An Improved Method of and Hydraulic Apparatus for Raising Gravel, Earth, and other like Material.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sep., 1898-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Hydraulic Apparatus for Raising
Gravel, Earth, and other like Material.
I, WILLIAM JENNINGS, Manager of the Woolshed Gold Mining Company,
Beechworth, in the Colony of Victoria, 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 :—
It is well known that the height to which sand, gravel, silt and other material
can be raised from the beds of creeks, excavations, mines and the like, by means of
centrifugal pumps, is limited, and that the life of the pumps used for that purpose is
comparatively short owing to the extreme wear and tear to which they are
subjected.
Now the main object of this invention is to enable gravel and other material to
be elevated from the bottom of sluicing paddocks, mines or other excavations in one
lift, and to a greater height than has hitherto been practicable, and to do this with
less expenditure of power and wear and tear of machinery.
The essential feature of this invention consists in the use of a continuous counter-
balanced stream of water which is conducted down to the bottom of the mine or
other excavation in pipes, and then led up again to a pump or hydraulic elevator
whereby it is discharged into sluice boxes, whence, after depositing the gold and
subsequently the tailings, it is led back again to the down pipe and so on
continuously. This counterbalanced stream of water is utilised simply for conveying
the gravel or other material from the bottom of the mine or other excavation up to
the surface, and it is utilised in this way by providing means whereby such gravel
can be discharged into the lower part of the pipes along which said stream travels,
without putting the lower ends of such pipes in open communication with the
atmosphere.
A further object of this invention is to reduce the wear and tear of the
centrifugal pumps, or other elevators used for raising sand, gravel and the like.
This I accomplish by providing means whereby the mixture of air, water, sand,
stones and other material is divided, the air being conducted into the uptake or
delivery pipe through an ejector or otherwise, the water being conducted through
the centrifugal or other pump or ejector, and the sand, stones and other material
being deposited through a suitable arrangement of valves or gates into the lower
end of the uptake or delivery pipe through which it will be forced by the current
of water from said pump or ejector.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,―
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating my improved method of an apparatus
for raising gravel, earth and other material.
Figure 2 is a vertical central section of the feed hopper or settling box used for
delivering the material into the uptake pipe without putting the latter in com-
munication with the atmosphere.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 Figure 2.
Figura 4 is a view of a certain detail hereinafter described.

page_text: Figure 5 is a vertical section of the apparatus used for separating the air, liquids,
and solids so that only the liquids will pass through the pump.
Figure 6 is a vertical central section showing a modification of the apparatus
illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section thereof on line 7-7 Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a section showing one of the details of construction of said
apparatus.
A represents an ordinary centrifugal or other gravel pump or elevator which it
is desired to utilise in raising material from the bottom of a mine, sluicing paddock
or other excavation. Hitherto it has been impracticable when using centrifugal
pumps to work the ground in one lift to a depth of more than 40 or 50 feet and the
suction pipe could not be more than about 24 feet below the pump, for this reason
the system could not be satisfactorily used in deep ground. To overcome this
difficulty I counterbalance the weight of water in the suction pipe B, by connecting
thereto another pipe C of equal or rather greater height, and I make provision for
keeping this pipe C full of water. This can readily be accomplished by utilising
the water from the uptake or delivery pipe a of the pump, such water being
conducted into a dam or other receptacle and thence conveyed to the upper end of
the pipe C.
It will be evident that no matter what depth the two pipes B and C extend to,
the water in the one will counterbalance the water in the other therefore there will
be no dead weight of water to be raised in the pipe B but only the frictional
resistance to be overcome.
In any convenient position between the lower ends of the two pipes B and C is
arranged a feed hopper or settling box D with its upper end below the level of the
race or sluice leading from the working face.
This feed hopper or settling box is constructed, as illustrated in Figure 2, in
three distinct compartments E, F, G between which are arranged cut-off slides or
.valves H and I. These may be constructed and operated in various ways, one
convenient arrangement being, as shown in said figure, to fit them so that they
can slide across the opening connecting the compartments E, F, G. The valves H
and I can be fitted with antifriction rollers h running on rails h¹ secured to the sides of
the feed hopper or settling box and they can be operated by pinions J secured upon
the lower ends of spindles j', fitted at their upper ends with hand wheels j² and
working in suitable bearings, said pinions being arranged to gear with toothed
racks upon said valves.
It will be evident that the pressure exerted on the faces of these valves will be
very great in the event of the sinking being deep. In order to enable them to be
opened or closed it is necessary to provide some means for equalizing the pressure
on the two sides of the valves. For this purpose a small valved pipe or other
connection f extends from the compartment F into the compartment E whilst
another pipe f, also provided with a valve whereby communication can be opened
or closed, is used for connecting the two compartments F and G for the purpose of
equalizing the pressure on both sides of the valve I when it is desired to open the
same. If preterred connection can be made between the down pipe C and the
compartment F instead of as shown between the two compartments
G.
Ball joints P may be used on the pipes B and C in order that the settling
box may be lowered as required and still retained in its vertical position.
Instead of leading the whole of the material to be raised into the pump the
arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 may be used, in which the delivery pipe B is
shown as discharging into the uppermost compartment K of a separating tank
or vessel L constructed like the settling box hereinbefore referred to with slides
or valves between the three compartments K M and N. In addition it may also
be provided with a dome or air reservoir () at the top in open communication
through the pipe 0' with the uptake or delivery pipe a from the pump A. The
operation of this arrangement will be readily understood. The mixture of air,
water, sand or other solid material is drawn up the pipe B and discharged into

page_text: the upper compartment K thence the air passes into the dome O and may be
discharged at any desired intervals into the uptake pipe a whilst the sand,
stones and other solid material passes through into the second compartment M.
At intervals the communication between the compartments K and M may be
closed and between M and N opened the result being that the solid material will
fall into the lowermost compartment N and will be carried therefrom up the
delivery pipe a by the stream of water from the pump. In this way only water
will be allowed to pass through the pump and the wear and tear thereof will be
reduced to a minimum, whilst a great saving in the driving power required will
be effected.
It will be readily understood by engineers and other practical men that although
I have described my invention more as applied for use in mining operations it
can obviously be utilised for many other purposes where the solid material is
required to be elevated in large quantities to a considerable height and at as
little expense as possible. Again although I have described the use of a
centrifugal pump for effecting the elevation I do not limit myself to any
particular kind of pump or other device for raising liquids. In some instances it
may be found advantageous to substitute an ordinary hydraulic elevator, whilst
under other circumstances some other description of water raising apparatus may
be used, and in places where a sufficient head of water is available there is no
necessity to use any pump or other water raising appliance at all, the water from
the required elevation being conducted to the bottom of the workings through the
feed hopper and thence up again to the place of delivery where it will be discharged
together with the solid material held in suspension without the intervention of any
kind of pump whatever.
Instead of the valves above described hinged traps may be used so that they can
be turned on their pivots or hinges when required to open or a single rotating valve
may be used if preferred as illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8.
'The valve Q is constructed with four buckets or pockets around its periphery
and is mounted on a hollow spindle R working in suitable bearings. S represents
a spring flap which is hinged at its upper end to the sides of the separating tank L
and whose lower end bears against the rotating valve Q. S¹ S₁ represent adjustable
rubber strips which bear against the periphery of the valve Q and serve to divide
the tank Linto two compartments. As the bucket valve is rotated by a rope or
belt from any convenient source of power it receives a load from the feed
hopper at the top carries it round past the rubber strips S¹ and discharges it into
the delivery pipe from the pump. In the meantime the next bucket has moved
into its receiving position and goes through the same movements.
Strips of rubber T are placed on the ends of tank to fill up the space
between rotary valve and end of box and thus make a water tight joint between
them.
The spindle R is, by preference, made hollow as above mentioned and is preferably
connected by a cock actuated by a cam with any convenient source of pressure
water so that when said valve is turned over to discharge its contents, said cock will
be opened and will allow a supply of water to pass through perforations in its
surface. This arrangement will be found specially useful in clayey or sticky
country.
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. The herein described method of raising gravel, earth and other materials
consisting in conducting a stream of water down to the bottom of the excavation
and thence up again to the surface and in feeding the solid material, which it is
desired to raise, into the pipe or pipes carrying said stream of water without placing
their lower ends in open communication with the atmosphere substantially as
described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 2. The herein described apparatus for raising gravel, earth and other material
consisting essentially of an uptake pipe (such as B) leading from the bottom of the
mine or other excavation to the surface, in combination with a receptacle for the
material to be raised arranged at the bottom of the excavation and connected up
to a second pipe also leading from the surface so that the column of water in the
one pipe will counterbalance the column of water in the other substantially as
described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In an apparatus for raising gravel, earth and other material a settling box
having compartments (such as E F G) adapted to be either shut off the one from
the other or placed in open communication with each other by slides or valves
substantially as described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. In raising gravel, earth and other material the herein described method of
separating the solid from the liquid allowing only the latter to pass through the
pump and the former to be separated from the liquid before it reaches the pump
and subsequently to be fed back into said liquid after it has issued from said pump,
substantially as described and explained and as illustrated in Figure 5 of the
accompanying drawings.
5. The herein described apparatus for separating the solid from the liquid
portion of the material to be raised consisting essentially of a vessel made in
compartments with a valve or valves or slides between them substantially as herein
described and explained and as illustrated in Figures 5 to 8 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this Eleventh day of August One thousand eight hundred and ninety-
eight.
WILLIAM JENNINGS,
By H. B. Barlow & Gillett,
Agents for Applicant, 17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester.