IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ellis Butterworth, of Calder Cottage, near Roch-
dale, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS
IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 31st March 1871, and dated the 3rd October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ellis Butterworth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1870.
I, ELLIS BUTTERWORTH, of Calder Cottage, near Rochdale, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
I propose, firstly, in self-feeding or other furnaces that have moving
fire-bars to have these bars tubular or hollow through the whole or
part of their length, and to send or draw water, air, or steam inside or
through them. Or instead of having the bars tubular or hollow, pipes
may be fitted under the bars with holes, through which air, steam, or
water is caused to pass on to or in between the bars; by these means

page_text: the bars will be hindered from getting too hot. Or instead of the above,
when the fire-bars move backwards and forwards, I propose to blow or
draw steam into an open or closed ash-pit, which will thence pass up
between the fire-bars, and thus tend to keep them cool.
Secondly. I propose in furnaces where the fuel is caused to pass
through them by bars that move backwards and forwards, or by other
means, to blow or draw air through the fire by a fan or other mechanical
apparatus; by this means the quantity of air passing through the fire
can be regulated independent of the chimney.
Thirdly. I propose in furnaces where the fire-bars move up and down
and backwards and forwards, to attach a block to and between the bar
and the front or dead plate; by this means fuel will be prevented from
getting between the bar and the plate.
Fourthly. I propose in self-feeding furnaces to regulate by self-acting
means the quantity of air or fuel passing into the furnace; this may be
done in various ways, one way when the furnace is employed to generate
steam, is as follows:-On the mill or other shaft that drives the fuel
feeding apparatus is an eccentric which moves a connecting rod, the
bottom end of which is formed with a slot, and in this slot works loosely
a stud which is fast to a lever which oscilates on the main shaft of the
fuel feeding apparatus, to this lever is fastened a stud on which works a
catch, which when the connecting rod is lifting up the lever catches into
the teeth of a wheel that is fastened on the main shaft of the apparatus,
and thus turns it part of a revolution (all this has been used before,
except the slot in the connecting rod). When the connecting rod falls
the lever falls with it, until a stud fastened in the lever rests on an
incline or wedge, which can be moved backwards or forwards, and so
allow the lever to fall more or less, and thereby cause the fuel feeding
apparatus to move faster or slower. This incline or wedge is pushed
farther under the stud, which will cause it not to fall so far, and thereby
less fuel be fed into the furnace by a lever which is actuated by a piston,
which is pushed out of its cylinder by the steam as its pressure increases,
and the wedge is drawn back to allow the stud to fall further and thereby
feed more fuel into the furnace as the pressure of the steam decreases by
a spring which pulls the lever against the piston. Thus, if the pressure
of the steam increases the fuel is fed slower, and if it decreases, faster
into the furnace. This lever that is actuated by the piston and spring is
connected to the damper that regulates the draft, so that when the

page_text: steam increases in pressure it closes the damper, and when it decreases
it opens it, thereby regulating the quantity of air passing through the
furnace.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Ellis Butterworth in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELLIS
BUTTERWORTH, of Calder Cottage, near Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Ellis Butterworth, Her special license that I;
the said Ellis Butterworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns;
or such others as I, the said Ellis Butterworth, my executors, adminis-
trators, and 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, cxcrcise, and vend;
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR
STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Ellis Butterworth, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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 I, the said Ellis Butterworth, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
My improvements consist, first, in self-feeding or other furnaces that
have moving fire-bars, to have these bars tubular or hollow through the

page_text: whole or part of their length, and to send or draw water, air, or steam,
inside or through them. Or instead of having the bars or grates tubular
or hollow, when they move backwards and forwards, pipes may be fitted
under the bars with holes through which air, steam, or water is caused
to pass on to or in between the bars; by these means the bars will be
hindered from getting too hot. Or instead of the above, when the fire-
bars or grates move backwards and forwards, I propose to blow or draw
steam into an open or closed ash-pit, which will thence pass up between
the fire-bars, and thus tend to keep them cool.
Secondly. The Invention relates to furnaces where the fuel is caused
to pass through them by bars or grates that move backwards and forwards,
and consists in blowing or drawing air through the fire by a fan or other
mechanical apparatus; by this means the quantity of air passing through
the fire can be regulated independent of the chimney.
Thirdly. The Invention relates to self-feeding furnaces where the fuel is
caused to pass through them by bars or grates that move backwards and
forwards, or by bars that form a chain, and consists in regulating by self-
acting means the quantity of air or fuel passing into the furnace. This
may be done in various ways; one way when the furnace is employed to
generate steam is as follows:-On the mill or other shaft that drives the
fuel-feeding apparatus is an eccentric, which moves a connecting rod, the
bottom end of which is formed with a slot, and in this slot works loosely
a stud, which is fast to a lever which oscillates on the main shaft of the
fuel-feeding apparatus. To this lever is fastened a stud, on which works
a catch, which, when the connecting rod is lifting up the lever catches
into the teeth of a wheel that is fastened on the main shaft of the
apparatus, and thus turns it part of a revolution. All this has been used
before except the slot in the connecting rod. When the connecting rod
falls the lever falls with it until a stud fastened in the lever rests on an
incline or wedge, which can be moved backwards or forwards, and so
allow the lever to fall more or less, and thereby cause the fuel feeding
apparatus to move faster or slower. This incline or wedge is pushed
farther under the stud, which will cause it not to fall so far, and thereby
less fuel be fed into the furnace, by a lever, which is actuated by a piston
which is pushed out of its cylinder by the steam as its pressure increases,
and the wedge is drawn back to allow the stud to fall further and thereby
feed more fuel into the furnace as the pressure of the steam decreases by
a spring which pulls the lever against the piston; thus, if the pressure of

page_text: the steam increases the fuel is fed slower, and if it decreases, faster into.
the furnace. This lever, that is actuated by the piston and spring, is.
connected to the damper that regulates the draught, so, that when the.
steam increases in pressure it closes the damper, and when it decreases.
it opens it, thereby regulating the quantity of air passing through the
furnace.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily.
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Figure 1 is a section; Figures 2 and 4 are side elevations; and
Figure 3, a front elevation of self-feeding furnaces to which my improve-
ments are applied as attached to a steam boiler; Figure 5 is a section of
a boiler flue showing the fire-bars and pipes for conveying the water to
one-half of the bars; Figure 6 is an elevation; and Figure 7, a plan of
part of a hollow fire-bar for containing air, steam, or water; Figure 8 is
a section, and Figure 9 an elevation of part of a fire-bar with pipe under
it for conveying air, steam, or water to it.
a is the boiler, to which the self-feeding furnace is attached; ¹ and b³,
the fire-bars which move backwards and forwards, to carry the fire along,
these are made tubular or hollow, and when they have to contain water
the ends are plugged up and pipes c¹ and c³ connected to them to
convey water to them; c¹ are connected to the bars ¹, and to the
bars 68. The vertical pipes c¹* and ** are made of india-rubber or other
material to allow of the bars moving backwards and forwards. The
pipes c* and * are connected to the pipe d which conveys water to
them from the cistern e in which is the float f which regulates the
height of the water in the fire-bars. 9 (see Figures 1 and 6) are holes.
formed in the fire-bars which allow the steam as it is made to pass from
the inside of the bar to the outside and thence up through the fire.
Instead of water being conveyed inside the fire-bars the holes through
the bars may be kept open (instead of the ends being plugged up) when
a stream of air will pass into the bars at one end and out at the other,
and thus tend to keep them cool, or a steam pipe may be fixed under
the dead plate (see k, Figure 6) with holes opposite the ends of the
bars out of which the plug has been taken, thus steam will pass into
the bars and through them. The ends of the bars next to the bridge
might be plugged up and holes made through the sides of the bars

page_text: (see g, Figure 6) for the steam or air to pass out of the bar and thence
up into the fire. Instead of the bars or grates that move backwards
and forwards being tubular hollow pipes m (see Figures 8 and 9) may
be fitted under them with holes n, through which air, steam, or water
is caused to pass on to the bars and thence through the fire. Instead
of the holes n the air or steam may come out of the ends of the pipe m.
Instead of the above, when the fire-bars or grates move backwards
and forwards steam may be caused to pass into an open or closed ash-pit
in any convenient way; one way is as follows:-Under the dead plate
and across the width of the furnace is taken a steam pipe with a number
of small holes on the side of the pipe next to the bridge end of the
furnace through which the steam will pass under the bars and thence
up between the bars and through the fire. A tap may be fixed on the
pipe to regulate the quantity of steam passing into the furnace.
(see Figures 3 and 4) is the spider of a fan which is fast on the shaft
2 which is supported by the bearings and is caused to revolve by the
pulley which is driven from any convenient place. 8 is a cover open
at the top, and t is a cover over the top of the spider to prèvent the
ashes and cinders getting to the spider; u is a box open at the bottom
through which the air passes to the fan. By this means the air can be
blown through the fire of the furnace. Instead of the fan being mado
to blow the air through the fire, as shown, it may be fixed to the other
end of the boiler in any convenient position and draw the air through
the fire and blow it away.
0.
2 (see Figures 3 and 4) is a small cylinder in which slides the piston 3,
one end of which pushes against the lever 4, which at one end is hooked
into the projection in the cylinder 2. 5 is a spiral spring which pulls
the lever 4 against the piston. Towards the lower end of the lever 4 is
a stud on which works loosely a loop, to which is fast a connecting rod 6,
which takes hold of a stud on the incline 7, which is supported by a stud
fast to a bracket, that is fast to the frame side of the furnace. At the
bottom of the lever 4 is a stud, which is taken hold of by one end of a
connecting rod 8, the other end of which takes hold of a stud which is
fast to the lever 9, which is fast to a shaft which carries and is fastened
to the swivel damper 10, which works loosely inside the box u.
11 (see Figures 3 and 4) is a connecting rod which moves up and
down, the upper end being connected to any convenient moving power.
At the lower end is a slot in which is a stud which is fast to the arm 12,

page_text: which works loosely in the shaft 15. To this arm is fastened a stud 13,
on which works a catch which takes into the teeth of the wheel 14,
which is fast on the shaft 15 of the fuel-feeding apparatus. The stud 13
projects past the catch, so that it rests on the incline 7, which will not
allow it to drop (when the incline is in certain positions) as low as it
otherwise would. Steam is conveyed from the boiler to the cylinder 2
by the pipe 14.
The action of the regulating motion is as follows:-As the steam
increases in pressure it pushes the piston 3 further out of the cylinder 2,
and thus by means of the lever 4 and connecting rod 6 pushes the
incline 7 so that its higher end is under the stud 13, which will not
allow it to fall so far and thus cause the catch to push the wheel 14 a
less part of a revolution every time the connecting rod 11 lifts up, thus
it will feed less fuel into the furnace. If the steam decreases in pressure
the spring 5 pulls the lever 4 towards it and thus causes the lower end
of the incline 7 to come under the stud 13, which will allow it to go
lower down, and when the rod 11 lifts, it will cause the wheel 14 to
move a greater part of a revolution and thus feed more fuel into the
furnace. Also when the steam increases in pressure and pushes out the
lever 4, it, by means of the rod 8 and lever 9, closes the damper 10 so as
to allow less air to pass into the furnace, and when the steam decreases
in pressure it opens the damper and thereby allows more air to pass into
the furnace. The shaft 15 pushes the fire-bars backwards and forwards
(which causes the fire to pass from front to back of the furnace) and also
drives the pushers that push the coal or fuel into the furnace.
Having thus particularly described the nature of my Invention and
described convenient modes of carrying the same into operation, I wish
it to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself to the exact
arrangements and construction of parts shewn, as these may be con-
siderably varied without departing from the leading features of my
Invention; but I claim,-
Firstly. In self-feeding or other furnaces that have moving fire-bars,
forming these bars tubular or hollow through the whole or part of their
length, and causing air, steam, or water to pass inside or through them,
substantially as described.
Secondly. Applying to self-feeding or other furnaces that have fire-
bars or grates that move backwards and forwards, pipes under the bars

page_text: with holes through which air, steam, or water is caused to pass on to or
in between the bars.
Thirdly. Blowing or drawing steam into an open or closed ash-pit of a
self-feeding furnace where the fire-bars or fire-grates move backwards
and forwards, substantially as described.
Fourthly. In blowing or drawing air through the fire by means of a
fan or other mechanical apparatus in furnaces where the fuel is caused
to pass through them by bars or grates that move backwards and
forwards.
Fifthly. Regulating by self-acting means the quantity of air or fuel
passing into self-feeding furnaces where the fuel is caused to pass through
them by bars or grates that move backwards and forwards, or where the
bars form a chain, as in "Juckes's" furnaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ellis Butterworth, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this First day of April One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.