parts which I consider to be new, and in parti-
cular the employment of two toothed rollers to supply fuel to the furnace; the
circular reservoir of water, and the iron ring dipping into it, instead of dipping
into ashes or sand, whereby the friction is considerably reduced; and lastly,
the method of regulating the supply of fuel according to the increase or
decrease of the pressure of the steam in the boiler, and thereby to insure
the regularity of the movement of the engine, and also cause a considerable
saving to be made in the fuel employed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bates, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of May One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-two.
Inrolled the same Ninth day of May, in the year above written.