IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES FOR THE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION AND ECONOMISATION OF FUEL
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Orlando Thomas Newton, of North Egremont,
in the County of Chester, Engineer, and George Alexander Newton,
of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILER AND OTHER FURNACES
FOR THE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION AND ECONOMISATION OF FUEL."
Sealed the 4th December 1868, and dated the 5th June 1868.

page_text: the body of steam boiler and other furnaces when fuel is freshly fed to
such furnaces, which supply of air continues to enter into the body of
the furnace until the top bed of such freshly fed fuel becomes
incandescent when the admission of air from that point is cut off, and
then only enters between the fire-bars in the ordinary manner. The
result of this method of air supplying is that no smoke is evolved, and
consequently a greater effect is produced from a given quantity of fuel
than has hitherto been practicable. The cool air is considered essential
as in that state it contains more oxygen bulk for bulk than when heated,
and therefore we prefer to admit the air in bulk or "en masse" at one
or more orifices formed in the door or framework of such furnaces, which
orifices are arranged to be closed by doors worked by self-acting
nechanism or by hand.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Orlando Thomas Newton and George Alexander
Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ORLANDO
THOMAS NEWTON, of North Egremont, in the County of Chester,
Engineer, and GEORGE ALEXANDER NEWTON, of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-first
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Orlando Thomas Newton and George Alexander
Newton, Her special licence that we, the said Orlando Thomas Newton
and George Alexander Newton, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Orlando Thomas Newton and
George Alexander Newton, our 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 APPLICABLE STEAM BOILER
AND OTHER FURNACES FOR THE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION AND ECONOMISATION
or FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others), that we, the said
ΤΟ

page_text: Orlando Thomas Newton and George Alexander Newton, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said Orlando Thomas Newton and George
Alexander Newton, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this Invention is to supply atmospheric air in bulk and
in a cool state on to the top surface of freshly fed fuel in steam boiler
and other furnaces as- herein-after described, instead of admitting the
necessary air to support combustion through the fire-bars and through
the fuel, as hitherto practised.
Now this Invention consists in forming one or more holes, openings,
or apertures in the fire-door, framework, dead plate, or brickwork of
such furnaces of sufliciently large area to supply the full quantity of
atmosplieric air in bulk and in a cool state on to the top surface of the
freshly fed fuel without any air being required at the same time to pass
through the fire-bars, such holes, openings, or apertures only remaining
open until the top bed of the freshly fed fuel becomes red hot and in-
candescent, when such holes, openings, or apertures are closed, and the
supply of air then passes between the fire-bars in the usual manner.
The advantage of this method of air supplying is that complete con-
bustion takes place, in consequence of the air entering the furnace in
bulk and in a cold state, as in that state it contains bulk for bulk more
oxygen than when heated, which oxygen is immediately supplied to the
gases liberated from the freshly fed fuel to form carbonaceous com-
bustion, and the result is that no smoke is evolved, or if evolved it
is consumed, and a greater heating effect is produced from a given
quantity of fuel than is practicable from any other method of supplying
air.
The principle upon which this Invention works is seen in the ordinary
Argand gas burner, as the tendency of the air entering the furnace in
bulk is to produce a tapered arch or cylinder of flame round the current
or stream of air similar to the flame of an Argánd gas burner, the

page_text: narrowest end of such tapered arch or cylinder of flame being next the
furnace door, whilst the widest is against the bridge and a great portion
of the flame is caused to return from the bridge towards the furnace
door again, giving out its great heat meanwhile in the body of the
furnace, and thence such flame (being of greater length in this than in
any other method of supplying air) passes over the bridge and through
the boiler flues.
In order that this our said Invention may be the more readily seen
and understood we have hereunto annexed a Drawing of several
modifications of our improvements applicable to steam boiler and other
furnaces drawn to a scale of about quarter size. Similar letters are used
to denote similar parts throughout the several views.
Fig. 1 is a front view, Fig. 2 a side sectional view, and Fig. 3 a
sectional plan of the fire-door and portion of the framework of a steam
boiler or other furnace shewing one modification of our improvements
applied thereto.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 A is the furnace door hinged to the framework B
in the usual manner and constructed with four horizontal openings or
wide slots C formed through its front plate; D is a vertical door sliding
in close contact with the front plate of the door A upon the guide
bolts E, which pass through the vertical slots F. Wide slots or openings
are formed in such door to correspond with those constructed in the
front plate of the door A, so that as such door slides up and down the
slots or openings Care.opened and closed. This door is connected by
the link G to one arm of the double-armed lever H, which works upon
a fulcrum on the standard I and has a weight affixed to a rod J
suspended from its other arm to counterbalance the weight of the sliding
door A. The rod J passes into a cistern containing mercury, and the
closing of the slots in the door A is governed by the displacement of the
mercury. L is a nozzle affixed to the door A having tapered sides (as
seen in the plan Fig. 3) and a rectangular mouth M opening into the
furnace; this mouth is of the same area as the combined areas of the
openings C, and is situated in the central line of the furnace, so as to
collect and concentrate the blast of all the air entering through the slots
or openings C upon the top bed of the fuel in the furnace, which blast
of atmospheric air is carried over the dead plate by means of this
nozzle.
The action of this modification may be thus described:-When fresh

page_text: fuel is supplied to the furnace the sliding door D is lowered by the upper
end of this lever I coming against an inclined stop so as to open the
slots or openings C (as seen in Figs. 1 and 2), and thus admit sufficient
air through them alone to support the fire without any air passing
between the fire-bars at the same time, the pressure of air entering the
furnace through the slots C being sufficient to supply the fire and to
overcome the pressure of the air entering between the fire-bars, as the
combined areas of the slots and the area of the mouth of the nozzle L
are large enough to admit a proper quantity of air to support complete
combustion until the top bed of the freshly fed fuel becomes red hot and
incandescent, when the sliding door D may be raised so as to close the
openings or slots C, and thus cut off the admission of air through the
fire-door, when the necessary air will then enter the furnace between the
fire-bars in the ordinary manner.
Fig. 4 represents a front view; Fig. 5 a side sectional view; and
Fig. 6 a sectional plan of another furnace door and framework, shewing
another modification of our improvements.
In these views (Figs. 4, 5, 6), N represents the ordinary fire-door
hinged in the usual manner to the framework, but such door is con-
structed with a single rectangular hole O formed through its centre,
and is provided with a nozzle P', the mouth of which is circular, as seen
in plan Fig. 6. This nozzle is also constructed of such a length as to
reach over the dead plate Q (see plan) so as to deliver the air direct
on to the fuel lying on the fire-bars R. This hole O is arranged to be
closed by the two plates or half doors S, which advance towards each
other and meet in the centre, being hung or suspended upon the
upper extremities of the four parallel bars T, which work upon the
fixed studs U, the two middle parallel bars being linked together at
their lower extremities, the short arm V being hinged or jointed to the
double lever W, which in its turn is connected by the connecting rod X
to the actuating lever Y working on a fixed stud on the top of the fire-
door framework, so that as the longest arm of such actuating lever is
raised or depressed the doors advance towards and recede from one
another, thus opening and closing the orifice or hole O. The parallel
bar nearest to the hinge of the door is arranged with a short arm
projecting from its lower extremity, which is designed to press against
the swell or projection Z formed on the hinge, whilst the furnace door
is opening, so that every time the furnace door turns on its hinge the
hole O is simultaneously opened.

page_text: The method of working this modification is the same as that described
in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Fig. 7 is a sectional plan, and Fig. 8 a front elevation of another
modification of our improvements, in which views the air enters the
furnace by passing first through the openings a formed in the frame-
work on either side of the door b, and thence through the hollow door
itself into the nozzle C, the side edges of the door being bevelled
as illustrated. The dotted lines represent the door partially open.
The openings: a may be opened and closed in the manner described in
reference to Figs. 4, 5, and 6.
Fig. 9 is a sectional plan, and Fig. 10 a front view of a furnace door,
shewing how the air may enter the furnace through openings don
either side of the door itself, and thence be conveyed in the direction
of the arrows into the furnace through the nozzle e.
Fig. 11 is a front view, and Fig. 12 a sectional plan of another
modification of our improvements, shewing a method of admitting the
air into the body of the furnace direct, without passing through the
door. In Figs. 11 and 12, f represents an iron pipe or tube, one, two,
or more of which may be situated above the fire-door g in the frame-
work h, and arranged to project into the furnace above the fire a
distance of from two to three feet according to the length of the fire-
bars. This pipe or tube conveys the air in bulk and in a cold state
into the furnace, and may be constructed with a jacket or outer tube
surrounding it, so as to allow the water in the boiler to circulate through
it, or the feed water may be passed through such pipe before entering
the boiler. Solid fire-clay or iron pipes might be used for the same
purpose.
In the last three modifications described and illustrated by Figs.
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 no method of closing the various openings has been
described, as this may be done in various ways, the working of these
modifications being the same as that described in connection with
Figs. 1, 2, and 3, viz., to open the apertures upon supplying fresh fuel
and to close them when such fuel becomes red hot and incandescent.
From the foregoing description it will be readily apparent that the
different ways of admitting the atmospheric air in bulk and in a cold
state into a furnace may be multiplied indefinitely, as it may enter from
the furnace.door, framework, hearth plate, or brickwork, and that such
supply of air only enters the furnace when fresh fuel has been supplied,

page_text: and that during its admission it is not necessary that any air should
enter at the same time between the fire-bars, such supply of air to the
body of the furnace being discontinued as soon as the newly fed fuel
becomes red hot and incandescent.
It is a great advantage to have the supply of air to the body of the
furnace admitted by self-acting mechanism, but as this forms no part of
our Invention we have not attempted to describe any self-acting method
of closing the doors.
In concluding the description of our Invention we deem it advisable
to give some practical directions for ascertaining the proper size of the
holes, apertures, or openings for admitting atmospheric air in bulk and
in a cold state into furnaces so as to derive the maximum advantage
from the use of our Invention. The size or area of such openings or
of the mouth of the nozzle will differ with almost every furnace, and
will depend upon the construction and shape of the flues, the draught
in the chimney, the space betwixt the fire-bars and various other
circumstances, in fact it is impossible to construct two doors for different
furnaces alike, so that the only plan of arriving at the exact size of such
holes, openings, or apertures is to open the furnace door wide, and
having supplied fresh fuel to the furnace, then to take two pieces of
sheet metal with straight edges and to place their edges a little distance
apart, say two inches, with their flat surfaces against the door frame,
so as only to allow the air to pass into the body of the furnace between
the parallel edges of such plates, then by watching the chimney to see
how far the edges of such plates must be apart to prevent any smoke
being evolved, when it will be found in every case that there is a certain
and fixed area required for the admission of air, as if the plates are
too far apart or too near together the chimney will smoke, so that
having once fixed the limits it becomes easy to make the holes,
openings, or apertures of the right size and of any shape which will give
the same area.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
our said Invention, together with the best methods with which we are
acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to be
distinctly understood that we are fully aware that air has been admitted
through the fire-doors and other parts of steam boiler and other
furnaces through small holes and orifices of small area to assist the
combustion of the smoke, but these attempts have been unsuccessful
in consequence of the air becoming heated and rarified and therefore

page_text: useless for the purpose; and we wish it to be further understood that
we do not confine ourselves to the precise details, relative proportions, or
dimensions or shape of the several holes, apertures, orifices, or nozzles
for the admission of air, as the same may be multiplied in form and
considerably varied without departing from the Invention, but what we
do claim is,
1st. The use and application of one or more holes, openings, or
apertures of large area formed in the furnace door, framework, hearth
plate or brickwork of steam boiler and other furnaces for admitting
atinospheric air in bulk and in a cold state into the body of such
furnaces, when fresh fuel is supplied without at the same time requiring
any air to enter the furnace between the fire-bars and in contra-
distinction to admitting air through small orifices as hitherto practised,
in which cases the air enters the furnace in a rarified state, whereas by
admitting it in bulk and in a cold state in accordance with this Inven-
tion, the greatest quantity of oxygen in a given bulk is supplied to the
gases liberated from the fuel, so as to form carbonaceous combustion,
thereby economising fuel and preventing smoke, as and for the purposes
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
2nd. The use and application of nozzles, tubes, or pipes for conveying
atmospheric air in bulk and in a cold state into the body of steam
boiler and other furnaces, as and for the purposes herein-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Orlando Thomas Newton and
George Alexander Newton, have hereunto set our hands and
allixed our seals, this Third day of December, in the year of our
Lord 1868.
Witness,
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office,
(L.S.)
ORLANDO THOMAS NEWTON.
GEORGE ALEXANDER NEWTON. (L.S.)
Cathedral Gates,
Old Millgate,
Manchester.