Improved Means or Apparatus for Discharging Cargo Boats, Barges, or other Receptacles (including Coals and Grain Stores) of Loose Material Stowed in Bulk."
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 8th Sept., 1897.-Accepted, 4th Dec, 1897,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
16 Improved Means or Apparatus for Discharging Cargo Boats,
Barges, or other Receptacles (including Coals and Grain Stores) of
Loose Material Stowed in Bulk."
I, THOMAS WRIGHTSON, of the Teesdale Iron Works, Thornaby-on-Tees, in the
County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to means or apparatus for discharging cargo boats, barges,
or other vessels or receptacles, in which the cargo such as coal, grain and the like
loose material is carried or stowed in bulk and is applicable for other purposes such
as discharging the like material from coal stores, grain warehouses, or the like
places.
The object of my invention is to provide means by which the discharge of the coal
or the like loose material is effected in a rapid and continuous manner.
In describing my invention I will refer to its application or use in connection with
cargo boats, from which its application to other uses will be readily understood.
In carrying my invention into effect, I furnish the barge or the like vessel with a
double bottom, that is, an ordinary keel bottom and a false or inner bottom, between
which an endless belt is made to travel, one end of which belt is passed over a drum
pivotally mounted at the stern of the vessel and the other end carried or curved
upwards to a higher level and passing over a drum pivotally mounted in some position
at the fore end of the vessel from which the coal is discharged by any suitable means
or apparatus. Each drum is driven at the proper speed for which any suitable motor
may be employed it being only essential that the drums rotate to suit the intended
travel of the belt. The false or inner bottom and its converging sides form a hopper
or hold in which the coal or other loose material is stowed in bulk, and is furnished
with an opening say at the fore end so as to allow the coal to fall onto the belt below.
The remainder of the space or opening in the false or inner bottom is covered over by
a series of lids or covers each of which is hinged to the inner bottom of the hopper
and is capable of being turned up out of the way as the overlaying coal is disturbed
and falls through onto the endless belt below, or each lid or cover may be bodily
removed. The belt is divided into or made up of a series of steel plate segments
and the drums are made to grip each segment of the belt as it passes over them which
segments are fitted with hinge pins on which are mounted rollers. These rollers run
in grooves formed in connection with the framework of the supporting structure, the
arrangement serving as a guide to convey the belt in any desired direction. The
belt is furnished if desired with a succession of cleats or ledges to enable the coal or
other loose material to lodge thereon and be carried up or down with the belt to be
discharged therefrom. To effect this the contact edges of each segment of the belt
are cut into parallel strips or tongues so that alternate strips may be bent to grasp
the hinge pin and the other strips turned up if required to form the cleat, the
adjoining contact edges of the contiguous segments of the belt alternating and fitting
together in this respect. The driving drums which are hexagonal or of other

page_text: equivalent form are furnished with recesses at each angle pitched to correspond with
the connecting pins of the belt in such a manner as to successively lock the said pins
in the recesses as the drums rotate and so draw the belt along. By placing the rear
drum at a level above the line of travel of the belt, the two lengths of the belt are
brought near together, and space is saved between the boats' keel and the inner or
false bottom. Although the hereinbefore described belt is especially adapted for the
purposes of my invention other belts may also be used.
Dated this 7th day December 1896.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicant.
"Improved Means or Apparatus for Discharging Cargo Boats,
Barges, or other Receptacles (including Coal and Grain Stores, of
Loose Material Stowed in Bulk."
I, THOMAS WRIGHTSON, of the Teesdale Iron Works, Thornaby-on-Tees, in the
County of York, Engineer, 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 means or apparatus for discharging cargo boats, barges,
or other vessels or receptacles in which cargoes such as coal, grain and the like loose
material is carried or stowed in bulk and is applicable for other purposes such as
discharging the like material from coal stores, grain warehouses or the like places.
The main object of my invention is to effect improvements in the means by which
coal may be taken from a vessel and at one operation conveyed to the elevator head
for transmission elsewhere as required, regard being had to economy of space in the
ship's hold as well as to the arrangement and construction of the apparatus itself.
In describing my invention I will refer to its application or use in connection with
cargo boats or vessels from which its application to other purposes will be readily
understood.
The invention as so described consists in the construction, combination, and
arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter specified and illustrated in and by
the accompanying drawings in which similar letters of reference indicate the like
parts in all the figures.
Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken in a longitudinal direction of an ordinary cargo
boat or vessel as fitted up with my cargo discharging apparatus except that in order
to bring both ends of the apparatus into one view an intermediate part of the boat
with the corresponding part of the apparatus is omitted as if broken away. Fig. 2 is
a transverse sectional view taken on line xx of Fig. 1. and looking to the right.
Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are some of the details drawn to a larger scale. In carrying out
my invention I furnish the barge or the like vessel with a double bottom, that is an
ordinary keel a and a false or inner bottom 6 between which an endless belt conveyor c
of special construction is made to travel, one end of which endless belt conveyor is
passed over a druin d¹ pivotally mounted at the stern of the vessel and the other end
carried or curved upwards to the higher level of the elevator head and passing over a
drum d² pivotally mounted in some position at the fore end of the vessel from which
the coal is transferred elsewhere by any suitable means or apparatus. Each drum is
driven at the proper speed for which purpose any suitable motor may be employed,
it being only essential that the drums rotate to suit the intended travel of the belt.
The false or inner bottom 6 and its converging sides form a hopper or hold in which

page_text: the coal or other loose material is stowed in bulk and is furnished with an outlet or
series of outlets which may be opened or closed by lids or covers as shown in Fig. 2,
one of which e is in the closed position and another e¹ in dotted lines is turned over
and lying on the inner bottom b. These outlets enable the coal to fall onto the belt
conveyor below. Each lid or cover is hinged to the inner bottom 6 and is capable
of being turned up out of the way as the over-laying coal is disturbed and falls
through onto the endless belt below, or each lid or cover may be detachable and
bodily removed. The belt is divided or made up of a series of steel plate segments
and the drums are made to grip each segment as it passes over them, which
segments are locked together by hinge pins on which rollers are mounted. These
details of construction are illustrated to an enlarged scale in figures 3, 4 and 5, and
to a still more enlarged scale in Fig. 6. Referring to these figures, Fig. 3 is a part
sectional view taken on line y y of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a similar transverse sectional
view taken across the belt where the upper and lower runs thereof are brought closer
together. It will be seen from these Figs., as well as from Figs. 1 and 2 that the
rollers f run in grooves of channel iron shape formed in connection with the framework
of the supporting structure by which means the belt is caused to follow the line of
travel shown in Fig. 1, in which the upper and lower runs of the belt are brought
close together between the keel bottom a and inner bottom b which inner bottom is
placed lower in the vessel in consequence, and space is economised in the bold,
Fig. 5 illustrates in plan one segment g of the belt hinged and locked between two other
segments g¹ and g2 by the hinge pin h on which are mounted the rollers f. The belt
is furnished if desired with a succession of cleats or ledges g to enable the coal or
other loose inaterial to lodge thereon and be carried up or down with the belt to the
point of discharge. To effect this the contact edges of each segment of the belt are
cut into by parallel lines of division forming strips or tongues g which are bent to
grip the hinge pin h as shown in Fig. 6, and the other strips glare turned up if required
to form the cleat, the adjoining contact edges of the contiguous segments g g of the
belt alternating and fitting into segment g in this respect and so on throughout the
length of the belt that is to say that the strips or tongues g' in Fig. 5 are turned up
and the alternate strips or tongues g' are bent round the hinge as shown to an enlarged
scale in Fig. 6. Referring to Fig. 6, g may be either shown partially round the pins
or the bend may be continued as shown in dotted lines, so that a weld or other
connection may be made to body of plate. The driving drums d d which are
hexagonal or other equivalent form are furnished with recesses d at each angle.pitched
to correspond with the connecting or hinge pins h of the belt in such a manner that
the strain on the belt successively locks the said pins in the recess as the drums rotate
and so the belt is drawn along in the manner required for the purposes of my invention.
It will be observed that the rear drum is placed at a level above the line of travel
of the upper or loaded side of the belt, which position combined with the deflected
line taken by the upper belt roller grooves brings the upper and under runs of the
belt nearer together than when they run in the usual way in parallel lines to and from
the said rear or aft end drum, the special construction of the belt being intended to
allow the curves it follows to be either convex or concave so that the belt can be guided
by the rollers in any direction so long as the curves are not too sudden.
The operation of the machinery hereinbefore described is as follows:-The hold
of the vessel being charged with coal as shown at k in Fig. 1, the lid or cover e² is
turned up, sufficient coal having been cleared out of the way for this purpose, the coal
then falls through the opening by gravity or is raked down until the next lid can be
lifted when the process is repeated, the belt below being thereby constantly charged
until the hold of the vessel is entirely cleared. The belt is driven in the direction
of the arrows and conveys the coal to the elevator head to be transferred
elsewhere in any required manner. The special advantages of the above described
construction are that the space in the hold of the ship is economised by bringing
the upper and under runs of the belt closer together than has hitherto been the
case and that no space in the hold is occupied by apparatus or appliances for
opening and closing the outlets. Furthermore the belt is furnished in an effectual

page_text: manner with cleats or ledges and hinge joints of simple construction, the hinge pins
of which lock into the drums in a manner conducive to the proper working of the
helt conveyor.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing the
same I wish it to be understood that I am aware that the method or principle of
conveying loose material on an endless belt conveyor running between an outer and
inner bottom of a vessel is not new, I therefore make no claim to such method or
principle otherwise than as embodied in and carried into practice by the improvements
hereinbefore specified, but I do not restrict myself to the precise construction shown
which can be modified in certain respects as for instance the inner bottom b may be
set level instead of to an incline to give more space in the hold, or the position of the
belt conveyor may be exactly reversed relatively to the fore and aft ends of the vessel,
or the bringing of the upper and under runs of the belt close together may be
dispensed with in circumstances in which no advantage would be derived from it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus adapted for conveying coal or other loose material out of a ship's
hold in which an endless belt conveyor furnished with hinged joints is carried on
rollers over drums and guided by roller grooves between the outer or ordinary bottom
of a cargo boat and an inner bottom furnished with lids or covers lying flat over the
outlets, the several parts being constructed, arranged and operating together
substantially as and for the purpose as herein before described.
2. In belt conveyors of the kind hereinbefore described the use of specially
constructed hinged joints and cleats, substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to Figs. 5 and 6.
3. The general combination of parts constitutiug the apparatus as a whole arranged,
constructed, and effecting its purpose, substantially in the manner hereinbefore
described.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees and Hull, Agent for the Applicant.