Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES ROBERTSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Cooper,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second
day of November, in the twelfth year of Her reign, did give and
grant unto me, the said James Robertson, my exors, adññiors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said James Robertson, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said James Robertson, my exors, adñiors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon
Tweed, and also in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,

page_text: and Man, and in all Her Colonies and Plantations abroad, my in-
vention of "A MODE-OR-MODES OF CONSUMING SMOKE AND OTHER GASEOUS
PRODUCTS ARISING FROM FUEL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso requiring that I, the said
James Robertson, shall particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, to be
enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said James Robertson, 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 following state-
ment and Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawing hereunto belonging, and forming part hereof, that is
to say-
The mode or modes of effecting the two several objects mentioned
in the title of my Invention, one of these being the consuming smoke
and other gaseous products arising from fuel, and the other being the
consuming the gaseous products arising from noxious or offensive matter
in sewers, drains, abattoirs, or other situations where such matter may
exist, consist,―
Firstly, in constructing furnaces (for heating boilers or other vessels)
with a series of tubes or pipes exterior to the boiler or vessel itself, and
arranged or disposed so as to occupy the space ordinarily occupied by
the external flues or passages; the said tubes or pipes (and the spaces
left in piling them against or over each other) being the course of the
smoke, gases, heated air, &c. from the fire or grate to the chimney:
and further in supplying with air the smoke or other gaseous products
arising from the fuel, whilst such smoke or products (being in a highly
heated state, and being divided into small streams by means of the said
tubes or pipes) are in a condition to become readily consumed by an
intermixture of oxygen from the atmosphere or other source.

page_text: Secondly, in constructing furnaces for heating boilers or other vessels,
and also stoves, grates, fire-places, or other similar apparatus for
heating buildings, rooms, &c. (by the combustion of fuel) with a series
of horizontal or nearly horizontal tubes or pipes placed over or behind
the position of the fuel, such tubes or pipes having an opening or
openings on their upper sides or surfaces, and one or both of their ends
communicating with the external air, so that in use oxygen from this
source may be supplied in a heated or somewhat heated state, and also
in thin strata or streams to the smoke and other gaseous products
arising from the fuel, and may effect their consumption by an inter-
mixture therewith, whilst they likewise are somewhat broken up or
divided by being obliged to pass on the exterior of and between the
said tubes or pipes in their course or passage to the chimney or flue.
Thirdly, in consuming the gaseous products arising from noxious or
offensive matter in sewers, &c., that is to say, in destroying or lessening
the noxious or offensive qualities of such said products, by causing them
to pass through a series of tubes, pipes, or passages heated for the
purpose of producing this effect.
(First Division).-In illustration of the manner in which I carry
inte effect the first division of my said Invention, I will refer to the
following Figures of the Drawing:-Figure I. is a longitudinal and
vertical section through the centre of a furnace constructed accordingly,
and for the purpose of heating a cylindrical steam boiler; and Figure II.
a perspective view of the interior of the grate or chamber for the fuel
viewed from the front. The corresponding parts in both views are
marked with similar letters or characters of reference. h, is the boiler;
i, brickwork of the furnace; k, the grate or chamber for the fuel; 7,
fire bars; m, ash pit; and n, chinaney. The whole or nearly the whole
of the space or flue between the chimney and the part of the
furnace where the "bridge" is ordinarily situate is occupied by a
series of pipes or tubes A, placed longitudinally in such space, and piled
over and upon each other so as to fill its entire area, such said pipes
or tubes and the spaces between them being the course or passage for
the smoke, gases, heated air, &c. between the above-mentioned por-
tions of the furnace from the latter to the former. And I prefer to

page_text: _construct the said tubes or pipes-A of fire-clay, as being a substance
which (I believe) retains heat_longer-than-any-metal, and will better
resist. its effects without sustaining injury. They may, however, be
made of iron, or other suitable material: B marks a row or series of
vertical tubes or pipes (of metal), each having on the side thereof
presented towards the tubes or pipes A, a slit or opening, as represented
at the Figures. III. and IV., which are-a-side-view and transverse section
respectively (on a larger scale) of one of such tubes or pipes. Or
instead of their being constructed with a slit or opening, they may be
constructed with a number of holes or perforations, as represented at
the side view and transverse section, 'Figures V. and VI. respectively;
(referring again to Figures I. and II.) the tubes or pipes B are placed
about two inches distant from the ends of the tubes or pipes A, and
are closed at their upper ends, and open at their lower ends, which are
carried down into the ash- pit or to the outside of the furnace. Their
upper ends may be made to extend to the top of the fire-grate or
chamber k, or they may be made to extend to only a portion of that
distance. Both ways are shewn in Figure II. C is a trap or valve for
the admission of air through the opening p, to the extremities of the
tubes or pipes A nearest the chimney, in order to effect the consumption
of any of the smoke or other gaseous products arising from the fuel
which may not already have been consumed in its passage through the
said tubes or pipes. The air may be admitted, if preferred, from any
suitable part of the furnace other than that shewn to the said end of
the said tubes or pipes for such purpose. The operation of the furnace
is as follows: The sinoke and gaseous products arising from the fuel
will pass round and between the tubes or pipes B (and over them if
they do not extend to the top), and enter the tubes or pipes A, and
likewise the spaces between them, and thus become divided into a series
of highly heated small currents or streams. At the same time the
atmospheric air entering the tubes or pipes B from the ash pit, or from
the exterior of the furnace (these tubes or pipes being in a highly
heated state) will become highly heated thereby in its passage through
them, and in such condition will pass out of them through the openings
in their sides in a series of small currents or streams, and into the

page_text: tubes or pipés A. In these tubes or pipes the oxygen of the air thus
supplied will unite with and effect a perfect or nearly perfect combus-
tion of the smoke and other gaseous products arising from the fuel;
and I have found in practice that the combustion of such products
produces so great an additional amount of heat as to render unnecessary
the combustion of so great a quantity of fuel as is ordinarily the case,
whereby a considerable saving is effected, besides the entire or nearly
entire consumption of the said products. The whole or a considerable
portion of any of such products that may not have become thus con-
sumed in their passage through the tubes or pipes A, will become
consumed by the admixture therewith of the additional supply of air
introduced through the trap C and opening p, or otherwise, as they
leave the said tubes or pipes. I would here observe that, although I
have represented in the Drawing, and have herein described a series of
tubes or pipes A, as arranged or disposed only in one direct passage
between the grate k and the chimney n, yet in the adaptation of this
division of my Invention to furnaces where the ordinary construction of
the flues or spaces is such that they have a greater or more extended
contact with the boiler or other vessel to be heated, by passing not only
underneath but also along the sides or otherwise before communicating
with the chimney, in such cases such said ordinary flues or spaces may
either all or only some (as may be desired) be filled with tubes or
pipes A. And I would also observe, that although I have represented
the tubes or pipes A as being cylindrical in form, and as extending in
length the whole distance between the grate and the chimney, yet they
may, be of any other convenient form or length; they may also be
of any convenient diameter or transverse dimension. I have found
cylindrical tubes or pipes having an internal diameter of three inches
to answer exceedingly well. And I would also further observe, that
the tubes or pipes B may be arranged or disposed horizontally, or in
an inclined direction, instead of vertically, as above described and as
represented in the Drawing.
(Second Division).-In illustration of the manner in which I carry
into effect the second division of my Invention, I will refer to the
Figures VII. and VIII. of the Drawing, which are an exterior side

page_text: 1, is the
elevation and sectional front-view-respectively of a common stove with
the horizontal tubes or pipes before mentioned as adapted thereto.
And in these said last-mentioned Figures the corresponding parts are
marked with similar letters or characters of reference.
exterior casing or framework of the stove; s, bars; and t, the part
where a pipe or flue may be fitted on and carried into a chimney or
otherwise, as may be desired. The horizontal tubes or pipes referred
to are marked B, and extend from side to side of the stove, being open
and. communicating with the external atmosphere at either both ends
or only at one end. These tubes or pipes are made with an opening or
openings on one side similar to either of the two plans represented at
Figures II., IV., V., and VI., and are so arranged or disposed in
the stove that the said opening or openings may be on the upper sides
of the said tubes or pipes. The operation of the stove is as follows:-
When a fire is lighted, the air in the tubes or pipes B becomes rarified,
and a current of air from the exterior to the interior of the stove is
consequently induced. In its passage this current of air becomes
heated, and on leaving the said tubes or pipes in such condition, and in
thin strata or streams, the oxygen thereof unites with and effects the
consumption of the heated smoke and other gaseous products arising
from the fuel, such products being likewise broken up or divided, as
herein-before mentioned. I would here observe, that in ordinary fire-
places and in other apparatus where the horizontal tubes or pipes B
cannot readily be made to communicate with the atmosphere immedi-
ately on emerging from or coming up flush with the exterior casing or
framework thereof, that in such cases such said tubes or pipes may be
continued beyond the casing or framework in any convenient manner
so as to obtain a supply of air, or may unite with each other on the
exterior of the said casing or framework, and may obtain the neces-
sary supply from a common chamber furnished with air from any con-
venient source.
.
(Third Division).-In illustration of the manner in which I carry
iuto effect the third division of my Invention, I will now refer to the
Figures IX. and X. of the Drawing, which are a sectional side elevation
and a front view (having the bars removed) respectively of a stove,

page_text: having a chamber for collecting the noxious or offensive gaseous pro-
ducts before referred to, the said chamber communicating with a series
of tubes, pipes, or passages, so bent and arranged in the stove as to
obtain a considerable heating surface to be operated upon by the fuel
used in the stove. And in these said last-mentioned Figures the
corresponding parts are marked with similar letters or characters of
reference. v, is the external casing or framework of the stove; w,
bars; D, the chamber for collecting the noxious or offensive gaseous
products; and E, the tubes, pipes, or passages communicating with the
said chamber, and to be heated by the fuel used in the stove. The
operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The heating of the tubes,
pipes, or passages E, produces a current of the noxious or offensive
gaseous products through. them, and in their passage they become heated
to a considerable extent; and it is found that this circumstance takes
away from them their deleterious and unhealthy character, either com-
pletely or to a considerable extent. I would here observe, that the kind
of stove lastly above described is particularly applicable to the foul air
shafts of hospitals, and to be placed over the eyes or gratings of street
sewers, in which case, if desired, the stove itself may be furnished with
a suitable trap or valve in place of a trap or valve inserted in the
paving or ground, as is ordinarily the case. And I would also further
observe, that tubes or pipes similar to those marked B, and described
more particularly under the second division of my Invention, may be
disposed or arranged in the sewer stove in addition to the tubes, pipes,
or passages E, being for the purpose of rendering more perfect the
combustion of the fuel employed to heat the said tubes, pipes, or
passages, in manner as described under the said second division.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I am perfectly aware of the circumstance of tubes,
pipes, &c. having been employed in a variety of ways for the introduċ-
tion of air into furnaces, stoves, or other apparatus for consuming fuel,
&c., and also for the passage or course of the smoke and other gaseous
products and heated air, &c., in order to obtain a perfect combustion.
I do not therefore clain the exclusive use of tubes, pipes, &c., or of

page_text: any of the separate parts herein-before described or referred to, for the
purpose of consuming-smoke or other gaseous products, except when
the same may be or are employed in connection with my said Inven-
tion, which I declare to consist of the-three several parts herein-before
set forth; and I. therefore claim the mode or modes of consuming
smoke and other gaseous products arising from fuel and other sub-
stances, as herein-set forth and as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Robertson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.