US1554272A - Hydraulic-mining machinery - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 22, l 925.

A. M. GARCIA HYDRAULIC MINING MACHINERY Filed Aug'. 26, 1924 3 Sheets-Shea?l INVENTOR Y C O anco M. Gm@ a,

BY Q .3.3M

ATTORNEY Ant Sept. 22, 1925.

A. M. GARCIA HYDRULIC MINING MACHINERY Filled Aug. 26, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO! Anion 0' M .l Garcct,

Y @WKQJLMHL ATTORNEY Sept. 22,

Af M. GARCIA HYDRAULIC MINNG MACHINERY Filed Aug. 26

5 Sheets-Sheet J Anion/a M .Gaz'c a ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

ANTONIO M. GARCIA, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

HYDRAULIC-MINING MACHINERY.

Application iled August 26,A 1924. Serial No. 734,207.

To all whom t mayv concer/n:

Beit known that I, ANTONIO M. GARCIA,

a citizen oi' the United States, residing at` Stockton, county otA San Joaquin, rState ot California, have invented certain new 'and useful Improvements in I'Iydraulic-Mining Machinery; and I do declare the following to bev a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being -had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application. l This invention relates to improvements in machinery used in connection with hydraulic mining operations to treat and handle the loose rock and gravel which accumulate with the hydraulicking operations. n g

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus for the purpose arranged to receive such loose material, to segregate the rock from kthe gravel, segregate and save any precious metal which the gravel may contain, and finally to provide for the carrying away of the gravel as it accumulates in the apparatus so thatit will not vreturn to the stream in or adjacent Y which the initial hydraulicking operations take place.

The use oit' this apparatus in connection with hydraulic mining therefore eliminates a serious objection to the same as ordinarily carried out; namely, thereturning of the gravel to the stream, andthe accompanying clicking up of the bed of the stream, sometimes at considerable distancesy from? the source of operation, where it forms an obv struction to navigation.

'A further object is; to arrange bins on the apparatus for the reception of the gravel, disposed adjacent an industrail railway track oi' the usual character, and provide means, operable automatically upon the movement of cars to a point adjacent the bins, to cause the contents oi a bin to be discharged into the cars. Y Upon the withdrawal of the cars from such position, the exit to the bins is automatically closed. This enables the gravel to be loaded and hauled away without `any -attendant being neces sary` and permits of the gravel being very quickly and cheaply disposed oi.

This latter teaturewill also be ot valuey in sand and gravel plants, iii-.which the materials ofvarious kinds are stored in bins, and discharged into the cars through relatively small hand controlled outlets.

,A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

j These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement ot parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.`

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views: V

Fig. l is a side elevation ot the structure, partly in section.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same, also partly in section. Y n

Fig. 3 isa partial top plan view of the device, broken out at one end.

Referring nowY more particularly to the characters or reference on the drawings, the numeral l denotes an elevated sluieeway, having a downward slant toward one end, and supported a suitable distance vfrom the ground by a framework of uprights 2.

Mounted adjacentthe` upper end of the sluice is asubstantially horizontal rotatable drinn 3, open at both ends, its periphery being ormedof longitudinal bars 4. The rock and gravel are placed in the drum at one end, water being present in some quantity. rlhe large rocks and the like discharge at the opposite end of the drum, which'has a downward slant fromfend to end,v and drop down to the ground. The finer material passes through the bars and remains on the sluice. Just beyond the drum the bottom oi the sluice is perforated as at 5, and under said perforated'portion is an enclosed catch basin 6 into which any black Sandi and the like passes from the sluice and settles, to be withdrawn at will through an outlet 6. The coarser gravel passes down the sluice over transverse ritfles 7 of common character and for the well known purpose of catching any gold a certain distance into the sluice. rllhis member is arranged to be moved to one side or the other of the sluice, so as to cause the gravel and water coming down the same to pass to one or the other of the bins. The member 10 may also be set centrally between the side walls of the sluice, so that both bins will lill at the same time.

A water settling-tank 11 is mounted at the opposite ends of the bins. A screened intake 12 having a flap valve 13 or similar .device opening toward said tank, provides communication between said bins and tank. In this manner, water may be separated from the gravel in the bins, and when the latter are emptied, the water cannot return to the gravel.

Each bin has a downwardly opening hinged bottom 14, whose opening and closing is controlled in any suitable manner, such as by a windlass structure 15.

A discharge chute 0r hopper 16 Common to both bins and having longitudinally spaced outlets 17, is disposed under the bins.

Dumping buckets 18 pivol'ed on a shaft or trunnions 19 are mounted under the chuteoutlets. These buckets are so arranged that when in raised position, the outlets 17 are ope-n and discharge into the buckets. .Vhen the buckets are tilted down and forwardly to a dumping position, their rear sides close the outlets. The buckets are also so disposed relative to their pivots that they tend to dump of themselves, especially when loaded.

To normally prevent this tendency, I fix a lug Q0 on one end of the shaft 19, which, when the buckets are in an upright and loading position, projects in a rearward horizontal plane. A roller 21 then rides on top of said lug, the roller being mounted on an arm 252 pivoted intermediate its ends. To the lower end of this arm is pivoted the upper end of one arm of a bell crank 2B, to the lower end of the opposite arm of which is connected a link 24e to the lower end of which in turn is connected a short piece of track 25, formed as a portion of one of the rails 26 of an ordinary industrial railway, and pivoted at one end in alinement with such rail. A counterweight 27 is connected by a cable 2S to the lower end of the arm. 22 and acts to keep the roller 21 engaged with the lug Q0, and the rail section 25 tilted upwardly. lt will therefore be seen that if a car Q9 on the tracks approaches the section 25 from the lower end thereof and a. wheel i0 thereof rides on said section, the later will be depressed, and the roller moved clear of the lug 20.

The buckets are then free to dump and will do so, the rail depressingl action taking place just as the cars (of which there would be two, one for each chute outlet) move directly under the buckets. The cars will then be instantly loaded, as will be obvious, the capacity of the cars and buckets being preferably about equal.

Since the buckets will then remain dumped unless some means is provided to raise the same, I employ the following structure: Fixed on the shaft 19 on the opposite end thereof from the lug 2O is a pinion 31 engaged by a segmental gear S2 pivoted in a fixed position with respect to said shaft. A horizontal arm 33 projects outwardly from said gear and at its outer end thereto has a rod 31 or the like which entends down to a rail section 35 pivoted in alinement with and forming a part of one of the rails 26. The section 35 however is oppositely disposed relative to the section 25 and the gearing between the bucket and said section 85 is so arranged that when the section 25 is depressed and the bucket dumped, the section will be raised, and vice versa.

These depressibletrack sections are so spaced that the wheels of the two cars, when one section is being deiiressed, will not interfere with the free co-ordinated raising of the other section. It will therefore be seen that the loading of the cars may be very quickly accomplished, without an attendant being necessary to ha die the dumping mechanism.

1t is only necessary to run the cars onto the dump-controlling rail-section, wait until the buckets have discharge their contents, and then pull the cars over the bucket-raising rail-section, which operation automatically places everything in position for another car movement and loading operation.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

`While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as delined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what l claim as new aA d useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a bin, a discharge chute thereunder having an outlet at its lower end, a swivelly mounted dumping bucket arranged in connection with the chute, said bucket when tilted up being positioned to automatically uncover and lie under the out let from the chute, tracks disposed below the level of the bucket, and means between said tracks and the bucket whereby the weight of a car moving to a point under the bucket will automatically cause the latter lo dump.

2. 1n combination, a hin, a discharge chute thereunder having an outlet at its lower end, a swivelly mounted dumping bucket ar-V ranged in connection with the chute, said bucket when tilted up being positioned to automatically uncover and lie underthe outlet from the chute, tracks disposed below the level of the bucket, means between Vsaid tracks and the bucket wherebythe weight of a car moving in one direction to a point under the bucket will` automatically cause the latter to dump, and further means bei tween the track and bucket whereby upon the subsequent movement of the car the bucket will be tilted up to a loading position.

3. In combination, track meansfor a car, a dumping bucket pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis thereabove, the pivot of the bucket being so disposed vthat the bucket tends to dump of itself, catch means normally holding the bucket from dumping, and means between said track and catch means whereby the latter will be released by the weight of a car on the track means at a predetermined point. n

4. In combination, track means for a car, a dumping bucket pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis thereabove, the Vpivot of the bucket being so disposed that the bucket tends to dump of itself, catch means normally holding the bucket from dumping, means between said track and catch means whereby the latter will be released by the weight of a car moving along the track, means in one direction and arrivingat a predetermined point, and further means between thebucket and track means whereby the bucket will be raised with the subsequent movement of the car-in the opposite direction.

5. In combination, a dumping bucket pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis, a certain distance above the ground, a member engageable by a vehicle wheel mounted adjacent the ground, and means between said member and the bucket whereby the latter will be dumped when the wheel engages said member.

6. In combination, a dumping bucket pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis, a certain distance abo-ve the ground, depressible members pivoted at one end adjacent the ground in spaced relation to each other and adapted to be alternately depressed by a vehicle wheel, means whereby the bucket will be dumped when one member is depressed, and raised when the other member is subsequently depressed, and means interconnecting said members whereby only one at a time will be in a depressible position.

7. In combination, a dumping bucket pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis, a certain distance above the ground, and tending to dump of its own weight, a catch lug provided with the bucket, releasable means normally engaging the lug, a member having a normal upward slant pivoted adjacent the ground and adapted to be. depressed by a vehicle wheel, means between said member and the releasable means whereby the latter will be released when the member is depressed, a pinion mounted in connection with the pivot ofthe bucket, a gear meshing with the pinion, an arm projecting from the gear, a depressible member pivoted adjacent the ground in spaced relation to the irstknamed member and adapted to be depressed in a like manner, and a connection between said arm and the last named member, the parts being so arranged that when said last named member is depressed the bucket will be raised, and said members being so disposed that only one at a time is in a depressible position.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

ANTONIO M. GARCIA.

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