IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER FURNACES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Swinburne, of No. 4, Wenlock. Street,
Shepherdess Walk, City Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER FURNACES."
Sealed the 20th August 1867, and dated the 27th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Swinburne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th April 1867.
I, JOHN SWINBURNE, of No. 4, Wenlock Street, Shepherdess Walk, City
Road, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILER FURNACES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the applying an endless chain of furnace
bars within the tube or tubes of a Cornish boiler. For this purpose the rollers
which support the endless chain of bars are carried by a frame, one end of
which projects into the tube of the boiler to which the set of bars is to be
applied; this end of the frame is provided with a roller which runs on a rail
placed along the bottom of the boiler tube, and the opposite end of the frame
which projects out bevond the front of the boiler carries a pair of rollers which

page_text: run on parallel rails laid upon the ground in front of the boiler; the frame
carrying the endless chain of fire-bars may thus be run in and out on rails as
in an ordinary Juckes' furnace. The plate which carries the fire-door and
which passes across the portion of the front end of the boiler tube which is
above the fire-bars is carried by the frame above mentioned, and when the
rear end of the frame is within the boiler tube this plate is attached by bolts
to the front of the boiler; the front end of the frame which projects beyond
the boiler also carries the hopper for supplying fuel to the fire-bars and also
the gearing for transmitting to the endless chain of these bars a slow con-
tinuous or intermittent motion. In order to prevent the fuel falling off at the
sides of the chain of fire-bars the feel water tube is led along each side of the
boiler tube at a short distance above the fire-bars, and to protect this tube
from excessive heating the frame which supports the endless chain of fire-bars
carries along each of its sides a row of fire-bricks which are, by preference,
moulded to such a form as to lap over the top of the feed water tube; the
frame also carries immediately in rear of the fire-door an arch of fire-brick
which comes close up to the sides and top of the boiler tube so as to protect
this end of the boiler tube from being overheated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Swinburne in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SWINBURNE, of No. 4, Wenlock Street, Shepherdess Walk, City Road, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Swinburne, Her special licence that I, the said John
Swinburne, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Swinburne, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM BOILER FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: I, the said John Swinburne, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Swinburne, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the applying an endless chain of furnace
bars within the tube or tubes of a Cornish boiler. For this purpose the rollers
which support the endless chain of bars are carried by a frame, one end of
which projects into the tube of the boiler to which the set of bars is to be
applied. This end of the frame is provided with a roller, which runs on a
rail placed along the bottom of the boiler tube and the opposite end of the
frame, which projects out beyond. the front of the boiler carries a pair of
rollers, which run on parallel rails laid upon the ground in front of the boiler.
The frame carrying the endless chain of fire-bars may thus be run in and out
on rails as in an ordinary Juckes' furnace. The plate which carries the fire-door
and which passes across the portion of the front end of the boiler tube which
is above the fire-bars is carried by the frame above mentioned, and when the
rear end of the frame is within the boiler tube this plate is attached by bolts
to the front of the boiler. The front end of the frame which projects beyond
the boiler also carries the hopper for supplying fuel to the fire-bars, and also
the gearing for transmitting to the endless chain of these bars a slow con-
tinuous or intermittent motion. In order to prevent the fuel falling off at the
end of the chain of fire-bars the feed water tube is led along each side of the
boiler tube at a short distance above the fire-bars, and to protect this tube"
from excessive heating the fraine which supports the endless chain of fire-bara
carries along each of its sides a row of fire-bricks, which are by preference
moulded to such a form as to lap over the top of the feed water tube. The
frame also carries immediately in rear of the fire-door an arch of fire-brick,
which comes close up to the sides and top of the boiler tube, this arch on
becoming heated by the fire radiates the heat downwards on to the fuel on the
fire-bars just as it enters the furnace, and the fuel is by this means at once
ignited.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, Figure 2 an end elevation, and
Figure 3 a plan of a steam boiler furnace with one internal flue fitted as
above described with an endless chain of furnace bars; Figure 4 shows an end
view of a steam boiler with two internal flues, each similarly fitted with
furnace bars.
a, a, is the chain of fire-bars similar to the endless chain of fire-bars of an
ordinary Juckes' furnace, except that each bar or link of the chain is much
shorter than heretofore usual; b, b, are the rollers for supporting the endless
chain of fire-bars; these rollers are carried by the frame c, which is composed
of two side plates c¹ connected together by rods ca, which carry hollow rollers
for supporting the fire-bars, the forward end of this frame projects into the
tube of the boiler, and carries a roller d which runs on a rail d' laid along the
bottom of the boiler tube. The rear end of the frame has two legs c* projecting
downwards from it; these legs carry rollers, which run on rails parallel with
the rail d', and laid along the ground in front of the furnace. The frame c
which carries the fire-bars can thus as before mentioned be run in and out of
the tube of the boiler; e is the plate which carries the fire-door, and which closes
the portion of the front end of the boiler tube which is above the fire-bars; this
plate is fixed at its lower end to the side plates c' of the frame c, each of these side
plates having rivetted to it a flange c², to which is rivetted the plate e. The fire-
door slides up and down in guides on the plate e, and can be raised or lowered
by turning the crank handle f on the axis f; this axis by a pinion upon it gives
motion to a toothed wheel g¹ on the axis g, and on this axis are two pinions
gearing with racks e¹ on opposite sides of the back of the door. When the
frame carrying the fire-bars is in its place so that the fire-bars are within the
boiler tube the front plate e is secured by bolts to the front of the boiler;
the front of the boiler is for this purpose provided with projecting studs which
pass through holes in the plate and on to which studs nuts are screwed
to hold the plate up to the boiler. h is the hopper for supplying fuel to the
fire-bars; the two sides of this hopper are formed by the side plates e¹ of the
frame c; the lower end of the hopper is open and above the fire-bars, as is
usual. The endless chain of bars is caused to travel continuously by the roller
b, having fixed on its axis a worm wheel 6¹ into which gears a worm ; on the
axis of the worm is a toothed wheel into which gears a pinion on the axis of
which is a driving pulley driven by a band, as shewn; other arrangements for
giving motion to the endless chain of bars might however be employed. k is
a tube which is led along each side of the boiler tube and across the end of

page_text: the series of fire-bars; this tube serves to prevent the fuel passing away off
the end of the series of fire-bars. are curved guards of fire-brick carried by
the sides of the frame c; these guards (as is shown at Figures 1 and 2) cover
over the tube k and keep it from becoming over heated; in place of the guards
being of fire-clay they might if desired be of metal, as they could readily be
replaced when worn out. The ends of the tube k are in the arrangement
shown connected with a tank containing the feed water, but if desired they may
be connected with the boiler so as to aid in heating the water therein or the
pipe might be supplied with water passing from the feed water tank to the boiler.
7 is an arch of fire-brick carried by preference by the sides of the frame c; it
might however be otherwise carried. The exterior of this arch is of such a size
that it may pass freely in and out of the end of the boiler tube; this arch is
just in rear of the fire-door, and as it becomes heated by the fire it ignites
the fuel immediately it enters the furnace. m is the bridge of the furnace
formed of fire-brick and built into the tube of the boiler; the building this
bridge in the tube is all the brickwork that is required when applying to a
boiler an endless set of fire-bars, as above described.
By thus carrying the arch on the frame c, and by supporting the frame
in the manner above described, I am enabled to apply an endless travelling
chain of fire-bars to the tube of a Cornish or like internally fired boiler,
without the necessity of fixing any brickwork or masonry in front of the
boiler, or weakening the boiler by rivetting parts thereto; an endless chain
of fire-bars may also be thus readily applied to a Cornish or like boiler
that is already set in place.
At Figure 4 of the Drawings is shewn an end view of a steam boiler with
two internal flues, each of which is fitted with travelling fire-bars in the same
manner as that above described. The water tube k from the feed-water tank
in this arrangement after being led into and out of one tube of the boiler and
around the series of fire-bars therein is similarly led into and out of the second
boiler tube before being led back to the feed-water tank.
In the Drawings I have shewn the boiler tubes running from end to end of
the boiler, but from the description above given it will be seen that similar
arrangements of apparatus might be applied to boilers, in which, as is some-
times the case, the tubes do not run from end to end of the boiler, but in
which the boiler is heated by a furnace contained in a horizontal tube at one
of its ends..
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
general combination or arrangement of apparatus herein described for applying

page_text: an endless chain of fire-bars to the tube or tubes of a Cornish or such like
internally fired boiler.
I also claim separately,-
First, the supporting the forward end of the frame c which carries the
fire-bars, and which can be run in and out of the boiler tube by a roller
running on a rail laid along the bottom of the boiler tube, as herein described.
Secondly, the carrying the plate which is to close the front end of the
boiler tube on the moveable frame c, and the attaching it to the front of the
boiler by bolts, as herein described.
Thirdly, the protecting the water tube which is employed for preventing
fuel falling off the ends of the fire-bars by guards (by preference of fire-clay or
metal) carried by the frame c, as herein described.
l
Lastly, the placing the fire-brick arch in the interior of the boiler tube,
and also the carrying it on the frame c, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Swinburne, have hereunto set my 1
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
J. SWINBURNE. (L.S.)