Improvements in or connected with Apparatus or Appliances for Automatically Distributing Coal when Loading Ships and other Vessels.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1896-Accepted, 12th Sept., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Apparatus or Appliances for
Automatically Distributing Coal when Loading Ships and other
Vessels.
I, JOSIAH CLIFTON FIRTH, of Auckland, New Zealand, Pumice Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to reduce to a minimum, the breaking and pounding,
or disintegrating, of coal when being loaded into ships or other vessels, thereby
greatly reducing the risk of fires from spontaneous combustion, and reducing labour.
By the present method of loading, some hundreds or thousands of tons of coal.
are allowed to fall from a height, upon the same place or part of the flooring of
say the hold of the vessel,. and coal being of a. brittle nature, much of it is thus:
broken into slack or dust which accumulates under the hatchways, and constitutes
a chief danger of spontaneous combustion.
According to my invention when loading, the coal is caused to fall upon a metal
roof or distributor, which automatically spreads the coal over a large and ever varying
surface, thus securing a better stowage of the said coal, greatly diminishing its
disintegration, and enabling the services of many coal-trimmers to. be dispensed
with:
In order that my invention may be readily understood I will describe same by
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a distributor constructed according to my said invention,
and shewn suspended for use within the hold of a vessel,.an: outline transverse section
of the latter being shewn,
Fig: 2 is a plan view of the suspending frame and the distributor shewn at Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a rectangular pyramidal distributor, detached, and
Fig. 4 shews in perspective a distributor of conical form.
Similar letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.
Within the hatchway. A of the vessel indicated at B Fig. .1, about to be loaded,
I suspend a distributor. Csay about ten feet square, or in diameter at the bottom,
that shewn at Figs. 1, 2 and 3 resembling the upper portion of a right pyramid or
as shewn at Fig. 4 the distributor may have the form of a cone, or other suitable
form, and may be made of steel on iron plates, rivetted onto T or L iron framing
and terminated at the apex or top by a strong metal ring D attached to it for the
purpose of lowering the distributor C into the proper position when commencing
loading.
The bottom of the distributor, whether angular or round, is strengthened by angle
irons rivetted to the metal plates of the distributor, and by angle. or T-irons
rivetted on the inside of the distributor about half-way from the apex. to the base.
A strong metal lug or ring E is firmly attached to each. lower corner of the
distributor, or if the base is circular as at Fig. 4, at four equidistant points of the
circumference: thereof; for the purpose of raising or lowering it to any point desired
in the hald of the vessel:
The angle of inclination. of the sides of the distributor C, may be about forty five
degrees, and for further strengthening the distributor, two round steel bars are
passed through the lower angle irons, see Fig. 3, and crossing each other about the
centre of the bottom of the distributor, are securely fastened to prevent expansion
or contraction of the distributor when struck by the falling coal.

page_text: Upon one of these transverse bars I locate two metal wheels G, inside the
distributor C (such wheels may be two or three feet in diameter as may be found
most convenient) for moving the distributor from place to place.
For suspending the distributor at any desired point in the hold, I attach to the
rings E, four flexible steel wire ropes E', indicated by dotted lines Fig. 1, each rope
being of sufficient length to pass through the metal eyes or rings H attached to the
bottom of four buffers H' (subsequently described) with sufficient length of rope
to raise or lower the distributor as may be found necessary, each being fastened
at the required length.
For suspending the distributor I provide two pieces of strong timber J say
about ten inches square, and of sufficient length to rest on or above the hatch
combings J, passing some two or three feet beyond them on each side of the combings.
Under these two timbers or beams on each side of the batch combings, I place
timber packings K, of such thickness and length as will span several of the ship's
beams or girders on each side of the hatch combings, so as to protect the deck from
being shaken, jarred, or strained by the falling of the coal on to the distributor (.
I place between each end of these two timbers J (which I call supplementary
combings) two other pieces of timber L say about eight or nine inches square, halved
off or reduced at both ends to drop between the before mentioned supplementary
combings J to prevent them from spreading or closing, and the timbers L are
temporarily attached to both ends of the timbers J by loose one inch headed bolts
dropped into holes in both ends of the timbers J J, thus forming complete supple-
mentary or secondary hatch combings, resting on or above the permanent hatch
combings J¹.
To prevent jars to the deck or hatch combings when coals are dropped on to the
distributor C, from the truck, shoot, or baskets, I attach a strong buffer H' fitted
either with a steel coil, india rubber, or other suitable material to each end of the
upper surfaces of the string timbers L. To the bottom of these butters H' I attach
the buffer rods having strong steel hooks or rings H to pass the wire ropes E' through
as aforesaid for suspending the distributor by the four corners or points.
The mode of using the distributor C is by placing, and fixing it, at any required
height from time to time as the hold of the vessel fills up, as already described, and
attaching one end of each of the four flexible steel ropes El to the rings or loops H,
passing the other ends through a tackle block as in dotted line Fig. 1, thence through
the beams J J, and making fast the loose ends of the ropes.
When
To prevent any swaying or swinging of the distributor from side to side when
struck by the descending coal, I attach a stay rope M to each corner or point at the
bottom of the distributor, fastening the other end in any convenient manner.
the descending coal strikes the distributor so fixed, it shoots off in all directions from
the distributor, (whether pyramidal or conical) thus preventing the coal shot into the
hatchways, from being pounded or smashed into small coal or slack. Any small coal
made in loading with apparatus according to my invention, will be evenly distributed
amongst the larger coal by the distributor, thus preventing all danger of spontaneous
combustion, and the hatchways instead of containing masses of small coal or slack, (as
is now generally the case) will be filled with the larger coal which bas rolled down
under the distributor, and this will therefore prevent the disparagement in the price
of coal cargoes, by reason of the small coal or slack discharged from immediately
under the hatchways, as occurs under the present system.
By the use of this distributor the danger from fire in coal cargoes is either entirely
prevented, or reduced to such a minimum, as to be practically safe from spontaneous
combustion, thus rendering coal a safe cargo, and securing a much larger per centage
of round coal, and evenly distributing the small quantity of coal broken by falling on
the distributor throughout the cargo, thereby keeping the coal under the hatchways, a
fair sample of the bulk, this being greatly to the advantage of coal-owners ship-owners
and coal consumers.
I do not limit myself to any particular shape of the distributor, as it may be circular,
octagonal, square, rectangular, umbrella shape, or any other suitable shape. Nor do

page_text: I bind myself to any particular slope or inclination, as that may be made to suit the
different qualities of coal, or the size of the vessel being loaded. I do not limit
myself to any particular materials used in the construction of the distributor, so long
as the coal which is deposited on the top is automatically spread at or from the bottom
circumference thereof."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An automatic coal distributor for use when loading or filling ships or other
vessels; composed of a pyramidal or conical structure or one tapering from its apex
to its base edges, and adapted to be supported below the coal inlet, and whereby
the said incoming coal is distributed all substantially as described.
2. The apparatus or appliance for automatically distributing coal when loading
ships and other vessels together with the means for supporting same all constructed
arranged and acting substantially as and for the purposes described and illustrated
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Applicant.