Improvements in or relating to Furnaces."
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 19th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 18th Dec., 1897
5
"Improvements in or relating to Furnaces."
We, FREDERICK BAMFORD, of Merefield, Rochdale, Lancashire, Engineer and
WILLIAM WADSWORTH, of 122 Plymouth Grove, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Man-
chester, Lancashire, Estate Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention has for its object a means of more perfectly consuming the gases
given off in a furnace during combustion, thus preventing the production of a
large amount of black smoke, and also a means of checking the out-rush of
flame when the fire-door is opened for charging.
In carrying our invention into effect as applied to boiler and other similar
j furnaces, we use a battle plate, which extends across the ash-pit but which does not
quite reach up to the fire-bars. This baffle plate is placed a little way from the
front of the boiler or furnace, and is bent over at the top for a short distance so
as to be parallel with the fire-bars, thus leaving a passage between the top of
the plate and the bottom of the fire-bars; the plate is hinged and connected to
the fire-door in such a manner that the opening or closing of the fire-door regu-
lates the area of the passage between the top of the plate and the fire-bars. Inside
the furnace at the front end we place two or more pipes, the lower ends of which
communicate with the ashpit, while the top ends are brought above the level of
the fire grate and are bent over in a horizontal direction. A blast of air, which is
heated as will be hereinafer described, is introduced into the ashpit by means of
a blower, one end of which is level with the front of the furnace, while the other
end passes through a hole in the baffle plate. The action is as follows;-the air
after leaving the blower passes partly up through the fire bars, but since it can-
not all go that way some of it passes over the top of the baffle plate, getting heated
on its way, and through the pipes mentioned above, which are so arranged that
the currents of air pass diagonally over the fire; thus holding the flames in check
when the fire door is opened and assisting the more perfect combustion of the
gases and so preventing any black smoke from being given off.
In order to deaden the noise of the blower, we surround the nozzle at which the
air is forced into the blower with a pipe, which is fixed to the front of the blower
and passes along the side flue of the furnace, its far end being open to the
atmosphere over the boilers; this has the effect of heating the air supplied to the
blower and also deadens the noise so prevalent to forced draught furnaces. The.
part of the pipe which does not pass through the flue is jacketed with asbestos, etc.
so as to retain the heat and further deaden the noise.
The baffle plate can be hinged and held in position by a balance weight, so that
the passage between the top of the plate and the bars can be regulated automat-
ically by means of the differences of air pressures in the ash-pit; these differences
being brought about by the opening of the fire door.
Our invention can easily be applied to existing boiler and other similar
furnaces.
Dated this 18th. day of January 1897

page_text: We, FREDERICK BAMFORD, of Merefield, Rochdale, Lancashire, Engineer, and
WILLIAM WADSWORTH, of 122 Plymouth Grove, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Man-
chester, Lancashire, Estate Agent 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:-
Our invention has for its object a means of more perfectly consuming the gases
given off in a furnace during combustion and also checking the outrush of flame
when the fire-door is opened for charging, thus preventing the production of a
large amout of black smoke and effecting a saving in the amount of coal used and
so increasing the efficiency of the boiler or furnace.
We will now proceed to describe the method of carrying our invention into
effect as applied to boiler or other similar furnaces, for which it is most suitable,
having reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a Lancashire boiler showing our invention in
position.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the front end of the boiler on the line a, a.
In carrying our invention into effect, the air from the room or other place in
which the boiler is situated, is drawn along the tubes, 1, 1. These tubes are
placed in two rows along each of the side flues of the boiler and each tube at one
end extends into the open air while the other end enters into cast iron pipes 2,2,
which are fixed at the front of the boiler. The air is drawn along these tubes, 1, 1,
into the pipes, 2, 2 and is heated on its way by the gases in the side flues of the
boiler. A jet of steam is drawn from the top of the boiler through the pipe, 3
and is forced through the nozzles, 4, 4 driving the heated air in the pipes 2, 2
through the blowers 5,5 two of which are placed in each ash-pit, underneath the
fire-bars, 6, 6. A baffle plate, 7, which extends across the ash-pit but does not
quite reach up to the fire-bars, is placed a little distance from the front of the
furnace and the blowers pass through two holes in it. The baffle plate, 7 is
hinged at the point, and bent over for a short distance so as to be parallel with
the bottom of the fire bars, the hinged portion of the plate being connected in
such a manner that the opening or closing of the fire-door regulates the area of
the passage between the top of the plate and the bottom of the fire bars. This is
effected as follows:-A rod with an inclined plane, 10. at one end, which passes
underneath the hinged portion of the baffle plate, 7, has its front end projecting
through the front of the boiler, and is forced out by the spring, 11. The pro-
jections, 12, 12 on the fire-doors, press against the end of the rod when the door is
closed thus forcing the hinged plate up and diminishing the passage between the
plate and the fire-bars, the opening of the fire door releases the spring 11, and
increases the passage. Four pipes, 9, 9 are placed in each furnace at the front end
the bottom end of each of these pipes communicating with the ash-pit, while the
top end is bent over so as to point diagonally across the fire. The action is as
follows: the air from the rooin or other place in which the boiler is situated is
drawn along the tubes, 1, 1 into the pipes, 2, 2 and gets heated on its way, it is
then forced into the ash-pit through the blowers, 5, 5 by means of the jets of steam
issuing from the nozzles, 4, 4; the air thus introduced passes partly up through
the fire-bars but since it cannot all go that way some of it passes over the top of
baffle plate, 7 getting still more heated in its passage and through the pipes 9, 9,
which are arranged so that the currents of air pass diagonally over the fire.
The heated air thus introduced into the ash-pit and over the top of the fire
greatly assists, the more perfect combustion of the coal and prevents any black

page_text: smoke from being given off, thus increasing the efficiency of the boiler in as much
as all the gases are consumed and are not allowed to pass away unburnt. At the
same time the currents of air passing through the pipes, 9, 9 keep the flames in
check when the fire door is opened for charging. In order to deaden the noise
of the blowers and retain the heat, the pipes, 2, may be jacketed with asbestos.
The passage between the top of the baffle plate and the bottom of the fire-bars
instead of being regulated by means of the fire-door may be regulated by means
of a weight attached to the hinged portion, when the area of the passage is con-
trolled by the differences of air pressures in the ash-pit, these differences being
brought about by the opening of the fire door. Instead of the tubes 1, 1 down
each flue of the boiler we may use one tube, which can be made out of corrugated
iron and of an area equal to the area of all the tubes, 1, 1.
Our invention can easily be applied to existing boiler and other similar furnaces
without altering their construction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
(1) In a boiler or other similar furnace the method of more perfectly consuming
the gases given off during combustion as described and illustrated in the acconi-
panying specification and drawings.
Dated the 18th dov fantalion 190
Datadh 18th
day of October 1907
www T
E. J. ECKERSLEY.
Agent for the Applicants.