Improvements in Machines for Melting Snow and Ice.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 11th Nov., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Melting Snow and Ice.
We, RICHARD ALBERT HEALY of 5 Madison Terrace, Mechanical Engineer,
EDWARD DEAN CUNDELL of 85 Park Avenue Book Keeper and JOHN
HINCHLIFFE State Senator, all of the City of Paterson, in the County of Passaic
and State of New Jersey, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The snow falling and accumulating on the streets, in towns and cities must
usually be carted greater or less distances, at a very great expense and it
requires an extraordinarily long time to clear the streets and remove the snow in
this manner.
The object of our invention is to provide a portable contrivance into which
the snow can be shovelled, dumped or conveyed in any suitable manner directly
from the street, and in which contrivance the snow and also pieces of ice arc
instantly melted, whereby a great saving of time and money is effected.
In the drawings accompanying this description and forming a part thereof-
Figure 1 is a side view of our improved machine for melting snow and ice;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;
Figure 3 is a rear view parts being broken out;
Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of parts.
The machine is constructed with a main supporting frame of two steel or iron
side bars, A, suitably braced and connected, and this frame is mounted on the
front wheels A and rear wheels A like any other vehicle. A pule A³ for the
horses and a driver's seat A' are provided as shown. On the front part of
the frame a tank B for naphtha, benzine, gasolene or any other volatile and
combustible oil or substance is mounted and is provided with a safety valve B',
a pressure gauge B' and a filling pipe B³ provided with a valve B. A sediment
cock B is provided in the bottom of the tank.
The
An upright steam boiler C is mounted between the side bars A and is provided
with the safety valve C', the pressure gauge C, the water gauge tube C³ and
an injector C and such other fittings as are required for a steam boiler. D is
a supply tank for the water required for the boiler. Adjacent to the boiler a steam
engine E is mounted between the side bars A and is connected with the boiler by
the live steam pipe E'. The exhaust steam from the engine passes through the
pipe E into the smoke stack of the steam boiler. By means of a belt H shown
in dotted line in Figure 1 and passing over a pulley H¹ of the engine and over a
pulley I, this pulley I is rotated and this pulley I is fixed on one end of a
transverse shaft I mounted in suitable bearing on the side bars A.
shaft carries the two pulleys 12 and 1* fixed thereon and over the same the
belts J and J³ pass, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and said belts also pass
over pulleys K and K of a rotary pressure blower J mounted on the main
frame and provided with a pressure gauge K. A pipe L having a valve L'
extends from the boiler C to the tank B and forms a serpentine or coil L' in
the bottom part of the tank, the free end of said pipe projecting from the tank
and having a cock L³ for drawing off the water of condensation. A pipe M
leads from the blower to the rear part of the supporting frame, then extends
downward and is connected at its lower end with the pipe M' at right angles
to the length of the vehicle, and to each end of the pipe M' a pipe M² is
secured which runs parallel with the length of the vehicle, towards the rear.
The pipes M' are closed at the rear ends, and in the sides facing each other are

page_text: provided with a row of burner nipples or necks M³ which are projected toward
each other and slightly downward. The pipe M has a valve M for controlling
the amount of compressed air passing through the same. A pipe N having the
check valve N and the controlling valve N extends from the filling pipe of the
tank B to the rear of the supporting frame, then downward, and has connected
with its lower end a transverse pipe N parallel with and adjacent to the pipe M¹
and to the ends of the pipe N the pipes N are attached which are of less
diameter than the pipes M and pass longitudinally through the same.
The
pipes N have a number of burner tips or necks No which project into the
burner tips or necks M³, as shown clearly in Figure 3. The pipe N has a
valve at each end so that each pipe N is under full control. Where the
pipes No enter the front ends of the pipes M³, suitable packing rings are provided.
A branch pipe P leads from the pipe N below the fire box of the boiler and
has a controlling valve P' and burner pipes Ps. A pipe Q provided with a con-
trolling valve Q₁ extends from the compressed air pipe M under the fire box of
the boiler and surrounds the lower horizontal part of the pipe P.and has burner
tips Q into which the gas burner tips P' project.
Two heavy steel bars R project from the rear end of the supporting frame,
and between them the melting chamber S is held, which is made of heavy sheet
iron and has its bottom S inclined from the lower edges of the sides to
the longitudinal central line and also to the front so as to conduct the water
produced by the melting of the snow and ice to an outlet neck S³, to which a
suitable hose can be coupled for connecting the water to a gutter or sewer.
The upper parts of the sides of the melting chamber are inclined upward and
outward as at S to form a kind of hopper. By means of angle irons or
brackets T, a bar T is held on the inner surface of each side wall of the
melting chamber S near the upper edge, and to each bar T¹ a number of bars u
are fastened by means of hook bolts T', the bars u being notched to receive the
edges of the bars T¹. The bars u are inverted V-shape in cross section and are
inclined downward and inward as shown. A bar V is fastened longitudinally
on the top of the melting chamber and on the same a number of inverted
V-shaped bars u', also inverted V-shape in cross section, are bolted at their
apices, the ends of the shanks or legs of the bars u intersecting or crossing
the lower ends of the bars u. Rods X rest on the intersection of the bars u
and u', and from the same bars X' below the intersections are supported by
means of hooks X³, as shown in Figure 4. On the bars X and an intermediate
bar X³, transverse bars Y are held a short distance above the bottom S¹ of the.
melting chamber. The burner tubes M² N³ are located in the melting chamber
at the bottom of the side walls, as shown in Figure 3. The bars u and u can
be made wary, as shown in Figure 5, or rectangular, as shown in Figures 1,
2 and 3. The melting chamber has doors Z in the rear wall for removing stones,
refuse, etcetera. A curved guard plate or shield a is provided on the front wall of
the melting chamber to protect the engine and boiler, etcetera, from the flame.
The machine works in the following manner :-
After it has been drawn to the place where the snow is to be melted, a wood
fire is kindled to generate steam.
The steam passes through the pipe L' in the tank B and vaporises a quantity of
oil in the tank, the vapors passing through the pipes N and P to the boiler fire box
where they are ignited to produce more steam, and at the same time the engine E
is started to operate the blower J so that compressed air is conducted through the
pipes M and to the burners in the fire box. When sufficient steam has been
generated, the cocks of the pipes M and N' are opened so as to admit the vapor.
and compressed air to the burners in the melting chamber.
The flames circulate in the melting chamber in the manner indicated by the
arrows in Figure 3.
The flames are caught and retarded by the inverted V-shaped bars u and u¹ which
are rapidly heated to a very high degree. The snow and ice thrown into the

page_text: melting chamber come in contact with the flames and heated bars which hold the
snow in bulk above and thereby permit the flames to penetrate through it and melt
from below, the water resulting falling between the bars on to the inclined bottom
and discharges itself by the outlet S2, thus leaving always dry snow to be operated
upon. As the melting chamber is suspended beyond the rear end of the main
frame, it is accessible at three sides, thus permitting a great number of men to
shovel and throw snow and ice into it at the same time without in any way
interfering with the machinery or without in any way exposing the latter to injury
or interference by the masses of snow thrown into the melting chamber.
The melting chamber is the part that is apt to become worn out first on account
of the enormous heat in the same, and in case this occurs it can readily be repaired
or replaced without in any way interfering with any part of the machinery and
without requiring any removal or readjustment of the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. A snow melting machine composed of a vehicle frame, a gas generator
mounted on said frame, a fan blower also mounted on said frame, a steam motor
mounted on said frame, a steam boiler on said frame, for providing steam for the
steam motor and the gas generator and a melting chamber or compartment
supported on the rear end of said frame, substantially as herein shown and described
and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination, with a vehicle frame, of a gas generator on the same, an
air compressor on said frame, a melting chamber or compartment supported by
said frame beyond the rear end of the same, and tubes for conducting gas and
compressed air to said melting chamber or compartment, substantially as herein
shown and described and for the purposes set forth.
3. The combination, with a vehicle frame, of a gas generator on the same, an
air compressor on said frame, bracket bars projecting beyond the rear end of said
frame, a melting chamber or compartment supported by the projecting ends of said
bracket bars and tubes for conducting gas and compressed air to said melting
chamber or compartment, substantially as herein shown and described and for the
purposes set forth.
4. The combination, with a vehicle frame, of a gas generator on the same,
steam boiler on said frame, a steam engine on said frame, a fan blower on said
frame and operated by the engine, a melting chamber or compartment supported
on said frame beyond the rear end of the same, and pipes for conducting gas
and compressed air to said melting chamber or compartment and to the fire box
of the boiler, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose set
forth.
5. The combination, with a vehicle frame, of a gas generator on the same, a
steam boiler mounted on the frame, a steam engine on the frame, a fan blower
on the frame and driven from the engine, a melting chamber or compartment
supported by the frame at the rear end of the same, a pipe for conducting gas
and compressed air to the melting chamber or compartment and to the fire box
of the boiler, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purposes
set forth.
6. The combination, with a vehicle frame, of a gas generator on the same, a
steam boiler mounted on the frame, a steam engine on the frame, a fan blower
on the frame and driven from the engine, a melting chamber or compartment
supported by the frame at the rear end of the same, a pipe for conducting
steam from the boiler to the gas generator, pipes for conducting gas and com-
pressed air to the melting chamber or compartment and to the fire box of the
boiler and valves for controlling the supply or flow of steam, gas and compressed
air, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purposes set forth.
7. In a snow melting machine, a melting chamber in combination with bars

page_text: inclined toward each other and a series of burners located below said bars in said
chamber, substantially as shown.
8. In a snow melting machine, a melting chamber in combination with a series of
crossed bars in the same, horizontal bars below the crossed bars and burners located
in the lower part of said chamber, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 28th day of September 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicants.