IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING COAL OR THE LIKE MATERIAL BY THE WASHING PROCESS
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1886
Complete Left, 29th Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 30th Sept., 1887.
Material by the Washing Process.
I, ROBERT DIXON, of Crook, in the County of Durham, Colliery Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
PURIFYING COAL OR THE LIKE MATERIAL BY THE WASHING PROCESS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for the treatment of coal or other
substances largely mixed with dirt and impurities which are of different specific
gravity, and is designed to effect their separation from the coal or other substance by
the process of washing, the apparatus being constructed to float the coal in its transit
through the washing tank to the coal outlet, whilst the particles of rubbish or
impurities of greater specific gravity descend to a rubbish box communicating with
the bottom of the tank, from which they are conveyed away by means of tipping or
discharging boxes.
The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for carrying out the
above process in which the combination of parts and their mechanical action is simple
and effective.
In constructing an apparatus according to my invention, I provide a metal tank
which is the washing tank, and is preferably of semi-cylindrical form, but which may
be varied in form to suit the general design of the apparatus. This tank is the
receptacle into which the coal or other material is delivered and in which, by means of
a rotating agitator, it is subjected to the action of water until the impurities or particles
of rubbish are separated from the coal, and owing to their greater specific gravity
descend to the tank bottom, whilst the coal floats as it is conveyed by the rotating
agitator to the coal outlet, the coal or other material being delivered into one end of
the tank and discharged at the other end. The rotating agitator is mounted on a shaft
and revolves lengthwise of the tank and is provided with fixed blades or paddles set
to a pitch or thrust so as to both agitate the coal and convey it from the delivery to the
discharge end of the tank.

page_text: The precise method of mounting and constructing the rotating agitator can
be varied to effect this object without departing from the nature of my invention.
Underneath the tank, and running the full length thereof, is provided the rubbish
box which communicates with the tank by one or more suitable openings so that
the impurities and rubbish as they descend to the tank bottom can pass down into
the rubbish box; from the rubbish box they are discharged into tipping boxes by
means of openings controlled by slides, the arrangement being as follows:-
In the case of four tipping or discharging boxes being provided to receive the
material accumulated in the rubbish box, I provide two slides, one at each end of the
apparatus, these slides may be operated by means of a pinion and rack, the rack
extending from the end of the slide and engaging with the pinion which is worked by
a crank or hand wheel, other equivalent mechanical arrangement may be substituted
for this, each slide controls two openings and is so adjusted to their position that only
one of the two openings can be uncovered at the same time, whilst the slide can cover
both openings when required. The tipping boxes are specially constructed, balanced,
and controlled by levers so that if moved down from the positions they occupy in
contact with the rubbish box they will turn over on their pivots or trunnions to
discharge their contents, and when empty will again regain their proper position, the
tipping boxes are moved out of their places for this purpose, and lifted back again
by means of the lovers in which their pivots or trunnions revolve, and are sustained in
position and with sufficient pressure under the rubbish box by a balance weight at the
other end of the lever, packing of any suitable kind being used to make the contact
water tight.
A constant supply of water to the tank is provided by means of a pipe or tube
placed the full length of the rubbish box at its upper part and perforated on the
underside so that the water may be discharged therefrom in jets, so as to flow with
pressure into the rubbish box and tank, or in the place of this arrangement, I provide
two main pipes running at the sides of the tank with downcomers extending either
the half or the whole way down the inside of the tank and pitched to come clear of the
paddles or blades of the rotating agitator, the ends of the pipes can either be left open
or provided with small wind bores.
Dh: 571
T
1
1000

page_text: Material by the Washing Process.
I, ROBERT DIXON, of Crook, in the County of Durham, Colliery Agent, 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:-
My Invention, which relates to machinery or apparatus for the treatment of coal or
other substance mixed with impurities of a different specific gravity, is designed to
effect the purification of the coal or other substance by the process of washing.
The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for carrying out the washing
process, in which the combination of parts and their mechanical action afford a simple
and effective means of separating even the smallest particles of coal from the heavier
impurities.
In carrying out my invention the mechanisin or apparatus employed consists of an
open topped horizontal tank with its bottom part open to or forming a channel or
trough shaped rubbish box for the reception of the inipurities washed out of the coal
or other substance. Agitators, which also act as propellers, are mounted upon one or
more horizontal revolving shafts and agitate the whole of the material contained in the
tank; in some cases the action of the agitators in the body of the tank is supplemented
by a small auxiliary agitator revolving in the rubbish box. The requisite body of
water for keeping the tank full during the washing process may be supplied in any
suitable manner and by any suitable means, such as a pipe extending in a horizontal
position along the rubbish box or lower part of the tank, and perforated with small
holes through which the water issues in small jets into the rubbish box or lower part
of the tank. Outlets, provided in the bottom of the rubbish box and controlled by
slides or valves, communicate with tipping boxes for the discharge of the material
which collects in the rubbish box.
The action of the washer is as follows:-the coal or other material to be washed is
delivered into the tank at one end and by the combined action of the water and the
agitators is discharged with the overflow water at the other end, leaving behind it the
impurities which are too heavy to float and which descend to the rubbish box at
the bottom of the tank, where they are again agitated in order to set free any particles
of coal carried down with them, and to keep the contents of the rubbish box in a loose
state to facilitate the discharge thereof into the tipping boxes by means of slides as
hereinafter described. The process of separating the coal from the impurities is
facilitated by the large water space which this improved shape of tank affords in its
lower part, as well as by the distance the coal is floated from one end of the tank to
the other.
And in order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
|drawings, in which Fig. 1. illustrates a sectional view taken longitudinally

page_text: through my improved coal washing apparatus; Fig. 2. is a transverse sectional
view of the apparatus corresponding to the longitudinal sectional view in Fig. 1. The
open topped washing tank a may be of any form to suit the general design of the
apparatus, but, is preferably semi-cylindrical as illustrated in the figures, having its
bottom part open to the rubbish box b fixed underneath; c is a pipe extending along
the rubbish box and is perforated with small holes through which a continuous
supply of water flows in small jets into the tank a, which supply may be obtained by
any suitable means capable of affording the requisite pressure to float the coal, such
as a centrifugal pump or the like, by which the water can be pumped from any
available source or from a cistern or tank into which the washing tank a discharges its
overflow, and thus be used over and over again, with the advantage of returning to
the tank a the coal dust which escapes from the purified coal with the overflow
water.
The water may be supplied to the pipe c through either or both ends d, or by means
of branch pipes extending from this pipe up the sides of the tank a, the object being
to deliver the water with sufficient pressure into the lower part of the tank a to surge
up and float the coal or other material readily and so to promote its separation from
the heavier impurities.
The material under treatment whilst floating in the tank is agitated by the arms or
paddles e, which are fixed to the horizontal revolving shaft e, extending from the
delivery to the discharge end of the tank a, and are set or pitched to any angle
required to enable them to propel the material from the delivery to the discharge end
of the tank in the required manner. In the drawings the agitating arms or paddles e
in the tank a are shown extending from one revolving shaft e¹ which extends length-
wise of the washer, this arrangement can be modified by providing more than one
revolving shaft with agitating arms or paddles extending therefrom, or if preferred
the revolving shafts may be mounted crosswise of the tank.
The heavier materials, which descend to the rubbish box b, are kept in a loose state
by the operation of the agitator extending lengthwise of the rubbish box b, and which
may be constructed in any manner suitable to effect this purpose, a simple mode of
construction being that illustrated in the drawings, in which several bars are fixed
at a convenient pitch into discs secured on the rotating shaft f by which means
after liberating any particles of coal to be floated to the top of the tank, the residue
is discharged with facility through the openings into tipping boxes or the like
receptacles, this operation may be controlled by slides of any suitable construction.
In the drawings I illustrate slides specially designed for this purpose, these slides are
worked from a hand wheel by a rack and pinion or the like means and constructed so
that each slide controlls two of the four outlets g, which number will generally be
found sufficient for an ordinary sized washer; the advantage of these slides, in addition
to their simplicity of construction and mode of working, is that they can be operated
without stopping the washing process and that each slide can be arranged to open only
one outlet at a time, this is effected by adjusting the length of the slide and the
distance of its travel with reference to the size and positions of the outlets, thus when
the slide has travelled its full extent in one direction it has only opened one outlet, and
when it has travelled to its full extent in the opposite direction it has again closed the
outlet which was opened before and has only opened the other outlet.
By means of the outlets g the rubbish box b communicates with the tipping boxes h,
which are applied against the underside of the rubbish box with sufficient pressure to
prevent leakage, packing of any kind being used for this purpose. A suitable means
for effecting this which will also enable the tipping boxes to be discharged of their
contents with facility may be understood from the drawings, which illustrate the
tipping boxes supported by forked levers provided with balance weights which
keep the tipping boxes tight against the underside of the rubbish box when in position,
but which can he employed to withdraw them from position and to discharge them by
allowing them to tip over when full and to regain their original position when empty,
this being simply a matter of adjusting the shape of the tipping boxes and the position
of their trunnions for this purpose in the well known manner.

page_text: It will be readily understood that a washing apparatus of the kind herein before
described may be modified in general design or mechanical detail to adapt it to the
various conditions under which it may be required to be put in operation without
departing from the essential features which constitute my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be carried into effect, I declare that what I
claim is
:
Firstly The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved coal washing machine, substantially as herein before described and illustrated
upon the annexed sheets of drawings.
Secondly-The structural arrangement of the tank a with the rubbish box b in the
horizontal position, whereby additional water space is obtained in the lower part
of the washing tank a, substantially as and for the purpose as herein before
described.
:
Thirdly The slides employed for controlling the outlets from the rubbish box to
the tipping boxes, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Agent for the Applicant.