IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF MINERALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEPA- RATING IMPURITIES THEREFROM
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Gibbs, of Abingdon Street, in the City
of Westminster, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF MINERALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEPA-
RATING IMPURITIES THEREFROM."
Sealed the 9th November 1853, and dated the 20th September 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Gibbs at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th September 1853.
I, JOSEPH GIBBS, of Abingdon Street, in the City of Westminster,.
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF MINERALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SEPARATING IMPURITIES THEREFROM" to be as follows:-
Such minerals as coals are frequently combined with impurities, as
shales, earths, pyrites, and other matters, with which in their natural
state they are intersected or banded, and which impurities render the
carbonaceous part of many coal seams in a great measure useless. My
Invention consists of certain mechanical contrivances and means of
freeing the purer coal and mineral from foreign matters. The prelimi-

page_text: ensue.
nary process consists in rough grinding the impure coal and the mate-
rial with which it is connected into a coarse powder; this may be done
by any of the contrivances now in use, but I prefer to use millstones
on the corn mill principle, such as are used for grinding Roman cement,
with an extremely large eye in the runner, and the upper stone must be
also cut from the eye with so large a bevel that it will form an opening
to permit lumps of coal of from 2 to 3 inches diameter to enter between
the stones from the eye; the stones must be so deeply grooved that the
coal will come out as large as millet seeds; and further, the upper or
running stone must rest on a large circular plate, truly turned and fixed
on the spindle, and on the under side of the running stone there must
be fixed a corresponding plate with openings in it to permit the coal to
drop through; the object of these plates is to keep the upper mill stone
exactly in a right and steady position, so as not to allow the upper stone
to touch the bottom one on any part of its rotation, .otherwise some
of the coal would often be ground to too fine a dust, and waste might
The coal having been ground is next to be passed through a
large sifting machine, so as to arrange and allot all the ground coal into
parcels, the particles composing each parcel to be as near one uniform
size as possible. Many modes of sifting may be resorted to, but I
prefer a machine like those used for sifting bran from flour, but the
framing and mechanical parts and sieves must be sufficiently enlarged
to effect the proper assortment. After the sifting the coal is put into a
cistern A, Figure 1, along with the necessary quantity of water, which is
always being supplied to the cistern by the pipe B; the water and
ground coal pass along the conduit, which is opened by the sluice and
apparatus D, D; the coal then ascends the trunk E, E, E, the area of
which trunk is wider at the top than at the bottom; consequently the
velocity of the water at the top is less; but to restore the proper
velocity
at the top a conduit is formed for bringing water from F, in the
direction of the arrows towards G, when the water and coal are run
-into a cistern, not shewn in the Drawing, with a porous bottom for the
water to drain off, leaving the coal pure. The impurities, by reason of
their greater specific gravity, will not rise to the top of the trunk

page_text: but may remain in it until a considerable accumulation has taken
place; when that is the case the sluice D, must be stopped, and
the sluices H, and I, are to be opened, and the impure materials
discharged by water passing through the pipe over the sieve K,
the sieve being intended to let through the water, and detaining the
refuse material, which may be discharged into a waggon to be taken
away to a distance. The sluices H, and I, can be connected together
by mechanical means, and acted on at the same time; and further,
when it is intended to carry on a large operation all the sluices may be
adjusted by mechanical contrivances, that they shall open and shut
periodically by the rotation of a small water wheel or other mechanical
motor. But as the rate of working will depend upon the nature of the
material to be operated upon, and the quantity to be washed in a given
space, these mechanical arrangements and the frequency of their ope-
rations must be left to the judgment of the mechanic executing the work;
of course a number of machines or apparatus may be placed side by
side, so that one mechanical arrangement for opening and shutting the
sluices may perform the duty for all. The velocity of the water from
the cistern A, through the trunk C, C, must be regulated according as
the material comes from a fine or coarse sieve; as the material comes:
from a fine sieve so must the velocity of the water in the trunk C, C,
be diminished; and, on the contrary, as the material is larger in the
grain the velocity of the water must be increased by opening the
sluice wider; and it is of the most essential consequence to the proper
working of this Invention that these rules be strictly adhered to.
I claim the separating of the impurities from coals and other minerals
after the same have been reduced to pieces of about an equal size, as
herein-before explained, by means of an apparatus constructed and
working in the manner herein-before described, and represented in the
Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Gibbs in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th March 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOSEPH GIBBS, of Abingdon Street, in the City of Westminster, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Gibbs, Her special
licence that I, the said Joseph Gibbs, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Gibbs, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF MINERALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEPARATING IMPURITIES
THEREFROM," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
Gibbs, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Joseph Gibbs, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:
Coals are often combined with impuritics such as shales, cearths,
pyrites, and other non-combustible matters, and in their natural state
are intersected or banded with impurities which render the carbona-
ceous part of many coal seams in a great measure valueless. Now my

page_text: Invention consists in separating the impurities from coals and other
minerals where such impurities are of greater specific gravity than the
minerals themselves in a washing machine or apparatus of the peculiar
construction herein-after described. Previous to entering this washing
machine I rough grind or break down the coal or other mineral and the
material with which it is mixed or combined into a coarse powder by any
of the contrivances now in use for breaking or crushing; but I prefer
the employment of millstones set in a similar manner to those in corn
mills, and to those used in grinding Roman cement, with a large eye
in the runner. The upper stone must be cut from the eye with a large
bevel, so that it will form an opening to permit of lumps of coal of from
two to three inches diameter entering between the stones. The stones
must be so deeply grooved that the coal will come out as large as
millet seeds; and further, the upper or running stone must rest on a
large circular plate, truly turned and fixed on the driving spindle of the
stone, while on the under side of the running stone must be fixed a
corresponding plate with openings in it to permit the coal to drop
through; the object of these plates being to keep the upper millstone
in a right and steady position, and to prevent it touching the bottom
one in any part of its rotation, and to cause the two stones always to
run and be parallel with each other, otherwise some of the coal
would be ground to too fine a dust, and waste might ensue. The coal
having been ground is next to be passed through a sifting machine
in order to arrange and allot all the ground coal and stuff into parcels
containing grains or pieces as nearly of one uniform size as may be.
Many modes of sifting may be resorted to, but I prefer a machine
similar to that used for sifting bran from flour. The framing, the
sieves, and all the mechanical parts must be sufficiently enlarged to
effect the proper assortment. After sifting the ground coal and impu-
rities are submitted to my washing machine, which is constructed and
acts as follows:-A, is a cistern, into which the coal and impurities are
placed. This cistern is kept continually supplied with a stream of
water through the pipe B. The water and ground coal and impurities
pass along the conduit C, which is opened by the sluice and apparatus
D, D, and ascend into the trunk E, E, which is a little wider at the

page_text: top than at the bottom, as shewn in the Drawing; but in some cases
the trunk may have its sides parallel. The velocity of the water when
the trunk is wider at top will be less than when the trunk has its sides
parallel; but to restore the proper velocity at the top water is intro-
duced by a conduit F, in the direction of the arrows, and carries off the
coals through the conduit G, into a reservoir (not shewn in the Draw-
ings) with a porous bottom, so that the water may drain off and leave
the coal pure or nearly so. The impurities, by reason of their greater
specific gravity, will not rise to the top of the trunk E, but may remain
in it until a considerable accumulation has taken place, when the
sluice D, must be stopped, and the sluices H, and I, opened. The
impure materials are to be discharged through the pipe J, by means of
a current of water flowing from the conduit L. Where desirable a
sieve K, may be fitted to the pipe J, to allow the passage of water
through it, and to retain the refuse material, which may be discharged
into a waggon, or otherwise disposed of. The sluices H, and I,
may be connected together by any suitable mechanical means so as to
be acted on at the same time; and further, when it is intended to carry
on large operations all the sluices may be so adjusted that they will
open and shut periodically by the rotation of a water wheel or other
motor. As, however, the rate of working will depend upon the nature
of the material to be operated upon, and the quantity to be washed in
a given time, these adjustments must be left to the judgment of the
mechanic executing the work. A number of machines or apparatuses
may be placed side by side, so that one agent for opening and shutting
the sluices may perform the duty for all. The velocity of the water
from the cistern A, through the conduit C, C, must be regulated
according to the fineness of the material, the velocity being less for fine
than for coarse grains or particles. The opening of the sluice D, to a
greater or less extent will regulate the velocity of the water.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim the
separating of the impurities from coals and other minerals after the
same have been reduced to grains or pieces of about an equal size, as
herein-before explained, by means of washing apparatus constructed

page_text: and working in the manner herein-before described, and represented
in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Gibbs, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
JOSEPH GIBBS. (L.S.)