IMPROVEMENTS IN COOKING RANGES
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Hugh Ferguson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
February 1870.
I, HUGH FERGUSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Ironmonger, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COOKING RANGES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the constructing of cooking ranges
in an improved manner, and comprises a simplified arrangement of the
flues for the fire gases which dispenses with the difficulties of cleaning
and the multiplicity of regulating appliances required in many ranges;
also improved arrangements for heating the ovens which avoids dust
and the filling up with soot of flues which cannot be conveniently got
at for cleaning; and also other minor improvements involving reduced
labor and skill for building and fitting an improved ventilation, and the
capability of using the range as an open or close one at pleasure without
inconvenience.
In the improved range as made according to one modification with
an oven on each side of the fire a hot plate is formed over each oven

page_text: with a horizontal flue space between it and the oven, through which
when the fire is covered the fire gases pass directly to a flue or flues at
the back leading up to openings into the chimney at points above the
lintel. There is the usual opening into the chimney directly over the
fire, which opening serves for ventilation when the fire is closed, and
which may be fitted with a regulating slide or damper if required. Hot
closets are formed in the upper corners of the covings with a number
of small openings in or round their bottoms for the entrance of heated
air from below, and with outlet ducts into the chimney above for the
discharge of the air and vapor. The range is changed into an open or
close one by simply uncovering or covering the fire by a sliding, hinged,
or loose plate.
Another part of the Invention consists in constructing flues or passages
for air so that such air will first become heated by the fire and will then
pass round the oven or ovens and serve as the medium for heating
them. For admitting the air openings with an adjusting slide or valve
may be conveniently made in the range front below the oven door, from
which point an internal passage is formed to lead the air into a box or
space between the oven and the fire wherein it becomes heated. A
partition extends from the bottom a certain distance up in this heating
box, and the heated air descends on the outside of this partition and in
contact with the side of the oven into a passage under the bottom of the
oven and up the outer side thereof, whence the passage is continued in
any convenient way to the chimney, so that the chimney draught may
induce the entrance of the air into the passages; or the air may be
led away by a flue separate from the chimney, and may be led into
apartments in upper flats to utilise its remaining heat in warming them.
The improvements are applicable to both open and close fire ranges,
and in the latter kind the ordinary flue from the fire over the top of the
oven may be retained. When there are ovens on both sides each may
be heated by separate air flues, and when there is an oven on one side
only the air passages may be led in contact with both sides of the fire
in order to take up the more heat.