US2044085A - Incinerator - Google Patents

Description

L. LAG H ETTO June 16, 1936.

INCINERATOR Filed Feb. 15, 1934 Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES INCINERATOR Louis Laghetto, Somerville, Mass., assignor to Albert B. Tenney, Lexington. Mass.

Application February 13, 1934, Serial No. 110,997

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in incinerators and its principal object is to provide an incinerator of simple construction having but few parts, which is economical and efficient in operation, and which is marked improvement over the various types heretofore used.

Other objects are to provide an incinerator wherein all odors, obnoxious fumes, etc., incident to the combustion of refuse, are effectively destroyed and/or carried off in such a manner that the use of the incinerator does not create a nuisance; and to provide a burner mechanism which is operative first to start combustion of the refuse and consume the gases in the aforesaid manner, and thereafter to provide a forced draft capable of maintaining combustion of the refuse without the use of any fuel.

Further objects relate to the construction and to the operation of my improved incinerator and will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an incinerator constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the incinerator shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a front view of the burner.

The embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a casing which may be of wrought or cast iron, reinforced sheet metal, or any suitable refractory material pro- 35 viding rigid side walls capable of withstanding high temperatures. The casing may be provided with suitable insulation, if desired, to prevent radiation. The casing is provided with an opening II at its bottom, an intermediate opening 12, and an opening I4 at its top. Suitable doors or closure members I5, l6 and I1 are provided for openings ll, I2 and M, respectively, the doors being hinged to the outer walls of the casing as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A grate 20, supported on brackets 2| intermediate openings H and I2, divides the interior of the easing into a combustion compartment or chamber C above the grate and a firebox or pit P below the grate. An ash pan 22 is disposed on the floor 50 of the pit P and may be removed through the opening II.

A flue 25 is connected to the top of the casing l0, preferably adjacent to its side wall, and a cage or secondary grate, designated generally by the numeral 21, is secured to the grate adjacent to the side wall of the casing I 0 below the flue, as shown in Fig. 1. The cage 21 defines a second combustion chamber and preferably comprises a series of spaced, upwardly converging rods 28, secured at their upper ends to a ring 29 and at their lower ends to the grate, as shown in Fig. 3. A semi-cylindrical shield 30 is mounted on the cage 21 and extends to the top of the casing, thus providing a direct communication between the top of the cage 21 and the flue as shown in Fig. 1. The height and size of both the cage or secondary grate 21 and the shield may be varied in accordance with the character of the refuse to be incinerated and the size and proportions of the other parts of the incinerator. The distance between the shield 30 and the grate 20 is preferably such that the gases driven off from the refuse are deflected downwardly into the second combustion chamber, defined by the cage or secondary grate 21, where they are burned or consumed.

Where the shield 30 extends downwardly to a point adjacent to or below the center of the chamber C, suitable means may be provided to vent the upper part of the chamber and direct or discharge volatile matter downwardly toward the grate or into the pit P so as to be consumed by the flame jet, thus preventing the escape of obnoxious fumes through the doors l6 and I1. To this end a perforated pipe or tubular-shaped screen 3| may be disposed against the interior wall of the casing ID, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to provide a free and unobstructed communication between the upper end of the chamber C and the pit P, so that volatile matter accumulating in the upper part of chamber C is forced through the screen 3|, and downwardly into the pit P where it is consumed by the flame jet.

If desired, a b'aflle or deflector 32 may be secured to the under side of the grate 20, as shown in Fig. 1, so that a larger part of the burner flame is deflected toward the mass of refuse within the chamber C than would otherwise be possible if the firebox or pit P were unobstructed.

A bracket 35 is rigidly secured to the outer, side of the door I 5 and supports a burner mechanism designated generally by the numeral 40. The burner mechanism comprises an electrically driven centrifugal fan unit, both the motor H and fan 42 being mounted on the bracket 35. The fan 42 is provided with a discharge duct 43 which extends through an opening in the door to the interior of the pit P. The burner or nozzle portion comprises a pair of tubular members 45 and 46 telescopically disposed in spaced relation to each other as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Shroud plates 41 and 45 are welded or otherwise secured to the ends of the tubes 45 and 45, the inner tube 46 being supported in spaced relation to the tube 45 by the shroud plates. The central portion of theouter tube 45 is welded or otherwise Joined to the end of discharge duct 43. The tubes 45 and 46 are preferably cylindrical and are provided with elongate axially extending registering openings 50 and 5|, respectively, these openings preferably being in theform of segments between and in circumferential extent. The inner tube 46 is provided with a series of apertures 52 at points opposite its segmental opening 5i. Although the size and position of the openings 50 and 5| may be varied to provide a jet J of any desired size and angle, they are preferably disposed so that they face diagonally across the pit P in the general direction of the cage 21 and flue 25 as shown in Fig. 1.

A burner thus constructed will operate on either a gaseous or a liquid fuel, but if a liquid fuel is to be used, suitable absorbent material such as asbestos may be disposed in the bottom of the tube 46 to provide a wick 55. A supply line 56 is connected at one end to the bottom of the tube 46 and at its opposite end to the main fuel line (not shown) by any suitable means such as a flexible tube 56'- or a universal coupling which permits the door l5 to be opened and closed without deranging the parts. A rod 5'! of suitable insulating material having resistance wire 58 wound thereon, is supported by the shroud plates 41 and 48 and is disposed above but in close proximity to the wick 55, thus providing an ignition element for lighting the burner.

Automatic means may be provided for shutting ofl the supply line in event the burner fails to function and to this end anoverflow pipe 64 may be connected to the tube 46 at a point just above a wick 55, or at a predetermined level above the inlet of the supply line 56. The pipe 64 may extend through an opening in the door I5 to a catch bucket 65 which is supported by the lever of a conventional trip valve 66 disposed in the line 56. In event the burner goes out when the line 56 is open, or if the flow through the line 56 is excessive, the oil being fed into the tube 46, after reaching the level of the overflow pipe 64, flows into the catch bucket 65 and effects the actuation of the trip valve 66, thereby shutting off the supply line 56.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The material or refuse to be incinerated is introduced into the combustion chamber 0 either through the opening i 2 or H, the fuel line 56 is opened, and the wick 55 is then lighted manually or by means of the electrical ignition element 58. The motor 4| is turned on and the fan 42 discharges a current of air through the opening 50. Part of the air blast passes through the apertures 52 and supports combustion of the fuel within the inner tube 46, but the major portion envelops the flames escaping from the opening 5| and carries them in the form of a hot oxidizing jet or blast J upwardly against the grate 20 and cage or secondary grate 21 in contact with the material to be incinerated.

The cage 21 not only prevents the refuse from caking against the sidewall of the casing and interfering with the draft, but furthermore provides an unobstructed combustion chamber where a part of the hot gases of the flame jet passing upwardly through the grate come in direct contact with the more volatile constituents of the refuse driven off by the main portion of the flame or jet and are effective to consume and carry them off, thus minimizing the amount of smoke and unburned gases passing through the flue and destroying all obnoxious odors which would otherwise be present if the more volatile constituents were allowed to escape without coming in contact with the hot oxidizing flame of the burner.

After combustion of the refuse is under way, the fuel supply may be shut off, but the fan is left running so as to provide an air blast or forced draft which is effective to maintain combustion without necessity of using any fuel. To this end an automatically operated control device, or an electric clock switch such as a Tim-O-Stat" designated by the numeral 60, may be employed to shut off the valve 62 in the fuel line 56 after the expiration 'of a predetermined period-of time, and after the expiration of a second predetermined period an automatic time switch, such as a Mark-Time designated by the numeral 6|, may be employed to shut off the motor. For example, these devices may be set so that for a half hour the line 56 is open with the fan run ning, thus maintaining the flame jet J for a period sufficient to start combustion of the refuse in the chamber C, and after the expiration of the half hour period the Tim-O-Stat" operates to close the valve 62, thus shutting off the fuel supply but leaving the motor and fan running so as to provide an air blast or forced draft which maintains the combustion of the refuse. The motor and fan continue to run until the expiration of the second period which may be from one half hour to an hour (or whatever time is required completely to incinerate the refuse), whereupon the Mark-Time operates to shut off the motor.

It will be noted that as the cage 2! lies in the path of part of the air jet and also the outlet for the chamber C, combustion of the refuse in vicinity of the cage is of course more rapid and consequently the burning gases resulting therefrom are concentrated within and about the cage or secondary grate where they are eflective to consume the more volatile constituents of refuse added from time to time. The shield 30 serves as a baiile which deflects the burning embers, vapors and products of combustion downwardly. thus preventing them from escaping directly through the flue by causing them to pass through the upper part of the cage where they come in direct contact with the combustion gases which are effective to insure complete combustion. The upper part of the cage thus provides a spark arrester which prevents the escape of large-sized burning embers through the flue.

Due to the continuous jet of air or flame discharged from the burner, there is no danger of ashes falling through the grate and clogging the burner. Furthermore, there is no danger of injuring or deranging the burner when cleaning out the pit as the entire burner assembly is removed from the pit when the door I5 is opened, thus providing an unobstructed access to its interior.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that various changes in shape, proportion, and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: A

an outlet flue adjacent to its top and a grate spaced from its bottom and defining a combustion compartment above and an .ash pit' below the grate, a vertically extending cage mounted on said grate and defining a secondary combustion chamber, a blast burner disposed in said pit and arranged to discharge a jet diagonally across the pit and upwardly through said grate so that a portion or said jet directly enters said combustion compartment and another portion of said jet directly enters said secondary combustion chamber, and a shield extending from the top of said cage to said outlet flue, said shield being operative to deflect gaseous products of combustion downwardly and cause them to pass through said secondary combustion chamber.

. 2. An incinerator comprising a casing having an outlet flue at its top and a grate spaced from its bottom and defining a combustion compartment above and an ash pit below the grate, .a vertically extending cage mounted on said grate againstthe side wall of said compartment, and

constituting therewith a secondary combustion chamber, a blast burner disposed in said pit and arranged to discharge a jet diagonally across the pit and upwardly in the direction of the flue, a

baflle plate depending from said grate and ar-- ranged to deflect a portion oi. said jet upwardly through said grate into said combustion compartment and another portion of said jet upwardly through said grate into said secondary combustion chamber, a vent pipe extending from the upper part of said combustion compartment downwardly to said grate and being operative to conduct volatile matter accumulating in the upper part of said combustion compartment downwardly into said pit, and a shield extending from the top of said cage to said outlet flue, said shield being operative to deflect the gaseous products of combustion downwardly and cause them to Ipeass through said secondary combustion cham- '3. An incinerator comprising a casing having an outlet flue adjacent to its top and a grate spaced from its bottom and defining a combustion compartment above and an ash pit below the grate, a vertically extending cage mounted on said grate and defining a secondary combustion chambena blast burner disposed in said pit and arranged to discharge a jet diagonally across the pit and upwardly through said grate so that a portion of said jet directly enters said combustion compartment and another portion of said jet directly enters said secondary combustion chamber, a vent pipe extending from the upper part of said combustion compartment downwardly to said grate and being operative to conduct volatile matter accumulating in the upper part of said combustion compartment downwardly into said pit, and a shield extending from the top of said cage to said outlet flue, said shield being operative to deflect gaseous products of combustion downwardly and cause them to pass through said secondary combustion chamber.

4. An incinerator comprising a casing having an outlet flue at its top and a grate spaced from its bottom and defining a combustion compartment above and an ash pit below the grate, a vertically extending cage mounted on said grate against the side wall oi said compartment and constituting therewith a secondary combustion chamber, a blast burner disposed in said pit and arranged to discharge a jet diagonally across the pit and upwardly in the direction of the flue, a baille, plate depending from said grate and arranged to deflect a portion of said jet upwardly through said grate into said combustion compartment and another portion of said jet upwardly through said grate into said secondary combustion chamber, and a shield extending from the top or said cage to said outlet flue, said shield being operative to deflect the gaseous products of combustion downwardly and cause them to pass through said secondary combustion chamber.

LOUIS LAGHE'I'I'O.

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