Improvements in and Apparatus for Charging Inclined Gas Retorts.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1898
Complete Specification Left. 25th Oct. 1898-Accepted 3rd Dec. 1808
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for Charging Inclined Gas Retorts.
i.
MAURICE GRAHAM,, 79 and 80, Amberley House, Norfolk Street, Strand,
London, Engineer," do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the improvements in and apparatus for charging
inclined gas retorts. Over the beds or bench of inclined retort settings, large
coal storage tanks & measuring chambers are usually fixed. The latter are
constructed upon the "shot pouch" principle, i.e., when the top valve is open,
the bottom one is shut & vice versa.
My improvements are as follows:-
$
1. I use a measuring chamber & top & bottom slides as generally used, but to
effect my object of shutting the top aperture, opening or inlet, before the bottom
aperture, opening or exit is opened at all, and vice versa; to shut the bottom exit,
before the top inlet or opening is opened at all-and thus prevent the material
(which may be contained in tanks above) from entering, until the whole of the
material (which is contained in the chamber) has fallen through the exit opening.
I make the slides, doors or valves of a size, section; and shape that they, when
connected indirectly together by means of a main lever or levers & connecting rod
or rods will (when this top aperture is full shut & the bottom one full open)
after travelling the length of the top or bottom opening or aperture respectively,
will close both openings, and again after travelling a further distance, equal to
the lengths of these respective openings, will full open the top aperture & close
the bottom opening.
By the combination as described, this prevents any bye-passing of the material
from the top tank & consequently, correct measurement is obtained.
2. By the arrangement just described it is possible to open the bottom slide
gradually, and thus increase the area of the exit or opening at the same rate, but
no provision has been made for preventing the bottom slide being closed before
the coal is all out of the chamber.
My improvement consists therefore of fixing to the connecting rods, levers or
slides, a rack & pall so that when the slide is being opened, the rack or pall will
be operated at the same time & prevent the slide being shut or worked backwards,
until the slide comes to the end of the stroke and the aperture at the bottom of
the chamber is full open.
The rack then has passed the pall, and upon the slide & rack returning, the
pall is pushed in its circular path upwards and cannot obstruct the travel, as it
is not engaged with the rack. When however the slide is full shut, the pall
again returns to its working path & engages with the rack again. The object. of
this is to obtain if necessary, especially in charging inclined retorts, a steady
& gradual fall of coal from the measuring.chamber.

page_text: these respective openings, will full open the top aperture and close the bottom
opening.
By the combination as described, this prevents any bye-passing of the material
from the top tank d and consequently, correct measurement will be obtained.
By the arrangement just described it is possible to open the bottom slide à¹
gradually, and thus increase the area of the exit or opening at the same rate,
but no provision has yet been made for preventing the bottom slide a being.
closed before the coal is all out of the chamber e.
My improvement consists therefore of fixing to the connecting rods, levers, or
slides, a rack and pall so that when the slide is being opened, the rack i or
pall will be operated at the same time and prevent the slide a being shut or
worked backwards (because the movement would be gainst the pall) until the
slide a comes to the end of the stroke and the aperture at the bottom of
the chamber. is full open.
The rack then has passed the pall j, and upon the slide and rack i
returning, the pall is pushed in its circular path upwards and cannot obstruct
the travel, as it is not engaged with the rack i. When however the slide a¹ is
full shut, the pall again returns to its working path and engages with the rack i
again. The object of this is to obtain if necessary, especially in charging
inclined retorts, a steady and gradual fall of coal from the measuring chamber.
I attain the same object by improving upon a Patent granted to me No. 2937 of
1894 in which I have a flap which is hinged above the bottom slide or door of
the chamber and which is the full length of the opening. No coal can fall from
the measuring chamber until the bottom slide is full open and then the flap
falls and allows the coal to fall down; at the same time the falling coal keeps
this hinged flap down and prevents the slide being shut until the coal is all out.
In conjunction with my Patent No. 2937 of 1894 therefore, my improvement con-
sists in having this said flap in two or more pieces, so that when the bottom slide
is being opened each piece of the falling flap will come down in turn and the
area of the opening gradually increased, at the same time the slide will be
prevented from being closed as before explained, until all the coal has fallen from
the chamber.
At the base of the measuring chamber in Fig. 1, I provide two slides k for
regulating the flow of material.
In Fig. 2, and represents the positions of the two slides when the bottom
slide is full open and top slide a is full shut by the first movement of the lever f.
b, and b, represents the position of the two slides when the slides have travelled
the length of the opening and have closed the top by the second movement of
the lever f. c, and c, represents the position when the bottom slide is full shut
and the top slide is full open (just the reverse of the first movement) by the third
movement of the lever f.
In Fig. 8, I attach to the chamber e two axles and with a male and female
joint so that the said axles work independently of one another. To each axle I
bolt flaps m and at the ends of the axles I key weighted levers.m.
It will be understood that the foregoing is given by way of illustrating and that
the shapes, materials, and parts, or combination of parts of the levers, locking
gear or the like may be varied in many ways within the scope of the invention.
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. In an apparatus for charging inclined gas retorts, the combination of the
connecting rods, levers, slides, rack and pall, with the measuring chamber, the
rack and pall operating at the same time to regulate the slide in its movements at
or mear the aperture at the bottom of the chamber, substantially as herein
described.
2. In an apparatus for charging inclined gas retorts, the combination of a