Improvements in Kilns for Burning Bricks, Tiles, Quarries, and other like Articles
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 7th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 7th May, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Kilns for Burning Bricks, Tiles, Quarries, and
other like Articles.
"
I, GEORGE BEARSLEY WEBSTER, of No. 51, Cato Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention consists in constructing and arranging in the manner hereinafter
described the parts of kilns for burning bricks, tiles, quarries and other like articles,
such for example
as building blocks whereby great economy in fuel is effected and
the bricks and other articles expeditiously and uniformly burned. I prefer to
arrange kilns constructed according to my invention in rows connected together end
to end or otherwise.
I will describe one kiln or chamber constructed according to my invention for the
burning of bricks. The said kiln consists of a permanent brick chamber square or
rectangular in plan. The floor of the chamber is at or about the ground level but
tunnels or flues as hereinafter explained run under the said chamber. The said
chamber has an arched roof having a series of apertures in it. In one of the
vertical sides of the chamber are one or more doors or openings through which the
bricks are charged into the kiln, which openings on the completion of the charging
of the bricks are closed. The bricks to be burned are stacked in the usual manner
in the said chamber, the said stacking being so effected that open channels are left
on the floor of the chamber and also vertical channels extending from the floor to
the openings in the roof herein before referred to. At the front of the chamber a
series of openings are made for the admission of air to support the combustion of
the fuel which openings can be closed or partially opened at pleasure to regulate the
amount of air entering the kiln. The fuel is supplied through the openings in the
arched roof of the kiln and falls through the vertical channels left in the stacked
bricks on to the floor of the chamber. The said openings in the roof are temporarily
closed after the introduction of the fuel. The fuel being ignited at the front of
the kiln, the ignition extends over the floor of the kiln and the flame-and heated air
and products of combustion rise among the bricks and effect the burning of the
same. The heated air and products of combustion pass to the back wall of the
chamber. The said back wall is hollow and the heated air and products of combus-
tion from the lower part of the hollow wall pass into tunnels or flues under the
bottom of the chamber. As each end of the said hollow wall is provided with
passages opening into the said tunnels and the said passages are provided with
dampers which can be raised or lowered at pleasure the heated air and products of
combustion may either be directed into the said tunnels or made to re-enter the
chamber at the sides and thereby more effectually heat the sides of the kiln should
this be necessary.
Where the kilns are built in rows, end to end, the heated air
and products of combustion from one kiln may before passing into the tunnels be
directed through an adjoining charged kiln and the bricks therein thereby dried
preparatory to their being burned, the course of the heated air in this case being

page_text: determined by valves or dampers. By the passage of the heated air and products
of combustion underneath the floors of the kilns a considerable augmentation of
the heat of the said kiln is effected. The heated air and products of combustion
pass through the said tunnels to a stack by which the required draught through the
kiln is effected.
After the burning of the bricks their rapid cooling is effected by means of a blast
This blast of
of cold air supplied preferably by a fan driven by a steam engine.
This vertical
cold air is supplied to a vertical pipe capable of turning on its axis.
pipe is situated near the charging door and after the burning the charging door is
opened and the said blast pipe is turned so that a horizontal branch or nozzle through
which the blast is delivered is introduced into the kiln. The covers in the openings
in the roof of the kiln being removed a rapid current of cold air is driven through
the kiln which air circulating through the bricks escapes at the roof of the kiln.
Dated this Thirteenth day of May 1897.
Improvements in Kilus for Burning Bricks, Tiles, Quarries, and
other like Articles.
I, GEORGE BEARSLEY WEBSTER, of No. 51, Cato Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 consists in constructing and arranging in the manner hereinafter
described the parts of kilns for burning bricks, tiles, quarries and other like articles,
such for example as building blocks, whereby great economy in fuel is effected and
the bricks and other articles expeditiously and uniformly burned. I prefer to
arrange kilus constructed according to my invention in rows connected together end
to end or otherwise.
The said
I will describe one kiln or chamber constructed according to my invention for the
burning of bricks. The said kiln consists of a permanent brick chamber square or
rectangular in plan. The floor of the chamber is at or about the ground level but
tunnels or flues as hereinafter explained run under the said chamber.
In one of the
chamber has an arched roof having a series of apertures in it.
vertical sides of the chamber are one or more doors or openings through which the
bricks are charged into the kiln, which openings on the completion of the charging
of the bricks are closed. The bricks to be burned are stacked in the usual manner
in the said chamber, the said stacking being so effected that open channels are left
on the floor of the chamber and also vertical channels extending from the floor to
At the front of the chamber a
the openings in the roof herein before referred to.
series of openings are made for the admission of air to support the combustion of
the fuel which openings can be closed or partially opened at pleasure to regulate the
amount of air entering the kiln. The fuel is supplied through the openings in the
arched roof of the kiln and falls through the vertical channels left in the stackel
bricks on to the floor of the chamber. The said openings in the roof are temporarily
closed after the introduction of the fuel. The fuel being ignited at the front of
the kiln, the ignition extends over the floor of the kiln and the flame and heated air
and products of combustion rise among the bricks and effect the burning of the
The heated air and products of combustion pass to the back wall of the
same.

page_text: chamber. The said back wall is hollow and the heated air and products of combus-
tion from the lower part of the hollow wall pass into tunnels or flues under the
bottom of the chamber. As each end of the said hollow wall is provided with
passages opening into the said tunnels and the said passages are provided with
dampers which can be raised or lowered at pleasure the heated air and products of
combustion may either be directed into the said tunnels or made to re-enter the
chamber at the sides and thereby more effectually heat the sides of the kiln should
this be necessary.
Where the kilns are built in rows, end to end, the heated air
and products of combustion from one kiln may before passing into the tunnels be
directed through an adjoining charged kiln and the bricks therein thereby dried
preparatory to their being burned, the course of the heated air in this case being
determined by valves or dampers. By the passage of the heated air and products
of combustion underneath the floors of the kilus a considerable augmentation of
the heat of the said kiln is effected. The heated air and products of combustion
pass through the said tunnels to a stack by which the required draught through the
kiln is effected.
After the burning of the bricks their rapid cooling is effected by means of a blast
This blast of
of cold air supplied preferably by a fan driven by a steam engine.
This vertical
cold air is supplied to a vertical pipe capable of turning on its axis.
pipe is situated near the charging door and after the burning the charging door is
opened and the said blast pipe is turned so that a horizontal branch or nozzle through
The covers in the openings
which the blast is delivered is introduced into the kiln.
in the roof of the kiln being removed a rapid current of cold air is driven through
the kiln which air circulating through the bricks escapes at the roof of the kiln.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings represent respectively in front
elevation side elevation and plan a kiln for burning bricks constructed according to
my invention; Figures 4 and 5 are cross sections of the same taken respectively on
the dotted lines x, x and y, y Figure 2; Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the kiln
taken on the dotted line z Figure 1, and Figure 7 is a horizontal section Qr
sectional plan of the said kiln taken on the dotted line 1, 1 Figure 6.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawings.
C,
The
a, a, a are the chambers or kilns arranged end to end the back wall ba of one
chamber meeting or adjoining the front wall b¹ of the next chamber in such a way
that flues c² are formed between the meeting ends of the chambers. The back wall
of each chamber has a series of holes d communicating with the flue c and a series
of holes de communicating with the flue and the front wall of each chamber has
opposite holes marked respectively e, e communicating with the flues c, ca.
holes d, d and e, e² are preferably provided with vertical rising and falling dampers
It will be
(not shown in the drawings) by which they are opened and closed.
understood that when the dampers of adjacent back and front walls are raised the
Under the floor of the
two chambers a, a are in communication with one another.
kilns or chambers, which floor is preferably on the ground level, parallel tunnels f, f
run, at one end of which tunnels is a chimney stack by which a draught through
At one side of each chamber is an opening g
the chambers a, a is maintained.
through which the bricks are conveyed into the kiln for drying and burning and
removed therefrom after burning and cooling the said opening g being closed after
the chamber a has been charged with bricks in the way commonly practised of
clesing similar openings in kilns of the ordinary construction.
The bricks are stacked in the chambers a, a in the ordinary way except that
passages or channels are left on the floors of the chambers and also vertical channels,
extending the roof the said vertical channels being in line with the holes h, h, h in
the roof of the chamber. Through the holes h, h, h the fuel to be burned is
introduced into the chambers a, a the said fuel spreading itself along the channels on
the floors of the chambers and practically covering the whole of the floors unoccupied
After the introduction of the fuel the holes h, h in the roof
by the stacked bricks.
ora tamnorarily closed.

page_text: The side walls of the chambers are hollow being provided with vertical flues i, i, i
opening at top by openings ¹, 2, 2¹ into the chamber a and communicating at
bottom by opinings 22, 22 with the tunnels f, f. The openings ², may be closed
by the lowering of vertical rising and falling dampers kas best seen in
Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings. The said dampers k, k as well as those (not
shown) for the openings d, d² and e, e extend for a short distance above the roof of
the chamber and are operated from the said roof.
From an examination of the drawings and from the description hereinbefore
given it will be understood that a series of the chambers are arranged end to end
but I wish it to be understood that I prefer, instead of one long series of chambers;
to employ two parallel shorter series the chambers at each end of the parallel series
communicating with one another by side openings or passages.
The working of the kiln is as follows:-I will suppose that three chambers of
the series have been charged with bricks and fuel. The firing of the first chamber
is effected by igniting the fuel therein through the front openings e, e (see
Figure 1) which openings may be afterwards closed or partially closed in the ordinary
way. The heated air and products of combustion from the burning fuel rise
among the bricks in the said first chamber and escape by the upper openings d², e³
into the second chamber and pass through the second chamber into the third
chamber. By the circulation of the heated air and products of combustion in
the said second and third chambers the drying of the bricks therein preliminary to
burning is effected. The heated air and products of combustion escape from the
third chamber through the flues between its back wall and the front wall of the
fourth chamber, the holes in the front wall of the fourth chamber being closed
by. the dampers herein before referred to. The heated air and products of combus-
tion from the third chamber may be conducted directly into the tunnels f, f by the
raising of the dampers k, k; or by lowering the dampers k, k so as to close the
openings, the heated air and products of combustion may be made to ascend
the vertical side flues i and re-enter the third chamber. By this means the
thorough drying and heating of the bricks at the sides of the chamber is ensured.
On the fire in the first chamber reaching the back wall the flame and products of
combustion pass through the coincident holes d and e and the firing of the second
chamber takes place. When it is thought that the fire of the first chamber is
burnt out the dampers of its back wall are lowered so as to close the holes or
openings d, d therein, and the holes h, h in the roof and the opening g in the side
are unstopped so as to admit air for the cooling of the chamber. The cooling is
preferably facilitated by a forced blast of air delivered through the nozzle 12 of a
hollow stand pipe capable of turning in bearings on the side wall of the chamber
so as to permit the nozzle 12 being turned into the opening g as is illustrated in
Figure 7 of the drawings.
As soon as the stacking of the bricks in the fourth and subsequent chambers
has been completed they are placed in communication with the chambers in which
firing and drying is proceeding by the raising of the dampers at the back and front
walls of the said fourth and succeeding chambers.
In this way it will be understood that a continuous series of operations can be
maintained, that is to say, the stacking of bricks (to be burned) in one chamber,
the cooling or removal of fired bricks in another or second chamber, the firing of
bricks in a third chamber the drying of stacked bricks (preliminary to burning) in
one or more succeeding chambers may be simultaneously proceeding and great
economy in time and fuel thereby effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention:
The improvements in kilns for burning bricks, tiles, quarries and other like
articles hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings the
said improvements consisting in constructing kilns or kiln chambers with hollow

page_text: or flued back and side walls in series that is end to end and in single or parallel
rows, the end chambers in the latter case having side communications the side and
back flues of the several kilns or chambers being preferably provided with dampers
and being arranged and worked substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the Fourth day of February 1898.
GEORGE BEARSLEY WEBSTER.