Improvements in or appertaining to Elevating and Conveying Apparatus, Especially Applicable for Handling Grain.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 23rd May, 1891-Accepted, 15th Aug.. 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Elevating and Conveying
Apparatus, Especially Applicable for Handling Grain.
A communication from abroad by APOSTOLOS MARANGOS, of Marseilles, in the.
Republic of France, Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6 Bank Street, Man-
chester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists in a vertical elevating apparatus, having a continuous
screw conveyor and readily operated adjusting devices for the discharge and the
feed. It is intended for the transport or handling of all kinds of granular and
pulverulent matters, and especially for cereals in mills, warehouses, etcetera, and for
loading and unloading ships, barges etcetera.
This apparatus is composed of a series of vertical tubes in the interior of which
there moves an Archimedean screw terminating in a feed point as hereinafter
described.
Owing to the speed imparted to this screw, (600 to 1000 revolutions per
minute, dependent on the weight and the nature of the material to be manipu-
lated) the resistance of the weight of the material is overcome and the grain
easily mounts in the tubes. It has been demonstrated by experiment that in
tubes 200 millimetres in diameter, and with a force of about eight horse power
and a speed of 800 revolutions per minute, almost one hundred tons of wheat is
raised per hour. Consequently it becomes an easy matter to deal with considerably
larger quantities by this apparatus by increasing the diameter of the tubes and
the motive power or the speed.
The tubes are connected together by self-registering flanges or their equivalent
and fastened by three bolts. They are bored internally and bear, at their lower
ends, a skeleton frame with three radial branches (one of which is hollow for
lubricating purposes) which serves as a support for the Archimedean screw.
The screw, whether left or right handed, with a double or simple thread (a
simple thread is more advantageous for a diameter of 200 millimetres) is turned
on its periphery and should turn in the interior of the tube with a gentle friction.
If there be play between the tube and the screw, the grain becomes wedged
The two
and gets broken, necessitating considerably more force for moving it.
ends of the axis of the screw are notched in such manner that they can be
easily and spontaneously thrown out of gear.
THE FEED OF THE SCREW.
At its lower extremity, the screw, in place of moving in a tube, dips freely
into the grain and is only maintained by four uprights connected by flanges and
bolts. Although the screw may be bare, the grain, into the midst of which it
is plunged, acts, by its own weight, as a wall all round the screw and serves the
same office as the resistance-wall of the tubes. It is this fact which, according
to the inventor, is one of the principal points in the invention, and it is upon
the basis of this that his screw-apparatus, for manipulating granular or pulverulent
material directly and vertically, is constructed. That part of the screw which
is bare and which serves for feeding the apparatus is of the same diameter as
the various lengths of screws which are in the tubes.

page_text: The above arrangement is sufficient for securing the free working of the
apparatus. Nevertheless attempts have been made to replace this portion of the
apparatus, by a little conical tube bearing a conical screw and extending beyond
the lower end of said tube with the object of increasing the capacity (dosage)
of the apparatus without increasing the diameter of all the tubes. These
attempts have proved successful. The conical screw has the advantage, but on
the condition that the motive power is increased proportionately to the base of the
cone. This is why these apparatus are furnished with both a conical screw and a
cylindrical screw, so that either the one or the other may be employed according to
the speed at which it is desired to work and according to the motive power at the
disposal of the user.
This cylindrical or conical arrangement of the free portion of the apparatus
is more than sufficient. Nevertheless, in order to favour the descent of the
tubes, there are added, at the lower part thereof, four uprights connected by
flanges and bolts, and terminating in a point bearing a conical winglet. In this
manner either by its form or by the conical winglet which prepares the way
for the descent of the apparatus, the latter descends more easily and dips into
the depth of the hold according as the level of the grain becomes lower.
LENGTHENING THE APPARATUS AND ITS VERTICAL AND AUTOMATIC DESCENT
INTO THE HOLD.
The elevator is supported within a framework which can be dismantled in all
its parts for facility of transport and of package. On this framework are fixed
two vertical and parallel columns on which can slide the upper extremity of the
elevator tube consisting of a small tube and containing its corresponding length of
screw axle which is provided with a long key bed to permit of its vertical move-
ment through the driving gearing. This part of the axle exceeds its containing
tube in length by about a metre. In this manner the apparatus, being free to
slide vertically as above described, descends by its own weight being guided
between the columns until it comes to a point where its movement is arrested by
collars on the columns coming in contact with perforated lugs carried by the short
tube aforesaid. This descent is regulated and moderated by counterweights which
retain the short tube at the top of the framework-when the former is disconnected
from the rest of the tubes for the purpose of inserting an additional length-and
the adjacent length of tube is retained in position by a clamping collar and by
the resistance of the grain on which the apparatus rests.
The short tube aforesaid having arrived at the bottom of its course, if it is
desired to lengthen the apparatus and to make it descend still lower, it is only
necessary to loosen the jointed bolts which connect the first tube to the short tube
taking the precaution to previously press close the clamping collar aforesaid. "The
line of tubes now remains stationary being held by the tightened collar and by the
grain on which they are partly supported, but the small tube aforesaid, being
liberated by the unbolting, is drawn up by the counterweights and ascends to cross
frame at the top of the framework, said cross frame forming the upper stop for the
short tube and being at a distance from the lower abutment of about 1.04 metres, a
space sufficiently large for bolting on a fresh tube and continuing the operation.
The clamping collar being slacked, the apparatus then descends automatically, as
a boring machine would do, being lengthened from time to time from above by
"the successive interposition of new elements and this is continued until the bottom
of the hold is reached, without it being necessary for any one to descend into
'the hold.
When the apparatus has arrived at the bottom of the hold, two or three workmen
are sufficient to direct the grain onto the bottom of the elevator. Whilst for
spacious holds and for large depôts, the inventor reserves the right of applying
ultimately, to the lower part of the apparatus, a horizontal and movable collecting

page_text: tube so that the material in all the nooks and corners of the hold may be accessible,
and may be carried to the foot of the elevator.
CONVEYING THE GRAIN OUT OF THE SHIP.
The upper length of the elevator tube discharges the grain by a shute into a
hopper which is bolted to the first length of the conveyor tube. The latter is
composed of the same elements as the clevator, with this difference, that they are
much lighter and there are five millimetres of play between the screw and the
tube. The conveyor is fixed to the framework of the apparatus by two jointed
arms which are mounted upon a sleeve that is traversed by a horizontal shaft.
This shaft supports the arms, the conveyor driving gearing and the driving pulley
therefor. Owing to this arrangement the conveyor tube may be inclined in a
vertical direction and may be placed in any position required in discharging, and
that without being fixed either on the masts of the ship or elsewhere.
PUTTING THE APPARATUS IN OPERATION.
Any motor whatsoever placed on the boat's deck, on a barge, or on the quay, the
ship's winch, and even a winch actuated by hand, for small apparatus, may impart
movement to the driving pulley of the apparatus by means of a belt. The motion
is transmitted to suitable gearing on the top of the framework and thence to the
shaft, which transmits motion to the vertical elevator screw of the apparatus.
The same movement is, at the same time, transmitted to the driving pulley of
the conveyor, which actuates the bevel pinions and, by their means, the shaft of
the conveyor tube and the screw which is fixed thereon.
The above description applies especially to one of the types of the apparatus,
but it is to be well understood that it may be modified in its parts and in its
arrangement, without departing from the principles on which the invention
is based.
Dated this 2nd low of tumunt 1900
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Per John Hayes,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Elevating and Conveying
Apparatus, Especially Applicable for Handling Grain.
A communication from abroad by APOSTOLOS MARANGOS, of Marseilles, in the
Republic of France, Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, & 323, High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature or this
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 in a vertical elevating apparatus, having a continuous
screw conveyor and readily operated adjusting devices for the discharge and the
feed. It is intended for the transport or handling of all kinds of granular and
pulverulent matters, and especially for cereals in mills, warehouses, etcetera, and for
loading and unloading ships, barges, etcetera.
This apparatus is composed of a series of vertical tubes connected together, in
the interior of which there moves an Archimedean screw, terminating in a feed point,
as hereinafter described.
No one, I believe, has hitherto been able to practically apply in general use the

page_text: Archimedean screw in a vertical position. The attempts which have been made
have all resulted in failure, and the question was left unsettled.
The object of this invention is to settle the foregoing matter by carrying out the
two following principles, which have been demonstrated experimentally, and they
constitute the starting point of this invention.
These principles are:-
1. That if an uncovered endless screw, that is to say, one not enclosed in a tube,
be plunged vertically into corn or any other granular substance, and a sufficiently
rapid rotating movement be given to it, it feeds itself perfectly, the weight of the
surrounding grain taking the place of the solid casing, and being replaced, as it is
removed by the screw, by other grain.
2. That if, in place of a cylindrical screw, a conical screw be inserted into the
grain, its feed increases in very considerable proportions without there being any
necessity for increasing its diameter throughout its length.
Reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings and to the figures
and letters of reference marked thereon:-
Figures 1 and 2 are side views of the apparatus at right angles to one another,
with the piece I as hereinafter described in its normal condition; in the former
figure, the tube D is shown in a horizontal position, and, in the latter figure, it is
shown in a vertical one.
Figures 3 and 4 are also views at right angles to one another, but, in these
figures, the piece E, as hereinafter described, is shown in an elevated position; in
each figure there are respectively applied a distributing tube D and a collecting
tube B.
The two foregoing principles being stated, the elevator will now be briefly
described :-
:―
1. THE FEED PORTION.
Based on the two abovenamed principles, it is formed, as will be seen from the
bottom part of Figure 3, of a cylindrical or conical tube F (the drawing shows a
cylindrical tube and screw) in the interior of which a cylindrical or conical endless
screw turns with slight friction, which tube projects from below to the
distance of a turn and a half of the screw F". This latter part of the screw is
supported by a U-shaped crosspiece, the arms a a¹ of which, connected by means of
a cast collar b, are tapped round the tube F, and also, at the bottoni, to a cross
bar e c, which serves as a bearing for the shaft of the feed screw d.
On the free edge of the screw, at a corresponding level to the free edge of the
tube F, a vertical plate e (see Figure 4) is fixed, revolving with the screw; this
plate e serves to prevent small foreign bodies from becoming jammed between the
screw and the tube, thus hindering the working of the apparatus.
As has been stated, this apparatus can have two feed portions, one cylindrical
and the other conical. The latter will take up more, but it also requires more
power; it is useful for cases of urgency.
The feeding apparatus, such as described, takes up the substances directly and
vertically, and that, even down to the bottom of the hold.
When it comes to the bottom of the hold, two or three labourers are sufficient to
break down the mound which forms against the sides of the ship. However, for
large holds or for large storage depôts, it may be desirable that the apparatus
should extend a distance in search of material. For this purpose, a collecting
tube B, shown at foot of Figure 4, is attached to the above described apparatus.
This collecting tube B is also fornied by means of tubes carrying a screw B¹
which receives its motion direct from the vertical screw by means of gear
wheels fy', the two small wheels of which, g g', that directly actuate this
collecting tube, are connected by means of a U-shaped crosss piece h', through
the two arms of which passes the shaft i, the arms being supported in bearings k.
On the other hand, the frame K K, which sustains the large gear wheels, is
terminated at the top by a collar L L, which surrounds the lower extremity of the

page_text: Motion may be primarily imparted to the apparatus by the ship's winch or by
any suitable motor fixed on board and actuating the apparatus by means of a belt.
To enable the operations to be carried on with safety on board ship, it is
preferable to actuate this elevator directly by means of a motor O fixed on the
frame itself of the apparatus.
It may be here mentioned that small machines might be constructed to be
actuated by handles and hand power, and which would be of great service to
captains who are not pressed for time and who desire to employ their own crew.
Whether the motive force be derived from the ship's winch, from a motor or
from handles turned by hand, it is transmitted by means of the gearing P PI, and
from them to the shaft and the screw of the clevator.
The shaft Q of the elevator, which traverses the pinion P, is grooved and slides,
in such pinion. All the elements of the apparatus are suspended on this shaft, and,
although held by the chains R and the winch S, (see Figure 4) they are not
hindered from moving in a lateral direction. But, as the least displacement will
cause the gearing to catch and prevent the apparatus from working, such objection
is avoided by the use of the special pinion P designed for this purpose,
and which
will be designated under the name of "Enarthrodial,"

page_text: This enarthrodial pinion P shown in Figure 5 is divided into two parts in order
to allow of the sphere n being, placed therein, that is, the pinion P proper and the
cap o connected together by bolts p. Each of these two, parts is hollowed, into a
semi-spherical cavity, which united form a hollow sphere.
The pinion is, bored in such a way that, between the bore and the shaft, a
conical space having a truncated top exists; in order to allow the shaft to make
angular movements.
This play, being only five millimetres at the surface of the sphere, allows the
latter and the shaft to have a displacement of 225 millimetres per metre which
could be increased if desired by increasing. the size of the boring in the pinion.
Finally, this latter is firmly fixed by its circular projection in a suitable groove
in the frame N.
The sphere n, placed in the spherical, hollow of the pinion, is of bronze and is
traversed from side to side by the shaft Q to which it is fixed by means of a collar
(or key).
A tooth cast on the sphere, fitting into a groove in the pinion, serves to attach
the said sphere to the latter whilst allowing it to have the lateral motion required
by its direction. The apparatus acts, in relation to the tubes, in a similar manner.
to the apparatus for suspending lamps on board ship and allows the tubes to always
remain in a vertical position whatever the inclination of the boat.
To advantageously secure this apparatus against a tendency to move on a change
of the boat's equilibrium, the shaft T and its motive parts P P are further
supported by a pivot, which allows of an inclination of 90° in a transverse direction
to that of the boat. The arrangement which has just been described in reference to
the feed tube, and which will be hereinafter described for the conveyor, is repeated
here, as shown in Figure 2. Finally, by means of this "enarthrodial" pinion, which
protects the apparatus against all the movements of the boat, owing to its being
fixed on a pivot which preserves it much more effectively against rolling, this
elevator may be moved in any direction, and its good working power is absolutely
secured. This is one, and not the least important, of the characteristics of this
apparatus. This is, however, not the sole advantage of this arrangement. It will,
in fact, be easily understood that, the elevator being in nowise held at its bottom, it
can revolve on its vertical axis and form a pyramid, the summit of which is
represented by the pinion and the base by the feed pipe. This latter will then be
fed from a circle which is more extended the more the bottom of the hold is
approached. Further, the holds being divided into two lateral parts by a partition,
the elevator may work either to the right or left of this partition, which captains
often refuse permission to remove.
5. CONVEYOR.
The device for conveying the merchandise to the outside of the ship is composed
of the same parts as the elevator, that is to say, of tubes D (Figure 3) in the interior
of which an endless screw works. The device is fixed on a framework V, resting
on the bed N of the apparatus, the tube D being directly supported by means of
two arms U U with joints; these arms move in bearings X X concentric. to the
gear shaft. In this manner, the conveyor, whilst being firmly attached, can be
moved in a vertical direction, and can not only convey the merchandise to the
outside of the ship, but raise it or even lower it. Owing to this arrangement, the
conveyor can also serve for loading a ship; in such case it will be sufficient to
plunge it into the heap to be loaded and to cross the belt Y Y. Motion is supplied
by the motor O by means of two pulleys Z Z and the belt Y which transmit the
motion to the gearing and the shaft of the conveyor.

page_text: which may be previously prepared in different lengths, are fitted up and the device
is fixed on one of the ship's masts. At the same time, the tubes of the elevator are
fitted up. If the hold be full, a single tube will be sufficient to reach the surface
of the wheat. The retaining collar m is tightened, which maintains the feed tube
in its place and prevents it from falling into the hold; then the small section E is
unbolted and it is drawn up by means of the winch S and chains R; there remains
then, between the piece E which is raised and the feed tube held back by the
collar, a sufficient space intended for taking a tube a metre in length and its
screw. It is then only necessary to bolt this tube at the top to the piece E and at
the bottom to the feed tube, and the apparatus is fitted up as shown in Figures 3
and 4.
The apparatus being fitted up, it suffices to unscrew the check collar m in order
to allow the apparatus to descend by its own weight in proportion as the wheat on
which it rests is removed, in the same way as with a boring machine. It descends
therefore automatically and gradually into the hold, and this descent is regulated
by the winch S and the chains R. When the material is exhausted, the machine is
lengthened another metre by repeating the above described process which takes
scarcely five minutes.
The apparatus is thus lengthened by the successive addition of fresh parts
according as they are required, and feeds itself spontaneously down to the bottom
of the hold. When it has reached that, one or two men are sufficient to feed it,
but, if the hold is too large, the feed tube shown in Figure 4 must be employed,
which goes in search of the material in all the corners of the hold and brings it to
the foot of the elevator.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In elevating apparatus such as hereinbefore described, the improved arrange-
ment of the feed part consisting in having the bottom portion of the cylindrical or
conical screw inserted naked into the grain or other material so as to automatically
feed itself and to take the material vertically and directly and be capable of
reaching to the very bottom of the hold, substantially as hereinbefore described
and shown.
2. The arrangement of parts in connection with the collecting tube shown in
Figure 4, whereby such tube becomes capable of moving in any direction and of
going in search of the material in all the corners and recesses of the hold in
order to bring it to the elevator which thus feeds itself spontaneously and
automatically.
3. The method of fixing in connection with the head of the apparatus, which,
being essentially mobile, insures the due working of the apparatus and allows the
lateral movements indispensable for operations on board ship.
4. The application of the independent and movable conveyor substantially as
hereinbefore described, which is capable of serving not only to discharge but also
to load a ship or for use elsewhere.
5. The arrangement of parts whereby the apparatus can be lengthened and
descend automatically and gradually into the hold or into any other place where
the apparatus is being used.
6. The general arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinbefore described and
shown, forming the improved elevating and conveying apparatus for use as herein-
before described.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.