US12069A - Improved gold-collector - Google Patents

Description

1. PERRY.

Ore Washer.

Patented DPC.V 12, 1854.

No. 12,069.I

llPATI-itrr (Errol-2..

JAMES PERRY, OF; NEW YORK, N. Y.

vuvlenovlao Gmo-COLLECTOR;

Specification forming part yof Letters Patent No. 12,069, dated December-,127, 1854*.

' andeXact description,reference being had to.

the accompanying drawings, making part ot' this speciticatiomin whichn Figure l is a plan or top View; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section; and Fig. 3, acrossvertical section, taken at the line X Xof Fig. 1.

The said drawings' represent my improved apparatus as located in the bed of apriver, and the same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

In 'all rivers, streams, gulcl1es,ravin'es, dto.,

containing the precious metals, or inwhich such metals are found, the force of the current.

carries the precious metals and the ores thereof down stream, mixed with stones, rocks, and other foreign substances; and the object of my invention is to collect the metals or ores thereof or substances containing or mixed therewith, for the purpose of the after separation of the precious metals from such foreign substances by other means; but in collecting such substances it is important to effect, a-s nearas practicable, a separation of the substances likely to contain the precious metals from large -stones or rocks and other substances whichare carried along the beds of suchstreams bythe force of the current, and one of the chief objects of my invention is to effect such partial separation; and as the height of water in such localities is liable to great uctuations, and

' when the waters are high the'supply of the precious metals is more abundant thanwhen the waters are low, one of the objects of my invention is to adapt my improved apparatus to the collection of such substances at all heights of water, and in such manner that the substances collected can. be obtained without removing the apparatus from the bed of the stream in which'it is located.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the bed of a river or other streamwith my improved apparatus placed in a declivity thereof; but when a suitable declivity cannot be found the bottom can be excavated for the purpose, as it is desirable to have the top on avlevel with or below the general line of the bottom of the stream.

.The said appara-tus is composed of two ver- I.

tical sides, a a, inclined to each other longitudinally, so as to be near together toward the headof the stream and gradually spreading v ontV toward the other end. Near the top of these two sides is a screen, B, vcomposed of bars b secured4 at proper distancesjapart by meanS of rods and interposed collars c c, the

bars being nearer together at the up-stream end than at the other end in the proportion of the Ydivergence ot' the two sides to vprevent clogging or the lodgment of anything between thebars by the force of the current; and for the same reason the .bars maybe thicker at their upper edges, sothat anything that may enter between their upper edges will be s ure to' pass through. j Below the screen there is a plate, C, perforated. with ranges of holes d, there being one suchrange just under each space between the bars of the screen, and this plate at the downstream end should be at a greater distance below .the screen than itsv up-stream end for the purpose, also, of preventing any substances from lodging between it and. the screen. This plate at its edges is properly secured to the two'sides a a, and the up-stream end is secured to the upper end of an inclined bottom, 3D,a nd vits down-stream end is bent over, as

represented in Fig. 2. 'The holes .in the plate edge of the plate C, a narrow slot, h, bein gleft -between this part of the plate C and the lower end of the bottom D, through which all the substances that fall through the holes in the y plate C onto the bottom D are dischargedinto' this trunk I. 1 p v Y The boX formed by the sides a a, the top plate, C, and the bottom D is divided into two compartments, F and Gr, by a partition, E, which is inclined longitudinally and laterally, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3. From this it will be seen that the substances which pass through the largest holes in the plate O into the compartment Gr will run down to one corner by reason of the double inclination of the partition E, and near the lowest corner there is an aperture, e, governed by a valve, K, which, when opened, will permit the substances in the compartment G to fall into the transverse trunk I; but so long as this valve is closed the substances collected in the compartment G will be kept separate from those discharged from thc compartment F into the trunk.

Beyond the down-stream end of the plateG there is a pocket or receptacle, H, formed by a curved perforated plate, g, attached to the end of the screen B and to a bottom,f, which is inclined from one side to the other, like the partition E, and a hole is cut in the plate C, governed, also, by the valve K, before described, which has two wings, z' and j. The purpose of this pocket or receptacle H is to catch the substances that pass between the bars of the screen and thatfail to pass through the holes of the plate C. The heavier portions of the substances thus entering the pocket H will run downthe inclined bottom to the valve K, while the lighter matter will be washed away by the current of water throguh the holes in the plate yg and at the sides.

lThe trunk I communicates with the lower end of a vertical trunk or receptacle, J, which extends above the level of high water y y, and which is provided with an elevator, M, of the usual construction, and consisting of a belt or chain provided with buckets and passing around a drum at top and one at bottom, for the purpose of elevating the substances which are collected by the apparatus and discharged into this vertical trunk; but it is not absolutely necessary to have this trunk so high as to extend above the high-water mark. It may be made of less height, as in many localities when the water rises to a great height it soon subsides, and then access can be had to the substances which have been collected in the meantime.

, The valve K is attached to one end of a rod, 7c, that passes through the trunk I, the other end of which is connected witha crank at the lower end of a vertical rod, Z, by which the valve is operated, the said rod extending up to the top of the trunk J. At the junction of the trunks I and J there is a gate, Il, operated by a rod, m, to close or open the passage between the two.

To avoid the necessity of making the apparatus of great width, and yet to insure the passage of the washin gs of the whole stream over it, wings W W, constructed of any suitable material, may be arranged at the forward end, and spreading out to the sides of the stream and properly secured to the bottom, so that the whole force of the current, together with the substances carried by it, will be directed toward the apparatus.

The apparatus, as well as the wings, may bc secured to the bottoni in any suitable manner known to engineers, and, as stated before, located on a declining portion of the bottom or in an excavation made for it, so as to have the screen on the general line of the bottom, and being thus located the dbris containing gold or other precious substances desired to be collected are carried over the screen by the force of the current, and in passing over the large stones, &c.,will pass over the bars of the screen, while the smaller particles will fall between the bars onto the perforated plate C, and the small particles of gold and other precious substances will fall through the small holes d in the front part of the plate and run down the inclined bottom D and through the slot 7L at the lower end thereof into the trunk I. The larger particles with more of the dbris will pass through the larger holes d into the compartment Gr and run down the double declivity of the partitionE to the valve K, and there collect until the valve is opened; but so long as the valve is closed the agitation due to the force of the current of water will tend to float up and out the lighter substances that may fall through, and the still larger particles that pass through the screen and not through the holes d will fall in'to the pocket H and run down the inclined bottom thereof to the valve K, the force of the current washin g and sepa rating the lighter substances and carrying them out through the holes in the plate g, so that by the time the valve K is opened much of the foreign substances will have been carried away, and what remains will pass through the valve into the trunk I, and thence into the vertical trunk J, thence to be taken out by the elevator or other suitable means. The substances thus collected are then to be treated in any suitable manner to separate the gold or Y other precious substances from the remaining debris or foreign substances unavoidably collected therewith in my improved apparatus, which is only intended for collecting the matter from which the gold or other precious substance is to be separated.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that the mode, of construction of my improved apparatus may be greatly varied without changing the mode of operation, which distinguishes it from other things before known, and therefore I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not limit myself to the special mode of construction, but claim the right to vary the construction so long as the same end is attained by equivalent means.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1, Collecting the matter containing gold and other precious substances in the beds of rivers,

ravines, gulches, 85o., carried along by the force of the stream, by placing in the bottom of such stream a box or other vessel with a perforated plate at top and an inclined bottom discharging into a receiving-trunk or equivalent therefor, substantially as described, so that theparticles that pass through the holes in bein g washed over with the dbris by the force of the stream will. gradually descend on the inclined bottom and be discharged in to the trunk, while the lighter substances floating will escape through the holes in the top'plate, as set forth.

2. Making the holes in the top plate of such v an apparatus larger toward the rear end, as described, in combination 'with the compa-rtments formed by the inclined partition dividing the inside into compartments with inclined bottoms leading to the trunk, substantially as described.

3. In combination with an apparatus Vsubstantially such as specified, the employment of a top screen composed of bars, substantially as specified, to protect the perforated plate l from the injurious action of large masses passin g over it and to aid in keeping the holes in the said perforated plate from being clogged, as set forth.

4. The pocket at the lower end of the apparatus, in which are collected the precious substances that pass over the perforations in the top plate, when this is combined with the said perforated plate, and the compartments and trunk below it, substantially as specilied. and for the purpose set forth.

5. The vertical trunk or equivalent receptacle, substantially as specitied, and with or without an elevator, in combination with the horizontal trunk and the compartments below the perforated plate, substantially as specified, whereby the substances collected in the apparatus can be withdrawn therefrom without removing the apparat-ns from its location, as set forth.

JAMES PERRY.

Witnesses:

WM. H. BISHOP, ANDREW DE LACY.

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