IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STAMPING, CRUSHING, AND PUL- VERISING ORES AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVE- MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO POWER HAMMERS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STAMPING, CRUSHING, AND PUL-
VERISING ORES AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO POWER HAMMERS." -A communication from
abroad by William Wright, of New York, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 29th January 1867, and dated the 6th August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th August 1866.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STAMPING, CRUSHING, AND
PULVERISING ORES AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS
ARE APPLICABLE TO POWER HAMMERS," a communication to me from abroad by
William Wright, of New York, in the United States of America, to be as
follows:-
This Invention has reference more particularly to stamping machinery
operated by the direct action of steam above and below pistons attached

page_text: directly to the stamp rods themselves, but is also partly applicable to mills in
which the stamps are operated in other ways.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to dispose the stamps,
when more than two are used, in the form of a group round a common
centre in lieu of in a row, as heretofore, and to surround or enclose such
stamp or group of stamps by an upright screen of wirework, or a screen
of other suitable construction, through which the finely crushed material
passes into a delivery trough surrounding the screen. The group of stamps
is fed through a feed aperture situate in the centre of the group, such
opening receiving the material to be crushed from inclined shoots or spouts
and hoppers fixed to the base or sole plate of the actuating cylinders, as
herein-after described. The cylinders with their valves are made adjustable
towards or from the battery by means of adjusting nuts working on screw
threads formed on the supporting pillars or columns of the cylinders; and in
order that such adjustment may be even or uniform at each corner a guage
and divided scale are provided for indicating the exact amount of rise or fall
at each corner or angle of the sole plate of the cylinders. The object of this
adjustment is to compensate for the wear of the stamps and to maintain a
uniform or nearly uniform clearance between the pistons and the tops and
bottoms of the cylinders. By having the feeding hoppers attached to the
adjustable cylinders their height will also be adjusted in relation to the battery.
Each cylinder of the group, or each pair of such cylinders, is provided with a
slide valve either in the form of a piston valve or otherwise constructed, and
these valves are operated by means of a cone formed on the upper ends of the
piston or stamp rods, such ends being caused to work in hollow columns closed
at the top, and fitted on to the ends of the cylinders. A sliding wedge on the
end of a horizontal rod enters laterally through a stuffing box into the interior
of each of the hollow columns, consequently when the conical end of the rod
rises it will by pressing against the wedge force it back in a lateral direction
and move the valve inwards, so as to admit the steam to the upper end of the
cylinder; as the rod descends again the pressure against the wedge is
removed, and the valve is moved in the opposite direction by the action of the
steam pressure thereon. This movement of the valves is obtained by con-
necting their spindles, which are situate horizontally to the lower end of a
vertical vibrating lever, the upper end of which is connected to the rod, which
carries the horizontally sliding wedge berein-before referred to. The inlet
steam or other elastic medium employed in working the pistons may enter the
valve chests in the usual manner, but the exhaust is, by preferénce, caused to

page_text: enter a jacket surrounding each cylinder. By employing a conical formation
of the end of the piston or stamp rods for operating the valves the stamps may
be permitted to turn on their central axes without interfering with the
working of the valves. It is obvious that this mode of working the slide
valves may, if desired, be applied to direct action power hammers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my exécutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STAMPING, CRUSHING, AND PUL-
VERISING ORES AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE
APPLICABLE TO POWER HAMMERS," a communication to me from abroad by
William Wright, of New York, in the United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others). that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my execu-
tors, or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention has reference more particularly to stamping machinery
operated by the direct action of steam above and below pistons attached
directly to the stamp rods themselves, but it is also partly applicable to mills
in which the stamps are operated in other ways.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to dispose of the stamps, when
more than two are used, in the form of a group round a common centre in lieu
of in a row, as heretofore, and to surround or enclose such stamp or group of
stamps by an upright screen of wirework, or a screen of other suitable con-
struction, through which the finely crushed material passes into a delivery trough
surrounding the screen. The group of stamps is fed through a feed aperture
situate in the centre of the group, such opening receiving the material to be
crushed from inclined shutes or spouts and hoppers fixed to the base or sole plate
of the actuating cylinders, as herein-after described. The cylinders with their
valves are made adjustable towards or from the battery by means of adjusting
nuts working on screw threads formed on the supporting pillars or columns of the
cylinders. And in order that such adjustment may be uniform at each corner
a guage and divided scale are provided for indicating the exact amount of rise or
fall at each corner or angle of the sole plate of the cylinders. The object of this
adjustment is to compensate for the wear of the stamps, and to maintain a
uniform or nearly uniform clearance between the pistons and. the tops and
bottoms of the cylinders. By having the feeding hoppers attached to the
adjustable cylinders their height will also be adjusted in relation to the battery.
Each cylinder of the group, or each pair of such cylinders, is provided with a
slide valve either in the form of a piston valve or otherwise constructed,
and these valves are operated by means of a cone formed on the upper-ends of
the piston or stamp rods, such ends being caused to work in hollow columns
closed at the top, and fitted on to the ends of the cylinders, A sliding wedge
on the end of a horizontal rod enters laterally through a stuffing box into the
interior of each of the hollow columns, consequently when the conical end of
the rod rises it will by pressing against the wedge force it back in a. lateral
direction and move the valve inwards, so as to admit the steam to the upper
end of the cylinder; as the rod descends again the pressure against the wedge
is removed, and the valve is moved in the opposite direction by the action of
the steam pressure thereon. This movement of the valves is obtained by con
pecting their spindles, which are situate horizontally to the lower end of a
vertical vibrating lever, the upper end of which is connected to the rod which

page_text: The inlet.
carries the horizontally sliding wedge herein-before referred to.
steam or other elastic medium employed in working the pistons may enter
the valve chests in the usual manner, but the exhaust is, by preference,
caused to enter a jacket surrounding each cylinder. By employing a conical
formation of the end of the piston or stamp rods for operating the valves the
stamps may be permitted to turn on their longitudinal axes without interfering
with the working of the valves. It is obvious that this mode of working the
slide valves may, if desired, be applied to direct action power hammers.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings is an elevation of a stamping
mill constructed according to this Invention; Figure 2 is a vertical section at
right angles to Figure 1 in the plane indicated by the line 1, 2, of that
Figure; Figure 3 is a plan, partly in section, in the plane indicated by the
line 3, 4, of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the same in the
plane indicated by the line 5, 6, in Figure 1..
A represents a circular cast-iron bed, plate, in which is formed or placed
the battery B; and which forms the base of the apparatus. On this bed plate
are erected at equal distances apart four pillars C for the support of the
horizontal sole plate A¹ of the vertical steam cylinders E, E, and their
surrounding steam jackets D, there being one steam cylinder for each of the
stamps E, each containing a piston P secured upon the lifting rod P' of one
of the stamps. There may be any number of stamps, pistons, and steam
cylinders, but I prefer as a matter of convenience that there shall be (and
have represented) four arranged in the form of a square or at equal distances
from a vertical line drawn through the centre of the battery, such arrange-
ment providing for the feeding of the ore to the centre of the battery and
group of stamps, and for its equal distribution to all the stamps, and for an
equal delivery of the crushed ore on all sides of the mill through the screen S
which surrounds the battery and stamps, and into the trough A2, which is
provided in the bed plate A around the screen...
To simplify the construction the cylinders and their sole plate and
surrounding jacket are all cast together.
On the upper parts of the pillars C, C, which pass through the holes in the
sole plate A', there are screw. threads 1, 1, fitted with nuts G, G, and H, B,
below and above the sole plate, the lower nuts G, G, supporting the sole plate

page_text: and cylinders, and the upper ones H, H, holding them down. By screwing
down the nuts G, G, the sole plate and the steam cylinders, and all their
attached parts, which will be berein-after described, may be lowered bodily,
and so adjusted to the battery daily, or as often as is necessary to compensate
for the wear of the stamps, and so maintain a uniform or nearly uniform
clearance between the pistons and the tops and bottoms of the cylinders.
In order that the sole plate A¹ may easily be kept horizontal in its adjustment,
and all the cylinders may be lowered equally, there are guages consisting of
scales of equal parts on each pillar C, and indices i attached to the sole
plate opposite each pillar. The stamp and piston rods P¹ pass through
stuffing boxes a in the bottoms of the cylinders, or the sole plate A', and their
upper parts enter into hollow columns N, N, which form portions of or are
firmly secured to the steam cylinder covers; the said columns are concentric
with the cylinders, and bored out to form guides to the upper parts of the
rods, and are closed at the top. The steam cylinders are furnished with valve
chests I, I, of which there may be a separate one for each steam cylinder, but
of which (to simplify construction) I provide only two, each one being common
to two of the cylinders, as shown in Figure 1, and both supplied with steam
through branches I, I, of one steam pipe I', which brings the steam from
the boiler. Each cylinder is furnished with a horizontally working ..slide
valve V, by the movement of which the induction of the steam to the cylinder
from its respective chest I, and the eduction of the steam from the cylinder
into the jucket D which surrounds all the cylinders, are effected.
The valves may be of any suitable construction, but in order that they may
work with little friction I prefer to make them of the piston kind, or as
represented in Figure 1, that is to say, double, so that each may work between
two seats, and be thereby balanced to the pressure of the steam, except that
the said pressure will act upon a portion of its inner end of equal area with
the stem J, the outer end of which is exposed to the atmosphere. The
opposite faces of the valves resemble in form the ordinary short three port
slide valve, and work over three ports b, c, d, of which the innermost one b
communicates, as shown in Figure 2, with the lower end of its respective
cylinder, the outermost one c with the upper end of the said cylinder, and
the middle one d with the exhaust jacket D, to which the eduction pipe D¹ is
attached. The valve stems J work through stuffing boxes e in the valve
chests, and their outer ends are connected with the lower ends of levers K,
which work on fixed horizontal fulcrum shafts L suitably, attached to the
steam cylinders. The upper ends of these levers are connected with horizontal

page_text: rods f, which work through the stuffing boxes f' in the sides of the hollow
columns N herein-before described. The upper terminal portions of the
piston and stamp rods P¹ are made conical, as shown at g in Figure 2, for the
purpose of acting like wedges upon the inner ends of the rods M, and thereby
effecting through the levers K the movement of the valves in an inward
direction as the pistons rise, and so admitting steam through the ports c to
the upper ends of the cylinders to produce the downward movement of the
pistons and stamps. The outward movement of the valves to produce the
admission of steam through the ports 6 to the lower ends of the cylinders for
lifting the pistons and stamps is effected by the pressure of steam upon the
inner ends of the valves as the conical upper portions of the rods P descend
and permit the rods M to remove inwards. Springs are applied to press
outwards against the lower parts of the levers for the purpose of keeping the
rods M in contact with the piston and stamp rods when no steam is in the
valve chests, and thereby keeping the valves in position to commence
operation as soon as a sufficient pressure of steam is admitted to the valve
chests. The same movement of each valve which admits steam to one end of
its respective cylinder permits the eduction of steam from the opposite end in
the same manner as in the case of the ordinary short slide valve employed in
steam engines. The inner ends of the rods f are exposed to the pressure of
steam which enters the hollow columns N, and this in some degree coun-
teracts the outward pressure upon the valves, but the lower arms of the
levers Kare so much longer than the upper ones that the said rods are always
kept properly in contact with the conical parts 9 of the piston and stamp rods
to insure the operation of the valves.
The valve gear of each cylinder being entirely independent of that of the
others, each stamp will be worked separately by its own engine, and each may
be thrown out of operation without interfering with the others, and the upper
ends of the piston and stamp rods being of conical form will always cause or
permit the proper operation of the valves notwithstanding that the stamps
and pistons are free to turn in their operation..
The valves may be operated by hand if desirable at any time by means of
a suitable hand gear attached to the levers K.
To provide for an equal distribution of the one or other materials to be
crushed to all of the stamps, hoppers T are arranged on opposite sides of the
group of stamps, and from these hoppers inclined spouts T lead to a central
spout T, which is connected with a central opening in the cover S' of the
screen S, and the material is thereby fed into the battery in the centre of the

page_text: group of stamps, and distributed equally to all. The reduced material is
delivered through the screen into the surrounding trough A', whence it may
be shovelled out or make a continuous exit through suitably arranged
discharge pipes. The cover S' is fitted into the mouth S of the screen in
such a manner that it may rise and fall therein, still keeping the mouth
closed. The hoppers T are secured firmly to the sole plate A¹ of the steam
cylinders, and the cover S¹ of the screen is secured to the spout T¹, and hence
the hoppers, spouts, and cover are all adjusted up or down along with the
steam cylinders.
The same arrangement of valve and valve gear and the same adjustment
of steam cylinders is applicable when a single cylinder and stamp are used, or
when any greater number is used; and it is obvious that the same arrange-
ment is applicable for steam hammers.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
1st, the upright screen S surrounding the stamps in a stamping mill,
substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.
2nd, the arrangement of the stamps in the form of a group in combination
with a central feed opening and surrounding screen, substantially as and for
the purpose herein specified.
3rd, the surrounding delivery trough in combination with the stamps and
their surrounding screen, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
4th, the direct application of steam power to stamping mills and hammers
I claim providing for the adjustment of the steam cylinders and their valves
toward and from the battery, substantially as herein described, whereby the
wear of the stamps and the battery may be compensated for, and a uniform
or nearly uniform clearance between the pistons and the tops and bottoms of
the steam cylinders may be maintained.
5th, the attachment of the feeding hopper or hoppers of the steam
cylinders, so as to be adjusted therewith relatively to the battery, substantially
as herein specified.
6th, actuating the induction and eduction valves of a steam stamping mill
or power bammer by means of cones 9 on the upper ends of the stamp and
piston rods, whereby the stamps or hammer block are permitted to turn
without interfering with the operation of the valves.

page_text: 7th, the combination of the valve actuating levers K, rods f, cones g, and
hollow columns on the steam cylinders, substantially as and for the purpose
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, J, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)