Improvements in and relating to Furnaces for Locomotive and other Steam Boilers and the like, and to the Supply of Fuel thereto.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1899
Improvements in and relating to Furnaces for Locomotive and other
Steam Boilers and the like, and to the Supply of Fuel thereto.
I, DANIEL BRADFORD DEVORE, Captain in the Infantry Service of the United
States Army, of S.E. Corner of 17th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C., U.S.A., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention has reference to improvements in stokers or feeders for steam
boilers and furnaces, and consists of certain novel features of construction which
will be hereinafter fully described in the specification, elucidated in the drawing,
and pointed out in the claim.
The object of the present invention is to provide simple, economical, convenient
and efficient means for utilizing pulverized coal, or impalpable dust in furnaces
and steam boilers. Many devices have come before the public for utilizing
these products, but none thus far has given results sufficient satisfactory to
warrant their adoption from a practical standpoint.
The failures are owing to means employed in feeding, and also in producing
proper or complete combustions of said products.
The present invention is designed to overcome all these difficulties, and at
the same time to consume only a minimum amount of fuel, in volatilizing a
maximum bulk of pulverized coal, thus producing an intense heat by the means
I employ for producing these results.
My invention consists in introducing tubing transversely within a fire box,
the free ends being secured to the water legs so that the water can circulate
through said tubes.
My invention further consists in providing a water-back which is preferably
placed between the rows of tubes and also secured to the water legs which consti-
tute said fire-box; the water circulating in a similar manner as explained with
reference to said tubes.
My invention further and mainly consists in surrounding said water-back
with broken terra cotta or similar material, and held in position by the transverse
tubes previously referred to.
My invention further consists in providing by means of said water-back an
additional or supplemental box or compartment for giving increased heat to the
gases as they are evolved from the heated terra cotta pile.
My invention further consists in providing a closed.chamber under the supple-
mental box for receiving compressed air or super heated steam in combination
with the pulverized coal, and one or more openings from said chamber for allow-
ing the products to pass through the interstices of the terra cotta pile, which
becomes red hot by means of the ordinary furnace fire, thus allowing the
pulverized coal or its equivalent to become transformed into intensely heated
gases.
My invention further consists in arranging a removable funnel or stoker for

page_text: depositing fuel in the fire box and means for removing or swinging said stoker
to one side free from the furnace door when occasion may require.
My invention further consists in a reservoir for pulverized coal and an air
pipe entering said reservoir for forcing said coal dust into a furnace through
the medium of a dust delivery pipe.
To more fully understand my invention I will proceed to describe the drawings,
in which
Figure represents a side elevation and section partly broken away, of a
locomotive and its accompanying tender; exhibiting my improved device;
Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a central longitudinal section and front eleva-
tion of an ordinary steam boiler and furnace having my device applied thereto.
My invention consists in securing water pipes or tubes A, transversely in a
fire box a, and securing said tubes to the water legs of the fire box.
Situated centrally between said tubes and also secured to the water legs is a
water back B. Surrounding said water back is broken terra cotta b, or similar
substance, which is held in position by said transverse tubes A, thus forming a
transverse pile across the fire-box, which will be hereinafter more fully set forth.
The fire box has two compartments which are formed by the terra cotta pile b
previously referred to. The rear compartment is provided with a grate a¹ of
ordinary construction, and a supplemental tilting grate a². These grates support
the coal for heating the terra cotta pile; the coal is fed to the fire box
by an automatic stoker D, located immediately in front of the furnace door in
the cab of the engine.
When necessary to examine the interior of the fire box the stoker D is pushed
to one side through the medium of the hinges d d, which adapt it to swing flat
against the boiler and away from the throttle valve, gauge cocks and reversing
lever by this arrangement no inconvenience is experienced by the engineer.
The forward compartment of the fire box gives additional heat to gases as they
pass through the boiler tubes; immediately under the terra cotta pile and
forming a solid bottom to this partition of the fire box is a transverse chamber e,
which is provided with an opening e for allowing the fine pulverized coal to be
forced through the interstices of the terra cotta pile by means of compressed air
or superheated steam.
Located in the tender of the engine is a hermetically sealed reservoir G, for
holding pulverized coal and which is provided with a cover g. Entering at
the bottom of said reservoir is a pipe I, for supplying compressed air or steam
for forcing the pulverized product into the fire box of the engine; the pipe as
shown in the drawing, Fig. 1, can terminate at the bottom of said reservoir, or it
can be extended as shown in dotted lines and extend to the top and partly enter
the fuel supply pipe of said reservoir.
Extending from the top of the reservoir previously referred to is a large
pipe G forming a goose neck, which is connected to a pipe G³, by means of a
flexible coupling gl and extending into the chamber e for supplying the pulverized
coal as previously stated.
The supply reservoir is located on the boiler, the compressed air pipe and fuel
supply pipe are similar to those previously described, for feeding the fuel into
the furnace, with this exception-the delivery end of pipe G2 is bifurcated and
delivers the powdered fuel on both sides of the water back, into the terra cotta
pile and not into the closed chamber, as shown in Fig. 1.
Referring to Figures 2 and 3,
The device for removing the stoker is supported by a crane, which is provided
with a track and trolley, said trolley being connected to the stoker by rods or
wire ropes; by this means the stoker can be pulled out from the fire door and
then swung around by its supporting crane, which is pivoted to ears secured to
the boiler.
When operating my improved device, the reservoir G is filled with pulverized
coal or impalpable powder, the man hole cover g being securely fastened, the

page_text: operator starts the fire in the furnace, and after it is under way the stoker D
is filled when this part of the apparatus becomes automatic; all that is necessary
is to shake the pivoted grate a² occasionally when a larger quantity of coal is
required on the fire than the stoker can deliver through gravity, when not full
of coal; as said fire in transit to the boiler tubes must consequently pass over
and through the terra cotta pile thus making it red hot, when this stage is
reached the operator opens the valve h on the locomotive which carries a current
of compressed air or superheated steam into the fuel reservoir G (the air com-
pressor or superheater is not shown in the drawing as they are too well known
to require illustration) which forces or draws the fine particles of pulverized
coal through the pipes G¹g and G2, respectively into the chamber c from which
it passes through the opening e¹ through the interstices of the terra cotta, from
which it instantly issues in volumes of intensely heated gases, by this method
or process of utilizing fine particles of coal or dust, there is no clogging of the
furnace which has heretofore been the difficulty with pulverized feed burners,
as the fine fuel is regulated by the valve h previously referred to, it is evident
the fire can be regulated by this means of feeding this fine fuel to any degree of
temperature. An arrangement could be devised to make the entire device
automatic, that is, make the heat of the furnace operate the valve by means of
a lever and expansion rod, but that part of the invention would perhaps be
the subject of another application with other devices connected therewith.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a furnace for steam boilers and other like purposes, the combination
of water tubes situated transversely in said furnace, and connecting with the
water legs of a fire box, and broken terra cotta piled between said tubes forming
a transverse wall across said fire box for the passage of pulverized coal and the
means for feeding said coal, substantially as described.
2. In a furnace for steam boilers and other like purposes, the combination of
water tubes situated transversely in said furnace, and connecting with the water
legs of a fire box, a water back located centrally between said tubes, and terra
cotta surrounding said water-back for the passage of atomized coal through the
medium of an air blast, substantially as described.
3. The herein described method of forcing fine or powdered coal through a
terra cotta pile or its equivalent, in a furnace by means of an air blast or super-
heated steam as described and specified.
4. The herein described method or process of forcing pulverized coal through
the interstices of broken terra cotta or its equivalent, piled transversely in a
furnace or fire box between water tubes, by means of an air blast or superheated
steam, as specified.
5. The herein described process or method of utilizing a common fire for heating
a pile of terra cotta arranged over a water back, and held in position by trans-
verse water tubes, and adapted to transform pulverized coal into a gaseous
condition through the medium of an air blast for the purposes described.
6. The herein described process of utilizing an automatic feeding device for a
fire for heating a transverse pile of terra-cotta or its equivalent arranged between
water tubes and adapted to volatilize fine coal or its equivalent through the action
of an air or superheated steam blast, substantially as described.
7. In a furnace for steam boilers and other like purposes a stoker pivotally
secured before a fire door and adapted to feed fuel to a furnace in combination
with a terra cotta pile arranged between water tubes, and an air blast for feeding
pulverized coal into and through said terra cotta pile, substantially as described.
8. In a furnace for steam boilers and other like purposes, the combination of
a fire box provided with an ordinary fire, a terra cotta wall or pile extending
across said fire box, forming two compartments, a hollow box or chamber under

page_text: said fire box, a fuel supply pipe communicating with said chamber, and an air
pipe in an atomized coal reservoir for forcing said coal into the terra cotta pile,
substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 10th day of Anril 1800
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, Agents.