IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE- BURNING FURNACES APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILERS, PUDDLING AND OTHER FURNACES USED FOR WORKING METALS, AS WELL AS FOR ANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Constant Cosserat, of Amiens, a Town of
France, Furnace Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE-
BURNING FURNACES APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILERS, PUDDLING AND OTHER
FURNACES USED FOR WORKING METALS, AS WELL AS FOR ANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 10th January 1865, and dated the 18th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Constant Cosserat
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th July 1864.
I, FRANÇOIS CONSTANT COSSERAT, of Amiens, a Town of France, Furnace
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SMOKE-BURNING FURNACES APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILERS, PUDDLING AND OTHER
FURNACES USED FOR WORKING METALS, AS WELL AS FOR ANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, in the shape and arrangement of the bars of
the fire-grate, which slope down inwardly with ondulated and slanting upper
side for the purpose of causing the coal to grow by degrees and successively
hot, ignited, and incandescent by facilitating the ingress of air.

page_text: Secondly, in the position and fittings of the loading or charging aperture,
which is provided with a plate over which the coal being heaped up falls
down freely upon the fire-grate when the fireman pushes it forward with a
poker through a narrow lower aperture to the ignited point where it is dis-
integrated, and the burning gases and smoke evolve.
Thirdly, in the particular fittings, or air pipes, or channels, the inlet of the
one being situated above the coal loading plate, whilst the inlet of the other
air channel is situated below, and on each side of the ash-pit. The first one
blowing through numerous small perforations over the ignited point, where
its supply of air mixing with the evolving carburated hydrogen causes it to
blaze, the second one blowing through a narrow slit extending across the
furnace beyond the grate over the burning gases, mixes its supply of air with
the remaining fuliginous particles, which were carried away by the escaping
blaze or hot gases, causing the said particles to be kindled and burnt off,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the, said François Constant Cosserat in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
CONSTANT COSSERAT, of Amiens, a Town of France, Furnace Builder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said François Constant Cosserat, Her special licence that I, the said
François Constant Cosserat, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said François Constant Cosserat, 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 SMOKE-BURNING FURNACES APPLICABLE TO STEAM
BOILERS, PUDDLING AND OTHER FURNACES USED FOR WORKING METALS, AS WELL AS
FOR ANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
Ithe said François Constant Cosserat, my executors or administrators; by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,

page_text: hould particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
n what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
iled in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
mmediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said François Constant Cosserat, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 dark and gloomy clouds of smoke arising unceasingly from the
numerous chimneys of steam engines and factories are a great nuisance, which
Invention is for the same purpose,
many inventors have contrived to check, my
namely, "burning the smoke as it arises from the combustion of bituminous
coal." It is well known that the principle of smoke burning consists in intro-
ducing into the fire-chamber a sufficient quantity of oxigen or atmospheric
air, in order to produce a suitable mixture of that air with the coal gases, and
thus permit their ignition. I have studied how to introduce the air into the
fire-chamber in the best way, and the system I have adopted, and which I
desire to be secured to me by Letters Patent is represented on the annexed
Sheet of Drawings.
The Figures on the left side of the Sheet represent the disposition of a
furnace applied to a steam generator with boilers, as generally used in France;
the similar Figures on the right side of the Sheet represent a furnace applied
to a steam generator with an interior blaze or flame pipe, extensively used
in England. In all the Figures the same parts are marked by the same
letters.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the furnace partly in section; Figure 2, a front
view; Figure 8, a vertical' section on the line W, Z, of Figure 1; Figure 4
is a similar section beyond the fire-chamber on the line X, Y, of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a horizontal section made in the fire-chamber on the lines S, T,
U, V. The outside brickwork is colored light red, and the inside parts
touching the fire, which are made with fire-bricks, are colored a reddish yellow.
In the furnace shewn on the left side of the Sheet, the steam generator G and
its boilers B are so disposed that the blaze after licking at F", Figure 8, the
under side of the generator, and almost the whole surface of the boilers.B
runs in its way back through the flues C on the way to the chimney pipe. In
the furnace shewn on the right side of the Sheet, the blaze F¹ rushes directly
through the inner pipe of the boiler G.
The Invention consists chiefly, firstly, in the shape and arrangement of the
bars of the fire-grate, which are inclined, undulated, and with slanting upper

page_text: surfaces for the purpose of causing the coal to arrive by degrees, and suc-
cessively to heating, burning, and incandescence by facilitating the ingress
of air.
Secondly, in the particular disposition of the coal-loading aperture where it
is heaped up and supported by a cast-iron plate with a second aperture beneath
intended for introducing a poker, with which the fireman pushes the coal
forward to cause it to fall to the ignited point, where by its disintegration the
burning gases are left free.
Thirdly, in the particular arrangement of the air pipes, the inlet aperture of
the one being above the portion of the grate where the ignition begins, and
where the gases evolving abundantly, and carrying along with them a great many
fuliginous particles, can be ignited, but by their mixing with the air, which
egresses through numerous perforations producing the effect of a blowing
apparatus or blast the inlet apertures of the second air pipe being situated
below and on each side of the ash-pit; the air supplied by this latter pipe
arrives in a thin sheet in the whole breadth of the fire-chamber beneath the
altar-piece it is darted or projected on to the burning coal, and mixes itself
with the blaze as the latter is carrying away more or less gas and smoke, the
burning-off of which is thus completely achieved.
I will now proceed to describe briefly my improved smoke-burning furnace
with reference to the Drawings, together with the arrangement and combina-
tion of all its several parts. M, outer brickwork forming the body of the
furnace; m, m, inside parts made with fire-bricks, on account of their being
directly exposed to the action of the fire; P, ash-pit; Q, bars of the fire-grate,
their inclined position and undulated form are shewn, Figures 1 and 8;
Figures 8 and 9 shew the arrangement and cross section of the said bars, the
upper side of which is slanting; Figure 3 exhibits their arrangement by steps,
having the upper slant alternately turned on the right and left side, in order
to preserve empty spaces betwixt the coal for the free passage of air. The
grate bars Q, which are much thinner at their lower side (Figures 3 and 9),
rest on the cross bars J, K, (Figures 1, 3, and 5); Figures 1 and 8 shew
that the grate bars are held by a kind of hooks on the upper cross bar J,
whilst they are merely resting on the lower cross bar K, where they can freely
expand by the effect of heat. The fire bars are close to each other at the
upper part on the cross bar J, but they taper down, as shewn Figure 5, and
are only joined together at the foot by resting on the cross bar K; from this
arrangement it follows that the air entering from beneath cannot penetrate
betwixt the fire bars, but at some distance from the coal-loading aperture, and
the burning of the coal can begin only at this place, as shewn Figure 1, by

page_text: appropriate fire tints. The cross bars J and K must be suitably notched to
permit the lateral undulating position of the fire bars, as shewn Figure 3.
The fuel is loaded at L, through an aperture furnished with an inclined cast-
iron plate formed somewhat as a lip, over which it is thrown, and thus caused
to heap up on the upper part of the fire bars Q; the fireman pushes forward
the coal with a poker, shewn Figure 6, which be introduces through the
aperture for the purpose of bringing that coal down as far as the burning
point H. Two holes R furnished with glasses allow the fireman to ascertain.
the state of his fire. When he thinks proper he works with the poker, shewn
Figure 7, by bearing with it on the bar b, Figures 1 and 2, so as to move
the coal and stir it up with the hook t of the poker introduced between the
grate bars to help the ingress of air necessary to the combustion and the
falling off of the ashes; but the air entering from beneath is not sufficiently
abundant to completely burn the gases arising; then the induction aperture I
conveys through the pipe I' a supply of air, which issuing through many little
holes i, i, Figure 3, as shewn by arrows i', ', Figure 1, rushes on to the coal,
increasing the burning thereof by its mixture with the evolving gases, which
are thus completely burned off. As the blaze produced at F might when
rushing forward carry along a quantity of fuliginous particles, which should
be mixed with oxigen to be burned off. I have provided, as before stated, two
other induction apertures at A, A, on each side of the ash-pit, Figures 2 and 3,
which can be either opened or closed, according to requirements, with registers
and counterpoises N, Figure 2; the air ingressing at A runs through A¹ and
the canals a, a, to spread in A", and to blow out at a', a', in a thin sheet the
whole breadth of the fire-chamber; this air issuing on to the blaze increases
its intenseness by its mixing with the gases carried away, which are thus
completely burned out, and no fuliginous article can be carried away into the
atmosphere.
1
Now with this combination all the burning parts of the coal will be
thoroughly consumed, and the earthy or vitrifiable parts fall down in the ash-
pit P, either in the shape of ashes or cinder, getting out either through the
grate bars or the aperture O, Figures 1 and 5, at the back part of the fire-
chamber.
My Invention being now described, I wish to have it understood that I do
not confine or restrict myself to the precise details which have been herein
expounded, so long as the principal features of my Invention are retained;
but I particularly claim,-
Firstly, the mode used for loading the fuel by throwing it on a cast-iron

page_text: plate suitably arranged, whence it falls down upon the fire-grate through an
aperture, which is naturally closed by the said coal.
Secondly, the particular arrangement and shape of the fire-grate bars, which
are inclined undulated with slanting upper sides laying close to each other at
the forward upper part of the fire-chamber, and separated from each other at
the lowest end, as shewn in the Figures 1, 3, 5, 8, and 9 of the annexed
.Drawing.
Thirdly, the mode of arranging the fire very regularly by help of two
pokers, shewn Figures 6 and 7; the first one used to push forward the coal
upon the fire-grate to the burning point in working through an aperture h,
Figures 1 and 2; the second one to free the grate from ashes and cinder by
working under the grate, and to allow the air to ingress into the fire-chamber
through the fire-grate.
Fourthly, the first combination shewn at I, I, i, i, Figures 1, 2, and 3, to
convey atmospheric air upon the burning coal, which air rushing through many
small holes at i, i, mixes itself with the evolving coal gases, and operates the
burning off of the said gases before their entrance into the flues.
Fifthly, the second combination partially shewn in all the Figures, con-
sisting in air inlet apertures A; which can be closed at pleasure by means of
registers; the air entering at A runs through the channels a, a, issues at a¹,
Figure 1, blows through the blaze F, and mixes itself with the fuliginous
particles to effect their consumption.
of
Sixthly, and lastly, I claim the right to apply any modifications to furnaces
any other system, which I think proper to give them, the property of
burning smoke, provided I do not depart from the system of my own Invention
which I have just described.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Constant Cosserat, have hereunto
band and seal, this Fifth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Signed and sealed in the
presence of
L. D'AUBRÉVILLE, C.E.
F. C. COSSERAT. (L.B.)