IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARRYING AND DISCHARGING LOADS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARRYING AND DISCHARGING LOADS."
A communication from abroad by Franklin B. Colton, of Phila-
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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th December 1871.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARRYING AND DISCHARGING
LOADS," a communication from abroad by Franklin B. Colton, of Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, to be as follows:
This Invention relates to apparatus or means for transporting and
discharging, or for shipping and unshipping coal, earth, grain, and other

page_text: materials, and consists essentially in so constructing and arranging the
receptacle which contains the load, whether such receptacle be adopted
or used in the form of the body of a railway truck or as a bucket, to be
raised and lowered by a hoist as that the said receptacle shall be self
opening, so as to discharge the load, self closing and self locking after
the load has been discharged, and also that the two halves or sections of
which the said receptacle is composed shall, when required, be capable
of being retarded in the act of tilting. The two sections or halves of
the receptacle are each suspended on journals or trunnions so placed
that when the two sections meet together they shall form a receptacle
for the materials or goods, and shall be capable of turning upon their
trunnions so as to open the receptacle at the bottom and thereby allow
the load to discharge itself instantly. A break is applied to one or more
of the journals or trunnions so as to retard or check the tilting or turning
of the sections on their centres. A spring or equivalent latch or
fastening carried by the supporting frame, or by one of the sections
themselves, and provided with a notch and inclined surface or surfaces
serves to lock the sections together when closed by engaging with two
projections formed respectively on the two sections. The release of the
locking device may be effected by a pair of coupled lever arms.
In some cases legs or feet, provided with rollers or castors, may be
secured to the sections forming the receptacle for the convenience of
moving the same from place to place along the ground. The self
opening of the receptacle is effected by the weight of the load, and the
self closing when empty is accomplished by so hanging each section
that the bottom parts are the heaviest and will consequently tend to
meet together when not opposed. The two sections should be formed
so as to allow one half to overlap or pass beyond the other at the top
when open.
In order to vary the self opening and closing powers of the two
sections or halves of the receptacle it is proposed to make the

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th June 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson,
Her special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, 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 APPARATUS FOR CARRYING
AND DISCHARGING LOADS," a communication to me from abroad by Franklin
B. Colton, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accom-
panying Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-

page_text: discharging, or for shipping and unshipping coal, earth, grain and other
substances, and consists,-
Firstly. Of a truck for transporting and discharging the said sub-
stances, such truck having a body consisting of two sections adapted
to each other and hung to the frame, substantially in the manner 5
described hereafter, so that the two sections on being unlocked will be
self separating and discharge their load, and be self closing after the
discharge.
The first part of the Invention further consists of improvements
whereby the sections are made self-locking on meeting, may be retarded 1
on tilting, and can have their journals and bearings adjusted as circum-
stances may require, all of which improvements are too fully explained
hereafter to need preliminary description.
Secondly. This Invention consists of a bucket, composed of two
sections, adapted to each other and hung to a bale, substantially in the 1
manner described hereafter, so that it will be self-discharging of its load
and self-closing after the load is discharged.
The second part of the Invention further consists of devices, described
hereafter, for rendering the sections self-locking, and of a provision for
enabling the bucket to be readily moved about from place to place 2
on the ground. This improved dumping bucket is especially well
adapted to the shipping and unshipping of coal, grain, and other
substances.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose 2
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 is a side view of the improved dumping truck; Figure 2 is
a plan view; Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 1-2, Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a side view of the truck illustrating a braking device
attached to the same; Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged views of parts of
the Invention; Figure 7 is a view illustrating a modification; Figure 8
is a side view of the improved dumping bucket; and Figure 9 is a front
view thereof.
In reference to the first part of the Invention, illustrated by Figures

page_text: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, each side frame of the truck consists, in the
present instance, of a longitudinal beam A, short vertical pieces B, B¹,
and upper longitudinal beam D, the whole being properly secured
together by any suitable system of bolts and stays. The opposite frames
are. connected together at their ends by transverse beams a, a, and the
whole is supported on arches provided with the usual flanged wheels.
The body of the truck consists of two sections, G and G³, of the shape
or approximating to the shape illustrated in the Drawing, the two
sections when closed meeting at the central line x, Figure 1. To each
side of each section is secured a journal 6, the centres of the two journals
of each section being in the same line y, Figure 2, which is at right
angles to a line w, w, drawn through the centre of the truck, as shewn
in the plan view, Figure 2, and the journals are adapted to suitable
bearings & secured to the beams D, D, of the opposite side frames. The
journals of the two sections are situated at equal distances from the
central line x, Figure 1; this distance as well as the distance of the
journals from the upper edge e of the sections being substantially that
illustrated in the Drawing, so that when the body of the truck is empty
the two sections will, by their own gravity, be self-closing to each other,
and when loaded will have a tendency to separate and turn in the
bearings and assume the position shewn by dotted lines in Figure 1.
In order to lock the two sections together I prefer the device which I
will proceed to describe. On each side of each section is a projection f,
the two projections on each side of the truck body meeting and forming
together a wedge shaped block, the lower end of which is adapted to a
recess / in an arm H secured to a pin i arranged to turn in a bearing j
attached to the frame, a lever I being secured to the same pin. There is
a similar locking device on each side of the truck body, and the
two levers I of the two devices are connected together by a cross
bar k, and the weight of the levers and cross bar will suffice to
retain the arm H in an elevated position, although it may be prudent to
apply further devices for controlling the arms I and thereby preventing
the accidental unlocking of the sections or the tampering of unauthorized
parties with the same.
It will be observed that when the body of the truck is loaded and the
sections locked together the said body is fastened to the frame on each
side at three points, namely, through the medium of two journals and
1
TT

page_text: the levers I, I, the arm H will be depressed and the projections ƒ, ƒ,
freed from the control of the arms, in other words, the two sections of
the body will be unlocked, and owing to the weight of the load will at
once turn in their bearings to the position shown by dotted lines and the
load will be discharged. Immediately after this discharge of the load
however, the two sections will, owing to their own gravity and the
manner in which they are hung, return to their former position, in
doing which the projections f, f, will strike the inclined planes m, m, of
the arms H (see Figure 6) and depress the said arms until the two
sections of the body meet, when on the projections f, f, coinciding
with the recess of the arms H the latter will be elevated by the
weight of the levers I, I, and the two sections will be locked together as
before.
It will be thus seen that the sections of the loaded body are self-
separating when unlocked, and self-closing and self-locking after the
load is discharged. One section must necessarily overlap the other at
the top when tilted, thus in Figure 5, G and G show the upper edges of
the two sections where they overlap. The end p of one of the over-
lapping portions of one of the sections is bent so as to bear against the
other and thus scrape away any dirt which might tend to enter between
the overlapping portions of the sections and interfere with their free
movement. The upper adjacent corners of the two sections should
slightly overlap even when the sections are closed.
In some cases it may be necessary to retard the tilting movement of
the sections after they are unlocked to prevent them from acquiring too
much momentum; for this purpose I adopt a braking device, such for
instance as is shewn in Figure 4. On the journal or trunnion of each
section I place a disc q, and between them arrange a rubber M controlled
by a lever N in a manner which will be readily understood by reference
to the Drawing, the brake being applied to the peripheries of the
discs q, q, when it is desirable to retard the movement of the sections on
the latter being unlocked. Other braking devices will readily suggest
themselves to those familliar with the construction of machinery of
this class.
The proper position of the journals or trunnions on the sections is an
important matter, as on this will depend the proper functions of the
sections, that is, the self-separating of the same when loaded, and self-
closing when empty, as the Drawing is made in accordance with the

page_text: scale below, Figure 1; this scale will afford the means of determining
the position of the journals approximately, but the exact position of the
journals will in a great measure depend upon the material with which
the sections are loaded; some material for instance cannot be so readily
disposed of in tilting the sections as others. When the load is easily
disposed of, the journals of one section may be nearer to those of the other
than when the load is of a character which renders it more difficult to be
discharged. In all cases however the position of the journals should be
such that when the loaded sections are unlocked they should acquire
such momentum that they will not begin to close until the load is fully
discharged. In order that this end may be always attained I prefer to
make the journals adjustable on the sections, the bearings being also
adjustable on the frame of the truck. One way of accomplishing this is
illustrated in Figure 7, where P represents a socket permanently secured
to a section, this socket having two ribs toothed on the inside and
adapted to a toothed block Q, which forms part of the journal, so that
the latter can be withdrawn and reinserted in the socket at various
distances from the central line a where the two sections meet. The
bearings d in Figure 1, is also adjustable, being arranged to slide on a
plate t attached to the side frame of the truck.
Many other plans of rendering the journals of the sections adjustable
will readily suggest themselves. As to the precise shape of the sections,
that too will in a manner depend upon the character of the material
with which they are loaded; I prefer the shape shown in the Drawing as
in my opinion the best for the purpose.
The second part of this Invention is illustrated by Figures 8 and 9 of
the Drawings.
The bucket is composed of two sections, A and A¹, of the form or
approximating to the form shown in the Drawings, the two sections
when closed meeting at the central line x and being hung to a bale B,
by which the whole can be raised or lowered at pleasure with suitable
tackle. The bale consists in the present instance of two links a and a¹
on each side of the sections, and of a cross bar by which all the four
links are connected together at the top; the pair of links on each side
of the sections being connected together by a bar f. I wish it to be
here understood however that I do not desire to restrict myself to any
specific construction of bale, for different bales may be adopted without
departing from the main features of the said Invention; in all cases,

page_text: however, the bale should be so constructed as to form bearings for the
journals of the sections, these journals 6 and 6' being in the present
instance adapted to the lower ends of the links a and a². The journals
on each side of the sections should be at equal distances from the central
linex where the sections meet; and this distance, as well as that of the
journals from the top of the sections, should be such that when the
sections are unlocked they will be self-separating and the load
discharged, and immediately after the discharge will be self-closing by
their own gravity.
The device which I have adopted in the present instance for locking
the sections together consists of a lever D hung to the section A¹, and
having at one end a catch x adapted to a projection on the section A, a
spring q tending to depress the catch and to retain the sections in a
locked condition, and as long as they remain locked the sections form
a bucket for containing grain, coal, or other material to be raised or
lowered. On depressing the outer end of the lever D however, the
sections will be unlocked, and owing to the weight of the load they will
instantly turn in the bale to the position shown by dotted lines, and
the contents will be discharged. No sooner are the sections emptied
however, than by their own weight they will close, and, owing to the
inclined end of the catch x, will be self-locking.
It will be unnecessary to explain what facilities are afforded by this
self-discharging and self-locking bucket for elevating, discharging,
unshipping, and shipping coal, grain, and other substances or materials.
In some instances it is necessary to move the bucket about when it
has been lowered to the hold of a vessel, for instance, or when it is
on the ground prior to receiving its load. When this is required I
provide each section with legs H, at the lower ends of which are
rollers or castors h, h.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,——
First. A truck, the body of which consists of two sections G and G¹
adapted to each other, and hung to the frame of the truck, substantially
in the manner and for the purpose described.

page_text: Second. The said sections hung to the frame of a truck in com-
bination with the locking and releasing device herein described, or its
equivalent.
Third. The combination of the said sections with a braking device for
retarding their tilting movement.
Fourth. The said sections having adjustable journals or trunnions,
in combination with adjustable bearings on the frame of the truck.
Fifth. The combination with a hoisting bale of a bucket composed of
two sections A and A¹ adapted to each other and hung to the said bale,
substantially as described.
Sixth. The combination of the above with the self-locking device
described, or its equivalent.
Seventh. The combination of the sections with legs H, H, and rollers
or castors h, h.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day
of June One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)