US1011321A - Placer-mining apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

. V. V. CLARK.

PLACER MINING APPABTUS. APPLIUATION rum; JAN. 10, 1911.

1,011,321. Patented Dec.12,1911.

e I 111 111 II WITNESSES: Q nwsuron:

N6 By I M X Arrow/Er To whom it may concern:

cation.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

V. CLARK, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOIt T0 NORTHERN ENGINEERING 00., 0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A. CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

PLACER-MINING arrazwrus.

Be it known that I, VIVIAN V. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of \Yashington, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Placer-Mining AE- paratus, of which the following is a speci This invention relates to placer mining machinery whereby the auriferous .earthy material, like'gravel, clay and sand, all of which may contain stones of varioasshapes and sizes, can be operated upon with water to extract and save the gold or-other valuable metal which such material may contain.

The objects of my invention are First, to provide effective means for profitably} operating on placer-mining grounds known to. contain deposits of native gold but which. grounds remain unworked because they are located where the supply of water is insuifi: cient for extracting and saving the gold by methods and means heretofore employed for large operations on placer mining grounds.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sec-' tion. Fig. 2 isa vertical cross section thereof. Fig. 3 is 'a fragmentary view shown partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section.

Referring to the drawings, 5 is atrough or sluice box of iron or wood, the top edge of each side of which is adapted to afford continuous track-ways 7 and whereon are mounted pairs of wheels 8, 8', 8 etc. To the axle 9 of each pair of wheels is hingedly connected a flight 10 or pusher from the free or lower edge of which protrudes a detachable blade 11'. Extending upwardly from each of these flights toa distance above the supporting axle- 9 thereof are pairs of ears 6 located near each end of the flight as 'most clearly shown in Fig. 2. These ears are pivotally connected to pins which are em loyed for coupling the adjoimng ends of inks 12, 12, etc., of two bar-link chains,

. so to speak, which are located adjacent to I system of the sides, of the trough and supported in roximity to the juncture of the various links by the aforesaid wheels 8, 8, etc. This chains and flights'is thus adapted -for. endwise' travel on wheels which track 1 upon the sides of the trough.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the members of Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

one pair of link-bars 12 are connected by a transverse pm 16 which, 1n turn, 1s connected with the crank pin 13 of a driving I wheel 14 through the agency of a connecting rod 15. \Vhen the wheel 14 is rotated'the system of flights will be caused to make an excursion forward and back in the trough with each cycle of the wheels rotation. This wheel may be driven by means of a power driven belt 17 or otherwise.

18 represents lugs respectively extending forwardly and rearwardly from the various flights and are disposed to encounter the chains thereabove to limit the swinging movements of the flights. That is to say, the rearwardly directed lugs 18 encounter the chains to arrest the rearward swing of the flights prior to the latters forward travel ands'imilarly the forwardly directed lugs limitthe' forward swing thereof for the .fiEbSQquent .rcarward travel, as will be understood from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2. In the drawings 1 have illustrated a trough us having its rear end substantially horizontal and connected by a curved portion with the front or outlct end which is inclined upwardly. In the bottom of the trough are provided ritilcs 19. of a form known to miners as poles-idles, in the manner usually employed with sluiceboxes, but any other forms of rifllcs may be substituted, if desired.

20 represents sill'supports for supporting the afore-dcscribcd structure. Both ends of the trough are open whereby water or earthy matter may freely enter or leave the trough.

21 represents the discharge end of a hopper which may serve to conduct earthy matter into the trough. Su'ch devices are varied according to the character 'of material worked and the conditions of each location.

22 represents gutter like receptacles secured to the under side of the trough for collecting the concentrates which settle on the bottom of the trough and find access to the receptacles through discharge openings provided inthe trough bottom.

The operation of my invention is ,as follows: At a selected location, the trough is set on a firm foundation in a hollow or de preSSlOn of the" ground which is or can be 'supplied with water to a height approxilinks will, through the me the trough substantially submerged and the other end protruding for a distance above the water level. When the wheel 14 is rotated at an appropriate speed, motion is transmitted therefrom by the connecting rod 15 to the bar-chains and. thence the system of flights is caused to be alternately moved'to'ward the front and rear ends of the trough While the supporting wheels 8, 8', 8 etc., track on the side walls of, the trough. During such travel of theflights a charge or succession of charges of the material to be treated is deposited in the trough adjacent to its rear end. The material thus supplied is conveyed by the rearmost flight in its forward travel into a position to be conveyed by the next flight in the succeeding forward travel of the flights, then to the third flight and so on until the material, excepting the heavier portions thereof which are retained within the interstices of the riflie, i's finally discharged from the front, .end of the trough. During the forward movements of the flights, the power transmitted from the connectin' rod 15 to the um of the ears 6, cause the flights 10 to be swung downwardly until arrested by the rearwardl extended lugs 18 encountering the links th above, whereupon. the various flights will occupy the relative positions in which they are represented in Fig. l. and by broken .lines a in Fig. 3. When the return mcvements of the flights occur, the links will then act to swing the flights into positions corresponding to that in which they are represented by full lines in Fi 3, and whereat they are arrested by the orwardly extended lugs 18 being brought against the links above.

It is to benoted that the motion of the ereconnecting rod is first-utilized to swing the flights until the arms 18 or,18' are employed, and the continued motion of the connecting rod will serve to push or pull the entire system of flights toward the front or rear of the trough.

It is also to be noted that b reason of the flexible or link-connections etween the adjacent flights and by having the carrying wheels of the latter operate u on a sup orting track only, that a boul er, or a arge body of the material, which might become wedged under a flight, will efl'ect the uplifting of the particular flight to allow the same to pass over the obstacle and thereby not derange or break the a paratus.

It is obvious that suitab e means for removing the matter constituting the tailings as it is ejected from the forward end 0 the trough, will readily suggest themselves; as, for instance, the crap form of stacker, such as is used in connecoyment of some tion with gold-'dredgers, or other mechanical conveyer.

Now having described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

A concentrating sluice having lon itudinally disposed spaced riflles, a longitu inally reciprocable conveyor having transverse flights pronged on their lower portions, each prong overlying a longitudinal riflle and reciprocable longitudinally thereover, each flight being pivotally yieldable to obstacles during movement of the conveyer in one direction.

VIV IAN V. CLARK. Witnesses:

CHAS. D. HASKINS, PIERRE BARNES.

Images