Improvements in or appertaining to Mechanical Stokers or the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Oct., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 9th July, 1896-Accepted, 15th Aug., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Mechanical Stokers or
the like.
We, ALFRED COTTON of 22 Belmont Street Southport, and LOUIS WILLIAM
GARNETT FLYNT of 7 Walmer Road Birkdale near Southport both in the
County of Lancaster, Draughtsman and Engineer respectively do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to devices such as are used for automatically or mechanically
feeding fuel into furnaces. We provide a steam jet fed from any suitable source
with steam. This jet is preferably arranged so as to cause the steam issuing there-
from to diverge on either hand and to spread out in the furnace somewhat in the
form of a fan. The jet is placed adjacent to the furnace front and solid fuel in the
form of fine coal, coal dust, sawdust or otherwise is fed by any suitable device so
as to be caught up and blown by said jet into the furnace. We provide a suitably
supported tray or platform beneath the jet orifice and projecting forwards from
same. This tray may have salient sides to direct the course of the fuel.
desired the steam may be superheated or it may induce one or more currents of
hot air or products of combustion from the furnace or smoke box and the mingled
jet will then heat or chemically combine with the solid fuel. If thought preferable
the induced currents of hot gases may enter the path of the solid fuel before it
reaches the jet and thus partially heat it.
If
The apparatus may if desired be also in combination with an ordinary fire of
coal or other fuel.
The jet may if desired be movable for the purpose of better distributing the fuel
over the furnace.
Suitable air inlets may be provided where required.
Improvements in or appertaining to Mechanical Stokers or
the like.
We ALFRED COTTON formerly of 22 Belmont Street Southport in the County
of Lancaster but now of 10 Park Road, Port Sunlight in the County of Chester,
and LOUIS WILLIAM GARNETT FLYNT of 7 Walmer Road, Birkdale near
Southport in the County of Lancaster, Draughtsman and Engineer, respectively
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to devices such as are used for automatically or mechanically
feeding fuel into furnaces. Our device is effective and cheap and occupies very

page_text: We will describe a boiler furnace provided with our device but do not of course
confine ourselves to the details specified.
Referring to the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a double furnaced boiler provided with our
device.
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view on an enlarged scale as on line a a Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 is a side section as on line b b of Fig. 2.
The coal, coal dust, sawdust or other solid fuel is placed in the hoppers A A and
is fed gradually therefrom by any suitable means. We have shown a feed wheel
or roller device B (Fig. 3) which may be actuated by any convenient means such
as by a donkey engine fed from the boiler. If preferred we may use two
feeders, (more or less) to supply the fuel and in some cases they may also crush
the fuel.
The furnace front is preferably composed of a casting C and on the front thereof
is carried what we term the jet box D. In this we arrange a jet or nozzle E into
which steam, superheated or otherwise is fed by the pipe D'. The front upper
surface of the jet E follows the lines of a truncated cone as shown, and the steam
exit orifice & therein is of such shape that the issuing volumn of steam tends to
cause the fuel fed from the hopper A to spread laterally and inwards over the
surface of the furnace so as to cause a uniform and efficient distribution of same.
At a short distance from the lips of the jet we place a plate or tray F which is
preferably shaped somewhat as shown and this ensures that the dropping fuel shall
not drop so far so as to be beyond the influence of the steam. The sides of plate F
are turned up or flanged to confine the track of the steam and fuel, and bosses F¹
are arranged on these flanges and engage set screws f f which serve to hold
plate F in position. We prefer to allow a space F2 between the nozzle E and
plate F so that the issueing jet of steam will not be hampered by dead or vacuous
spaces around it but will be able to freely travel into the furnace.
The application of this invention is not necessarily confined to furnaces for
steam boilers. We may for instance use it in connection with evaporating pans
or retorts or in other situations. The jet may if desired be movable for the purpose
of better distributing the fuel over the furnace. Other air inlets may be provided
where required. We may use an ordinary fire in combination with our device.
We wish it to be understood that we make no claim to the arrangement of
hopper and feed rollers or wheels as these have before this date been used to feed
fuel for mechanical stoking but ;
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 device for feeding fuel into a furnace consisting essentially of a steam jet
having a divergent orifice, a flanged plate or tray placed in front of and below
said jet, in combination with means for feeding fuel to the front of said jet,
substantially as described and shown.
2. The method of automatically feeding fuel to a furnace which consists in
causing coal dust, small coal, sawdust or other solid fuel to fall in regulated
quantities in front of a divergent jet of steam in such manner as to be distributed
over the surface of said furnace, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
3. The improved mechanical or automatic stoker taken as a whole substantially
as described and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 7th day of July 1896.
CHARLES COVENTRY,
Patent Expert,
Applicants' Agent.