IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE GRATES, STOVES, FURNACES, AND OTHER SIMILAR CON- TRIVANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Bainbridge at the Office of
'the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd July
1854.
I, JOHN BAINBRIDGE, of 86, Ely Place, Holborn Hill, in the County of
Middlesex, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE GRATES, STOVES, FURNACES, AND OTHER SIMILAR CON-
TRIVANCES," to be as follows:-
These improvements have reference to certain constructions of fire grates,
stoves, and furnaces, whereby the smoke and other products of combustion are
more effectually consumed, and a greater amount of heat is radiated from the
fuel than by ordinary means.
:
The method of constructing fire-places consists in forming the grate of a
number of bars of iron or other material, arranged so as to form a kind of
skeleton cylinder, supported by and centered upon an axis or bars of iron, fire
clay, or other material, the ends of which are carried by suitable bearings in
the sides of the fire-place. The ends of this skeleton cylinder may be made
either solid or open, and of semispherical or other desirable shape.
The coal, wood, coke, or other fuel is introduced into this cylinder by raising
two or more of the bars forming the cylinder, which are connected together and
hinged for that purpose, or the bars may be made to slide; they are afterwards
closed and fastened by any known means. The fuel is then ignited, and when
requisite the cylinder can be turned, so as to present a fresh portion of the fuel
to radiate its heat into the apartment in which this grate is situated. The
cylinder may be placed either vertically or horizontally, as may be found most
advantageous or convenient.

page_text: These skeleton cylinders may be cast in one or a number of pieces, and con-
nected together, or they may be made of wire work, hoop iron, or wire gauze;
and this skeleton chamber may also be made either pentagonal, hexagonal, octa-
gonal, or of any other configuration. This description of grate is applicable to
house stoves, kitchen ranges, hot-air stoves, and most fire-places for domestic
or other purposes..
The method of constructing furnaces for steam boilers, factories, bakeries, or
other purposes consists in connecting together a series of fire bars formed in
the shape of a cross, or a series of bars secured at right angles to one another.
These combined bars are fixed upon a shaft or axis working in bearings in the
ends of a semicylindrical or other shaped chamber of iron, fire clay, or other
suitable material. This chamber is supplied with fuel, which is taken up by
the fire bars when they are caused to make a quarter of a revolution. Every
time fresh fuel is taken up, the combination of bars is brought into such a
position as that one series of bars shall be in a vertical plane, and the other
series in a horizontal plane, these last forming the bed of the furnace so long
as the fuel upon them remains unconsumed; but when such fuel becomes no
longer available for generating heat the apparatus is moved one quarter of a
revolution, when those bars that were before in a horizontal position are brought
into a vertical plane, whilst those that were before upright now form the
furnace bed, the lower series of them bringing up a fresh supply of fuel from
the semicylindrical chamber.
The furnace bars may be secured to a central axis or core, or connected to each
other as described above, and may be arranged with sets of three, four, six, or
any other convenient number of bars radiating from and secured to this central
core. The fire bars may also be made of malleable iron, perforated or otherwise;
or they may be cast in sets of three, four, six, or any other number, and of any
variety of shape.