or Improved Apparatus for Loading Coal or like Mineral into Ships or the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 21st Dec., 1893-Accepted, 13th Feb., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
New or Improved Apparatus for Loading Coal or like Mineral into
Ships or the like.
We, EDWARD WILLIAM CRONE, Mining Engineer, and ROBERT WIGHT, Colliery
Engineer, both of Killingworth, in the County of Northumberland, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to new or improved apparatus for loading coal or like
mineral into ships or the like and his for its object to save breakage of the mineral.
To effect our purpose we propose to employ a telescopic arrangement of tubes
designed to act as shoots, the whole being adapted to be suspended in any desired
position-from a crane jib or gears as found convenient and to be raised or lowered
according to the tide or otherwise.
The tubes may be of any convenient cross section circular oval or otherwise whilst
longitudinally the section may be cylindrical or in some cases slightly conical as
required.
The upper tube will have provided on it shoes or the equivalents thereof through
or in which the guide bars on the next or lower tube will work and the second tube
will have a similar arrangement for the guide bars on the tube beneath it to pass
through or work in and in like manner for any required number of tubes.
At the base of the upper and other tubes there may be an angle iron ring. or
equivalent stop device and at the upper extremity of the other tubes there may be a
like arrangement so that when fully extended one tube can hang from an upper one
but as already foreshadowed the lowest and intermediate tubes will be provided with
more or less rigid guide bars extending upwards from each of them and working as
above described in a shoe or guide in the tube above.
These guide bars or some of them will be coupled to a rope chain or equivalent
device leading to for example the barrels of a crane or engine so that the lowest tube
can be raised or lowered to the required degree independently of the other tubes and
supposing it has been raised until it encloses the next tube above it then the two
concentric tubes can be raised together until they enclose the next tube above and so
on telescopically while similarly they can be lowered when required to their original
or any other intermediate position.
In practice therefore the coal from the wagons will first be tipped into movable
sloping or other spouts whose extremities will merge into and be suitably connected
with the upper extremity of the telescopic arrangement described.
The coal will thus fall down the tubes and very soon a heap will be formed at the
tube base; tipping will be continued till the tubes and shoots are full; then the
lowest length of tube will be raised from the ship's bottom slightly to allow the con-
tained mineral to escape and be distributed in the hold. There will thus be a gradual
lifting of the tubes synchronous with wagon-tipping at the upper end and the
distribution of the coal in the hold at the other end of the apparatus until the heap of
mineral is level with the ship's combings when the telescopic apparatus will be
removed sloping shoot lowered to the mineral and shipping continued in the usual
way by which means the coal is prevented from falling (excepting the first load or
two) and thus breakage is reduced to a minimum.

page_text: By slightly bell-mouthing the lowest tube the friction at the first lift can be
materially reduced.
In certain cases instead of lifting and lowering the tubes as described they may be
worked by rack and pinion or like mechanical gear manually or by power as
desired.
The apparatus will be found specially applicable to spouts whose levels are alterable
with the varying levels of the tide.
Dated this 21st day of March 1896
A. CRAWHALL CHAPMAN,
3 St. Nicholas Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus for Loading Coal or like Mineral into
Ships or the like.
We, EDWARD WILLIAM CRONE, Mining Engineer, and ROBERT WIGHT, Colliery
Engineer, both of Killingworth in the County of Northumberland, 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 new or improved apparatus for loading coal or like mineral
into ships or the like and has for its object primarily to save breakage of the mineral;
other important advantages, however, accrue by the use of our invention, amongst
which we may mention better distribution of the coal and avoidance of the trouble
caused by the smaller coal going to the in-side and the larger to the off-side of the
ship, and the prevention of large masses of fine dust accumulating in the vicinity of
the ship's hatchways which are known to be a source of danger, especially in long
voyages.
To effect our purpose we employ a telescopic arrangement of tubes designed to act
as shoots, the whole being adapted to be suspended in any desired position from a
crane jib or gears as found convenient and to be raised or lowered according to the
tide or otherwise.
We will now fully describe our invention in reference to the accompanying
drawings in which :-
Figure 1 is a general elevation showing our complete apparatus arranged upon a
coal shipping staith and ready to commence loading a vessel.
Figure 2 is an elevation of the telescopic shoot fully extended.
Figure 3 is a vertical section taken at right angles to Figure 2 and Figure 4 is a
part elevation thereof.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section on line X Y in Figures 2 and 3.
Our apparatus consists of several sections or tubes each larger than the preceding
one so that the whole may be opened and closed telescopically, suitable rings,
guides, and bars being provided for suspension and to ensure their proper
movements.
The tubes may be of any convenient cross section, circular, oval or otherwise,
whilst longitudinally, the section may be parallel, or in some cases, slightly conical as
. required.
In the drawings three tubes A, B and C of oval cross section are shown; the top
one, A, is parallel throughout its length, but the other two, B and C, are coned
slightly. Referring to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, the tube A has secured to its bottom
end an external angle iron ring a on which hangs, when extended, the tube B by a
similar internal ring b. Similarly the tube Changs by its ring from another
ring on tube B." Fixed to the tube Care guide bars c c adapted to work

page_text: through the angle iron guide ring & riveted on the tube B, while again, the latter.
carries like bars whose movement is guided by the ring ' on tube A.
Thus the tubes, of which there may be any number within reasonable limits,
may be worked easily and as required.
Referring now to Figure 1, D is a steam or other motor driven crane with two-
winch barrels d and d'. The telescopic shoot is suspended from the barrel d by chain
or roped connected to the upper tube A at a² a², and the last tube of the series, C,.
is raised and lowered independently by the barrel di, chain or rope d³ connected to
the crosshead E, and chains or ropes e e depending therefrom and connected to the
guide bars eeeel are guide pulleys mounted in the crosshead E for the chain or
rope d and e' e' are rings for the attachment of guys.
The operation of our invention is as follows:-
At the commencement of loading, as illustrated in Figure 1, the shoot is lowered
into the hold of the ship and its upper end secured in any convenient manner to the
lower end of the movable sloping spout or shoot F; then the shoot is run out to its.
full length, when the hottom of the last tube, C, will touch the vessel's floor.
The coal or other mineral is emptied from wagons into the top of one of a number
of fixed shoots or spouts F through which it runs into the movable sloping shoot or
spout F and into the telescope until it and the shoots are full, then, on slightly raising
the bottom tube C, the coal or the like passes out gently into the hold, the supply
being maintained by tipping more wagons so as to keep the shoots full; the tabe C
during loading is gradually raised, and, in course of time, the tube B also to allow for
the increasing heap of coal.
In Figure 1, by the full line position of the apparatus, the tube C is shown:
slightly raised and the heap beginning to form.
When the telescopic shoot has been closed to its full extent, having regard to-
the position of the movable shoot F, the said shoot is raised to a higher fixed
shoot and the telescopic shoot, after being secured at its upper end as before,.
extended for the requisite distance to meet the heap of material.
The tipping is then continued as before described until the heap reaches the top of
the hatchway, when the telescopic shoot will have been closed into its smallest compass,
all as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The telescopic shoot is now removed.
and the movable sloping one Flowered onto the top of the heap and the loading:
continued in the usual way.
Thus it will be seen that in our apparatus there is a gradual lifting of the tubes
synchronous with wagon tipping at the upper end and the distribution of the coal in
the hold at the other, by which means the coal is prevented from falling (except.
the first load or two) and breakage is reduced to a minimum, this being further
aided by the top of the heap forming a support for the shoot and contained coal.
so that the feed is always steady and gentle.
By slightly bell-mouthing the lowest tube, the friction at the first lift can be
materially reduced.
In certain cases, instead of lifting and lowering the tubes as described, they may
be worked by rack and pinion or like mechanical gear, manually or by power as
desired.
The apparatus will be found specially applicable to spouts whose levels are
alterable with the varying levels of the tide.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The improved apparatus for loading coal or the like into ships, arranged and
operating substantially as herein described.
2. For use in loading coal or the like into ships, a telescopic arrangement of tubular
shoot constructed and adapted to be manipulated as explained and suspended from a
crane suitably operated, fixed sloping shoots, and a movable sloping shoot capable of
forming a connecting shoot between any of the said fixed shoots and the top of the

page_text: suspended telescopic shoot, the whole arranged and adapted to operate substantially
as described with reference to the accompanying drawings..
Dated this 19th day of December 1896.
Dated this 19th day of December 1896.
For the Applicants,
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., and
3 St. Nicholas Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Chartered Patent Agent.