IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREVENTION OR CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Naylor, of Lorn Terrace, Mildmay Park, in
the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREVENTION OR CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Naylor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
March 1866.
I, WILLIAM NAYLOR, of Lorn Terrace, Mildmay Park, in the. County of
Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREVENTION OR CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the prevention or, consumption of the.
smoke heretofore evolved from reverberatory, puddling, re-henting, and air..
furnaces, and consists according to one method of carrying out my Invention.
in forming an air chamber or chainbors or conduit or conduits along the neck
and roof or sides or bottom of furnaces of the above description, the inner
side of such chambers or couduits being divided from the interior of the
furnace or neck of the furnace by a thin slab of fire-brick or other good..
refractory material, in order that as much heat as possible may be imparted to:
the air therein. One end of these conduits or chambers nearest the stack or..
chimney is connected to an air inducer, which consists of a pipe provided with
Price Si

page_text: one or more steam jets, and with an orifice for the admission of air, such
orifice being provided with a self-acting valve, which is sufficiently weighted
to close or nearly close when the steam jets are not on, but to open by the
inrush of air to the pipe when the steam jets are applied. The opposite end
of this pipe separates into two branches, the one branch being connected to
the mouth of the hot air conduit or chamber above referred to, so as to
convey air thereto, whilst the other branch is connected to an inverted syphon
which is partly filled with water, such syphon serving to collect and carry off
any water of condensation which may be produced in the pipe, and thereby
prevent it from being blown into the hot air chamber or conduit. By this
means a powerful current of air is caused to pass through the hot air chambers
or conduits, and such air after being highly heated in its passage through the
said chambers or conduits enters the furnace through apertures for that
purpose, and mixes with the unconsumed gases as they risc from the fresh
fuel, thereby affecting their combustion and preventing the formation of
smoke. In some cases the air branch of the pipe or air inducer above
described may be made to inject the air directly into the chimney or stack,
either at the bottom thereof, or through openings made for that purpose in
the sides at any desired height above the ground, by which means a powerful
blast is produced up the chimney or stack, the object being to compensate for
the retardation of the draught produced by the cooling effects of the air in the
chimney by imparting increased velocity to such air. In lieu of steam jets
other well-known means may be employed for producing a current of air, as
for example, a fan blower, bellows, or blowing cylinder. As the inlet of air
into the furnace.or stack is only required during the time that the fuel is
giving out unconsumed gases, which would otherwise result in smoke, I
propose to adopt suitable self-acting arrangements for closing or partially
closing the air inlets and the steam jets (when employed), such arrangements
being so disposed that before the mouth of the feeding aperture of the furnace
can be opened for the admission of fuel the air inlets and steam jets (when
used) shall be opened or brought into play. One mode of effecting this
consists of a lever working on a fulcrum, and carrying at one end a dead
weight, whilst at its opposite end it carries a bucket or vessel which rises and
falls in a cistern of water, such vessel having a perforation in the bottom. The
dead weight preponderates slightly over the bucket or vessel when empty, and
when the lever is in its normal position and no air is admitted to the furnace
the weight will be immediately in front of a flap or grating covering the
mouth of the feed aperture, and consequently all access to the furnace is
prevented until the weighted end of the lever is lifted out of the way, so as to

page_text: adinit of the flap being opened. A notch in the weight receives the edge of
the door or flap when opened, and holds it in that position whilst the fuel is
being thrown in. In the meantime the bucket by being lowered into the
cistern is partially filled with water, and when the furnace door or flap is
closed and the weight thereby released, its gravity tends to cause the lever to
turn slowly upon its fulcrum, lifting at the same time the partially filled
bucket partly out of the water in the cistern, and as the water flows out of the
bucket through the hole in the bottom the weighted end of the lever gradually
descends to its normal position opposite to the flap. This motion of the lever
when released is conveyed to the air inlet valves, or to cocks or valves on the
steam jet pipes, and effects their gradual closing, the opening of the same
being effected by the lifting of the lever preparatory to the opening of the
door or flap in front of the furnace charging mouth; or, if preferred, in the
case of a fan blower, bellows, or cylinder blower the gradual descent of
the weighted end of the lever may be made to transfer the driving strap of
such blowers to a loose pulley on a driving shaft, whilst by lifting the lever the
strap is put on to the last pulley, and the blower set in motion so as to
produce the current of air at the desired time. The duration of the period
during which the air is to be admitted into the furnace may be varied
according to the length of time necessary for the fresh fuel to give off its
gases by increasing er diminishing the size of the aperture in the bottom of
the bucket, so as to allow the water to flow therefrom quicker or slower as
ind
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Naylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th September 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NAYLOR, of Lorn Terrace, Mildmay Park, in the County of Middlesex,
Mechanical Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto ine, the
said William Naylor, Her special license that I, the said William Naylor, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Naylor, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agre

page_text: 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
THE PREVENTION OR CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Naylor, 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 mauner 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 William Naylor, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, 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 bas for its object the prevention or consumption of the
smoke heretofore evolved from reverberatory, puddling, re-heating, and air
furnaces, and consists according to one.method.of carrying out my Invention in
forming an air chamber or ohambers or conduit or conduits along the neck and
roof or sides or bottom of furnaces of the above description, the inner side of
such chambersor conduits being divided from the interior of the furnace or neck
of the furnace by a thin slab of fire-brick or other good refractory material, in
order that as much heat as possible may be imparted to the air therein. One
end of these conduits or chambers nearest the stack or chimney is connected
to an air inducer, which consists of a pipe provided with one or more steam
jets, and with an orifice for the admission of air, such orifice being provided
with a self-acting valve, which is sufficiently weighted to close or nearly close
when the steam jets are not on, but to open by the inrush of air to the pipe
when the steam jets are applied. The opposite end of this pipe separates
into two branches, the one branch being connected to the mouth of the hot
air conduit or chamber above referred to, so as to convey air thereto, whilst
the other brauch is connected to an inverted syphon which is partly filled with
water, such syphon serving to collect and carry off any water of condensation
which may be produced in the pipe,and thereby prevent it from being blown
into the hot-air chamber or conduit. By this means a powerful current of
air is caused to pass through the hot air chainbers or conduits, and such air
after being highly heated in its passage through the said chambers or conduits
enters the furnace through apertures for that purpose and mixes with the

page_text: unconsumed gases as they rise from the fresh fuel, thereby enecting their
combustion and preventing the formation of smoke. In some cases the air
branch of the pipe or air inducer above described may be made to inject the
air directly into the chimney or stack, either at the bottom thereof or through
openings made for that purpose in the sides at any desired height above the
ground, by which means a powerful blast is produced up the chimney or stack,
the object being to compensate forthe retardation of the draught produced by
the cooling effects of the air in the chimney by imparting increased velocity
to such air. In lieu of steam jets other well-known means may be employed
for producing a current of air, as for example, a fau blower, bellows, or
blowing cylinder. As the inlet of air into the furnace or stack is only
required during the time that the fuel is giving out unconsumed gases, which
would otherwise result in smoke, Ipropose to adopt suitable golf-acting arrange-
ments for closing or partially closing the air inlets and the steam jets (when
employed), such arrangements being so deposited that before the mouth of the
feeding aperture of the furnace can be opened for the admission of fuel the
air inlets and steam jets (when used) shall be opened or brought into play.
One mode of effecting this consists of a lever working on a fulcrum, and
carrying at one end a dead weight, whilst at its opposite end it carries a
bucket or vessel which rises and falls in a cistern of water, such vessel having
a perforation in the bottom; the dead weight preponderates slightly over the
bucket or vessel when empty,and when the lever is in its normal position and
no air is admitted to the furnace the weight will be immediately in front of a
flap or grating covering the mouth of the feed aperture, and consequently all
access to the furnace is prevented until the weighted end of the lever is lifted
out of the way, so as to admit of the flap being opened. A notch in the weight
receives the edge of the door or flap when opened, and holds it in that posi
tion whilst the fuel is being thrown in. In the meantime the bucket by being
lowered into the cistern is filled or partially filled with water, and when the
furnace door or flap is closed, and the weight thereby released, its gravity
tends to cause the lever to turn slowly upon its fulcrum, lifting at the same
time the filled or partially filled bucket partly out of the water in the cistern,
the height to which the bucket will be raised, and the consequent difference
in level between the water in the bucket and that in the cistern will
depend upon the amount of preponderance of the weight over the empty
bucket, and as the water flows out of the bucket through the hole in the
bottom the weighted end of the lever gradually descends to its normal position
opposite to the flap. This motion of the lever when released is conveyed to
the air inlet valves, or to cocks or valves on the steam jet pipes, and effects

page_text: their gradual closing, the opening of the same being effected by the lifting of
the lever preparatory to the opening of the door or flap in front of the furnace
charging mouth. Or, if preferred, in the case of a fan blower, bellows, or
cylinder blower the gradual descent of the weighted end of the lever may
be made to transfer the driving strap of such blowers to a loose pulley on a
driving shaft, whilst by lifting the lever the strap is put on to the fast pulley,
and the blower set in motion so as to produce the current of air at the desired
time. The duration of the period during which the air is to be admitted into
the furnace may be varied according to the length of time necessary for the
fresh fuel to give off its gases by increasing or diminishing the size of the
aperture in the bottom of the bucket, so as to allow the water to flow there-
from quicker or slower as requirod.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I 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 all the, Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of a
heating or re-heating furnace with my improvements for effecting the con-
sumption of smoke applied thereto; Figure 2 is a corresponding sectional
plan of the same; and Figure 3 is an end elevation thereof.
In my Drawings I have shown, for the sake of convenience, the adaptation
to one furnace of 3 different modes of effecting the same object, but it is to
be understood that these are alternative inodes only, and that in practise only
one of such modes will be applied to a furnace, selecting that one which
may be found best adapted to the nature of the furnace to which it is to be
applied.
A is the body of an ordinary heating or re-heating furnace, provided with
the usual fire-place B, and opening at the neck into the chimney C.
According to one arrangement, with a view to the prevention of smoke ; and
to the effecting a more economical and perfect combustion of the fuel, I
construct an air chamber or conduit D along the neck and roof of the
furnace, as shown in Figure 1 of my Drawings, or, if preferred, along the sides
or bottom, or such air chamber may be formed aloug both sides, roof, and
bottom if found desirable. This conduit or air chamber is separated from the
heating chamber A of the furnace by their fire-clay tiles E in order that a
considerable degree of heat may be imparted to the air during its passage
along the said air chamber or conduit. At the front end of the furnace, or
that end where the fire-place is situate, I make a number of small openings
or perforations F in the lining of the furnace which communicate with the

page_text: air chamber or conduit D, and admit of the air which has been heated by its
passage through such conduit or conduits to enter the fire-place just above
the fresh fuel in a number of small streams or jets, as shewn by the arrows,
and be ultimately admixed with the gaseous products of combustion as they
are evolved from the fuel so as to insure their ignition. Atmospheric air is
forced into the conduit D through the pipe G, either by the aid of a fan or
other blower in connection with such pipe, or the air may be induced
therein by the aid of a steam jet or jets, as illustrated in my Drawings. In
the latter case I provide the pipe G with an air inlet valve H on one side,
opening inwards by the inrush of air, and I introduce steam into the end of
such pipe through the steam pipe I. This steam is subdivided into a
number of small jets by means of a series or group of small pipes or nozzles a
fitted to a tube plate between the cap b and the end of the tube. The pipe G
passes direct to a bend or inverted syphon K, which contains a column of
water sufficiently high to prevent the escape of steam and air, whilst it at the
same time allows the condensed steam to flow off. A lateral branch G¹ from
the pipe G enters the roof of the furnace and communicates with the air
conduit Das shown in Figures 1 and 2; this branch is curved upwards from
the pipe G so as to prevent the entrance of water or moisture into the
branch G¹, and thence into the conduit D,any water of condensation forming
in the pipe G being blown directly down such pipe into the bend or syphon K,
and flowing off as fast as it collects. In lieu of inducing or forcing air into
an air conduit or conduits D, and causing such air when heated to enter the
front of the furnace through perforations F, I sometimes introduce one or
more jets of air into the bottom of the shaft or chimney, either by the aid of
a fan or other blower or by the aid of steam jets, which latter I prefer. This
arrangement is clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of my Drawings, where
L represents the air supplying pipe provided with an air valve and steam jet
nozzle or pipes precisely similar to those herein-before described in reference
to the pipe G which supplies the hot air conduit 1); this pipe is curved
upwards and forms a jet or nozzle at M, which is situate at the bottom of the
shaft or chimney C, so that the air may be directed up the interior thereof.
At the bend of this pipe a communication is established by making a slot
therein with the syphon pipe N, which, like the bend or syphon K, is kept
supplied with water for the purpose already described. In order to subdivide
the jet of air I place a perforated fire-brick or slab O across the chimney and
above the nozzle M, and with a view to preventing such perforations from
becoming clogged up with slag, and so obstructing the inlet of air to the
chimney, I make a pocket or recess P' in the floor of the neck of the furnace

page_text: for the purpose of collecting such slag, whence it may be removed as required
through a lateral opening for that purpose. In puddling furnaces, where it is
desirable to economise the waste heat by heating the pig iron at the bottom
of the chimney before introducing it into the puddling chamber, I make the
slab O solid or without perforations and cause the air to pass upwards along
passages Q, Q, shown in dotted lines, made in the sides of the chimney and
opening into the interior of the chimney from the sides thereof at any desired
elevation, as shown by the dotted arrows in Figure 1, in which case the air
will be heated before entering the chimney. As in all these arrangements it
is only necessary to admit the currents of air, whether heated or otherwise,
during a short period after a charge of fresh fuel has been thrown into the
furnace, I propose to adopt a self-acting contrivance for shutting off the air
and steam jets when no longer required. One form of this contrivance is
illustrated by Figure 3 of my Drawings, where R represents the fuel feeding
aperture, and S a slide guided in cheeks in the casting R, such weight
when in its lowest position resting upon the dead plate and obstructing the
entrance to the furnace. This weight is connected by a chain with one end
of a lever 'T', the opposite end of which is similarly connected to a bucket U
contained in a cistern of water V. A small aperturo is made in the bottom
of this bucket, and a larger opening is also formed therein, which is closed by
a flap or other self-acting valve C opening inwards to the bucket. When the'
attendant has to throw in a charge of fuel he must first elevate the weight S
in doing which he depresses the bucket U,causing it to sink into the cisteri V,"
the water in which enters the bucket through the valve c, and by its weight
keeps the slide S elevated during a sufficient period of time for accom-
plishing the introduction of the fuel. As the weight of the slide S; however,
tends to lift the bucket the water will slowly flow out therefrom into the
cistern again through the small aperture made for that purpose, and the lever
by canting over slowly to its original position will lower the slide S, and
will at the same time, if suitable connections be established between the lever
and the steam or air valves, which will be obvious to the practical engineer,
gradually close such valves, and thereby reduce and finally arrest the further
supply of air; or in the case of using a fan or blower the canting of the.
lever may be made to shift the driving strap of the air-forcing apparatus from
one pulley to the other, and so start and stop such apparatus at the desired
time.
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
1.
A.

page_text: and original,and therefore claimas the Invention secured to meby the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patert is,
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of apparatus
or means for effecting the consumption of smoke in reverberatory and other
like furnaces, substantially as herein-before described.
Second, the admission of one or more jets of air to the interior of rever-
boratory and other like furnaces from hot air chambers or conduits formed in
the ueck and roof or bottom or sides of such furnaces, substantially as and
for the purpose herein-before described.
Third, the admission of one or more jets of air into the bottom or through
the sides of the chimney shafts of reverberatory and other like furnaces
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the peculiar arrangement of apparatus for inducing air by the aid
of steam jets into reverberatory and other like furnaces, or into the chimneys
thereof, aud for collecting and carrying off the water of condensation, as
herein-before described.
Fifth, the peculiar arrangement of self-acting contrivances for stopping the
supply of the air jets to reverberatory and other like furnaces at the proper
periods, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Naylor,have to this my Specifi-
cation set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
W. NAYLOR. (L.S.)