Coal and other Substances.
Year: 1885

page_text: · Coal and other Substances.
I, HENRY GEORGE FAIRBURN of 222 Cowbridge Road, Cardiff, in the County
of Glamorgan, South Wales, Engineer do hereby declaro the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING AND SOLIDIFYING
COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES. to be as follows:-
To make this class of Machinery more efficient and continuous in its action,
ensuring perfect division of the compressed blocks or bricks, and for moulding or
giving form to the blocks or bricks with or without division pallets.
The Machinery consists of one or more moulding plungers having a horizontal
reciprocating motion of about 16 inches stroke, working into a moveable and
bottomless moulding die about 28 inches long, of corresponding form or shape, and
which is caused to travel by friction on the plungers about one inch backwards
and forwards in a line with a fixed moulding and retaining tube open at the end,
and of sufficient length to cause resistance by the material passing through it and
against the sides of the retaining tube or die for the compressing plunger to force
against, and thus solidify the substance operated upon, and at the same time force
the blocks or bricks along and through the moulding die and retaining tube on to
a travelling band perfectly solid and ready for transit.
The Coal or other material after being prepared is fed into a hopper beneath
which a bottomless measure is worked simultaneously with the plunger and the
moveable moulding die.
The bottomless measure conveys the Coal or other material from the hopper by
the outward stroke of the plunger and delivers it into the moulding die, and as the
plunger returns for the inner stroke it carries with it by friction the moulding die,
and forces it against the fixed retaining tube, and as the plunger proceeds it
compresses the Coal or other material against the last made block or brick left in
the retaining tube, and the whole of the blocks or bricks are moved along the
retaining tube, a block or brick being ejected at the other end on to the travelling
band at each stroke of the plunger, the last compressed block or brick being forced
within the entrance of the retaining tube, and so on continuously.
The plunger as it returns brings with it the moulding die about one inch from
the fixed retaining tube, which admits a free current of air, a spray of water, or
other lubricant, which effects the more certain parting of the next moulded block
or brick which follows.
°

page_text: Improvements in Machinery for Compressing and Solidifying
. Coal and other Substances.
I HENRY GEORGE FAIRBURN of 222 Cowbridge Road Cardiff in the County
of Glamorgan South Wales, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING & SOLIDIFYING
COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the improvements in question is to make this class of machinery
more efficient and continuous in its action, and to ensure the equal solidification
throughout each block, and to mould, and perfectly seperate each block or brick
with or without division or seperating pallets.
The machinery consists of one or more moulding plungers connected either:
directly or indirectly with a piston rod having a reciprocating motion of any given
⚫ length of stroke.
The end of the plunger is to work into a short moveable die of any suitable
Jength determined by the size of the block to be compressed which die is to be
'supplied with an aperture for the admission of the substance to be treated, the
'aperture is alternately opened & closed simultaneously with the reciprocating
stroke of the plunger.
The moveable die is placed in line with a fixed tube or retaining die, but so that
a space shall intervene between them of about one inch, over which space the
moveable die is caused to travel forward and backward, that is with a motion corre-
sponding with that of the plunger, the plunger itself by its friction with the
internal surface of the moveable die being the motive power.
When the machine is in motion the moveable die is alternately forced agst the
end of the fixed or retaining die and so forming one continuous tube and drawn
away to the distance of the one inch already described.
The fixed tube or retaining die should correspond exactly in size and shape with
the moveable die so that a block may pass uninterruptably from one to the other,
the length of the fixed tube or retaining die being regulated by the degree of
density required for the compressed block.
The substance to be compressed on being introduced into the short moveable
moulding die is shaped into a block by the forward stroke of the plunger and is
driven just within the fixed tube or retaining die, the length of the stroke of the
plunger being adjusted accordingly.
At the backward stroke of the plunger, the moveable die (it has been shown)
returns with it for the distance of one inch and thus leaves the face of the block
momentarily exposed and permits the passage across its surface of a current of air
or jet of steam or water so as at the same time to clean the face of the plunger and
harden the block sufficiently to enable it to resist the pressure against it of the
block which is to follow.

page_text: The subsequent blocks are formed in a similar manner and force - onward the
preceding ones through the retaining die, the resistance caused by their friction
with its internal surface completes their formation and compresses them to the
degree of density required which it has been previously shown is determined by
the length of the fixed tube or retaining die.
The blocks after their passage through the fixed tube or retaining die are
released in a perfectly hard and solid condition ready to be loaded into wagons or
stacked.
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 The equal solidification and perfect division or seperation of Compressed
blocks of Coal or other Substance by means of a moveable moulding die working
with a reciprocating motion in line and in conjunction with a plunger and
retaining tube as herein before described.