NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS "
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Foulis, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Foulis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th January 1874.
I, WILLIAM FOULIS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CHARGING
RETORTS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention, which relates to new or improved machinery or
apparatus for charging materials into retorts, consists of a horizontal
framing upon which the charging scoop with its attachments are
carried. Beneath the horizontal framing one or two drums are situated
whose axis or axes (as the case may be) is or are at right angles to
the length of the framing.

page_text: The scoop is attached to a circular block of metal and carried in
bearings, in which it is capable of rotating. Chains are attached to the
winding drum or drums, and are coiled round it or them in opposite
directions, so that whilst one chain is being unwound according to the
direction in which the drum or drums is or are rotated the other chain is
being wound up. The other ends of the chains are attached to the
circular block of metal which carries the scoop, two grooves being
formed therein, each to receive the termination of one of the chains,
which are wound round it in opposite directions, and carrier pulleys are
placed at the ends of the framing round which the chains pass. By
means of this arrangement accordingly as the winding drum or drums
is or are rotated in a right or left hand direction so the scoop is moved
to and from the retort.
When arrived at the end of its inward stroke a stop is released, which
permits the further action of the winding drum or drums on the chain
which has pulled the scoop forwards to rotate the scoop sufficiently to
deposit its charge in the retort, after which the winding drum or drums
is or are rotated in the opposite direction, thereby drawing back the scoop
and turning it in position to receive another charge.
The winding drum or drums is or are actuated by a rack and pinion
or bevil gearing operated by hand, steam, or hydraulic power.
In place of using a winding drum or drums a horizontal hydraulic
cylinder may be provided for actuating the chains, the other parts of the
apparatus being arranged as herein-before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said William Foulis in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 11th July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FOULIS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the

page_text: •
37th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Foulis, Her special license
that I, the said William Foulis, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Foulis, 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 "NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Foulis, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 William Foulis, 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 following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and. to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say :—
My said Invention, which relates to new or improved machinery or
apparatus for charging materials into retorts, consists of a horizontal
framing upon which the charging scoop with its attachments are
carried. Beneath the horizontal framing one or two drums are situated
whose axis or axes (as the case may be) is or are at right angles to the
length of the framing.
The scoop is attached to a circular block of metal and carried in
bearings, in which it is capable of rotating. Chains are attached to the
winding drum or drums, and are coiled round it or them in opposite
directions, so that whilst one chain is being unwound according to the
direction in which the drum or drums is or are rotated the other chain
is being wound up. The other ends of the chains are attached to the
circular block of metal which carries the scoop, two grooves being
formed therein, each to receive the termination of one of the chains
which are wound round it in opposite directions, and carrier pulleys are

page_text: placed at the ends of the framing round which the chains pass. By
means of this arrangement accordingly as the winding drum or drums is
or are rotated in a right or left hand direction so the scoop is moved to
and from the retort.
When arrived at the end of its inward stroke a stop is released which
permits the further action of the winding drum or drums on the chain
which has pulled the scoop forwards to rotate the scoop sufficiently to
deposit its charge in the retort, after which the winding drum or drums
is or are rotated in the opposite direction, thereby drawing back the
scoop and turning it in position to receive another charge.
The winding drum or drums is or are actuated by a rack and pinion or
bevil gearing operated by hand, steam, or hydraulic power.
In place of using a winding drum or drums a horizontal hydraulic
cylinder may be provided for actuating the chains, the other parts of
the apparatus being arranged as herein-before described.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, reference being had to the annexed Sheets of Drawings and to
the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :—
On Sheet 1 of the Drawings hereunto appended Figure 1 is a side
elevation, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an end clevation of one arrange-
ment of the retort-charging apparatus constructed in accordance with
my said Invention.
As shewn by these figures the machine or apparatus consists of a 2
horizontal framing A, on which the charging scoop B and its attach-
ments are supported. The framing A is mounted upon wheels C, by
which the apparatus is traversed along rails D from one retort to
another, and the framing is capable of being raised and lowered so as to
regulate the height of the scoop B to that of the retort mouth through a
which the materials are to be charged by means of screws E. The
scoop B is attached to a circular block F of metal, which is carried in
bearings G and H, and is capable of being rotated therein. The
bearings G and H are cach provided with carrying rollers or wheels a
and 6 respectively, which run upon the upper and under flanches of the 3
side frames A, as shewn more particularly at Figure 3, Sheet 1.

page_text: Grooves c, d, are made round the rearward end of the block F to receive
which are fixed to the block one at each
Figure 3. Part of the chain I inter-
wound in opposite directions round a
the terminations of a chain I,
side, at the position marked c,
mediate between the ends is
winding drum J, situate beneath the rearward end of the framing A,
the axis K of which drum is at right angles to the length of the frame,
and is suspended therefrom by brackets L.
The forward and backward movements of the scoop B are effected by
the chain I, and the portion thereof which moves the scoop with the
materials therein into the retort is passed from the under side of the
winding drum J round a pulley fat the forward end of the framing A,
thence under a pulley h, the axis of which is fixed to the bearing H, and
round the groove d to the side of the block F, whereat that end of the
chain is fixed at e. The portion of the chain I which withdraws the scoop
B from the retort is passed from the opposite side of the block F, whereat
it is fixed at e¹, round the upper side of the groove c, and under the
pulley g, whose axis is also fixed to the bearing H, from whence the
chain is conducted to the upper side of the winding drum J and wound
thereon. The axes or studs 1, 1, on which the pulleys g and h are
placed are fixed in a separate block P of metal, as more particularly
seen in detail at Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 1 of the Drawings, which block
is attached to the bearing H by screws x. The drum J is rotated so as
to move the scoop B into and from the retort by a spur wheel M placed
on the same shaft K, therewith and into which a spur pinion N, situate
on the shaft O, is geared the said shaft, being rotated by means of the
crank handle i, or a hand wheel may be employed for that purpose.
•
A double stop or pawl k, the construction of which is shewn at
Figures 6 and 7, Sheet 1, enters notches r and 71 formed in the periphery
near the rearward end of the block F to keep the block and scoop B in
position whilst being moved towards and from the retort, that is to say,
to prevent the hauling chain I from turning the block and scoop through
an arc until the extreme limit of the forward and backward strokes of
the scoop are reached. The pawl or stop k, which is situate on a shaft m
extending throughout or nearly throughout the length of the framing A,
is capable of moving along a feather n on the shaft m as the scoop is
traversed backwards and forwards, and it is retained in its position in
the notch whilst the scoop with a charge of material therein is being
traversed by the chain I towards the retort by the side of the notch, that

page_text: is, the portion s, Figure 7, intervening between the notch and the
groove c. When the scoop B has arrived at or about the position
indicated in dotted lines at Figure 1, Sheet 1, that being the extreme
limit of its forward stroke, the pawl or stop k is released from the notch r
by turning the shaft m through an arc by means of the lever S, which
being effected and the drum J continuing to wind on the chain I in the
direction of the forward stroke, the scoop having then no further support
is turned over by the chain until the claw k¹ of the pawl or stop enters
the notch ¹, by which means the charge of material is deposited in the
retort.
When this has been effected the scoop B and block F are drawn rear-
wards to the extreme limit of their backward stroke when the claw k¹ of
the stop or pawl is released by operating the lever S from the notch r³,
and the further winding of the chain I in that direction turns up the
scoop into the position shewn on the Drawings to receive another charge
of materials. The pawl or stop k is retained in position whilst moving
backwards with the scoop by a bracket p fixed to the bearing H, or the
pawl or stop may be held in position whilst moving forwards by the
bracket P, and in moving backwards by the sides of the notch r³, or it
may be retained in position solely by the bracket or by other suitable
means, it being understood that I do not confine myself to the arrange-
ment herein-before described of retaining the pawl or stop / in position.
The bracket P also affords a travelling support to the shaft m at or near
that portion thereof whereon a strain is made by the tendency of the
chain I to partially rotate the scoop.
The scoop B is charged by the cranes R, which raise the material in
boxes or hoppers from a carriage or truck not shewn on the Drawings,
but which are constructed substantially similar to the boxes or hoppers
and carriage or truck set forth in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to me, the said William Foulis, dated A.D. 1873, Number 59.
The material is raised by winding the lifting chains t on to the drum T,
situate on the same axis K, with the winding drum J as shewn. The
drum T is operated by the same spur gearing M, N, which operates the
drum J, and both of these drums are placed loosely on the shaft K, and
provided with clutch boxes u, into one of which the clutch o, which is
placed firmly upon the shaft K, is pushed by the lever w accordingly as
it is desired to move the scoop backwards or forwards as herein-before
described, or to charge the same with materials.

page_text: When a box or hopper has been raised the cranes are swung round so
as to bring it over the scoop, into which the materials are allowed to
fall by releasing the bottom of the box or hopper, which is constructed
to swing open.
In lieu of actuating the winding drum J by spur gearing as herein-
before described it may be actuated by a rack and pinion, or by bevil
gearing operated by hand, steam, or hydraulic power, and in place of
using one winding drum and chain only two such drums placed on the
same shaft, and round which separate chains are wound in opposite
directions, may be employed to actuate the scoop.
Instead of using a winding drum or drums to effect the forward and
backward strokes of the scoop B, as shewn on Sheet 1 of the Drawings,
a horizontal hydraulic cylinder may be employed for that purpose, as
illustrated in side elevation at Figure 1, in plan at Figure 2, and in end
elevation at Figure 3, Sheet 2, of the appended Drawings.
The hydraulic cylinder A is suspended between the side frames B, and
the piston or plunger thereof is provided with rods C projecting through
both ends of the cylinder. At the outer extremities of the rods C,
pulleys D, D', and E, E¹, are placed as more particularly seen in end
elevation of one rod at Figure 3, Sheet 2, and pulleys F are also placed
underneath the cylinder A and centred on a bracket G fixed to the
cylinder as shewn. Separate chains H and I are in the apparatus now
under reference employed to haul the scoop J and block K (which are
constructed and arranged as herein-before described in reference to
Sheet 1 of the Drawings) in the forward and backward direction. One
end of the forward hauling chain H is attached to the block K at that
side of the rearward groove a marked 6, Figure 3, from whence the chain
passes round the upper side of the groove a and round the pulley c,
thence round the pulleys D and F, and back round the pulley D¹,
centred on the same shaft with the pulley D on to the ring or eye d,
fixed in the forward flanch of the cylinder A, as shewn at Figure 1,
whereto the end of the chain H is secured.
The chain I by which the scoop J and block K are hauled rearwards
is similarly at one end fixed to the side A¹ of the groove e, opposite to
the side at which the forward hauling chain is fixed to the groove a,
from whence the chain I is passed over the groove e and under the
pulley to the pulley E, thence round the pulleys F¹ and E' to the rear-
3.
نند

page_text: ward flanch of the cylinder A, whereat the opposite end of the chain I
is fixed at a. A double stop or pawl similar to that described in
reference to Figures 5 and 6, Shect 1 of the Drawings, is provided in
conjunction with this arrangement of charging apparatus for the
purposes herein-before set forth.
J
In operating with the hydraulic charging apparatus, when it is desired
to move the scoop J throughout its forward stroke water is admitted to
the cylinder A. so as to traverse the piston, the rod C, and pulleys D
and D¹, towards the retort. By this means the chain H is caused to
draw the scoop J into the retort until the position of the scoop J and
block K indicated in dotted lines on Figure 1, Sheet 2, is reached, when
the scoop being at its extreme forward stroke the stop or pawl is
released by operating the lever g in the manner herein-before described,
and the further hauling action of the chain H rotates the scoop suffi-
ciently to deposit the materials contained therein in the retort. A
similar action in returning the scoop into the position shewn on the
Drawings takes place by admitting the water to the forward side of the
piston in the cylinder A, and the stop or pawl when the extreme rear-
ward position of the scoop J and block K is reached being released
from the rearward hauling notch in the block by the lever I the scoop
is turned into position to receive another charge of material by further
hauling with the chain I. The scoop J is charged by the cranes M,
which are operated so as to raise the box or hopper containing the
material by the hydraulic cylinder N, to the piston rod of which a rack O
is fixed, as shewn at Figure 1, Sheet 2. The rack is geared into a spur
pinion situate on the axis of the drum P, round which the raising
chains are wound in opposite directions, and these are caused to raise
the material to the scoop J by admitting water to the end of the
cylinder N, marked Q, Figures 1 and 2, whereby the rack O is caused to
rotate the drum P through the intervention of the spur pinion on the
axis thereof. The cranes M are turned so as to swing the box or hopper
over the scoop J by the hydraulic cylinder R, over the piston of which
the forked end of a lever or crank R¹ is placed as shewn. The crank or
lever is situate on the lower end of one crane M, which is or may be
attached to the other crane by a connecting rod i as shewn.
The hydraulic charging apparatus as shewn on Sheet 2 of the Drawings
is arranged for charging retorts placed on different levels, and for this

page_text: purpose racks S arc attached to the pillars S', on which the side frames B
are supported. The racks are operated so as to raise or lower the appa-
ratus by an hydraulic cylinder T to piston rods, projecting through each
end of which racks k are attached as shewn, and these are geared into
spur wheels 7, on the axis of each of which other spur wheels marc
fixed, as more particularly seen in end elevation at Figure 3. The spur
wheels mare each geared into a spur pinion n, on the axis of each of
which another spur pinion o gearing into a rack S is fixed. By this
means when water is admitted to the cylinder T so as to cause the piston
thereof to move towards the front or rear of the apparatus the framing B
and scoop J are raised or lowered through the intervention of the spur
gearing to the level of the upper or lower bench of retorts.
2°
The hydraulic charging apparatus is also provided with an arrange-
ment of mechanism for moving it along the rails U from one retort to
another, and which consists of an hydraulic cylinder V, to the piston rod
of which a rack is secured. The rack is geared into a spur pinion s
situate loosely on an upright shaft u, and it is held in this position
relatively with the pinions s by a roller or stud t fixed in one of the
brackets by which the upright shaft u is supported. At the lower end
of the shaft u a bevil pinion v is fixed and geared with a bevil wheel w,
situate on a shaft x¹, extending between a pair of the carrying wheels of
the apparatus. A clutch y is also situate on the upright shaft u, which
when it is desired to move the apparatus along the rails is geared with
the clutch box formed on the spur pinion 8. Water is then admitted to
the cylinder V so as to operate the rack », whereby through the pinions,
shaft u, and bevil gearing v, w, motion is communicated to the shaft a¹,
and thence to the carrying wheels of the apparatus. The water
employed in operating the pistons of the hydraulic cylinders A, N, R, T,
and V, and apparatus connected therewith is conducted through the
inlet pipe z to a box X at the rearward end of the framing, a transverse
section of which is shewn at Figure 4 of the Drawing. In the box
cocks are placed, by operating which the water is admitted through pipes
(not shewn on the Drawings) to the different cylinders, a cock being
provided in conjunction with the pipes communicating with each
cylinder. The discharge of water from the different hydraulic cylinders
is conducted away from the apparatus by the waste pipe Y, Figure 1,
Sheet 2.
It is to be here understood that in some cases parts of the hydraulic

page_text: apparatus may be omitted, as for example when the apparatus is
employed to charge retorts, all of which are situate on the same level, the
raising apparatus may be dispensed with, and it is further to be under-
stood that portions of the apparatus shewn on Sheet 2 may be combined
with portions of the apparatus shewn on Sheet 1, and vice versa, as for
example, the apparatus on Sheet 1 may be employed to charge benches
of retorts situate on different levels and be provided with the hydraulic
raising gear shewn on Sheet 2, and it may also be provided with the
hydraulic apparatus for raising and turning with the cranes, or the
apparatus on Sheet 1 for raising the material to be charged into the
retort may with equal facility be adapted to the apparatus on Sheet 2.
Further, in lieu of employing hydraulic power to operate the charging
apparatus shewn on Sheet 2 of the Drawings steam power may be
employed for that purpose.
(Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the
same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would observe
in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
⠀ First. The arrangement and construction of retort-charging apparatus
wherein the scoop containing the material to be charged into the retort
is traversed throughout its forward and backward stroke and turned over
and "righted" at the ends of these strokes respectively by a hauling
chain or chains wound in different directions round a drum or drums,
substantially as herein-before described and shewn on Sheet 1 of the
Drawings.
Second. The arrangement and construction of retort-charging appa-
ratus shewn on Sheet. 2 of the Drawings wherein the scoop is operated
by hauling chains, which together with the other moving parts of the
mechanism are actuated by hydraulic power, substantially as herein-
before described.
Third. The arrangement of mechanism more particularly seen at
Figures 6 and 7, Sheet 1 of the Drawings, whereby the scoop of both
charging apparatuses in moving throughout its forward and backward
strokes is retained in a fixed position, and by releasing which the hauling

page_text: chains are enabled to invert and right the scoop at the terminations of
these strokes respectively as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Foulis, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of July One thousand-
eight hundred and seventy-four.
WILLIAM FOULIS. (L.S.)