Improvements in Means for Supplying Coal or other Materials to Conveyor Buckets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1892-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Supplying Coal or other Materials to
Conveyor Buckets.
I, CHARLES WALLACE HUNT, of Barker Street, West New Brighton, in the
State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
Buckets have been pivotted between and upon endless chains with wheels or
supports upon tracks, so that the buckets can be moved along horizontally, or
vertically, or at an inclination to receive the coal or other material at one place
and convey it to and deliver it at another place.
In conveyors of this class difficulty has arisen in consequence of the coal, or
other material, falling through between one bucket and the next as such buckets
pass along beneath the supplying shoot, or spout down which the coal or other
material runs.
I obviate this difficulty by providing a regulator at the lower end of the shoot
or spout, such regulator being hinged and acting to cover the opening between
one bucket and the next.
When the regulator is hinged directly to the lower end of the shoot or
spout it is acted upon by the buckets in succession and is raised by the passing
bucket to stop the downflow of the coal, or other material, as the full bucket
passes on and the next is approaching, and the dropping of the regulator into the
bucket causes the discharge thereinto of the proper quantity of coal, or other
material, after which the regulator is raised and the supply stopped as before
stated.
Sometimes I use a series of these regulators hinged together in the form of an
endless chain, similar to hoppers, and these are supported by elliptical tracks so as
to be moved along progressively by the endless chain of buckets, and the end of the
shoot or spout is within this endless series of regulators, and the coal, or other
materials, are directed into the buckets successively by these regulators, and they
prevent such material falling through between one bucket and the next, and as the
endless chain of elevator Buckets moves on, the hopper shaped regulators rise
successively out of the buckets leaving the coal or other material properly piled
within such buckets.
The shoot or spout down which the coal or other material runs is preferably
curved around at the lower end so that the discharge is in the same direction as
the movement of the endless chain of buckets.
The hinged regulator at the bottom end of the shoot is preferably used with the
endless chain of hopper-shaped regulators.
n
101
T
1001
ERNEST DE PASS,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 6, Victoria Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Supplying Coal or other Materials to
Conveyor Buckets.
I, CHARLES WALLACE HUNT, of Barker Street, West New Brighton in the
State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare
5 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,

page_text: reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say :-
Buckets have been pivoted between and upon endless chains with wheels or
supports upon tracks, so that the buckets can be moved along horizontally, or
vertically, or at an inclination, to receive the coal, or other material, at one place
and convey it to and deliver it at another place.
In conveyors of this class difficulty has arisen in consequence of the coal, or
other material, falling through between one bucket and the next as such buckets
pass along beneath the supplying shoot or spout down which the coal or other
material runs.
I obviate this difficulty by providing a regulator at the lower end of the shoot
or spout, such regulator being hinged and acting to cover the opening between one
bucket and the next.
When the regulator is hinged directly to the lower end of the shoot or spout it
is acted upon by the buckets in succession and is raised by the passing bucket to
stop the downflow of the coal, or other material, as the full bucket passes on and
the next is approaching, and the dropping of the regulator into the bucket causes
the discharge thereinto of the proper quantity of coal or other material, after which
the regulator is raised and the supply stopped as before named.
Sometimes I use a range of these regulators hinged together in the form of
an endless chain, similar to hoppers, and these are supported by elliptical tracks
so as to be moved along progressively by the endless chain of buckets, and the
end of the shoot or spout is within this endless range of regulators, and the coal
or other materials are directed into the buckets successively by these regulators,
and they prevent such material falling through between one bucket and the next,
and as the endless chain of elevator Buckets moves on, the hopper-shaped regu-
lators rise successively out of the buckets leaving the coal, or other material,
properly piled within such buckets.
The spout or shoot down which the coal or other material runs, is preferably
curved around at the lower end so that the discharge is in the same direction as
the movement of the endless chain of buckets.
The hinged regulator at the bottom end of the shoot is preferably used with the
endless chain of regulators that are each hopper-shaped.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan view and Fig. 2 is a vertical section representing my improve-
ments in the most simple form, and
Fig. 3 is an end view and Fig: 4 a perspective view representing my improve-
ments with the regulators hinged together and travelling around an elliptical
track.
The buckets A, track B, rollers or wheels and chains D may be of any desired
or ordinary character, and the buckets are pivoted to the chains, and the endless
chain conveyor is moved along progressively by suitable power in the direction of
the arrow shown in Fig. 2. The coal, ore, or other material, is supplied down a
shoot or spout E, and to the lower end of this spout the regulator F is hinged;
this regulator may have sides to the same, as shown at 2, and it is of a size and
shape adapted to drop into the buckets, and it is raised by the buckets, as they
pass by successively, into the position represented by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and
when it is raised this regulator checks the downward flow of the ore, coal, or other
material, hence the same does not drop between one bucket and the next as the
range of buckets passes along beneath the shoot, and as the edges of the buckets
clear the end. of the regulator, such regulator drops into the bucket that is below.it.
and the coal or other material that has been upon such regulator is discharged into
the bucket and the materials continue to run down into the bucket as the same is
moved along beneath the shoot, and as the regulator is raised by the moving bucket
the supply is stopped until the regulator drops into the next bucket.
In this way
the scattering or loss of material, by the same dropping between one bucket and the
next, is avoided.

page_text: The same operation is effected when the parts are arranged in the manner
represented in Figs. 3 and 4. In this case the chain conveyor, the buckets, wheels
and tracks are similar to those before mentioned, but the regulators F are hinged
together in the form of hoppers and they are provided with supporting wheels at
opposite ends of the pins that connect the regulator buckets and form the hinges
for the same, and the wheels run on the elliptical tracks F2 and straight tracks Fº,
and these regulators F¹ are hopper-shaped and pass down into the buckets succes-
sively as such buckets are drawn along, and the regulators moved by and with
them, as indicated in Fig. 4, and the coal, as it runs down the shoot E, passes
through these hopper-shaped regulators into the respective buckets, and the
hopper-shaped regulators are lifted successively out of the buckets and the coal
subsides through the openings in the regulators and is properly piled within the
respective buckets.
It is generally advantageous to make use of the regulator F, shown in Figs. 1
and 2 hinged to the lower end of the shoot E, Figs. 3 and 4, so that this single
regulator aids in properly supplying the coal, or other material, into the hopper-
shaped regulators as they pass below the same, thereby rendering the supply to
each bucket more reliable and tending to check the downflow of the coal or
other material through the shoot or spout and cause the proper quantity to pass
into each bucket.
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:
First. The combination with an elevator having chains for connecting the
buckets, and supporting tracks, of a shoot or spout for supplying the ore, or
other material, and a regulator acting between the end of the shoot or spout
and the buckets for properly discharging the material into the buckets, substantially
as set forth.
Second. The combination with the endless chain conveyor, having buckets, of a
series of hopper-shaped regulators connected together, an elliptical track for
supporting the same and a shoot or spout down which the ore, coal, or other
material is supplied, substantially as set forth.
Third. The combination with the buckets in a chain conveyor, of a shoot or
spout, a regulator having upwardly projecting sides and a hinge for connecting the
regulator to the lower end of the shoot or spout, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of August 1892.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 6, Victoria Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.