IM- PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-PLACES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Alexander Kirkby at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th December 1875.
I, SAMUEL ALEXANDER KIRKBY, Master of Arts of the University of
Cambridge, of: Castle Jane, Glanmire, in the County of Cork, Civil
Engineer, do Hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-PLACES," to be as follows:-
The main objects of my Invention are to economize fuel and save
time and labor in heating rooms and apartments. I so construct fire-
places, particularly fire-grates for dwelling houses, and other structures
having one or more or all the parts movable, so that the fire in one
room can be transferred at will into another. For these purposes
I use
the materials hereafter named in combination or singly, viz., wrought
and cast iron, steel, or other metal, fire-bricks and fire-clay tiles, and
these in conjunction with the grates known as "registered," and also
with sham register and ordinary or other grates.

page_text: movable either by revolving around a vertical axis, or by sliding hori-
zontally so that the "live fuel" in one fire-grate can readily be moved
round or caused to roll or slide into another room. These fire-grates
will be placed in places fixed in the chimney partition or space between
two rooms.
In the case of fire-grates movable or revolving about a vertical axis I
propose to have the fire-grate placed in a frame of wrought or cast
iron, in such a way that it may be removed easily for repair at any
time.
The fire-grates will be connected together preferably by a boss and
flanges; the boss will be bored at its lower end, and in this will be
placed a spindle of steel or iron with steel point. In this boss will be
a cotter hole, and the spindle will have a corresponding cotter hole. A
cotter will be driven through the boss and spindle to keep the latter in
its place; the spindle will have one end sharpened and composed of
hardened steel; the spindle will be turned to fit the hole in the boss.
When the cotter is driven home and the spindle is in its place there
will be a space above the spindle in the boss to allow the spindle when
the cotter is removed to be pushed up, so that the point may be entirely
within the boss. This is to enable the fire-place to be removed. The
top of the boss will have a hole recessed in it to receive the point of a
spindle coming on to it from above. The frame in which the fire-grates
revolve will be bolted or otherwise secured to the floor, and in a boss
corresponding to the boss between the fire-grates will be a hole recessed
to receive the point of the spindle mentioned above. On the top of the
frame will be a boss corresponding to the boss between the fire-grates,.
having a hole bored in the centre to receive a spindle of steel or iron,
which will fit into the hole recessed in the boss between the fire-places;
this spindle will be turned and have one end pointed; it will be kept in
its place by means of one or more screws. This mechanism will permit a
the fire-grates to revolve about two points in a vertical axis. The fire-
grates can be removed by taking out the spindle at the top and the
cotter and raising the spindle into the hole in the boss.
The fire-grates will be kept in position by means of a movable
catch, and can be turned round by means of a poker placed in a
recess in one of the bars, or by pinions worked by a handle from either
room.

page_text: In front of the fire-places or fire-grates in each room will be placed
a front either with a "register" or otherwise, having a space cut out in
each side or cheek corresponding with the fire-grate to enable the latter
to revolve and pass through them.
In the case of fire-grates made to slide, rollers might be placed
between the bearers and fuel bars, a movable back dividing piece would
be used.