Year: 1886

page_text: I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention (a communication to me
from abroad by Charles S. Wilcox, of the City of Chicago, in the County of Cook,
and State of Illinois, United States of America), 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 furnaces and has for its object to provide means of
utilizing the smoke as fuel, returning heat back through the fire, preventing sparks
from being carried to and out of smoke stack, and causing perfect combustion of
fuel matter; and it consists in certain details of construction and arrangement, as
will be hereinafter described.
·
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification, wherein figure 1 represents a view partly in section, of the furnace,
as applied to a stationary steam-boiler. Figure 2 is a top view of one of the hollow
perforated grate-bars Figure 3 is a top view of the hollow bridge or receiving
box shewing the holes for the passage of smoke and heat into and through the
hollow perforated grate-bars to the fire box.
A, represents an ordinary steam-boiler of any preferred construction provided
with the usual tubular flues. B, is the fire-box.
C, is a hollow perforated grate bar, shewn separately on a larger scale in
Figure 2.
D, is the ash-pit. E, is the receiving box shewn separately in plan on a larger
scale in figure 3. F, F', F' are the flues and chambers for circulation of the sinoke
and heat from the fire box, under, through, and over the boiler to a pipe G, leading
from the upper flue F, to the inlet of an exhaust fan H, the delivery pipe I, of
which, leads into the hollow bridge or receiving box E.
The grate-bars C (which may be made of any suitable size and shape and be
either stationary or movable) are hollow throughout and perforated on the upper
Price B

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surface as shown in figure 2: They are closed at the ends with the exception of
an aperture c, which coincides with a corresponding aperture e in a ledge E¹ of the
hollow bridge on which that end of the fire-bar rests. J, represents a vent pipe,
leading from receiving box E, intended for escape of incombustible matter.
The operation of the device is as follows:-The smoke and heat passes along
the underside of the boiler to the back end, returns through the boiler flues to the
smoke box at the front end and is taken from the circulation flue F through
pipe G, by the exhaust fan H, then forced through pipe I, into the hollow, bridge
or receiving box E, and thence through the apertures e c into and through the
hollow perforated grate-bars C, from the perforations of which it issues into the
· mass of incandescent fuel resting on the bars, whereby the smoke is consumed and
utilized as fuel.
I use when it is required an additional receiving box under the front end of
grate-bars, so constructed as to allow all dirt to collect in it, that may get into the
grate bars and be easily cleaned by means of hand holes in bottom side.
This invention can be readily applied to any kind of boiler-furnace, whether
stationary or portable.
In addition to the grate bars shewn herein, I use a perforated hollow bar con-
nected with back and front receiving boxes, running along-side of fire-box, when
it is required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
In a furnace the combination of the hollow perforated fire-bars, the hollow
bridge or receiving-box in communication therewith and provided with a vent
pipe and the fan in communication by its inlet with the furnace flues and by its
outlet with the said receiving box or bridge, all constructed and arranged sub-
stantially as herein described, and shewn in the drawings, whereby the smoke is
caused to circulate through the mass of incandescent fuel in the furnace and become
consumed thereby, as described.