IMPROVEMENTS IN DIRECT-ACTING POWER HAMMERS Y AND MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING AND PULVERISING
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Chatwood, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, and John Sturgeon, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DIRECT-ACTING POWER HAMMERS
YWA
D
Sealed the 31st May 1870, and dated the 10th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Chatwood
and John Sturgeon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 10th March 1870.
We, SAMUEL CHATWOOD, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and
JOHN STURGEON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DIRECT-ACTING
POWER HAMMERS AND MACHINERY FOR CRUSHING AND PULVERISING," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates in the first place to an improved arrangement
of hammer for stamping and crushing ores, quartz, and other mineral
substances. It has heretofore been usual to effect the crushing of ore by

page_text: means of a number of stamps lifted by means of cams and tappets, and
dropping by their own weight, and it has also been proposed to apply the
direct action of the steam or other motive power to the stamp head in
place of the tappet and cam motion above described.
In our improvements we employ a hammer or stamp actuated by
steam or other motive power as above described, the stamp head being
carried by a cylinder moving over its piston and rod, the latter being
fixtures, and the cylinder working within a closed box or coffer into which
the ore is delivered from a shoot. The passage from the shoot into the
coffer is placed at such a height above the anvil as to cause the ore as it
falls to spread equally over the anvil, and is also so situated that the
moving cylinder when at the top of its stroke leaves the passage
momentarily open allowing a small quantity of ore to fall through, and in
its downward stroke the cylinder itself serves as a door closing up the
opening and preventing the further passage of the ore.
The inclination
of the shoot is so adjusted that the ore is barely supported thereon
without slipping downwards towards the coffer until disturbed by the
shock of the blow of the stamp head, which causes a portion of the ore in
the shoot to slip down into the passage leading to the interior of the
coffer from which it falls on to the anvil the moment the opening is
exposed by the hammer arriving at the top of its stroke. A stream of
water is kept continually flowing into the coffer, which is furnished with
a series of gratings at a convenient height above the anvil face, through
which the ore stuff passes out with the water when sufficiently pulverized,
being raised up to the height of the gratings by the displacement caused
by the stamp head descending upon the anvil. From these gratings the
water and ore stuff passes into a circular trough fitting round the coffer
and from the trough is washed down to the buddle or other apparatus
employed for finally separating the ore.
are both by preference of circular form, and either or both of them may
be arranged to turn round so as to change the surface acted upon by the
blows, and thereby equalize the wear.
The stamp head and anvil face
Our Invention relates in the next place to improved arrangements of
machinery for crushing and pulverizing coal, bone, and other substances
which required to be pulverized only without any washing and separating
process as required in treating ores. Substances such as above mentioned
have usually been crushed between rollers, or by edge runners, or
by surfaces in rubbing contact.

page_text: According to our Invention we employ a hammer or hammers
actuated by steam or other motive power for breaking up and pulverizing
the coal, bone, or such other substances as may be conveniently pulverised
by a hammering process instead of a squeezing or rubbing process. This
we effect in the following manner:-An ordinary self-acting steam
hammer is provided with an anvil of circular form carried in strong
bearings on the base plate or frame of the hammer in such a way that
the circular anvil may revolve in the bearings as a roller.
The anvil may
be arranged to revolve either in a vertical or horizontal plane. The
material to be operated upon passes down a shoot on to the anvil which
slowly revolves bringing a fresh supply under the hammer at each blow
and delevering it down another shoot, a "doctor" being applied to the
revolving anvil to scrape of any of the material which might cake and
adhere thereto. The requisite revolving motion may be imparted to the
anvil by means of a ratchet wheel and catch arrangement by which the
anvil is turned a little after cach blow, or the blow itself may be caused
to impart the requisite motion in the case of the vertically revolving
anvil by placing the anvil in such a position that it may receive the blows
at a point a little beyond the centre instead of directly over the centre of
the bearings. The anvil may also be arranged to slide horizontally, the
material being deposited thereon, or it may be stationary while the
hammer is working, being provided with a recess to contain the material,
which may be charged or emptied as required. The anvil may also be
made a fixture at an angle sufficient to support the material deposited
thereon from the shoot without slipping down the incline, and the
hammer may be also inclined so as to work at right angles to the face of
the anvil, so that the material may be continuously brought down under
the hammer and delivered down a shoot from the anvil by the shock
from the blow of the hammer. The hammer may also work vertically
over the inclined anvil, the hammer face being inclined at the same angle
as the anvil and being supported by strong guides to resist the outward
thrust caused by the wedge action of the two inclined surfaces.
It is obvious that these arrangements may be variously modified to
suit the various descriptions of substances to which this mode of
pulverizing may be applied, such as coal, bone, sand, chemical substances,
grain, seed and other substances.
In the next place our Invention consists in certain improvements in
valves and valve mechanism for direct-acting nower hammere
In nower

page_text: hammers of the moving cylinder class the valve has heretofore been
placed in the frame or beam to which the piston rod is connected, and
near the top of the piston rod. And the piston rod contains passages
through which the steam has to pass from the valve chamber to the
moving cylinder and from the cylinder to the atmosphere. This
arrangement however entails considerable waste of steam and a sluggish
action in consequence of the distance the steam has to travel from the
valve to the cylinder. To obviate this defect we place a valve in the
piston itself, making the interior of the piston and rod serve as the valve
chamber and the ports leading direct from the interior of the piston
into the cylinder. We prefer to make the valve of the form of a hollow
piston, and carried up through the piston rod as a pipe through which the
steam passes down to the cylinder, exhausting into the annular space left
between the pipe or barrel of the valve and the piston rod.
Another improvement has reference to valve mechanism for direct-
action power hammers, described in the Specification of a Patent granted
to one of us on the 23rd May 1863, and numbered 1292. In working
direct-acting power hammers it is sometimes desirable that the hammer
should remain at rest at the top of its stroke for convenience in setting
the work under it, but in these self-acting hammers this cannot be
effected, as the valve becomes reversed when the hammer is at the top of
its stroke. In order to obviate this inconvenience we apply to the valve
levers suitable mechanism whereby the setting of the valve can be
readily altered in relation to the ports in such a way as to prevent the
valve when reversed by the action of the levers from opening the steam
port above the piston and the exhaust port below it. By these means
the steam will be retained on the under side of the piston, the upper side
remaining open to the exhaust, and the hammer will thus be caused to
remain suspended at the top of its stroke.
On returning the valve to its original position the hammer will be
caused to work as before. This may be effected in a variety of ways, for
instance, an eccentric may be applied to the joint pin of one of the levers
or rods in direct connection with the valve lever or to the valve lever itself,
in such a way that by turning the eccentric partly round the setting of
the valve is altered in its relation to the position of the levers. Or in
place of an eccentric a screw or other suitable arrangement may be
applied, or the action of the levers may be so modified in relation to the
valve as to produce the desired effect by arranging the main centre on

page_text: which the levers work in such a way that its position may be readily
altered, thereby altering the action of the levers and rods depending on
it sufficiently to change their effect upon the valve to the extent
required.
The form of valve we prefer to use is that of a piston valve, the steam
and exhaust ports consisting of short passages as near as possible to the
top and bottom of cylinder and opening direct into the valve chamber.
The valve consists of a hollow pipe enlarged at the port ends so as to fill
the valve chamber completely as a piston, the steam being admitted
down the centre of the pipe and exhausting round the outside. This
valve has usually been worked by a rod connected thereto and passing
through a stuffing box at one end of the valve chest; but this
arrangement is objectionable as the valve is liable to be shaken loose
from the rod and the stuffing box is liable to leak unless screwed up so
tight as to interfere with the easy working of the valve. In order to
obviate this difficulty we work the valve by means of a lever suitably
connected thereto, and working enclosed in that part of the valve chest
which is open to the atmosphere for the exhaust. The lever may have a
forked end provided with pins forged solid thereon which fit in a groove
formed round the barrel of the valve, and the joint pin of the lever may
pass through an ordinary pin hole formed in the valve casing. By thus
working the valve from a lever or other appliance in the exhaust portion
of the valve casing the necessity of providing a stuffing box is obviated,
as it is obvious that there would be no pressure in the exhaust sufficient
to cause steam to blow through the joint formed in the casing for the
lever to work through, and by the arrangement above described the bolts
and nuts employed in fastening the valve to the rod are dispensed
with.
Another improvement has for its object the regulating of the lifting
power of the hammer in such a way that it may be prevented from
attaining too excessive power when the ordinary working pressure is
increased. For this purpose we apply to one of the levers in direct
connection with the valve lever, or to the valve lever itself, a stop
arrangement which may have the effect of checking the lever before it
has moved to its full extent when the blow has been struck, and thereby
giving less steam on the lifting side of the piston. This stop may be a
set screw in the lever, the end of which set screw comes in contact with a
projection on the frame of the hammer and prevents the further motion

page_text: of the lever in opening the bottom port. Or the set screw may be on the
projection so that the lever may come against it. Or instead of the set
screw an eccentric may be placed in the frame near the lever so as to
stop the lever at any required point of its travel according to the position
of the eccentric.
of the lever in opening the bottom port. Or the set screw may be on the
projection so that the lever may come against it. Or instead of the set
screw an eccentric may be placed in the frame near the lever so as to
stop the lever at any required point of its travel according to the position
of the eccentric.
By this arrangement for giving more or less steam on the lifting side
of the piston the lifting power may be regulated without interfering with
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Chatwood and John Sturgeon in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
CHATWOOD, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and JOHN STURGEON,
of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Samuel Chatwood and John
Sturgeon, Her special licence that we, the said Samuel Chatwood
and John Sturgeon, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Samuel Chatwood and John Sturgeon, our
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 DIRECT-ACTING POWER HAMMERS AND MACHINERY FOR
CRUSHING AND PULVERISING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Samuel Chatwood and John Sturgeon, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Sturgeon, on behalf of
myself and the said Samuel Chatwood, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates in the first place to an improved arrangement
of hammer for stamping ores, quartz, and other mineral substances. It
has heretofore been usual to effect the crushing of ore by means of a
number of stamps lifted by means of cams and tappets, and dropping by
their own weight, and it has also been proposed to apply the direct
action of the steam or other motive power to the stamp head in place
of the tappet and cam motion above described.
In our improvements we employ a hammer or stamp actuated by
steam or other motive power, as above mentioned, in which the stamp
head is carried by a cylinder moving over its piston and rod, the latter
being fixtures, and the cylinder or ram working within a closed box or
coffer into which the ore is delivered from a shoot. The passage from
the shoot into the coffer is placed at such a height above the anvil as to
cause the ore as it falls to spread equally over the anvil, and is also so
situated that the moving cylinder or ram when at the top of its stroke
leaves the passage momentarily open allowing a small quantity of ore
to fall through, and in its downward stroke the cylinder or ram itself
serves as a door closing up the opening and preventing the further
passage of the ore. The inclination of the shoot is so adjusted that the
ore is barely supported thereon without slipping downwards towards the
coffer until disturbed by the shock of the blow, which causes a portion
of the ore in the shoot to slip down into the passage leading to the
interior of the coffer from which it falls on to the anvil the moment
the opening is exposed by the hammer arriving at the top of its stroke.
A stream of water is kept continually flowing into the coffer, which is
furnished with a series of gratings or sieves at a convenient height above
the anvil face, through which gratings or sieves the ore stuff passes out
with the water when sufficiently pulverized, being raised up to the
height of the gratings by the displacement caused by the ram in
descending upon the anvil. From these gratings the water, carrying
with it the pulverized ore stuff, passes into a trough which surrounds the

page_text: "
coffer, and from the trough is washed down to the "buddle'
or other
apparatus employed for finally separating the ore. The stamp head
or ram and the bottom pallet are both, by preference, of circular form,
and either or both of them may be arranged to turn round so as to
change the surface acted upon by the blows and thereby equalize the
wear.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings annexed Fig. 1 represents a general front
elevation of a machine for crushing ore, as above described; Fig. 2
represents a sectional side elevation of the coffer; and Fig. 3 a sectional
plan of same. In Fig. 1 a is the cylinder or ram of the moving cylinder
class, and 6 is the piston rod, which is a fixture, as in steam hammers of
this class; c is the bottom pallet resting on an anvil block, and is also
shown in Fig. 2; d is the coffer provided with gratings or sieves e, e, shown
also in Figs. 2 and 3, and placed a little above the face of the pallet c,
so that when the ore stuff is dashed outwards by the blow from the
ram its force is broken by the solid part of the coffer. In Fig. 2,
f shows a portion of the shoot, down which the ore stuff is passed to
the machine, and g represents the opening from the shoot to the interior
of the coffer, the height of which above the anvil c enables the ore stuff
to fall about the centre of the anvil & spread evenly thereon; h
represents the bottom of the ram when at the top of its stroke leaving
the passage g open, and it is evident that the ram in descending will
close up this opening, shutting out the further admission of ore until
the next lift of the ram; j is a perforated pipe surrounding the ram, and
through which water is forced to wash down the sand and grit that may a
adhere to the ram. In Fig. 1, k represents the trough surrounding the
coffer, and 1, 1, &c., represent the levers and rods of the self-acting
mechanism for working the valve on the principle of the plan described
in the Specification of a Patent granted to one of us on the 23rd May
1863, and numbered 1292.
When intended for crushing dry the water pipe ; is dispensed with,
and in place of the gratings or sieves e, e, covers or flaps of suitable
material may be applied to the openings in the coffer in the usual way.
As has been previously stated the motive power may be obtained
either from steam or other fluid pressure. Thus where water is available
for driving a water wheel or turbine it may be applied to compress the
air to the requisite density for working the machine, the compressed air
being used in precisely the same manner as steam. Or where there is

page_text: sufficient head of water the water pressure may be used directly as a
motive power in the cylinder, the valve passages being enlarged and
suitably modified, as may be readily understood.
Our Invention relates in the next place to certain improved arrange-
ments and adaptations of hammers for crushing and pulverizing coal,
bone, and other substances which require to be pulverized only without
any washing and separating process as required in treating certain ores
as above described. Such substances have usually been crushed between
rollers, or by edge runners, or by surfaces in rubbing contact.
According to our Invention we employ a hammer or hammers actuated
by steam or other motive power for breaking up and pulverizing the
coal, bone, or such other substances as may be conveniently pulverized
by a hammering process instead of a squeezing or rubbing process.
This we effect in the following manner:-An ordinary self-acting steam
hammer is provided with an anvil of circular form carried in strong
bearings on the base plate or frame of the hammer in such a way
that the circular anvil may revolve in the bearings as a roller.
In Sheet 2, Fig. 1 is a front, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of a pulverizing
hammer thus arranged. a is the hammer; b, the anvil which is carried
in strong bearings c in the anvil block; d, the frame of the hammer
serving as a cap over the bearings. The self-acting levers and rods
above referred to are shown at e, e. The material to be operated upon
passes down a shoot f on to the anvil 6 which takes a partial turn at
cach stroke of the hammer bringing a fresh supply under the hammer
at each blow and delivering it down another shoot g, a "doctor" being
applied to the anvil 6 to scrape off any of the material which might
cake and adhere thereto. The requisite revolving motion may be
imparted to the anvil by means of a ratchet wheel and catch arrange-
ment, as shown detached in Fig. 3, by which the anvil is turned a
little after each blow; or the blow itself may be caused to impart the
requisite motion by placing the anvil in such a position that it may
receive the blows at a point a little beyond the centre instead of directly
over the centre of the bearings, as shown in Fig. 4, where a is again
the hammer; b, the anvil; and c, the bearing. The anvil, it may be
observed, may be arranged to revolve either in a vertical plane, as shown
in the Drawing, or in a horizontal plane. It might also be arranged to
slide horizontally instead of revolving; or it may be stationary, being
provided with a recess to contain the material which may be filled and

page_text: emptied after the material has been sufficiently pulverized, as shown
in Fig. 5, where a is the hammer, and 6 the recessed anvil. The anvil
may also be made a fixture at an angle sufficient to support the material
deposited thereon from the shoot without slipping down the incline,
and the hammer may also be inclined so as to work at right angles to
the face of the anvil, so that the material may be continuously brought
down under the hammer and delivered down a shoot from the anvil by
the shock from the blow of the hammer. Thus in Fig. 6 a. is the
hammer set at an angle to suit the inclined anvil 6, and c is the shoot
down which the material passes to the anvil. The hammer is worked
with sufficient rapidity to catch the material as it passes over the anvil
before it has time to pass off. The hammer may also work vertically
over the inclined anvil, the hammer face being inclined at the same
angle as the anvil, and being supported by strong guides to resist the
outward thrust caused by the wedge action of the two inclined surfaces,
as shown in Fig. 7, where a is again the hammer; b, the anvil; c, the
shoot; and d, the guide which resists the thrust.
It is obvious that these arrangements may be variously modified to
suit the various descriptions of substances to which this mode of
pulverizing may be applied, such as coal, bone, sand, chemical substances,
grain, seed, and other substances.
In the next place our Invention consists in certain improvements in
valves and valve mechanism for direct-acting power hammers. In
power hammers of the moving cylinder class which we prefer to use
in the first description of pulverizing machinery herein described tho
valve has heretofore been placed in the frame near the top of the piston
rod, and the latter contains passages through which the steam has to
pass from the valve chamber to the moving cylinder and back again
through the rod to the atmosphere. This arrangement however entails
considerable waste of steam and a sluggish action in consequence of the
distance the steam has to travel from the valve to the cylinder.
obviate this defect we place a valve in the piston itself making the
interior of the piston and rod serve as the valve chamber and the
ports leading direct from the interior of the piston into the cylinder.
We prefer to make the valve of the form of a hollow piston and carried
up through the piston rod as a pipe, through which the steam passes
down to the cylinder exhausting into the annular space left between the
barrel of the valve and the piston rod.
To

page_text: |portion of the moving cylinder. a is the piston containing the ports o, 05
o is the hollow rod; d is the valve, down the centre of which the steam
passes exhausting through the annular space e; and f is the moving
cylinder. Figs. 5 and 6 show the mode of fastening the valve spindle to
the valve.
Another improvement has reference to the valve mechanism for direct-
acting power hammers, described in the Specification of a Patent granted
to one of us on the 23rd May 1863, and Noª. 1292. In working these
hammers it is sometimes desirable that the hammer should remain at
rest at the top of its stroke for convenience in setting the work under
it, but in these self-acting hammers this cannot be effected as the valve
becomes reversed when the hammer is at the top of its stroke. In order
to obviate this inconvenience we apply to the valve levers suitable
mechanism whereby the setting of the valve can be readily altered in
such a way as to prevent the valve when reversed by the action of the
levers from opening the steam port above the piston and the exhaust
port below it. By these means the steam will be retained on the under
side of the piston. The upper side remaining open to the exhaust and
the hammer will thus be caused to remain suspended at the top of its
stroke. On returning the valve to its original position the hammer will
work as before. This may be effected in a variety of ways, for instance,
an eccentric a, Sheet 3, may be applied to the joint pin of one of the
levers or rods in direct connection with the valve lever as 6 in the
Drawing, or to the valve lever itself, in such a way that by turning
the eccentric partly round the setting of the valve is altered so as to
produce the desired effect. Or in place of the eccentric a screw or
other suitable arrangement may be applied. Or the action of the levers
may be so modified in relation to the valve as to produce the desired
effect by arranging the main centre c on which the levers work in such
a way that it may be raised or lowered or moved away from or towards
the hammer, thereby so altering the action of the levers and rods
depending on it as to change their effect upon the valve to the extent
required. The form of valve we prefer to use is that of a piston
3 valve, the steam and exhaust ports consisting of short passages as near
as possible to the top and bottom of the cylinder, and opening direct
into the valve chamber. The valve consists of a hollow pipe enlarged
at the port ends so as to fill the valve chamber completely as a piston,

page_text: the steam being admitted down the centre of the pipe and exhausting
round the outside. This valve has usually been worked by a rod con-
nected thereto and passing through a stuffing box at one end of the
valve chest, but this arrangement is objectionable as the valve is liable
to be shaken loose from the rod and the stuffing box is liable to leak
unless screwed up so tight as to interfere with the easy working of the
valve. In order to obviate this difficulty we work the valve by means
of a lever suitably connected thereto and working inclosed in that part
of the valve chest which is open to the atmosphere for the exhaust.
The lever has a forked end provided with pins forged solid thereon,
which fit in a groove formed round the barrel of the valve, and the joint
pin of the lever passes through an ordinary pin hole formed in the valve
casing.
The Drawing Sheet 3 shows a side elevation, partly in section, showing
this arrangement. d, d, is the piston valve, down the centre of which
steam is admitted exhausting round the outside; e, e, are the steam,
and ff, the exhaust ports; g is the forked lever; and h, the groove in
the barrel of the valve. By thus working the valve from a lever or other
appliance in the exhaust portion of the valve casing the necessity of
providing a stuffing box is obviated, as there would be no pressure in the
exhaust sufficient to cause steam to blow through the joint formed in
the casing for the lever to work through, and by the arrangement above
described the bolts and nuts employed in fastening the valve to the
rod are dispensed with.
Another improvement has for its object the regulating of the lifting
power of the hammer in such a way that it may be prevented from
attaining too excessive power when the ordinary working pressure is
increased. For this purpose we apply to one of the levers in direct
connection with the valve lever or to the valve lever itself a stop
arrangement which may have the effect of checking the lever before
it has moved to its full extent after the blow has been struck, and
thereby giving less steam on the lifting side of the piston. This stop may
be a set screw in the lever, the end of which set screw comes in contact
with a projection on the frame of the hammer and prevents the further
motion of the lever in opening the bottom port. Or the set screw may a
be fixed in the projection from the hammer frame, so that the lever
may come against it, and this arrangement is shown in Sheet 1, Fig. 1,
where m is the projection carrying the set screw. Instead of the set

page_text: screw an eccentric may be placed in the frame near the levers, so as to
stop the lever at any required point of its travel according to the
position of the eccentric. By this arrangement for giving more or less
steam on the lifting side of the piston the lifting power may be regulated
without interfering with the striking power.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Sturgeon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.