Improvements in Separating and Grading Machines and the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Separating and Grading Machines and the like.
We, WILLIAM JOHNSON and HARRY WALKER, of the Castleton Foundry,, Armley,
Leeds, in the County of York, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in machinery employed in separating
and grading various kinds of materials, but particularly to that class composed of say
two grades, and its object is to accomplish this by means of apparatus which permits
of the fiper particles being drawn away or separated from the heavier prior to the
latter falling by gravity.
According to this invention we construct two distinct and separate chambors and
connect them together by one, two, or more suitable cones or pipes. In the first or
feeding chamber is fixed a disintegrator on a horizontal shaft into which is fed the
material from the side of the chamber, and which causes the material to pass into a
shower or spray and so disengages the particles.
In the second or fino chamber is fixed an air propellor or fan also on a horizontal
shaft either of which when revolving at certain defined speeds (suited to the specific
gravity of the material under treatment) attracts by suction certain of the particles
out of, and from the feeding chamber, and deposits them in the fine chamber, after
passing say through one or more cones or pipes.
The pressure of air caused by the air propellor or fan may be released by returning
it to the feeding chamber through a pipe or pipes in which are fixed plates or dampers
working in bearings or other equivalent means say such as regulating the amount of
air to be passed from one chamber to the other.
Over the cone connecting the two chambers may be fixed a coarso screen for the
purpose of preventing any large or lumpy material, rags or the like entering the
fine chamber.
Or the two distinct and separato chambers connected together by suitable cones or
pipes, may be constructed as above described, and the material may be fed from the
side of chamber in which the air propellor or fan is mounted. In this case a coarse
screen may be fixed inside or outside of the disintegrator or both, to prevent any
large or lumpy substance or rags entering the fine chamber.
In order to return the pressure of air from the fine chamber to the feeding
chamber, a double pipe or cone is fixed on the flange of the inner pipe or cone and
suitable openings or gratings are provided through which the air passes or returns
from the fine chamber between the inner and outer pipe or cono.
To regulate the return of the air from one chamber to the other, a ring or damper,
with corresponding openings or gratings, is provided and made to move round or be
operated by any suitable means until the openings in said ring or damper come
opposite the openings in the flange of the inner pipe or cone, or until the spaces
between the openings in the ring or damper come opposito the openings in the flange
of the inner pipe or cone. These two movements are employed for opening or
closing the said openings or grating for connecting one chamber with the other
and for regulating the amount of air to be returned to the feeding chamber.
Dated this Seventeenth day of Auril 1896
WILLIAM JOHNSON.
HARRY WALKER.

page_text: Improvements in Separating and Grading Machines and the like.
We, WILLIAM JOHNSON and HARRY WALKER, of the Castleton Foundry, Armley,
Leeds, in the County of York, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the saine is to be performed; to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to improvements in machinery employed in separating
and grading various kinds of materials, but particularly to that class composed of say
two grades, and its object is to accomplish this by means of apparatus which permits
of the finer particles being drawn away or separated from the heavier prior to the
latter falling by gravity.
According to this invention there are two distinct and separate chambers which
are connected together by one, two, or more suitable cones or pipes. In the first or
'feeding chamber is a disontegrator mounted and fixed on a horizontal shaft into
which is fed the material from the side of the chamber, and which causes the material
to pass into a shower or spray and so disengages the particles.
In the second or fine chamber is fixed an air propellor or fan also on a horizontal shaft.
either of which when revolving at certain defined speeds (suited to the specific gravity
of the material under treatment) attracts by suction certain of the particles out of,
and from the feeding chamber, and deposits them in the fine chamber, after passing
say through one or more cones or pipes.
We will describe our invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which Figs. 1 and 2 are sectional elevations drawn at right angles to each other of a
separating apparatus constructed according to this invention.
The apparatus illustrated at Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a casing A arranged to form
two distinct chambers or compartments F and G and which are bereaftor termed
. respectively the feeding chamber F and the fine chamber G. The casing may
be made of any suitable material, such as for oxample, wood, or sheet iron, or,
say, a skeleton framework of wood covered with sheet iron. In the fine chamber G
is mounted vertically and fixed on a horizontal shaft D a fan B of any ordinary
construction, or an air propellor of say the Blackman type, and a dust disc C. At
the opposite end of the horizontal shaft D and within the feeding chambor Fis
mounted vertically and fixed a disintegrating spreader C. The disintegrating
spreader, which is somewhat similar in construction to a clay breaker, consists of a
hub or disc having a number of rods or arms fixed at intervals to its face, and to
project towards the casing, say, at or about a right angle to the face of the hub, and
in a line with the axis af the horizontal shaft. The fun B, disintegrating spreader C
and dust disc C may rotate in a vertical (or nearly so) plane. The ends of
shaft D of the fan and spreader are carried in bearings E E, mounted on brackets
attached to the casing A.
The two chambers F and G are connected together by a suction cone H and a
damper box or pipe I, provided if required with a coned end as shown. A circular
opening or inlet J is provided at the end of suction cone H nearest to the fine
chamber G. Over or across this opening J may be provided and fixed, if so desired,
a number of baffle plates or boards K. These baffle plates K may either be stationery
or made to move in any desired direction by any suitable means and they may also
be of any desired shape. The fan B is made to rotate against the inlet J and
baffle plates K in chamber G. The spreader Crotates in chamber F close to
casing A and in close proximity to feed inlet L.
The pressure of air from the fine chamber G to the feeding chamber may be
regulated by dan per 1. Or in addition to or in place of the said pipe I a ring or
shutter provided on the flauge of the cone H is formed with suitable openings

page_text: arranged to work over a grating in the said flange through which the air passes or
returns from the fine chamber. When this method is adopted the cone would be.
made double and the returning air passes between the inner and outer pipe or cono.
The said ring, with corresponding openings or gratings, may be made to move round,
or slide, or be operated by any suitable means until the openings or spaces in said
ring or shutter are opposite the openings or spaces in the said grating.
The chambers F and G aro arranged to terminate at their lower ends in contracted
outlet respectively marked T and S for the separated material.
The top portion of casing A can be made, if so desired, so that it can be removed
at pleasure. When so desired, an angle iron joint M is provided for this purpose-
and a lifting iron N is attached to casing A, as shown, for the purpose of lifting:
the top half or the whole of the onsing. On oach side of casing A are provided
carrying brackets 00 for securing the separator in any desired position.
The chamber F is further provided with a fixed beating plate P which is fixed:
below the dampor opening I. A number of doors I (see Fig. 2) are provided for
cleaning out the interior of the apparatus.
Over the cone connecting the two chambers may be fixed a coarse screen for the
purpose of proventing any large or lumpy material, rags or the like entering the
fine chamber.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The material to be separated is fed into the feed inlet or hopper L which delivers the
material into the disintegrating spreader C fixed, as before described, on shaft D in
chamber F. At this point by the action of the disintegrating spreader the matorial
is thrown or formed into a shower or spray thereby disintegrating each particle or
disengaging or separating the particles one from each other.
The fan or air propellor B, rotating in the fine chamber G at the desired speed,.
produces a certain amount of suction which is capable of attracting or drawing the
particles of a certain specific weight from the showor or spray (caused by the
revolving of the spreader C) through the cone H, baffle plates K, and opening J
into the fine chamber G. The contents of chamber G full by their gravity and.
pass out of it by way of outlet S.
The heavier particles contained in the shower in chamber F, and which resist the-
suction from fan B, descend down the conical portion of chamber F and out by way
of outlet T. The coarser portion of the material, howover, before reaching the
outlet T comes into contact with the fixed beating plate P, which is the means of
checking the velocity.of the descending material, and also causing any fine particles
passing out with the coarse material to bo further disengaged, whereby they are-
drawn up and carried through opening J, as before described, by means of
fan B.
.:
Between the chambors F and G may be fixed, as described, the damper box I
consisting of say a pipe containing the clack or damper I' which is opened or closed
by means of a handle U arranged on the outside of the casing A. When this
damper or clack is open, communication is made through openings in the damper-
box I, so that any of the lighter particles, which may have been missed by the first
action of the fan and have passed partly down chamber F, may now be drawn.
through opening J into chamber G by means of the surplus air from fan B which is
allowed to return back again into chauiber F by way of damper opening I.
By the herein described apparatus it will be readily seon that the material operated
upon may be submitted to three distinct separating actions, namely:-First, on entering.
the feed chainber F, after it is acted upon by the disintegrating spreader C, the fine
particles aro drawn by the suction of the fan B through the cone H into the fine
chamber G. Second, whilst the heavier material or tailing is falling, by its gravity,..
in the feed chambor F it is submitted to the action of a column of air entering the
chamber through pipe I, this causes the finer particles to be carried upwards
and drawn by the fan B into the fine chamber G. Third; when the heavier
material falls upon or strikes against the fixed beater plate P, (which is placed as
already described before the pipe I), the finer particles (if any) will, by the concussion,

page_text: be separated from the heavier material, and, by the suction of the air entoring feed
chamber F through pipe I, conveyed into cone H and by the fan B drawn into the
fine chamber G.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we are aware
that apparatus for separating substances of different sizes or specific gravities have
been previously used for separating materials by means of a fan and spreader disos
mounted horizontally upon a vertical shaft rotating within a casing provided with
vertical cones, and we make no claim to such, and what we claim is :-
1. In apparatus for separating substances of different sizes, or specific gravities,
the combination of a casing armed with an inlet hopper and divided into two
chambers or compartiments connected together by a suction cone (armed with or
without baffle plates) and a damper box or pipe, a horizontal shaft, revolving within
the said casing, on which is mounted vertically and fixed a disintegrating spreador, a
fan, and dust disc, arranged as described to work respectively within the said
chambers, and a fixed beating plate arranged in one of the said chambers, by which
the portions of material operated upon are submitted to a series of separating
operations namely, first, after the material passes through the disintegrating spreader
in the feed chamber the lighter particles are separated from the heavier particles
thereof and drawn away by the fan, second, as the heavier material falls in the feed
chamber it is submitted to the action of an incoming ascending column of air, and
thirdly, any finer particles remaining are liberated from the said heavy material,
when the latter falls upon of strikes against the fixed beater plate, and the finer
particles are free to be carried upwards by the said column of air, and drawn by the
fan into the fino chambor, all substantially as hereinbefore described. .
2. In apparatus for separating substances of different sizes or specific gravities
Buch as herein described the combination of a disintegrating spreader and a fan or air
propellor and dust disc all of which are mounted vertically and fixed upon a
horizontal shaft arranged to work within a casing provided with suitable cones
and openings substantially as herein described.
3. The combination of a casing having two distinct chambers or compartments
connected by a suction pipe or cone and a damper box and provided with haffle
and beating plates, doors, angle joint and bearings substantially as and for the
purposes herein set forth.
4. The combination and arrangement of the various parts forming the apparatus
for separating substances of different sixes and specific gravities substantially as
herein before described and illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings hereunto
annexed.
1008
WILLIAM JOHNSON,
HARRY WALKER,
By W. Fairburn-Hart,
Agent.