IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ALBERT ROBERTS 62 Albert Terrace Road Sheffield in the County of York
Sanitary Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND AND OTHER MATERIALS to be as follows:-
My invention relates more particularly to improved apparatus for distributing
sand, granite chips, ballast, and similar material upon roadways to enable horses
and other animals to obtain a better foothold, and to make slippery roads less
dangerous for general traffic, the object being to distribute such material by self-
acting mechanism, so as to dispense with manual labour, and to do the work in a
more regular and effective manner as well as distributing the material more equally
than is done by hand.
In carrying out my invention in its more complete form, I construct a vehiclo
the body of which I prefer to make of sheet iron or steel, of any suitable size, and
with the bottom sloping downwards from the front to the back, where the outlet is
made extending from one side to the other, and provided with an adjustable rising
door.
Outside the body of the vehicle and under the outlet is a long spout or trough,
attached to the vehicle by a hinged joint, so that it can be raised or lowered; it is
held in the desired position by one or more adjustable springs, and is therefore
not rigid, but can give away if occasion requires.
Supported by adjustable bearing attached to each side of the framework of the
vehicle is the " distributor," being a shaft covered from end to end with star
wheels, each alternate wheel being in advance of the other, or the shaft may have
scrapers of other suitable construction-this distributor revolves in the trough, its
action being to carry the sand from the mouth of the outlet, and tip it over the
opposite edge of the trough into the roadway. The distributor may be actuated by
means of a machine chain gearing upon a toothed wheel fixed on the distributor
shaft and a similar wheel fixed on the axle, or to the ordinary wheel, or by similar
means. I attach a clutch to the distributor so that its action may be stopped or
started at pleasure. In some cases I use a spreader consisting of a wheet iron or
steel mouthpiece, extending downwards from the distributor, and curving on each
side so as to make the spread of sand or other material as wide, or wider than the
vehicle

page_text: I also make a more simple form of apparatus to attach to ordinary carts when
required for this purpose. In this case I make the trough rigid, the distributor
being carried in rocking brackets at each end which allow the distributor to rise
and fall, so as (for instance) to allow a large stone to pass underneath it, the weight
of the distributor causing it to resume its normal position when the obstruction has
passed:
A spreader may be also attached to this form of my apparatus, and a vibrating
motion imparted to the lower part of the spreader by a connecting rod, and a small
crank, (or more than one)-fixed upon the axle or shaft of the distributor.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Distributing Sand and other Materials.
I, ALBERT ROBERTS 62, Albert Terrace Road, Sheffield in the County of York
Sanitary Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND AND OTHER MATERIALS and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for distributing sand, ballast
granite chips and other similar material upon roadways to enable horses to obtain
a better foothold, and to render slippery roads less dangerous for general trafic,
being especially useful for tramways the object being to distribute such material by
automatic mechanism and thus accomplish the work with an economical consump-
tion of the material used, and in a more equal, regular and effective manner than
can be done by hand labour.
To render my specification clear, I annex a sheet of drawings illustrating how
my invention is carried into practice, the same letters of reference indicate the same
or similar parts in any of the figures in which they occur.
Fig. 1, is a part sectional elevation of an apparatus made according to my
invention.
Fig. 2, is a similar representation taken from the opposite side.
Fig. 3 shows a modification of same.
In carrying out my invention, I construct a vehicle or cart, the body of which
may be made of sheet iron, steel, or any suitable material and preferably to the
shape shown in the drawings by the lines A, somewhat resembling a hopper, the
bottom being inclined from the front to the back, and provided with an outlet B
extending from one side of the body to the other or thereabouts. This outlet may be
opened or closed or adjusted in its width by a sliding door or shuttle C, which may
be arranged to be moved by a direct pull-or by a screw, or lever or other means.
Under the outlet I form a spout or trough D, in some cases I attach it by hinged
joints so that it may be adjusted, or so that with the addition of springs it will
give way if required; but usually it is made rigid as shown.
This trough is to contain the distributor E which consists of a shaft supported in
bearings upon the frame of the vehicle, and covered from end to end with toothed
wheels, preferably so arranged that the teeth of the wheels are not in line, but
form a spiral upon the shaft.
The distributor is made to revolve in the trough by a series of toothed wheels, as
shown, or by chain gearing-or other means-the first motion being obtained from
the wheel or wheels of the vehicle itself.
F is a wheel attached to or carried round by the wheel of the vehicle, G is a
wheel gearing into F, and upon the shaft carrying the wheel G on the opposite side
of the vebicle is fixed a wheel H, gearing into I; this shaft passes through the
body of the vehicle, and carries a number of forks or. stirrers J, which constantly
revolving in the sand or other material, prevent it from becoming solid, or clogging
at the outlet.

page_text: The stirrer shapt carries the wheel K gearing into the wheel L, upon the distri-
butor shaft E, causing the distributor to revolve in the direction of the arrow, and
to carry the sand or other material over with it, and drop it down the spreader M.
Below the mouth of the spreader M, I fix a foot board N, having the means
whereby its angle of inclination may be altered to suit the various materials used;
sand for instance requires a greater incline that granite chips. The spreader and
the footboard may or may not have a vibrating motion imparted to them, by means
of a connecting rod, and a crank fixed to the distributor shaft. P is a handlever
for the purpose of throwing a clutch in and out of gear with the wheel G, whereby
the motion of the gearing may be started and stopped by the driver of the vehicle.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the vehicle is in motion
and the clutch in gear, the sand will drop through the open outlet on to the
distributor," and will be carried over by the revolving teeth, and be deposited in
a continuous stream into the spreader, running down upon the foot board from
whence it falls in a regular and equal deposit to the ground.
The face of the spreader down which the sand travels may have ribs, arranged
so as to prevent the sand from gathering in any particular part, and being
irregularly delivered; also when the spreader is increased in width towards its
outlet, the ribs are arranged so as to spread the sand to the full width of the foot-
board.
In the modification shown in Fig. 3, instead of the shuttle C, which is operated
from the back of the vehicle, I arrange one or more sliding doors or shuttles Q- -so
that they can be operated by the driver without getting down from his seat.
Preferably I use three shuttles, the centre shuttle working in the opposite
direction to the side shuttles, so that when the centre one is open the side ones are
closed and vice versa.
A lever R, is fixed upon a rocking shaft S, and the connecting links T, (or other
equivalents,) are fixed to the shaft, the centre one being on one side of the fulcrum
and the side ones on the opposite side of the fulcium (or shafts).
This arrange-
ment enables a single layer of sand to be deposited centrally, or two side layers, to
suit one, or a pair of horses.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. An apparatus for distributing sand or other like material, substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated.
2. In an apparatus for distributing sand or other like material, the use of a
"distributor" (driven by any suitable gearing or motion) for the purpose specified,
and constructed substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In an apparatus for distributing sand or other like material, the use of
a distributor E a spreader M, and a footboard N, for the purpose specified, and
substantially as herein described and illustrated.
Dated the 3rd day of November 1885.