CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' HEARTHS, AND APPARATUS FOR COOKING BY STEAM
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Joun
WILLIAMS, of the Commercial Road, in the County of Middlesex, Ironmonger
and Ships' Hearth Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-six, in the seventh year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Williams, His especial
licence, that I, the said John Williams, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Williams, my exors, admiors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS'
HEARTHS, AND APPARATUS FOR COOKING BY STEAM;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John Williams, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within two calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, relation
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, tho said
John Williams, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto-annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say)-
In the said Drawing, Fig. 1 is a front view of one of my said improved
ships hearths; Fig. 2, a view of it taken on the right-hand side; and Fig. 3,
another view of it taken on the left-hand sido; Fig. 4, a plan or birds'-eyo
view of it, with the boiler removed for the purpose of shewing the parts lying
underneath it more distinctly. In all of which said Figures, as well as in the
others to bo hereafter referred to, the same letters of reference indicate tho
similar parts. This hearth is composed of cast-iron or wrought-iron plates of
tho forms shewn, and properly secured or put together by screws or rivets as
usual. A, the grate for the fuel; B, an oven or roaster at the back of the
grate; C, the boiler; D, the chimney. Between the grate A and the oven B,
I interpose an air channel E, shewn by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, and
separately in Fig. 5, which is an end section of it, and in Fig. 6, which shows
the circuitous course taken by the air between the two iron plates forming the
back of the grate and one side of the oven, and the effect of this air is, by its
rapid circulation through the air channel E, to prevent the back of the grate
from being over-heated and the side of the oven also; and I afterwards cause
the air to pass across through the oven to produce the effect of a roaster.
The air enters the channel through a register F (shewn in Fig. 2,) and after
circulating backwards and forwards enters the oven at G, and passing across
it, as before described, escapes out at H into a small flue I, which conveys it.
above into the chimney. I cause the heat of the fire to divide itself so as to
partly pass underneath the oven and up at the back of it, and partly over its
top so as to surround and heat it to the best advantage; this I effect in tho
following manner-In Fig. 1, Jis an aperture or opening made through the
lower part of the back of the grate, and which is also shewn by dotted lines.
in Figs. 2 and 3 this aperture is furnished with a sliding plate or register K
Fig. 1, with a rod and handle L to move it by; through this opening the
heat is conducted underneath and behind the oven as before said. The heat
passes also over the top of the oven and underneath the boiler, where it
spreads and diffuses itself either immediately under the boiler between the
curved checks M, M, Fig. 4, and after returning at their ends N, N, passes
along on each side, and after surrounding the boiler finally enters the chimney
above at O, the bottom of the boiler resting immediately upon the curved
cheeks M, M, preventing the heat from escaping over them. Between the

page_text: hinder ends of the cheeks M, M, I have made an opening or aperture P,
Figs. 1. and 4, which can be opened, or closed, more or less by means of a
register, or slide Q, furnished with a rod; and handle R, and by opening the
aperturo P, the heat, instead, of diffusing itself as above mentioned, will pass at
once into the chimney. I can thus by means of the registers, K.and Qgovern
or regulate the effect of the heat from the fire at pleasure. Thus, if I.wish
to heat the oven chiefly, I open the lower register K, and shut the upper
one Q, which causes the heat to pass under the oven and up at its back
through the holes S, S, Fig. 4, and also to circulate above it before entering
the chimney; but if I wish to heat the boiler in preference,. I then shut the
lower register K, and either open the upper one Q or not, as may be judged
necessary. When I wish to excito, the fire quickly, I open the upper
register Q, and also let down a sliding plate or blower T, shewn in dotted lines
in Fig. 8, which has the desired effect; and when it, is become sufficiently
kindled, I again raise the blower T, and close that register. The blower T
has two handless U, U, Fig. 1, the stems of which pass through two, upright
slits made in the front of the hearth, and it is kept up when not in use by
passing a pin V through holes made in the blower and front to receive it.
W, W, Fig. 3, are two doors with handles to them, which are to be opened
whenever it is necessary to clean tho flues. The door of the oven B is
secured when shut by the spring latch X, Fig. 2, and it has a swivel leg Y
hung to it, by which it, is supported in a horizontal position when open, and
as shewn in Fig. 4;. the oven is fitted up. with shelves resting upon ledges
as usual. The two upper bars of the grate Z and a, Fig. 1, are contrived to
fall down occasionally so as to raise or lower the fire and afford a shelf to
support cooking vessels upon, and both of them or only one of them may be
let down at pleasure; this I effect in the following manner:-Fig. 5 shews
the two bars raised up and held fast by the hook or catch 6, which turns upon
a pin affixed in one of the cheeks of the grates; Fig. 7, shews the upper
bar Z only as being lowered, and sustained in., a horizontal position by its
forked stem c resting against a stud d, affixed in the cheek; Fig. 8 shews
them both as lowered and the upper one also let fall, as shown by the dotted
lines. In order to effect this latter object, the holes in the end pieces of the
bars are elongated or made of an oval form so as to permit the bar Z to be
5 slided or drawn back a little, and until its forked stem c can be removed from
a stud e, Fig. 7, upon which it was held, as shewn in that Figure, and it will
then fall perpendicularly, as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 8. The grate
has also two keepers f, f, Figs. 1 and 4, shewn separately at f, f, in Figs. 9
and 10, which can be removed more or less from each other to extend or

page_text: diminish the width of the fire as required, and two spit racks g, g, one on each
side of it, which can be drawn out for use when wanted. The boiler C is
formed of strong wrought-iron plates firmly riveted together, and strengthened
by angular bars around it; it is divided into two seperate parts by a plate
also riveted to its bottom and sides, as shewn by the dotted lines in Figs. 11
ad 12, and it is furnished with a band or division frame at its top, as shown
in Fig. 11, into which is fitted the vessels to be heated by the steam from the
boiler. These vessels may either be simply immersed in the steam as the
tea pot i and tea kettle j are, as shewn in Figs. 2 and 13, or they may be
contrived so as for the steam to enter them through regulating cocks, and as
shewn at k and 7, in Fig. 12, and thus to cook the viands contained in them;
those divisions in the frame h which are not occupied with vessels may be shut
by iron tinned covers with rims and handles to them, such as those shown at
m, m, m, in Fig. 13, and separately at m, m, in Figs. 14 and 15. A bar similar
to that shewn at n, in Fig. 16, may also be occasionally used to divide one of
the larger divisions in the frame h into two smaller ones, as at n, in Fig. 11,
and is to be slipped into two gaps made in the sides of the frame h to receive
it. The steam from the boiler may be condensed and collected, if thought
necessary, by causing it to pass through a worm in a worm tub, furnished with
water in the usual manner of distillation, and as shewn by the dotted outline
in Fig. 2, or it may be conveyed into the chimney by a small flue o, shewn in
Fig. 2, furnished with a damper p. A door or slide 7, Fig. 3, is provided for
the purpose of clearing the chimney D of soot, when necessary; the boiler C,
besides resting upon the curved checks M, M, Fig. 4, as before described, is
also supported at each corner upon projecting plates r, r. &c.
I do not mean or intend hereby to claim as my Invention any of the various
parts of which my said improved ship's hearth is composed, which may have
been already known or in use; but I do hereby claim the introduction
of the air channel E between the back of the grate and the oven, and
thus causing the air to circulate and become heated, and afterwards pass-
ing it through the oven or roaster; also the dividing of the heat and flame
from the fire, and causing it to heat either the oven or boiler at pleasure; and
lastly the introduction of the two falling bars in the grate.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Williams, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.
JNO WILLIAMS. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-third day of June,
in the year of our Lord 1826, the aforesaid John Williams came before
our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.