Improvements in Refuse Furnaces and in Apparatus connected therewith.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 19th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Refuse Furnaces and in Apparatus connected
therewith.
We, BRIERLEY DENHAM HEALEY and GEORGE SOUTHERN of Bamber Bridge
in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, 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 :-
Our present invention refers to the method of constructing the arches over such
furnaces, feeding gear, firegrate gear, clinker receivers, and the gearing of the
motor which drives the cam shafts.
The grate bars and feeding bars herein described are applicable for all kinds of
furnaces in which refuse fuel is burnt, and especially to the various furnaces
described in the Specifications of the following Patents :-No. 2,369, A.D. 1880,
No. 5,203 A.D. 1882, No. 10,035, A.D. 1884, No. 7,703 A.D. 1885, No. 9,342,
A.D. 1886, No. 1,005, A.D. 1892, No. 8,249, A.D. 1892.
And in order that this invention may be better understood we have appended
hereto two sheets of drawings which we will now describe using the same letters of
reference for corresponding parts in the various figures.
One form of furnace shewn by Figure 1 has a reverberatory arch A springing
from one side wall to the other with a secondary combustion chamber N to
which air is admitted at Z. The refuse charging hopper B leading to the
furnace G may be of any convenient size with or without the large sloping
hopper Q.
The main flue W may be above the furnace with a connecting flue M from the
secondary combustion chamber N, and the clinker receiver J may be made of a
portable form upon wheels with a mouthpiece connection H open at its underside
which mouthpiece dispenses with the usual clinker withdrawal doors at the front of
furnace.
Another form of furnace shewn by Figure 2, has a reverberatory arch A,
springing from the front wall to the back, but the thrust is taken at the back by an
arch P set horizontally or by firelumps, and above the reverberatory arch is a
secondary combustion chamber N connected to the main flue W by side flues shewn
in dotted lines from the furnace outlets M. The portable clinker receiver J and
connecting mouthpiece H for clinker withdrawal doorway are used in this arrange-
ment of furnace.
Figure 3 shews a section of existing furnaces which are built back to back with
main flue W between them to which our forward moving feeding bars C, firegrate
bars D mouthpiece H for clinker withdrawal doorway and portable clinker
receiver J are applicable, but the said bars, mouthpiece and clinker receiver are
equally applicable to many other classes of refuse destroying furnaces.
Alternate firegrate bars D and alternate feeding bars C are actuated by a single
cam shaft S and each of the moving firebars D has a toggle joint Y for the lower
end of its corresponding feed bar C. The upper end of the feeding slope is pro-
vided with a long box casting or carrier R in which the upper or fixed feed bars
can expand and the moving feed bars can reciprocate. In front of the cam shaft S
is a grate bearer T to which the lower or fixed bars of firegrate are held by bolts
and cleats if required, and the ends of this bearer are bolted to wall boxes or fixed
In the side walls.
Figure 4 shews an enlarged view near the cam shaft S of the toggle or knuckle
oints Y of the moving firebars D, which actuate the upper feed bars C and
Figure 5 shews an enlarged view of similar joints used for attaching the lower
ixed bars U to the upper fixed bars V as well as for fixing them to the main

page_text: bearer T. which method allows of setting the grates at different angles with the
four bars C. D. U. V. as herein shewn and described.
In practice we prefer to drive the grates in pairs, with the cam of one grate set
upwards when the cam of the next grate set downwards, so that the weight of one
grate counterbalances the other. The ends of the cams have coupling boxes or
long bossed worm wheels acting as couplers (when two grates are thus geared)
which are driven by worm gearing.
The motor used may be of the class described in our Specification of Patent
No. 12,990 A.D. 1892 and may be mounted upon framing E and have mitre
gearing of the pall & catch box type, in the centre of which gearing is a lever with
a roller in a forked jaw connected to one end of motor piston rod.
For existing furnaces the driving shaft from the motor gearing may be lead
horizontally or vertically to the worm gearing on the cam shaft in or about the
centre of a division or side wall of the two furnaces which are to be run together
but in new furnaces the motor gearing may be fixed between the hoppers B, or
geared from the outside in any convenient manner.
In operating the said firebars and feedbars the extreme ends reciprocate on a
straight line and near the cam connection a circular forwarding motion is given.
The cam shaft rotates in the direction indicated on drawings so that the moving
bars are raised and moved forwards and then depressed and moved backwards, the
speed varying from one to two revolutions per minute according to the nature of
the refuse and the aspiratory power of the chimney.
The bottom of clinker receiver J may have a number of small apertures for
admitting air to cool the contents so as to return nearly all the heat in the clinker
back to the furnace and to assist in destroying the vaporous gases.
A temporary grate may be attached to the underside of the mouthpiece H when
starting a furnace on which to kindle the fire, and poking holes X or sight holes
may be made in said mouthpiece and also in hopper B fitted with doors or
plugs.
The reverberatory arch may be built as a grid at its central part for about 2 ft.
of its length and right across the furnace chamber G, set in flemish bond without
the headers so as to form numerous outlets L through which the waste gases may
pass to the secondary combustion chamber N.
The grate bars have air spaces between them but the feed bars are set as close
as practicable. The handles of portable clinker receiver may be attached by
sockets so as to be removable. Vertical binders for the fronts of these furnaces
may rest in iron channels and in some cases they may have similar channels at the
top end as shewn on drawings appended hereto.
Referring to Figure 4 of Specification of Patent No. 8,249 A.D. 1892, when an
internal clinker receiver is used for the furnaces shewn by Figures 1 and 2
appended hereto we prefer to have EL sliding door at the front of the hopper
actuated by worm gearing so as to rise upwards when opening and when using
forced blast the ashpit O is enclosed by doors and an air tight connection with the
cam is secured by use of flexible wipers I attached to the grate bearer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In refuse burning furnaces as aforesaid the combination of forwarding motion
firebars and feeding bars made with toggle joints and actuated by a single cam
substantially as herein shewn and described.
2. In refuse burning furnaces as aforesaid the combination of a portable clinker
receiver and movable or fixed mouthpiece connection substantially as herein shewn
and described.
3. In the furnace shewn by Figure 2 the improved method of constructing the
reverberatory arch whereby the thrust is thrown upon the side walls of the
furnace.

page_text: 4. The method of joining the upper and lower fixed and moving bars and of
attaching the lower bars to the main bearers substantially as herein shewn and
described.
5. Driving two grates by one motor coupled as herein described so that the
weight of one grate counterbalances the weight of another.
6. The method of building the secondary combustion chamber and admitting air
to meet the gases above the reverberatory arch as shewn on Figure 1.
7. In all such furnaces and plant as aforesaid the combination and arrangement
of the various parts and apparatus for the purposes herein set forth, substantially
as herein shewn and described.
Dated this 13th day of October 1892
B. D. HEALEY.
GEORGE SOUTHERN.