US1437749A - Grate-cleaning appliance - Google Patents

Description

W. J. DRAY.

GRATE CLEANING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20, 1920.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922..

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR M///n"'//7 75/1765 Zirqy A TTORNE Y from being properly, consui'ned.

ticularly a-pplicableto boiler furnaces of the boilers or steam-generators.

Patented Dec, 5, i922 iinirn WILLIAM JAMES EBAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GBATE-CLEANING nrrnrnncn.

Ap'olication filed AugustZO, 1920. Serial No, 404,861; A

which the following is a specification;

i'llhe present invention has reference ,to a

and partly in section, representing a practn' means for keeping the grate-bars of a furnace clear of'ashes,clinlzers, and scoriaceous matter that would clog the interstices therebetween and consequently prevent the fuel It is parmarine type,though it may be used with equal advantage in furnacesof stationary An important object of the invention isto provide an appliance of the genus referred to, that can be adjusted as a unitrelatively to the grate to be cleaned, whether at the initial erection of the structure, or subsequently whenever the effectiveness thereof becomes impaired through continuous usage.

A further object is the provision of an ap pliance of the cla smentioned the adjustment or readjustment whereof can be effected with convenience and sullicient rapidity, v

As usual, a front head B and an outer shell by an ordinary furnace attendant, without using tools of any sort or calling anybody else to his assistance. f

Another object is to produce an appliance of the character set forth carrying its own instrumentalities for adjusting and manipulating it, and thus affording a construction which is complete in itself, and for that reason may be termed self-contained.

' Still another object is the production of an appliance of the nature described wherein the operating means can be utilized as a lock for maintaining the parts in a given position, and mayalso be employed in'conjunction with some of the adjusting media to liberate the appliance from an abnormal condition. I

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part be brought out more fully in the detailed description hereinafter contained. I

pended.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction, parts,combinations and subcombinat ons of .elements herein specified with reference to the accompanying drawings, and recited in the claims hereto ap- In the said drawings,, v Figure I is a top plan view, partly broken calembodiment of the invention, appliedto a marine boiler furnace;

Fig. His a longitudinal section ofthe broken as in the preceding figure;

F 1g; H1 is a front end elevation, showing the lower half ofthe boiler shell, the fur rows.

same construction, the parts being also partly Referring now in detail to the drawings,

the reference letter A designates afurnace flue of well-known construction, such as is ordinarily employed for water-boilers or steam-generators of the type aforementioned.

O surround thisfiue. ,The front'end of the 'latter terminates with an eXtension'D, of the furnace containing a deadplate E, and at the rear end is a bridge wall F; The body of the flue may be formed with corrugations, as-indicated at G.

to bear at their opposite ends upon supporting-bars I, set across theinterior of the fine and secured to the sides thereof at their respective extremities. As shown, these grate bars may be formed with heads which serve to keep them at suitable intervals apart on the said supporting-bars, though they ad- ,mit of being held adjoining one another thereon in various other ways.

Qther parts pertaining to the furnace, its flue and grates. are omitted as having no particular bearing on the invention herein disclosed. With regard to the known parts above named, it is understood that they are devoid of novelty, considered by themselves, and therefore will be claimed only as companion elements in the diverse combinations or sub-combinations set forth.

A vertically adjustable trackway is provided within the furnace line A, directly be low the grates H, and the same extends also forwardly at the same level into the extension D. Preferably and as shown, this trackway is composed of a pair of rails 1 and 2, that are parallel to the sides of the fine and are united at their opposite extremities by transversely disposed rods 3 and a forming therewith a frame-like structure.

The trackway aforesaid rests at the front and rear ends, respectively, upon brackets 7 and 8, or other terminal supports, adapted to receive and engage the cross rods 3:an d l. The several brackets may consist of sections of bar metal, set vertically within the extension D of the furnace in front, and the flue A in rear. The front brackets 7 are preferably bent inwardly and downwardly at their lower ends, as indicated by the reference numeral 9, and outwardly and upwardly at their upper ends, as denoted by 10. These bends it will be noted, leave straight portions in the brackets 7 to support the trackway, and further supply appropriate bearing parts against opposite points of the extension D, wherewith' to fasten them in place. The rear brackets 8, on the other hand, may bear edgewise against the wall, l and be secured at their lower extremities by bent portions 11 thereof, conforming to the incline of the bottom part of the flue, as clearly seen in Fig. TI.

Obliquely disposed notches 12 are provided in both the front and rear terminal brackets 7 and 8. These notches, it will be observed, have downwardly extended, parts adapted to receive the rods 3 and 4 of the trackway, and upwardly directed portions serving to hold the rods against displacement therein. Consequently, the said notches constitute effective retainers and stepped supports for the said rods and the rails united thereby. A set or series of superposed notches 12 is cut into each one of the brackets, so that the trackway may be mounted at different heights and inclines on the same.

Arranged to ride back and forth upon the rails 1 and 2, is a truck or carrier comprising two pairs of wheels 15 and 16, respectively secured to the ends of axles 17 and 18.- As appears in section in Fig. IV, these axles grate-bars, that constitute the extremities of squared members 19 and 20, which are connected together by longitudinally extending bars 21 and 22, see also Fig. 11. These several parts compose the truck, which is intended for re oiprocatory travel under the grate or series of grates H, previously mentioned.

By'preference, the above described truck is made somewhat longer than either of the grates shown in the drawings. In fact, it is the intention to have a single truck of sufficient length to extend partly under the plural grates, irrespective of the number side to avoid rubbing against the latter,

as the said elements pass along the same when the truck is being moved in either direction onv the trackway. It will be noted that the frame of this truck and the teeth thereto attached constitute together an inverted rake, adapted to act through the grate-bars from the underside thereof, and to agitate the fuel consumed and other matterthat may be lying upon the same. The

reciprocation of the raking elements, it is understood, will operate to shake down the ashes that may have accumulated on the grate-bars, so as to clear the spaces between the same, as well as to break up clinkers and remove incombustible refuse that would otherwise adhere to the grates and interfere with proper combustion. The plural grates are simultaneously cleaned by the different rows of raking elements, owing to their peculiar disposition on opposite sides of the intermediate supporting bars I, which is rendered possible by the surplus length of the truck, hereinbefore mentioned.

As the truck is placed in the lower part of. the flue A, and consequently must be of less width than the centrally located grates above, the outermost raking elements cannot well be attached directly to it, and for that reason the latter-named elements, indicated by the reference characters 24 and 25 are instead made integral parts of crosspieces 28'and 29, carried by the nearest elements 24; and 25, pertaining to the same rows. The cross-pieces 28, 29 are made to extend outwardly a sufficient distance beyond the sides of the truck-frame to bring the outermost elements24, 25 'into opera tive position relatively to the corresponding is, those nearest to the sides of the flue.

llO

A. pole or bar 31 is provided as a means to opera e the aforesaid rake, in order to keep the grates clean,'in the manner recited. This pole is pivotally connected, as shown, to a hanger 32, depending from the forward member 19, of the truck-frame, and when at rest it may be allowed to lie across the front rod 3, of the trackway. A cross-piece 33, at the outer end of the pole, afiords a convenient handle for pushing and pulling; it back and forth alternately, and thereby correspondingly moving the truck and reciproeating the rake, for the purpose intended.

The said pole 31 is also provided with a hook 35, which may project downwardly from the forward portion thereof, as indicated in Fig. II. The hook 35 is adapted to take over thefront rod 3, when the truck has reached the limit of its travel in the rear end of the fiue, and through engage- 11161111 with this rod, it will operate a stop or locking means to maintain the truck stationary, after the grate-bars have been duly cleaned. Other media, of course, could be used besides the rod 3, to co-act with the hook 35,- and pole 31, in retaining the truck in any given position. In order to adjust the said rake relatively to the grates, so that the teeth. thereof will project to the required l eight above the surface of the adjoining grate-bars, the truck carrying it is raised by elevating the trackway thereunder, on the terminal support-s hereinbefore described. For convenience in efiecting the desired adjustment without taking the grates out of the furnace, the trackway is equipped with a movable or shiftable fulcrum, consisting preferably of a prop 37, adapted to bear uPou the bottom of the flue A, and pivotally connected to a transverse rod 38, that joins the rails 1 and 2 together, centrally of the trackway. The rod 38 is provided. with a pair of flanges or guide-collars 39, 40, between which the head or upper end of the prop is pivoted, and the lower end of the latter is formed with a foot 41, broadened so as to bear fully upon one or two of the corrugations G of the flue. Thus arranged,

the prop can be used as a lifting-jack in elevating the trackway, together with the truck and rake carried thereby, independ ently of the end supports 7 and 8. To do so, the front rod 3 is first disengaged from the pair of notches 12, which received it before in the manner indicated for instance in Fig. 11, by pushing the frame like structure rearwardly inside ofthe flue, until the other rod 4- has slid further or deeper into the notches in the brackets 8. After this has been done the forward end of the traclo way is lifted high enough to cause the prop 37, which is normally inclined and inactive, to gravitate to a substantially perpendicular position, that is, until the lower extremity thereof obtains a firm footing upon the coris depressed to swing rugation G of the flue, directly underneath. Next, the same forward end of the traclzway the rails 1 and 2, with the transverse rod 38,upon the prop or fulcrum 37, and thus cause the rear rod l of the traclrway to become disengaged from its notches in the brackets 8, while the front rod reengages the notches in the brackets 7, that is, any pair therein positioned to receive the same. This rod, like the rear one, will then sink deeper into the notches engaged thereby than it did previously. The

two rods 3 8: a are not intended to be freed simultaneously from their notches, one remaining fully in, and the other being entirely out, when the shifting takes place. At such times as the proper or desired. level has been established for the tracliway, the said rods occupy the positions thereof depicted by Fig. 11, wherein it is shown that they reach about halfway down their respective notches. Now, it will be perceive-til that, by swinging or canting the traokway so as'to raise and lower its opposite ends alternately in the same manner, either of the rods 3 and 4 can be brought into engagement with other notches 12, of the two series in the respective terminal brackets, and the relative position of the trackway, truck and rake, to the grates will be changed accordingly, all with the aid ofthe movable fulcrum.

' l t may occur that the said fulcrum will become temporarily immovable, due for instance to some ashes or clinkers-impeding its capability to oscillate on the rod '38, to which it is pivotally connected. In order to counteract this impediment, a drawing means is provided between. the fulcrum and the truck overlying it on the trackway. The means here referred. to preferably consists of a chain 14, attached to the foot 41, of the prop 37, and thence running out of the flue forwardly. The chain 4.4: is furnished with a book 46, which when not in use may be arranged to take over the outer lower edge of the furnace extension D. If and whenever the fulcrum becomes inactive, the hook 45 is caused to engage the polehook 35, or is otherwise anchored to the truck. Now, as the traclrway carrying the fulcrum remains normally stationary, it is obvious that by drawing the truck forwardly thereon, with the chain 44 hooked to its pole ordraft-bar, the pivotal connection of the fulcrum with the traclrway will immediately be loosened and the fulcrum itself released for active operation.

It is to be understood that the invention herein disclosed is not limited to the precise details of construction shown and described, nor to any particular structural arrangement by which the same may be carried into practice, as numerous changes, alterations, or modifications, may be effected therein Without materially departing from he fundamental principle of the invention or even sacrificing any of its main advantages. The right to make all such changes, alterations, or modifications, is therefore reserved.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent and clai ii. is

i. In grate cleaning appliance, a track adjustable toward or away from the grate, supporting means for said track rigidly maintaining the latter in its adjusted positions either arallel with or at an angle to the grate, a carrier mounted to travel upon the track, and rake'elements mounted on said. carrier adapted to project between the bars of the grate.

2. In a grate cleaning appliance, a plurality of supports arranged in spaced relation beneath the grate, each of said supports having a series of spaced notches therein, track, transverse rods associated with said track adapted to rest in said notches, a carrier on the track, and ral-Ie lements on carrier adapted to proect between the bars of the grate.

3. in a grate cleaning appliance, a track disposed below the grate and adjustable toward or away from the latter, means at the ends of said track for supporting it in various positions of adjustment, a prop hingedly connected to the track beneath the same intermediate its ends, said prop being adapted to support the track free from said supporting means during adjustment thereof,

a carrier mounted on the track, and rake elements on said carrier capable of projectingg between the bars of the grate.

In a grate cleaning appliance, a plurality of supports disposed; beneath the grate, each of said supports having a series of spaced notches therein, said series extending at substantially right angles to the grate, a track, rods secured to said track adapted to rest in said notches, a carrier mounted to travel on the track, and rake elements on said carrier capable of projecting between the bars of the grate.

5. A grate cleaning appliance comprising in combination, a device for clearing the grate bar spaces operable thereunder, a tracl: upon which said device may be moved, a set of retainers adapted to support each end of said track at different elevations relatively to the grate, and a centrally located prop capable of being positioned to raise the track and enable it to be shifted from a" retainer to another in the set by rocking the track upon the prop.

6. A grate cleaning appliance comprising in combination, a cleaning device for the grate bar spaces movable beneath the same, a track for said device adjustable in height relatively to the grate, terminal retainers adapted to hold the track at diil'erent elevations, a prop pivotally attached to said track capable of raising it when moved thereunder, andfiexible means adapted to form a detachable connection between the prop and the cleaning device.

WILLIAM JAMES DRAY.

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