IMPROVEMENTS IN STOVES AND FIRE-PLACES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Russell, of the firm of Fowkes and Russell.
of Derby, in the County of Derby, Ironfounders, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STOVES AND FIRE-PLACES."
Sealed the 7th July 1857, and dated the 13th January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Russell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
January 1857.
I, ROBERT RUSSELL, of the firm of Fowkes and Russell, of Derby, in the
County of Derby, Ironfounders, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOVES AND FIRE-PLACES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in placing within an outer case a fire dish or fire
basket intended to contain the ignited fuel, and so suspended, mounted, or
fitted that rotary motion may be communicated to it, whereby the fuel is
worked about, ashes, cinders, &c. are shaken down into the ash-pit or cinder
tray beneath, and (in stoves of the description called "self-feeding air stoves")
sticking of the fuel and choking of the feed passage prevented.
And the Invention further consists in constructing the fire basket with per-
forated sides or with openings all round it, and in forming the stove case with
openings all round it, into which latter openings talc is inserted, so that the
fire may be seen on all sides of the stove, whereby a cheerful appearance is
imparted. The openings in the case may be provided with sliding plates
(fitted with talc or not), for regulating the draught. The fire basket may be

page_text: made with a pivot at bottom stepped into a socket in the stove case, or with a
top flange by which it is hung on bearings within the case, or it may be
mounted on a wheel, or otherwise fitted, and rotary motion may be communi-
cated to it by inserting a lever into a hole or series of holes in the fire basket,
and thereby turning it wholly or partially round, or in any other suitable
manner.
A modification of my Invention consists in the following arrangement:-
The fuel is received on a stationary block or grate, round which fire bars,
arranged in a circular or cylindrical form, or a cylindrical frame or fire basket
with apertures in the sides, are or is made to revolve, the bars, frame, or basket
resting on a flange on the grate, the fuel is disturbed, and the cinders, &c.
shaken down into the ash-pit. One or more abutments is or are provided
within the stove case, against which the revolving fire basket may be brought
for the better shaking out of the ashes.
The Invention further consists in so constructing cooking stoves or close
stoves that they may, when desired, be converted into open stoves by fitting at
the back a number of collapsible screens or doors, which, when the stove is
used as a close stove, are folded back against the covings, but when it is to
be used as an open stove the plate over the fire place is removed, and these
folding screens brought forward and opened out in such manner as to form a
kind of bonnet or flue; one screen being so made as to form an arch over the
back part of the fire under which the products of combustion are drawn through
this flue into the ordinary flue or chimney.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Russell in the Great Seal Patent Office on s
the 13th July 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
RUSSELL, of the firm of Fowkes and Russell, of Derby, in the County of Derby,
Ironfounders, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Russell, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Russell, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Russell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

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 STOVES AND
FIRE-PLACES," upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said Robert
Russell, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Russell, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is
to say:-
My Invention consists in placing within an outer case a fire dish or fire
basket intended to contain the ignited fuel, and so suspended, mounted, or
fitted that rotary motion may be communicated to it, whereby the fuel is
worked about, ashes, &c. are shaken down into the ash-pit or cinder tray
beneath, and (in stoves of the description called self-feeding air stoves) sticking.
of the fuel and choking of the feed passage are prevented.
And the Invention further consists in constructing the fire basket with per-
forated sides or with openings all round it, and in forming the stove case
with openings all round it, into which latter openings tale is inserted, so that
the fire may be seen on all sides of the stove, whereby a cheerful appearance is
imparted. The openings in the case may be provided with sliding plates
(fitted with tale or not) for regulating the draught. The fire basket may be
made with a pivot at bottom stepped into a socket in the stove case, or with a.
top flange, by which it is hung on bearings within the case, or it may be
mounted on a wheel, or otherwise fitted; and rotary motion may be commu-
nicated to it by inserting a lever into a hole or series of holes in the fire
basket, and thereby turning it wholly or partially round, or in any other
suitable manner.
A modification of my Invention consists in the following arrangement:-
The fuel is received on a stationary block or grate, round which fire bars
arranged in a circular or cylindrical form, or a cylindrical frame or fire basket
with apertures in the sides, are or is made to revolve; the bars, frame, or basket
resting on a flange or on the grate, the fuel is disturbed, and the ashes, &c.

page_text: shaken down into the ash-pit.
One or more abutments is or are provided
within the stove case, against which the revolving fire basket may be brought
for the better shaking out of the ashes.
The Invention further consists in so constructing cooking stoves or close
stoves that they may, when desired, be converted into open stoves by fitting
at the back a number of collapsible screens or doors, which, when the stove is
used as a close stove, are folded back against the covings, but when it is to be
used as an open stove the plate over the fire place is removed, and these
folding screens brought forward and opened out in such manner as to form a
kind of bonnet or flue; one screen being so made as to form an arch over the
back part of the fire, under which the products of combustion are drawn through
this flue into the ordinary flue or chimney.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe how the same is to be performed, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved stove, having part of its outer case
broken away, so as to shew the interior; Figure 2 is a vertical section of the
same. A is the fire dish, composed of a number of grate bars, with sufficient
openings between them for the admission of air; these bars may be fixed at
their tops to a ring B, and at their bottoms to a plate C, having a pivot D
formed or cast on it; the pivot D is inserted in a hole in the plate E, in which
it is free to turn. F is a piece cast or otherwise formed on the fire dish, in
which piece there is a hole formed or drilled, or a series of pieces and holes
may be formed round the fire dish of a sufficient size to receive the end of a
bar for moving or turning the fire dish. This bar is indicated by the dotted
lines G. A pin or projecting piece F¹ is formed on the fire dish A, which abuts
against a fixed piece or pin G¹ in the plate E, so that when the fire dish is
moved smartly, a shock is given to it which causes the fuel to descend and
the ashes to fall through the fire dish grating. The fire dish may be cast in
one piece, and have openings cored out, so as to form the bars in the dish
itself. His a plate underneath the plate E; the plate H has holes formed
in it, and is capable of being moved or turned partially round, so as to bring
its holes in a position to coincide with similar boles formed in the plate E.
Air is thus admitted to the space in which the fire dish is placed, and from
thence through the openings in the fire dish to the burning fuel; the plate H
may be fixed on the lower end of the fire dish pivot D, if desired, or it may be
loose and capable of being moved or turned independently. To shut off the
air, the plate H is moved or turned into a position so that the holes in the
plate I will not coincide with those in the plate E, and communication will

page_text: consequently be cut off between the ash-pit I and space J, in which the fire
dish is placed; or, instead of regulating the air by the plates H, II, it may be
regulated by a ventilater placed in the drawer front of the ash-pit. K, K, is
an enclosed space between the fuel hopper M and the external case K', K',
and is closed at top by an annular lid or cover L, secured to the casing K', K',
and round the fuel hopper M; this space acts as a fuel chamber and hot-air
case, from which the heat is radiated through the apartment. The flue pipe K"
carries the remaining smoke and gases to the chimney. The fuel hopper M is
closed by a cover M', which is fitted thereto in such a manner as to be easily
removed when a fresh supply of fuel is required. The hopper M is made
conical, with its greatest diameter placed a little above the fire dish A; this
arrangement allows the fuel to sink gradually as it burns away. The hopper M
is composed of two parts, d and N, which are joined together at a, a; the part
d is of sheet iron, and the part N of cast iron, of considerable thickness at its
lower edge, so as to withstand the intense heat which is produced at this point.
To serve the same purpose, the interior of the casing P is made thicker and
shelving inwards all round, as at O. The sides of the casing P, from 6 to c,
may be perforated, or slotted holes may be formed in them, and in the perfora-
tions or slots pieces of tale may be inserted, so that the fire may be seen from
all sides, whereby a cheerful appearance is imparted. Instead of placing the
tale in the sides, I sometimes slot the sides of the case, and cover them up with
sliding pieces similarly slotted, but having tale inserted, so that by sliding the
pieces along until the tale stands opposite the openings in the casings the fire
will be seen.
Figure 3 is a view of one of the sides of the casing P, with the openings
formed in it, in which the tale Q is inserted. Or, instead of making one
sliding piece (with a number of slotted holes with tale in them) for each side
of the stove, a sliding piece with a piece of tale inserted may be used for each
slotted hole in the casing P.
In Figure 4, I have shewn a section of part of a stove with its fire basket,
composed of a series of tubes set in a ring at top and another at bottom. d, d,
are the tubes; e is the upper ring; and f, the lower one. The tubes d, d, are
inserted through suitable holes formed in the rings e and f; the lower end of
the tubes d, d, are open to the ash-pit, which ash-pit communicates with the
atmosphere. The air in passing from the ash-pit upwards through the tubes
d, d, gets heated, and is gathered into a hot-air box g, at the upper ends of the
tubes d,d; from this it escapes by an aperture of sufficient size to correspond
to the area of the openings in the tubes d, d; this aperture is formed all round
the stove by the overhanging lip of the hot-air box g and the upper ring e;

page_text: at this point the hot air comes into contact with the flame and gases from the
ignited fuel, and complete combustion takes place. The lower ring f may be
formed in a piece with the bottom of the fire basket, and may be made solid or
with apertures, and having a pivot i formed on it to take into a hole on the
plate j, on which pivot it may be moved or turned round. Apertures may be
formed in the plate j, to correspond to similar holes in the bottom of the fire
basket, so as to regulate the admission of air to the fuel, similar to that already
described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The tubes d, d, and rings e and
f may all be made to turn together upon a solid fixed bottom; the tubes
being made to communicate with the ash-pit, as before described. Instead of
tubes, solid bars may be used. Instead of making the fire dishes to turn on a
pivot, as previously described, I sometimes hang them by a projection or flange
formed on the upper ring of the fire dish A, which flange rests upon a corre-
sponding projection on the inside of the casing, as shewn in dotted lines at k,k,
in Figures 1 and 2. In Figures 4 and 5, I have shewn a similar mode in
dotted lines at 1, l. In this case the ring e, through which the tubes are passed,
is made broader, so as to rest on a corresponding projection on the inside of
the casing P.
Figure 5 is a plan of the tubular fire dish with perforated bottom.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the placing of hollow perforated metal fire baskets or dishes formed
with either solid or tubular bars in the interior of stove cases, in such manner,
whether supported on pivots or flanges, as to be capable of being turned or
jerked round, so as to shake down the fuel and ashes, as before described.
Second, perforating the sides of such stove casings throughout their whole
circumferences, and inserting pieces of tale or other similar material in the
perforations, so that the fire may be seen from either side or all round.
Third, the several methods of constructing stoves, as herein-before described,
and represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Russell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of July, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven.
ROBERT RUSSELL. (L.S.)