US2930308A - Soot shield for chimneys - Google Patents

Description

March 29, 1960 P. P. BLACK 2,930,303

SOOT SHIELD FOR CHIMNEYS Filed Dec. 29, 1958 Y S Sheets-Sheet l FIG ' INVENTOR. PETER P. BLACK March 29, 1960 Filed Dec. 29, 1958 P. P. BLACK SOOT SHIELD FOR CHIMNEYS 3 SheetSPSheef 2 PETER P. BLACK INVENTOR.

March 29, 1960 P. P. BLACK 2,930,308

soo'r SHIELD FOR CHIMNEYS Filed Dec. 29, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 9

PETER P. BLACK INVENTOR.

SOOT SHIELD FOR CHIMNEYS Peter P. Black, Tacoma, Wash.

' Application December 29, 1958, Serial No. 783,368

4 Claims. (Cl. 9867) This present invention relates to chimneys of the type normally carrying soot laden products of combustion upwardly for dissemination in the atmosphere. More particularly, this present invention contemplates the provision of means, disposed on the top of a chimney and extending outwardly from the flue opening, to catch any soot'as it starts to descend after it has been carried upwardly by the products of combustion passing up through the chimney.

Chimneys used for the upward conveying of products of combustion of stoves, furnaces, boilers and the like normally carry with them in their rise, due to draft of the chimney, many products which, especially in the presence of rain water, tend to collect on the outside of the chimney and to be gradually washed down. Such products, and admixture in addition to the soot which is usually present in the form of free carbon, may also consist of ash and many other unburnt residues of the combustion and these when mixed with moisture from the atmosphere gradually give the chimney an unsightly, streaked, discolored appearance. Soot is one of the dominant materials that is most to be guarded against for these reasons but there are many other chemical compounds which when combined with water tend to make bleaches or discoloring solutions especially when they enter into chemical combinations with the materials of the chimney. In the past many attempts have been made to overcome this undesirable condition and my present invention is of this general class of devices but has been provided with a means not only for collecting the discolon'ng materials but also to direct or conduct them away from the outside of the chimney so that they in no way deface the chimney.

The principal object of this invention therefore is to provide a collecting shield for chimney tops so as to prevent soot and other contaminants from coming to rest on the outer wall of the chimney.

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby water bearing soot and other similar materials, collected from the top of a chimney, will be conducted away from the outer face of the chimney to a point of selected discharge.

A further object of this invention is to provide upward- 1y sloping walls, extending entirely around the flue opening of the chimney and extending outwardly therefrom, which will collect soot, debris and water and direct them away from the outer wall of the chimney.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the 2 is a side elevation, partly in section,showing ice Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary, vertical, sectional views through the upper margin of a shield of the type shown in Figure 1 but illustrating various adaptations of this shield to various chimney arrangements.

Figure 5 is a vertical, sectional view, in fragmentary form, of a portion of a chimney and illustrating the use of my soot shield therewith.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary views in perspective, illustrating the top margin of a chimney and showing various means of securing drain means for my shield.

Figure 9 is a vertical side view of a tall chimney, which is broken away in order to increase the scale of the features of present interest, and illustrating a means for conducting water bearing soot and the like away from my soot collecting shield to a point of convenient disposal.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a downdraft preventer which is particularly well adapted for association with my soot shield for the deflecting of soot and like materials.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 12 designates generally my basic shield. The shield consists of a flat base portion 14 of a size to go around the flue opening of a chimney and to rest on top of the chimney structure indicated at 16. This metal base, which is normally made of sheet metal in its smaller sizes, or sheet steel or cast metal in the larger sizes, may be secured to the top face of a chimney in any convenient manner. One such means is shown particularly in Figures 3 and 4 and consists of an insert as 18 which may be seated into the mortar joint or in a hole formed in the upper bricks or chimney top material and into which expansion screws or bolts 20 may be threadedly engaged.

Shield 12 is preferably provided with a downwardly directed rim or flange portion 24 which provides a very satisfactory means of positioning the shield on the top of the chimney and prevents its movement across the face of the flue. A centering flange 24 may be arranged that the base member as 14 fit the top of the chimney. and not extend appreciably into the flue opening of the chimney.

Disposed around the outer margin or periphery of base portion 14 is anoutwardly extending and upwardly sloping margin providing a funnel wall 30. As will be observed in the various views showing the tops of the chimneys, the sloping margin or rim 30 extends out beyond the vertical projection of the chimneywall and this is'a very desirable-arrangement in that much soot which might tend to roll down the chimney face is thus arrested. f his to be noted, that with thesloping rim starting at or outwardly from the outer face of the chimney wall and the inner flange extending downwardly at the inside margin of the flue opening of the chimney, there is no opportunity for water that may collect at the top of the chimney, and be contaminated by soot or n other like materials, to spill over the upper margin of;

the chimney and run down the outer face of the chimney.

Itwill thus be observed that the shield serves two real;

purposes, one to arrest soot andthe like as it is discharged from the top of the flue and secondly any water; that has been discolored from coming to rest onthe top of the chimney will be collected by the shield so, that it may be conducted away from, the outer margin of the chimney. i

Co'acting with my base portion 14 is a second wall Patented Mar. 29, 1960,

forming an inwardly sloping shield 40, extending appreciably above the level of the top of funnel rim 30, which also serves a dual purpose. Somewhat similar arrangements have been used in the past as downdraft preventers. However, the same downdraft control facility is very helpful in the collecting of soot and like lightweight materials that have been carried upward by the products of combustion passing through the chimney flue 44. It has been determined by observation and tests that the gases passing up through the chimney are moving at considerable speed, due to the draft within the chimney, and as they pass up tend to expand as soon as they pass over the upper corner of the flue opening as 46. The gases, expanding into the increased cross sectional space, appear to drop a portion of the soot on the shelf provided at 48, illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, and as this accumulates the continuing draft, up the flue, tends to carry the soot up the inside sloping surface of member 40 until it gets to the upper margin at 50 where it tends to leave the stream of hot flue gases and find natural lodgment, during windless periods, in the trough formed by the two oppositely sloping members 30 and 40 and which trough extends entirely around the flue opening. During windy periods the additional height of member 40 discharges the soot above the level of the funnel rim Where it will be carried away. One form of downdraft preventer is illustrated in Figure and such an arrangement may be used with my present soot shield. The opening 42, at the top of the draft control means 40, should be substantially the size and shape of the opening of flue 44. A preferred arrangement however is to have member 40 fixedly secured to or made as a part of the flat base portion 14 so that a water and soot collecting trough or gutter is formed which then can be easily drained by suitable means and the mixed water and soot conducted away so that it cannot contaminate the outer wall of the chimney.

The method of draining trough 50 will of necessity have to follow the design of the chimney with which it is used. In the more conventional present day chimneys there is normally a separate flue lining as 26, made of refractory material, which usually gives adequate protection to the brick or other chimney materials and, to provide a safer chimney, a space as 52 is normally provided around the flue lining and inside the brick 54 of the chimney construction proper. In many instances, the water and soot collected can be discharged into this flue lining space and allowed to go down the space until the bottom is reached where it can normally be conducted away with suitable piping. The water may be discharged into space 52 as through a plurality of openings 56 in member 40 or one or more openings 57 in base 14 or by other arrangements illustrated.

For many types of chimneys, the drains may consist of an actual pipe or usually a copper tube, because of the ease of installation. As illustrated in Figure 5, a tube 60 is used, which passes through opening 57 in the bottom of base 14 and is usually provided with a screen as 62 to prevent leaves and the like from passing down into the relatively small tube and blocking it. Other means are shown in Figure 6 wherein a flattened tube as 64 is placed in the mortar joint between adjacent bricks as 66 and 67. These bricks with others, completing the rim around the flue opening, serve as dead weight holding means for the soot collector 12. They may be bonded to the other brick by openings in base 14 as is illustrated in Figure 8 at 70.

In Figure 6, the tube discharges into the space between the flue lining and the chimney proper. In Figure 7, tube 74 extends over or through the flue lining an appreciable amount into the flue so that any moisture will be dropped into the stream of hot gases where it normally will be vaporized and carried away. During periods however when there is no draft through the flue, means will have to be provided at the bottom of the chimney for discharging any water that collects. In Figure 8, an external drain pipe is provided. To accommodate this arrangement, it is normally desirable to have the flat base portion 14 extend outwardly beyond the chimney face as noted in Figure 8. In Figure 9, I have illustrated in a broken elevation the arrangement for relatively high chimneys such as used on power plants and the like. Under such conditions, it is usually not objectionable to employ an exterior drain pipe 84. On very high chimneys where the cleaning out of a discharge pipe as 84 might be somewhat diflicult, I have provided a capped opening at 86 to which a source of air under pressure may be connected so that pipe 84 may be cleaned by blowing air under pressure through the same. Under such conditions, it is desirable to employ a valve at 88 so that the full force of air under pressure will be directed upwardly and not out the normal drain discharge fitting, which the valve displaces in Figure 9. Pipe portion 90 serves only as a lightning ground.

My chimney shield, disposed normally at the top of the chimney, acts as an excellent lightning collector if it is grounded as indicated at 87. It is therefore very desirable to have the shield and all drain pipes, as 60, 80 and 84, made of electric current conductive material and that the pipes be properly grounded, where no drain pipes reaching to ground are employed. As in the forms shown in Figures 6 and 7, a metal wire 71 may be employed. The wire should be fixedly secured and electrically bonded to shield body 12 and then the wire led to an adequate ground. In Figure 9 lightning rods are employed. These may be bonded to shield base 12 or connected directly to metal pipe 84 which should be electrically connected to pipe 99 and which in turn should be led to an adequate ground.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a soot shield for chimneys.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A soot shield for chimneys, comprising: a fiat, metal base portion adapted to be secured to the top of a chimney and cover the outer margin thereof; said base portion having a flue opening in its central portion substantially equal in size to the smoke opening of the chimney with which it is used; an outwardly extending and upwardly directed sloping funnel wall disposed around the periphery of said base portion; a second wall secured on said base portion having a sloping wall extending upwardly above the top of said funnel wall and inwardly to provide a smoke opening equal, substantially to the size of the flue opening of said base portion and encircling said flue opening; said second wall disposed inside of said sloping margin and in spaced relationship thereto, to coact with said funnel wall to provide soot dissipating eddy currents and a water and soot collecting trough and drain means connected to said base portion to drain said trough disposed to carry the water and admixtures away and prevent them running down the outer wall of said chimney.

2. A soot shield for chimneys, comprising: a flat, metal base portion adapted to be secured to the top of the chimney; said base portion having a flue opening in its central portion substantially equal in size to the smoke flue of the chimney with which it is to be used; an outwardly extending and upwardly directed sloping funnel wall disposed around the periphery of said base portion; a downdraft preventer secured on said base portion having a sloping wall extending upwardly above the height of said funnel wall and inwardly to provide a smoke opening equal, substantially to the size of said flue opening and encircling said flue opening; said downdraft preventer disposed inside of said sloping margin and in spaced relationship thereto, disposed to coact with said flange to provide a water and soot collecting trough and drainv means connected to said base portion to drain said trough and adapted to dispose of said water and soot below the visible outer walls of said chimney.

3. A soot shield for chimneys, comprising: a fiat, metal base portion adapted to be secured to the top of a chimney and in close contact with the outer margin thereof; said base portion having a flueopening in its central portion and a centering flange disposed around said flue opening and downwardly directed; an outwardly extending and upwardly directed sloping funnel wall disposed around the periphery of said base portion; a second wall secured on said base portion having a sloping wall extending upwardly above said funnel wall and inwardly to provide a smoke opening equal substantially to the size of said flue opening, and encircling said flue opening; said second wall disposed inside of said sloping funnel wall and in spaced relationship thereto and drain openings in the lower margin of said second wall adapted to discharge into said chimney at points removed from the outer walls thereof.

4. A soot shield for chimneys, comprising: a fiat, metal metal base portion adapted to be secured to the top of a chimney and cover the outer margin thereof; said base portion having a flue opening in its central portion subing shield; a row of bricks laid in mortar around said flue opening and on said base portion within the funnel wall;

a plurality of openings in said base portion to permit mortar bonding said bricks, in said row to the bricks forming the top of said chimney; said row of bricks forming with said funnel wall a water and soot collecting trough and a drain tube adapted to drain saidtrough and conduct the water and soot away from the exterior walls 7 of said chimney.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 319,750 Sexton June 9, 1885 377,508 Wright Feb. 7, 1 888 627,775 Faulstich June 27, 1899 850,126 Bayley Apr. 16, 1907' 2,501,011 1950 Smart Mar. 21,

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