Hailes v. Van Wormer

• Citation: 20 Wall. 353,22 L.Ed. 241,87 U.S. 353
• Parties: HAILES v. VAN WORMER
• Decision Date: 01 October 1873
• Court: United States Supreme Court

87 U.S. 353

22 L.Ed. 241

20 Wall. 353

HAILES v. VAN WORMER.

October Term, 1873

APPEAL from the Circuit Court for the Northern District of New York.

Hailes & Treadwell, manufacturers of stoves, filed a bill in the court below against Van Wormer et al., engaged in the same business, to enjoin these last from making a certain sort of coal-stoves called 'base-burning,' 'self-feeding,' or 'reservoir' stoves. These stoves are so called because they have a magazine or reservoir suspended above the fire-pot, which may be filled with coal at its upper extremity. This, when filled, is closed by a cover. The lower end of the reservoir or feeder is left open, and, as the coal in the fire-pot is consumed, that in the reservoir falls and supplies the place of that consumed, the combustion being only in the fire-pot, and not in the reservoir. Every reader, on looking at the diagrams on pages 355, 356 and 357, will recognize the sort of stove referred to.

The value of this sort of stove, which had been in large use in this country for some time, was not a matter of question. But persons were not all agreed as to what was the most economical and otherwise the most advantageous mode of embodying the principle which made the distinguishing characteristic of the stoves.

The bill was founded on two letters-patent; one reissued patent, granted to the complainants, February 3d, 1863, for an 'improvement in stoves,' the original patent having been granted to Hailes & Treadwell, as inventors, May 7th, 1861; the other a patent granted to one Mead and Hailes, assignees of Hailes & Treadwell, as inventors, August 11th, 1863, for an 'improvement in coal stoves;' the interest of Mead in Base-burning Stove.

Base-burning Stove without the casing

Vertical section of Base-burning Stove which patent had become vested in the complainant Treadwell.

The specification of the reissue of February 3d, 1863, said:

'Our experience in this class of stoves' (base-burning or reservoir stoves) 'is, that the most beneficial effects are to be secured from an organization which does not pass the products of combustion up, around, and over the top of the coal-supply reservoir, so as to heat a surrounding jacket thereof, but heats a circulating or ascending body of air by means of radiated heat from the fire-pot, and at the same time heats the base of the stove by means of direct heat, circulating through descending flues which lead into the ash-pit, or around it, and to the smoke and draft flue; also, that the greatest economy, considering the increased benefit secured from supplying coal continuously out of a reservoir, is attained with an arrangement which holds the superincumbent body of coal in suspension, such arrangement being a reservoir with a contracted discharge extending slightly down into a flaring or enlarged fire-pot, around or above the whole upper edge of which, outside of the contracted discharge of the coal-supply reservoir, the flame is allowed to circulate, and, therefore, caused to descend and circulate around or under the base portion of the stove, in its passage to the smoke and draft flue.

'The effect of the first-named plan is to husband the radiated heat and use it for the purpose of warming the upper part of the stove and the room in which it is situated, as well as for heating air for warming rooms above, if desirable, and at the same time to so confine the direct fire-heat and keep it in contact with the base portion of the stove a sufficient length of time as to insure the warming of the same to a comfortable degree.

'The effect of the second plan is to relieve the incandescent coal from the weight of the body of superincumbent coal, and thus obviate a compression of the incandescent coal in the fire-pot, and secure for the flame a free expansion in a lively and brilliant manner, and thus enable it to act with great heating effect upon the lower portion of the stove in its passage to the smoke and draft flue.

'With the view of organizing a stove or heater which operates on the base-burning or coal-supply reservoir principle, and at the same time embraces the two plans of operation above referred to, we have devised the following plan of construction:- 'A is a base of our stove, constructed with a chamber B, which extends around and beneath the top plate of the said base. In this chamber air may be admitted through the front passage A. Upon the top-plate of the base A is erected a support C, for horizontal grate D, and a fire-pot E, as shown. The support forms a chamber below the grate, and out of the front of the support

a portion of metal is removed as at b, so that air to the fire on the grate may have free access when the ordinary regulator or damper is open. In order to insure the passage of the air to the fire only from below the grate, a cut-off, c, extends out from the upper front part of the support C, and rests upon the two lateral stops d, which extend out from the front of the support, as shown. The top plate of the base, at points outside of the support C, is perforated with three apertures, F, F¹, F², which communicate with the chamber B. The apertures F¹, F², have vertical pipes F³, F⁴, placed in or around them, while the aperture F has the draft and smoke pipe or flue F⁵ placed in or around it, as shown. The pipes F³, F⁴, extend up to the upper rim of the fire-pot E, and connect to perforated flanges or ears of said pot, so that a space, f, exists between the pipes and fire-pot, as shown. The outer portion of the top edge of the pipes F³, F⁴, protrudes above the flanges to a slight degree, as indicated at g, g.

'The fire-pot flares at top and contracts at its bottom; the flare and contraction are gradual. The section of the metal, of which the pot is made, shows a gradual decrease in thickness from the centre of the depth of the pot in an up and downward direction, as indicated at 1, 2, 3. This construction or form of the metal insures an equable heating of the pot at all parts, and a uniform expansion and contraction by the principle of conduction, the thickest and most intensely heated portion imparting to the thinnest or less intensely heated portions a large amount of its heat, on the principle just mentioned.

'Above the fire-pot and vertical pipes the coal-supply reservoir G is arranged. The reservoir is constructed with a flange, h, at its base, said flange turning down at its outer edge so as to form a right angle, or thereabouts, as shown at i. The rim, i, of the flange fits down upon the rim of the fire-pot and incloses the top opening of the fire-pot of the vertical pipes within a continuous chamber J, as represented; the said chamber constituting an enlargement to the upper portion of the fire-pot, as it were, and thus giving increased room for the expansion of the flame.

'The diameter of the coal reservoir is decreased below the point where the body of supply coal is suspended by means of an extension or ring-flange, k, which is in form of an inverted frustum of a cone. This flange also serves, in connection with a detachable ring v, which, also, is in form of an inverted frustum of a cone, to form a frame or sash for the reception of fire-brick or other fire-proof material, as shown at m. The ring v has a horizontal flange, and bolts by the same, to the under side of the flange n of the coal-supply reservoir. The fire-brick are shaped so as to form, when put together, an inverted frustum of a cone, and they, therefore, when clamped between the devices k, v, cannot descend, separately, out of their places, nor can they do so unitedly, as the largest circumference of the conic frustum m cannot pass through the space between the lower ends of the devices k, v. It will be observed that the fire-brick continue the contraction of the coal-supply reservoir, and thus insure a gradual descent of the supply coal upon the central part of the bed of incandescent coal, and at the same time leave a large and open space outside of the conic frustum m, for the free burning and expanding of the gases or flame. This result is also furthered by the dishing form of the flange h, the same forming a large circulating flame-channel J, all round the upper edge of the fire-pot, as illustrated.

'The reservoir G is continued up to a horizontal division-plate I of the stove, by means of an extension G¹, as shown. The division-plate I has a large coal-induction hole n in its centre and several hot-air passages o o near its circumference or outside of the circle of the coal-supply reservoir, as shown. Around the central hole n there is constructed a small, combined cylindric and conic hopper J, which is furnished with an adjustable valve s, and a removable cover-plate J², as hereinafter described. Through and from the rear of this hopper there extends a branch draft-flue r, the same leading into the main draft-flue F⁵, as shown. In order to open and close this flue (r) and also to open and close the induction-hole to the coal-supply reservoir, the taper-valve s is fitted to the lower part of the hopper J, and up from the centre of the back of this valve a vertical rod s¹ extends and passes through the removable cover-plate J² of the hopper, and also through a weight s², as shown. The weight s² is not level on its bottom with the top surface of the cover-plate J ², nor is the quantity of metal on one side of the rod as great as that on the other side. The cover-plate, the valve, the rod, and the weight, are all connected together, so that by taking hold of the rod the whole can be lifted together, that is, when the valve is raised, first, to its full stroke; but the connection is also such that, when the valve is required to be raised a less distance than its full stroke, the movement of the valve is independent of the cover-plate J²; therefore the branch-flue r can be opened and closed or the damper-valve adjusted without disturbing the cover-plate, and whenever such an adjustment of the valve is made, the...