US1013330A - Open grate. - Google Patents

Description

W. THOMAS.

OPEN GRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1910.

1,013,330, Patented Jan.2, 1912.

, UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcnf WALTER 'rnomas, or vancouvnn, BnITIsH'co'LuMmA, CANADA.

OPEN GRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2,1912.

Application filed January 28, 1910. Serial No. 540,561.

' grate from below and also for mechanically removing ashes, from the bottom of the fire or fuel basket down through a tube into a basement, so as to avoid the annoyance, labor and dirt incident to manually carrying up coal and taking down ashes, and cleaning the fire in the old way now generally practiced.

Another object is. to provide for effectively and economically burning in an open grate a comparatively low grade of coal, and at the same time obtaining a higher heat orincandescence of the coal and more perfect combustion of the resulting smoke orgaseous. products, so as to. practically prevent the escape of dense smoke and tlliprefore produce numerous economical re- 8 ts.

Another object is to provide improved mechanical details of construction for conveniently operating the coal feeding and ash discharge devices with freedom from flying dust, and ashes from the grate in the. living room or other place where the grate may be located. e

The matter constituting my invention will bev defined in the'claims.

I, will now describe the details of construction' of my invention by reference. tov

Figure 1 represents av parts' 'in section. Fi 2.. represents a top view of the -gearing or operating the coal and ashv screw conveyers.

The. open grate and surrounding air heat.-' ing dues are located in the living room above -the floor line and the coal feeding and ash discharging tubes and operating mechanism are located in the basement be low, being supported on metallic I-beams or bars W, or in any other convenient manner.

The fire or fuel basket 1 is made ofv metal and may have a fire. brick lining and is provided centrally at the bottom with a trans versedouble inclined bridge 2. This bridge ma be made of different heights and with di erently inclined surfaces or may be omitted. The grate or fire box is set into a chimney opening 5 which is provided with an arched. top leading into a chimney flue 6 indicated by dotted lines. The basket or box 1 is provided with a surrounding ticket 3 extending down to the floor line, as s own. This jacket may inclose the fire box front and back and at the ends and is provided with perforations or ports 4 opening into 7 the interior of the box for supplying hot air to support combustion. These rts 4 may be placed both at the front and ack of the box and in such position as to secure the best efiects in burning the fuel and completely consuming the smoke or ases of combustion. The bottom of the re box is provided at one end with .an opening with which is. connected the vertical depending fuel supply pipe 7 having at its lower end a fuel hopper 8 provided with a cover 8.

. Within this feed tube is placed a screw conveyer 9 having a shaft 10, which projects down through the lower end of the tube into. a housing V containing the operating gearing. To the shaft 10 is applied a gear a wheel 11 turning loosely on the shaft and having a spring pawl 12' which engages with a. ratchet wheel 13 rigidly secured to the shaft.

In the bottom. of the fire box at the opopposite side of the bridge 2 is provided an ash opening with which is connected-the vertically depending ash discharge tube 14,

. jacket 3'. which surrounds the fire basket or grate. The heating jacket 16 may also have an air. inletopening 19 providedwith' acover as shown- A screw conveyer 20 is suitably journaled in the discharge tube 14 and. seits lower end the shaft 21 projects.

posite end from the feed tube and on the into the housing V where it is provided with a tube gear wheel 22 provided with a spring pawl 23 which engages with a ratchet wheel Ql secured to the shaft 21 for turning the same. The gear wheels '11 and 22 are engaged by the intermediate gear wheel 26 secured on the lower end of an cp .venient height in flue 34 is journaled a short shaft 32 provided at its inner end with a beveled pinion which engages with a bevieled gear 33 secured to shaft 29. A handle crank 31 is applied to the short shaft 32 for operating the shafts 29 and 25 and the connecting gearing, either-for forcing coal up through the feed tube 7 or ashes down the discharge tube 14. The details of construction of this operating gearing may be varied and the power "shaft 25 may be operated in thebasement by application of a crank directly thereto, but for convenience of the house-wife 1 preferably construct the gearing substantially as shown, so'that it may be operated by a crank, as 31, in the living room. I I

' For the purpose of heating air to besup Y plied to another room above or adjacent to the room in which, is locatedlthe open grate, I construct on each side of the chimney opening 5 the upright air heating titles 34 and above the opening a connecting horizontalflue 36 with which may connect a pipe 37 indicated bydo'tted lines, leading to a separate room. The fiues 34 and 36 are pref-. erably made of metal and with ornamental designs to form a'mantel. 'The lower ends ofthe air flue 34 are provided with air inlet openings 35. I

The spring pawls and ratchet wheels are so arranged uponthegear wheels 11 and 22 and the shafts l'O'and 21' that 'vvhen the power shaft and engaging gear 26 are turned in one directim coal will be forced up-b'y the conveyer 9 through feed tube 7 into the bottom of the fire box or basket 1, and by turning the shaft 25 and gear 26 in the opposite direction the conveyer 20 will be operated to force ashes down through the discharge tube 14' and chute 15. This coal feeding and ash discharging operation can be quickly performed at suitable intervals of an hour, more or less, according to the rate of combustion and the heat required.

"Slack coal or other inferior coal can be successfully fed toan'd burned in the fire box for the reason that'the upper portions of the fuel in the box will be ignited and partially or wholly incandescent, so that the ucts. .the bottom, the fuel in the fire box will be p gradually forced over the bridge 2 toward the ash opening at the opposite end of the gases or smoke from the fresh fuel supplied at the bottom will be caused to pass through -such highly heated fuel a'bove'where hot air will be supplied through the ports 4 to cause complete combustion of such gaseous prod- By pushing up the fresh fuel from box. Hot air is also here admitted through the ports 4 for completing combustion of the fuel and gaseous productsso that only ashes will pass down into the discharge tub'e l l.

The rate of combustion of the fuel may be I controlled by the discharge of ashes through tube 14. If a comparatively low fire is required, the ashes will be allowed to accumulate more or less at the discharge opening beforethe conveyer 20 is operated'to convey them down through the tube. f The rate of combustion may also be somewhat regulated by the time or intervals of feeding coal up through the tube 7 and the amount of fuel which is maintained at one time in the fire 2 box. Theperiods of feeding fuel and discharging ashes will be regulated by the amount of heat required.

By forcing the fuel up into thefire box the partially coked coal will be broken up and fedforward so as to.keep the bed of fuel well open in good burning condition.

Air will be heated to the desired temperature in the fines 34 and 36 and may be coning the same. I

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patat,

1. An open grate or fire basket for a chimney opening, having connecting with its bottom a fuel supply tube and mechanical means for feeding fuel therethrough, and an ash discharge tube connecting with the bottom and having independent'means for controlling the discharge of ashes inthe desired relation to the feed of coal in the fuel supply tube, substantially as described.

2. An open grate or fire basket for a- "veyed by pipe 37 to any other room, warmchimney opening, having a bottom fuel feed tube and a screw conveyer therein, and'an ash. f discharge tube opening into the bottom and having a screw conveyer, opera ing mechanism for the conveyers, the conveyer in the ash tube having separate operating mechanism. to control the discharge of ashes and" thus regulate the combustion of fuel in the grate, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a fire box or basket, of a depending fuel supply tube opening into the bottom at one side or end, a conveyer for feeding or forcing fuel up.

through thetube, an ash discharge tube connectlng with the bottom at the opposite side" or end and a screw'conveyer for discharging ashes down through said tube, and separately operative mechanism for said screw conveyers for controlling the feed of coal and independently the discharge of ash and thereby regulating the combustion in the grate,- substantially as described.

4. The combination with a fire box or basket for a chimney opening, of a depending fuel supply tube connecting with the bottom and having-a fuel feed hopper, a de pending ash discharge tube also connecting with the bottom of the basket, screw con- Veyers in said fuel and ash tubes, and gear wheels at their lower ends, and operating gearing and a shaft connecting with said wheels, and independent means connecting the gear wheels With the-conveyer shafts for controlling the feed of fuel and discharge of ashes and thereby regulating the fire.

5. The combination with a fire box or basket, of means for mechanically feeding it with fuel from below upward, a depending ash discharge tube connecting with its hotair heating flues at and having an exit pipe for conducting I Witnesses tom, a heatin jacket surrounding the ash tube and fire ox and having air openings communicating with the box for supplying hot air to the fuel.

6. The combination with an open fire box or basket for a chimney opening, of a depending bottom fuel feed tube, a depending bottom ash discharge tube, an air heating jacket surrounding said ash tube and connecting by openings with the fire box, and the sides and top of the chimney. opening for the fire box or. basllfeg 0 air to a separate room from that contaming the fire box or basket.

' In testimony whereof I aflix my signaturein presence of two-witnesses'.

WALTER THOMAS.

J. L. SMITH, A. E. GALIIN.

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