646

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

March 20 1914.

the engine, and keeps them free from dust and dirt; and
the lowest part of the bottom half of the frame, which is
situated immediately below the crank shaft, forms a
reservoir for the lubricating oil, so that the cranks splash
the oil over all the working parts of the engine—i.e., the
slide bars, crossheads, piston rods, eccentrics, connecting
rods, crank-shaft bearings, the worm and worm wheel, and
on to the bottom bearing of the vertical shaft. A thrust
ball bearing may be fitted to the sides of the frame to
receive the thrust caused by the gearing together of the
worm and worm wheel, or the crank bearings may be

grooved to take the thrust as in screw-propeller shafts.
The engine frame is carried on a pair of stout angle or tee
sledge irons, by means of a pair of upright plates on each
side, and is guided or protected sideways by cast steel or
angle iron fenders. The toolholders are sockets made on
the back of the solid links of the chain and parallel with
the links, in order that the projection of the tool is not
affected by the shank of the tool being deep or shallow in
the socket-holder. Fig. 1 is a part outside elevation and
part vertical section on line A—A of fig. 2, and fig. 2 is a
plan on line B—B of fig. 1, of a coal-cutting machine
constructed according to this invention. Figs. 3 and 4 are
respectively side elevation and plan of the bed and cover.
Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the swivelling arm carrying the
chain. (Three claims.)

7267 (1913). Improvements in Firing Furnaces and Kilns
with Pulverised Fuel. E. Brunner, of Lower Mosley-street,
Manchester.—-Consists essentially in feeding or delivering
the pulverised fuel without the admixture of air to the
furnace in conjunction with a forced jet or current of highly
heated air supplied in a vertical direction, and meeting the
fuel as it f Ils into the furnace and igniting it whilst

D

suspened in the combus tion chamber, and in an airless
stoker apparatus comprising a hopper and a number of feed-
screws of small diameter carried in close-fitting tubes entering
the front or sides of the furnace or of the combustion
chamber. The accompanying figure shows a longitudinal
section of the improved airless stoker. (Four claims.)

10123 (1913). A Self-discharging Hopper Truck for
Conveying Coal, Gravel, and the like in Bulk and Regulating its
Automatic Discharge. W. J. S. Perkins, 2, Naval Residence,



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Portland, Dorset.—Figs. 1 and 2 show the truck in side
elevation and plan respectively. Inside the truck are fitted
slopes S, arranged as shown with a main ridge lengthwise
along the centre of truck, and another ridge transversely
across the centre of truck, with subsidiary slopes from the
centre and ends of truck on either side, all being arranged

at an approximate angle of 45 degs. in transverse section.
These are made of steel plate stiffened with gussets and
angles. Where these slopes converge on each side are fitted
doors D, fig. 1. These are four in number, made of steel
plates working vertically in guides formed by the stiffening
angles L and steel backing pieces. The doors are actuated
by the racks R and pinions P, the latter being mounted on
shafts T worked by the chain wheels W. The chains C are
kept in position by the ramshorn guides G fitting loosely on
the shafts T. Clips K are fitted so that the doors can be
instantaneously held by the chains in any desired position
by the flat of a link being passed into the curved slot of the
clip. On the bottom of the doors are fitted shear steel
knife edges E, to effectively cut off the flow of material on
closing the doors. To compensate for the loss of stowage
space occupied by the slopes S, the truck is correspondingly
built up in height, so that the total weight carried and load
on the axles remain the same. The slopes may be made
portable so as to be readily lifted out when not required for
this service. The truck may then be utilised as an ordinary
box truck. The action is as follows:—The truck being
filled with coal or the like, portable shoots B for filling
buckets, or A for filling bags, figs. 1 and 2, are hung below
the doors. When the latter are lifted this material runs off
and is directed by the slopes into the shoots, its flow being
regulated or shut off as desired by the doors actuated by
means of the chains and chain wheels. (Three claims.)

17816 (1913). Improvements in Mine Signalling Apparatus
R. Nicholas, 1, Dun raven-ter race, Treorchy, Rhondda,
South Wales.—Relates to a signalling apparatus connected
to the signalling “ knocker33 or " rapper33 such as are used
to give signals by pulling a wire from the bottom to the
top of mine shafts. The apparatus is an electric contact
maker fixed on to the knocker, so that when a signal is
pulled from the bottom of the mine, the same pull operates
the contact maker and completes an electric circuit. This
completed electric circuit is used to operate a signalling
apparatus in the winding engine-house, thus simultaneously
giving the same signal as is received at the top of the mine
shaft, to the winding engine-house, as required by the Coal
Mines Act, 1911. The electric contact maker is constructed
with two halves of an insulated split ring arranged positive
and negative ; between this split ring but|not touching it, is
a vertical pin free to move up and down, with a cone head
for forming the contact piece between the two halves of the
insulated split ring. The pin acts as a weight to cause the head
to drop into contact with the two halves of the split ring.
The bottom end acts as a push-up rod, to push the head out
of contact. The split ring and pin head is enclosed in a
watertight casing with the bottom end of the pin projecting
through the.casing. The whole is mounted on an adjustable
bent pipe overhanging arm through which the wires pass
for carrying the electric circuit to and from the split ring
contact pieces. By this means the bottom end of the pin
projecting through the casing can be adjusted over the
knocker or the pulling wire so as to keep the bottom end of
the pin resting on the moving part of the knocker or wire
in such a position that the cone head of the pin is out of
contact between the two halves of the split ring when the
knocker is at rest, and in contact between the two halves of
the split ring when a signal is pulled from the bottom of
the mine shaft. (Three claims.)

22763 (1913). Improved Process of and Apparatus for
Charging Coke Ovens. W. Buschmann, of Hernerstrasse,
Bochum-Riemke, Germany.—According to the invention,
instead of a single motor truck several are used, for
instance, three motor trucks which run parallel on the
existing tracks. In order to enable one man to attend
simultaneously to the trucks, the installation is arranged so
that the trucks are automatically stopped above the oven
to be charged, and also under the filling tower. The
stopping of the trucks can be effected, for instance, by stops
on the track by means of which the power of the motor is
disconnected, and, if desired, a brake thrown in. When
electrical working is employed, the section of the current
supply situated over the oven to be filled can be switched
out and the trucks stopped in that way. The filling of an
oven is carried out by the attendant in the following
manner:—The attendant places in position the disconnecting
devices over the oven to be filled. He then fills the three
trucks under the tower, and starts the motors on each
truck, so that the trucks travel to a point above the oven



where they are automatically stopped. The attendant can
travel to the oven on the last truck. Here he empties the
trucks and closes the oven, and after having replaced the dis-
connecting device on the said oven and set that of the next
oven to be filled, he again starts the trucks for the return
to the coal tower. At the coal tower the trucks are again
stopped by disconnecting devices. Figs. 1 and 2 show
diagrammatically by way of example a construction of an
installation for carrying out the process. On tracks a b and
c the motor trucks d e and f travel and are stopped under the
filling tower g by means of the disconnecting device h, and
over the ovens by means of the disconnecting devices i.
The automatic stopping can be effected in the known
manner, for instance, by means of stops introduced on to
the track or of pivoted levers k, as shown in fig. 3, which
are raised at the point at which the truck is to stop. When
the truck moves to the left, the bell crank lever arranged
underneath strikes against the rod k and is turned when
the truck continues to travel so that the rod d1 which leads
to the motor is raised and stops the motor. (Three
claims.)

28634 (1913). Improvements in Electric Fuses for Blasting
Purposes Bickford, Smith and Co. Limited, of Tucking-
miH, Cornwall, and W. N. B. Smith, of Trevarno, Helston,

Cornwall.—Consists in an improved method of connecting
the firing wire to the fuse. According to the invention a
hole is bored, punched, or cut through the fuse, passing
through its axis, and the firing wire is passed through
this hole. The hole is then either sealed with a water-
proofing compound, or it may be filled and sealed with
any suitable priming composition, and is then insulated, and

if necessary may be further covered by a tube of suitable
material to act as a protection. The invention is illustrated
in the accompanying drawing, which shows a longitudinal
section through a fuse constructed according to the present
invention. (Two claims.)

28781 (1912) Improvements in Safety Apparatus for
Arresting Pit Cages Hoists and like Carriages. A. Hanley,
21, Alpha-road, Bristol.—Consists of means of applying as
retardation effort on guides so that cages may be arrested
and held in a position of safety at the time the cage is
without the winding rope or other normal suspensory means,
and relates in particular to apparatus of the type described
in Specification No. 9037 a.d. 1904. The novel parts are H,
V, E, T, K, M, F. Member H1 is a single plate doubly bent
as fig. 1, or unbent at H2, fig. 14, or of two plates. H1
has a projection V. The upper ends are connected to the
winding rope cappie or to any detaching hook D as shown
in figs. 12 and 14, and their lower ends rest on the cage
shackle pin P2, fig. 1. E is a rope or chain with a coiled
spring; its upper end on V, and its lower end to chain C®,
fig. 12. Member A may be in one piece with H or be bolted
or otherwise fixed physically to H. A2 rests loosely on pin
P2. In fig. 1 A2 has a trigger mechanism F (which is shown
in detail at fig. 9) and is held in unstable equilibrium by B2,
and by B3 which rests on T. The guide-grip shoe S1 is
specially shaped, bell-mouthed each way from its contact
centres, and is fitted with cushion pieces M, fig. 9, which
form soft easily wearable parts if guide G touches them

<W> D

during ordinary winding, and act as cushions when S1 grips
the guides. K, fig. 9, is one or more soft felt or wood pieces
forming a distance-piece for adjusting strap C3 to A1 and
acting as a cushion with grip of S1 on G. F is a bent lever
fitted to A2 with a loose joint having part U passing through
a sleeve or guide X, and coil spring F1 has one end fixed
in U, the other end butting against X when in compression
(somewhat like a railway signal lever). The top end of F
is held by B3, and the lower end is held by B2 with U in any
desired safe working position. P and C3 are common to cage
arresters. During normal winding, the parts retain their
properly fixed position. If R is detached or broken in the
pit, Hl and A1 fall with a turning motion partly natural by
their construction and partly due to the pull of E on H;
H’s turning releases the pull of B2 on N2, and releases thrust
of B3 on N1; F1 thrusts part U towards the guide G, impact
of LT on G checks S1, and act of F1 gives a twist-effort to
A2; impact of U and twist-effort of F helps natural turning
effort of A2 as it falls, quickening and ensuring grip of S1
of A2 on the guide. The result of these actions is that S1
gets instantaneously in grip-position on the guides, grip-
slides on them, exerts grip retardation on them, which
retardation gradually increases till A1 A2 stop, and with
them the cage C4, as in figs. 13 and 15. This invention may
be applied to cages with rigid iron guides as G1 x, as shown
at dotted lines fig. 8. It may be applied as shown at the
dotted lines fig. 7 to cages with wood guides G10. (Two
claims.

29958 (1913). Improvements in and relating to Apparatus
for Locking the Discharging Doors of Dumping, Receptacles.
Fried. Krupp Aktiengesellschaft, of Essen, Germany.—In

the arrangement described in the specification of the
original Patent Application No. 18488/13 the bolts are posi-
tively connected to the hand lever during the greatest part