Improvements in Coal Conveying and Discharging Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coal Conveying and Discharging Apparatus.
1, WILLIAM EDWARD KOCHS of Cardiff, Glamorgan County, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in aud by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to conveying and discharging apparatus, especially for
conveying coal, of similar design as they are known for carrying beetroots in sugar
factories by endless travelling metal bands or chains made of suitably curved and
jointed metal plates forming an endless chain or belt for carrying the coal and
discharging it over a shoot or screen which latter leans its adjoining plate-edge closely
against the curved metal plates of the conveyor; and it has for its object to obtain
perfectly durable closed joints between the plates of the endless convoyor them-
selves, and also between their upper surfaces and the adjoining plate of the shoot
or screen so that in conveying the coal, this mects no obstacles and is gently and
easily moving forward and carried ou to the delivery, where it is gliding on gently
to the adjoining screen or shoot plate without suffering spillage or pounding by the
pieces of coal violently falling against each other or against edges of the apparatus,
avoiding so the loss of small coal and dust as much as possible. A further object
of my invention is to prevent the falling out of dust and fine coal through apertures
or gaps in the conveying belt by so constructing the belt that no openings allowing
the passage of small material are formed, and this without requiring exceedingly
fine finish or delicate work; finally my object is to collect the unavoidable dust and
small coal which is brought along on the conveyor in those cases, where the coal is
not only picked but also stone parts beaten off from it during its travel on the
conveyor, so that this dust or this small coul will be screened off before the big
pieces get on the shoot proper, which carries them into a suitable vehicle. This
object is attained by making the first plate or plates of the shoot touching the
conveyor in form of a screen, suitable in length and in size of meshes for screening
off the said dust and small coal. Hoppers and boxes being provided below this
screen, with openings and doors to empty these boxes from time to time. The
Jumps of coal then are travelling over this screen plate and down a shoot with an
endless chain-brake having at intervals cross-bars agaiust which the coal lumps
abut and so are lowered gradually along the inclined londing shoot. The incline
of the latter may be varied according to circumstances; and the endless chain-
brake-shoot at its top part is connected to the hinged screen or shoot plate by a
balanced hinged bottom trap which gives way or opens upwardly when the cross
bars of the chain-brake pass from below over its drum, to go to the upper side of
the shoot and which trap is brought down again by tho weight of the coal-lumps
arriving from the screen-plate on this hinged bottoin trap. By this arrangement
the coal to be transported reaches finally the car or ship in clear lumps free from
dust or admixture of small coal, because on its way it has been carefully conveyed
without violent concussions, and the eventually formed small coal or dust or that
brought along with the lump coal is collected before its entering on the loading
shoot.
The accompanying drawings forming part of this specification represent the
apparatus in various views and sections:
Sheet 1 Fig. 1 shows in a vertical longitudinal section part of the conveying
apparatus with adjoining shoot or screen,

page_text: Fig. 2. a vertical cross section following line I-1 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3. a vertical cross section along line II-II through the centre of the
driving wheel with conveyor.
Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 shows in an enlarged scale the longitudinal section of the end of conveyor
with adjoining part of shoot or screen plate.
Sheet II. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section of the loading shoot and of the
screen.connected to the end of the conveyor in reduced 'scale,
Fig. 7. is a similar section of a modification of the screen connected to the end of
the conveyor in reduced scale.
The conveyor or endless travelling metal belt is composed of a series of two-
wheeled cars or trucks A, all coupled by links B of the same length as the trucks,
so as to form an endless train of trucks with single parallel axles C and coupled
together by the double linke B at both ends on each side by means of bolts D, the
whole representing a pitched chain; the wheels of the composing trucks are
running in the upper part, on rails F, and the endless train being pulled by and
running over sprocket wheels G at each end, has the upper series or row of
trucks moving forward and the lower row is returning, moving in the opposite
direction like an endless pitched chain, being carried on angle-iron rails M. Each
truck A and each coupling link B has a plate J curved to the radius of the circular
path described by the upper parts of the trucks when they are moved round by the
driving wheel G. Each plate J is provided at its sides with metal, vertical side
boards H, running between parallel vertical sides plates K limiting the width of the
conveyor, and at each front edge J1, heading the travel, partly curved to a radius
from the centre of the underlying coupling bolt D.
The top plates of the trucks and coupling links are longor than the distance from
coupling bolt to coupling bolt or the pitch of the trucks aud links; in their heading
parts J, in respect of their direction of travel they overhang the eyes of the
connecting lugs and the bults D so, that the upper surfaces of the whole moving
system, forming a slightly undulated continuous travelling surface like a bolt, is
without gaps or interstices, notwithstanding the carrier-plates J in passing round
the carrying wheels G which drive the train, describe circular paths of a greater
radius than the radius of rotation of the pitch-circle of the coupling bolts D below
thein; the gaps resulting from this going round a centre being closed by the
specially curved overhanging part J of each plate J. The additions J of the
plates also insure an always perfectly closed bottom, so that no dust and small
coal can fall through.
This so arranged conveyor; at the end towards which the band is travelling, is
passing under a hinged shoot or discharging plate K' combined to form one or
more screens if desired, and this hinged shoot touches with its sharp edge upon
the circumference of the revolving plates in that determinate point of their
circular path, where the plates exactly finished their slightly declining cur-
vilinear part of travel and where they begin their true circular path with
their outer surfaces round the driving wheel, or in other terms, where tho
horizontal travel of their surfaces has finished gradually, changing into a true
circular movement. The dotted and shaded link D* C* D* (Fig. 5) shows how
this point is found and determined. In this point the first plute of the shoot or
screen need not form the tangent to the circle of the link plates or their circular
path and yet the coal will be carried over without shock and quite smoothly. At
this special point therefore the shoot need not form a tangent to the circle but it
may intersect the same in a more or less wide angle.
The travelling train of trucks A and coupling links B forming the conveying
belt is running with its wheels E on strong rails Fat top and rails M at the bottom,
disposed inside of the free space between the upper and the lower travelling lengths.
The upper rails Fare supported on cross-sleepers L fixed to the framework carrying
the side plates K, whereto are also fixed the, augle-iron rails M for the lower row of
trucks.

page_text: The trucks A consist of two cast iron carriers with bored bushes A' for the axles.
in their lower part and with eyes at each end, bored parallel to the bushes; their
upper flange surface is convexly curved to a radius equal to the inside curvature of
the covering plates J. These plates J are rivetted to the flanges of the carriers
and are forming with the side plates H the endless travelling channel or trough.
The top flanges B' of the coupling links B aro curved in accordance with the
trucks and the covering plates J and their lower rib edges are curved concentrically
to the tops; they are rivetted to the curved plates J with their angle flanges B₁;
at their ends they have bored eyes, taking up between them the eyes of the trucks,
and coupling bolts D connect them together.
The carrying wheels G have three arms G, G, G, bearing against the bolts D
of the trucks and with their projecting ribs they enter between the vertical flauges
of the two coupling-links B; and so engage the series of trucks moving them in the
sense of their rotation, while the lower concentrically curved edges of the coupling
linka B rest upon the concentric projections at G1, G2, G3, on each side of the
projecting ribs of the respective wheels when going round with the latter. The
space between the arms of the wheels G is out out deep enough to allow the bushes A'
of the trucks as seen in Fig. 5, to rest upon the wheels.
The shafts N of the carrying wheels run in bearings O of strong standards P,
bolted to the framing of the conveyor.
The edge of tho shoot or screen plate K₁ touching the conveyor does not lean
against the plates of the travelling belt in their circular path, as explained above,
but in the specially determined point X where the true circular path begins and
therefore this plate or screen K can be kept in close contact to the transporting
plates by being hinged on a spindle at its outer end; if not kept down by its own
weight, by an additional weighted lever so that no projecting edges of the screen
plate K are opposing the easy gliding of the coal on to the shoot.
The further conveying of the coal to the loading station is then performed in the
following way: In the case the coal, travelling on the conveyor, is ouly subject to
be hand picked, the small coal and the coal dust is by suitable treating separated
from it before it gets on the conveyor. The hinged shoot plate K in Fig. 7
Sheet 11, therefore receives clear coal lumps from the convoyor and hardly any
coal dust; this little amount of coal dust is collected, when it falls through the
contact line between the hinged shoot plate K' and the revolving belt in a hopper
or box Q suitably arranged under this point. The hinge of the shoot plate holds a
hinged lifting bottom S, free to follow the rising and lowering impulses received
from the endless transporting chains T running over two drums, the lower one of
which is omitted in the drawing, the upper one U being shown to bring up the
chains T with their cross-bars Vabove the bottom of the inclined shoot, so that
the coal lumps will lean against the cross-bars and so be prevented to fall or slide
too vehemently down the incline, the drums U allowing only a regulated advancing
speed of the chains T. The lifting bottom S is balanced by a counterweight at
the end of a rope X laid over a pulley as shown in Fig. 7. The returning lower
branch of the endless chain T is guided on guide rails W; at each passage of a
cross-bar V of this lower branch to the upper side of the shoot, the balanced
bottom S will be lifted; and after the passage of each cross-bar the hinged
plate S will be dropped again by the weight of the lumps of coal advancing on it.
In the case where the coal transported by the conveyor-plates J is not only to
be hand picked, but also freed from stone parts or foreign minorals by suitable
hand-tools, small coal and dust will be produced in more considerable quantities.
Then the modified arrangement of the shoot plate shown in Fig. 6 will be preferably
used. In order to collect the small coal and dust, the shoot plate K' of Fig. 7 is
changed into a longer shoot plate K' forming a screen; and its front part adjoining
the revolving conveyor plates J, may be perforated so, as to let all the duet fall
through it into a suitablo holder or box Q below it, and the further part of the
plate K, may be perforated with holes of suitable size to let the small coal fall
through it into a holder or box Q'; the part K', of the plate is preferably longer

page_text: than the plate K' in Fig. 7, of the former case, in order to obtain a thoroughly
complete separation of the small coal from the lump coal. The boxes Q' and Q
are provided with suitable traps or doors R' and R³, respectively, to empty them
periodically.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) An endless chain-conveyor for coal and other materials composed of: a series
of two-wheeled trucks A, connected together by pairs of double links B to form an
endless train; rails F and M respectively carrying the loaded and the empty part
of said train on the truck wheels E; curved plates J rivetted to the trucks A and
to the coupling links B and ending at the front side in sharply curved parts J¹
reaching closely under the rear edge of the preceding plate so as to form a
continuous and closed bottom; vertical sides H rivetted to the bottom plates J
forming with these an endless movable channel or trough; driving or carrying
wheels G reaching with their arms G', G, G, into the space between the double
links B and the truck frames and serving for moving the train in a continuous
circuit as illustrated and specified.
(2) In combination with an endless chain conveyor as described in Claim one, a
delivery shoot meeting with its hinged and counterweighted first plate K' the carved
bottom plates of the endless trough in any suitable direction not tangential to the
curve at that exactly determined point where the originally rectilinear movement
of the conveyor begius its true circular movement round the driving pulley G as
illustrated and specified.
(3) Making the first plato of the delivery shoot meeting the curved bottom
plates of the endless trougb, in form of a screen in combination with boxes
or Q. QQ below the same for classifying the small coal falling through the
screen as illustrated and for the purpose set forth.
(4) The combination with an endless chain-conveyor as specified in Claims one
and two of a delivery shoot formed of a balanced lifting plate S and of a fixed
lower bottom 8' having conveyor chains T with cross-bara V gliding upon it so as
to prevent the coal carried thereon to roll down the shoot quicker than the
adjustable movement of the chain itself.
Dated this 17th day of August 1896.
WILLIAM EDWARD KOCHS.