CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF ARRANGING AND MOVING FIRE-BARS FOR LOCOMOTIVE, PUDDLING, AND OTHER FURNACES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Wright, Engineer, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MODE OF ARRANGING AND MOVING FIRE-BARS FOR LOCOMOTIVE, PUDDLING, AND
OTHER FURNACES."
Sealed the 29th March 1859, and dated the 30th September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Wright at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th September 1858.
I, JOSEPH WRIGHT, Engineer, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OF ARRANGING AND MOVING FIRE-BARS FOR LOCOMOTIVE, PUDDLING,
AND OTHER FURNACES," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists, first, in arranging fire-bars in furnaces, according to
the requirement, in such a way that by acting on the alternate ends of a series
or set of fire-bars they shall be raised or lowered in contrary directions. And
I propose effecting this by means of a chain or chains passing over suitable
pulleys, and either counterpoised with a suitable weight or weights, or wound
around a drum or curve-ended lever or some such mechanical equivalent.

page_text: Fire-bars thus arranged may be readily lowered at the front ends in order that
the slag may be removed without disturbing the fire; this arrangement will
be found highly beneficial in puddling furnaces, in order to break up the large
quantity of slag generated in them, as also in furnaces where an active and
free admission of air is required through or between the bars.
And, secondly, my improvements relate to the arranging of fire-bars in such
a way that the usual dead plate placed at the mouth of furnaces may be done
away with. I effect this by allowing my bars to extend to the front, allowing
sufficient room for them to have a reciprocating action, that while every
alternate bar is retiring from the mouth of the furnace, the remaining ones
shall be advancing; the top edges of such bars may be straight, vandyke, or
of other desirable form, the reciprocating action being communicated to them
in any desirable way. And in some instances I prefer making the bars
considerably deeper at the ends, in order that they may rest and slide on
parallel bearings; or the surface of the bearings may be undulating, and small
rollers fixed one or more on the lower side at each end of the bars, that as
they are made to reciprocate longitudinally, a continuous change is taking
place on the surface, which will have the effect of freeing the bars from slag
or choking, and admit a free current of air to the fire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Wright in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WRIGHT, Engineer, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Wright, Her special license that I, the said Joseph Wright,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Wright, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MODE OF ARRANGING AND MOVING FIRE-BARS FOR LOCOMOTIVE, PUDDLING, AND

page_text: OTHER FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
Wright, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Joseph Wright, 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
(that is to say) -
My Invention consists, first, in the mode of arranging fire-bars in the
description of furnaces named in the title of my Patent in such a way that by
acting on the alternate ends of a set or series of such bars they shall be raised
or lowered in contrary directions. And I effect this by means of a chain or
chains passing over suitable pulleys, and counterpoised with a suitable
resistance or weight, or by winding the end of the chain around a drum in a
suitable direction, or by using a curve-ended lever or some such mechanical
equivalent. And fire-bars so arranged may be further lowered at the front
ends, an important convenience in some instances, for the purpose of removing
the slag or cinder without disturbing the main bulk of the fire. This arrange-
ment will be found highly beneficial in puddling furnaces, as it affords great
facilities for breaking up the large quantity of cinder or slag generated in
them, as also in locomotive and other furnaces, as the active and free admission
of air through and between the bars and combustible matter produces a
thorough, active, and complete combustion of the fuel of which the fire may be
composed, thereby obtaining and supporting the necessary amount of heat.
And one important feature of novelty connected with the above arrangement
is, that I am enabled to entirely dispense with the use of dead plates as com,
monly placed at the mouths of such furnaces.
Secondly, my improvements relate more particularly to the mode of
arranging fire-bars in furnaces of marine and other boilers, slip and other kilns
and ovens, or furnaces of a stationary character, and which consist in having
the top edges of the bars of any regular or irregular form, and to so arrange
them that they shall possess an horizontal reciprocating motion, that is to say,
that while one portion are receding from the mouth of the furnace, the other
portion advances towards the mouth, and at the same time that the latter are
coming forward; they may be also elevated. And I effect this by poising
the front ends of the bars on rockers, one of which being fitted with a lever,
the attendant may readily give the desired motion to the bars, by which

page_text: means the fire will be broken up, and the cinder or slag be displaced, allowing
the necessary free ingress of air. And as this description of furnace is highly
applicable for using the small and cheap description of coal, I have provided a
rake, which may be put in motion by a winch handle or other convenient
means; the object of this rake is, that by causing it to advance and retire over
the upper surface of the coal, it will necessarily break up its surface, which is
essential, as such description of coal is liable to cake and harden on the top in
the process of burning. In some instances I so arrange the inner and under
surface of my bars that they may be of a saw-like or vandyked shape in their
longitudinal section; and I make the bar or plate on which they rest of a
corresponding shape, so that as they advance and recede on the bearer or
bearers, they may be made to take an alternate undulating motion, the
vibrating action of which will tend to clear that part of the fire that is most
difficult to reach.
But as in this description a very imperfect idea of my various improvements
is conveyed, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed;
reference being made to the various figures and letters marked thereon,
observing that the same parts as they occur in the various views and sections
are marked with the same letters of reference.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, represents the front of a furnace constructed as suitable
for the purpose of puddling iron. A, A, is an iron plate; and B, the crown
of the furnace; C, C, C, &c., are the ends of the fire-bars that project in front,
resting on the horizontal bar marked D, D, which rests on pins or supports
marked E, E. The bar D is connected at its ends to chains which work over
pulleys marked F and G; the chain a and a' being attached to the pulley G
at 6 and 6', and the chain c, c, to the pulley F at d, while the chain e, e, e, is
attached to the pulley Fat g, and passing under the pulley, crosses the bridge
and is attached to the pulley G at f. H is. a weight that should not only be
heavy enough to sustain the ends of the fire-bars marked C, C, &c., but also
to overcome the friction, &c., so that a man, by pressing his hand on the top of
the weight, shall cause it readily to descend, the effect of which would be.to
elevate the bars marked C until stopped by their coming in contact with the
corresponding recesses in the plate A, A, and which recesses are marked. i, i, i,
&c.; and at the same time that the projecting ends of the bars C, C, &c. are
being lifted up, the inner ends of the bars marked K, K, K, &c. are also being
lifted up in the same way; this is effected by pulleys and chains put in motion
by the weight and appliances here exhibited; this will so destroy the plane of

page_text: the bars, that all the slag or cinder that might have been formed on their.
surface (during the process of combustion) will be broken up, the reverse
action or lifting of the weight will again reduce the bars to the position shown,
but my experience has shown me that with the variation of coal and other-
circumstances the formation of slag or cinder is so great that its removal is a.
work of difficulty without destroying the fire, to avoid which I introduce the.
rocker marked I, I, on which the bars rest in front, and by means of the lever
marked 1, I am enabled to bring the rocker (on which the bars rest) into an
horizontal position, which allows the fire-bars marked K to drop down and
rest upon the axis of the rocker or the part marked I, and by removing the
rests marked E, E, (that support the bar D and fire-bars C, C, &c.,) the
series of fire-bars marked C, C, may also be allowed to drop by raising
the counterpoise or weight for that purpose, when the rests E, E, may be
placed either in the holes m, m, or n, n; and the bars being now in an
inclined position, a rake may be applied and the slag removed, when the bars
may be again restored to their horizontal position.
arch removed,
Figure 1, also
Figure 2 is a top view of Figure 1, with the crown of the
exhibiting the fire-bars marked with the same letters as in
exhibiting the iron side plates marked j, j, and. j, j, secured to the front
plate A, A, by iron studs which pass through corresponding holes in the front
plate, and the iron studs being tapped, washers and screws secure them
together in the ordinary way, the screws are marked o, p, also the axis or shafts
marked L, L, that carries the front and back pulleys, over and around which
the front and back chains work for giving the effect before described to the
fire-bars. The parts marked M, M, are projections formed on the inside of
the side plates for carrying the shafts or spindles L, L.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of Figure 1, taken through the dotted
lines q, q, representing the bars C and K in the same position as described
and exhibited in that Figure, the projecting bar C resting on the traversing or
horizontal bar D, which is supported on the rest or stop marked E, while
the front end of the fire-bar marked K, rests on the top rail of the rocker I;
the inner end of the fire-bar marked K rests on a traversing horizontal bar or
beam marked N, to which the chains that work over the inner pulleys are
attached, as shown in Figure 2, marked O and P, the chains passing down
through cavities left in the brickwork for that purpose; the inner end of the
fire-bar C rests on an iron support marked Q that is built in the brickwork,
and stretches from side to side; R is an iron bridge that stretches also across
from side to side, and is secured in like manner by being built in the brick-
work. On the top of this iron bridge a fire-clay brick or bricks are laid,

page_text: marked S, which forms the crown of the bridge. T, T, is an iron plate
supported by the bar U, which rests at the front end on a transverse beam or
bar marked V; W is the chamber where the puddling operation takes place;
X, X, represents a lining of sand and silicious matter, with which the bottom
and sides of this part is lined; Y is the door through which the puddlers
work, and Z the door for supplying coal to the furnace. We will now suppose
the weight H, exhibited in Figure 1, to be pulled down, when the fire-bar G
will be raised up to the dotted line terminating at r, and the inner end of the
bar K up to the termination of the dotted line marked S; this sudden change
of the plane of the bars will, as a matter of course, thoroughly break up the
slag or cinder that may have coked or formed on them, and from the ease with
which this operation may be performed by the attendant, it may be as often
repeated as occasion may require. From this position the mere raising of the
weight will restore them as here represented, and if it may be desired that
they should be lowered in front, the rocker I must be lowered to the position
represented by the dotted lines marked u, by means of the lever 1, shown in
Figure 1, when the series of bars marked K will descend and rest on the axis
of the rocker, and the stop E has only to be removed down to the hole
indicated by the dotted line n, when the elevation of the weight will have the
effect of allowing the series of fire-bars marked C also to drop until their upper
surfaces are in the direction of the dotted line terminating at t. The rocker,
when placed in the horizontal direction indicated by the dotted line before
referred to marked u, will rest on projections formed in the side walls
marked v, shown also marked with the same letter in Figure 1. By this
arrangement of fire-bars it will now be clearly seen that I am enabled to
dispense with the ordinary dead plates, which are objectionable, inasmuch as
they obstruct the free passage of air near the mouth or front of the furnaces to
which such plates may be applied; and by dispensing with them, I am enabled
to give full effect to that important portion of my Invention which allows the
front end of the bars to be lowered down. This general description refers
to the several improvements named under the first head in my Provisional
Specification, and I have not thought it necessary to diversify or show its
application to locomotive or other furnaces, as a mere change of the attendant
parts, without affecting the general mechanical arrangement, will render this
plan applicable for such furnaces.
Figure 4, Sheet 2, represents a top view of a furnace constructed as suitable
for a steam boiler with the crown or boiler removed for the purpose of exhi-
biting the bars, which are divided into two series marked A¹ and B¹. C¹ is
the dead plate, and D¹, D', the door frame, to which the doors E¹ and and F¹

page_text: are attached. G' is the bridge at the back of the furnace, which may be con-
structed of hollow bricks, or on any of the various plans recently introduced,
and with which my Invention does not interfere. H, H, is the back edge of
an iron plate that rests in the brickwork on each side, for supporting or
carrying the bridge. I, I, and J', J', are side rails connected with a rake,
to be hereafter described.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal irregular section taken through the dotted line
a', a', of Figure 1. In this Figure the fire-bars are exhibited in the same
position as in the last Figure, and which bars rest at the back on a transverse
iron support built in the brickwork marked K', and the front end of the bars
rest on rockers. The series of bars marked A¹, shown principally in dotted
lines, rest on the top rail of the rocker marked L', and the front end of the
fire-bars marked B' rest on the top rail of the rocker marked M'. Connected
with the axis of the rockers are the parts or segments of two toothed wheels,
geared together, and by means of a fixed or portable lever here shown, marked
N', the rockers are put into contrary motions, bringing the one marked M¹
into the position shown by the dotted lines, which will have the effect of
advancing and elevating the fire-bar B¹ to the dotted line marked C¹, and the
fire-bar A¹ in the same proportion is moved back. This change of position of
the plane of the bars so disturbs the fuel that rests on them, that the slag or
cindor that is too hard to be otherwise broken up, is brought forward by the
series of bars that rise as they advance, and as the same series of bars drop as
they are receding, the effect is to leave the cake of cinder thus brought
forward so that the repeated action of the bars will have the effect of bringing
the hard cinder forward to the dead plate, where it may be readily removed,
and the air that is so freely admitted through the bars to commingle with the
coals renders its combustion more active and complete. The pinions of the
rockers work in cast-iron bearings. or boxes built in the side wall for that
purpose. In this view the irregular cavity in the bridge for receiving the
rake before mentioned is exhibited, the bar of which is shown in section
marked d¹; e, f, and e¹, f, is an endless chain broken off for convenience of
space, which chain works over the star wheel marked O' in the front, and a
corresponding one at the back not shewn, aud which chain rests and works
over two friction pulleys, marked P¹, P¹, fitted to an iron box, and built in the
brickwork, as here shown. To the axis of the star wheel O¹ the winch handle
Q', shown in Figure 4, is attached, and this wheel being put in motion by the
attendant, will cause the rake to advance and retire along the surface of the
fire, being supported by two legs, which bear and traverse upon the two side
fire-bars.

page_text: Figure 6 is also an irregular section nearly identical with Figure 5, and
introduced here for the purpose of shewing the reverse position of the bars to
that exhibited in the above Figure, the lever N¹ being simply shown in dotted
lines, and the rake d¹ brought forward to show the extent of its range, which
is effected by side arms, one of which is shown here, marked R', extending
down from the lower surface of the side rails, and which arms are connected
to the endless chain before referred to, to be set in motion when required by
the star wheel O¹, as before stated. The front ends of the fire-bars, marked
A¹, A¹, &c., are made of a chisel or V shape in front, for the purpose of
dividing or breaking any slag or cinder that may fall or gather in this part as
the bars advance to the position shown.
Figure 7 represents the front of the furnace, showing the bars B', B', &c.,
elevated as in the last Figure; D¹ is the door frame, and M₁ the front rocker,
by which the series of bars marked B³, B¹, are elevated or moved; and L', L',
is the axis of the rocker that gives motion to the bars A¹, A', and O¹, O', the
axis of the star wheel to which the winch handle Q is attached.
For the sake of simplifying the construction of the rockers, I prefer that
they should be made of cast iron, having the top support, axis, and the toothed
segments cast in one piece. A front view of the front rocker so made I have
exhibited at Figure 8; and Figure 9 is a front view of the bridge G¹, showing
also a front view of the rake d', d¹, preferring that the teeth or lower pro-
jections should be protected by laying in a sunken cavity formed in the fire
clay of which the bridge may be composed; and in this view I am also
enabled to exhibit the legs or supports that traverse along on the top of the
two side bars.
Figs. 10 and 11 represent two fire-bars drawn for the purpose of exhibiting
their relative proportions, as herein-before exhibited; and for general infor-
Imation I may observe, that the Drawings-herein described have been made to
a scale of one inch and a half to the foot.
Having now described my several improvements, I will further observe,
that by lowering or elevating the axis of the rocker marked M', a greater or
less amount of elevation is imparted to the series of bars with which it is
connected; and by casting the surface of the inner support of the bars of an
irregular form, such as like the teeth of a saw, or curved or scolloped in any
regular shape or wave line, and the same or inverted shape being given to
that part of the bars that rest on it, it is quite evident that as the bars
advance and retire over such irregular surface, a vibrating motion will be
imparted to them. In this Drawing, as in the former, I have not thought
proper to diversify and shew the various descriptions of permanent furnaces to

page_text: which the various arrangements may be either in part or wholly applicable, as
a slight deviation of the details will enable a practical man to adapt this
arrangement to general purposes.
And having now described my Invention, and the manner in which the
same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood that I do not purpose
confining myself to any particular size, proportion, or application of these my
improvements, as the same may be greatly diversified without departing from
the spirit or essential qualities of them; but what I claim, substantially, is the
mode of operating on fire-bars as described and exhibited in the Drawings
hereunto annexed on Sheet 1, without confining myself to the exact appliances
by which the said results are produced, as their equivalent or equivalents may
be obtained by other mechanical agencies that are well understood.
Secondly, I claim the mode or its equivalent of forming and arranging the
several attendant parts for and giving the particular motion to the fire-bars
as described and exhibited at Figures 5, 6, and 7, by which means the cinder
or slag which cannot otherwise escape is brought forward from the back of
the furnace and deposited on the dead plate, as also for the more complete
combustion of fuel that consequently ensues in the description of furnaces to
which this particular motion is employed, without any reference to the pro-
portions of the parts or particular purpose for which such furnaces may be
applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Wright, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
JOSEPH WRIGHT. (L.S.)