IMPROVEMENTS IN Apparatus FOR CHARGING GAS RETORTS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Whitaker, of Wakefield, in the
County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN Apparatus
FOR CHARGING GAS RETORTS."
Sealed the 10th March 1876, and dated the 15th September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Whitaker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th September 1875.
I, JOHN WILLIAM WHITAKER, of Wakefield, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR CHARGING GAS RETORTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the reduction of manual labour and
consequent economy in the charging of gas retorts, and consists of a
cradle or movable stand whereon the scoop is placed for filling. The
scoop itself is very similar to that now ordinarily employed, but is
provided if thought desirable with rollers at the bottom to assist in
introducing it to the retort with greater ease. In front of the retort

page_text: benches, and either depending from the roof or supported by the retort
house walls or other suitable manner, is constructed a light railway
upon which a traveller is free to run from end to end of the retort
house. This traveller has fixed to it a bar parallel to the axis of its
wheels, and upon it runs a grooved wheel or pulley, from which hangs a
rod or bar forked also at its lower extremity, so as to receive and form a
fulcrum for a lever pivotted thereto. To the short end of the lever is
jointed a rod, which is connected by means of a swivel to a hoop made
to embrace the scoop, the other or long end of the lever being furnished
with a rope of chain.
The application of the apparatus is as follows:-The cradle whereon
stands the scoop is placed near the retort to be charged; the scoop is
now filled and the traveller roughly adjusted to its proper position.
The rod depending from the short end of the lever is made to engage
in the hoop, and while one man takes hold of the cross handle of the
scoop another pulls upon the long end. of the lever, thus raising the
scoop to the desired level; the man at the handle then thrusts the scoop
so hung into the retort, turns and withdraws it with the greatest ease,
the man at the lever lowering it into the cradle ready for the repetition
of the operation. By these means one-third of the labour employed
in this particular work may be saved, and with less exertion to those
occupied:
T
SPECIFICATION; in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John William Whitaker in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th March 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILLIAM WHITAKER, of Wakefield, in the County of York, send.',
greeting.
-
2
_ WHEREAS, Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her_
Letters Patent, bearing-date-the-Fifteenth day of September; in the 30
yoar of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her, heirs, and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John William Whitaker,
Her special licence that I, the. said, John William, Whitaker, my

page_text: are attached UL WHICH I As a description
Fig. 1 is a partial cross section of a retort house.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation of a bench of retorts with the
apparatus for charging them, also in elevation; and Fig. 3 is a plan of
the traveller.
In Fig. 1 A is the retort house wall, and B, B, the coals usually
_stacked against it._C_is_the_retort_bench,.and.D,D,_the_mouth-pieces.
of the retorts to be charged with the scoop E; F is the traveller, which
runs upon rails G, G, supported by vertical bars. or rods H, H, and
stayed by horizontal rods I, I; J is the grooved wheel, which traverses
the bar K, shown in Fig. 3, and 'from which the rod L depends, the
lower part being forked, as at M, to receive the lever N pivotted thereto.
From the short end of the lever hangs the rod O, being pivotted to it
and furnished with a swivel P. At Q there may or may not be a hook
to engage in the hoop or ring R, which encircles the scoop E. S is the
cradle whereon to rest the scoop while being filled. The long end of
the lever is furnished with a ropo or chain T. U, U, are rollers fixed
to the bottom of the scoop as before mentioned.
Similar letters refer to the same parts in each of the views.
The application of the apparatus is as follows:-The cradle S, whereon
stands the scoop E, is placed near the retort to be charged. The scoop
is now filled, and the traveller F roughly adjusted to its proper position.
The hook Q of the rod depending from the short end of the lever may
be made to engage in the hoop R, and while one man takes hold of the
cross handle V of the scoop another man pulls upon the long end of
the lever by the rope T, thus raising the scoop to the proper level, as
seen in Fig. 1; the man at the handle then thrusts the scoop so hung
into the retort, turns_and_withdraws it with the greatest ease, the man
at the lever lowering it into the cradle ready for the repetition of the
-operation.--There-is-nothing-to-prevent-the-scoop-E-being-always-in-
the hoop or-ring-R;-in-fact, this-has-been found by experience to be the
most convenient way of working, thereby saving the trouble of the
frequent attachment and detachment of the scoop. By these means..
about one-third of the labour employed in this particular work may be a
saved,_and_with_less_exertion_to_those_occupied.

page_text: The whole of the apparatus herein described used in charging, with
the exception of the scoop, is new.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of this
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have
described or referred to, as variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of this Invention, but
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, the construction and application of apparatus for. charging
gas retorts, as herein described and shown on the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Whitaker, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Eleventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.