IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING AND VENTILATING MINES
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Biram at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents. with his Petition, on
the 4th June 1853.
1. BENJAMIN BIRAM. of Wentworth. in the County of York. Gen-
tleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING AND VENTILATING MINES" to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in fixing the drums upon which flat ropes
are wound over the pit for drawing up coals or minerals, and applying
the power of two engines to cranks fixed at right angles to each other
upon the shaft of one of them, the other having also cranks at the end
of the shaft similarly fixed, and the two being connected by coupling
bars. exactly in the way that four driving wheels are connected in a
[Price Sd.1

page_text: locomotive engine. The engines may be fixed either vertically or
horizontally to suit circumstances, and coupled and worked by the link
motion and reversing gear on the locomotive plan.
The advantage of this arrangement is. beside dispensing with a fly
wheel and extra pulley wheels over the pit top. the facility which it
gives of enclosing the whole of the machinery within a moderate sized
building, and making the communication with the pit mouth by two
doors, one only to be open at the same time. and thereby rendering a pit
ventilated by a fan or other machinery available both as an upcast and
drawing shaft. The engine man has also more control over his engine.
and an earlier sight of the corves, by which the risk of raising them
too high is diminished.
The ventilator which I employ is driven by a separate engine. It is
placed near the head of the shaft. and is of the particular description
herein-after given. The application of a fan for the
ventilation
of mines has now for some years been before the public. Mr.
Brunton having described one before the Committee appointed by
the House of Lords to enquire into the cause of accidents in mines.
and Mr. Nasmyth having also erected ՌՈՐ. a full description of
which appeared in most of the public papers at the time. Mr.
Naysmth's fan has five vanes (1. 2. 3. 4. 5). each about half the depth
of the radius. the air being admitted to the fan in the centre. and
projected by its rapid revolution beyond the periphery in a tangential
direction on all sides. As the efficacy of such a fan must be mainly
produced by the outer end of the vanes. it would appear desirable to
diminish their depth from one half to one tenth of the radius. and
increase their number to so many as that a tangent from the point B.
of one vane should just clear the outer end C. of the adjoining vane.
The assumed effect of this would be. that when the fan was in operation
the volume of air occupying the space A. B. C. D. would be projected
beyond the periphery by each vane, whilst the fan rotated from A. to C.
But this would be in a tangential direction B. C. as shewn by the dotted
lines, and which as the resistance increases as the square of the velocity
would be the direction requiring the most power for the least effect.
I. therefore, propose to fix vanes as at E. B. instead of B. A. so that

page_text: the edge only of the vane would be presented to the wind, yet the same
quantity of air would be projected beyond the gyration of the fan in a
given time, but in the direction B, A. instead of B, C. Suppose the
length A, B, one foot, the distance B, C. would be 45 feet, and the
resistance to the vane A, B, from the air would be 1x 45 = 20'25
per square foot. If B, E, were the vane, the resistance would be
4'5 x 13 = 45 (B. C. x A, B2), so that a fan with tangential vanes
E, B, might be driven at double the velocity, and past more than
double the quantity of air, with the same power as a fan with the radial
vanes A, B. I also place the vanes at an intermediate angle between
Dand A
as at D
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Biram in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 3rd December 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
BENJAMIN BIRAM, of Wentworth, in the County of York. Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June. in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did. for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Biram. Her special licence that
1. the said Benjamin Biram. my executors, administrators, and assigns.
or such others as 1. the said Benjamin Biram. my executors, admi-
nistrators, and 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 WORKING
AND VENTILATING MINES." upon the condition (amongst others) that
1. the said Benjamin Biram, 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,

page_text: 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 1. the said Benjamin Biram. do hereby
declare 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed. that is to say:
Firstly. My improvements consist in fixing the drums upon which
flat ropes are wound over the pit for drawing up coals or minerals, and
applying the power of two engines to cranks fixed at right angles to
each other upon the shaft of one of them. the other having also cranks
at the end of the shaft similarly fixed, and the two being connected by
coupling bars exactly in the way that four driving wheels are connected.
in a locomotive engine. The engines may be fixed either vertically or
horizontally to suit circumstances, and coupled and worked by the link
motion and reversing gear on the locomotive plan.
The advantage of this arrangement is, besides dispensing with a fly
wheel and extra pulley wheels over the pit top, the facility which it
gives of enclosing the whole of the machinery within a moderate sized
building, and making the communication with the pit's mouth by two
doors, one only to be open at the same time, and thereby rendering a
pit ventilated by a fan or other machinery available both as an upcast
and drawing shaft. The engine man has also more control over his
engine, and an earlier sight of the corves by which the risk of raising
them too high is diminished; for the momentum of the fly wheel being
removed. the corves may be instantly stopped upon arriving at the
pit's mouth, and the distance between the pit's nrouth and the pulley
wheels may safely be diminished.
Figure 1. of the Drawings hereunto annexed is a side elevation of a
pair of engines, with their lifting drums arranged on my plan over the
pit's mouth, shewing also a part of the pit in section. Figure 2. is an
end elevation of the same, shewing also a section of part of the pit
taken at right angles to Figure 1 and Figure 3, is a plan of the en-
gines and drums. A, A', are the drums, which are fixed on shafts A, A,

page_text: which are mounted and revolve in the bearings A3, A3, attached to the
framing A, A, over the pit's mouth. B. B, are the cylinders of the
pair of engines, and B', B', their piston rods, which are respectively
connected by the connecting rods B2, B2, to the cranks C, C, fixed at
right angles to each other upon the shaft of the drum A. B³, B3, are
links, and B', B', radius rods forming a parallel motion, by which
the piston rods of the cylinders B, B, are respectively preserved in a
perpendicular position during their upward and downward motions.
The other drum A', has also cranks D, D, at the ends of its shaft fixed
at right angles to each other, as before described with reference to the
cranks C, C; and the two sets of cranks C, C, and D, D, are coupled
together by connecting rods E, E, so that the drums A, A', revolve
together in the same direction. so that the rope upon one drum
descends while the other ascends. F, F, are excentrics for working
the slide valves G, G, of the cylinders B, B. to which they are con-
nected by the excentric rods H, H. The ends of each pair of excentric
rods H, H, are jointed to the ends of a slotted link 1, Figure 1. One
only of these is seen in the Drawings, but both engines are fitted in the
same manner. K, is a stud on the slide valve spindle, which takes
into the slot of the link I. L, is a link by which the slotted link 1, is
connected to the end of the bell crank lever M, the short arm of which
is again connected by a rod N, to a reversing lever O, centred at P, by
means of which arrangements the engines are started, reversed, and
stopped when required. The parts just described are similar to the
arrangements adopted in locomotive engines, and may be considerably
varied should circumstances require it.
Secondly. My improvements relate to the ventilation of mines. The
ventilator which I employ is driven by a separate engine; it is placed
near the head of the shaft, and is a fan of the particular description
herein-after given. The application of a fan for the ventilation of mines
has now for some years been before the public. Mr. Brunton having
described one before the Committee appointed by the House of Lords
to enquire into the causes of accidents in mines, and Mr. Nasmyth
baving also erected one, a full description of which appeared in most
of the public papers at the time. Mr. Nasmyth's fan has five vanes,

page_text: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (see Figure 4.) each about half the depth of the radius,
the air being admitted to the fan in the centre, and projected by its
rapid revolution beyond the periphery in a tangential direction on all
sides. As the efficiency of such a fan must be mainly produced by the
outer end of the vanes, it would appear desirable to diminish their
depth from one half to one tenth of the radius, and to increase their
number to so many, as that a tangent from the point B, of one vane
should just clear the outer end C, of the adjoining vane. The assumed
effect of this would be, that when the fan was in operation the volume
of air occupying the space A, B, C, D, would be projected beyond the
periphery by each vane, whilst the fan rotated from A, to C. But this
would be in a tangential direction B, C, as shewn by the dotted lines,
and which as the resistance increases as the square of the velocity would
be the direction requiring the most power for the least effect. If the
vanes, however, were fixed as at E, B, instead of B, A, so that the
edge only of the vane would be presented to the wind, it is presumed
the same quantity of air would be projected beyond the gyration of the
fan in a given time, but in the direction B, A, instead of B, C. Suppose
the length A, B, one foot, the distance B, C, would be 45 feet, and
the resistance to the vane A, B, from the air would be 1
20 25 per square foot. But if B, E, were the vane, the
would be 4'5 x 145 (B, C, × A, B), so that a fan
gential vanes E, B, might be driven at double the velocity, and pass
more than double the quantity of air with the same power as a fan
with the radial vanes A, B. I propose, therefore, to employ for the
ventilation of mines fans having blades placed tangentially as at E, B.
or at an intermediate angle between E. B, and A, B, as at F. B.
Figures 1, and 3, shew the position with respect to the pit and lifting
engines in which 1 place my ventilators. The fan is closed in at top.
and the spindle is furnished with a crank, by which it may be driven
from a separate small engine placed in any convenient position for
that purpose.
× 4'5² =
resistance
with tan-
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim as my Invention is,-

page_text: First, the mode of working mines by means of coupled lifting
engines and drums. arranged and working in the manner herein-before
described.
Second, the adaptation of a link motion for starting, stopping, or
reversing coupled engines employed in working mines, as herein-
before described: and,
Third, the employment for ventilating mines of a fan with blades
placed tangentially, or at an angle between a radial and fangential
direction, as represented in the Drawings, and herein-before described.
In witness whereof. I, the said Benjamin Biram, have hereunio
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
BEN. BIRAM. (L.S.)