IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS FOR BURNING BRICKS, CEMENT, POTTERY, AND EARTHENWARE, AND OTHER ARTICLES OR SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO FURNACES GENERALLY
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Wilson, senior, and John Wilson, junior,
of Stafford Street, Hanley, in the County of Stafford, Potters, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS FOR BURNING BRICKS, CEMENT,
POTTERY, AND EARTHENWARE, AND OTHER ARTICLES OR SUBSTANCES, PARTS
OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO FURNACES GENERALLY."
Sealed the 4th May 1869, and dated the 11th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Wilson and
John Wilson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 11th November 1868.
We, GEORGE WILSON, senior, and JOHN WILSON, junior, of Stafford
Street, Hanley, in the County of Stafford, Potters, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS FOR BURNING
BRICKS, CEMENT, POTTERY, AND EARTHENWARE, AND OTHER ARTICLES OR SUBSTANCES,
PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO FURNACES GENERALLY," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in kilns suitable for
burning salt, glazed pipes, terra cotta, glazed bricks, and earthenware
in general, and is partly applicable to furnaces for other purposes. It

page_text: has for its object the consumption of smoke, the saving of fuel, and
(when applied to kilns) the production of a superior article.
According to our said Invention we make a number of openings about
half way up the kiln through the external walls thereof for the admission
of cold air at or about the centre of the kiln, whereby we obtain greater
control over the heat, and prevent the formation of smoke. Directly
underneath the openings above referred to are disposed three perforated
quarries" or fire-brick lumps or slabs placed one behind the other,
and standing over the inner arch of the fire hole. These perforated
" quarries" further assist in preventing smoke, and serve to keep the
fire to the bottom of the kiln. Extending straight down from the outer
perforated quarry or brick above referred to is the regulator hole or
passage which communicates with a perforated hot and cold air chamber.
This regulator hole and chamber are for facilitating the supply of fuel to
the fire hole, and for admitting hot and cold air thereto. The front of
the fire hole is perforated with numerous holes leading into various parts
of the fire hole, and supplying air thereto for keeping up an uniform
and active combustion. These kilns, which are a considerable improve-
ment upon the old system, work with up and down draught, so that they
can be used for any class of pottery ware. The fire holes morcover are
applicable to other furnaces than those intended for pottery kilns. The
bottom of the kiln is provided with a number of radial and intersecting
flues which are only open at the centre, and when used for earthenware
kilns they receive the heat from the fire holes by direct flues, whereas in
the old kilns the fire is cut off by indirect flues, thereby causing at least
ten per cent. extra outlay in coals and labour. The crown of each kiln
is perforated with three holes to every fire hole for the purpose of
clearing off the gas, so as not to stain the goods.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Wilson and John Wilson in the Great Seal 30
Patent Office on the 11th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
WILSON, sen', and JOHN WILSON, jun', of Stafford Street, Hanley, in
the County of Stafford, Potters, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said George Wilson, sen', and John
Wilson, jun', Her special license that we, the said George Wilson, sen*,
and John Wilson, jun", our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said George Wilson, sen', and John Wilson, jun',
our executors, administrators, or 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 KILNS FOR BURNING BRICKS, CEMENT, POTTERY, AND EARTHENWARE AND OTHER
ARTICLES OR SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO
FURNACES GENERALLY," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said George Wilson, sen', and John Wilson, jun', our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our hands and scals,
or under the hand and scal of one of us, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Wilson, sen', and John
Wilson, jun', do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:
Our said Invention relates to certain improvements in kilns suitable
for burning salt, glazed pipes, terra cotta, glazed bricks, and earthenware
in general, and is partly applicable to furnaces for other purposes; it has
for its object the consumption of smoke, the saving of fuel, and when
applied to kilns the production of a superior article.
According to our said Invention we make a number of openings about
half way up the kiln through the external walls thereof for the adinission
of cold air into the bags at or about the centre of the kiln, whereby we
obtain greater control over the heat and prevent the formation of smoke.

page_text: "
Three perforated "quarries" or fire-brick lumps or slabs are employed
placed one behind the other and standing over the inner arch of the fire
hole. These perforated quarries" further assist in preventing sinoke,
and serve to keep the fire to the bottom of the kiln. Extending straight
down from the outer perforated "quarry" or brick above referred to is
the regulator hole or passage which communicates with a perforated
hot and cold air chamber immediately above the fire hole. This re-
gulator hole and chamber are for facilitating the supply of fuel to the
fire hole, and for admitting hot and cold air thereto. The front of the
fire hole is perforated with numerous holes leading into various parts of
the fire hole, and supplying air thereto for keeping up an uniform and
active combustion. These kilns, which are a considerable improvement
upon the old system, work with up and down draught, so that they can
be used for any class of pottery ware.
The fire holes moreover are
applicable to other furnaces than those intended for pottery kilns. The
bottom of the kiln is provided with a number of radial and intersecting
flues which open at the centre in a chimney, and when used for earthen-
ware kilns they receive the heat from the fire holes by direct flues,
whereas in the old kilns the firo is cut off by indirect flues, thereby
causing at least ten per cent. extra outlay in coals and labor.
crown of each kiln is perforated with sets of holes, one set to every
fire hole, for the purpose of clearing off the gas, so as not to stain
the goods.
The
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood we
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in both the Figures.
Figure 1 of our Drawings represents a vertical section of a pottery
kiln constructed according to our said Invention, the section of the
bottom of the kiln being taken along the line 1-2 in Figure 2; and
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same, one half shewing the floor of
the kiln, and the other half the arrangement of the flues beneath the
said floor.
A, A, are the sides of the kiln; B is the crown or top, and C is a
central chimney rising from the centre of the hollow bottom of the kiln;
this hollow bottom has a number of flues D, D, built therein and con-
Thes flues are
verging to the chimney C, into which they all open.

page_text: lisposed in pairs opposite to or in a line with each of the several fire
holes E, E, from which their outer ends lead direct to the central
chimney, as shewn clearly in Figure 2. A wall F of open brickwork
is built between the parallel flues D of each converging pair, and a
series of cross or intersecting flues G, G, are constructed so as to connect
the converging flues D, the intervening brickwork H between the several
intersecting flues being built with suitable openings, to afford free com-
munication for the heated air and gases between them. The inner ends
of the converging flues D may be either opened or closed, but their outer
ends near the fire holes should always be left open. The floor I of the
kiln may be perforated or not according to the class of goods to be
fired or burnt. The mouths or fire holes E are, by preference, coffin-
shaped, and are provided with numerous perforations a, a, opening into
the sides thereof, as shewn in Figure 1, in order to admit fresh air into
different parts of the fires, and so maintain an even and regular com-
bustion. On the top of each fire hole there is formed a hot-air chamber b,
which affords access to the fire when stoking, and serves as a receptacle
for hot air, which is distributed therefrom into the back part of the fire,
as herein-after explained. c and d are the outer and inner regulator
holes or passages, the sides of which are formed of perforated quarries e
and f resting upon arches g and h spring across the back part of the
fire hole. The top of the air chamber is covered by a removable per-
forated quarry i, and other removable perforated quarries not shown in
the Drawings may be placed over the mouth of the regulator hole c
when required; k is an inlet for cold air to the inner regulator hole d;
Z is another air inlet formed over the arch m constructed across the front
of the fire hole; the fire-bars n rest upon the bearers o, o, and back
Cold
plate p,
which latter forms the back or inner end of the ash-pit g.
air enters the hot-air chamber through the perforations in the quarry i,
and this air in a heated condition passes out of the hot-air chamber
into the first or outer regulator hole c through the perforated quarry e.
The inner regulator hole d is similarly supplied with hot air through the
perforated quarry f, thus the hot air is uniformly dispersed over the
inner part of the mouth or fire hole where the smoke first generates,
thereby causing the gases to ignite and give out greater heat. The fresh
air which enters the inner regulator hole d by the lateral openings k is
diffused over the back part of the fire, and tends to keep the heat more
to the bottom of the kiln, so as to ensure a more uniform temperature
throughout the entire kiln, the ordinary kilns having a tendency to

page_text: become overheated at the upper part by reason of the temperature not
being maintained sufficiently high at the bottom. The fresh air supplied
to the inner regulator hole also serves to assist the action of the outer
regulator hole in case there should not be a sufficient influx of cold air
therethrough to prevent the formation of smoke, the action of which is
liable to injure or discolor the goods. By the use of our improved
contrivances we are enabled to prevent all contact of smoke with the
goods or wear of the kiln, and by employing fire-bars and an ash-pit
below, as described, we are enabled to burn the cheapest kinds of fuel,
such as small coal or "slack," for all purposes in lieu of having to burn
the best coals for the better class of goods. Cold air inlets K, K,
Figure 1, are formed in the side of the kiln about half way up, such
inlets opening into the vertical flues or passages L, L, known as the
"
bags," in connection with the inner end of each fire hole. By allowing
fresh air to enter this part of the kiln a better control of the temperature
is maintained, the highest temperature being kept down to the bottom
of the kiln or oven. In the crown or top B of the kiln or oven we
make a number of openings r, r, disposed in sets, one set being over
each fire hole, whereby facility is afforded for a rapid escape of the gases
from the top of the kiln or oven, and thereby preventing the staining
of the goods.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our
said Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The peculiar constructions and arrangements of kilns for burning
bricks, cement, pottery, and earthenware, and other articles or sub-
stances, as herein-before described and illustrated by our Drawings.
Second. The peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of fire
holes, hot-air chambers, and air passages, and their application to kilns,
ovens, and other heating purposes, as herein-before described and
illustrated by our Drawings.
Third. The use of special openings in the crown of a kiln or oven for
the more rapid escape of the gases, substantially as herein-before
described.
Fourth. The forming an air inlet into each "bag" at or about the
middle of the height of the kiln, for the purpose herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth. The combination of converging and intersecting floors con-
structed underneath the floor of a kiln or oven, substantially as and
for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Wilson, sen., and John
Wilson, jun., have to this our Specification set our hands and
seals, the Eighth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-nine.
GEORGE WILSON. (L.S.)
JOHN WILSON.
(L.S.)
GEORGE WILSON. (L.S.)
JOHN WILSON.
(L.S.)