IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING AND COLLECTING DUST FROM AIR
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fyfe Stewart of No. 26 Mark Lane in the City of
London for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY
FOR SEPARATING AND COLLECTING DUST FROM AIR Communicated to him
from abroad by Alva H. Kirke and William J. Fender both of Minneapolis,
State of Minnesota in the United States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fyfe Stewart at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st June 1882.
"IMPROVE-
JOHN FYFE STEWART of No. 26 Mark Lane in the City of London
MENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING AND COLLECTING DUST
"
FROM AIR [Communicated to him from abroad by Alva H. Kirke and William
J. Fender both of Minneapolis, State of Minnesota in the United States of
America]
According to the present invention a series of vertical receptacles or bags closed
at top and open at bottom, the sides of which are made of cloth or other suitable
permeable material are arranged side by side within a casing the sides of which
are also permeable for the passage of air These bags are kept distended or
stretched both vertically and horizontally by screw adjustments, their upper ends.
being fixed to adjustable beams while their lower open ends are secured round
openings formed in a fixed horizontal partition which separates the space below
the bags from the space in which the bags are situated. The bags are by preferenco
stretched in a horizontal direction by means of an internal horizontal strut one
end of which is fixed to the one rigid end surface of the bag while a screw
screwing through the other rigid end surface of the bag bears against the other end
of the strut.
The current of air charged with dust enters the casing at one end of the lower
space, and entering the mouths of the bags, passes through the sides of these into
the surrounding space, leaving the dust deposited on the inner surface of the bags.
Fitting against the underside of the horizontal partition is a box shaped slide
which is made to travel from one end of the partition to the other by means of a

page_text: screw spindle or other suitable mechanism, so that as it passes along it consecutively
closes the mouth of each bag against the ingress of dust laden air, while at the
same time it causes, by means to be presently described, the accumulated dust to
be detached from the sides of the bag and to fall into the box. Arrived at the
one end of the machine a door in the sliding box is forced open so as to allow the
collected dust to fall into a shoot, whereupon the box is made to travel back again
either by means of a reverse screw thread on the before mentioned screw spindle
or by other means.
On the one end of the sliding box is a stud which as it passes underneath each
bag comes in contact with the tail of a cam shaped trigger and causes it to actuate
two bell crank levers on two horizontal spindles arranged one on each side of the
bag. These spindles have upright rods or beaters attached to them, which aro held
by the spindles against the outer surfaces of the bags, the beforementioned bell
crank levers being connected to springs which tend to maintain the spindles in
that position. When the bell crank levers are actuated by the cam trigger, they
turn the spindles so as to cause the beaters to be moved away from the surfaces of
the bag so that when the trigger and levers are released again on the passing of
the trigger stud of the box, the beaters are caused by the spring to strike sharply
against the bag, thereby dislodging the dust therefrom and causing it to fall into
the box.
The shoot into which the dust is delivered contains a drum having a series of
compartments or pockets, arranged in a well known manner so as to close the shoot
against egress of air from the machine while it receives the dust into the pockets
on the upper side and delivers the same into the lower part of the shoot on the
underside. The drum may be conveniently partially rotated at intervals by means
of a sliding catch actuated by a stud on the sliding box when this arrives at the
end of its travel. A passage leading from the bottom of the lower compartment
of the machine into the shoot and closed by a door, serves to clear out periodically
the dust that collects in the bottom compartment.
The casing of the machine is by preference provided with an outer covering of
wire gauze to prevent accident froin explosion and an inner covering of cloth for
retaining any dust that may escape through the bags with the air.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Fyfe Stewart in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th December 1882.
28
JOHN FYFE STEWART, of No. 26 Mark Lane in the City of London. IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING AND COLLECTING DUST
FROM AIR." A communication to me from abroad by Alva H Kirke and William
J Fender, both of Minneapolis, State of Minnesota in the United States of
America
According to the present invention a series of vertical receptacles or bags closed
at top and open at bottom, the sides of which are made of cloth or other suitable
permeable material are arranged side by side, within a casing the sides of which
are also permeable for the passage of air These bags are kept distended or
stretched both vertically and horizontally by screw adjustments, their upper ends
being fixed to adjustable beams, while their lower open ends are secured round
openings formed in a fixed horizontal partition which separates the space below
the bags from the space in which the bags are situated. The bags are by
preference stretched in a horizontal direction by means of an internal horizontal
strut, one end of which is fixed to the one rigid end surface of the bag, while a
screw screwing through the other rigid end surface of the bag bears against the
other end of the strut.
The current of air charged with dust enters the casing at one end of the lower
space, and entering the mouths of the bags passes through the sides of these into
the surrounding space leaving the dust deposited on the inner surface of the bags.
Fitting against the underside of the horizontal partition is a box shaped slide
which is made to travel from one end of the partition to the other by means of a
screw spindle or other suitable mechanism, so that as it passes along it consecutively
closes the mouth of each bag against the ingress of dust laden air, while at the
same time it causes, by means to be presently described, the accumulated dust to
be detached from the sides of the bag and to fall into the box. Arrived at the
one end of the machine, a door in the sliding box is forced open so as to allow the
collected dust to fall into a shoot, whereupon the box is made to travel back again
either by means of a reverse screw thread on the before mentioned screw spindle
or by other means
On the one end of the sliding box is a stud which as it passes underneath each
bag comes in contact with the tail of a cam-shaped trigger and causes it to actuate
two bell-crank lovers on two horizontal spindles arranged one on each side of the
bag. These spindles have upright rods or beaters attached to them, which are held
by the spindles against the outer surfaces of the bags, the beforementioned bell
crank levers being connected to springs which tend to maintain the spindles in
that position. When the bell crank levers are actuated by the cam trigger, they
turn the spindles so as to cause the beaters to be moved away from the surfaces of
the bag so that when the trigger and levers are released again on the passing of
the trigger stud of the box, the beaters are caused by the spring to strike sharply
against the bag, thereby dislodging the dust therefrom and causing it to fall into
the box.
The shoot into which the dust is delivered contains a drum having a series of
compartments or pockets, arrranged in a well known manner so as to close the
shoot against egress of air from the machine while it receives the dust into the
pockets on the upper side and delivers the same into the lower part of the shoot
on the underside. The drum may be conveniently partially rotated at intervals by

page_text: means of a sliding catch, actuated by a stud on the sliding box when this arrives
at the end of its travol. A passage loading from the bottom of the lowor compart-
ment of the machine into the shoot and closed by a door, serves to clear out
periodically the dust that collects in the bottom compartment
The casing of the machine is by preference provided with an outer covering of
wire gauze to prevent accident from explosion and an inner covering of cloth for
retaining any dust that may escape through the bags with the air
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig 1 shews a longitudinal section of the above described apparatus. Fig 2
shews an end section of the same and Fig: 3 shews a side view of the machine
with a portion of the wire gauze broken away, showing the cloth which covers the
inside of the doors Fig 4 shews the end section with the wire gauze broken away
the same as in Fig 3-Fig 5 is a sectional plan shewing the screw G which moves
the box F, the automatic discharge E, and framing of the machine. B. B. B are
dust catching bags of cloth the bottoms of which are secured by being firmly
attached to transverse pieces f the ends of which rest upon and are fixed to
longitudinal supports f¹ that are framed into the posts and become a part of the
frame C. C. are transverse beams to which the cloth of bags B B are attached at
their upper and narrower ends by tacks or other secure means the whole being so
constructed that they can be moved vertically but are confined against a horizontal
movement. e e¹ are pieces of wood which form the top framing of the machine
and which are fixed to the posts a a are screw bolts which pass through holes in
the framing e into the straining pieces, C C, in which a screw thread is cut for the
bolb to work into
By this means the cloth of the bags is kept at the proper tension or strain, which
is at all times vertical
At about the centre of the bags will be seen the piece g; Also in Fig 2 the
end pieces of the bags will be seen marked g¹. The piece is provided with a
tenant at one end, which has a recess for it in pieco g', the opposite end of bar g
has a socket into which the end of screw b, is inserted The screw b has a nut in
piece gl for it to work in. The purpose of this is to regulate the lateral tension of
the cloth of the bags
These adjustments are essential to the perfect dislodgement of the dust caught
on the bags F is a reciprocating dust catching box, and air cut off, and is
constructed as shewn. It can be reciprocated by any suitable means, but by
preference the reverse cut screw G is employed. The dust and air cut off box F is
supported and slides upon proper ways at F, h is a projecting tappet or trip on
each end of the dust box secured to the box end by a plate and screws or other
proper means. h¹ is a pivotted trigger, secured, as shown, so as to freely vibrate
upon its pivotted points and to engage with the lugs h, as the box reciprocates in
the direction shown by the arrow. There are as many of these triggers as there
are bags B. B. They are placed so that their centres of action will be nearly on the
centre line of the open mouths of the said bags. The trigger & has a lower limb, that,
when at rest is nearly perpendicular in position, while the upper limb is above the
pivotted point and at or nearly at right angles with the lower limb and forms a
cam or wiper. kk are transverse rock-shafts, one at each side of the mouths of
the dust bags, freely rocking in bearings at each side of machine. Il are beaters
formed of smooth wire of the proper size and firmly secured to the rock shafts & of
which beaters there may be any number desired to perfectly beat the dust from
the cloth. m m are bell crank levers fixed to the rock shafts k at one end as seen
in Figs 1 and 3 the lower limbs of which are nearly horizontal and project towards
and over-lap the corresponding one on the opposite of the mouth of the bag,
while the other limbs of the bell crank levers rise upward to about the same height
and are connected together by a spring n which draws them together again
after they have been forced apart. The part of the casing below the mouths of

page_text: the bags being separated air-tight from the upper part by a partition, the dust
laden air, entering at B finds its way through the open mouths of the bags to the
interior thereof and escaping through the sides thereof leaves the dust deposited on
their inner surfaces, while the purified air passes away through the permeable sides
and top of the casing surrounding the bags. The dust box F or air cut off put
into a horizontal forward motion, in the direction shown by the arrow, the
projecting lug at end of box F engages the downward projecting limb of
trigger and carries it forward causing the cam, upon which lever m rests to be
turned upon its pivot raising the levers m upwards and forcing the limbs m' apart;
the rock shafts of the pair are thus partly rotated, moving the beaters outward
or away from each other and from the bag between them until the lever h¹ has
passed off the lug h when the spring n in suddenly contracting brings the beaters Z
with a sharp blow against the outside of the tightly strained cloth upon the inside
of which the dust is accumulated and thus detaches the latter from the cloth at
the moment when the dust-box is directly underneath the bag so beaten, so that as
the air current is at the same time cut off from the bag the dust is caused to fall
into the box. This action continues through the whole series of bags B, that
there may be in the machine. and when the dust box has travelled the length of
the machine, and all the bags have been beaten and the dust collected in the box
the dust is disposed of by the bottom of the box being forced open and thus
allowing the dust to fall into the automatic discharge E, then the box is returned
back again to its starting point, at which place the bottom is brought back into its
proper position and the above operation is repeated
The entire cloth portion of this device is enclosed as shewn in figures 3 and 4
by frame doors made of material of suitable thickness the outside of which is
covered with wire gauze R and the inside with cloth S. The wire gauzo is for the
purpose of affording greater protection against fire or explosions. The cloth is to
retain any dust that may have been beaten through the cloths of the bags in
cleaning
The dust box has an aperture in its bottom closed by a slide O projecting with
its ends beyond the box, and having an opening in it at one point. When the box
is travelling forward, the slide closes its opening, being in the position shewn
in fig: 1 When the box arrives near the end of its travel the slide in coming with
its projecting end in contact with the end of the framing is pushed open so as to
cause the collected dust to fall from the box into the shoot A. This shoot is closed
against any egress of air by the drum E into the pockets of which the dust falls
and which is automatically rotated at the end of each travel of the box F by
causing the latter to come in contact with lugs on a sliding bar D carrying a pawl
or catch D', which in being moved by the box, turns the drum E a part of a
revolution at each stroke. Any dust deposited in the bottom of the casing is
cleared out from time to time, being brushed into the passage K leading into the
shoot and closed by a slide L
Having thus described the nature of the said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, as communicated to mo by my foreign correspondents,
I claim :-
First-Constructing apparatus for separating and collecting dust from air,
wherein a series of tightly stretched permeable bags or reticulated screens arranged
with their open mouths, presented downwards for the entrance of the dust laden
air, have their mouths consecutively closed by a travelling box while at the same
time they are subjected to the beating action of rods which cause the dust collected
on their inner surfaces to fall into the travelling box substantially as herein
described
Second-In dust collecting apparatus, such as is referred to in the preceding
claim, causing the travelling box to act with tappets upon levers fixed on rock
shafts which carry the rods or beaters so that these are first automatically moved
away from the dust collecting bags and are then urged by springs so as to striko
the bags sharply, substantially as herein described.

page_text: Third-In dust collecting apparatus the combination of the dust collecting bags B
the sides of which are kept tightly stretched, travelling box F with tappet h,
trigger h¹, rock shafts k levers m m³, spring n and rods or beaters 7, arranged
and operating substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying
drawings
Fourth-In dust collecting apparatus the combination of the travelling box F
with slide O sliding bar D with catch D¹ and shoot A with reticulated drum E,
arranged and operating substantially as herein described.
Fifth-In dust collecting apparatus such as is referred to in the preceding claims,
constructing the casing surrounding the dust collecting bags with an inner covering
of cloth or other permeable material that will allow of the passage of air but will
retain the dust, and an outer covering of wire gauze for preventing the passage of
flame through the casing substantially as herein described
In Witness whereof, I the said, John Fyfe Stewart have hereunto set my hand
and seal this twentieth day of December in the year of our Lord, one
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.