IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANING COAL
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Green, junior, of Framwellgate Colliery, near
Durham, in the County of Durham, Colliery Viewer, and Thomas Storey,
of the same Place, Engine Wright, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Green and
Thomas Storey at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 12th November 1856.
We, WILLIAM GREEN, junior, of Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham, in
the County of Durham, Colliery Viewer, and THOMAS STOREY, of the same
Place, Engine Wright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANING COAL,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an arrangement of apparatus for washing and
cleaning coal, whereby the coal is more effectually freed from pyrites, stone, and
other foreign substances, which are of a greater specific gravity than the coal
itself than by any apparatus previously employed for this purpose.
According to this Invention, the coal to be treated is placed in a hopper fitted
with a regulating door or register, which opens into a long and slightly inclined

page_text: trough or wide spout near its upper end. At the extreme upper end of this
trough is fitted a reservoir or tank of water, having an outlet opening into the
trough, which outlet is opened or closed more or less by means of a regulating
valve. Transversely across the bottom of the trough are arranged a number of
breakwaters or dams, composed of bars, pieces, or plates of sheet iron or other
suitable material, all of which (except the lowest one) are capable of being
raised from the bottom of the trough at pleasure by means of suitable levers
and connecting rods. Along this trough the coals are carried by the stream of
water which is allowed to flow from the reservoir or tank above; and as the
coals are of a lighter specific gravity than the pyrites or stones which may bo
mingled therewith, they are carried over the breakwaters or dams and pass
along the end of the trough into a receptacle fitted with a perforated or strong
double wire gauze bottom when the water is drained off, whilst the coals can
be removed in any way found most convenient. The pyrites, stones, or other
foreign bodies of a greater specific gravity than the coal are obstructed in their
passage along the spout by the breakwaters or dams before referred to, and
when these latter are silted up by the collection of foreign bodies they are lifted
up or elevated (the supply of coal being previously shut off), and the foreign
bodies are washed down the trough until they arrive at a discharge hole, through
which they pass into a nearly vertical passage or pipe, by which they are dis-
charged into a refuse hopper or other convenient receptacle or on to a waste
heap. The lowest of the breakwaters or dams covers the entrance to the
discharge or refuse passage, and is connected by a hinge to the bottom of the
trough on the lower edge of the discharge hole, and when all the other break-
waters are raised from the bottom of the trough, this lowest one of the series
(which may be termed the refuso dam) is simply turned up by the same
mechanism which raises the other breakwaters into a vertical or nearly vertical
position, thereby preventing the foreign bodies from being carried past it lower
down the trough; they are consequently washed down the vertical passage
into the refuse hopper or on to the waste heap. The inclined trough, herein-
before referred to, is made with a double bottom, so as to form an upper or
cleaning trough, and an under or waste water trough, along which latter an
additional supply of water may be made to run, for the purpose of assisting
in carrying off the refuse on its falling through the discharge hole.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Green and Thomas Storey in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
GREEN, junior, of Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham, in the County of
Durham, Colliery Viewer, and THOMAS STOREY, of the same Place, Engino
Wright, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said William Green and Thomas Storey, Her special license that we, the
said William Green and Thomas Storey, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Green and Thomas Storey,
our 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 MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANING COAL," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said William Green and Thomas Storey, by an instrument
in writing under our hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 wo, the said William Green and Thomas Storey,
do hereby declaro tho nature of our 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 accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates to an arrangement of apparatus for washing and
cleansing coal, whereby the coal is more effectually freed from pyrites, stone,
and other foreign substances which are of a greater specific gravity than the
coal itself than by any apparatus previously employed for this purpose.
According to this Invention, the coal to be treated is placed in a hopper or
other portable receiver, which opens into a long and slightly inclined trough or
wide spout near its upper end. At the extreme upper end of this trough is

page_text: fitted a reservoir or tank of water having an outlet opening into the trough,
which outlet is opened or closed more or less by means of a regulating valve.
Transversely across the bottom of the trough are hinged a number of stops
or breakwaters, composed of bars, pieces, or plates of sheet iron, wood, or
other suitable material, which are capable of being raised from the bottom
of the trough at pleasure by means of suitable levers and connecting rods.
Along this trough the coals are carried by the stream of water which is allowed
to flow from tho reservoir or tank above, and as the coals are of a lighter
specific gravity than the pyrites or stones which may be mingled therewith,
they are carried over the stops or breakwaters and pass along the end of the
trough into a receptacle fitted with a perforated or strong wire gauze bottom,
where the water is drained off, whilst the coals can be removed in any way
found most convenient. The pyrites, stones, or other foreign bodies of a greater
specific gravity than the coal are obstructed in their passage along the spout
by the stops or breakwater, before referred to, and when these latter are tilted
up by the collection of foreign bodies, they are lifted up or elevated (the supply
of coal being previously shut off), and the foreign bodies are washed through
suitable openings and pass into a second trough below, whence they are carried
by a suitable spout to a separate receptacle, and are removed therefrom in any
convenient manner.
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 I shall
refer to the Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout both Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of our
improved coal-washing apparatus, adapted to the small-coal apparatus of a
colliery, and Figure 2 is a transverse section of the washing trough. The
coals to be treated are elevated by the small waggon A, and discharged into
the hopper or box B, whenco they fall through the spout C into the upper end.
of the inclined washing or separating trough D. Immediately below this
trough, and connected thereto by a pair of links at d, is a second trough E
the two troughs being hinged at F, F, to the fixed uprights G, whilst thoir
outer ends are suspended by the chains H (one on each side), which pass
round the barrel of the winch I, and carry each a counterweight K to
balance the weight of the troughs. The degree of inclination of the
troughs may thus be readily adjusted by turning the winch. L, L, are
other chains and counterweights, for the purpose of supporting the central
portion of the troughs. A number of stops or breakwaters M, M, are
placed transversely on the bottom of the upper trough D. These stops are

page_text: hinged to the bottom of the trough in any convenient manner; they are
placed at various distances, and in numbers according to the length of the
trough. By being hinged to the trough they are capable of being lifted up or
elevated, so as to admit of the refuse being sluiced off periodically.. The
raising of these stops is effected by means of the lever handles N, N, and links
0, 0, which latter are jointed to the under side of the stops. P, P, are open-
ings, which are exposed when the stops are raised, and admit of the larger
particles of refuse with a certain amount of water being sluiced off into the
trough E below, whence they are carried along down the spout Q into the
box or receptacle R, which is fitted with an overflow water pipe S, and a
sliding or discharge door T at the bottom, for the respective purposes of
allowing the superabundant water to run off, and for discharging the contents
of the box into a waggon or other convenient receptacle beneath. The
finer portions of pyrites or refuse pass through the perforated plates or wire
gauze U, placed between the stops in the bottom of the trough D, and
are collected in the traps V, whence they are periodically discharged into
the lower trough by withdrawing the sliding doors fitted into the bottoms of
the traps. W is a rotatory rake, driven by a belt X from any convenient source,
and serving to keep the collected refuse constantly agitated. We propose
placing one of these rakes between each pair of stops. The cistern Y supplies
the apparatus with water through the spout Z, a valve a being fitted thereto,
with an adjusting chain b, for the purpose of regulating the flow of water
down the troughs. The coals, by reason of their smaller specific gravity, are
carried over the stops M by the current of water, and are conveyed down the
trough D to the discharging mouth C, through which they pass into the large
box or receptacle e. This box is divided or separated from the lower box,
previously referred to, by the perforated metal plate or wire gauze bottom f
which admits of the water drawing off into the lower box R. A spout or
shoot g facilitates the removal of the coals from the box e into a waggon or
other convenient receptacle. h, h, is a platform, which may be erected for the
facility of enabling the attendant to inspect the progress of the operation. It
will be found advantageous to divide the trough D into two or more lengths,
each length having a steeper gradient than the lower one, as shewn in the
Drawing, by which means the current on first entering the trough will be
very strong and rapid, but will gradually be reduced in strength towards the
lower end.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine or restrict

page_text: ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of our said Invention; but
what we consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction and arrangement of apparatus for washing
and cleaning coal, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of separating pyrites or other heavy foreign
bodies from coal, by causing the coal to be acted upon by a stream of water
in an inclined trough fretted with transverse stops or breakwaters, as herein-
before described.
Third, the application and use of two inclined troughs for washing or sepa-
rating coal from pyrites or other heavy bodies, such heavy bodies being allowed
to pass into the lower trough and be conveyed into a separate receptacle of
their own, whilst tho washed coals passes down the upper trough into another
receptacle placed at its lower extremity to receive them.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Green, junior, and Thomas
Storey, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Ninth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
WILLIAM GREEN. (L.s.)
THOMAS STOREY. (L.s.)