IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING HAMMERING, PULVERIZING, AND SEPARATING PHOSPHATES, COPROLITES, CEMENT, ORES, AND OTHER MATERIALS, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th May 1879. A communica-
tion from abroad by Clarence M. Buel, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, Mining Engineer.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING
HAMMERING, PULVERIZING, AND SEPARATING PHOSPHATES, COPROLITES, CEMENT,
ORES, AND OTHER MATERIALS, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES." [A communication
from abroad by Clarence M. Buel, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, Mining Engineer.]
This Invention relates to machinery for crushing, hammering, pulverizing, and
separating articles or substances of various kinds which require to be so treated to
fit them for the uses to which they are intended to be applied, and for which they
are not applicable until they have been crushed, pulverized, hammered, or similarly
operated upon. Amongst the articles or substances which require this treatment.
are the following, namely:-Phosphates, coprolites, cement, ores, lime, and grain of
various kinds; but the said improved machinery is applicable for all substances
which have to be operated upon in the manner above indicated, and may be used
for both dry and wet stamping.
The chief feature of the said Invention is the provision of a peculiarly constructed
spring-beam, so made and arranged that a very elastic and effective blow is given
to the substance beneath the hammer or head. The said spring-beam is made up
of laminated plates of spring-steel or flat pieces of wood formed and superposed one
upon the other in such a manner that the depth, that is to say, the thickness from
the top plates to the bottom ones of the beam increases gradually from the extremity
to which the stamp head is connected until about two thirds of the length of the
beam is reached, the depth thereof then decreasing from this point to the other
end of the beam, that is to say, for the remaining one third. The thickest part of
this spring-beam is therefore not in the centre, but at a point which is nearer to
one end of the beam than the other. In practice I find that in a beam, the total
length of which is four feet nine inches, it is best to construct it so that the thickest

page_text: or deepest portion shall be twenty one inches from the end to which the connecting
rod is secured, and, should the total length of the beam be different, it would be
desirable to observe the same proportions. The ends of the separate plates are so
tapered that when placed together to form the beam the depth of the latter
decreases evenly and regularly from the point of oscillation to each end of the beam.
The separate plates are connected at the thickest or deepest part of the beam by
strong metal bands or ties.
I provide trunnions or gudgeons, which are attached to the under side of the
said spring beam at the thickest or deepest part thereof, and project one at each
These trunnions fit into bearings
side at right angles to the length of the beam.
provided for them in upright supports, so that the beam is thus capable of oscilla-
tion. The oscillating movement is given to the said spring-beam by means of a
connecting rod hereinbefore mentioned, which is connected to a wheel driven by
the motive power employed for driving the machine. From the above description
it will be seen that the beam has one long arm and one short arm, the fulcrum
being at the thickest or deepest part of the beam; also that power is applied to the
short arm, and the blow delivered by the long arm. By this construction and
arrangement the long arm of the beam has imparted to it a movement of consi-
derable extent, with a very short stroke of the connecting rod, as, in addition to
the increased radius travelled by the long arm of the beam by reason of the
difference in the length of the two arms, there is also the advantage arising from
the fact that the long arm is very élastic, and has imparted to it a springing
motion.
The stamp bead or hammer is connected to the long arm of the beam by means
of a suitable rod working in guides, and I provide a screw of suitable length so
placed and arranged that the rod may be shortened or lengthened in order that the
travel of the stamp head may be regulated exactly as desired for different substances,
that is to say, the head may be caused to descend a greater or less distance, and
the blow to be heavier or lighter accordingly. The blow having been delivered the
natural elasticity of the spring-beam causes an immediate recoil of the head, which
is of considerable advantage in the working of such machinery.
Another feature of the said Invention relates to the employment of an air-blast
for separating the materials or substances which have been crushed or pulverized
by the stamp head. For this purpose I provide a fan, which is enclosed within a.
suitable case, whose mouth or outlet communicates directly with the coffer or
chamber in which the stamp head operates. The fan is driven by a band or belt
from a pulley on the driving shaft, and I provide a speed-pulley on the fan-shaft,
so that the speed of the fan may be changed expeditiously to suit different substances
or materials. The air-blast is sufficiently strong to carry off all the material that
has been sufficiently reduced into chambers provided for the purpose, the finest
portions being blown to the most distant chamber, and the other portions to other
chambers, according to the fineness or coarseness of the separate parts. The material
or substance which has not been sufficiently reduced remains under the stamp-head
until it has been further reduced, the blast being so controlled as to leave those
materials which are not sufficiently fine until they have been further operated
upon.
Another feature of the said Invention consists in providing special means for the
treatment of pebbles or shingle and similar substances to reduce the same to the
required fineness for use in the manufacture of pottery. For this purpose I provide
a screen on each of the four sides of the coffer, which screens consist of a frame
having secured thereon a wire mesh of the necessary fineness. Each screen is
pivoted centrally, so that it may be turned over when required to discharge the
coarse particles. When the stamp head is operating upon the pebbles, shingle, or
similar materials the four screens are placed at such an angle that they catch the
particles which are thrown out when broken by the successive blows of the stamp
head. The fine portions are washed by water passing through the said screens, and

page_text: fall upon tables provided for the purpose, and the screens may be so arranged that
as soon as a sufficient quantity of shingle has accumulated thereon they will turn
over by the force of gravity; or they may be operated by a boy or other attendant,
and the coarse portions will thus be discharged into a gutter at the side.
A machine made with a spring-beam, constructed according to the said Invention,
will be found very advantageous for putting a gloss upon or "beetling" linen and
other cloth. The said machinery is so constructed that it is very portable, none of
the separate parts being of greater weight than can be conveniently transported
from place to place. This feature of the said Invention is of great value, especially
when the machine is to be used in mountainous districts.