Patent GB-190411707-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and connected with Raising Minerals from Mines.
Inventor: JOHNSON HENRY
Filed: 1904-05-21
Granted: 1905-04-27
Abstract: 11,707. Johnson, H. May 21. Mine cage fittings; loading and unloading; shoots; skips. - In raising coal or other mineral from mines, the material is loaded from hoppers into the mine cage through doors operated automatically by the passage of the cage down the shaft, and is unloaded at the pit surface through hinged doors in the bottom of the cage also released automatically ; the arrangement is modified for hauling and raising minerals up inclines. The general arrangement of the shaft and cages is shown in Fig. 1. The two cages or carriers 5, 6 and the hauling-rope 3 work in the shaft 1, one of the cages being lifted while the other is lowered. Fig. 7 shows the construction of the loading apparatus at the pit-bottom. The carrier 5 is open at the top 7, and its base 10, 11 slopes downwards each way from the middle. The doors 8, 9, which are hinged at their lower ends 21, 22, form part of the side of the carrier when closed. Below this portion of the carrier is provided an undercage, which serves to raise or lower workmen, horses, &c., and inclined side passages 90 lead down to this undercage. The coal is brought along the inset road 45 and is tipped into the hopper 48, which communicates with two measuring-hoppers 51, one behind the other, by means of sliding doors 49. These hoppers discharge through hinged doors 54 into the carriers 5, 6 respectively when one or other of them is in position on the bumping-sill 53. Jointed to the side of the measuring-hopper 51 is a catch lever 57 adapted to engage with a catch piece 58 on the door 54. This catch lever is connected by the link 59 to the short arm of a bent lever 60 which carries at its outer end a roller 61. When the carrier descends, a projection 62 strikes the roller 61, and releases the catch 57 and opens the door 54. When the carrier is raised, another projection lifts and closes the door, which is maintained closed by the balance weight 63. The hopper doors 49 are moved by levers 64 connected to the shaft 66, which also carries another arm 67. This arm is connected by a rod 68 to a lever 69 mounted on a shaft 70, and the end of the lever 69 carries a roller 71. When the carrier rises, after closing the door 54, the projection 62 strikes the roller 71 and thus re-opens the door 49 and allows the measuring- hopper 51 to be re-filled. When the carrier returns down the shaft, the lever 80, which is then horizontal, is forced down and the door 49 is closed. A similar system of links is operated by the other cage, the lever 77 and another behind the lever 69 being struck by a projection on the moving cage 6. The unloading-arrangements at the pit top are shown in Fig. 9. Jointed to the side of the carrier 5 are two weighted catches 26, 27, which engage with rabbeted parts 28 of the doors. The catches are connected through links 34, 31 to the ends of a double-armed lever 35, which is turned about a fulcrum 36 by a vertical rod 38. To the top of this rod is jointed the short arm of a bent lever 41, the longer arm of which carries a roller 42. A vertical rail 43 with a curved lower end 44 is arranged at the top of the shaft to strike the roller 42 when the cage is in the required position. This releases the doors 8, 9, which swing open into the position shown in Fig. 9 and form shoots for the coal to pass into hoopers 81, 82. The act of lowering the carrier causes the doors 8, 9 to be closed by riding over the rollers 86, 87. Figs. 10 and 11 show the modifications necessary when the mineral is hauled up an incline. The carrier is altered in shape to suit the inclined rails 92, and is mounted on wheels 93. The door 96 is kept closed by a catch 98, the longer arm of which has a roller 99 to ride over a rail 100 fixed at the top of the shaft. The door is thus opened and the material discharged. It is closed again when the carrier descends by riding over a roller 102. The arrangements at the bottom of the incline are similar to those already described, except that the lever 60 is preferably provided with a curved tail instead of a roller. When a separate shaft or incline is provided for the conveyance of men, horses, &c., the carrier may be made without the undercage. The Provisional Specification states that the carrier is provided with spiral or other suitably-arranged inclined shelves to break the fall of the coal.