IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF URGING THE FIRES AND INCREASING THE DRAFT OF FURNACES, AND IN ARRESTING THE SPARKS GIVEN OFF FROM THE CHIMNEYS OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Me-
chanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MEANS OF URGING THE FIRES AND INCREASING THE DRAFT OF
FURNACES, AND IN ARRESTING THE SPARKS GIVEN OFF FROM THE
CHIMNEYS OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES."-A communication.
Sealed the 9th March 1853, and dated the 22nd December 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 22nd December 1852.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF URGING THE FIRES
AND INCREASING THE DRAFT OF FURNACES, AND IN ARRESTING THE SPARKS
GIVEN OFF FROM THE CHIMNEYS OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a means of urging the fire of

page_text: locomotive engines by conducting air to the fire-box or ashpit,
which air is collected by a semicircular casing surrounding the
chimney, and conducted by a pipe or pipes on to or under the
incandescent fuel. For this purpose the casing is made with
vertical openings so as to face the wind as the engine moves
forward; or when this part of the Invention is applied to stationary
furnaces, openings covered with swing doors or valves are made at
various positions to afford access of air to the case from whatever
direction the wind may blow, and this air is conducted in like
manner to the furnace. Air thus collected may also be used for
ventilating apartments and holds of ships. Concentric with this air
collecting casing (if used in conjunction therewith) are wind passages
either helical, annular, or otherwise, which surround the chimney
and are formed for the purpose of conducting air upwards to
increase the draft of the furnace flues. These passages are supplied
with air by means of a funnel or wing set so as to meet the air
when the engine is running, and made of sufficient dimensions to
supply air for effectually overcoming the damping effect which the
spark arrestor, now to be explained, would otherwise create. Set
above the chimney, and secured thereto by stay rods, is a cylindrical
cap closed at top and open at bottom, and intended to deflect the
sparks of the ignited cinders downwards into a receptacle provided
for that purpose. This deflecting cap is furnished with rings of
lateral openings (by preference three in number), the upper of
which is filled with fine wire gauze, the next of coarse gauze,
and
the lowest one is left open. These fittings are intended to intercept
the sparks while they present the least possible obstruction to the
draft of the furnace. Between the deflecting cap and the cylindrical
tube which forms the receptacle for the ignited cinders (at a line
above the lower ring of openings) an annular cover of wire gauze
is placed, and thus all access between the chimney and the open air
is cut off except through a porous metallic medium. The ignited
cinders will thus be effectually prevented from escaping; and if an
increased draft is required to counteract the damping property of.
the gauze, a dish shaped cover open at top and bottom may be

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 22nd June 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, 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, 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 MEANS OF URGING
THE FIRES AND INCREASING THE DRAFT OF FURNACES, AND IN ARRESTING THE
SPARKS GIVEN OFF FROM THE CHIMNEYS OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," being a
communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 saine 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 1, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, relates, firstly, to an improved construction of spark
arrester, which is provided with a draft flue for taking in currents
of air direct froin the atmosphere, and passing them upwards for
the purpose of aiding the draft of the chimney, which becomes
impeded by the means employed for separating the sparks from the
other products of combustion.
The Invention also relates to the adaptation to a locomotive
chimney of an apparatus, the purpose of which is to urge the fires
without the necessity of employing the exhaust steam for the
purpose.
A
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use this Invention,
I will proceed to describe the same, reference being had to the ac-
companying Drawing, wherein Fig. 1, is a front view of a chimney,
with the spark arrester attached; Fig. 2, is a vertical section
through the same; Fig. 3, shews a modified arrangement for
promoting the draft of the fire; Fig. 4, is a vertical section through
the same; Fig. 5, is a plan of the same; Fig. 6, is a view of the
spark arrester, the jackets B¹, and C, being removed to shew the
wings a; Fig. 7, is a perspective view, shewing the application
of the spark arrester and draft apparatus to a locomotive.
(Fig. 1, and 2), represents the outer shell or case of the spark
arrester, through the centre of which passes the chimney B, ex-
tending up a short distance into the chamber C, which may be
cylindrical, having a closed top D, of conical form, and the bottom
open. In the shell of the chamber C, are arranged a series of
openings E, F, G, the upper series E, being covered with fine wire
gauze netting; the second series F, is covered with a coarser netting
of similar material; and the third series G, are entirely open, so that
the smoke, steam, and other gases may, as they are thrown downward
by the conical cap or top D, against the sides of the cylinder C,

page_text: pass through the gauze covered openings E, F, which are graduated
so as to increase the openings as the draft is diminished, until the
openings G, which are without any netting, allow the remaining
products of combustion to pass through unobstructed. The sparks,
cinders, &c., after passing through the openings F, will drop into
the spark receptacle H, there not being sufficient draft through the
openings G, to draw them through it, except perhaps the very
lightest of them. If, however, they should be drawn through the
openings G, the ascending draft outside of the cylinder C, and
between it and the shell of the spark chamber, would not be
sufficient to carry them up and out of the exit J; and besides further
to guard against such consequence, a gauze netting I, is placed
between the chamber C, and the shell of the spark chamber H,
which effectually prevents any such contingency, and the sparks
consequently fall from the outside, as well as from the inside, of the
cylinder C, into the spark receptacle H, the communication with it
being from both sides of the cylinder. The red arrows in the
section shew the direction of the sparks and gases, the lighter
portions finding their way out through the openings E, and F, and
to the exit J, whilst the heavier portions drop down into the
receptacle H, from whence they can be removed through the
opening K. The openings herein represented may be varied in
size and number to suit the circumstances of the case, and there
may be three or more tiers of openings graduated from fine gauze
nettings to unobstructed openings, leaving sufficient solid surface
against which the sparks may strike to deaden them and give them
a downward tendency. L, represents the stay rods for bracing the
top of the chimney. Outside of the spark receptacle on that part
which generally constitutes the outer shell of the stack, another
shell A, is arranged at such distance as to form between them an
air flue R, for aiding the draft of the chimney, which has been
impeded by the separation of the sparks, &c. This air flue has an
opening or openings at the bottom of the stack, and may have a
flaring mouth S, in front, to catch in the air or draft created by the
velocity of the locomotive or steam boat to which it may be attached,

page_text: which air, after it passes in, becomes highly heated by the heat of
the interior of the stack, and ascends with great rapidity in the
direction indicated by the black arrows, thus creating another strong
draft to aid the natural draft of the chimney. The escape steam
may be let into the chimney, as now done, or may pass into the
air flue, as may be found expedient, and the air flue
may be divided
into two or more flues. T, are braces to aid in supporting the
stack. Over the top of the stack may be placed a cap M, the flange
N, of which may project downward to any suitable distance, leaving
an open space all around the stack except in the rear, where a
portion of the said opening, when the stack is used on any thing in
motion, should be closed to prevent the air from being drawn
backward by the eddy in rear of the stack. Through this
opening also some additional draft to the chimney may be pro-
cured by drawing in a current to aid the others passing up from
the bottom of the stack. The cap M, may be secured to the outer
case by hinges O, and a clasp P, so that it may be raised to clean
out the chambers or nettings, or for repairs if found necessary.
In Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, is represented a modification of the
above, and also the apparatus for urging the locomotive fire. The
general form and arrangement of the parts of the spark arrester
proper differ from those represented in Figs. 1, and 2; but as they
constitute no part of the present Invention, no detailed description
of their form and arrangement will be necessary.
A (Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7), is the exterior shell of the spark
arrester, to the outside of which are attached wings a, which
starting from the point a¹ of Fig. 5, run in a curve down each side
of the shell A, to the point a¹¹ of Fig. 3, and 6. Outside of these
wings, and at a distance of four to six inches, more or less, from the
shell, is placed the jacket B', extending a little more than half
round the chimney to the points 1, Fig. 5. The wings a, form a
tight bottom to the chamber or space between the shell A, and the
jacket B, and the air which enters this space at the opening a, in
front, as the locomotive advances, is guided by the wings a, to
the top of the stack, where it is forced out in the direction in-

page_text: dicated by the arrow z, in Fig. 4, and materially aids the draft of
the chimney and spark arrester by the partial vacuum formed over
them. A flange f, extends round the front half of the shell A
(Fig. 4, 5, 6, and 7), for the purpose of preventing the air which
impinges upon the front of the chimney as the locomotive advances
from impeding the upward draft within, and also to assist in
directing such air into the space above the wings. This flange
projects four to six inches, more or less, froin the top of the
chimney, and extends as far back as may be necessary to accomplish
the desired end. Outside of the jacket B¹, is another C' (Fig.
3, 4, 5, and 7), also extending from one half to two thirds round
the chimney. The space between the two jackets B¹, and C¹, is
closed at top and bottom c, c¹, Fig. 4, and is open in front, where it
is made more or less flaring, as seen at d, Fig. 5, for the purpose of
gathering the air which is compressed in the space between the
juckets B, and C, when the locomotive is in motion and forced
through the funnel-shaped conductor g, and branching pipes h, h¹,
beneath or on to the fire for the purpose of urging the same.
These devices are applicable to locomotive engines either with or
without the spark arrester, and to the chimneys of steam boats, and
also either with or without the spark arrester to the stationary
chimneys of furnaces or manufactories. It is also proposed to apply
a register to the pipes carrying the blast to the fire, that a uniform
blast may be obtained.
Having thus fully described the Invention as communicated to
ine by my foreign correspondent, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of spark arrester,
as shewn and described with reference to Figures 1, and 2.
Secondly, I claim combining with a stack, or chimney, provided
with chambers and openings for separating and passing out the
smoke and gases, and retaining the sparks, the draft flue around
the stack which takes in air at the bottom, and furnishes at the top
of the chimney additional draft to supply that impeded by the
separation of the sparks when arranged as herein set forth.

page_text: Thirdly, I claim the auxiliary apparatus for the purpose of
aiding the current in the draft flue, consisting of the wings a, and
jacket B¹, or their equivalents, arranged and operating in manner
above described.
Fourthly, I claim the jacket C₁, and pipes h, and ¹, or their
equivalents, for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)