IMPROVEMENTS IN FERD- ING BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS APPLIED THERETO
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fletcher, of Bow, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FERD-
ING BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS
APPLIED THERETO."-A communication from abroad by Donald Skekel
Altando al bath of Thomas Tading
Sealed the 10th August 1869, and dated the 16th February 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fletcher at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th February 1869.
I, JOHN FLETCHER, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FEEDING BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS
APPLIED THERETO," to be as follows, that is to say 1-
The Invention consists, firstly, in applying an arrangement of
mechanism or apparatus to the begass furnace, whereby it is fed in a
more continuous, regular, and economical manner than by matinal labour.
This mechanism or apparatus consists of a hollow trunk or chamber of a
square or rectangular form inside (having its four inner sides planed)

page_text: fixed in a horizontal position in front of the begass furnace, and having
one end connected thereto and communicating with it. The upper side
of the trunk is fitted with a hopper to receive the begass, having a hole
in its bottom communicating with the inside of the trunk through a
corresponding hole in the top of the trunk. The trunk is fitted with
a hollow piston open at one of its ends and closed at the other end. The
upper edge of the piston at the end nearest to the furnace and which is
the closed end of the piston is fitted with a shearing knife; the corre-
sponding edge of the upper side of the trunk is also fitted with a shearing
knife. These knives are fixed at an angle and at contrary angles to each
other, so that the whole length of the cutting edges. may not come into
action at the same time. A forward and backward motion is given to
the piston by means of a crank which is connected by suitable gearing to
a steam engine which causes the crank to revolve. The piston is con-
nected to the said crank by means of a rod with a suitable joint at each
end. The piston is made slightly deeper than the width of the hole in
the bottom of the hopper so as to prevent the begass falling into the
trunk behind the piston. When the piston has reached the extremity of
its stroke in the direction of the furnace it recedes in its backward
motion to the full extent of or more than the width of the hole in the
bottom of the hopper to allow the begass to fall from the hopper into the
trunk beneath, when on the return stroke of the piston it is sheared off
and forced by the piston into the furnace.
The second part of the Invention consists in an arrangement of
mechanism applicable to begass furnaces for the purpose of cleaning the
bars next to the sides of the furnace from slags or other obstructions.
The mechanism consists of knives worked by the motion of the piston
herein-before described, each side of the 'piston being fitted with a
projecting stud working in a slot in the side of the trunk. Each of these
studs is fitted with a connecting rod with a suitable joint for connecting
and disconnecting when required. The opposite ends of these connecting
rods are attached to one end of each of the lifting knives by means of
suitable joints and pins, and the opposite ends of the lifting knives are
connected to a fixed bearing bar by suitable joints and pins. The knives,
of which there may be one or more at cach side of the furnace, are placed
immediately beneath the furnace bars, and so pitched that they will
when put in motion pass up between the furnace bars at each stroke of
the piston.

page_text: .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FLETCHER, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, sand
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Fletcher, Her special
licence that I, the said John Fletcher, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Fletcher, 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 FEEDING BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN BEGASS FURNACES, AND IN APPARATUS
APPLIED THERETO," (a communication to him from abroad by Donald
Skekel and Alexander Skekel, both of Demerara, West Indies,) upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Fletcher, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
3 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Fletcher, 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 in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto annexed,
and to the Figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
The Invention consists, firstly, in applying an arrangement of
5 mechanism or apparatus to the begass furnace whereby it is fed in a
more continuous, regular, and economical manner than by manual labour.

page_text: This mechanism or apparatus consists of a hollow trunk or chamber
of a square or rectangular form inside (having its four inner sides
planed) fixed in a horizontal position in front of the begass furnace,
and having one end connected thereto and communicating with it,
The upper side of the trunk is fitted with a hopper to receive the begass,
having a hole in its bottom communicating with the inside of the trunk
through a corresponding hole in the top of the trunk. The trunk is
fitted with a hollow piston open at one of its ends and closed at the
other end. The upper edge of the piston at the end nearest to the furnace,
and which is the closed end of the piston, is fitted with a shearing
knife; the corresponding edge of the upper side of the trunk is also
fitted with a shearing knife. These knives are fixed at an angle and at
contrary angles to each other, so that the whole length of the cutting
edges may not come into action at the same time. A forward and
backward motion is given to the piston by means of a crank which is
connected by suitable gearing to a steam engine which causes the crank
to revolve. The piston is connected to the said crank by means of a rod
with a suitable joint at each end. The piston is made slightly deeper
than the width of the hole in the bottom of the hopper so as to prevent
the hegass falling into the trunk behind the piston, When the piston
has reached the extremity of its stroke in the direction of the furnace it
recedes in its backward motion to the full extent of or more than the
width of the hole in the bottom of the hopper to allow the begass to fall
from the hopper into the trunk beneath, when on the return stroke of
the piston it is sheared off and forced by the piston into the furnace.
The second part of the Invention consists in an arrangement of
mechanism applicable to begass furnaces for the purpose of cleaning the
bars next to the sides of the furnace from slags or other obstructions.
The mechanism consists of knives worked by the motion of the piston
herein-before described, each side of the piston being fitted with a
projecting stud working in a slot in the side of the trunk. Each of
these studs is fitted with a connecting rod with a suitable joint for con-
necting and disconnecting when required. The opposite ends of these
connecting rods are attached to one end of each of the lifting knives by
means of suitable joints and pins, and the opposite ends of the lifting
knives are connected to a fixed bearing bar by suitable joints and pins,
The knives, of which there may be one or more at each side of the
furnace, are placed immediately beneath the furnace bars, and so pitched

page_text: that they will when put in motion pass up between the furnace bars at
éach stroke of the piston.
To make the Invention communicated to me better understood I will
now proceed to describe the same by reference to the accompanying
Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan of two begass furnaces with the
machinery or apparatus for feeding the same applied thereto, shewing
also the mechanism for clearing the side bars of the begass furnace;
Figure 2, elevation, partly in section, of the same. Similar letters of
reference are used in both Fgures to represent similar parts.
I will first describe the feeding apparatus:-A, A, are the hollow
trunks or chambers of a rectangular form inside; they are fixed in
front of the begass furnaces B, B, and are carried by the brackets O.
Each trunk is connected at one end to and communicates with. its
respective furnace, as shewn; D, D, are the hoppers on the upper
sides of the trunks. E, E, are the hollow pistons furnished at
their closed ends with the shearing knives a, a; b, b, corresponding
knives on the edges of the upper sides of the trunks; F, F, are the
cranks giving a forward and backward motion to the pistons E, E, to
which they are connected by the rods G, G, having proper joints c, d, at
each end; H is the steam engine giving motion to the shafts of the
cranks F, F, by the gearing I, I. It will be seen by the Drawing that
only one steam engine is required to work the feeding apparatus of
the two furnaces. g, g, brackets supporting the driving shafts J, J;
k, k, tension rods connecting the brackets g, g, to the brackets O, Ơ, sa
as to partly relieve the former from the thrust of the hollow pistons E, E;
e, platform for the begass; h, h, furnace mouth and dead plate.
The action is as follows:-The begass is brought in the usual
manner to the platform e, from which it is thrown into the hopper D,
the hollow piston E being at the opposite end of the trunk to that
shewn in the Drawing. The begass falls from the hopper through
the opening into the trunk, and is sheared off by the knives a, b,
in the next forward stroke of the piston and forced into the furnace.
By this arrangement it will be seen that each forward stroke of
the hollow piston E cuts off and forces into the furnace a certain
quantity of begass, the quantity depending on the size of the
opening in the trunk and hopper. In the mechanism for alearing
the bars next the sides of the furnaces from slags or other obstruc-
tions, K, K, are the knives jointed at i to the fixed bearing bars j.

page_text: The other ends of the knives are jointed at 7 to the connecting rods L, L,
passing through the boxes M built in the front wall of ash-pit. These
rods are furnished near their other ends with joints for connecting and
disconnecting them with the projecting studs m, m, fixed to the hollow
pistons E, E. n, n, slots made in the sides of the trunks for the
studs m, m, to work in. By this arrangement at each backward stroke
of the piston the knives are brought up between the outer furnace bars
and the sides of the furnaces, and will thus clear them of slags or
obstructions. When the knives are not required to be used the
rods L, L, are disconnected from the studs m, m, and will remain
with the knives in the position shewn in the Drawing. More than one
knife at each side of the furnace may be employed if required.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me, and the manner of performing the same, what I claim as new and
intended to be protected by the said in part recited Letters Patent is,—
Firstly. The construction and application of feeding mechanism to
begass furnaces, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. The employment of knives K, K, worked by the piston of
the foeding mechanism, substantially in the manner and for the purpose
herein-before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John, Fletcher, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
W. A. GILBEE,
No. 4, South St.,
Finsbury.
JOHN FLETCHER. (L.S.)