Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Hoisting or Heaving Ashes Out of the Stoke Holes of Steam Ships and other Steam Vessels.
Year: 1886

page_text: Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Hoisting or
Heaving Ashes Out of the Stoke Holes of Steam Ships and
other Steam Vessels.
I, THOMAS, LOUDON of 20 Regent Moray Street in the City of Glasgow,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide means for facilitating the hoisting or
heaving of ashes out of the stoke holes of steam ships and other steam vessels, for
which purpose I utilize the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids;
and a convenient way of carrying my invention into effect is as follows:
I make use of the ventilating shafts for the passage through them of the buckets
for containing the ashes to be discharged, and when two of such ventilating shafts
are employed I provide between them a tube leading up from the stoke hole to
near the top of the ventilator shafts, or at any rate above the point for example
above the "fiddley" grating to which the buckets have to be lifted. This tube
may conveniently be made of copper and in two halves, in it there is a plug or
piston preferably made of wood having a leather or other suitable washer at top
with a metal washer above same, the leather washer should be larger than the
diameter of the pipe and its edge should be capped or turned up all round so as to
make a perfectly air tight joint between the piston and the pipe when atmospheric
pressure, as hereafter described acts on the top of the said piston. There is an eye
bolt going through the piston and to the top end thereof a wire rope is hooked or
otherwise connected, which is carried up over a pulley and thence to another pulley
in the ventilator shaft, and down same, having hooks at the end for hooking on to
a bucket.
6
The pneumatic pipe aforesaid is at bottom connected with the condenser of the
engine, and there is a piston valve in this pipe, the said valve being placed in
communication with a hand lever in any convenient position for operating the
apparatus above the upper fiddley" grating for example by a wire or other
convenient means. By means of this wire and lever the piston valve is operated
and communication is thereby made or cut off between the condenser and the
lower end of the pneumatic tube. The length, of the rope is such that when the
plug or piston is at the top of the pneumatic tube the bucket is at the bottom of
the stoke hole, and when the bucket is at its required height the piston is at the
bottom of the tube.

page_text: To hoist a bucket full of ashes from the stoke hole to the fiddleys grating, on a
level with which there are doors provided in the ventilating shafts for the exit
of the buckets thereby when they are lifted to that height and supposing the
bucket to be down in the stoke hole filled with ashes ready to be lifted I then open
the valve to the condenser by the aforesaid lever whereby a vacuum is formed in
the pneumatic tube below the piston and this combined with the atmospheric
pressure above or on the top of the piston carries the latter down to the bottom of
the tube and closes the passage to the condenser the descent of the piston bringing
the bucket up to the required height; thus raised, the bucket is taken and emptied
overboard in the ordinary way. When the piston is down, by gently releasing the
lever, the atmospheric pressure closes the valve, and the weight of the bucket
brings it back ready for a fresh load, while at the same time the piston travels up
the pneumatic tube ready for operation as before, and so on continuously.
Pulleys are fitted to each ventilating shaft so that either may be used by simply
hooking on the rope to the piston according to whichever shaft may be on the lee
side of the ship when it is desired-to-hoist or to heave up the ashes.
$ 41
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Hoisting or
Heaving Ashes Out of the Stoke Holes of Steam Ships and
other Steam Vessels.
זין. כ
;
I, THOMAS LOUDON of 20 Regent Moray Street, in the City of Glasgow,
Engineer 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 and
by the following statement:-
I
The object of my invention is to provide means for facilitating the hoisting or
heaving of ashes out of the stoke holes of steam ships and other steam vessels, for
which purpose I utilize the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids;
and a convenient way of carrying my invention into effect is as follows:-
I make use of the ventilating shafts for the passage through them of the buckets
for containing the ashes to be discharged, and when two of such ventilating shafts
are employed I provide between them a tube leading up from the stoke hole to
near the top of the ventilator shafts, or at any rate above the point for example
above the "fiddley" grating to which the buckets have to be lifted. This tube
1..41

page_text: may conveniently be made of copper and in two halves; in it there is a plug or
piston preferably made of wood having a leather or other suitable washer at top
with a metal washer above same, the leather washer should be larger than the
diameter of the pipe and its edge should be capped or turned up all round so as to
make a perfectly airtight joint between the piston and the pipe when atmospheric
pressure, as hereafter described, acts on the top of the said piston. There is an eye
bolt going through the piston, and to the top end thereof a wire rope is hooked or
otherwise connected, which is carried up over a pulley and thence to another pulley
in the. ventilator shaft, and down same having hooks at the end for hooking on to
a bucket.
The pneumatic pipe aforesaid is at bottom connected with the condenser of the
engine and there is a piston valve in this pipe, the said valve being placed in
communication with a hand lever in any convenient position for operating the
apparatus above the upper "fiddley" grating for example by a wire or other
convenient means. By means of this wire and lever the piston valve is operated
and communication is thereby made or cut off between the condenser and the lower
end of the pneumatic tube. The length of the rope is such that when the plug or
piston is at the top of the pneumatic tube the bucket is at the bottom of the stoke
hole, and when the bucket is at its required height the piston is at the bottom of
the tube.
↑
In order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Figure 1 is a diagram or outline of so much of two of the ventilating shafts and
parts adjacent thereto, of a steam ship with my improvements applied thereto as
will be necessary to illustrate a convenient arrangement for carrying my invention
into effect. Figure 2 shews half in section and half in elevation, and Figure 3 is a
plan of same, of the plug or piston which I prefer to use in the pneumatic tube;
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 5 is a plan of the controlling valve.
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are drawn to a much larger scale than the diagram or general
outline view shown at Figure 1. Similar letters of reference refer to like parts
in all the figures,
A A are the ventilating shafts, two only of such are shown but it is obvious that
any other convenient number may be used; B shows the pneumatic tube leading
up from the stoke hold of the ship to nearly the top as shewn of the ventilating
shafts A and between which latter the pneumatic tube is conveniently placed and
as shown at Figure 1. C C are the pulleys or sheaves above the tube B; and
DD are the pulleys or sheaves in the ventilating shafts A A. E shows the piston
in the tube B; F the wire rope hooked to the piston E and passing over the
pulleys C and D and down the shaft A to the bucket G in the stoke hole of the
ship. H indicates the position of the "fiddleys" grating to which level the buckets
containing the ashes have to be raised as hereafter described. I is the pipe
connecting the pneumatic tube B with the condenser of the engine, and K shews
the position of the controlling valve in same which valve is shewn detached at
Figures 4 and 5. L is the rod or wire connecting the piston valve K with the
lever M on the fiddleys grating for operating the said valve. The piston E working
in the tube B and shewn detached at Figures 2 and 3 is preferably made of wood.
N is the leather or washer of other suitable material, and N is the metal washer
above the flexible washer for keeping the latter in position; as shewn this flexible
washer is larger than the diameter of the pipe B and should be capped or turned
up all round so as to make a perfectly airtight joint between the piston E and the
tube or cylinder B in which it works. In the controlling valve K shewn detached
at Figures 4 and 5, O is the passage leading from the engine condenser, and P is
the passage leading to the base of the pneumatic tube B; Q is the valve proper
operated by the rod L as before mentioned.
To hoist a bucket G full of ashes from the stoke hole to the fiddleys grating H
on a level with which there are doors A¹ provided in the ventilating shafts A for

page_text: the exit of the buckets G thereby when they are lifted to that height; now
supposing the bucket to be down in the stoke hole filled with ashes ready to be
lifted, I open the controlling valve K to the condenser by the aforesaid lever M
whereby a vacuum is formed in the pneumatic tube B below the piston E and this,
combined with the atmospheric pressure above or on the top of the piston carries
the latter down to the bottom of the tube B and closes the passage to the condenser
the descent of the piston bringing the bucket up to the required height; thus raised
the bucket is taken and emptied overboard in the ordinary way. When the
piston E is down, by gently releasing the lever the atmospheric pressure closes the
valve and the weight of the bucket brings it back ready for a fresh load while
at the same time the piston E travels up the pneumatic tube B ready for operation
as before, and so on continuously.
The pulleys D are fitted to each ventilating shaft A so that either may be used
by simply hooking on the rope to the piston according to whichever shaft may be
on the lee side of the ship when it is desired to hoist or to heave up the ashes.
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
1st. In machinery or apparatus for hoisting or heaving ashes out of the stoke
holes of steam ships and other steam vessels, the employment for the purpose of a
pneumatic tube or tubes in communication by a valve with the condenser whereby
buckets containing the ashes are raised substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.
.
2nd. In machinery or apparatus for hoisting or heaving ashes out of the stoke
holes of steam ships and other steam vessels, the pneumatic tube B communicating
with condenser by pipe I governed by controlling valve K operated by rod L and
lever M; the piston E, sheaves or pulleys C and D, and wire ropes F by which
buckets G are raised through ventilating shafts A A and doors A' substantially as
and for the purposes herein before described.
3rd. The particular construction and arrangement of parts forming my improved
machinery for hoisting or heaving ashes out of the stoke boles of steam ships
and other steam vessels substantially as herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings together with any mere modification or modifications
thereof.