Improvements to Facilitate the Unloading of Bulk Coal, Grain, or other Material from Ships' Holds or other Storages.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1898-Accepted, 16th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements to Facilitate the Unloading of Bulk Coal, Grain, or
other Material from Ships' Holds or other Storages.
I, JAMES ROBERTS, of 21, Chaucer Street, Moonee Ponds, in the Colony of
Victoria, Engineer, 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: —
This invention relates to the overcoming of the difficulty now experienced in
rapidly and cheaply unloading small and large coal, ore, grain, bags and other
bulk cargo from ships holds and other storages. In order to save a large portion
of the costs of the unloading, and of the time necessary therefor, it is, I find
necessary to begin by loading in a special manner, that is to say not solidly and
the novel means I employ for this object is a trunk which I insert in the hold
or like place before loading. The cargo on being then put in fills up the hold
space all except that occupied by the trunk. This trunk is placed in any suit-
able position, its top being readily accessible when the full load is in the hold.
The trunk is ordinarily movable at suitable times to facilitate the unloading.
It is essential that the trunk be hollow, allowing free passage for the insertion of
the trays, buckets or equivalents, and the connected framing of an elevator, or
conveyor; and to enable this trunk to answer its purpose, one half or other
sufficient portion of it is in sections which are successively removable so as to
provide an opening to the interior of the trunk at any point of its height. By
regulating the position of the said opening low enough, certain kinds of cargo
will flow by gravitation directly into the ascending buckets or the like, of the
elevator, the descending buckets being so protected and enclosed by the trunk,
that no cargo can obstruct their travel. Breakages and other damage are thus
averted. When assistance by shovelling the cargo, or otherwise, is needed it may
be rendered, and in such cases, the position of the shoot and of the elevator com-
bined therewith will be favorable for rapid easy unloading.
The accompanying diagrams whilst not intended to show details which any
capable mechanic in this art would be able to design and provide, and whilst not
intended to limit the invention to what is thereby shown are sufficient to make
clear what it is I claim.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing a trunk, an elevator being therein fixed.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the said trunk and elevator buckets on a larger
scale. Figure 3 is another trunk and elevator in side elevation. Those buckets
of the elevator which are within the trunk are shown dotted in Figures 1 and 3.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section (on a larger scale) through the trunk and elevator
in Figure 3.
A is the trunk, and Z the coaming of the hatch, to which the trunk head B
is affixed, either permanently or temporarily, although the trunk may be other-
wise supported. The inclination of the trunk may be varied, so that it may if
desired be vertical. Y is the floor or base of the hold of a ship, or other place
wherein cargo such as coal, grain etc. is loaded, the said floor serving to support
D
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page_text: the trunk in whatever position it may be adjusted from time to time. The trunk
is made collapsible in some cases so as when placed against the bulkheads out of
use, it may be made to occupy less space than when ready to receive, or when
containing the elevator. As shown however it is non collapsing with respective
side sections D), E bolted to the back, and having in the front a series of doors F
these being held in place by guides at their sides. These doors may be drawn
up out of their guides, beginning with the uppermost door; as the coal etc. is
removed so as to make accessible the top of the next door, that too will become
removable and so on. His the hollow within the trunk, and into this hollow
the elevator mechanism J having buckets K is lowered. L is that part of the
The axle
elevator framing against which the buckets will slide in their ascent.
of the wheel or the like M Figure 3 around which the buckets K move, is sup-
ported in bearings on side extensions N of the framing L, or bearings affixed
to the trunk itself. The doors F have interior ledges P so that if any coal falls
between a bucket and the trunk it will strike a ledge and will be precipitated
into another bucket lower down. Thus the cargo will not obstruct the upward
travel of the buckets. The coal (represented at X Figure 1) will by gravity
cover up the buckets exposed upon the removal of the uppermost door, and as
soon as the coal thereupon flowing into the buckets (with if desired the aid of
appliances or men to move coal at a distance to said buckets) has been removed
by the elevator, the next door will be removed and so on.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is: :-
1. A hollow trunk having removable doors, and an elevating mechanism within
said trunk in combination substantially as set forth for the removal of coal or the
like from ships holds and the like.
2. In a trunk for the purposes specified removable doors having ledges as P
for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 19th dow of Mo 1808
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
Agents, 40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.