IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR STAMPING ORES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Ball, of Chicopee, in the County of
Hampden, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR STAMPING ORES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Ball at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1856.
I, WILLIAM BALL, of Chicopee, in the County of Hampden, State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR STAMPING ORES," to be as
follows:-
The improved machinery constituting the present Invention consists of a
crushing mortar or vessel for the reception of ore, which is held therein while
it is being pulverized by the stamper. This mortar has a bent hopper spout
leading into it on its rear side; and within the said hopper one or more inclined
plates or deflectors are placed for the purpose of preventing the ore and water
from being splashed or thrown out by the blows of the stamper, as when a
current of water is thrown up the entrance spout it will generally strike
against the under side of the deflector, and by it be thrown back into the
mortar; a stamper is placed within the mortar and is operated by steam.
The mortar rests on one or more very strong springs made of india-rubber

page_text: or other proper material, and it is so held or supported within the uprights
or posts of the frame as to be capable of a free vertical play or movement on
its supporting springs. The stamper consists of a very heavy metallic bar or
rod, which is made to play up and down vertically in bearings by means of
bevil gear so arranged as to cause the stamper not only to revolve with the
bevil gear, but to be able to rise and fall independently of it. The upper end
of the stamper is connected to the piston rod of a steam cylinder.
The valve chest of the steam cylinder receives steam from a steam generator,
and should have its induction and eduction steam passages so arranged, and its
valves operated in such a manner, as to cause the piston to be elevated by the
pressure of the steam, and depressed by the gravitating power of the stamper
and piston. The speed or vertical movements of the steam valve and the
piston are produced by suitable mechanism, which will admit of their being
moved faster or slower as may be desirable.
As the stamper rod plays up and down through its lower bearing, and the
stamper operates within the mortar, while the latter is made to contain ore
and water, much grit or carthy particles are liable to collect on the stamper
rod and wear its bearings. In the stampers of machines in general use
this is a very serious difficulty. In order to prevent this, the stamper rod
in the improved machine is surrounded with a basin or cup, which is made to
rest on and be fastened to the top of the mortar, the stamper rod playing
freely through the basin or through a hole in its bottom, somewhat larger in
diameter than the rod; and a stream of water is caused to flow into the basin,
and from thence pass down through the hole in its bottom and around the
stamper rod and into the mortar, so as to wash off from the stamper rod any
silicious or carthy particles which, by collecting on it, would be carried up into
the bearing and wear it and the rod while the rod is in motion. Water and
auriferous ore are introduced into the mortar through the spout or hopper; and
the stream of water after filling the mortar to the extent required passes off
This
through a grating placed in the front of the upper part of the mortar.
grating or grate has an inclined position given to it, and its meshes or inter-
stices are made of such a size as will retain within the mortar any ore that may
not be sufliciently pulverized. When the mortar is charged with ore the top
of the charge is generally up to a level with or may be a little above the bottom
of the grate. Under these circumstances a downward blow of the stamper on
the mass will often cause pieces of rock or ore to be projected laterally and
horizontally or thereabouts with great force, often such as will throw them
entirely through the grate, and thus spoil it and require a new one to be
inserted. By arranging the grate in an inclined manner, pieces of rock when

page_text: so thrown against it will be deflected by means of its inclined surface, and will
thereby not act on such surface with a power sufficient to enable them to pass
through or injure the grate. The stamper head is fastened to its rod by
means of a dovetail connection and a wedge key; one side of the dovetail
instead of being straight like the other, or that against which the wedge key is
forced, is made curved to the arc of a circle, the adjacent side of the recess in
which the dovetail is placed being similarly curved. The lower part of the
stamper is made so as to have a larger stamping surface on one side of the
vertical axis of the rod than there is on the other, that is to say, the center of the
stamping surface is arranged at a distance from the axis of the rod. This as
the stamp rod is rotated, causes the lower end of the stamp to continually striko
in a fresh place on the ore or charge, and prevents it from packining in the
mortar as is constantly the case where a cylindrical stamp is used. It also
exposes a fresh quantity to each blow, and enables each blow by its concussion
to loosen the particles of that part of the charge on which it does not directly
act. The effect of this improved stamping apparatus in comparison with that
kind in general use, has been found to be such, that with ten horses power
applied to one stamper, about double the work may be done that is now done
with twenty-four stamps and seventy-five horses power. Where stamps for
crushing ores are operated by the direct action of steam to the stamp shaft,
when the stamp head has descended to a certain point, it is allowed to ring a bell,
that the attendant may replenish the mortar with ore; should he neglect to
attend to his duty, and the stamp continue to descend, the lower head of tho
cylinder will inevitably be knocked out by the piston. To remedy this defect
in the improved machines, the steam is admitted above as well as below the
piston, which thus descends with greater force and speed than when allowed
to fall by its weight alone. The interior diameter of the cylinder is also enlarged
at a certain part, so that on the piston arriving at that point the steami passes
freely round it, and the operation of the stamp is instantly stopped. When
steam is admitted both above and below the piston, it is evident that the
piston will descend much more rapidly than it ascends, and consequently, that
the valve should remain open a longer time for the admission of steam
beneath the piston than is requisite when the steam is passing above the piston;
this demands an irregular motion of the valve which must be imparted to it by
means of excentric gears, one of which is mounted upon the driving shaft, and
the other upon the shaft of the eccentric which operates the valve.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Ball, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd September 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BALL, of Chicopee, in the County of Hampden, State of Massachusetts,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS 1ler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing dato the 25th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1856,
in the nineteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Ball, Her special
licenso that I, the said William Ball, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Ball, my executors, adminis-
strators, 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 MACHINERY FOR STAMPING ORES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Ball, 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 samo
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 William Ball, do hereby declare tho
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Fig. 1 denotes a top view of my machine; Fig. 2 is a front elevation;
Fig. 3 is a central, vertical, and transverse section through the same; Figs. 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10, details which will be referred to hereafter.
In the said Drawings A represents the framework which supports the operative
parts of my machine; B is the crushing mortar or vessel for the reception of
ore, which it holds while it is pulverized by the stamper. This mortar has a
bent hopper spout M leading into it on its rear side, and curved or shaped as
seen in Fig. 3. Within the said hopper one or more inclined plates a are
disposed, as seen in Fig. 3, and are for the purpose of preventing the ore and
water from being splashed or thrown out by the blows of the stamper, as when

page_text: a current of water is thrown up the entrance spout it will generally strike
against the under side of the deflector, and by it be thrown back into the mortar.
A stamper C is placed within the mortar and is operated by steam, as will be
herein-after described. The mortar rests on one or more very strong springs D,
made of india-rubber or other proper material; and it is so held or supported
within the uprights or posts b, b, of the frame A as to be capable of a free
vertical play or movement on its supporting springs. The stamper consists of
a very heavy metallic bar or rod, which is made to play up and down vertically
in bearings, as seen at c, d, and through the eye of a bevil gear E, from which
projections extend into a long groove e made in the stamper so as to cause the
stamper not only to revolve with the bevil gear, but to be able to rise or fall
independently of it; this bevil gear is rotated by means of a bevil pinion F,
fixed on the shaft of a pulley G, the said pulley being turned by a band pro-
ceeding from any driving drum or power. The upper end of the stamper is
connected to the piston rod II of a steam cylinder I; the connection is made
by means of a circular head f fixed on the rod II, and inserted within a cylin-
drical cavity g, formed down in the upper end of the stamper. Under and
above the head f is an india-rubber or other proper spring h or i, the whole
being covered by a plate k, which is confined on the top of the stamper by
The valve chest of the steam cylinder is seen at K; it receives steam
from a steam generator in any proper way, and should have its induction and
eduction steam passages so arranged, and its valve operated, as to cause the
piston to be elevated by the pressure of the steam and depressed by the
gravitating power of the stamper and piston. The valve rod is worked by an
eccentric m, fixed on a shaft n, arranged as seen in the Drawings. On the
said shaft there is fastened a pulley o, around which and another pulley p fixed
on a shaft q, an endless belt passes. A cone drum r is also fixed on the shaft q,
and receives its motion from a belt which is driven by another cone drum t,
that has upon its shaft a fast pulley u and a loose pulley v, the main driving
belt being made to run on either of the latter pulleys, as occasion may require.
By such nechanism the speed or vertical movements of the steam valve and
the piston are produced, and rendered faster or slower, as may be desirable.
From the above it will be seen, that as the stamper rod plays up and down
through its lower bearing d and the stamper operates within the mortar, while
the latter is made to contain ore and water, much grit or earthy particles are
liable to collect on the stamper rod and wear its bearing. In the stampers of
machines in general use this is a very serious difficulty, and in order to prevent
it in my machine I surround the stamper rod with a basin or cup L, which is
made to rest on and be fastened to the top of the mortar, the stamper rod
screws.

page_text: playing freely through the basin or through a hole in its bottom, somewhat
larger in diameter than the rod; and I cause a stream of water to flow into
the said basin, and from thence pass down through the hole in its bottom and
around the stamper rod and into the mortar, so as to wash off from the stamper
rod any silicious or earthy particles which, by collecting on it, would be carried
up into the bearing and wear it and the rod while the rod is in motion. Water
and auriferous ore are introduced into the mortar through the spout or hopper M.
The stream of water, after filling the mortar to the extent required, passes off
through the grating N placed in the front of the upper part of the mortar;
this grating or grate has an inclined position given to it, as seen in the
Drawings, and its meshes or interstices are made of a size such as will retain
within the mortar any ore that may not be sufficiently pulverized. It is
inclined in the manner shown in Fig. 3, instead of being placed upright, as
it is in other stamping machines, for the purpose of preventing any particles or
pieces of rock from being thrown through it, as is often the case when the
upright grates are used. When the mortar is charged with ore the top of the
charge is generally up to a level with or may be a little above the bottom of
the grate. Under these circumstances a downward blow of the stamper on
the mass will often cause pieces of rock or ore to be projected laterally and
horizontally or thereabouts with great force, often such as will throw them en-
tirely through the grate, and thus spoil it and require a new one to be inserted.
By arranging the grate in the inclined manner, as represented in the
Drawings, pieces of rock when so thrown against it will be deflected by means
of its inclined surface, and will thereby not act on such surface with a power
sufficient to enable them to pass through or injure the grate, and they will be
thrown upwards from the grate and back into the mortar. Fig. 4 denotes a
side view of the stamper, and its rod; Fig. 5 is a bottom view of it; Fig. 6 is
a top view of the stamper, or stamper head as it is sonictimes termed; Fig. 7
is a bottom view of the stamper rod; Fig. 8 is a section through the stamper
head rod and key; Fig. 9 is another side view of the stamper and its rod,
shewing the end of the wedge key. The stamper head w is fastened to its rod
by means of a dovetail connection and a wedge key y. One side of the dovetail,
instead of being straight like the other, or that against which the wedge key
is forced, is made curved to the arc of a circle, as seen at a, b, c, in Fig. 6; the
adjacent side of the recess in which the dovetail is placed being similarly
curved, as seen at d, e, f, in Fig. 7. When the stamper head is put in place,
and the key driven up the curved edges of the dovetail surfaces, not only allow
them to slide upon each other for the express purpose of allowing the opposite
or straight side of the dovetail x to turn either way, and thereby form a

page_text: universal dovetail connection, whereby any imperfection in the rough cast-iron
dovetail will not prevent the key y from bringing it to bear firmly on three
parts of the two sides or the straght side to adjust itself to the key for a firm
and equal bearing, but but they prevent it from moving laterally out of place.
The wedge key is driven into the connection on that side of the stamper head
which is nearest to the side of the mortar, the side of the mortar serving to
keep the key in place. The lower part of the stamper is made so as to have
a larger stamping surface on one side of the vertical axis of the rod, than there
is on the other, that is to say, the centre d' of the stamping surface is arranged
at a distance from the axis e¹ of the rod, see Fig. 5; this, as the stamp is rotated,
causes the lower end of the stamp to continually strike in a fresh place on the
ore or charge, and prevents it from packing in the mortar as is constantly
the case where a cylindrical stamp is used. It also exposes a fresh quantity to
each blow, and enables each blow by its concussion to loosen the particles
of that part of the charge on which it does not directly act. The improved
mode of connecting the stamper head to its rod is of great convenience and ad-
vantage, as it enables the stamper head to always keep itself in adjustment,
however irregular it may wear on its bottom, and thereby prevents it from
accidents which are constantly occurring to the stamper heads as usually mado
and applied. Where stamps for crushing ores are operated by the direct action
of steam to the stamp shaft, when the stamp head has descended to a certain
point it is allowed to ring a bell, that the attendant may replenish the mortar
with ore; should he neglect to attend to his duty, and the stamp continues to
descend, the lower head of the cylinder will inevitably be knocked out by the
piston. To remedy this defect I have adopted the device represented in
Fig. 10; in this Figure the steam is admitted both above and below the piston,
which thus descends with greater force and speed than when allowed to fall
by its weight alone. At a the diameter of the cylinder is enlarged (Fig. 10),
so that on the piston arriving at a certain point the steam passes freely round
it, and the operation of the stamps is instantly stopped. To prevent the piston
from being worn away unevenly there is an enlargement at the upper end of
the cylinder, corresponding to that at the lower, by which means the wear upon
the packing is equalized. There are various methods by which this end may
be accomplished; for instance, the piston as it descends may be made to let off
a weighted lever, by the fall of which a throttle valve in the steam pipe may be
closed, and thus the operation of the stamp will be checked; I do not therefore
confine myself to the use of the particular means represented, and described
above. When steam is admitted both above and below the piston, as seen in
Fig. 10, it is evident that the piston will descend much more rapidly than it

page_text: ascends, and consequently, that the valve should remain open a longer time for
the admission of steam beneath the piston than is required when the steam is
passing above the piston; this demands an irregular motion of the valve, which
cannot be imparted to it by an eccentric arranged in the ordinary manner.
To give to the valve this irregular motion I employ the eccentric gears 6ª and
(Fig. 10), the former being upon the driving shaft, and the latter upon tho
shaft of the eccentric which operates the valve; by this means, where the shaft
of the gear is driven by an equable motion the required motion of the valve
is produced.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that, under
the above recited Letters Patent, I claim the combination of the washing basin,
or contrivance L, with the stamp rod and its bearing, so as to operatein the
manner and for the purpose as specified.
I also claim the deflecting plate in the entrance spout or hopper as com-
bined with the same, and the mortar and stamper, and used for the purpose
specified.
I also claim the improvement in the stamp head, or the making of it with a
greater stamping surface on one side of its axis of rotation than it has on the
other, the same being for the purpose of preventing packing of the charge as
specified.
I also claim the mode of applying the stamp head to the stamp rod, viz., by
means of the circular arcs or curves of the sides of the universal dovetail con-
nection with the wedge key, as described.
I also claim stopping the operation of the stamps by stopping the feed of the
material, in the manner substantially as herein set forth, or by any other means
adapted to the purpose.
I also claim the eccentric gears 63 and c in combination with the direct
action steam stamps for the purpose of communicating the required motion to
the slide valve, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Ball, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. SHAPLEY.
W BALL. (L.S.)