Improvements in or connected with Steam Boilers.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 21st Apr., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Steam Boilers.
We, BEVERLY WAUGH RICE, of Eldied, in the County of King and State
of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Gentleman, and FRANK JAMFS
MCFARLIN, of Eldied, in the County of King and State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Gentleman, 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,-
Our invention relates to boiler construction and has for its object to provide
a simple and compact construction and anangement of parts, whereby the
maximum heating surface is exposed to the furnace heat, and whereby a free
cuculation of water and steam between the members of the boiler 18 insured.
in order to avoid back pressure, on the blowing of the water out of the boile
by the pressure of steam
A further object of the invention is to provide such a construction and
arrangement of parts that the capacity or power thereof may be increased with
facility, without necessitating an 'entely new boiler, oi, in other words, may
be increased by the provision of certam enculating members, which are applicable
subsequent to the construction and use of a boiler of smaller capacity
Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following
description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in
the appended claims
In the drawings—
Figure 1 is a front view of a boiler constructed in accordance with my inven-
tion, aanged in its operative position within a furnace
Figure 2 is a vertical cential section of the same
Figure is a horizontal section
Figure is a side view of a boiler constructed m accordance with my inven-
tion, showing a modified arrangement of means for establishing communication
between the enculating mediums and the stand-pipe or drum
Figure 5 18 a vertical cential section of the same
Figure 6 18 a transverse section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5
Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures
of the drawings
The boiler embodying my invention comprises a main cential stand-pipe or
diun, sunlounded by one o more circulating-mediums or manifolds, each
medium o manifold_consisting of a continuous conduit on, terminally con-
nected to form an endless passage, the tube or tubes forming the medium being
airanged in a cylindrical or analogous form Each conductor may consist of
a continuous tube, doubled upon itself to form close folds on elements which
occupy contiguous vertical positions constituting a tubular wall surrounding
the stand-pipe oi dium Obviously the folds o elements are connected at
their upper and lower ends by suitable means, and when semi-circular elbows
or return bends 3 are employed, they may, as in the construction illustrated,
consist of couplings, in order to facilitate the construction of the series.
C
It

page_text: will be understood, however, that we do not desne to be limited to the use of
couplings for forming these return bends, as it is obvious that the circulating-
medium may consist of a continuous pipe, folded upon itself at the proper
points to form the elements which combine to constitute the tubular shell, as
described.
In the construction shown in Figures 1 to 4, the stand-pipe on drum 1, is
provided with terminal heads, and at its lower end with a water inlet pipe 4,
the upper portion of the stand-pipe on drum forming a steam-dome 1ª with
which communicates a steam conveyor 5 or any equivalent thereof, to convey
steam to the engine, or other device wherein the same is to be utilized
Each fold or element of the circulating medium 2 is connected at both ends
with the stand-pipe or drum by means of connecting-mediums, such as
tubes 6 and 7, arranged respectively at the upper and lower ends of said folds,
but we do not employ separate connecting-tubes for each fold On the other
hand, in order to minimize the number of openings which must be formed in
the stand-pipe o dium, and at the same time secure the necessary communi-
cation between the cuculating-tube and the main on body-portion of the boiler,
we arrange a connecting tube in communication with each bend or elbow 3
of the circulating-tube, whereby one connecting-tube 6 serves to convey steam
fiom two folds or elements of the manifolded circulating-tube to the stand-
pipe or dium, and one connecting-tube 7 seives to communicate water from the
stand-pipe or dium to two folds an elements of the enculating-tube, whereby
with a number of connecting-tubes equal to the number of folds or elements
of a manifolded enculating pipe, we are enabled to connect each end of each
fold or element of the cuculating-tube with the interior of the stand-pipe Also,
in practice, we prefer to employ connecting-tubes which are of smaller diameter
than the enculating tubes, and preferably of one-half the diameter, whereby
with a cuculating-tube of one-inch diameter, I employ connecting tubes of
three-eighths or one-half inch diameter
Obviously, as the water is admitted to the stand-pipe or drum, it rises
equally in all of the elements of the continuous ciculating-medium or tube,
and as the steam is formed in the enculating-medium, it rises in the folds or
elements thereof and passes to the drum through the connecting-mediums 6
As the communication between each fold or element of the circulating-tube and
the steam-drum is wholly unobstructed at the upper end of the fold, there is
no tendency to "back" the water out of the folds into the stand-pipe, and
thus the operation of the device is continuous and efficient
In practice we may employ either one or a plurality of cuculating-tubes in
connection with a stand-pipe o drum, and in order to increase the capacity
and horse-power of the boiler, it is simply necessary to add ties or series of
tubes In the diawings we have illustrated a plurality of shells consisting of
circulating-mediums oi tubes, manifolded as described, and arranged in series
concentric with the stand-pipe or drum, but the connecting-tubes of the several
series (in the construction shown in Figures 1 to 3) are independent of each
othei
In other words, each enclosing tubular shell 18 provided at each bend
or at each end of each fold or element, with a connecting-tube in communi-
cation with the stand-pipe or drum and in order that the arrangement of parts
may be compact, we increase the lengths of the folds or elements in the en-
culating tubes as they recede from the stand-pipe or drum, whereby the inner-
most enculating series consists of folds or elements of the minimum length,
while each succeeding series 18 provided with folds or elements of increased
length, the folds or elements of each circulating-tube being of greater length
than those of the adjacent inner enculating-tube
A boiler constructed as described, should be ananged in a vertical position
in a furnace, enclosed in a suitable boiler-ion jacket 8, as indicated in section
in the drawing, and owing to the extensive exposure of heating surface, together
with the small diameters of the enculating-tubes, it will be obvious that

page_text: a rapid conversion of the contents of the boiler into steam will result,
and that such conversion may be accomplished with the minimum expen-
diture of fuel We purposely avoid making such connection between the cir-
culating-tubes and the stand-pipe, and particularly between the upper ends of
the folds or elements and the contiguous end of the stand-pipe (which consti-
tutes the steam-dome) as will require steam generated in one tube-fold or
element to pass into another fold on element in order to escape to the ateam-
dome It is desirable, and necessary, in order to prevent the blowing of water
from the circulating-tubes, and to insure the generation of diy-steam, to allow
a direct communication between each fold or element of a circulating-tube and
the steam-dome, but in order that a desired number of manifolds may be
employed in connection with the stand-pipe to give the required capacity to
the boiler, without unnecessarily multiplying the number of connecting pipes,
I have adopted the construction described, where each connecting-pipe serves
to establish communication between the adjacent ends of two folds or elements
and the stand-pipe
A further advantage of the boiler described resides in the fact that all of the
members thereof being of small diameter, including the stand-pipe or drum
(which in practice need not exceed twelve inches in diameter), the resistance
of the structure to explosion is vastly increased over single-tube or cylinder
boilers of the same capacity and thickness of walls and in addition to this a
boiler constructed as described is more compact, or occupies less space, for the
same capacity, than a boiler of the ordinais construction Also, a boiler of
the construction descubed is more portable and the inconvenience and loss of
time meident to cleaning of flues are avoided
The aangement of the elements of the manifolded circulating pipe, to form
a continuous passage, provides for an equalization of pressure throughout the
elements of each series, and at the same time avoids the formation of pockets
in which solid material may accumulate and thus interfere with the proper cir-
culation with the drum or cylinder of the boiler
Various other advantages of the construction described will be obvious to
those conversant with the art to which my invention belongs, and it will be
understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details
of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacri-
ficing any of the advantages of this invention
Among the numerous modifications of the essential features of our invention
as shown in Figures 1 to 3, which may be adopted, we have deemed it necessai v
to illustrate but one, as shown in Figures 4 to 6 inclusive, wherein the folds
or elements 2 of the circulating-medium, instead of being connected at their
upper and lower ends by elbows or return bends are connected by continuous
unifving convevors 9 and 10 which, in turn, communicate with one or more
connecting-tubes 6 and 7* extending to the dium or stand-pipe 1 The essential
feature of this constinction is identical with that herein before described, in
that each element or fold of the circulating-medium or manifold has an outlet
at its upper end and an inlet at its lower end communicating with the drum.
In the construction shown in Figures 4 to 6 inclusive, however, this connection
with the drum is not direct, as by a separate connecting-medium shown at 6
and 7 in Figures 1 and 2, but by a continuous conveyor which is in communi-
cation with a connecting-tube, but said conveyor and the communicating con-
necting-tube constitute a connecting-medium between one end of each fold or
element 2 and the dun, to allow the escape of steam from each fold without
passing into another fold, and also to allow the introduction of water into one
fold without passing through any other fold or element of the series
In the construction shown in Figures 4 to 6, the dum is extended to form a
steam dome 1 with which the steam service-pipe, to convey steam to the engine
or other device may communicate.
An important feature of both forms of my invention illustrated in the drawings

page_text: consists in the fact that each circulating-medium is independent of the other
cnculating-mediums, and thus the boiler may be built up by the successive
addition of circulating-mediums to increase the capacity of the boiler without
affecting the relative arrangement of those mediums previously applied This
enables me to add cuculating-mediums to increase the capacity of the boiler as
the demands upon the boiler may require
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of ou said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:-
1 A boiler having a manifolded circulating-medium, of which each element
is in communication at one end with a supply and at the other end with an
outlet converor, and is also in communication at opposite ends respectively
with adjoming elements, substantially as specified
2 A boiler having a manifolded cuculating-medium, comprising a series of
parallel elements, of which each is in communication at one end with a supply
and at the other end with an outlet convevoi, and is also in communication
at opposite ends respectively with adjoining elements, substantially as specified
3. A boiler having a series of concentric shells, each consisting of a mani-
folded medium, of which each element is in communication at one end with a
supply and at the other end with an outlet couvevor, and is also in communi-
cation at opposite ends with adjoming elements, substantially as specified
A boiler having a dium, a suiounding manifolded cuculating-medium
forming a continuous passage, and a connecting medium between each end of
each fold on element of said enculating-medium and the dium, substantially
as specified
5A boiler having a senes of terminally connected tubular elements forming
a continuous passage, each of said elements being in communication at one
end with a water-supply medium and at the other end with a steam outlet
medium, substantially as specified
6 Ahole having a continuous senes of terminally connected communi-
cating tubular elements forming a continuous passage and said elements being
in communication at spaced points with inlet and outlet conducting mediums,
substantially as specified
7 A boiler having a manifolded circulating-tube forming a continuous pas-
sage of which each fold on element is communication at one end with a
supply and at its other end with an outlet conveyor, substantially as specified
A boiler having a central stand-pipe or drum, and an encueling shell
consisting of a continuous manifolded cuculating-tube, of which each fold or
element is in communication at both ends with the stand-pipe o dium, sub-
stantially as specified
9 A boiler having a central stand-pipe o dium, and an enenching shell
consisting of a continuous manifolded enculating-tube, and a single connecting-
tube between each bend of the enculating-tube and the stand-pipe on dium.
substantially as specified.
10 A boiler having a stand-pipe or drum provided with communicating
water-inlet and team-e-cape conveyors, and an encucling shell, concentric with
the stand-pipe or drum, consisting of a continuous manifolded cuculating-tube.
aranged with its folds on elements parallel with the axis of the stand-pipe and
connected by elbows or bends, and a connecting-tube between each elbow o1
bend and the stand-pipe o drum, substantially as specified
11 A boiler having a central stand-pipe o dium provided with water-inlet
and steam-outlet conveyors, and a plurality of tubular shells enenching the
stand-pipe o dium and ananged in separate layers or tiers, each shell con-
sisting of a continuous manifolded cnculating-pipe arranged with its folds or
elements parallel with the axis of the stand-pipe, and connecting tubes between
each hend of the enculating-pipe and the stand-pipe or dium, the folds on

page_text: elements of each shell being of a length greater than those of the adjacent inner
shell, where by the lengths of the folds or elements increase from the innermost
to the outermost shell, substantially as specified
Date : 20th of Octoba 1900
For the Applicants,
J. G. LORRAIN, M.IE E, M.I.Mech.E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.