IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIS- CHARGING AND WEIGHING GRAIN CARGOES, PARTLY APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Eliot Duckham, of Millwall, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIS-
CHARGING AND WEIGHING GRAIN CARGOES, PARTLY APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 16th September 1879, and dated the 4th April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Eliot Duckham
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th April 1879.
FREDERIC ELIOT DUCKHAM, of Millwall, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING AND WEIGHING GRAIN CARGOES, PARTLY
APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
The apparatus of my Invention comprises three principal parts, all of which are
usually employed in combination. 1st. The bucket or skip, which after being
filled with grain in the ship's hold is lifted by a crane and discharges itself automa-
tically into the hopper. 2nd. The hopper which receives the grain from the buckets
or skips, stores it for any convenient time and from which it is weighed and
delivered in bulk of parcels. 3rd. The travelling storage bins, which, when
required, receive the grain from the hopper and store it until barges or other
conveyances are in attendance to receive it.
The bucket or skip is usually of steel and has a capacity of about 50 bushels. It
is of peculiar construction, and instead of being suspended by the usual "bail" and
being emptied by the manual labor of turning it over it is attached to the crane or
lifting gear by a central vertical rod. The bottom of the bucket or skip is loose or
hinged in any number of parts opening downwards, each part being connected by
link or chain with the central sustaining rod. The sides of the skip have
external projections, or are so formed that it may be supported in a seat
while allowing the bottom to fall open freely. By this arrangement the bottom
of the skip is kept closed when being lifted, and on being lowered to its seat
over the hopper or receiver the bottom falls and the grain is discharged. The
bottom is automatically closed and the skip made ready for re-filling by the
lifting action of the crane in removing the skip from off its seat.

page_text: The hopper which receives the grain is a tank or box of any convenient shape,
usually closed entirely except the inlet on which the skip sits when discharging the
grain, and having any convenient number of hopper shaped outlets by which the
grain is allowed to pass out to the weighing machines or other receivers. These
outlets are fitted with valves which may be worked from the front or rear, or both.
The hopper is supported at a convenient height upon framing of sufficient strength;
a floor is provided for the weighing machines and an external platform upon which
the weighers stand, the whole structure being mounted on wheels for transport from
place to place. Ordinary sack weighing machines are employed, but the box in
which the grain is received is of special design. When receiving the grain it is
closed except the inlet. A door is provided in front of the top which the weigher
opens and adjusts the quantity of grain to the required weight. This done a sliding
door in the face of the box is opened and the grain is allowed to run into sacks, or
barges, or bins.
These hoppers are often placed upon dolphins or detached stages built in the
water at about a vessel's width from the quay. The ship being discharged is placed
on one side of the dolphin and the barge receiving on the other. It is sometimes
necessary to vary the positions of these; the hoppers are therefore so constructed
that they may work with the vessel on either side. To obtain this result the
sloping floor of the hopper is made reversible in order to guide the grain in either
direction as desired, i.c., to either of a double set of outlets, one at either side. The
vessel is sometimes placed between the dolphin and the quay, and is simultaneously
discharged through the dolphin hoppers into barges, and through similar hoppers on
the quay into travelling bins or other receivers. This is generally done when great
speed is desired and the landed grain has immediately or within a short time to be
delivered into barges or other conveyances. To avoid the labor and expense of
depositing the grain in a warehouse for so short a time large bins are provided, each
holding about 20 tons. They are mounted on wheels running on tramways between
the hoppers and berths of the receiving barges. These bins have a covering to
protect the contents from the weather and a number of sliding doors on each side to
regulate the outflow of the grain to the barges. It is sometimes required that the
grain be sacked and weighed on delivery; to accomplish this nozzles are fitted to
some of the outlets which contract and divert the flow of grain into the mouths of
sacks supported on weighing machines.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederic Eliot Duckham in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
October 1879.
FREDERIC ELIOT DUCKHAM, of Milwall, in the County of Middlesex.
"IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING AND WEIGHING GRAIN CARGOES,
PARTLY APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
The apparatus of my Invention comprises three principal parts, all of which are
usually employed in combination. 1st. A bucket or skip, which after being filled
with grain in the ship's hold and lifted by a crane onto the grain receiving
and discharging hopper, discharges itself automatically therein. 2nd. A grain
receiving and discharging hopper which receives the grain from the buckets or
skips, stores it if desired for any convenient time, and from which it is weighed and
delivered in bulk or parcels. 3rd. Travelling storage bins, which when required
receive the grain from the hopper and store it until barges or other conveyances are
in attendance to receive it.
In order that my Invention may be more readily understood I have illustrated it
in the accompanying Drawings, and I will proceed to describe it in detail with
reference thereto. Figure 1 shows in cross section and elevation the general
arrangement and operation of the apparatus.
The bucket or skip is represented in cross section at A, and in elevation at A²
and the grain receiving and discharging hopper is likewise illustrated in cross
section at B, in end elevation at B¹, and in part sectional front elevation at B³,
Figure 2. At C, Figure 1, is shown in cross section a travelling storage bin, which
is also shown in end elevation as closed for transport at C¹, Figure 3. The bucket
or skip A, A¹, is usually made of steel and of a capacity of about 50 bushels. It is
of peculiar construction, and instead of being suspended by the usual "bail" and
emptied by the manual labor of turning it over it is attached to the crane or lifting
gear by a central vertical rod a. The bottom of the bucket or skip is loose, and
either in one piece fixed directly to the lower end of the rod a and of rather conical
form to throw the grain off when it is opened, or it may consist of two or any other
number of parts or plates b hinged to a central cross bar and opening downwards,
each part being connected by a link or chain c with the central sustaining rod a, so
that in either case so long as the weight of the skip and its contents is upon the
central rod the bottom of the skip is kept closed. The sides of the skip have
external projections, or are so formed that it may be supported in a seat d while
allowing the bottom to fall open freely. By this arrangement the bottom of the
skip is kept closed when being lifted, and on being lowered to its seat over the
hopper or receiver B the bottom falls or is pressed downwards by the weight of the
grain upon it and the grain is discharged.
The bottom is automatically closed and the skip made ready for refilling by the
lifting action of the crane in removing the skip from off its seat. d¹ are iron guides
to direct the skip and enable it to be expeditiously lowered accurately into its
seat d. The hopper B which receives the grain is a tank or box of any convenient
shape, usually closed entirely except the inlet d on which the skip A sits when dis-
charging the grain, and having any convenient number of discharging hopper
shaped outlets e arranged in double series one along each side. These outlets are
fitted with valves f which may be worked from front or rear, or both, and which
when open allow the grain to pass to the weighing machines g or other receivers.
h is a reversible sloping shoot between the two series of discharging hoppers e
arranged so as to be capable of being moved from one side to the other, as indicated
by the dotted lines, in order to cover the one set of discharge hoppers and guide the

page_text: 1
grain into the other set. The hopper is supported at a convenient height upon a
framing of sufficient strength, and a floor ; is provided for the weighing machines g
and an external platform k upon which the weighers stand, the whole structure
_ being mounted on wheels for transport from place to place. Ordinary sack weighing
machines are employed, but the boxes i in which the grain is received to be weighed
are of special design. When receiving the grain each box is closed except the inlet.
A door is provided in front at the top, which when the box is full is opened by
the weigher in order to add or deduct grain to make up the required weight. This
done a sliding door m in the face of the box i is opened and the grain is allowed to
run into sacks, or barges, or bins, according to circumstances. These boxes i have
sloping bottoms, so as to freely discharge the whole of the grain, and they are fixed
on the weighing machines and are moved therewith across the floor when the
other set of hoppers e is to be used. These hoppers are often placed, as shown
at B' in Figure 1, upon dolphins or detached stages built in the water at about
a vessel's width from the quay. The ship being discharged is generally placed
between the dolphin and the quay, as shown in Figure 1, and is simultaneously dis-
charged through the hopper or receiver B¹ on the dolphin into barges on the other
side of the dolphin, and through a similar hopper B on the quay into travelling bins
or receivers. As it is sometimes necessary to vary the positions of these the
hoppers B, B¹, are therefore so constructed that they may work with the vessel
. on either side, and with this object they are furnished with the double set of
discharge hoppers, weigher's platforms k, and shoots o; and the shoot h is made
reversible, as above-described. This is _done_when_ great speed is desired and
the landed grain has immediately or within a short time to be delivered into
barges or other conveyances. To avoid the labor and expense of depositing the
grain in a warehouse for so short a time large bins C are provided each holding
about 20 tons. They are mounted on wheels running on tramways between the
hoppers and berths of the receiving barges. These bins have a covering p to protect
the contents from the weather, and a number of sliding doors r, r, on each side to
regulate the outflow of the grain. It is sometimes required that the grain be sacked
and weighed on delivery, as at C¹, Figure 3. To accomplish this hoods or nozzles 8, 8,
are temporarily fitted to some of the outlets, which contract and divert the flow of
grain into the mouth of sacks supported in the usual manner on weighing machines.
These hoods or nozzles s are fitted in any convenient manner so as to be readily
applied and removed; for example, they may have side flanges which slide between
guides permanently fixed at either side of the outlet, or fixed with thumb screws
passing through holes in the flanges into tapped holes in the slides of doors 7, 7.
Each hood or nozzle 8 is provided with a valve 8¹ to regulate the flow.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The self closing and self discharging skip, constructed and operating sub-
stantially as specified.
2nd. A travelling grain receiving and discharging hopper, arranged and con-
structed substantially as shown and described, to receive the grain from the skip
and weigh it into sacks or other receptacles.
3rd. In a grain receiver or hopper the combination with two series of hopper
shaped discharge outlets e of a reversible shoot h adapted to cover either of the two
sets of outlets and guide the grain into the other set at will, subtsantially as shown
and described.
4th. In a grain receiver or hopper constructed as herein shown and described,
the use in combination with either of two sets of discharge outlets e of a single set of
boxes i constructed as described, and mounted on movable weighing machines,
substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.
5th. The travelling storage bin provided with series of sliding doors at each side,
as shown and described.

page_text: 6th. The discharge nozzles or hoods s to be applied to the sliding doors of the
travelling bin when discharging into sacks, said nozzles or hoods being each provided
with a valve to regulate the flow, as shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederic Eliot Duckham, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
FRED. E. DUCKHAM. (L.S.)