IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MINERAL ORES, COAL, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM IMPURITIES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Edwards, of 13, Beaufort Buildings,
Strand, London, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MINERAL ORES,
COAL, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM IMPURITIES."
Sealed the 7th February 1862, and dated the 14th August 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Edwards at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
August 1861.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of 13, Beaufort Buildings, Strand, London, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MINERAL ORES,
COAL, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES PROM IMPURITIES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of an arrangement of a cistern of wood, iron, or
other material containing water, as shewn in the annexed Drawings, Figures 1,
2, 3, and 4, and marked A. The top of this cistern at one extremity is open,
and is higher than the remainder, which is closed.
In the open part is
arranged a grating of wire gauze or perforated metal, B, held between two
frames, bolted together, as shewn at A and B in Fig. 5, and resting upon
ledges in the interior of the cistern. On the top of the closed part of the
cistern is a circular aperture C, closed by a disc of leather or other flexible
substance to which is attached a convex circular plate of iron, upon which

page_text: is screwed a block of hard wood or other substance D. At the outer extre-
mity of the cistern is a mouth or discharging piece E, over which the lighter
part of the substance operated upon by the machine is discharged either by
simple rakes or scrapers used by a workman standing in front of the machine,
or by rakes or scrapers worked by the machine itself by means of the crank
and connecting rod M. These rakes or scrapers J are so arranged as to be
supported by wheels L, L, running upon angle irons or brackets attached to the
outside of the cistern A. Above the flexible disc is arranged a shaft F, sup-
ported in suitable bearings G, G, and caused to revolve by means of the driving
pulley H; upon this shaft is keyed a cam piece I, consisting of one or more
cams, so arranged that the revolution of the shaft F causes them successively
to strike and depress the block of hard wood D and the flexible leather disc
and plate attached to it. After each such depression these are again raised by
the pressure of the water in the open part of the cistern A, and a series of alter-
nate elevations and depressions of the water through the wire gauze or grating
B is thus caused by the revolution of the shaft F.
The material to be operated upon is permitted to fall upon the perforated plate
or wire gauze B from the hopper K, after having been passed, if necessary,
through a screen or grating, to separate all pieces too large for operating on by
the machine. When the wire gauze B is thus covered by the material to be
operated upon, the shaft F is caused to revolve, and the water is thus forced
suddenly through the wire gauze at each depression of the flexible disc D; tho
water in rising lifts with it the material resting upon the wire gauze, and upon
the removal of the cam the flexible disc slowly rises, and the water slowly falls
through the wire gauze. The material operated on then descends, its compo-
nent parts falling with a speed proportioned to their specific gravity; thus
forming distinct layers upon the wire gauze or perforated plate B. In the caso
of mineral ores the lower layer is the most valuable, and the upper layer is the
waste, to be removed; but in the case of coal the upper layer is the purest,
and the lower layer, consisting of shale, iron pyrites, &c., is to be rejected.
When a sufficient quantity of the heavier part of the material operated on
has accumulated upon the wire gauze or perforated plate B (which is not until
a much larger quantity of the lighter part has been removed by the scrapers J),
the frame carrying the scrapers and wheels L, L, is turned up (upon the joints
N, N,) so as to leave the open part of the cistern accessible, and the heavy
material is removed by hand into a separate waggon.
When the bottom of the cistern becomes filled with the fine particles which
pass through the wire gauze B, the latter is removed with the frames A and B,
Fig. 5, which support it, and the fine substance is dug out and carried away.

page_text: Where several machines are to work together, a double crank F, Fig. 6, is
used, and the shafts of all such machines are connected together in a line.
Great economy is effected by this Invention both in the cost of the machine
and in the time required to remove the substances accumulating upon the wire
gauze and in the cistern, since the frame carrying the scrapers can be instantly
turned out of the way when necessary, and great efficiency in cleansing the
material operated upon is effected by the use of cams (instead of cranks), for
the purpose of depressing the flexible disc, which is thus allowed to rise slowly
instead of being drawn suddenly up, thus causing a much more effective sepa-
ration of the light from the heavy portion of the substance or material operated
upen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edmund Edwards in the Great Seal Patent Oflice on the
11th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
EDWARDS, of 13, Beaufort Buildings, Strand, London, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edmund Edwards, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund Edwards,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edmund
Edwards, 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MINERAL ORES, COAL, AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES FROM IMPURITIES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Edmund Edwards, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Edwards, 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:
This Invention consists of an arrangement of a cistern of wood, iron, or
other suitable material containing water.. The upper part of the cistern is
open at one end on the top, and is higher than the remainder, which is closed.
A grating or screen of perforated metal or wire guaze is so arranged in the
open part of the cistern that the mineral ores, coal, or other substance to be
cleansed from impurities can be fed upon it through a suitable hopper. By
means of a flexible disc of leather, india-rubber, or other suitable material
covering an aperture on the top of the closed part of the cistern, the water is
caused to rise suddenly in pulsations through the grating or screen, and the
mineral or other substances resting or supported thereon and upon the water
being driven upward, the whole of the mineral or other substances resting
upon the screen is raised suddenly, and is then permitted to fall slowly, so that
its component parts subside upon the screen in the order of their respective
specific gravities. Layers are thus formed upon the screen, of which the lower
part is the heaviest, and the upper part is the lightest. Where coal is being
operated upon, the lower part consists of shale, iron pyrites, and other impu-
rities, which have to be removed, and the upper part consists of clean coal;
but where mineral ores are being operated upon, the lower part consists of the
clean ore, and the upper part of the lighter waste, which has to be removed by
the means herein-after described.
The flexible disc covering the aperture in the top of the closed part of the
cistern is fixed at such a depth below the level of the water in the open part of
the cistern, that the flexible disc (with a conical plate of sheet iron or other
suitable material which is attached to the disc, and upon which is screwed a
block of hard wood or other suitable substance), is raised as high as its flexi-
bility will allow by the pressure of the water beneath it, and its sudden
depression, to cause the water to rise through the perforated plate or wire
gauze, is effected by the revolution of a shaft placed above it and carrying one
or more cams. After each sudden depression of the disc by the cams which
strike upon the block of hard wood connected to the disc, the latter rises slowly
by the pressure of the water beneath it until the succeeding cam again sud-
denly depresses it. The water is thus caused to move through the screen or
wire gauze in a succession of pulsations, during which it rises suddenly and
then falls slowly, and so on successively.
The lighter or upper layer of the mineral ores, coal, or other substance

page_text: operated upon is removed from the cistern by means of a series of suspended
scrapers carried by a frame, which runs upon rollers or wheels supported by
angle irons or ledges attached to the cistern, which frame is moved backwards
and forwards by a crank upon the same shaft which carries the cams already
described; and when it is necessary to remove the layer of heavy material
which has accumulated upon the perforated plate or screen, the frame carrying
the scrapers is turned up upon two of the wheels which support it, without
stopping the machine, and the heavy material is raked off by hand into waggons
or other suitable receptacles.
Two or more of the cisterns may be arranged one above the other, or pre-
ferably, side by side, so that they may be connected together in such a manner
as to be driven by one driving shaft from any convenient source of power, or
so that the material operated upon after being partially cleansed in one cistern
may be discharged into one or more cisterns, where the cleansing process may
be continued until it is completed.
Great economy is effected by this Invention both in the first cost of the
machine and in the time required to remove the heavy substances which accu-
mulate upon the perforated plates or wire gauze, and great efficiency in
cleansing the material operated upon by the use of cams (instead of cranks),
for the purpose of depressing the flexible disc, which is thus allowed to rise
slowly instead of being drawn suddenly up, which would prevent so effective a
separation of the light from the heavy parts of the substances operated on.
Great durability is obtained in the machine by the absence of cranks, working
cylinders, and pistons, for the purpose of causing the pulsation of the water;
the use of cams enabling very rapid pulsations to be given to the water without
friction or loss of water, and by means of comparatively few revolutions of the
driving shaft.
In illustration of this Invention the accompanying Sheet of Drawings con-
tains Figures exhibiting some of the forms and arrangements which it may be
convenient to give to machines constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 1 represents a section; Figure 2 a plan; and Figure 3 an end view
of a machine intended for washing mineral ores or coal.
A is a cistern of wood, iron, or other material. The top of this cistern, at one
extremity, is open, and is higher than the remainder at the other extremity
which is closed. In the open part, and some distance from the top, is arranged
a grating of perforated metal or wire gauze B, held between two frames bolted
together, as shewn in Figures 4, where A is a frame of metal composed of
diagonal bars, and B is a frame of metal composed of longitudinal bars, these
two frames being bolted together with the perforated plate or wire gauze

page_text: between them. These frames rest, with the diagonal bars downward, upon
ledges attached to the interior of the eistern. On the top of the closed
part of the cistern is a circular aperture C, closed by a disc of leather, india-
rubber, or other flexible substance, to which is attached a convex plate of sheet
iron, upon which is screwed a block of hard wood or other suitable substance D.
Attached to the convex plate of sheet iron are two bars turning upon centres,
so that when the flexible disc (with the convex plate and block attached to it)
rises and falls, it may do so perpendicularly. At the outer extremity of the
cistern is a mouth or discharging piece E, over which the lighter part of the
substance operated upon by the machine is discharged, either by simple rakes
or scrapers used by a workman standing in front of the machine, or preferably
by means of rakes or scrapers worked by the machine itself by means of the
crank and connecting rod M. These rakes or scrapers J, J, are suspended in
an iron frame so arranged as to be supported by rollers or wheels L, L, which
run upon angle irons or brackets attached to the outside of the cistern A.
Above the flexible disc is arranged a shaft F, supported in suitable bearings
G, G, attached to the cistern, and caused to revolve by means of a driving
pulley H, connected with any convenient source of power. Upon this shaft is
keyed a cam piece I, consisting of one or more cams so arranged that the
revolution of the shaft F causes them successively to strike and depress the
block of hard wood D, with the convex plate and flexible disc attached to it.
And the shaft F is placed so far back from the centre of the flexible disc that
each cam shall strike the block of hard wood suddenly, immediately over the
centre of the flexible disc, and shall leave the block of hard wood gradually, so
as to allow the latter to rise slowly after each depression, by the pressure of
the water in the open part of the cistern A, and a series of sudden elevations
and gentle depressions of the water through the perforated plate or wire
gauze B is thus caused by the revolution of the shaft F. The mineral ore,
coal, or other material to be operated upon is permitted to fall upon the
perforated plate or wire gauze B from the hopper K, after having been passed
(if necessary) through a screen or grating to separate all pieces too large for
operating upon in the machine. When the wire gauze B is thus covered with
the material to be operated upon, the shaft F is caused to revolve and the
water is thus forced suddenly through the wire gauze B at each depression of
the flexible disc. The water in rising lifts with it the ore or coal resting upon
the wire gauze, and upon the removal of the cam the flexible disc slowly rises
and the water slowly falls through the wire gauze. The material operated
upon then descends, its component parts falling with a speed proportionate to
their specific gravity, thus forming distinct layers upon the perforated plate

page_text: or wire gauze B. In the case of mineral ores the lower layer is the most
valuable, and the upper layer is the waste to be removed by the scrapers J, J,
but in the case of coal the upper layer is the most valuable, and consists of
purified coal, whilst the lower layer consists of shale, iron pyrites, and waste,
and is to be rejected.
When the machine has been in operation long enough for a sufficient
quantity of the heavier part of the material operated upon to accumulate upon
the perforated plate or wire gauze B, the frame carrying the scrapers J, J, is
turned back upon the wheels L, L, without stopping the machine, so as to
leave the open top of the cistern A accessible, and the heavy material is
removed by hand into a separate waggon or other convenient receptacle; and
when the bottom of the cistern becomes filled with the fine particles of material
which pass through the openings in the wire gauze or perforated metal B, the
latter with the frames which carry it is removed from the machine and the
A small quantity
fine stuff in the cistern is dug out and carried away.
of water necessary to keep the machine constantly full is supplied whilst it
is in operation through the hopper K, or directly into the upper part of the
machine.
In some cases I make the perforated plate or wire gauze B, with the frames
carrying it, rest upon a frame moveable vertically by means of suitable handles,
so that when sufficient heavy stuff has accumulated thereon, the whole may be,
raised sufficiently high for the stuff to be removed by the scrapers J, J, instead
of by hand as previously described.
The framing of the machines and the cisterns may be constructed of iron or
of wood, or partly of iron and partly of wood (as shewn in the Figures) or of
any other suitable material or materials.
Having now described my said Invention, and the manner in which it is
intended to be employed and worked for the purposes for which the said
machines are designed and intended to be employed, I wish it to be
understood that I do not claim the washing of mineral ores, or coal, or metallic
substances, or other materials of a similar character, by means of water caused
to pulsate through perforated plates by means of cylinders and pistons or
flexible discs worked by cranks and connecting rods, nor the removal of the
lighter parts of such materials by means of moveable rakes or scrapers; but I
claim as my Invention,-
First, the novel combination of the several parts of the machines herein
described for the purpose of washing mineral and other substances or materials,
as herein-before set forth.
Second, the novel application of flexible discs worked by revolving cams in

page_text: the manner described for the purpose of producing sudden elevations and
gradual depressions of water used for washing or purifying substances or
materials as aforesaid.
Third, the combination with such flexible discs and moveable cams when
employed for the purposes before mentioned, of wheels or rollers carrying
scrapers in such a manner that the said scrapers can be turned up out
of the way for the purpose of cleansing the screens without stopping the
machine.
Fourth, the arrangement of such flexible discs, cams, and scrapers so that
the same water can be employed for a considerable time in performing
the duty for which it is required instead of permitting it to escape con-
tinuously.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Edwards, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
WILLIAM RAIKES,
13, Beaufort Buildings,
Strand.
EDMUND EDWARDS. (L.S.)