IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FUEL INTO FURNACES, FIRE-BOXES, AND FIRE- GRATES.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Milward Holmes, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Secretary of the International Agency, and
Bernard Peard Walker, of Birmingham aforesaid, Iron Founder
and Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM
OR APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FUEL INTO FURNACES, FIRE-BOXES, AND FIRE-
GRATES.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Milward
Holmes and Bernard Peard Walker at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on' the 20th November
1875.
We, JAMES MILWARD HOLMES, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Secretary of the International Agency, and BERNARD PEARD
WALKER, of Birmingham aforesaid, Iron Founder and Machinist, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FUEL INTO FURNACES, FIRE-BOXES, AND
FIRE-GRATES," to be as follows:-

page_text: January 1868, No. 27, and our said Invention has for its object to
simplify the feeding mechanism or apparatus described in the Specifi-
cation of the said Patent to make it more compact and durable, and to
facilitate the working of the same.
Instead of giving oscillatory motion to the apparatus for causing
the fuel feed box or hopper to be brought underneath or removed from
underneath the opening into the furnace, fire-box, or grate, and for
raising the moveable bottom or piston of the feed box or hopper for
forcing the fuel from the said feed box or hopper through the said
opening into the furnace, fire-box, or grate by a system of levers, as
described in the Specification of the Patent before referred to, we effect
the same objects by the following mechanical combination of parts.
The fuel box or hopper and the plate or moveable grating by which
the central opening to the furnace is opened and closed are carried by
and oscillate upon a pair of radial arms turning upon and attached to
the base or bed plate of the apparatus. The moveable bottom or piston
of the fuel box or hopper is jointed to a lever, the latter having its
fulcrum at the end of the plate or moveable grating as usual.
We work the apparatus by the following mechanism :-Underneath
the bottom of the furnace and below the fuel hopper is a horizontal
shaft, the middle of which is cranked, the crank being provided with an
antifriction roller. On either side the cranked part of the shaft is an
arm situated at the required angle with the crank and having near its
end a crank pin or stud, and on the inner side of each of the oscillating
radial arms by which the apparatus is supported are links having
notches in their under sides, in which notches the pins or studs on the
shaft arms engage. We drive the crank shaft either by means by a
bevil toothed wheel on the end of the crank shaft, with which bevil
wheel a bevil pinion on the end of a hand or driving shaft at an angle
with the crank shaft gears, or by a worm wheel and endless screw or
other gearing. When the apparatus is too heavy to be readily worked
with the bevil gear only we drive the shaft carrying the bevil pinion by
means of a spur wheel and pinion, the latter being worked by a
winch.

page_text: crank shaft are brought under and their studs made to engage with the
notches in the links attached to the oscillating side or radial arms of
the apparatus. By the motion thus given to the links by the arms of
the crank shaft the apparatus is moved through a portion of a circle and
the charged fuel box or hopper brought under the central opening of
the grate and locked in that position by the engaging or contact of the
ends of the links on the radial arms with the crank shaft. By the
continued motion of the crank shaft in the same direction the arms of
the said shaft disengage themselves from the links on the side arms of
the apparatus, leaving the said arms engaged with the crank shaft and
the hopper locked, and the roller on the crank acting on the under side
of the lever to which the bottom or piston of the fuel hopper is jointed
lifts the said bottom or piston and forces the fuel in the fuel hopper
. into the furnace. As the bottom or piston of the fuel hopper reaches
its highest position a jointed catch attached to the hopper and which
has been pushed aside by the nose of the lever carrying the said bottom
or piston engages with the said nose of the lever and locks or supports
the said bottom or piston. By reversing the motion of the crank shaft
the crank is first removed from under the piston lever, and afterwards
the arms on the said shaft are again engaged with the links, and by
their action carry the hopper from under the central aperture of the
furnace and cause the plate or grating to close, the said bottom of the
furnace thereby restoring the parts to their normal positions.
Just before the apparatus assumes the position last described the
jointed catch by which the piston lever is supported strikes against a fixed
cross arm, the said catch is thereby disengaged from the piston lever,
which falls by its own weight, and the piston passes to the bottom of its
hopper and the latter is ready to be recharged with fuel.
Our Invention may be modified in the following way: --We dispense
with the crank shaft and links described which by the oscillatory
motion is given to the fuel hopper and also with the lever for giving
the rising motion to the hopper piston, and we connect the oscillating
arms of the apparatus by bearings fixed to the base plate.
The moveable bottom or piston of the fuel box or hopper is raised and
lowered by a rack and pinion, the rack being formed on the stem of the
piston. The shaft of the pinion gearing with the said rack passes
through a hollow shaft or collar, and has on its outer end a winch or

page_text: handle for turning it. This shaft, besides serving to give rotation to the
pinion for raising and lowering the piston in the fuel box or hopper, also
serves with the hollow shaft or collar to oscillate the apparatus so as to
bring the fuel box or hopper under or remove it from under the central
aperture of the furnace.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Milward Holmes and Bernard Peard
Walker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th May 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
MILWARD HOLMES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Secretary of the International Agency, and BERNARD PEARD WALKER,
of Birmingham aforesaid, Iron Founder and Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said James Milward Holmes and
Bernard Peard Walker, Her special license that we, the said James
Milward Holmes and Bernard Peard Walker, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Milward
Holmes and Bernard Peard Walker, 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 IN MECHANISM OR
APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FUEL INTO FURNACES, FIRE-BOXES, AND FIRE-GRATES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that wc, the said James Milward
Homes and Bernard Peard Walker, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Milward Holmes, on behalf
of myself and the said Bernard Peard Walker, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
Our Invention has reference principally to an Invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to Myron John Frisbie, on the 3rd day of
January. 1868, No. 27; and our said Invention has for its object to
simplify the feeding mechanism or apparatus described in the Specifi-
cation of the said Patent to make it more compact and durable and to
facilitate the working of the same.
Instead of giving the oscillatory motion to the apparatus for causing
the fuel feed box or hopper to be brought underneath or removed from
underneath the opening into the furnace, fire-box, or grate, and for
raising the moveable bottom or piston of the feed box or hopper for
forcing the fuel from the said feed box or hopper through the said
opening into the furnace, fire-box, or grate by a system of levers, as
described in the Specification of the Patent before referred to, we
effect the same objects by the following mechanical combination of
parts.
The fuel box or hopper and the plate or moveable grating by which
the central opening to the furnace is opened and closed are carried by
and oscillate upon a pair of radial arms turning upon and attached-to
the base or bed plate of the apparatus. The moveable bottom or piston
of the fuel box or hopper is jointed to a lever, the latter having its
fulcrum at the end of the plate or moveable grating as usual.
We work the apparatus by the following mechanism :-Underneath
the bottom of the furnace and below the fuel hopper is a horizontal
shaft, the middle of which is cranked, the crank being provided with an
antifriction roller. On either side the cranked part of the shaft is an
arm situated at the required angle with the crank, and having near its
end a crank pin or stud and on the inner sides of the oscillating radial
arms by which the apparatus is supported are links having notches in
their under sides, in which notches the pins or studs on the shaft arms
engage. We drive the crank shaft either by means of a bevil toothed
whcel on the end of the crank shaft, with which bevil wheel a bevil
pinion on the end of a hand or driving shaft at an angle with the crank
shaft gears, or by a worm wheel and endless screw or other gearing.
.

page_text: When the apparatus is too heavy to be readily worked with the bevil
gearing only we drive the shaft carrying the bevil pinion by means of a
spur wheel and pinion, the latter being worked by a winch.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When it is required to
feed fuel to the furnace motion is given to the crank shaft through the,
bevil gear described and spur gear if necessary, and the arms on the,
crank shaft are brought under, and their pins or studs made to engage
with the notches in the links attached to the oscillating side or radial
arms of the apparatus. By the motion thus given to the links by the
arms of the crank shaft the apparatus is moved through a portion of a
circle, and the charged fuel box or hopper brought under the central
opening of the grate, and locked in that position by the engaging or
contact of the ends of the links on the radial arms with the crank shaft.
By the continued motion of the crank shaft in the same direction the
arms of the said shaft disengage themselves from the links on the side
arms of the apparatus, leaving the said arms engaged with the crank
shaft, and the hopper locked; and the roller on the crank acting on the
under side of the lever, to which the bottom or piston of the fuel hopper
is jointed, lifts the said bottom or piston, and forces the fuel in the fuel
hopper into the furnace. As the the bottom or piston of the fuel hopper
reaches its highest position a jointed catch attached to the hopper, and
which has been pushed aside by the nose of the lever carrying the said
bottom or piston, engages with the said nose of 'the lever, and locks or
supports the said bottom or piston. By reversing the motion of the
crank shaft the crank is first removed from under the piston lever, and
afterwards the arms on the said shaft are again engaged with the links,
and by their action carry the hopper from under the central aperture of
the furnace, and cause the plate or grating to close the said central
aperture, thereby restoring the parts to their normal positions.
Just before the apparatus assumes the position last described the
jointed catch, by which the piston lever is supported, strikes against a
fixed cross arm. The said catch is thereby disengaged from the piston
lever, which falls by its own weight, and the piston passes to the
bottom of its hopper, and the latter is ready to be recharged with
fuel.
11
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ith rafarerine
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page_text: Figure 1 represents a front elevation, and Figures 2 and 3 transverse
sections of feeding mechanism or apparatus constructed according to
our Invention. In Figure 2 the parts of the feeding mechanism are
represented in the respective positions which they occupy when the
charged fuel box or hopper has been brought under the central opening
to the furnace, and the piston in the said hopper raised; and in Figure 3
the parts of the feeding mechanism are represented in the respective
positions which they occupy when the fuel box or hopper has been with-
drawn from underneath the central opening to the furnace, the said
central opening being closed by the oscillating plate or grating
called the "s apron," and the piston has descended to the bottom of its
hopper.
'
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several
Figures of the Drawing.
"
"
a is the central opening to the furnace, and b, b, is the pair of radial
arms oscillating at c, c, upon the base or bed plate d of the apparatus.
The said oscillating radial arms 6, b, carry the fuel box or hopper e, and
also the "apron or plate f, by which " apron" or plate the central
opening a to the furnace is opened and closed. Stops g, h, at the ends
of the " "apron ƒ and fuel hopper e respectively limit the travel or
oscillation of the feeding apparatus. At the outer end of the closing
plate is a counterbalance weight g²; i is the moveable bottom or
piston of the fuel box or hopper e, the rod 2 of the said piston i being
jointed at to the lever k, the latter turning on the fulcrum ² at the
end of the plate or apron f. Underneath the bottom of the furnace,
and below the fuel hopper e is a horizontal shaft turning in bearings
at 12, 12. The middle of the shaft 7 is provided with a crank m and anti-
friction roller n, but the crank may be used without an antifriction
roller. On either side the crank m of the shaft l, and situated at the
angle with respect to the said crank, best seen in Figures 2 and 3, is an
arm p, each arm having at its end a crank pin or stud. p². On the
inner side of each of the oscillating radial arms, b, b, of the feeding
apparatus is a link q having a notch q² in its under side. In these
notches q, q,. the pins or studs, p², p², on the arms p, p, of the shaft
engage at the proper time, as herein-after explained. The horizontal
shaft is driven by the bevil gearing r, s, the bevil wheel » being fixed
on the end of the crank shaft l, and the bevil pinion s gearing with the
said bevil wheel r, being carried by the hand or driving shaft t at right

page_text: angles to the said crank shaft 7, as represented. The crank shaft 7 may
either be driven directly through the hand or driving shaft t by a
winch or handle on the said shaft t, or by the spur gearing u, v, the
spur wheel u being fixed on the end of the shaft t, and the spur
pinion gearing with the said wheel u, being rotated by the
winch w.
Instead of bevil gear, as represented, the horizontal crank shaft / may
be driven by worm gearing or other gearing. x is the fixed catch
attached to the fuel hopper e, by means of which catch the fuel hopper
piston is locked in its raised position by the tail of the said catch
engaging with the nose 3 of the lever / carrying the hopper piston; y
is the fixed cross arm on the furnace wall, against which the jointed
catch a strikes to release the hopper piston i.
66
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When the parts are in the
positions represented in Figure 3 the central opening a to the furnace is
closed by the oscillating plate or apron "f, and the fuel hopper e is
ready to receive the charge of fuel. The hopper e having been charged
with fuel the winch w is turned, and rotation is given to the crank
shaft through the spur gearing v, u, shaft t, and bevil gearing s, r
The first movement of the crank shaft in the direction indicated by the
arrow in Figure 3 causes the arms p, p, on the said crank shaft (the
crank pins p², p², of which arms p, p, being engaged with the links q, q,
on the oscillating side arms b, b), to lift the said links q, q, and the
oscillating radial arms b, b, are moved through part of a circle, that is,
from the position represented in Figure 3 to that represented in
Figure 2. The plate or apron f is by this movement removed from
underneath the central opening a to the furnace, and the charged fuel
hopper e is at the same time brought under the now uncovered central
opening a, the said hopper being locked in that position by the curved
or hollow ends q³ of the said links q bearing upon or engaging with the
crank shaft l, as represented in Figure 2. The central opening a having
been thus opened, and the fuel hopper brought beneath it, the continued
motion of the crank shaft in the same direction carries forward the
arms p, p, and disengages them from the now locking links q, q, on the
-side arms b, b, leaving the said arms p, p, engaged with the crank
shaft, and the fuel hopper and "apron" locked. The crank m now
comes into operation, and its roller n acting on the under side of the
lever k, to which the piston i of the fuel hopper e is jointed, lifts the

page_text: said piston and forces the fuel in the hopper into the furnace, the several
parts occupying the respective positions represented in Figure 2. As the
piston lever k approaches its nearly horizontal position its curved nose k³
acting against the curved tail of the jointed catch a pushes aside the
said catch, and when the said lever k has reached its highest position
the said catch engages with the nose ³ of the lever k, and locks or
supports the said lever and the piston carried by it, as seen in Figure 2.
Having thus fed a charge of fuel to the furnace the motion of the crank
shaft is reversed, the said shaft being now moved in the direction
indicated by the arrow, Figure 2. By the first reversed movement of
the crank shaft the crank m and its roller n are removed from under
the piston lever k, and afterwards the arms p, p, on the said shaft again
engage themselves by means of their studs p² with the notches q² in the
links q, q. By the action of the arms p, p, on the links q, q, and the
latter on the oscillating arms b, b, the position of the feeding apparatus
is reversed, the fuel hopper e being carried from under the central
aperture a of the furnace, and the plate or apron f made to close the
said aperture and support the charge of fuel just fed to the furnace, as
illustrated in Figure 3. As the fuel hopper e approaches the position,
Figure 3, the jointed catch a strikes against the fixed cross arm y. The
said catch is thereby turned on its centre, and its tail is disengaged from
the piston lever k, when the latter falls by its own weight, carrying with
it the piston i. The fuel hopper is now ready to be recharged with fuel,
the several parts of the feeding apparatus having resumed their respective
normal positions.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention of improvements in
mechanism or apparatus for feeding fuel into furnaces, fire-boxes, and
fire-grates,--
First. The mechanical combination or arrangement of the parts herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing for giving
the oscillatory motion to the feeding apparatus for causing the fuel feed
box or hopper to be brought underneath or removed from underneath
the opening into the furnace, and also for locking the fuel hopper in its
feeding position, that is to say, by means of a horizontal shaft provided

page_text: '
with the arms and crank pins p, p³, in combination with the side
links q, q, on the inner sides of the oscillating arms or frame of the
feeding apparatus, substantially as described and illustrated; also the
combination with the fuel box or hopper of the double side arms 6, b,
upon which the apparatus oscillates; and further, the combination with
the closing plate or apron f of the counterbalance weight 9, substantially
as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The mechanical combination or arrangement of the parts
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing for
lifting the moveable bottom or piston of the fuel box or hopper for
forcing the fuel into the furnace, that is to say, by means of a horizontal
crank shaft, the crank of the said crank shaft acting upon the lever to
which the piston of the fuel box or hopper is jointed, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The combination of parts herein-before described and illus-
trated in the accompanying Drawing for driving the horizontal crank
shaft of the feeding apparatus.
Lastly. The general arrangement or combination of the parts
enumerated in claims 1, 2, and 3 in mechanism or apparatus for feeding
fuel into furnaces, fire-boxes, and fire-grates, as herein-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Milward Holmes, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
Witness,
EDWARD MORTON.
JAMES MILWARD HOLMES. (L.S.)