Improvements in and relating to Refuse Destructors.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Refuse Destructors.
We, HENRY PERCY BOULNOIS, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers,
of 7 Devonshire Road, and JOHN ALEXANDER BRODIE, an Associate Member of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, of 13 Kelvin Grove, both of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
.
This invention relates to apparatus commonly known as refuse destructors, used
for burning town refuse and the like, and the object of the invention is to reduce
the labour of working such apparatus by modifying the construction thereof and
providing appliances for use in connection therewith whereby handling of the refuse
and resulting residue is as far as possible eliminated.
Refuse destructors, as at present constructed, consist usually of a stack of
furnaces or "cells" lying side by side and communicating at their back ends with a
common flue; in: some cases a double arrangement is adopted, the stack consisting
of pairs of furnaces lying back to back on each side of the common flue. The front
portion of each furnace is floored with fire bars, the remaining portion, extending
from the ends of the fire-bars to the opening to the common flue, acting as a "drying
hearth."
"
The refuse is fed on to the drying hearth of each furnace from a charging
platform, on the top of the stack, through a charging hole, and is pushed or pulled
forward on to the fire as required, the fire being worked from the lower or ground
level through a fire door at the front of the furnace; the refuse is tipped on to the
charging platform from a tipping platform at a higher level, and as the bulk of the
refuse arrives during a comparatively short part of the day it accumulates and,
according to existing arrangements, considerable handling is thereby necessitated in
order to feed it through the charging holes: the disposal of the ashes and clinkers,
according to present methods, also entails considerable labour, and as already stated,
the object of our invention to eliminate, as far as possible, handling of the material
treated in the destructors.
According to our invention we place the charging hole of each furnace over the
drying hearth and make its width equal to that of the hearth or approximately so,
so that the refuse can fall directly on to the hearth; we also preferably make the
flue opening equal or approximately equal in width to the hearth; the door of the
charging hole being comparatively large and exposed to a considerable temperature,
we form it preferably of iron, arched and covered below with fire brick or other
refractory covering. The door is opened and closed preferably by traversing it
laterally, the seating against which the door closes being inclined to the guides or
rails upon which the door traverses so that when the latter is closed it comes into
close contact with its seating; the seating may be above or below the corresponding
facing on the door, although the former is generally preferable, as in this arrange-
ment, the refuse cannot lodge on the seating. In some cases the door may be
divided and arranged to open by hinging upwards or downwards.
We provide the following arrangements for storing the refuse and delivering it
into the charging holes without the necessity of handling; we provide for each
furnace (or pair of furnaces if so arranged) one or more trucks consisting of a
number of adjacent compartments or bins placed in line, the width of the truck
being about equal to that of the charging hole. Each truck is mounted on rails
carried on the charging platform and extended beyond it at each side a
sufficient distance to allow all the bins to be brought in succession vertically over
the charging hole, or either hole of a pair, as the case may be.
The tipping
•

page_text: platform is placed over the rails sufficiently high to allow the trucks to be run
underneath it; kerbs are provided on the tipping platform to guide the wheels of
the carts so as to bring them in line with the respective trucks and, when the carts
are tipped, the truck is worked along the rails as each bin is filled; a cover or
deflector extends from the tipping platform for some distance, over the space
between the trucks, so that no refuse can fall on to the rails or charging platform.
We provide for the discharge of the bins into the charging holes by making their
bottoms so that they can be individually opened and closed by suitable gear; the
bottoms are preferably made in two parts, hinged, and arranged to open and close
automatically, when desired, by supporting their free ends on wheels running on
rails carried by the charging platform, portions of the said rails being movable at
will, so that when a bin arrives at the proper position over the charging hole, the
bottom may be allowed to open by lowering the portions of the rails upon which it
is supported for the time being; if the said movable portions of the rails be
connected to the door of the charging hole and operated thereby it will be seen that
the discharge of the bins becomes automatic, as a result of opening the charging
door.
The capacity of the trucks should be sufficient to store the greatest accumulation
of refuse that is likely to occur during the ordinary working of the destructor and
the capacity of each bin is preferably just sufficient to fully charge the furnace
when discharged into the latter. When greater storage capacity is desired without
increasing the number or length of the trucks or unduly raising the tipping
platform, the depth of the trucks may be increased as they are drawn from beneath
the tipping platform by the use of telescopic or portable sides, these sides being
preferably arranged to telescope towards the end of the truck furthest from the
tipping platform. In this case, as the capacity of the bins will probably exceed the
proper furnace charge, it is desirable to divide the contents by means of movable
rods or the like placed across the bins and operated from the outside so that the
contents may be delivered in separate charges.
Our invention can obviously be adapted to destructors fitted with boxes or
hoppers to the charging holes, and in order to still further reduce the labour of
working the trucks and the charging doors, they may be arranged to be operated
by clutch gearing or the like from a shaft driven by power which can be conveniently
obtained from a boiler placed in the flue of the destructor.
It is sometimes desirable to mix the various loads of refuse before delivering into
the destructor and this is especially so if some of the refuse is wet. To effect this
we provide a distributing or mixing device consisting of an adjustable rake or the
like carried from the tipping platform; this can be brought to bear on the top of
the refuse as it is tipped into the truck, and if the latter be traversed backward and
forward, the rake will push or pull some of the refuse over the tops of the transverse
walls of the bins and so distribute it among several bins.
In order to facilitate the removal of the ashes and clinkers, we raise the bottom
of the ash pit so that space is left below for the introduction of a barrow and we
form the ash pit bottom of bars or plates which, when their planes are horizontal,
retain the ashes but which can be simultaneously rotated so that their planes become
vertical, when the ashes will fall through into the barrow; a receptacle with a
bottom of similar construction may be fitted in front of the fire door for collecting
clinkers. Or the same object may be effected by placing within each ash pit a
hopper to receive the ashes and clinkers in separate compartments, the said hopper
being so arranged that it can be lifted out and removed by means of a skeleton
barrow.
Dated this Fourteenth day of November 1891.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
26, Castle Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: We,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Refuse Destructors.
HENRY PERCY BOULNOIS, a Member of.the Institution of Civil Engineers,
of 7 Devonshire Road, and JOHN ALEXANDER BRODIE, an Associate Member of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, of 13 Kelvin Grove. both of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to apparatus commonly known as refuse destructors, used
for burning town refuse and the like, and the object of the invention is to reduce the
labour of working such apparatus by modifying the construction thereof and
providing appliances for use in connection therewith whereby handling of the refuse
is as far as possible eliminated.
Refuse destructors, as at present constructed, consist usually of a stack of
furnaces or "cells "lying side by side and communicating at their back ends with a
common flue; in some cases a double arrangement is adopted, the stack consisting
of pairs of furnaces lying back to back on each side of the common flue. The front
portion of each furnace is floored with fire bars, the remaining portion extending
from the ends of the fire bars to the opening to the common flue, acting as a
'drying hearth."
The refuse is fed on to the drying hearth of each furnace from a charging
platform, on the top of the stack, through a charging hole, and is pushed or pulled
forward on to the fire as required, the fire being worked from the lower or ground
level through a fire door at the front of the furnace; the refuse is. tipped on to the
charging platform from a tipping platform at a higher level, and as the bulk of the
refuse arrives during a comparatively short part of the day it accumulates and,
according to existing arrangements, considerable handling is thereby necessitated in
order to feed it through the charging holes; as already stated, the object of our
invention is to eliminate, as far as possible, handling of the material treated in the
destructors.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate our invention,
Fig. I is an elevation of the general arrangement, a portion of the destructor
being shown in section and the truck in partial séction.
Fig. II is a plan and Fig. III an end elevation of the truck.
Figs. IV, V and VI are enlarged views of the details of the charging door and
truck doors and mechanism for operating them.
Figs. VII, VIII, IX and X show a modification of the details illustrated in
Figs. IV, V and VI.
'
Throughout the drawings similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures and, in the case of sections, the direction in which they are viewed is.
indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane of
section.
1 is the charging hole of the furnace which is placed over the drying hearth 2 and
has a width equal to that of the hearth or approximately so, so that the refuse can
fall directly on to the hearth; we also preferably make the flue opening 3 equal or
approximately equal in width to the hearth; the door 4 of the charging hole being
comparatively large and exposed to a considerable temperature, we form it
preferably of iron, arched and covered below with fire brick or other refractory
covering. The door 4 is opened and closed preferably by traversing it laterally,
the seating 5, against which the projecting ledge 6 on the door closes, being inclined
to the rails 7 upon which the wheels 14 supporting the door traverse so that when
the door is closed the ledge 6 comes into close contact with its seating 5; the seating
may be above or below the corresponding ledge on the door, although the former is

page_text: generally preferable, as in this arrangement, which is the one shown in the drawings,
the refuse cannot lodge on the seating.
We provide the following arrangements for storing the refuse and delivering it
into the charging holes without the necessity of handling; we provide for each
furnace (or pair of furnaces if so arranged) one or more trucks consisting of a
number of adjacent compartments or bins placed in line, the width of the truck
being about equal to that of the charging hole. Each truck is carried by wheels 25
running on rails 9 carried on the charging platform and extended beyond it at each
side a sufficient distance to allow all the bins to be brought in succession vertically
over the charging hole, or either hole of a pair, as the case may be. The tipping
platform 10 is placed over the rails sufficiently high to allow the trucks to be run
underneath it; kerbs are provided on the tipping platform to guide the wheels of
the carts so as to bring them in line with the respective trucks and, when the carts
are tipped, the truck is worked along the rails, as each bin is filled, by means of the
bandle 22, pinion 23 and spur-wheel 24; a cover or deflector extends from the
tipping platform for some distance, over the space between the trucks, so that
no refuse can fall on to the rails or charging platform.
We provide for the discharge of the bins into the charging holes by making their
bottoms so that they can be individually opened and closed by suitable
gear; the
bottoms are preferably made in the form of doors 11, hinged, and arranged to open
and close automatically, when desired, by supporting their free ends on rollers 12
running on rails carried by the charging platform, portions 13 of the said rails being
movable at will, so that when a bin arrives at the proper position over the charging
hole, the bottom may be allowed to open by lowering or laterally displacing the
portions 13 of the rails upon which it is supported for the time being; if the said
movable portions of the rails be supported by the door of the charging hole it will
be seen that the discharge of the bins becomes automatic, as a result of opening the
charging door.
The charging hole door as before mentioned is carried by wheels 14 running on
rails 7 and it is closed or opened by means of the lever 15 working in a recess 18.
This lever is fulcrummed at 16 and connected to the door 4 by the connecting
rod 17.
The details of the door 4 and the arrangement whereby the opening, of the door.
allows the bottom of the bin over the charging hole to open, are shown in
Figs. IV to X.
Figs. IV to VI show an arrangement where the bottom of the bin is formed by
two doors and in which there are two movable parts 13 to each main rail 9 which
drop down when the door 4 opens. Figs. VII to X show an. arrangement where
the bottom of the bin is formed by one door and in which the movable part of the
rail is carried by the door 4 and is displaced laterally when the latter is opened.
Referring to the first of these arrangements Figs. IV and VI are sectional
elevations on A, A, and B, B, respectively of Fig. V, which is a plan.
The rollers 12 of the doors 11 are supported by the movable portions 13 of the
rails 9, these movable portions are fulcrummed at 19 and are connected together by
the connecting rod 20. The movable portions are supported by, the bearing
rollers 21 carried by the frame work of the doors 4. It will be seen that when the
door 4 is opened the portions 13 and the doors 11 drop into a vertical position as
shown in Fig. 1 and allow the refuse from the bin to fall through the charging.
hole when the door 4 is closed the first bearing roller raises.the near movable rail
and the other rail is raised by the connecting rod 20, and when the door 4 is closed
the bearing rollers support the movable rails which in turn support the doors 11.
Figs. VII, VIII and IX are analogous views to Figs. IV, V and VI and
illustrate a modification of the details shown in the latter views. The bottom of the
bin' in the modified arrangement is formed by a single door 11, which construction.
admits of there being but one movable part 13' of the rail 91 which supports the
rollers 12 and which is now separate from the main rails which may be made:
continuous the movable part 13' is carried by the door 4 and when laterally
་་ ་་་ ་་

page_text: displaced by the door being opened allows the door 11 to drop into a vertical
position, as shown in Fig. X, and so leaves the refuse free to drop through the
charging hole.
The capacity of the trucks should be sufficient to store the greatest accumulation
of refuse that is likely to occur during the ordinary working of the destructor and
the capacity of each bin is preferably just sufficient to fully charge the furnace
when discharged into the latter. When greater storage capacity is desired without
increasing the number or length of the trucks or unduly raising the tipping
platform, the depth of the trucks may be increased as they are drawn from beneath
the tipping platform by the use of telescopic or portable sides, these sides being
preferably arranged to telescope towards the end of the truck furthest from the
tipping platform. In this case, as the capacity of the bins will probably exceed
the proper furnace charge, it is desirable to divide the contents by means of
movable rods or the like placed across the bins and operated from the outside so
that the contents may be delivered in separate charges.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;-
1. The herein described means for charging refuse destructors which consists of a
truck running on rails under the tipping platform and above the charging hole, and
divided into bins having movable bottoms, the said truck being adapted to be moved
so that any bin can be brought under the edge of the tipping platform and then
over the charging hole, substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The herein described means for charging refuse destructors which consists of a
truck running on rails under the tipping platform and above the charging hole, and
divided into bins having movable bottoms, the said truck being adapted to be moved
so that
any bin can be brought under the edge of the tipping platform and then over
the charging hole, the bottoms of the bins being adapted to automatically open when
over the charging hole by the opening of the door thereof, substantially as described
and illustrated.
3. The herein described means for automatically discharging the bins of the
truck 8, consisting of the hinged doors 11 having rollers 12 running on rails
portions of which are displaced by the opening of the charging door 4, substantially
as described and illustrated.
4. The combination of the hinged doors 11, rollers 12, hinged rails 13 and bearing
rollers 21 carried by the door 4. substantially as described and illustrated.
5. The combination of the hinged doors 11, rollers 12 and rail 13' carried by the
door 4, substantially as described and illustrated.
6. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved means for
charging destructors, substantially as described and illustrated, in Fig. 1.
Dated this 15th day of August 1892.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicants.