IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT BLAST STOVES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Humphrey Chamberlain, of No. 3, Saint John's,
Wakefield, in the County of York, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT BLAST STOVES."
Sealed the 21st January 1868, and dated the 27th July 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Humphrey Chamberlain
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th July 1867.
I, HUMPHREY CHAMBERLAIN, of No. 3, Saint John's, Wakefield, in the
County of York, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS, IN HOT BLAST STOVES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference partly to improvements in the ordinary hot
blast stoves at present in use, and partly to a novel construction and arrange-
ment of hot blast stoves.
One of the essential features of my Invention consists in packing the flues
or spaces between and amongst the blast pipes or passages of ordinary hot.
blast stoves or of hot blast stoves of any improved construction with open
brickwork, so disposed as not materially to interfere with the draught whilst
they act as magazines or storers of heat by becoming highly heated throughout

page_text: the entire length or area of the heating chamber or space, and when so heated
will radiate a uniform or nearly uniform degree of heat.
According to my improved construction and arrangement of hot blast stove
I employ one or a group of tubes placed either horizontally, vertically, or at
an angle, which tubes I line with fire-clay, & pack with open brickwork or
fire-clay lumps, leaving sufficient clearance for draught. I prefer to use three
of such tubes placed side by side, each tube being enclosed in an outer tabe,
so as to leave an annular space between the inner and outer tubes. The
outer tubes are cased externally in brickwork to prevent loss. of heat by
radiation. In the annular space between the inner and outer tube there is
inserted a spiral diaphragm or Archimedean screw blade, which fills up the
width of the annular space, and forms a spiral passage round the exterior of
the inner tube; the blast to be heated is forced along this spiral passage and
caused to circulate round the space between the inner and outer tubes, the
course of the blast being, by preference, in a contrary direction to that of the
hot gases passing through the interior of the inner or heating tube or tubes,
When a group of three tubes are employed the two outside tubes are made to
communicate by flues with the third tube in the middle of the group, such
third tube being in connection with the chimney.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Humphrey Chamberlain in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS. SHALL COME, I, HUMPHREY
CHAMBERLAIN, of No. 3, Saint John's, Wakefield, in the County of York, C Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Hen
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto. me,
the said Humphrey Chamberlain, Her special license that I, the said Humphrey
Chamberlain, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Humphrey Chamberlain, my 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 "In-

page_text: PROVEMENTS IN HOT BLAST STOVES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Humphrey Chamberlain, my executors or administrators,
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 Humphrey Chamberlain, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 :-
My said Invention has reference partly to improvements in the ordinary
hot blast stoves at present in use, and partly to a novel construction and
arrangement of hot blast stove.
One of the essential features of my Invention consists in packing the flues
or spaces between and amongst the blast pipes or passages of ordinary hot
blast stoves or of hot blast stoves of my improved construction with open
brickwork so disposed as not materially to interfere with the draught, whilst
they act as magazines or storers of heat by becoming highly heated throughout
the entire length or area of the heating chamber or space, and when so heated
will radiate a uniform or nearly uniform degree of heat.
According to my improved construction and arrangement of hot blast stove
I employ one or a group of tubes placed either horizontally, vertically, or at
an angle, which tubes I line with fire-clay and pack with open brickwork or
fire-clay lumps, leaving sufficient clearance for draught. I prefer to use three
of such tubes placed side by side, each tube being enclosed in an outer tube,
so as to leave an annular space between the inner and outer tubes. The
outer tubes are cased externally in brickwork to prevent loss of heat by
radiation. In the annular space between the inner and outer tube there is
inserted a spiral diaphragm or Archimedian screw blade, which fills up the
width of the annular space, and forms a spiral passage round the exterior of
the inner tube. The blast to be heated is forced along this spiral passage and
caused to circulate round the space between the inner and outer tubes, the
course of the blast being by preference in a contrary direction to that of the
bot gases passing through the interior of the inner or heating tube or tubes.
When a group of three tubes are employed the two outside tubes are made to
communicate by flues with the third tube in the middle of the group, such
third tube being in conuection with the chimney.

page_text: And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood 1.shan 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 all the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of my
improved construction of hot blast stove; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan;
and Figure 3 is an end view and partial section taken through 1, 2, in
Figure 1.
A, A, A¹, A¹, are two sets of chambers or fire-places, in which the combustion
of the fuel employed for heating the air is effected; these sets of fire-places
are separated from each other by the walls B, B, and the fires of each set are
also separated by the partition wall C, C. The heated products of combustion
from the fires of each set of fire-places meet at the top of the partition
walls C, C, and travel through the tubes or flues D, D; to the further end
thereof, and then return through the central tube or flue E to the chimney by
the flue or passage E". The tubes or flues D, D, and E are lined throughout
their entire length with fire-clay, and in these flues I pack or arrange a series
of fire-clay lumps or bricks F, which may extend along the whole or only a
portion of their length, spaces a, a, being left between the fire-bricks in order
that the heated products of combustion may be as it were sifted without
materially interfering with the draught. These fire-bricks retain a great
amount of the heat passing through them, and thereby maintain a high and
uniform or nearly uniform degree of temperature in the tubes or flues D, D,
and E. These tubes or flues D, D, and E, are each enclosed in an outer
tube D¹, D¹, and E', an annular space being left between such inner and outer
tubes for the passage of the air to be heated. In these annular spaces I place
a spiral diaphragm or Archimedian screw blade G, which is made to fill up
the width of the space, and form a spiral passage round the exterior of the
inner tubes. The blast or current of air to be heated enters by the pipe H,
and is forced along the spiral passage formed round the tube or flue E and
through the lateral branch pipes I into and along the spiral passage. formed
round the tubes D, whence it issues through the pipes K in a highly heated
condition ready for use in a smelting furnace or to be otherwise employed.
This blast or current of air may be made to travel in the same direction as
the heated products of combustion, but I prefer to cause it to travel in the
contrary direction, as shewn in my Drawings, where the direction of the air is
indicated by the black arrows, and the direction of the heated products of
combustion by red arrows. In order to prevent loss of heat by radiation the
outer tubes D¹, D', and E' are enclosed in brickwork; L, M, are openings,

page_text: which are provided for the purpose of clearing out any refuse which may
collect in the tubes or flues; N is a pipe for conducting a current of cold air
if necessary into the combustion chamber to assist the combustion of the
fuel.
Figures 4 and 5 represent respectively a transverse section and a front
elevation, partly in section, of a hot blast stove as at present in use with my
improvements applied thereto.
A is a chamber, in which are placed the tubes B through which the air to
be heated is made to pass. The spaces around and between these tubes are
filled or packed with fire-clay lumps or bricks C, such brickwork being carried
up to within a short distance of the crown D of the chamber, the bricks are
stacked in such a way as not to materially interfere with the draught, spaces
or openings a being left between the bricks for the heated products of com-
bustion from the fire-places E to pass through. The fire-clay lumps or bricks
will become highly heated by the products of combustion being caused to
circulate amongst them, and when so heated will radiate or impart a uniform
or nearly uniform heat throughout the whole area of the chamber A, and the
air being forced through the tubes B will become highly heated, and may be
employed for any desired purpose. The products of combustion after passing
through the open brickwork escapes through the openings b in the crown of
the chamber, thence through the opening c into the smaller chamber d, and
finally escapes from the lower part of this chamber into the chimney.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of hot blast stove as
herein-before described and illustrated by Figures 1, 2, and 3 of my
Drawings.
Second, the application and use to and in the flues or heating chambers of
hot blast stoves of a heat storer or magazine constructed and arranged
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
Third, heating the air in hot blast stoves by causing such air to travel in a
spiral direction in an annular space formed round the exterior of the heating
chamber, substantially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated
by my Drawings.
Fourth, stacking or building open brickwork in the chambers of hot air

page_text: and for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated by Figures 4 and 5
of my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Humphrey Chamberlain, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of January,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
HUMPHREY CHAMBERLAIN. (L.S.).
Witness to the signature of
the said Humphrey Cham-
berlain,
W. B. CHAMBERLAIN,
3, St. John's,
Wakefield,
Gentleman.