IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE CONSUMING FURNACES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JAMES WILLIAMS HUBBER, of San Francisco, in the County of San Francisco,
and State of California, one of the United States of America, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOKE CONSUMING
FURNACES" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement
-
The object of my said invention is to provide a means whereby all or nearly all
of the waste products of combustion such as the smoke and cinders from the
furnaces of steam-engines or locomotives-are withdrawn from the smoke-stack or
chimney and returned to the furnace again to be consumed I accomplish this
object by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which is a fiont
elevation of my improved steam-boiler furnace partly broken away
A 18 an exhaust-pipe which enters the stack or chimney just above the coupling
with the man-hole at the top of the boiler The pipe is bent, as shown and
extends upward in the stack or chimney to near the damper B and is provided
with downwardly-projecting tubes, air or smoke passages C, which extend from
near the top of the pipe to the bend thereof in an irregular manner as shown
From the stack the pipe A extends outwardly to an exhaust or forcing fan, D, to
the inner side of which it is connected by a broad funnel-shaped tube, Ď¹. Under-
neath the fan-casing is connected a chamber, E, which communicates with the
fan-chamber and receives all of the smoke and products of combustion drawn from
the smoke-stack by the suction-fan,
From the chamber E a pipe F, 18 connected which passes down to near the floor
of the ash-pit at which point it is bent inward and enters the centre of the
furnace G, just beneath the fire-grate. At the termination of this pipe is placed
a rose or mushroom cap, H, provided with holes or openings, so as to distribute and
give free outlets to the smoke and products of combustion into the distributing
chamber under the fire-grate But if found more convenient this rose may be
dispensed with and an open ended spout or pipe employed.
An auxiliary forcing-fan J is placed near the exhaust or blower forcing-fan D,
from the casing of which extends a branch pipe K which leads, into and connects
with the main pipe F This auxiliary forcing-fan or blower is operated by a
separate belt on separate pulleys one of which pulleys is connected to the line of
shafting at the rear of the furnace not shown, and the other pulley upon the end of
the fan shaft

page_text: The object of this auxiliary fan blower is to force pure oxygen along with the
smoke and products of combustion taken from the smoke-stack, into the furnace
through the medium of the pipe K to force the flames and promote a greater degree
of combustion of the fuel of the furnace
In order to provide for a more rapid discharge of the smoke and gases from the
closed chamber under the grate-bars into the furnace above the fuel, I attach one
or more curved pipes, I at each side of the furnace, one end of which enters the
furnace, below the grate-bars and extends upward and passes through the wall of
the furnace above the grate-bars into the combustion chambers, as shown
By this means if the volume of smoke gases etc., received into the chambers
beneath the grate-bars through the forcing-pipe F be too great, the branch pipes at
the sides of the furnace will give relief and carry off the surplus up and into the
combustion chamber
The operation will be as follows, to wit, the doors of the furnace and chamber
beneath the grate-bars are closed air tight, or nearly so, and the fan set in motion
which draws the fumes smoke etc, from the furnaces up into the short tubes or
openings into the suction or inlet pipe and on into the fan-chamber beneath
the fan.
From thence it is forced on and down the outlet-pipe mingled with pure air from
the auxiliary forcing-fan into the chamber beneath the grate and up through the
fire-grate and branch pipes into the furnace to be consumed
Thus it will be seen that a suction and forcing operation is continuously going
on, and but little if any of the waste products of combustion-such as the cinders
and smoke are allowed to escape through the smoke-stack while a sufficient draft
is constantly supplied to the fuel-chamber to promote and keep up combustion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st In a smoke consuming engine or furnace, the inlet or suction pipe entering
the smoke-stack or chimney, provided with downwardly-projecting holes or
openings, and terminating in a broad funnel connected to the fan-blower, sub-
stantially as described
2nd In a smoke consuming furnace or engine the exhaust-pipe A, having inlets, C,
at the end which enters the smoke-stack, and terminating at its other end in a
funnel D¹ in combination with the fan D, chambers, E, and pipe F substantially as
shown and described
3rd In a smoke consuming furnace or engine the auxilary suction and forcing-
fan blower J connecting by a branch pipe K with the main pipe F constructed
arranged and operating substantially in the manner as set forth and specified
Dated this 2nd day of April 1885