IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES IN WHICH COMBUSTION IS CARRIED ON FOR OBTAINING GASES OR GASEOUS PRODUCTS TO BE USEFULLY APPLIED
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City.
of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FURNACES IN WHICH COMBUSTION IS CARRIED ON FOR OBTAINING GASES OR
GASEOUS PRODUCTS TO BE USEFULLY APPLIED."-A communication from
abroad by Edouard Alphonse Jardin and Alfred Charles Marie Celestin
Edgard Goussard, of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 5th September 1861, and dated the 18th March 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
March 1861.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FURNACES IN WHICH COMBUSTION IS CARRIED ON FOR OBTAINING GASES OR GASEOUS'
PRODUCTS TO BE USEFULLY APPLIED," communicated to me from abroad by Edouard
Alphonse Jardin and Alfred Charles Marie Celestin Edgard Goussard, of 33,
Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, to be as follows:-
:
This Invention relates to furnaces for burning combustible matter so as to
obtain useful gases; the gases being formed in a space, chamber, or capacity;
which I call the." gasifying space;" the products of combustion rising from
the burning fuel on the grate or fire-bars through the upper and unkindled
portion of the fuel.; but, according to these improvements, the grate or set of

page_text: fire bars instead of being within or close against the gasifying space is fitted
sufficiently away from and below it, as that a space is left between the grate
and the bottom of the sides of the gasifying space for air to circulate round
the fuel at that part. It is also proposed to do away wholly, or nearly, with
joints, rivets, fastenings, seams, or connections on the inner side of the gasifier
space or interior of the furnace. It is proposed to employ a gasifying space
'the sides of which, instead of being rivetted and with a lower connecting
frame, as in the Luzarche or Beaufumé arrangements is composed of metal
rolled, hammered, beaten, or formed into shape with or without soldering or
welding, but wholly or nearly without rivetting, joints, seams, or such like
connections. It is also proposed to turn back or bend out the sides, internal
shell or skin of the gasifying space at bottom, preferring to curve them off so
as to form a lip in such manner as to remove them from the intense action of
heat, and to leave the air space before referred to. To keep the sides of the
gasifying space properly cool, they are surrounded by a casing supplied with
water. It is proposed to form at the lower part of this water space one or
more doors, openings, or manholes (with proper arrangements for opening and
closing them) whereby to get at the interior of the water casing, and remove
deposits therefrom.
In the arrangement preferred to the details, of which I do not restrict
myself, the sides or internal shell of the gasifying space are rounded off and
bent out at bottom to join the external sides, forming the water. casing, and
form the bottom thereof, being connected preferably by angle or T-iron, thus
leaving the space for air to circulate round the lower part of the sides of the
fuel, which is heaped up on the grate to a convenient height within the
gasifying space, the gaseous products of combustion from the burning fuel
rising through the upper and unkindled mass, so that the carbonic acid gas
given off may be converted into oxide of carbon and carbonated hydrogen, and
pass off to a combustion chamber to be there mixed with fresh air and burnt
for heating purposes. The grate is. on pivots, so that it may be inclined as
much as the brickwork will allow to clean or clear it. Air is blown or forced
from beneath the grate up through its bars into. the fuel, preferring to admit
it through draft passages: in the sides: of the brickwork, by an arrangement
such as shewn in the Drawing. Deposits in the furnace water casing may be
prevented by placing the bottom of the gasifying apparatus level with the
water space or tubes of, the generator (with which it communicates by a pipe),
so that any deposit. would be- formed in the generator. At top the furnace
water casing forms. a. dome: to receive the steam generated, and whence it is
carried off through a pipe into the generator, steam chamber, or elsewhere..

page_text: The fuel is fed in by means of a hopper, or charging, or feed box, the top and
bottom of which can be opened and closed in such manner that when it is
desired to charge the box the top is opened and the bottom closed; the fuel is
then thrown in and then the top shut; and when the fire is to fed with fuel
the bottom of the box is opened and the fuel resting on it will drop into
the furnace. The furnace may be set in metal instead of in brickwork or
masonry.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
September 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of March in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Michael Henry, Her special licence that I, the said Michael
Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Michael Henry, 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
FURNACES IN WHICH COMBUSTION IS CARRIED ON FOR OBTAINING GASES OR GASEOUS
PRODUCTS TO BE USEFULLY APPLIED," communicated to me from abroad by
Edouard Alphonse Jardin and Alfred Charles Marie Celestin Edgard Goussard,
of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Michael Henry, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 month next and imme-
diately after tlie date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Henry, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,

page_text: to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
.thereof, as .communicated to me, reference being had to the Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
7
This, Invention relates to furnaces for burning combustible matter so as to
obtain therefrom: useful gases (that is, gases applicable for heating boilers and
other useful purposes), the gases being formed. in a space, chamber, or capacity;
which I herein call the "gasifying space," and the products of combustion
rising from the burning fuel on the grate or fire-bars through the upper and
unkindled portion of the fuel (in the manner known); I call this description of
furnace "gasifying furnaces or apparatus." Now, according to these improve-
ments the grate or set of fire-bars instead of lying within or close against the
gasifying space is fitted sufficiently away from and below it, so that a space is
left between such grate and the bottom of the sides of the gasifying space for
air to circulate round the fuel at that part. It is also proposed, according to
these improvements, to, do away wholly or nearly with joints, rivets, fastenings,
seams, or connections on the inner side of the gasifying space or interior of the
furnace, and to employ a gasifying space, the sides of which instead of being
rivetted and furnished with a lower connecting frame, as in the Luzarche or
Beaufumé arrangements is composed of metal rolled, hammered, beaten, or
formed into shape with or without soldering or welding, but wholly or nearly
without rivetting joints, seams, or such like connections. It is also proposed
in these improvements to turn back or bend out the sides (or the internal
shell or skin) of the gasifying space at bottom, preferring to curve the same. off
so, as to form a lip, and so remove them from the intense action of the heat,
and at the same time leave the air space before referred to. To keep the sides
of the gasifying space properly cool they are surrounded by a casing supplied.
with water. At the, lower part of this water space are formed one or more.
doors, openings, or holes (with proper arrangements for opening and closing
them) whereby to get at the interior of the water casing and remove deposits
therefrom..
:
.In the arrangement preferred, which is represented in the accompanying
Drawings, the sides or internal shell of the gasifying space are rounded off and
bent out at bottom, and they join the external sides forming the water. casing,
and. constitute the bottom thereof, being connected thereto by angle or T-iron.
A space is thus left for air to circulate round the lower part of the sides of
the fuel which is heaped up on the grate to a convenient height within the
gasifying space, the gaseous products of combustion from the burning fuel
rising through the upper and unkindled mass in the manner common to this
class. of furnace, so that the carbonic acid gas given off is converted into, oxide

page_text: of carbon and carbonated hydrogen, which passes off to a combustion chamber
to be there mixed with fresh air and burnt for heating purposes. The grate
is on pivots, so that it may be inclined as much as the brickwork allows; to
clean or clear it. Air is blown or forced from beneath the grate up through
its bars into the fuel, admitting it through draft passages in the sides of the
brickwork by an arrangement such as that shown in Figure 3 of the Drawing.
Deposits in the furnace water casing may be prevented by placing the bottom
of the gasifying apparatus level with the water space or tubes of the generator,
with which it communicates by a pipe, so that the deposits that might be pro-
duced would be formed in the generator: At top the furnace water casing-
forms a dome to receive the steam generated therein, whence it is carried off
through a pipe into the generator, steam chamber, or elsewhere. The fuel is
fed in by means of a hopper or sort of charging or feed box, the top and
.bottom of which can be opened and closed in such manner that when it is
desired to charge the box the top is opened and the bottom closed; the fuel
is then thrown in and the top shut, and when the fire is to be fed with fuel the
bottom of the box is opened, when the fuel resting on it will drop into the
furnace. The furnace may be set in metal instead of in brickwork or
masonry.
The above arrangement, which is that preferred for carrying the Invention
into effect, is exemplified in the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, Figure 2, a plan, and Fig. 4, a horizontal
section of the apparatus shewn as applied (by way of example) for heating
the boiler F of a stationary steam engine.
A is the furnace, or, as I call it the gasifying space. or chamber. It is con-
structed of steel, copper, or sheet iron, and is soldered, or it may be drawn or
rolled into shape without soldering. It is surrounded by a sheet iron casing B,
forming a water space z, the upper portion of which forms the dome C. This
space is kept continuously supplied with water, which keeps the shell of the
chamber. A from getting too hot, and the steam which is being constantly
produced in this space passes off from the dome C through a pipe. D, into
the steam chamber E of the boiler F, to which it thus contributes an extra
supply of steam. G is the grate or fire-bars which is or are fitted a short
distance below the sides or wall of the gasifying chamber instead of being
within it, so that a space is left, as shewn, for the air, to circulate round and
against the heap of fuel at the part between the grate or set of fire-bars and
the bottom edge of the sides or sbell of the gasifying space. The fuel is piled-
up on the bars to any desirable height. The bottom edge or lip of the sides or
shell of the chamber A are bent outward and fastened by T-iron attachments:

page_text: to admit the fuel,
to the sides of the water-casing B, and they thus form the bottom of the casing
as shewn. His a blowing machine worked by a steam engine I and used
for forcing in air between the fire-bars through the pipe J. L is the pipe
through which the gases produced in the chamber A pass therefrom into the
combustion chamber R of the boiler F, to be there mixed with fresh
atmospheric air and ignited (in order to be applied for heating the boiler F).
N is a tube through which the gases can escape into the air when desirable.
K, K, are valves for opening and closing the pipes L and N. P is the feed
box closed at top and bottom by doors or plates p, p'. When one of these
doors is opened the other is closed, the top being opened
and the bottom to let it drop on to the fire-bars; both shut
air from entering the space A. M are orifices for getting at
inside of the apparatus; they are so arranged and in such
space between any two of them may be readily attained and cleaned, and this
can be done by opening them at any required intervals; of course, at other
times they are kept carefully closed or plugged in the usual mode of closing
openings of this description. By this arrangement the metal surfaces of the
inside of the casing are kept free from calcareous or other deposits. M' is a
sight hole through which the fuel is inspected and stirred when necessary.
S is the frame on which rest the fire-bars; it has a pair of pivots or journals t,
by means of which it, and hence the bars, may be tilted or inclined till stopped
by coming against the brickwork.
closely to prevent
and cleaning the
number that the
Figure 3 shows the passages J in the side brickwork, through which air is
forced by the blowing machine. When the furnace is set in metal, cast iron is
proposed for the purpose. The rounded form of the chamber A allows of the
stays commonly used in furnaces with water space casings being dispensed
with.
When furnaces of the class to which these improvements refer, which class
of furnace I call "gasifying furnaces," are constructed as herein proposed, that
is, without rivets or such like attachments, they are, of course, free form the
liability of coming to pieces from the circumstance of rivets getting loose or a
connecting frame becoming displaced.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First, the construction of what I call "gasifying furnaces or apparatus" in
which are combined the three features or arrangements herein-before
described, that is to say:-(1) placing the grate or fire-bars outside of or
below and away from the side or shell of the gasifying space as described;
(2), forming the shell, sides, or skin of the gasifying space soldered and not

page_text: revetted, and without a connecting frame; and (3), arranging the grate or
fire-bars as described, so as to leave a space for air to circulate in round the
heap of fuel at the part below the bottom of the shell or sides of the gasifying
space, so keeping the fuel cool at that part, the bottom of the shell or sides of
the gasifying space being bent outward so as to present no joint seam or
fastening to the fire.
Second, the construction of what I call gasifying furnaces or apparatus, in
which any two of the three features referred to in the foregoing claim are
combined.
Third, the arrangement of one or more orifices or doors at the lower part
of the outer casing for the purpose of getting at the interior thereof and
removing deposits therefrom.
Fourth, the arrangement and combination of parts constituting the furnace
or apparatus herein-before particularly described and represented in the
accompanying Drawings.
Fifth, constructing "gasifying" furnaces or apparatus in such manner that
all joints, rivets, or such like fastenings on the inside of the skin or shell of
the gasifying space or chamber shall be wholly or nearly dispensed with, such
object being carried into effect by any suitable means, but particularly by the
combination of means herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
5 Witness,
S. E. A. NEWSOME,
Patent Office,
84, Fleet Street, London.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)