IMPROVE- MENTS IN FURNACES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Hall, of 16, Chadwell Street, Penton-
ville, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FURNACES."
Sealed the 16th January 1854, and dated the 10th August 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Hall at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th August 1853.
Specifi
I, SAMUEL HALL, of 16, Chadwell Street, Pentonville, in the County Provis
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements on the apparatus
described in my former Patent of the 19th March One thousand eight
hundred and forty-nine, and consists,―
First, of causing the front ends of the moveable fire bars to be pre-
vented from rising by means of a fixed plate or bar, and of forming
the bottom of the hopper moveable on a hinge or axis in such manner
that on lifting such bottom it shall force the fuel to move towards
the fire.

page_text: Secondly, in order to regulate or shut off the supply of air under-
neath the fire bars, when desired, a moveable plate to act as a valve is
applied above the inclined air regulating plate described in the above-
mentioned Patent underneath the fire bars, so that when the move-
able plate or valve is closed the air will be prevented from passing to
the fire through between the fire bars, and when only partly closed the
admission of air will be reduced or regulated. And in order to regu-
late or increase the quantity of air admitted at the front of the furnace,
and above the fire, one of the three plates before used for this purpose,
videlicit, the front one, which is made in two parts, the lower one being
attached to the upper one by a hinge so as to form a door, which can
be lifted up or opened, and thereby enlarge the passage between the
hopper and furnace; as that door is made moveable in such manner as
to move backward and forward it may also be used to force the fuel
forward towards the fire bars when the fuel in the hopper has been
allowed to get too low.
Thirdly, the clinker shelf used in combination with moveable fire
bars, in place of moving on an axis, is caused to slide so as to take up
less room.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Hall in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
SAMUEL HALL, of 16, Chadwell Street, Pentonville, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seventeenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Samuel Hall, Her special licence that I, the
said Samuel Hall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Samuel Hall, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to

page_text: time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed. 8
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 FURNACES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Hall, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Samuel Hall, 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 thereof (that is to say):
I shall preface this Specification by saying that my present Patent is
for improvements on my Patent of Ninth May One thousand eight
hundred and forty-two, for "Improvements in the Combustion of Fue!
and Smoke," and on my two subsequent Patents for the same (among
other) purposes of Twenty-fifth February One thousand eight hun-
dred and forty-five, and Nineteenth January One thousand eight
hundred and forty-nine, and that my present Patent comprises im-
provements upon them which, I believe, as a whole render the pro-
cesses of the combustion of fuel and smoke so perfect as to leave
nothing more to be desired. The Specification of the first of the above-
mentioned Patents contains drawings and descriptions of my Inveu-
tions as applied to the furnaces of an ordinary waggon-shaped boiler,
to those of a marine boiler, to a bleacher's, dyer's, or brewer's pan or
copper, which are applicable to other similar vessels, also to "the
furnace of a baker's oven, which is applicable to any other description
of close furnaces;" and I will here remark that the improvements con-
tained in my three subsequent Patents extend also to all those kinds of
furnaces.
The object or principle of the first Patent above mentioned is the
supplying of air, whether heated or of atmospheric temperature, to
every description of furnace above the burning fuel, and in commixture

page_text: with the inflammable matters arising from it, by introducing such air
at the front, sides, and back or bridge of the furnace, or any of them;
and in that Patent the fire bars are stationary, and the fuel is supplied
by manual labour, rendering the frequent opening and shutting of the
fire doors necessary, during which process smoke is produced, and
escapes from the chimney unconsumed, and consequently in a black or
opaque state. The objects of the improvements contained in my Patent
of Twenty-fifth February One thousand eight hundred and forty-five,
in which the above-mentioned former Patent is recited, are to supply
fuel to furnaces by moveable fire bars of particular suitable forms
put into motion by any proper means, and thereby to economise fuel
and labour, as well as to obviate the necessity, as above mentioned, of
opening the furnace doors, whereby such black smoke is periodically
and frequently produced. The objects of my Patent of Nineteenth
January One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in which the last-
mentioned Patent is also recited, are for supplying the air underneath
the fire bars at the front of the furnace to prevent its rushing to the
back end thereof without acting sufficiently underneath the front part
of it.
The present Patent has for its object improvements on the apparatus
described in my former above-mentioned Patents, and consists,-
First, of causing the front ends of the moveable fire bars to be pre-
vented from rising by means of a fixed plate or bar, and of forming
the bottom of the hopper moveable on a hinge or axis in such manner
that ou lifting such bottom it shall force the fuel to move towards the
fire.
Secondly, in order to regulate or shut off the supply of air under-
neath the fire bars, when desired, a moveable plate to act as a valve is
applied above the inclined air regulating plate described in the above-
mentioned Patent of Nineteenth March One thousand eight hundred
and forty-nine underneath the fire bars, so that when such moveable
plate or valve is closed the air will be prevented from passing to the
tire through or between the fire bars, and when it is only partly closed
such admission of air will be reduced or regulated. And in order to
regulate or increase the quantity of air admitted at the front of the

page_text: furnace, and above the fire, one of the plates before used for this
purpose, videlicit, the front one, is made in two parts, the lower one
being attached to the upper one by a hinge so as to form a door, which
can be lifted up or opened, and thereby enlarge the passage between
the hopper and furnace; as that door is made moveable in such
manner as to move backward and forward it may also be used to force
the fuel forward towards the fire bars when the fuel in the hopper has
been allowed to get too low.
:
Thirdly, the clinker shelf used in combination with moveable fire
bars, in place of moving on an axis, is caused to slide so as to take up
less room, and by being left a little open to allow a portion of air to be
admitted from the ash pit between it and the furnace bridge to meet
the smoke or gaseous matters issuing from the furnace.
The results of the above-mentioned improvements in apparatus arc,
first, that the spaces between the fire bars are converted into air
channels or passages for conveying the air between them from the front
to the back of the furnace, not only underneath the whole length of the
fire, but afterwards to supply it with air in front of the bridge, there to
meet, mingle with, and accurately consume all the smoke and inflam-
mable gases generated in the furnace on their passage over it, and on
their way to the boiler and chimney.
The accompanying Drawings contain descriptions of some among
many furnaces to which the improvements of my present Patent are
applied. Figure 1, in Drawing No. 1, is a longitudinal section of my
patent smoke consuming and self fuel supplying furnace as applied to a
waggon-shaped stationary boiler; A, being the boiler; B, the furnace;
C, the ash pit; E, the bridge; and E', au arch of fire brick, which I
call a reverberatory arch or reverberator, as it acts upon the flame of
the fire in the manner of a reverberatory furnace. This arch extends
from side to side of the furnace in front of the bridge, either adjoining
it or at a little distance from it, so as to leave a narrow space or slit for
a thin sheet of air to pass between them to meet the flame from the
fire on its way to the flues of the boiler. E', Figure 2, shows a scetion
of the arch and side walls of the furnace, taken from n, to n, of Figure 1.
D, is a hopper for receiving the supply of fuel to the furnace. h, i, j,

page_text: and j', are plates which form the back of the hopper plate; j', is
attached to plate j, by a hinge in order to raise it up and enlarge the
opening between the hopper and the furnace more or less, as may be
required. Between these plates are two spaces for supplying thin
streams or sheets of air (as shewn by arrows) to the front of the
furnace to effect (in part) the consumption of the smoke and inflam-
mible gases as they arise from the fuel. This mode of supplying air
is attended with two advantages, videlicit, it preserves the plates
forming the back of the hopper from becoming (as they otherwise
would do) too hot, and in so doing the air acquires a considerable
increase of temperature, which predisposes it the more readily to com-
bine with and the more accurately to consume such smoke and gases.
The minimum quantity of air required for that process is obtained by
the regulating plate a, which must be opened precisely so much as to
prevent the slightest appearance of smoke from morning to night at the
top of the chimney, and no more. f, is a plate to form, in conjunction
with the fire bars, the bottom of the hopper. F, is one of a series of
as many fire bars as the width of the furnace will admit; they are to
be moved to and fro, as hereafter explained, by eccentrics, one of which
is shewn by k, placed on a square revolving shaft l. The necks of this
shaft, which, of course, are round, are supported by carriages placed on
brackets, one of the latter being shewn by d, d. The eccentrics revolve
within the forks e, e, of the fire bars, and thereby effect the above-
mentioned backward and forward movements of such bars. c, c, c, c, c, c,
are projections on these bars in the form of inclined planes rising from
them, and cut in front at right angles with them. 9, I, g', g', are pro-
jections on one side of each of the fire bars to keep them at proper
distances asunder; but g, g, are so narrow as but slightly to interrupt
the free passage of the air between the bars on its way to the bridge
or back of the furnace. ', g', have spaces cut in them for the passage
of small jets of air into the furnace: L, L, L, are indented bearers put
across the ash pit for carrying the fire bars. M, is a sliding door or
shelf extending from side to side of the furnace, sliding on bearing bars
R, for receiving the clinkers or scoria, and any other incombustible
matters which may be discharged from the furnace, and dropping them

page_text: periodically into the ash pit by means of the iron rod m. This door or 8
shelf may also be used, not only for receiving and getting rid of the
clinkers, but as another air regulating door or valve by opening it more
or less, according to circumstances. N, is an arch of fire brick
forming the top of the front part of the furnace and the bottom of the
fire flue O. P, is an air guide plate, moveable upon a rod or axle p,
to compel the air for supplying the back part of the furnace to enter in
at the front thereof, and pass from thence to the back of it through
the spaces between the fire bars, which act as air channels or passages
whereby the two good objects are effected, of keeping the fire bars cool,
and heating the air previously to its coming in contact with the fuel.
P¹, is a counterbalance to plate P. Q, is another plate, moveable (with
a similar counterbalance not shewn in the Drawing) upon the same rod
or axle as plate P, and working above it to act as a valve for regulating
the admission of the air or excluding it altogether.
Drawings Nos. 2, 3, and 4, represent that portion of my Invention
in which stationary fire bars are employed. In these Drawings where
the same letters occur as in Drawing No. 1, they indicate the same
parts, and therefore require no further description.
Drawing No. 2, represents in longitudinal section in this part of my
Invention as applied to a waggon boiler.
In this Figure E", represents a reverberator of the form shewn in
the Drawing fixed upon the end of the fire bars, leaving a space
between it and the bridge E, for the admission of heated air to the
inflammable gases in their passage over the bridge.
Drawing No. 3, represents this part of my Invention as applied to a
pan or copper. Figure 1, being a longitudinal section, Figure 2, a
transverse section of the furnace upon the line Z, Z, and Figure 8, an
end elevation shewing the doors. A¹, is the pan or copper, and S¹, a
door performing the office of the plate Q, in Drawings 1, and 2, i. c.,
regulating the admission of air to the fire bars.
Drawing No. 4, represents this part of my Invention as applied to
the furnace of a baker's oven. Figuro 1, being a longitudinal section,
Figure 2, a transverse section through the furnace on the line Z, Z,
and Figure 3, an end elevation of the doors. In this Drawing A",

page_text: represents the oven; S, the fire door; S', the air regulating door;
and S", the ash pit door.
I would observe that the different arrangements of the doors in
Drawings 2, 3, 4, may be adopted at pleasure.
Having described the nature of my Invention, I now proceed to
state that my several claims are as follow:-
Firstly, I claim the following articles separately and independently
of each other and of all other parts of my Invention; videlicet, the fixed
iron bar o, and the improved moveable plate f, attached to it by hinges
to form the bottom of the hopper; the moveable plate Q, to act as a
valve for regulating the admission of the air underneath the fire bars,
or stopping it off altogether; the improved sliding clinker shelf for
dropping the clinkers or other incombustible matters contained in the
fuel into the ashpit, and for acting as an additional air regulating plate;
and, lastly, the reverberator in the front of the furnace bridge to cause
the reverberation of the air from the air channels and of the flame.
Secondly, I claim the combination of any two or more of those
articles.
Thirdly, I claim the combination of any one or more of those articles
with either of the apparatuses described in my Patents of Ninth May
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two, Twenty-fifth February
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five, and Nineteenth January
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, (herein above recited,) in
respect of the consumption of fuel and smoke.
Fourthly, I claim as the results of the above apparatuses the conver-
sion of the spaces between the fire bars into air channels or passages for
conveying the air to the end or bridge and reverberator of the furnace,
there to mingle with and effect the combusion of the smoke and
inflammable gases arising from the fire, and to prevent the fire bars
from being burnt by becoming red hot, and, moreover, to produce the
further desirable effect of heating the air passing between them, and
rendering it more capable of effecting the combusion of smoke and
inflammable gases; and this claim I make whether the spaces between
the fire bars are converted into air channels or passages by the means
herein described or in any other suitable manner.

page_text: Fifthly, I claim the combination of the air guide plates h, i, j, and j',
and the air regulating valve a, with reverberators, and the use of the
spaces formed between the fire bars to act as channels or passages for
conveying air, not only to the fuel upon them, but to the back end of
the fire, for it come in commixture with the gaseous and inflammable
matters which arise from the fire on their way to and over the rever-
berators and the bridge.
Sixthly, I claim the combination of the air regulating valve a, at
the front of the furnace with the air regulating and clinker receiving
shelf M, whether they are used with self fuel supplying furnaces, as
shown in Drawing No. 1, or to furnaces with stationary fire bars to
which they are also applicable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Hall, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
0
Witness,
J. T. HARSTON,
12, Cursitor St.,
Chancery Lanc.
SAMUEL HALL. (L.S.)