IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Heginbottom, of Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACES."
Sealed the 21st April 1871, and dated the 4th February 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Heginbottom at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th February 1871.
I, JAMES HEGINBOTTOM, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACES," to be as follows:—
These improvements apply to single and double flued boilers, the
objects being to render the furnace self-feeding, and to improve the
combustion and economize fuel, and at the same time prevent smoke.
The Invention consists principally in an arrangement for feeding the
furnaces from the top through tubes rivetted to the shell of the boiler
and passing through the water space into the furnace. Over each
furnace there are two or three of these tubular openings, so that the

page_text: "
fuel can be fed at different parts of the fire. Above the openings are
hoppers into which the fuel is fed, and the openings are closed more
or less (or entirely when required) by means of sliding doors, so as to
admit more or less fuel as may be desirable, the fuel falling on to the
fire by its own weight when the sliding doors are open, the quantity
admitted depending upon the distance to which the sliding doors are
opened. The front door of the furnace does not require to be opened at
all for supplying the fuel, and it is provided with a thick plate of glass
in the centre or above the door, so that the fireman can see the state of
his fire at any time, and by opening the sliding doors at the top he can
supply the fuel at any part of the furnace he may desire. This glass is
mounted loosely in the door so as to admit of expansion and contraction,
space being left also for the admission of a current of air round the
edges so as to keep the glass comparatively cool. Instead of placing
the damper at the end of the flue nearest the chimney I place it just in
front of or behind the bridge, the said damper being in the form of a
semi-disc of fire-clay or other suitable material, and mounted centrally
at one end of a longitudinal shaft which passes to the front beneath the
fire-bars, its outer end being provided with a lever or handle by means
of which it can be turned. When the damper is not required it remains
in a semicircular recess at the back of the ash-pit, and when required it
may be partially or wholly closed by simply turning the shaft so as to
raise a part or the whole of the semicircular damper into the space above
the bridge. In two-flued boilers where the dampers are in this position
I prefer to make a communication between the two flues at the back of
the bridge, so that each furnace will assist the combustion of the smoke
proceeding from the other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Heginbottom in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HEGINBOTTOM, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-

page_text: fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Heginbottom, Her special.
license that I, the said James Heginbottom, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Heginbottom,
my executors, administrators, and 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, usc,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-"
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Heginbottom, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly 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 James Heginbottom, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings' (that is to
say):
These improvement's apply to single and double flued boilers, the
object being to render the furnace self-feeding, and to improve the com-
bustion and economise fuel and at the same time prevent smoke.
The Invention consists principally in an arrangement of apparatus for
feeding the furnaces from the top through tubes rivetted to the shell of
the boiler and passing through the water space into the furnace. Over
each furnace there are two or three of these tubular openings, so that
the fuel can be fed at different parts of the fire. Above the openings
are hoppers into which the fuel is fed, and the openings are closed inore"
or less (or entirely when required) by means of sliding doors so as to
admit more or less fuel as may be desirable, the fuel falling on to the
fire by its own weight when the sliding doors are open, the quantity
admitted depending upon the distance' to which the sliding doors are
opened. The front door of the furnace does not require to be opened
at all for supplying the fuel, and it may be provided with a thick plate
of glass in the centre or above the door so that the fireman can see the

page_text: state of his fire at any time, and by opening the sliding doors at the top
he can supply the fuel at any part of the furnace he may desire, or the
'feeding of the furnace may be effected by automatic means.
This glass
is mounted loosely in the door so as to admit of expansion and con-
traction, space being left also for the admission of a current of air round
the edges so as to keep the glass comparatively cool. Instead of placing
the damper at the end of the flue nearest the chimney, I place it just
in front of or behind the bridge, the said damper being (by preference)
in the form of a semi-disc of fire-clay or other suitable material and
mounted centrally at one end of a longitudinal shaft which passes to
the front beneath the fire-bars, its outer end being provided with a lever
or handle by means of which it can be turned. When the damper is not
required it remains in a semicircular recess at the back of the ash-pit
and when required it may be partially or wholly closed by simply turning
the shaft so as to raise a part or the whole of the semicircular damper into
the
space above the bridge. In two flued boilers where the dampers are
in this position, I prefer to make a communication between the two flues
at the back of the bridge so that each furnace will assist the combustion
of the smoke proceeding from the other, but to this arrangement I lay
no claim.
;
• Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improve-
ments in the Construction of Steam Boilers and Furnaces," I will now.
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to be
or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order that
the same may be clearly understood, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet
of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with Figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following ex-
planation thereof.
Fig. 1 in the annexed Drawing is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2
a transverse section through a furnace and single flued boiler fitted with
my improved apparatus. a, a, is the shell of the boiler; b, b, the flue,
and c, c, the fire-bars; d, d, are the feeding tubes rivetted or otherwise
fixed to the shell a, a, of the boiler, and passing through the water space
into the furnace; e, e, are the hoppers above the tubes for supplying the
fuel which are provided with sliding doors f, f, opening downwards and
closed by sliding upwards. The rods g, g, which open and close these
doors are provided at their lower extremities with feet h, h, for spreading
the fuel as it falls on to the fire-bars (see also horizontal section Fig. 3.)

page_text: These rods may be worked by hand, but I prefer to make them automatic
as shown in the Drawing wherein they are represented as opened at
intervals by means of projections or tappets i, i, on an endless chain
acting upon levers k, k, keyed upon shafts 1, 1, on which are also keyed
other levers m, m, one end of each of which is attached to its respective
rod g, g, and the other end carries a counterbalance weight to close the
door as soon as the lever k, k, are released by the movement of the chain.
By prolonging the shafts 1, 1, the same chain may be made to work the
doors of several boilers or of several flues in one boiler. The endless
chain is caused to move continuously by passing over a pulley n, n,
keyed upon the main driving shaft o, o, which is driven in any con-
venient manner. I prefer so to arrange the tappets on the chain that
the front door shall feed once to three times of that nearest the bridge,
whilst the intermediate one shall feed (say) twice.
Figs. 4 and 5 are longitudinal and transverse sections of a boiler flue
and furnace showing the arrangement for working the semi-discoid
damper p', which is placed immediately behind the ordinary bridge p, p,
of the furnace. This disc turns upon central pivots and is turned by
means of the spur gearing q, q, being actuated by turning the shaft r, r,
beneath the fire-bars the front end of which shaft is provided with a
lever handles, s, for that purpose. This lever handle is so arranged
that when the damper is open (see Fig. 4) the said lever handles, s,
stands up in front of the furnace door so that the fireman cannot open
the latter till he has closed the damper.
Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views illustrating the application of this
arrangement to an oval flue.. In this case the damper may be made to
rise and fall perpendicularly by means of racks t, t, and pinions u, u.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that
I claim as my Invention the general construction and arrangement of
the boiler furnace and feeding apparatus, substantially as shown at
Figs. 1 and 2, in the annexed Drawings, and herein-before described
and especially, I claim the feeding tubes passing through the water space
of the boiler into the furnace in connection with hoppers and doors
worked either by hand or automatically..
And, secondly, I claim placing the damper at or close to the bridge
instead of at the usual place at the end of the fluc, whether turning

page_text: upon central pivots or rising and falling perpendicularly, substantially
as herein-before described and illustrated by Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Heginbottom, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witnessed by
GEORGE DAVIES, C.E.,
Patent Office,
Manchester.
JAMES HEGINBOTTOM. (L.S.)