IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING AND SEPARATING ORES AND COAL
Year: 1853

page_text: Sealed the 19th July 1853, and dated the 8th March 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nicolas Schmitt at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th March 1853.
I, NICOLAS SCHMITT, of Goffontaine, near Sarrebrück, in the King-
dom of Prussia, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING AND SEPARATING ORES
AND COAL" to be as follows:
I first dry and sift the ores or coal, and then separate the heavier
from the lighter particles, according to their specific gravities, by means
of a blast of air transmitted from a blowing machine through a blast
pipe in communication with suitably arranged passages, opening into
vessels for the reception and classification of the substances to be acted
on by the blast, and which substances fall into such vessels according
to their specific gravities.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Nicolas Schmitt, in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 8th September 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
NICOLAS SCHMITT, of Goffontaine, near Sarrebruck, in the Kingdom
of Prussia, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS IIer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth
year of Iler reign, did, for Ierself, ITer heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Nicolas Schmitt, Her special licence that I,
the said Nicolas Schmitt, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Nicolas Schmitt, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING
AND SEPARATING ORES AND COAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Nicolas Schmitt, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Nicolas Schmitt, do hereby de-
clare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:
The processes hitherto employed for separating ores and coal have
been found unsuccessful on account of the employment of water as an
agent in such processes, whereby such a degree of adhesion between the
matters under treatment is produced as to counteract the effect of the
differences of specific gravity in the ores, and size and weight in the

page_text: coal. Now, my Invention consists in first drying and sifting the ores
or coal to be treated, and then separating the particles of the same,
according to their specific gravity, or size and weight, by means of a
blast of air transmitted from a blowing machine through a blast
pipe in communication with suitably arranged passages, opening
into vessels or chambers for the reception and classification of the
substances to be acted on by the blast, the substances falling into such
vessels or receptacles according to their specific gravity or size and weight.
Figure 1, is a plan of a machine for carrying my Invention into
effect; Figure 2, a longitudinal section on the line a, b, of Figure 1;
and Figure 3, an end view. Q, is a cylindrical blowing machine, con-
nected with a blast pipe O, which conveys the blast through passages
over a series of vessels or chambers L, L, L, intended for the reception
of the ore or coal, as herein-after explained. The pipe O, is connected
by a passage P, with each series of vessels or chambers L. Over each
series of these vessels is a conical hopper A, made of wood or other
suitable material (for feeding in the ore or coal to be separated).
Each of these hoppers fits into a neck or funnel, which opens into a
passage C, D, of the same diameter as the passage P, or of dimensions
corresponding with the quantity of ore or coal to be fed in at one time:
This passage C, D, is fitted with two slides a, b, and c, d, placed one a
certain distance above the other, by means of which a regular feed of
the matters under treatment is maintained. These slides are made to
open and shut by eccentrics keyed to an upright shaft W, revolving
in a step on a base plate Y, as shewn in the section, Figure 2. The
action of these slides is more particularly herein-after described. The
passage P, is inclined in an upward direction towards the vessels L,
as seen at X, Figure 2. I, is a vessel or receiver placed under the
passage P, and provided at top with a valve F, whereby communication
is opened or shut off between the vessel I, and the passage P. This
valve is opened or closed by a crank arm and connecting rod, by which
it is connected to the shaft W, previously mentioned. This vessel I, is
intended for the reception of the particles of ore or coal of greatest
weight. K', K', are valves placed in the bottom of the vessel I, to
afford an exit for the contents of the vessel: The upper part of the

page_text: passage P, opens into the vessels or chambers L, L: K, K, are valves
at the bottom of the chambers for discharging their contents. Z, is a
passage above the vessels L, leading through a pipe M, into a chamber
N, into which the blast of air passes, carrying with it the dust or
smallest particles of the substances under treatment, which it deposits
in the chamber N, and then blows off or escapes into the outer air.
An apparatus for drying and sifting the ore or coal to be treated (pre-
viously to their being fed into the hopper), may be fixed over the hopper
A. The arrangements for feeding in the substances to be separated, and
for regulating the blast of air, are shown detached in section, Figure 4.
9, and 9, are pipes for conveying the blast of air from the blowing
machine into a chamber r, whence it passes through the opening t, into
the space or passage P. The blast is regulated, according to the ore or
coal treated, by means of the conical valve u, which is moved by an ec-
centric on the shaft W. The operation of the machine is as follows:
The ores or coal to be treated are first well dried and sifted in a drying
apparatus, and are then introduced into the hopper or shoot A; the
upper slide a, b, is next opened, and the lower slide c, d, closed by their
respective eccentrics, whereupon the charge in the hopper will fall into
the space between these slides, and rest on the lower slide c, d. The
upper slide now closes, and the lower opens, thereby precipitating the
supply into the space D. The conical valve u, advances and diminishes
the opening t, to such an extent as to allow only such an amount of
the blast to pass through as will lift up the particles of the charge, the
heavy as well as light, and carry them up the passage P, to a certain
point, (represented in Figure 2, by the line G, II.) The rate of blast
requisite for effecting this can be ascertained by experiment, and
depends on the specific gravity or nature of the substance under treat-
ment. As soon as the substances have been carried so far, the conical
valve u, is drawn back, thereby widening the opening t; the lower slido
c, d, closes, and the upper slide a, b, opens, while the valve F, leading
into the vessel or receptacle I, opens also; and thus, while a fresh chargo
of matters to be treated falls through into the space between the two
slides on to the lower slide c, d, the force of the blast has so far
diminished, that the heavier particles of the first charge in the passago

page_text: P, fall through the mouth of the vessel I, into that vessel. The force
of the blast then drives forward the lighter particles of the charge in
the
passage P, further along into the passage over the vessels L, and the
particles drop into these vessels according to their specific gravities or to
their weight; the lightest particles of all being carried off into the
chamber N, and there deposited, and the blast blowing off, as before
mentioned. The upper slide a, b, then closes again; the slide c, d, opens;
and valve F, closes; the conical valve u, moves forward, and partially
closes the opening t; a fresh charge falls through into the space D,
below the lower register, and the operation is repeated as before. In
case of inattention, it may occur that a small portion of the larger
particles may fall into the vessels intended for the lighter, and
vice versa. In such cases the preceding process should be recom-
menced, and then, by slight modifications in the pressure of the blast,
the separation may be carried to a great degree of nicety. Of course,
the point to which the operation should be carried will be determined
by the nature of the substance treated. Thus, with ores of gold, silver,
cobalt, and nickel, the separation might be carried to a nicer extent than
with coal.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
The cleansing and separating of ores and coal by operating upon
them in a dry state, sifting them, and then submitting them to a blast
of air, whereby the ores or coal will be cleansed from dust and dirt,
and will fall, separated according to their specific gravity or their weight,
into different divisions, all as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nicolas Schmitt, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
NICOLAS SCHMITT. (L.S.)