IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING DROSS OR SMALL COAL DURING THE OPERA- TION OF SCREENING, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF SAME TO COAL SCREENS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Scott, of Overtown, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Colliery Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING DROSS OR SMALL COAL DURING THE OPERA-
TION OF SCREENING, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF SAME TO COAL SCREENS,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 22nd September 1877, and dated the 29th March 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Scott at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th March 1877.
JOHN SCOTT, of Overtown, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Colliery
Manager. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING DROSS
OR SMALL COAL DURING THE OPERATION OF SCREENING, AND IN THE APPLICA-
TION OF SAME TO COAL SCREENS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
This Invention has reference to new or improved arrangements of mechanism for
or connected with the separating of the dross or small coal from the "round" or
large coal, and for weighing the former as sifted or separated from the latter, thus
obtaining the weight of both from the gross as weighed in and delivered from each
hutch or waggon on to the separating screen and new mechanism, part of which is
also applicable to the index mechanism of automatic weighing machines for
weighing coal hutches, waggons, or other goods' vehicles as they pass over the plat-
form of the weighing machine, which improvements will be of great utility in
enabling the persons at the pit head to accurately ascertain the proportions of good
coal and dross, and so afford a simple and easy means of making fair count and
reckoning with each miner, and simplifying the operations of weighing waggons and
goods generally.
And the nature and novelty of the Invention, as applied to the separating and
weighing of coal, consist all as follows:-In mounting or hanging a V or hopper-
shaped receptacle upon the two first arms or levers of the weighing mechanism at
the lower end of the delivery shoot for the dross, to receive it as it passes through
the inclined separating screen fitted above, and sufficiently large to contain the
Posice 6d1

page_text: maximum quantity of dross which may be in any one hutch, and required to bo
weighed at one operation or action of the mechanism, the lower part of one side of
this receptacle being hinged as a discharging door, with a chain fitted in the centre,
carried over and attached to a grooved wheel or cam on a stationary axis, with a
counterbalanced closing lever, and a wire or light chain attached to its free end, led
up to the pit head, with drawing handle there for the attendant to raise and open
the door and discharge the dross as soon as it is there weighed and recorded.
One arrangement of the weighing machine consists in keying the two first-
mentioned levers carrying the delivery hopper box on a transverse shaft, oscillating
on ordinary V weighing machine lever fulcra at each end in their usual stationary
bearings, carried in a suitable framing near the hopper, and with a long beam lever
firmly secured to the one end of this shaft, projecting in the reverse direction to the
two arms, the free end of this long lever being connected to the shorter arm of
another two-armed lever, working on corresponding fulcra above, and nearly under
the actual indicating lever mechanism fitted at the pit head, and having its long
arm connected to the lower end of a rod, the upper end of which is directly attached
to an intermediate part of the horizontal arm of the new or improved indicating
nechanisın.
This mechanism consists of the said horizontal lever, carried on ordinary steel-
yard fulcra, having a long weighted pendulum or vertical gravitating arm hanging
plumb when the pointer is at zero on the index dial, which is fitted in front of and
above the outer free end of the horizontal arm, from which a light chain or other
equivalent is carried up over and attached to a light grooved pulley on the spindle
of the index pointer, so that as tho load of dross in the hopper acting through the
said arrangement of levers below pulls down the horizontal lever against the power
of the weighted pendulum, its free end acting through the chain turns the pointer
round the divided dial to the divisions indicating pounds, quarters, and hundred-
weights, against the power of a spring, or it might bo a weighted cord acting on the
pulley of the pointer in the reverse direction to the horizontal lever, which brings
the pointer back. to zero, when the lever and weighted pendulum assume their
respective horizontal and vertical positions by the drawing of the before-mentioned
handle of the discharge door to empty the hopper, which is done the moment the
pointer has stopped at the point indicating the full weight of the dross in the
hopper.
All the intermediate levers between the hopper and the horizontal lever of the
indicating mechanism are adjusted to a balance with the empty hopper when the
said lever is horizontal and the weighted pendulous lever is vertical, either or both
of which might be adjusted by a shifting weight fixed on their arms.
This new or
improved weighted pendulous lever increasing in leverage power as it rises on its
fulcra through the acting arc of its weight, by the weight of dross in the hopper,
reduces the travel and leverage of the free end of the horizontal arm connected to
the pulley and axis of the pointer, so as to give a nearly uniform length of division
or are on the dial for equivalent weights.
Instead of moving the pulley and axis of the pointer in the back direction by a
spring or weight this may be effected by a positive action, the same as in the
forward or weighing direction, by mounting this pulley and axis vertically over the
fulcra or axes of the pendulous and horizontal levers, and fitting a largo pulley on
their axes, with a chain or other equivalent passing round and attached under it,
with its free ends wound in reverse directions round the pulley of the index pointer
and fixed thereto on opposite sides, so that the pulley and pointer would be pulled
in either direction, according to the motion of the pendulous weighted lever raised
by the load of the dross through the horizontal levers, and brought back to its
normal position by the weight on the pendulous lever. Or instead of the chains or
cords fine toothed wheels or sectors might be fitted on the axes of the pendulous
lever and pointer, gearing into each other without play, and act all in a similar or
equivalent manner.
Other arrangements than those described of the intermediate levers between the

page_text: weighing hopper and the horizontal arm of the gravitating pendulous lever may be
used in these dross separating and weighing machines or mechanism forming the
first part of this Invention.
Another improvement consists in fitting or applying the said new or improved
arrangement of horizontal lever and pendulous gravitating lever, with their indi-
cating and dial inechanism, to any of the ordinary platform weighing machines for
weighing goods, waggons, or other vehicles, by attaching the horizontal arm by a
link or other equivalent to the ordinary weighing beam or steelyard of these
weighing machines, so as to make the pendulous or gravitating lever act auto-
matically instead of the differential hand sliding weight usually fitted on the said
beam, and so automatically and instantaneously indicate the weight on the dial as
the waggons or vehicles pass over the platform of this class of weighing machines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th September
1877.
JOHN SCOTT, of Overtown, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Colliery
Manager. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING DROSS OR
SMALL COAL DURING THE OPERATION OF SCREENING, AND IN THE APPLICATION
OF SAME TO COAL SCREENS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
or
My said Invention has reference to a new or improved arrangement of mechanism
for or connected with the separating of the dross or small coal from the "round"
large coal, and for weighing the former as sifted or separated from the latter, thus
obtaining the weight of both from the gross as weighed in and deliverd from each
hutch or waggon on to the separating screen and new nechanisin, part of which is
also applicable to the index mechanism of automatic weighing machines for weighing
hutches, waggons, or other goods' vehicles as they pass over the platform of the
weighing machines, which improvements will be of great utility in enabling the
person at the pit head to accurately ascertain the proportion of good coal and dross,
and so afford a simple and easy means of making fair count and reckoning with each
miner, and simplifying the operation of weighing waggons and goods generally.
And in order that iny said Invention may be properly understood, now proceed
to describe the several Figures on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings which I
have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing the best modes and means I
am at present aware of for putting the same into effect or practice, the reference
letters indicating the same or liko parts in all the Figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the coal sifting or separating
apparatus and weighing or indicating mechanism, all combined, and Figure 2 is a
sectional end clevation of the same, taken on the irregular line 1---1 in Figure 1,
while Figure 3 is a side view of another modification of the dross receptacle and
method of connecting it with the indicating mechanism.
Referring to these Figures, the nature and novelty of the Invention, as applied to
the separating and weighing of coal, consist in mounting or hanging by two links a
a V or hopper-shaped receptacle A, A, upon the first or short arm B of the lever B, B¹,
of the weighing mechanism at the lower end of the dross delivery shoot C to receive
it as it passes through the ordinary well known inclined separating screen D above,
and sufficiently large to contain the maximum quantity of dross which may be in
any one hutch and required to be weighed at one operation or action of the
mechanism. The lower part of one side of this receptacle A is hinged as a dis-
charging door A", shown closed in Figures 1 and 2, with a chain E fitted in the
centre, carried from the closing edge of the door, and attached to an eccentric crank F,
working in bearings f rivetted to the back or solid side A' of the receptacle A, the
crank being worked by a chain G passing over a grooved wheel H (or cam) on its
outer end, the two ends of the chain G being connected to the extreme ends of two

page_text: rods or wires I, I', which in turn extend and are connected to the respective upper
and lower arms of a counterbalancing or opening and closing hand lever J, fulcrumed
to the side of the platform at J at the pit head or landing where the hutches are
emptied on to the screen D, the handle J being conveniently placed there for the
attendant to lower and open the door A" and discharge the dross as weighed (the
gross weight having first been ascertained by the ordinary weighing apparatus
at Zx, but not shown in the Drawings) into the waggon Z, the round coal passing
over the screen and falling through the shoot D' into the waggon
211
One arrangement of the weighing machine consists in keeping the first-mentioned
compound lever B, B¹, carrying the delivery hopper box A, A¹, on a transverse
shaft K, oscillating on ordinary V weighing machine lever fulcra at each end in
their usual stationary bearing brackets k, carried in a suitable framing L, near the
hopper A, A, and with a long beam lever M firmly secured to the one end of this
shaft K, projecting in the reverse or vertical direction to the two arms B, B¹. The
free end M of this long lever M, as shown at Figure 3, is preferably connected at
the lower end of a rod N, the upper end of which is directly attached to an inter-
mediate part of the horizontal arm ○ of the new or improved indicating mechanism
working in corresponding fulcra R¹¹ above, and nearly under the actual indicating
mechanism.
The indicating mechanism consists of the said horizontal lever B, B¹, carried on
ordinary steelyard fulcra, having a long weighted pendulum or vertical gravitating
arm R hanging plumb when the pointer is at zero on the index dial P (or on the
divided quadrant P¹), which is fitted in front of and above the outer free end of the
horizontal arm O (as seen in Figure 3), from which a light chain or other equivalent U
is carried up over and attached to a light grooved pulley S on the spindle of the index
pointer P. Thus as the load of dross in the hopper A, A', acting through the said
arrangement of levers, shown in Figure 1, pulls down the horizontal lever B against
the power of the weighted arm B³, the free end M' of the arm M acting through
the chains, cords, or wires S and U turns the pointer P" round the divided scale P,
and the pendulous pointer R round the quadrant P¹ to the divisions indicating
pounds, quarters, and hundredweights against the power of a weighted cord U, (or
it might be a spring), acting on the pulley S of the pointer in the reverse direction,
so as to bring the pointer P¹ back to zero, when the lever B, BI, and weighted
pendulous lever R, R³, and arm M assume their respective horizontal and vertical
positions by shifting the before-mentioned handle J of the discharge door A¹¹ to
empty the hopper A, A', which is done the moment the pointers R, P¹¹, have
stopped at the point indicating the full weight of the dross in the hopper A, A¹.
All the intermediate levers between the hopper and the horizontal lever O,
Figure 3, of the indicating mechanism are adjusted to a balance with the empty
hopper A, A, when the said lever M is horizontal, and the weighted pendulous lever
or pointer R is vertical, either or both of which might be adjusted by a shifting
weight R¹ fixed on them. This new or improved weighted pendulous lever R
increasing in leverage power as it rises on its fulcra R through the acting arc.of
its weight R' by the weight of dross in the hopper A, A', reduces the travel and
leverage of the free end M¹ of the vertical arm M, Figure 1, connected by the rod S¹
to the quadrant pulley T and axis of the pendulous lever or pointer R, the upper
short end of the lever R being in turn connected by a cord or wire U to the pulley S
of the pointer P¹ so as to give a nearly uniform length of division or are on the
dial P and quadrant P¹ for equivalent weights.
Instead of moving the pulley S and axis of the pointer P" in the back direction
by a weight U or spring, this may be effected by a positive action, the same as in
the forward or weighing direction, by mounting this pulley and axis S vertically
over the fulcra or axes of the weighted and horizontal levers M, O, and fitting a
large pulley on their axes with a chain or other equivalent passing round and
attached under it, with its free ends wound in reverse directions round the pulley S
of the index pointer P, and fixed thereto on opposite sides, so that the pulley and
pointer would be pulled in either direction, according to the motion of the weighted

page_text: lever O, raised by the load of the dross through the horizontal lever M, and brought
back to its normal position by the weight R¹ on the lever O. Or instead of the
chains or cords, fine toothed wheels or sectors might be fitted on the axis of the
pendulous lever and pointer, gearing into each other without play, and act all in a
similar or equivalent manner.
Other arrangements than those described of the intermediate levers between the
weighting hopper and the indicating mechanism may be used, and, when desired,
the index dial may be dispensed with in these dross separating and weighing
machines or mechanism forming the first part of this Invention.
Another improvement consists in fitting or applying the said new or improved
arrangement of horizontal levers M, O, and pendulous gravitating lever R, with
their indicating and dial mechanism to any of the ordinary platform weighing
machines for weighing goods, waggons, or other vehicles, by attaching the horizontal
arm by a link or other equivalent to the ordinary weighing beam or steelyard of
these weighing machines, so as to make the pendulous or gravitating lever act
automatically instead of the differential hand sliding weight usually fitted on the
said beam, and so automatically and instantaneously indicate the weight on the
dial as the waggons or vehicles pass over the platform of this class of weighing
machines.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I have to state that I do not confine myself to the precise details
herein described or delineated, but what I consider novel and original, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Lotters Patent is,-
First. The general construction or arrangement and combination of the parts of
the coal dross separating and weighing machine or apparatus, substantially as herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere
nodification thereof.
Second. The general arrangement of the indicating mechanism and its connections
with and to the dross receptacle for automatically indicating the weight of dross in
the latter, substantially as herein described in reference to and shown in the accom-
panying Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Third. The general arrangement of chain pulley, rods, and lever handle for opening
and closing the door of the dross receptacle or hopper, substantially as herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any merc
modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Scott, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
•
JOHN BROWN,
Patent Office,
96, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow.
JOHN SCOTT. (L.S.)