An Improved Apparatus for Sorting and Cleaning Coal and the like Material.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL DICITICATION
An Improved Apparatus for Sorting and Cleaning Coal and the like
Material.
We, THOMAS GARMONDSWAY WRIGHTSON, Manager, and HENRY CLARK, Chief
Draughtsman, both of the Stockton Forge, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County of
Durham, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-;
This invention comprises an apparatus to be used for facilitating the process
or operation of picking, sorting and cleaning coal or the like material requiring
such treatment and designed and constructed to supersede for this purpose the
endless belt.
A convenient construction of the apparatus comprises a table revolving beneath
and in contact with a spiral guide which is a fixture. The table takes the form
of a ring or annular plate which is preferably set to a level or incline whether
towards or from the centre. If inclined towards the centre the spiral guide also
coils towards the centre forming a serpentine path or track along which the coal
or other material under treatment travels by the combined effect of the revolving
table and stationary spiral by which the coal is carried round and thrust from the
outer to the inner edge of the table, and during transit is picked and sorted by
hand as when an endless band is used. With an inward incline of the table and
coil of the spiral guide the coal is charged onto the outer part of the table ring
from a shoot or by any suitable means and is discharged over the inner edge into
a receptacle. The spiral guide is preferably made double to take the form of a
trough into which the refuse is thrown by the pickers and separately conveyed
away. If the incline of the table is reversed, the coal is charged on to the
inner part, and discharged from the outer edge, the spiral guide being adapted to
suit this arrangement.
The special advantages of the construction herein described are that the coal or
material under treatment is sufficiently disturbed and carried along within a
compact area and by an easily driven apparatus the speed of rotation being
under the control of an attendant whose duty will be to retard or accelerate the
transit of the coal or other material according as it is more or less charged with
impurities and furthermore the apparatus presents a more rigid surface for taking
up the impact of the blows from the pick when required to be used in dislodging
impurities embedded in the coal or other material.

page_text: GOAL DIE DIMITTUATION,
An Improved Apparatus for Sorting and Cleaning Coal and the like
Material.
We, THOMAS GARMONDSWAY WRIGHTSON, Manager, and HENRY CLARK, Chief
Draughtsman, both of the Stockton, Forge Department of Messrs. Head
Wrightson and Co., Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees, in the County of Durham, 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:-
--
This invention comprises an apparatus to be used for facilitating the process or
operation of picking, sorting and cleaning coal or the like material requiring such
treatment and is designed and constructed to supersede for the purpose the
endless belt.
And in order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawing, in which Fig. 1, is a sectional elevation of an apparatus constructed in
accordance with our invention, and Fig. 2 is a corresponding plan view thereof.
a represents a table revolving beneath and in contact with a spiral guide b
which is a fixture. The table a takes the form of a ring or annular plate which is
preferably set to a bevel or incline whether towards the centre as shown in the.
drawings or from the centre in cases where this would be preferred. If inclined
towards the centre, as shown in Fig. 1, the spiral guide b also coils towards the centre
forming a serpentine path or track c along which the coal or other material under
treatment travels in a manner due to the combined effect of the revolving table a
and stationary spiral track c by which the coal is carried round with this table and
thrust or diverted from the outer to the inner edge thereof as indicated by the
arrows. During transit the process of picking and sorting is carried out by hand
as when an endless band is used. When the construction provides for an inward
incline of the table and coil of the spiral guide the coal is charged on to the
outer part of the table ring from a shoot d or by any suitable means and is dis-
charged over the inner edge e on to a loading jib f of the construction described
and illustrated in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,846 of 1896. The
spiral guide b is preferably made double to take the form of a trough g into which
the refuse is thrown by the pickers and separately conveyed away by the stone
conveyer and stone shoot. If the incline of the table is reversed, the coal is
charged on to the inner part and discharged from the outer edge, the spiral guide
being adapted to suit this arrangement.
The revolving table a may be operated by any suitable means which will vary
according to circumstances, the means illustrated by way of example consisting
of a circular rack i fixed to the underside of the table into which gears a spur
wheel operated by a shaft k, through suitable gearing from a main driving or
second motion shaft 7. The, table revolves on rollers mm pivotally mounted on
the frame of the apparatus.
The special advantages of the construction herein described are that the coal or
material under treatment is sufficiently disturbed and carried along within a
compact area and by an easily driven apparatus, the speed of rotation being under
the control of an attendant whose duty will be to retard or accelerate the transit
of the coal or other material according as it is more or less charged with impurities,
and furthermore the apparatus presents a more rigid surface for taking up the the
impact of the blows from the pick when required to be used in dislodging impurities
embedded in the coal or other material.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
An apparatus for sorting and cleaning coal and the like material in which a
table of bevelled or inclined surface revolves beneath and in contact with a fixed
spiral guide forming a serpentine path so that the material under treatment makes
a circuitous transit within reach of the pickers, the said apparatus being arranged
and operating substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in
a convenient form in the accompanying drawing.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent, Stockton-on-Tees and Hull,
Agent for the Applicants.