Improvements in Continuous Firing Kilns
Year: 1895

page_text: Improvements in Continuous Firing Kilns.
JAMES OSMAN Brick Manufacturer North Street Exmouth Devon do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The said invention has for its object to improve the construction and increase the
efficiency of continuous firing kilns. One improvement comprised in the said
invention consists in the provision of a flue at the further end of each chamber
such flue is connected with the chamber by an opening in the crown of same the
said opening being shut or opened by a damper. The other end of such flue is
connected with the main smoke flue (ordinarily used as a downdraft flue). The
new flue is called an updraft flue and will enable the fire to be drawn upwards at
will, thus enabling bricks and other goods to be burnt equally hard at the top as
at the bottom of chambers and preventing the loss occasioned by under and over
burnt bricks and other goods which is otherwise unavoidable in the burning of
a large-proportion of clays & brick earth.
The ordinary downdraft flue is retained as a means of regulating both the up
and down draft.
A second improvement comprised in the said invention consists of an arrangement
of fines by which the waste-heat from the cooling down chambers is brought into
the bottoms of the chambers (at the near end)-into which green bricks or other
goods have been placed-instead of the top..
This enables the under-part of the green bricks or other goods to be dried first
and so bear the weight of those above while steaming, thus preventing the
squabbing down which so frequently occurs under other arrangements.
The steam generated by the hot air passes away to the chimney stack through
thejupdraft flue previously referred to.
Atthird improvement comprised in alie saidainvention consists in the provision of
division wallstosacgiven number of the chambers (according to the requirements of
the persons adopting the invention). These walls will be perforated to allow the
fire to pass through them; they will also have vertical chases constructed in the
brickwork of same so that the perforations above mentioned may be temporarily
closed at will (and during the glazing process) by the insertion of iron or other
slides in the said chases. This provision will enable brick manufacturers who are
also glazed piperor glazed ware manufacturers-to burn a given number of chambers
of bricks and a given number of chambers of glazed goods as they may desire.
and to cease using the present expensive and wasteful form of single kilns.
Dated this First day of January 1895!

page_text: Improvements in Continuous Firing Kilns.
I, JAMES OSMAN, of North Street, Exmouth, in the County of Devon, Brick
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention relates to continuous firing kilns and has for object to improve
the construction and increase the efficiency of the same.
In carrying out my invention I provide in addition to the ordinary down-draft
flue a flue (hereinafter termed an up-draft flue) connected with each chamber of
the kiln by an opening in the crown of the same whereby the fire can be drawn
upward when required the said opening being controlled by a damper. The other
end of each flue is connected with the main smoke flue.
I also employ inlet flues by which the waste heat from the cooling down
chambers instead of being brought into the tops of the chambers as hitherto is
brought into the bottoms of the chambers (at the near end) in which chambers
green bricks or other goods have been placed.
I also provide the division walls of some of the chambers with perforations to
allow the fire to pass through them, vertical chases or grooves being formed in the
walls so that the perforations may be closed when required by the insertion therein
of suitable slides.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figure 1 is a plan partly in section of a continuous firing kiln provided with my
improvements. the central portion of the kiln, beneath which the flue to the chimney
is located, being omitted:
Figure 2 is a transverse section through the said central portion of the kiln :
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 Figure 1:
Figure 4 is a plan of a part of Figure 2.
a, a are the chambers of the kiln and b, b the entrances to the same. The dotted
lines a', a in Figure 1 indicate the division walls between the chambers a, a.
c, c are the down-draft steam and smoke flues and d the longitudinal main flue
connected with the said flues and communicating with the chimney (not shewn) by
means of the flue e. f, fare the hot air flues connected to the chambers a, a and to
a common flue and serving to convey the waste heat from the cooling down
chambers to the chambers containing green bricks. All of the foregoing parts are
of well-known construction.
9, 9 are my up-draft flues connected at one end to the crowns of the chambers a, a
by the openings h, h controlled by the dampers or covers i, i, the other ends of the
flues being connected to the main fue d.
By the use of the flues g, g the fire in the chambers a, a can be drawn upwards
in addition to being drawn downwards by the flues c, c, thus enabling the bricks or
other goods at the top of the chambers to be burnt equally as hard as those at the
bottom thereby preventing the loss occasioned by them being under and over burnt
as is frequently the case by the kilns hitherto in use.
j,j are my waste heat inlet flues connected at one end to the bottoms of the
chambers a, a (at the near end) while at the other end they are connected to the
flues, and controlled by dampers or covers 12, f2. Or they may be connected
directly with the common flue f¹.
By the use of the flues j, j the waste heat, which is drawn from the cooling down
chambers through the flues f,f and f¹, is conveyed to the lower green bricks or
other goods so that they are dried before the upper ones thus enabling them to
bear the weight of the upper ones while steaming, thus preventing the "squabbing

page_text: down" which so frequently occurs in other kilns. The steam generated by the hot
air passes away to the chimney through the flues g, g.
k, k Figure 2 are the perforations I form in some of the division walls a¹, a¹ to
allow the fire to pass through them, and 1, I are the chases or grooves formed in
such walls (as indicated in Figure 4 which is a plan of a wall) and m, m are the
slides to close the perforations when required.
By this construction of division walls some of the chambers can be used for
burning glazed goods, the perforations k, k being closed by the slides m, m during
the glazing process.
This last described arrangement will enable brick manufacturers who also manu-
facture glazed pipes and glazed ware to burn a given number of chambers of bricks
and a given number of chambers of glazed goods thus doing away with the present
expensive and wasteful system of employing separate kilns for glazed goods.
n, n, Figure 1, are pillars for supporting a roof (not shewn) above the kiln.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A continuous firing kiln having up-draft flues communicating at one end with
the chambers through the crowns thereof and at the other end with the main or
chimney flue, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. A continuous firing kiln having waste heat flues communicating at one end with
the bottoms of the chambers and at the other end with the usual waste heat flues,.
substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In continuous firing kilns providing the division walls between the chambers
with perforations having slides for closing or unclosing such perforations,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. The improved continuous firing kiln hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawing.
Dated the 24th day of August 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.