Improved Method of Elevating, Conveying, or Removing Grain and like Granular and Finely Divided Material.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 18th June, 1891-Accepted, 8th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of Elevating, Conveying, or Removing Grain and
like Granular and Finely Divided Material.
We, BENJAMIN HOWARTHI THWAITE, of 37 Victoria Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, and THE SPHINCTER GRIP ARMOURED
HOSE COMPANY LIMITED of No. 9, Moorfields, London in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved methods of elevating or conveying grain and
like granular and finely divided material by the use of a vacuum or plenum
pressure of air or other gas, so as to force or aspire the grain or other material up
vertical and along horizontal conduits.
In order to concentrate the action of a pressure and aspiratory effect, the following
novel arrangement constitutes the essential feature of the invention.
Instead of merely immersing the ends of the hose or pipes in the grain or other
material to be elevated, collecting vessels or chambers of special construction are
employed, the lower ends of which are weighted, so that as the grain is removed
the collecting cylinders will descend into the remaining storage, the collecting
cylinder may by its own weight or other pressure be pressed down into the grain
or other material to be raised.
In the centre of said chamber or vessel, a pipe is provided for leading the air or
other gas under high pressure beneath the grain or other material to be elevated.
The lower end of such central air-under-pressure pipe is provided with an outlet
which is embedded in the grain and which is so arranged that the grain or other
material is driven, displaced, or forced upwards into the collecting chamber and
out of such collecting chamber into a main conduit by which the grain or other
material escapes or
led into the warehouse or other place.
The connection of collecting chamber with the central conduit is of a flexible
material, such as hose, preferably of the Sphincter Grip Armoured type.
To aid the removal of the grain or other material, an additional or independent
supply of air or gas for suction or aspiratory action to the outlet or removal pipe
may be employed so that the grain is more rapidly removed.
Several of these collecting chambers or cylinders may be connected to a single
conduit or main delivery pipe by means of flexible hollow connections preferably of
the armoured hose or Sphincter Grip type, and valves preferably of the sliding
type are fitted to the flexible hose connections, so that one or more of the collecting
chambers can be cut off without interfering with the action of the others, and the
plurality of collecting chambers enables a cargo to be quickly unloaded as the grain
or other material can be removed simultaneously from various parts of the hold or
cargo space.
The system also increases the efficiency of the plenum or vacuum pressure, as
the collecting vessels or chambers prevent the volume of air or gas under pressure
from escaping without doing efficient duty and enables the action of forced and
vacuum pressure to be more appropriately combined.
The collecting chambers are so arranged as to be easily removable from place to
place.
For the flexible vacuum or aspiratory action connections, the armoured wire coils
can be placed internally, and for the positive pressure the strengthening wire coils,
externally.
The main vertical conduit or pipe which is fed with grain or other material, from,
the collecting vessels or chambers is provided with proper junctions to attach the

page_text: flexible connections to each collecting chamber or vessel, and if desired a larger
size of flexible armoured hose can be used for the main vertical conduit.
Instead of fixing the pressure pipe for elevating wet sand or silt into the collecting
vessel in the centre of said vessel, it may be led outside such vessel to the mouth
thereof, and turn up the end or outlet nozzle so that it will when in action, drive or
force the grain into the centre of the collecting vessel or chamber from which the
grain is aspired into the main conduit as already described.
Between the collecting vessel and aspiratory engine by which the grain is aspired
from the collecting vessel a grain depositing chamber is provided with an automatic
delivery and self closing arrangement, that shall not materially interfere with the
aspiratory action.
The delivery arrangement may feed the grain on to travelling bands for
distribution.
T
101
1
2
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London, Agent for B. H. Thwaite and
The Sphincter Grip Armoured Hose Company, Limited.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of Elevating, Conveying, or Removing Grain and
like Granular and Finely Divided Material.
We, BENJAMIN HOWARTH THWAITE, of 37 Victoria Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, and THE SPHINCTER GRIP ARMOURED
HOSE COMPANY LIMITED, of No. 9 Moorfields, London, in the County of
Middlesex, 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 relates to improved methods of elevating or conveying grain and
like granular and finely divided material by the use of a vacuum or plenum
pressure of air or other gas, so as to force or aspire the grain or other material up
vertical and along horizontal conduits.
In order to concentrate the action of a pressure and aspiratory effect, the following
novel arrangement constitutes the essential feature of the invention.
Instead of merely immersing the ends of the hose or pipes in the grain or other
material to be elevated special collecting vessels or chambers of peculiar construction
are employed, the lower ends of which are weighted, so that as the grain is removed
the collecting cylinders will descend into the remaining storage, the collecting
cylinder may by its own weight or other pressure be pressed down into the grain or
other material to be raised. In the centre of said chamber or vessel, a pipe is
provided for leading the air or other gas under high pressure beneath the grain or
other material to be elevated. The lower end of such central-air-under-pressure-
pipe is provided with an outlet, which is embedded in the grain, and which is so
arranged that the grain or other material is driven, displaced, or forced upwards
into the collecting chamber and out of such collecting chamber into a main conduit
by which the grain or other material escapes, or is led into the warehouse, or other
place. The connection of collecting chamber with the central conduit is of a
flexible material, such as hose preferably of the Sphincter Grip Armoured type.
To aid the removal of the grain or other material, an additional or independent
supply of air or gas for inducing suction or aspiratory action to the outlet or
removal pipe may be employed, so that the grain is more rapidly removed.
Several of these collecting chambers or cylinders may be connected to a single
conduit or main delivery pipe by means of flexible hollow connections preferably of
the Armoured Hose or Sphincter Grip type, and valves preferably of the sliding
type are fitted to the flexible hose connections, so that one or more of the collecting
chambers can be cut off without interfering with the action of the others and the

page_text: or other material can be removed simultaneously from various parts of the hold or
cargo space.
The system also increases the efficiency of the plenum or vacuum pressure as the
collecting vessels or chambers prevent the volume air or gas under pressure from
escaping without doing efficient duty, and enables the action of forced and vacuum
pressure to be more appropriately combined.
The collecting chambers are so arranged as to be easily removable from place to
place.
For the flexible vacuum, or aspiratory action connections, the armoured wire
coils can be placed internally, and for the positive pressure, the strengthening wire
coils externally.
The main vertical conduit or pipe which is fed with grain, or other material from
the collecting vessels or chambers is provided with proper junctions to attach the
flexible connections to each collecting chamber or vessel, and if desired, a larger
size of flexible armoured hose can be used for the main vertical conduit.
Instead of fixing the pressure pipe for elevating the grain into the collecting
vessel in the centre of said vessel it may be led outside such vessel to the mouth
thereof, and turn up the end or outlet nozzle, so that it will when in action, drive or
force the grain into the centre of the collecting vessel or chamber, from which the
grain is aspired into the main conduit as already described.
Between the collecting vessel and aspiratory engine, by which the grain is
aspired from the collecting vessel, a grain depositing chamber is provided with an
automatic delivery and self closing arrangement, that shall not materially interfere
with the aspiratory action. The delivery arrangement may feed the grain on to
travelling bands for distribution in the storage grain warehouses.
Before referring to the sheet of illustrative figures accompanying, and which are
intended to form part of this Specification, we wish it to be distinctly understood
that we do not intend to be confined to the use of the details shown thereon as these
may be modified without departing from the nature of our said invention.
Referring to the sheet of drawings,
Figure 1 shows an application of our invention to a grain cargo vessel.
Figures 2, 3, and 4 represent respectively a section, side elevation, and plan of
the collecting vessel.
Figures 5 and 6 show a section and plan of the grain depositing apparatus.
Referring in the first instance to Figures 2, 3, and 4 showing our collecting
vessel.
The sides of the vessel a are formed of sheet steel, or other light metal of suitable.
quality.
The collecting vessels are made so as to be easily portable and in order to
facilitate the immersion of the mouth of the vessel below the upper surface of the
grain, we make the edges of the vessel very sharp.
The air or steam pressure pipe b is attached to the side of collecting vessel by
clips c and the pipe is terminated by a nozzle or nozzles fixed near to or at the
centre of mouth of vessel, as shown at d, so that when the collecting vessel is
pressed below surface of grain or other material, the emission of the air or steam in
powerful streams or jets drives upwards into this vessel the grain above the level of
the air or steam nozzles, and in its suspended condition the grain escapes by means
of the hose e, and into the warehouse, or wherever it is required to be deposited.
In order to facilitate the removal of the suspended grain, we may provide an
auxiliary exhaustive action applied to the hose.
By this means; the suspended grain or other like finely divided material is rapidly
removed from the collecting vessel, the latter in proportion as the grain is removed
is forced by its own weight, or by assisted pressure continually, so that it is always
immersed below the surface of the grain and the effect of the jet is always a
useful one.
Figure 1 shows the general arrangement of our system. The compressed air or

page_text: steam is led by means of the Sphincter or flexible hose 1, into the jet pipe 2 of the
collecting vessels 3, several vessels may be supplied from a single main or trunk
hose. The main or trunk outlet hose by which the suspended grain and air or
steam is led away from collecting vessels is marked 4. Valves 5 are provided, by
which the pressure or aspiration effect on any of the collecting vessels can be cut
off or regulated. The main trunk hose or pipes are made of proportionally
larger size than the subsidary connections between the main trunk and depositing
vessels.
Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the apparatus shown thereby is intended for
the purpose of separating the suspended grain from its carrying vehicle air
or steam.
The depositing vessel A of some capacity is made of sheet metal, and is partially
divided into two distinctive parts by means of a dividing plate B.
The lower part of the vessel forms a grain collecting chamber, the bottom of
which is formed by the counterbalance weighted door C when a certain weight of
grain has accumulated, the door falls open allowing the grain to fall or escape, the
counterbalance weight D instantly reclosing the balanced door.
It is not necessary in all cases to separate the grain in the manner described
because when the suspended grain is delivered with its flow of air into any large
chamber, the grain falls to the floor thereof and can be collected.
The outlet orifices of the delivery mains can be distributed in the length of the
latter, so that the grain is distributed.
Our invention will enable grain or other finely divided material to be rapidly and
economically transferred from one storage room to another.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The method of forcing up, throwing up, or otherwise elevating grain and like
materials into special collecting vessels.
2. The removal by pressure or aspiration, or both, of the grain suspended in the
air collected in the said collecting vessels, substantially as herein shown and
described.
3. The general arrangement of portable collecting vessels by which the grain
or like material is collected.
4. The method of depositing or separating the grain from its gaseous vehicle of
compressed air or steam for the purpose of this invention, and as is herein shown
and described.
5. The method of employing in combination, a pressure of air or steam for
disturbing or forcing upwards into a state of suspension, grain and like material
and an aspiratory or vacuum effect for drawing away such suspended grain, or like
material.
6. The general arrangement for effecting our invention substantially as is herein
shown and described when armoured type of hose is employed.
The 18th day of June 1891.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Benjamin Howarth Thwaite and The Sphincter Grip
Armoured Hose Company, Limited.