IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING MAGNETIC FROM NON-MAGNETIC SUBSTANCES, AND ESPECIALLY MAGNETIC OXYD OF IRON FROM ALL FOREIGN MATERIAL
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Richardson Francis, Member of the Firm
of Richardson & Co., of Swansea, in the County of Glamorgan,
Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND
MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING MAGNETIC FROM NON-MAGNETIC SUBSTANCES,
AND ESPECIALLY MAGNETIC OXYD OF IRON FROM ALL FOREIGN MATERIAL."
-A communication from abroad by Francois Alexandre Hubert
La Rue, of the City, District, and Province of Quebec, Canada.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Richardson
Francis at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,, with his
Petition, on the 14th March 1873.
I, JOHN RICHARDSON FRANCIS, Member of the Firm of Richardson &
Co., of Swansea, in the County of Glamorgan, Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS' IN THE PROCESS
AND MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING MAGNETIC PROM-NON-MAGNETIC SUBSTANCES, AND
ESPECIALLY MAGNETIC OXYD OF IRON' FROM ALL FOREIGN MATERIAL,” a commu-

page_text: nication to me from abroad by Francois Alexandre Hubert La Rue,
of the City, District, and Province of Quebec, Canada, to be as
follows:-
The improved process has in view the separation of magnetic iron ore
from the material known as "magnetic iron sand," or from finely
pulverized magnetic iron ore, or the treatment for separation of any
other magnetic substance in the same manner.
The leading feature in the process consists in the employment of a
considerable number of magnets properly arranged, and the passing by
suitable arrangements of a continuous quantity of magnetic iron sand or
pulverized magnetic iron ore, &c., under the magnets, and by the inter-
vention of cloth, parchment, or other substance incapable of interrupting
the magnetic attraction between the magnets and the material to be
operated on, to the lower side of which the particles of magnetic iron
ore, &c., are attached, while the residium or foreign matter passes on by
mechanical means. At suitable intervals or when a sufficient quantity
of the magnetic iron ore, &c., is attached to the intervening cloth the
connection between the magnets and the cloth is interrupted, which has
the effect of allowing the iron ore, &c., to detach itself from the lower
side of the cloth by its own specific gravity, after which it is conveyed
to suitable receptacles. As soon as this discharge has been effected the
cloth resumes its connection with the magnets. At the same moment
additional quantities of the iron sand or pulverized iron ore come in
contact with the lower side; again, the iron ore, &c., is once more with-
drawn from the foreign matter, which in turn passes on to its place of 1
deposit, and the operation of detaching the cloth from the magnets is
repeated, severing in doing so the particles of iron ore from the cloth as
before described, and so on.
The machinery by which the Invention is carried into effect consists
of two cylinders which carry belts to which laths are secured to form an
endless brattice, but with spaces left between the laths at regular
intervals. Above the brattice a hopper is placed to receive the material
to be operated upon, which is distributed by the hopper evenly upon the
surface of the brattice, there being a valve actuated by cam projections
upon the edge of the brattice, which opens and closes the valve at the
proper times. There is also above the brattice a series of horse-shoe or
other magnets placed side by side, and extending across the whole width
of the brattice, and also a frame which stretches a cloth or other

page_text: material incapable of interrupting the magnetic attraction under the
magnets; and this frame is arranged so that the cam projections upon
the brattice will actuate it at the proper times to detach the cloth from
the magnets, and then bring it in contact again, the ore held against the
cloth while in contact with the magnets being discharged through the
spaces left in the brattice by its own gravity when the cloth is detached.
The separated ore is received in a trough and conducted by shoots to a
suitable receptacle. The same layer of iron sand or pulverized ore may
be operated upon by several sets of magnets in succession and then
discharged at the end of the machine, falling from the brattice as it
passes round the forward cylinder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Richardson Francis in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RICHARDSON FRANCIS, Member of the Firm of Richardson & Co.,
Swansea, in the County of Glamorgan, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Richardson Francis, Her special license that I,
and
the said John Richardson Francis, my executors, administrators,
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Richardson Francis, my
executors, administrators, 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 THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING MAGNETIC FROM NON-MAGNETIC
SUBSTANCES, AND ESPECIALLY MAGNETIC OXYD OF IRON FROM ALL FOREIGN
MATERIAL," a communication to me from abroad by Francois Alexandre
Hubert La Rue, of the City, District, and Province of Quebec, Canada,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Richardson
Francis, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should

page_text: particularly describe and ascertain 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 I, the said John Richardson Francis, 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 and the accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):
:-
The improved process has in view the separation of magnetic iron
from the material known as "magnetic iron sand" or from finely pul-
verized magnetic iron ore, or the treatment for separation of any other
magnetic substance in the same manner.
The leading feature in the process consists in the employment of a
considerable number of magnets properly arranged, and the passing by
suitable arrangements of a continuous quantity of magnetic iron sand,
or pulverized iron ore, &c., under the magnets, and by the intervention
of cloth, parchment, or other intervening substance incapable of in-
terrupting the magnetic attraction between the magnets, and the
material to be operated on, to the lower side of which the particles
of magnetic iron are attached, while the residum or foreign matter
passes on by mechanical means. At suitable intervals or when a
sufficient quantity of the magnetic iron is attached to the intervening
cloth, the connection between the magnets and the cloth is interrupted,
which has the effect of allowing the iron to detach itself from the lower
side of the cloth by its own specific gravity, after which it is conveyed
to suitable receptacles. As soon as this discharge has been effected the
cloth resumes its connection with the magnets. At the same moment
additional quantities of the iron sand or pulverized iron ore come in
contact with the lower side again, the iron is once more withdrawn from
the foreign matter which in turn passes on to its place of deposit, and the
operation of detaching the cloth from the magnets is repeated, severing
in so doing the particles of iron from the cloth as before described, and
so on.

page_text: &c., to prevent the
a is the framework of the apparatus employed for holding the different
parts in their proper positions, and may be of any suitable material and
of such dimensions as may be commensurate with the size of the appa-
ratus required; b, b, are two revolving cylinders of suitable diameter and
extending the width of the framework; one of these cylinders is
provided with a pulley c for giving it motion, by means of suitable
motive power; these two revolving cylinders are for the purpose of
carrying the endless belts d, d, which are kept in place by flanges d³, d¹,
and are connected together by strips or slats e, e, each of which is
securely rivetted to the belt at each end of the slat. If the slats are of
wood they will be covered with linen or other cloth,
escape of the sand and iron between them. If of metal they will overlap
each other and thus prevent the escape of the sand and other material.
These slats for certain regular distances will be arranged as described,
and void places f,f, in which no slats are placed will also be arranged at
regular intervals, as shewn in the Drawings; 9, 9, are a number of cross
bars placed on the upper side of the frame, and serving to hold the
magnets h, h, in their proper places. These magnets h, h, may be of the
horse-shoe form, as shown, or of any other suitable form and arranged on
the bars g, g, in close proximity with each other in rows of the entire
width of the revolving belt and slats. The number of cross bars g, g, with
their supported magnets will depend on the size of the entire machine,
and the quantity of work required to be performed. i is a movcable
trough placed immediately underneath the magnets, and extending the
entire width of the revolving belt. This trough is provided with two
sides j, j, of wood or metal placed at sufficient distance apart to admit of
the lower ends of the magnets fitting in between. Surrounding the
outer sides and bottom of the trough so formed is a covering j¹ of cotton,
linen, or any other material capable of permitting the influence of the
magnets to pass through, and act on the particles of magnetic iron in
the sand under treatment as it passes by means of the revolving belts
and slats. This trough is suspended by means of the springs k, k,
placed one at each end, the springs being attached to the frame A. The
cloth or other material on the bottom of the trough is always held in
contact with the ends of the magnets by the action of the springs in
question except at the precise time when the discharge of the magnectic
ore from the lower side of the cloth is to be effected, which happens
when the void spaces f, f, between the slats arrive under the magnets:
At this moment the curved ends I, I, of the spring kon each side come in

page_text: contact with the inclined projection m, attached to each end of one of
the slats. The motion of this inclined projection as it travels forward
elevates the curved ends I, I, of the spring, which in turn depresses the
other end of the spring to which the moveable trough i is attached; in
this manner separating it or rather its cloth bottom from the ends of
the magnets, destroying the magnetic attraction, which before held the
magnetic ore against the lower side of the cloth and allowing the iron to
fall through the void spaces f,f, between the slats by its own specific
gravity, and be conveyed by the side chutes n into proper receptacles.
The sand or other refuse matter not having been acted on by the force
of the magnets passes along on the slats of the revolving belts and is
discharged into the waste heap at o.
P is a hopper suitably arranged for the reception of the magnetic iron
sand or pulverized magnetic iron ore, and its distribution on to the
moving slats of the revolving belts. This is effected at suitable
intervals in order to give the supply from the hopper to the moving belt.
exactly at the time when the covered slats come underneath, when it is
distributed in a film over their entire surface, and shut off the moment
the aperture fapproaches, in order to prevent waste of the material. The
aperture having passed the supply aperture, and the succeeding section
of covered slats reaching the point, the valve opens immediately and
furnishes an additional supply until the section has passed, also when the
supply is shut off, and so on. This work of alternate cessation is accom-
plished by the action of the vertical moving valve g, which extends the
cntire width of the revolving belt. This valve is actuated at each end
by metal rods or springs passing through holes in lugs at each end.
The rods are coiled several times loosely around the bar S, and having
their other ends arranged as shown at t, bent and coming in contact
with the slats of the revolving belts. When these bent ends are brought
in contact with the slats in the passage they are elevated, and at the
same time clevate at their other ends the valve q, which continues in that
position until all the slats in that covered section have passed the other
end t of the rods or springs 2, which then, having nothing to support it
in its elevated position, at once drops, and in doing so closes the valve q
until it is again elevated by the arrival of the next section of slats, and
so on. The magnetic iron sand or other material to be operated on
may be delivered into the hopper p by suitable elevators or other
appliances.

page_text: The apparatus being arranged substantially as described motion is
communicated to it through the pulley c, and a supply of magnetic iron
ore is conveyed to the hopper p.
The first section of covered slats e, e, comes in contact with the bent
3 end of the spring or rod which elevates the valve q and allows a thin
film of the material in the hopper to be spread out on the said first
section of covered slats, the supply being cut off by the action of the
apparatus when the said section of slats passes the discharging aperture,
and continuing so until the arrival of the next covered section of slats,
when the valve q is again opened and closed as before, and so on for
each section of slats.
In the course of the forward movement of the first-mentioned covered
section of slats, with its contents, it passes under the trough i, which at
that time is in close contact with the magnets h, h, the attraction from
which, passing through the cloth, attaches to its lower side a large
quantity of the particles of magnetic iron in the sand, and holds them there
until the section of covered slats passes from underneath, when, by the
action of the slats and curved springs 1, 2, the trough is lowered from the
magnets, and the attraction being interrupted the particles of magnetic
iron at once fall by their specific gravity through the void spaces f,f,
into the chute n, and so pass into a proper recepticle.
The first section of covered slats still moving onward comes again
under a second cross bar g with its trough and magnets, the same as
before described, when an additional quantity of magnetic ore is again.
extracted and disposed of in the same manner, and so on under additional
cross bars, magnets, and troughs until all the magnetic iron is extracted
from the sand or other foreign ingredients; the refuse is then thrown
from the revolving belt into the waste heap.
With the foregoing description of my Invention, and the manner of
operating the same, I beg to state that I do not confine myself to the
precise details herein set forth, as they may be varied to suit circum-
stances; but what I claim as my Invention is,―
Firstly. The employment of magnets for the separation of magnetic
oxyd of iron or other magnetic substances from foreign material, in
connection with a moveable intervening cloth or other substance
incapable of interrupting the magnetic attraction, substantially in the
manner described.

page_text: Secondly. In a machine in which magnets are employed for the pur-
pose described the combination of a series of magnets with a revolving
endless apron carrier for conveying the mingled iron and sand, sub-
stantially as described.
Thirdly. The entire apparatus in its novel arrangement of frame a,
revolving cylinders b, b, flanges d³, d, pulley c, endless belts d, d, strips
or slats e, void spaces f, f, cross bar g, g, magnets h, h, moveable
troughs i, i, cloth or other bottom j, suspension springs k, k, with curved
ends 7, 1, inclined projection m, side shute n, hopper p, valve q, rods or
springs, lugs 71, bars 8, lever t, all working together substantially in
the manner and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Richardson Francis, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.