Spark-arrester and draft-regulator for locomotives.

' Application filed July 2, 1909. Serial No. 505,714.

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ralph John Harle, a. subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Tanta, in Egypt, have invented 5 an Improvement in Spark-Arresters and Draft-Regulators for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification. ·

In steam generators of The flue type,, especially in the boilers of locomotives, the 10 products of combustion pass chiefly through the upper tubes or flues of the boiler.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved attachment for distributing products of combustion more evenly, or caus15 ing them to pass through the lower flues as well as the upper, and also for arresting the sparks, which, under other circumstances, would reach tile smoke-stack and be discharged therefrom. My improved attach²⁰ ment also effects a considerable economy in the consumption of coal.

The details of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts are as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompany ²⁵ ing drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a side elevation—part being broken away to show the interior construction—of a locomotive boiler provided with my improved attachment. Fig. 2 is a longi³⁰ tiulinal section of the locomotive boiler and smoke-box, on the line 2—2 of Fig. 3. Fig,.3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 3—3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective illustrating the means for operating the de³⁵ fleeting plate forming a principal element of my attachment. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of various parts disassociated and which cooperate with a hand-operated shaft for adjusting the deflecting plate.

⁴⁰ Referring in the first instance to Figs. 2, 3, 4, the numeral 1 indicates the deflecting plate which is hinged at 2 to a horizontal plate 3 arranged in the smoke-box, directly below the smoke-stack 4. 5 indicates the ⁵ tubes or flues of the locomotive boiler. The plate 1 may be adjusted at different angles , for the purpose of hindering the passage of products of combustion through the upper flues of the series and causing a greater dis⁵⁰ charge through the lower flue. In other words, it may be adjusted, or lowered, on the hinge 2 so as to deflect the course of the current of the hot gases and other products of combustion as indicated by arrows Fig. 2, ⁰ the. products of combustion passing through the several flues being directed first mainly

[ against the plate 1 and then downward beneath it, and thence upward to the smokestack 4. The plate 1, by hindering the direct passage upward to the smoke-stack, of co hot gases and other products of combustion from the upper flues of the series of flues, causes an accelerated flow of the products', of combustion through the lower flues of the series, which results in driving forward the 65 ashes which tend to deposit at the bottom of the smoke-box, such ashes being for the most part carried forward and deposited in the ash-box 6, which is pendent from the forward portion of the smoke-box and provided 70 with a door 7, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is further apparent that the deflector 1 serves as a spark-arrester, the sparks striking against it being for the most part broken up and extinguished and turned 75 downward and received into the smokebox. The main value of my invention is, however, its capacity for inducing a freer circulation of hot gases and other products of combustion in the lower portions 80 of the series of flues 5, and thus a freer circulation or passage of such products through the series taken as a whole. The final result is a more equal distribution of heat in the boiler, with a consequently 85 more rapid generation of steam. It is obvious that this regulation of distribution of the draft and the products of combustion in the flues of the boiler, has for its final effect oi· result an economy of fuel, which is 90 of much importance.

A special feature of my invention is the arrangement of the deflecting plate 1 between the sector- or fan-shaped plates fl, which are fixed in position, being attached 95 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to side plates TO that are provided with perforations to allow the passage of products of combustion to a certain degree. The plates are fixed at a forward and downward inclination of about 100 30° and form practically a continuation of the horizontal or roof plate 3. The fanshaped plates 9 serve as guards, preventing passage of products of' combustion over the side edges of the deflector 1; and, their 105 broader ends being downward, it is obvious that the plate 1 has a considerable range of upward movement.

My preferred means for adjusting the plate 1 at a greater or less angle to the ver- 110 tical, consist of links 11 pivoted together and to the plate 1 arid fixed at their upper

950,447 ends on a rock-shaft 12, which extends transversely of the smoke-box as illustrated best in Figs. 3 and 4‘. This shaft projects through one side of the smoke box, and a κ bifurcated lever arm 13 is fixed thereon .as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and in detail in Fig.

5. A rotatable shaft 14 extends along the boiler longitudinally and is provided within . the cab of the locomotive with a hand-wheel ₁₀ 1,5 for rotating it. Its forward end is screwthreaded, as shown at 14^a Figs. 1 and 5, and works in a nut 16 provided with, trunnions 16^a that project through side plates 17 having squared projections which are adapted ₁₅ to fit and slide in the open slots 13^a of the lever arm 13.

It is apparent that, by rotating the screwthreaded shaft 14, the shaft 12 will be rocked in one direction or the other, and that tne on deflector plate 1 will be thereby adjusted higher 'or lower between the sector-guards and that the draft of the locomotive will be regulated accordingly. The said shaft is not movable longitudinally in its bearings, and consequently it holds the deflector 25 fixed in any position to which it may be adjusted by rotation of the shaft.