IMPROVEMENTS STEAM BOILERS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-BOXES AND WATER TUBES FOR THESE AND FOR OTHER STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas James Smith, of the Firm of Robert-
IN
son, Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
STEAM BOILERS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-BOXES AND WATER TUBES
FOR THESE AND FOR OTHER STEAM BOILERS."-A communication from
abroad by Johann Christian Carsten Meyn, of Carlshütte, near
Rondohuse in the Kingdom of Pri
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas James Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th April 1878.
I, THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM BOILERS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-BOXES AND WATER TUBES FOR
THESE AND FOR OTHER STEAM BOILERS," to be as follows: -
This Invention relates, firstly, to steam boilers of the vertical kind,
and consists in surmounting the fire-box with a double circle or two

page_text: rows of tubes at different elevations, one row or series being arranged
in larger diameter to form smoke passages, while the other row or
series of smaller diameter form water tubes or passages, the products
of combustion playing all round them for heating the water therein.
The water tubes have rounded sides, and these are corrugated or
fluted from end to end, the plates into which they fit being shaped
to correspond. The lower ends of the smaller diameter or water tubes
are attached to a shield or division plate, to the inner edge of which
a conical cylindrically chambered fire-box is secured. The upper ends
of the larger diameter or smoke tubes are attached to a top partition 1
plate from which rises the steam dome, from the upper part of which
a pipe conveys the steam into a coil of piping arranged in the
smoke way for superheating the steam before it finds an exit to the
engine.
The conical cylindrical fire-box has a hood projecting from one 1
portion of it, beneath which the furnace bars are arranged, the meeting
edges or flanges of both being turned upwards on the outside to prevent
obstruction to the passage of flame and gases from the fire. If the
boiler is to be heated by the hot blast or by the escaping gases from
puddling or other furnaces the hood is dispensed with, the conical a
cylindrical fire-box being sufficient to lead the gases into or between
the double row of tubes first referred to.
The two rows of tubes are of different shapes, the upper ones being
circular in cross section, the lower ones being flattish, but rounded on
the sides with corrugations or flutings from end to end. In some cases
the round sided tubes are tapered in cross sections to equalize the area
of the smoke way between them.
The conical cylindrical fire-box with the hood forms the second
part of this Invention it being applicable to other steam boilers than
the one above described, and the flat, rounded, and corrugated sided
water tubes (tapered or parallel) form the third part of this Invention,
to which claims will be made in the Final Specification to be lodged
hereafter.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas James Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company,
of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas James Smith, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas James Smith, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas James Smith, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-BOXES AND
WATER TUBES FOR THESE AND FOR OTHER STEAM BOILERS," communicated
to me from abroad by Johann Christian Carsten Meyn, of Carlshütte,
near Rendsburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas James Smith, 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
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 James Smith, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
n and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :--
This Invention relates, firstly, to steam boilers of the vertical kind,
nd consists in surmounting the fire-box with a double circle ortwo

page_text: rows of flattened tubes at different elevations, one row or series being
arranged in larger circle or diameter to form smoke passages, while the
other row or series of smaller circle or diameter form water tubes or
passages, the products of combustion playing all round them for heating
the water therein.
5
The water tubes have rounded sides, and these are corrugated or fluted
nearly from end to end, the plates into which they fit being shaped to
correspond. The lower ends of the smaller circle or diameter of water
tubes are attached to a shield or division plate, to the inner edge of
which a conical cylindrically chambered fire-box is secured. The upper 1
ends of the larger circle or diameter of smoke tubes are attached to a
top partition plate, from which rises the steam dome, from the upper
part of which a pipe conveys the steam into a coil of piping arranged in
the smoke way for superheating the steam before it finds an exit to
the engine.
The conical cylindical fire-box has a hood projecting from one portion
of it, beneath which the furnace bars are arranged, the meeting edges
or flanges of both being turned upwards on the outside to prevent
obstruction to the passage of flame and gases from the fire. If the
boiler is to be heated by the hot blast or by the escaping gases from
puddling or other furnaces, the hood is dispensed with, the conical
cylindrical fire-box being sufficient to lead the gases into or between
the double row of tubes first referred to.
The two rows of tubes are of different shapes, the upper ones being
circular or flat in cross section, the lower ones being flat but rounded
on the sides with indents, corrugations, or flutings from end to end. In
some cases the rounded sided tubes are tapered in cross sections to
The conical
equalize the area of the smoke way between them.
cylindrical fire-box with the hood forms the second part of this Invention,
it being applicable to other steam boilers than the one above described
and the flat, rounded, and corrugated sided water tubes (tapered or
parallel) form the third part of this Invention.
The Invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a vertical boiler complete with
the several improvements therein; A is the boiler skin, in the water
snace of which is a double screen of tubes, B, C, of flat form, and

page_text: arranged in different circles one above the other, the lower ones B acting
as water tubes, and the upper or larger circle O as smoke tubes. The
central space D, between the smaller or lower circle of tubes, forms a
smoke and gas chamber, and in which the principal products of com-
bustion are utilized for heating purposes before they pass through
between the lower circle of tubes in a broken up condition, the products
commingling again in the annular space E to be again broken up in
passing through the upper circle of tubes C on their way to the smoke
stack or chimney F. The products which are mostly gaseous from the
circuitous route they have to take, are almost entirely consumed before
they reach the smoke chamber G in which the escaping products and
the waste are checked before they finally escape by a coil of piping G',
arranged at the upper part of the smoke chamber H, as will be under-
stood by the Drawings. The coil of piping is the conduit by which
the steam is conveyed from the boiler A to the engine, and its position is
such that the steam is partially superheated before it leaves the boiler
skin by its outlet. The flat tubes both smoke and water B, C, are
connected to the boiler lining I by their flanged ends, and the lining is
attached to the skin A, as shown. The gas consumption chamber D is
of larger diameter than the top of the fire-box cone J, so that the
products on rising through the cone are somewhat compressed, after
which they expand in the gas chamber and become consumed or nearly
so in that chamber. The cone of the fire-box is directly over a portion
of the fire-bars K, their front portion being roofed by a hood L, which
is also coned or narrowed at its back end to cause the smoke and gases
that rise from the front of the fire to be depressed, and thereby brought
into close contact with the more incandescent fuel which is at the back
portion of the grate. By this means the smoke is more or less consumed
before it passes to the gas chamber, and its heating properties utilized
to the greatest extent.
Figure 2 shows a sectional view of one of the upper circle of tubes,
the sides of which in this section are corrugated, and with one rounded
end of larger semi-diameter than the other, so as to equalize the smoke
area between every two tubes of the circle, and also to equalize the
the tabo
max.

page_text: ring of circular tubes M to form a double circle of smoke tubes, or if
arranged below they would form a double circle of water tubes with the
flat tubes.
The cone of the fire-box with the hood is shown separately in Figure 5
and with outside flanges, which go into the water space of the boiler and
prevent obstructions to the passage of the flame and gases.
The hood may be dispensed with in some cases, and then the whole
of the fire-bars arranged below the cone, or the fire-bars can be dispensed
with and the boiler be heated by the hot blast from below or from the
escaping gases of puddling or other furnaces. This will be understood
by reference to Figures 6 and 7 where the passage for the blast to the
fire-box cone is up the shaft N to impinge against the roof of the gas
chamber before it separates to pass between the water tubes, as before
explained.
The boiler shown in Figure 6 is somewhat differently arranged inter-
nally from that shown at Figure 1, but the action as far as the heating
is concerned is essentially the same, as will be seen.
The tubes indented or not on their sides are made with flat sided ends
and with more or less curvilinear sides between the two ends, which
ends are to be fitted in the inside boiler bottoms, which are provided a
with cut holes in the same curvilinear manner, to suit the tubes for the
proper joining and fastening of them, preferably by hydraulic pressure.
This fire-box is improved by avoiding any lapped and rivetted seams,
which might come in contact with the fire where the arched front piece
of this box is joined to the conical or cylindrical piece; this is effected 2
by bending the plate edges, as shewn in the Drawings, so that the joints
stand prominently in the inside water space of the boiler.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. The construction of vertical boilers with circles of different 3
diameters of flat and rounded tubes in combination, and the method of
economizing the heat by the cone of the fire-box in the manner
described and shown in Figure 1 of the Drawings.
Secondly. The modified construction of vertical boiler shown at
Figure 6 of the Drawings as described.
38

page_text: Thirdly. The employment of vertical tubes of flat rounded sides
and flat ends, arranged in the manner and for the purposes set forth
and shown.
Fourthly. The construction and employment of hooded fire-boxes of
vertical boilers, in the manner described and shown.
Fifthly. I claim the conical open crown to fire-boxes of vertical boilers
alone or in combination with the hood as set forth and as shown in the
several Figures of the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas James Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of October One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.