UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL HAULAGE
Year: 1884

page_text: I, FLEEMING JENKIN of 3 Great Stuart Street Edinburgh Civil Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL
HAULAGE to be as follows:-
My invention is an arrangement of parts by which power may be conveniently
applied with the aid of electricity in transporting waggons from the working face
of mines to those places where they can be conveniently coupled in trains to the
ropes used in the ordinary mechanical haulage It is specially designed to meet
the requirements of collieries and the main object in view is to perform work now
done by horses.
This object is attained by taking advantage of the opportunity which electricity
gives for the subdivision of power and combining with motors specially constructed
and suitably placed a novel construction of ropes specially arranged so as to fetch
waggons to one point from many working faces the distance of which from the
point of collection will gradually increase as the coal is got.
I employ any ordinary driving dynamo and service leads to the motor dynamo
for the distribution of the power but I employ a motor dynamo specially con-
structed in such a way that the brushes and commutator are wholly enclosed in
a casing so that the sparks shall not be dangerous in fiery mines. In fact I enclose
the commutator in a casing analogous to that of the Miners Safety lamp inspection
windows are placed through which the condition and action of the brushes can be
seen and a light is preferably placed inside the same case to facilitate this inspec-
tion The brushes can be adjusted from outside without opening the case and they
can be moved or changed so as to reverse the motion.
The motor is stopped started and controlled as to speed by an attendant who
makes or breaks the necessary contacts or throws in electrical resistance or mechanical
resistance to diminish the spead.
The make and break apparatus is enclosed in casings to prevent the spark
which occurs from being dangerous When electrical resistance is used I prefer to
employ arrangements which are not liable to cause sparks but take the further
precaution of enclosing the apparatus in a case.
The action of the cases I employ for the commutator and other parts where
sparks might occur is far more certain than that of the casing of a Davy lamp the
electric casings can be made air tight or very nearly so since no supply of air is
required

page_text: I sometimes employ a simple form of make and break in which the spark takes
place under the surface of an insulating fluid preventing the gas from having
access to the place where a spark occurs.
I use the motor to drive an ordinary double drum for a tail rope system of
haulage which I will call the primary loop and I construct the rope for the primary
loop of numerous short sections preferably equal or nearly so hooked together
with any convenient catch-the object of this construction of rope is to allow the
combination of the two parts of this primary loop with the two parts of any
number of successive loops which I will call secondary loops so that by two
disconnections and two connections any one of the secondary loops may be com-
bined with part of the primary loop to form a complete return or tail rope system
and I construct the secondary loops of short sections similar to those of the
primary loop so that the length of these may gradually be increased as the face
recedes.
Thus we may have a dozen or more motors at a dozen or more suitable collecting
places in the workings where the mechanical system of haulage begins-each of
these motors will be capable of doing the work of about two horses and will be
successively applied to haul up the full waggons from the working faces to the
collecting places and each such motor will be capable of fetching waggons from say
a dozen working faces and returning the empty waggons.
Moreover owing to the flexibility of the leads and the ease with which the light
motor can be moved the collecting places and the situation of the primary loop
may be changed frequently and at small expense while the same causes render
the system independent of any constant foundation and little likely to be injured
by any difformation due to unequal settling which is not the case if pipes con-
veying air water or steam were used to distribute power.
The motors are preferably made to reverse but reversal in the drums can also be
obtained by gearing without moving the brushes.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
"
I FLEEMING JENKIN of 3 Great Stuart Street Edinburgh Civil Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL
HAULAGE" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention is an arrangement of parts by which power may be conveniently
applied with the aid of electricity in transporting waggons from the working face
of mines to those places where they can be conveniently coupled in trains to the
ropes used in the ordinary mechanical haulage. It is specially designed to meet
the requirements of collieries and the main object in view is to perform work now
done by horses.
This object is attained by taking advantage of the opportunity which electricity
gives for the subdivision of power and combining with motors specially constructed.
and suitably placed a novel construction of ropes specially arranged so as to fetch
waggons to one point from many working faces the distance of which from the
point of collection will gradually increase as the coal is got.
I employ any ordinary driving dynamo and service leads to the motor dynamo
for the distribution of the power but I employ a motor dynamo specially constructed
in such a way that the brushes and commutator are wholly enclosed in a casing so
that the sparks shall not be dangerous in fiery mines. In fact I enclose the
commutator in a casing analogous to that of the miners safety lamp-inspection
windows are placed through which the condition and action of the brushes can be
seen and a light is preferably placed inside the same case to facilitate this inspection.
The brushes can be adjusted from outside without opening the case and they can
be moved or changed so as to reverse the motion.
The motor is stopped started and controlled as to speed by an attendant who
makes or breaks the necessary contacts or throws in electrical resistance or
mechanical resistance to diminish the speed.
The make and break apparatus is enclosed in casings to prevent the spark which
occurs from being dangerous. When electrical resistance is used I prefer to employ
arrangements which are not liable to cause sparks but take the further precaution
of enclosing the apparatus in a case.
The action of the cases I employ for the commutator and other parts where
sparks might occur is far more certain than that of the casing of a Davy lamp-
the electric casings can be made air-tight or very nearly so since no supply of air
is required.
I sometimes employ a simple form of make and break in which the spark takes
place under the surface of an insulating fluid preventing the gas from having access
to the place where a spark occurs.
I use the motor to drive an ordinary double drum for a tail rope system of
haulage which I will call the primary loop and I construct the rope for the primary
loop of numerous short sections preferably equal or nearly so hooked together with
any convenient catch-the object of this construction of rope is to allow the
combination of the two parts of this primary loop with the two parts of any
number of successive loops which I will call secondary loops so that by two

page_text: disconnections and two connections any one of the secondary loops may be com-
bined with part of the primary loop to form a complete return or tail rope system
and I construct the secondary loops of short sections similar to those of the
primary loop so that the length of these may gradually be increased as the face
recedes.
Thus we may have a dozen or more motors at a dozen or more suitable collecting
places in the workings where the mechanical system of haulage begins-each of
these motors will be capable of doing the work of about two horses and will be
successively applied to haul up the full waggons from the working faces to the
collecting places and each such motor will be capable of fetching waggons from say
a dozen working faces and returning the empty waggons.
Moreover owing to the flexibility of the leads and the ease with which the light
motor can be moved the collecting places and the situation of the primary loop may
be changed frequently and at small expense while the same causes render the
system independent of any constant foundation and little likely to be injured by
any difformation due to unequal settling which is not the case if pipes conveying
air water or steam were used to distribute power.
The motors are preferably made to reverse but reversal in the drums can also be
obtained by gearing without moving the brushes.
The annexed drawing shews a diagram view of the arrangement of sectional
ropes and sheaves. M is a motor constructed and driven as described and driving
sheaves on the tail rope system-the two ropes led down the main road to a return
sheave at A are jointed at points numbered 1 to 14.
At the side roads supplementary jointed ropes are shown passing round end
sheaves placed near the working faces.
The wagons are hauled from these faces to M and returned to the faces. When
a wagon is to be moved to and from B the main rope is disconnected at one and
two and joined to the supplementary rope leading to B. We have then a complete
tail rope system leading to and from the face B. The other ropes are idle.
A. C. and D can be similarly worked in any desired order. As B. D. and A recede
from M additional lengths of rope are added until the distances become so great
that it is desirable to shift M nearer the face. This can readily be done owing to
the lightness of the electric motor and the flexibility of the leads.
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. The combination of jointed tail ropes sheaves and electric motors substantially
as described and illustrated in the annexed diagram.
2. Electric motors having all parts where sparking may occur enclosed in safety
cases as described for use in connection with underground haulage.
Dated this 30th day of Anril 1885