IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING, CLEANING. AND SEPARATING IMPURITIES FROM SMALL COAL, COKE, ASHES, OR CINDERS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaac Francis, of Pen-y-gelli, near Wrexham, in the
County of Denbigh, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
APPARATUS FOR WASHING, CLEANING. AND SEPARATING IMPURITIES FROM
SMALL COAL, COKE, ASHES, OR CINDERS."
Sealed the 11th March 1864, and dated the 19th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaac Francis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
November 1863.
I, ISAAC FRANCIS, of Pen-y-gelli, near Wrexham, in the County of Denbigh,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
APPARATUS FOR WASHING, CLEANING, AND SEPARATING IMPURITIES FROM SMALL
COAL, COKE, ASHES, OR CINDERS," to be as follows (that is to say):
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in and apparatus for
treating small coal, coke, ashes, or cinders so as to clean and separate them
from foreign matter, as in the case of small coal from pyrites, shale, and
other impurities. The apparatus consists simply in a race formed of an open
or covered spout, trough, tube, or culvert, or other passage with a smooth
bottom confined at its sides and inclined at an angle to the horizon in the
direction of its length, and which may be constructed of wood, metal, brick,
stone, or other suitable material or combination of materials, and may be
of a square, circular, or other form in vertical cross section supplied with a
stream of water, and fitted at or near its lower end with a vertical sliding

page_text: sluice valve working up through the bottom and in grooves in the sides
thereof, and which valve can be elevated or depressed at pleasure by means
of a screw or other suitable mechanical equivalent; or in lieu of the vertical
sluice valve any other convenient mechanical equivalent may be used, which
arrangement will have the effect of keeping back the heavy particles
accumulating in the bottom of the race or trough, and is capable of being
elevated as they accumulate to prevent their being washed away. The stream
of water may be supplied in any convenient manner. In using this apparatns
for the purpose ofcleaning small coal the coal to be purified is thrown or other-
wise caused to fall into the stream at the upper part of the race or trough (or
its mechanical equivalent) and is carried forward and floated or forced over
the upper edge of the vertical sluice valve or its mechanical equivalent and
falls into a wagon or other suitable receptacle. The pyrites, shale, and other
heavier impurities being deposited on the bottom of the race on the inner
or upper side of the vertical sluice valve or its mechanical equivalent, which
valve or its mechanical equivalent is to be gradually elevated as the foreign
matters accumulate to prevent their escape until it is requisite to withdraw
them, which may be done by lowering the vertical sluice valve and ejecting
them from the bed of the race and be received into a wagon or other suitable
depository, or in any other convenient way. When a spout or open trough
is used, it may be so mounted as to be capable of being turned over, inverted,
or tilted on its longitudinal or transverse axis for the purpose of discharging
the deposit. Coke, ashes, and cinders are treated in the same way as small
coal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Isaac Francis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAO
FRANCIS, of Pen-y-gelli, near Wrexham, in the County of Denbigh, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand'eight hundred and sixty-three,in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,give and grant unto me,
the said Isaac Francis, Her special licence that I, the said Isaac Francis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: Isaac Francis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING CLEANING, AND SEPARATING IMPURITIES
FROM SMALL COAL, COKE, ASHES, OR CINDERS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Isaac Francis, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Isaac Francis, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention,and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
that is to say):-
That this, my said Invention has for its object certain improvements in
and apparatus for treating small ccal, coke, ashes, or cinders, so as to clean
and separate them from foreign matter, as in the case of small coal from
pyrites, shale, and other impurities. This apparatus consists simply in a race
formed of an open or covered spout, trough, tube, or culvert, or other passage,
with a smooth bottom, confined at its sides, and inclined at an angle to the
horizon in the direction of its length,and which may be constructed of wood,
metal, brick, or stone, or other suitable material or combination of materials,
and may be of a square, circular, or other form, in vertical cross section,
supplied with a stream of water, and fitted at or near its lower end with a
vertical sliding sluice valve working up through the bottom, and in grooves in
the sides thereof, and which valve can be elevated or depressed at pleasure by
means of a screw or other suitable mechanical equivalent, or in lieu of the
vertical sluice valve any other convenient mechanical equivalent maybe used,
which arrangement will have the effect of keeping back the heavy particle
accumulating in the bottom of the race or trough, and is capable of being
elevated as they accumulate, to prevent their being washed away.
inclination of the trough itself maybe so gradually changed as to havea similar
effect. The stream of water may be supplied in any convenient manner. In
using this apparatus for the purpose of cleaning small coal, the coal to be
purified is thrown or otherwise caused to fall into the stream of the upper
part of the race or trough,or its mechanical equivalent, and is carried forward
Or the

page_text: or floated, or forced over the upper edge of the vertical sluice valve or its
mechanical equivalent, and falls into a wagon or other suitable receptacle.
The pyrites,shale,and other heavier impurities being deposited on the bottom
of the race on the inner or upper side of the vertical sluice valve or its
mechanical equivalent, which valve, or its mechanical equivalent, is to be
escape
gradually elevated as the foreign matter accumulates, to prevent their
until it is required to withdraw them, which may be done by lowering the
vertical sluice valve and ejecting them from the bed of the race and depositing
them into the wagon or other suitable receptacle, or in any other convenient
way. When a spout or open trough is used it may be so mounted as to be
capable of being turned over, inverted, or tilted on its longitudinal or trans-
verse axis, for the purpose of discharging the deposit. Coke, ashes, and
cinders I treat in the same way as small coal.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood,
I have hereunto annexed Drawings in partial illustration of several modifica-
tions of my Invention and the mode of working the same, like letters marked
thereon being used to denote similar parts.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, shewn partly in section, an arrangement of
apparatus which I have found by practice well suited to carryout the objects
of my Invention, and which I have here shewn on a scale of about three-
sixteenths of an inch to one foot.
A is an elevated railway for conveying the unclean coal, coke, cinders, or
ashes from the mouth of the pit or other place; B, a railway wagon fitted
with a trap to bottom, through which, when open, the coal, coke, cinders, or
ashes to be acted upon fall into; C, a hopper, fitted at the bottom with Da
slide valve, through which the material to be operated upon falls into Ea
trough, spout, or race, mounted on F a pivot or transverse axle, to enable it
purpose of
to be turned up to the position shewn by the dotted lines, for the
discharging the residuum or refuse through g, a swinging valve or port, on
the inner or rear end of the trough, and which is kept closed by g', a set
screw on the stationary frame of the apparatus, which keeps the race or
trough in position; G, a verticle sluice valve, working through the bottom of
the trough, and capable of being elevated or depressed by H, a screwed shaft,
working through a stationary bearing fixed to the sides of the trough; h, a
crank handle, through which the attendant regulates the height of the sluice
valve; I, the stationary framework upon which the spout or trough is mounted,
and which carries on each side J, a stage for the attendant to stand upon
N is a portion of the outer end of the spaut or race, which is perforated at
the bottom to allow the water to pass therethrough; P, the pipe, through

page_text: which the water is conveyed from any convenient source into the trough
or race (E); Q is a hopper-shaped wagon with a perforated bottom for
receiving the clean coal, coke, cinders, or ashes; R, a wagon for receiving
the refuse from the spout (E) when turned to the position shewn by the
dotted lines.
:
The action of this apparatus is as follows:-The wagon (B) is placed so as
to be. immediately over the hopper (C); when the bolt of the trap at the
bottom of the wagon is withdrawn the material to be operated upon falls into
the hopper (C), and from thence it falls into the inclined trough, spout, or
race (E), immediately in front of the water supply (P); from thence it is
carried onward by the current towards the vertical slide valve or clough (G),
over which the clean coal, coke, cinders, or ashes escape, the pyrites or other
impurities being trapped or retained in the race or spout in rear of the slide
valve or clough (G), which is elevated as the impurities accumulate in the
bottom of the race or trough. And when requisite to discharge such impuri-
ties, all that is required to be done is to relieve the swinging valve or port (g)
from the pressure of the said screw (g) and tilt the spout or trough (E) to
the position shewn by the dotted lines, when the impurities in the bottom of
the trough discharge themselves into the refuse wagon (R), after which the
trough (E) I return to its normal position, and again secure it in position by
means of the set screw (g'), when the apparatus is again ready for repeating
the operation, and so on as often as required.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, illustrating the application of my
Invention to a stationary trough, spout, or race, and an arrangement for
washing, cleaning, and separating the large and small coal, coke, cinders, or
ashes. (Drawn on a scale of about half an inch to the foot.
C, a hopper, seen as containing a mixture of large and small coal, and
which, like the hopper in the last modification, is fitted at the bottom with
D, a slide valve for regulating the discharge, and through which the materials
to be operated upon tall on to S, a series of inclined bars or a perforated plate,
down which the larger lumps of material slide, and fall into a wagon or other
suitable receptacle; the smaller particles, passing throughthe bars, or perforated
plate, fall into T, a stationary race, which is fitted on its outer end with G, a
vertical clough or slide valve, actuated by H, a screwed rod, fitted with h, a
crank handle, for actuating the same; N, a portion of the outer end of the
race, which is perforated to allow the water to pass therethrough; P, the
water supply pipe; V, a trap valve, fitted in the bottom of the stationary
race (T) immediately in rear of the vertical clough or slide valve (G),

page_text: through which the pyrites and other impurities are discharged periodically.or
as otherwise required.
The mode of operating this modification of my Invention consists in
supplying the hopper (C) with the coal, coke, cinders, or ashes from a wagon,
as shewn in the last modification, or in any other convenient manner. The
coal or other material to be operated upon escaping through the opening of
the slide valve thereof falls upon the grating or perforated bottom (S), the
smaller particles falling down between the bars into the stationary race (T), a
little in front of the water supply, and are carried by the current towards the
sluice valve (G), by which the heavy impurities are retained, and the small
coal, coke, cinders, or ashes being carried over the top of the clough valve by
the current of water falls into a hopper-shaped wagon or other suitable
receptacle. The large coal, or other materials which do not pass through the
diagonal or oblique perforated plate,slide down the barsor perforated bottom,
and fall into a wagon or other suitable receptacle.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of one of my improved washing,
cleaning, and separating spouts or races, and is fitted on its outer end with a
vertical valve or clough, and so forth, in the same way, and is supplied with
water in a like manner to that shown at Figure 1, except that in place of
being mounted on a transverse axle it is provided with Wand W1, fixed axles,
which I mount in suitable bearings fixed on the stationary framework of the
apparatus, which I have not deemed necessary to shew in the Drawings, as
the nature of this application will be readily understood. The object of this
arrangement is to enable the apparatus to be discharged by turning the race
or trough on its longitudinal axis. In lieu of the clough slide valve I some-
times prefer to use a flap or port, hinged to the bottom of the race, or
otherwise fitted, which is capable of being gradually elevated as required, for
the purpose of trapping the pyrites or other impurities as they accumulate;
or I make use of a number of square or other suitable formed bars of metal
or other suitable material, which I place transversely across the race, one
above another, as the impurities accumulate, for the purpose of retaining
the said impurities in the bottom of the race during the operating of the
apparatus.
Having now fully described and assertained the nature of this my said
Invention, and how I believe the same may be best carried into practical
effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise
details, relative proportions, or dimensions of the several parts of the apparatus
herein-before described and set forth, as it will be readily seen that the same

page_text: may be considerably varied without departing from the Invention; but what
I claim, is,―
Firstly, the washing, cleaning, and separating impurities from small coal,
coke, cinders, and ashes, by passing the same through a race, trough, or spout
fitted with a clough,slide valve,or its mechanical equivalent, as herein-before
described and set forth.
Secondly, the construction and use of races, spouts, or troughs, which are
capable of being turned on their longitudinal or transverse axes,substantially
and in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
Thirdly, the use of the clough, slide valve, or its mechanical equivalent,
which is capable of being gradually elevated for the purposes of keeping
back or trapping the pyrites or other heavy impurities which it is desirable to
separate from small coal, coke, cinders, or ashes, as herein-before described.
And, lastly, the general arrangement, combination, and mode of operating
the apparatus, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before
described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Francis, have hereunto set my
hand and fixed my seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
0
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
ISAAC (L.S.) FRANCIS.