US189528A - Improvement in combined washer and amalgamator - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. B. TYSON.

oMBINED WASHER ANn AMALGAMATOR. No.'189,528. Patented Apri11o,1a77.

N'PEYERS. PHOTQ-LITHDGRAPHER, WASHMGTON. D C.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B. TYSON. COMBINED WASHER AND AMALGAMATOR. 189,528.

Patented AprllO, 1877.

N-PETERS. PHOTOLITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRYAN T-YS'ON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

' IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINED WASHER AND AMALGAMATOR.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent N o. 189,528, dated April 10, 1877 application led March 3, 1877.

. of Columbia, haveinvented certain` Improvement-s inOombined Washer and Amalgamator, as improvements upon my previous patents, dated November 3, 1874, and numbered 156,448, and September 28,1875, and numbered 168,116 5 and it consists in the construction ofthe several parts of the machine, as will be fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view Fig. 2. a side view; 1"ig.3,a top or planfview. Fig.4is an enlarged top view of ,some of the details.` Fig. 5 is a sectional view, th rough line wm of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a broken view of the under side of a portion of the. first or upper pair of agitators. Fig.4 7 is alsoa part view ofthe under side of lower pair of agitators. Fig. tJ is a cross-sectional view` ofFi'g. 6. Fig. 7a is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 7, and Fig. -8 represents a section of the upper side of Fig. 6.

Arepresents the receiving-grate, upon which the earth that contains the gold or other mineral is irst placed, and it is sustained upon the top of the washer, and is composed of a series of ygirate-bars, a, and openings a between theivgrate-bars, as is seen in Fig. 3, which may extend entirely across the lower Hume,l or only a part of the width, as may be desired. The grate-bars a and the frame a, in which theyare'plac'ed, are of such construction that said bars can be readily removed from the frame, others replaced and secured in their position by a simple key, a5. The frame of this grate is composed of uprights al that go transversely across the grating, and these unite at their ends with the plates a", which have mortises a4 to receive holdingkey' a5, that passes through the side plates a and ,into grooves a6 'in the side of the web of the grate-bar a. By this construction the gratelbars can be removed from the frame by simplytaking out the holding-keys that hold them, and they can be replaced at any time,

andv when replaced the keys put in their place,

vand the grate-bar is again secured in the frame.

B B are the sides or inclosures of the machine, and ,supportV the grating land other parts, and is preferably made of wood, and supported upon any foundation that will give toit the proper slope and position; and this inclosure may be in any desirable form, but the form shown in plan view, Fig. 3, is the one adopted.

This inclosure or receiver is divided longitudinally into several parts, of which B' forms the upper or receiving one, and is located underneath the grating, and is the part or section to receive the sand or earthy matter that contains the gold as it falls or is carried by the water through openings a' between the gratebars a.

C is a rifde extending transversely across the receiver, and prevents the water and heavier material from passing out of the division B until itflows over the top of the riftle, which is two-thirds, more or less, as high as the sides of the receiver. This rifde is of considerable length down the current, and has numerous grooves or pockets, c, uponits upper surface in a direction across the water-current for the reception of quicksilver, the purpose of which is to catch such particles of gold as may, in passing over the riftle, fall into the grooves, and where such particles will remain until they are removed therefrom. The top surface ofthe rife has usually been constructed of blocks of wood set on end; but I prefer the removable metal grating, as seen at w, in Fig. 3, as such grating wears longer, and is easier removed from its seat to clean up.

D is the next part or division that receives the water, and what the water carries over the riftle O.

E is a breakwater or riftle that interferes with the dow of 'water and dirt, and is ot peculiar construction. The side nearest the head ot' the liume is concave, as seen at c, Fig. 1, the curvature of which leaves a sharp edge projecting backward against the intlowing current of water at its top edge, Which tends to break the onward iow of the water and partially turn the current back, so as to cause a more gentle dow of water over another of the metal riftle-grates c, similar in construction to rifde O, situated a short distance below and seated in the top side of the breakwater E.

F is another division which receives the onward ow of water and earthy matter from the riie E, while partition or rifle f inter rupts the continuous ow onward to the tail ofthe machine, a dat top plate being attached to its upper edge and made to project more or less on either side.

G is another division to receive the' en ward iiow, being terminated on the lower side by a partition or ri'ie, g, having its top grooved for the reception ot' quicksilver, which will catch such particles ot' gold as may fall therein.

H is another division, and has partition or riftle It on its lower side, over which the water flows.

I is another and last division of the washer, and receives the current after it passes over rifde h, and within which is a trough, I', the sides of which are about half the height of riftle h. This trough I' has at a distance from each end transverse blocks t" of proper depth, and which have a central transverse groove, i", ou their top edges. t'" are backwardlyinclined pieces at the ends of and extending from the top edge of trough I' on the up stream, side, back, and down toward the bottom ot' the washer. t" are four nozzles or pipes within the trough to produce jets of water at the outer part of the trough for the purpose ot' keeping the sand loose over the quicksilver previously placed in the two end compartments of said troughs.

Water-pipes f" through riftle f, g' through sides B B, and h" through rife h are all for agitating the water and preventing any inconvenient accumulation of sand in immediate vicinity, and are all supplied, including i4, by pipesjj, that connect with the pipes and nozzles, and are supplied from a common reservoir by any known method.

J is the last riflie located at the tail of the washer, the top of which is supplied with a grooved plate to be wholly or with only a portion of the grooves upstream filled with quicksilver as a means of catching such particles of ne gold as may not have been previously arrested in the manipulations to which it has been subjected. If only a portion of the grooves be filled with quieksilver those not iilled will serve to catch such quicksilver as may be washed down from above.

K K are ways upon which the carryingwheels It k travel, that support the frame L L of a reciprocating agitator.

The agitators, of which there are two or more pairs, are suspended below the frame L by the suspending-rods l l. The rst or upper pair are represented hy m m' in Figs. 6 and 8, and are composed of bars l and 1 that reciprocate across the washer. These bars have upwardlyprojecting ribs 2 ou their top side, which form intermediate grooves 3. A series of projecting pins, 4, are also provided ou each bar. While the bar m has between the ribs a series of mortises, 5, through it, as seen in broken Fig. 8, the lower bar m' may be made either plain or with similar mortises 5, preferably, however, with the mortises. The

ribs 2 will be required in either case. But beth bars af the pair have their ander sides furnished with downwardlyprojecting angular-shaped pieces 6 to prevent an inconvenient accumulation of sand under the agitators, and also to serve the purpose of scouring rusty gold; se as td cause it te amalgamate with quicksilver. Bar m is a little higher than bar m', with a pace between the bars, as seen in Fig. 6a, oth, however, being ou any required grade.

The second pair of Vagitators are also composed of' bars n and n'. Upper bar n is set to be inclined slightly down and forward, with a series of upwardly-projecting pins, 7, ou the top and angular blocks 8 upon the bottom side of the bar, some ot' which project beyond its edge and toward the bar n.

The lower bar n' is angular ih form, with its widest edgeat the top, and has projecting pins 9 upon its sides and anglar projections upon its bottom edge, as seen in Figs. 7 and These agitators are put in reciprocation by an upright revolving crank-shaft, O, crank o, and pitman o', that is attached to the crank at one end, while the other end is pivoted to frame L at o". The shaft 0 may be revolved by any convenient power.

P is a frame raised above and upon the washer, and is provided with mechanism for automatically supplying quicksilver to the washer.

P' is a vibrating arm attached to reciprocating frame L at p, and to frame P at p. P" is a driving-pawl pivoted to arm P' atp", so that its free end will engage a toothed wheel, Q, which is journale'd in frame P by a crank-shaft, q, and revolves freely therein. q' is a holding-pawl pivoted to frame P at 19"', so that its free end will engage with the teeth of wheel Q and hold it from a backward movement.

R is a crank on shaft q, to which is attached pitman R' at r, and the pitman is pivoted at its upper end to a guide-rod at 1". This guiderod works in guide-plates rr" and 1"" to give a perpendicular reciprocation to the outer limb of' the rod R". S is the outer limb of rod R, and reciprocates in a guide-arm, S', that extends from, and is fast to, frame P.

T is plunger attached to a rod', t, that is adjustable in arm S', and has a small groove in one side. (Not shown in drawings.) Attached to the lower end of the reciprocating rod S is a cup, T', with a spout, t', that 'communicates with the inside of the cup.

V is a cistern to hold quicksilver, open at the top, and resting on the top of the washer, of a diameter larger 'than the cup T', so that the cup can freely enter into the cistern, and, as the wheel Q revolves, the Ycrank reciprocates the arm with the cup thereon, and the cup is forced `downward into the cisteru and submerged in the quicksilver, which tlls the cup, when the further revolutionof the wheel causes the cup, now full of lquicksilver, to

rise, so that the plunger will enter the top of the cup and force thequicksilver out ofthe cup, by the groove inthe plunger, through the. spout, when it will fall into the funnel v, thence through pipe lv', and be delivered upon rifflef. z

The operation of my device is as fol-lows: The water, sands, and other debris con taining gold or other minerals is washed down from the mine by the method known as hydraulic, and this water, usually from eight hundred to two thousand inches, flows over thevgratebars designated by A. The construction of said bars is such as to cause the sand and dbris containing gold or other minerals to pass through openings between the bars, the gold being-afterward separated from the sands by means of mechanism hereinafterdescribed. The larger stones will be washed over and beyond said bars,r fall into the dump below, and pass on. The water and dbris passing through the spacesbetween the bars, will be again` united with that which has passed over the dump at the nearest practicable point below'it. V Y r The grate-bars are-usually twenty-four in number, having'spaces between them from th ree-eighths to one-haltl inch, and reach -across the flume leading from the mine, being vusually from three to six feet in length. This plan for grate-bars has many advantages over any heretofore known to have been used. Each bar is-composed of two pieces, both being preferably made of cast metal. The top bars should be made of white or other hard metal, and may be chilled. The bottom bars may bemade of softtough metal, such as Scotch pig. v Y -1 set forth in the washer, commencing just beyond the sectionr covered by the gratebars, a portion of a device Anow in common use in California, called an V under current.7 Said device is composed of wooden blocks, say, twelve inches` long, stood endwise,l having small interstices between, say. oueehalf inch, and reaching across the washer, into which qnicksilver is poured 'to arrest and` 'catch the gold. A pit twelve inches deep is thus `formed immediately beyondthe grate-bars, into which the sands and other vdebris `containing .gold will fall. Y v

The block plalbfas shown, is defective in several particulars.l In the iirstlplace, `the edges situatedv up stream soon. become worn by the action `of the' sand and gravel, andwhen thus worn, the gold, when striking against them, s more apt to rebound and pass on. lhave introduced asan .improvement on this plan a metallic grooved rife, containing three or more grooves, divided into a number of compartments, and preferaf bly made of some hard castmetal. Said compartments are to befilled with quicksilver, for the purpose `ofcatching and amalgamating such gold as may by the action-jot' the water vbe washedtherein. ThisA riffle will Wear but little in comparison withthe blocks,

4have acquired such speed as to permit but little,if any, more gold to settle in any further descent. To remedy this l introduce a breakwater, which again causes the water and sands to flow gently until the next grooved rifle is passed over. e

A few feet beyond the grooved riffle, situated next to and below the breakwater, We cross the washer with a riftle-bar some eight or nine inches deep. This rifdebar serves as another breakwater, and again secures a more gentle dow of water over the residue of the works. Y The tirst pair of reciprocating agitators is situated near this point, between two rifde-bars, the one above referred to being the upper bar. When in operation these agitators serve to keep the sand loose, and thus cause a precipitation of the passing gold and quicksilver coming from above.

By the use ot' the angular projections on the under sides of these agitators I accomplish the following results: The sands under said agitators` are kept loose, and thus unnecessary wear prevented. The rusty gold is scoured, and thus made to amalgamate with quicksilver. The gold and quicksilver are worked by the action of the agitators to the sides of the washer, where they tind a safe and permanent place of deposit (we mean until taken out) in the cavities in the sand blown out by the jets of water on either side.

At each end of these reciprocating agi tators we have horizontal jets of water. These jets, by forcing out the sands in their immediate vicinity, answer the double purpose of causing the agitators to run much easier and with but little or no wear of the points thereof, the portions that heretofore have worn the most. The cavities formed have already been referred to as safe receptacles for gold and quicksilver.

A For the purpose of more regular and thorough amalgamation, l employ an automatic device for feeding quicksilver into the washer at some point on the riffle-bar situated above the first pair of agitators.

The construction of the washer is such as to cause eddies at each side opposite the ends ofthe agitators, the Washer' being widened a short distance above the lirst pair of agitators, and by obstructions placed immediately above the second or lower pair to secure this effect. The angular projections on the bottom side of the upper pair ot' agitators are so shaped as to Work the gold and quicksilver principally r to the sides ofthe washer, where an extension of the grooved riftle immediately below makes it about double width at those points. Should any gold and quicksilver, instead of settling in the cavities in the sand, formed as aforesaid, be blown over by the jets of water onto the grooved rifde, which has previously been supplied with quicksilver, excellent facilities w-ill be oiered for such gold or quicksilver to settle therein, as the current is very gentle in comparison with that flowing down the main channel.

The obstruction plates or guards placed at the ends of riffle h, which is located immediately above the lower pair of agitators, have a tendency to cause inconvenient accumulations of sand in the vicinity of the grooved rile, situated immediately below the first or upper pair of agitators. 'Io remedy this impedimentI introduce at each end of the grooved riflle a jet of water dowing from under the said grooved riflle down stream. These jets will not only remedy said defect, but form two more cavities in the sand for the reception of such gold and quicksilver as may pass over the aforesaid grooved riffle.

But little gold will be caught in the aforesaid grooved rie, except at the ends thereof.

The gold-bearing dbris next passes onto the second and last pair of agitators, where it is again subjected to action nearly similar to that received from the first pair, the principal di'erence being this: The first agitator of the last pair settles the gold and quicksilver onto the plate before passing it ont-o the lower or last agitator; the second one settles them still lower, until they are brought in contact with the angular projections on the bottom of the same, by which they are worked to either end, until brought over the deposits of quicksilver in each end of the trough I', when the action of the agitator, aided by jets of water, causes them to settle into said deposits of quicxsilver. The grooved riffle, sit uated just below, and which has previously been supplied with quicksilver, is for the purpose of catching such gold and quicksilver as may not have been precipitated and saved above. It furnishes excellent facilities, as the gold and quicksilver will mainly, owing to the action of the agitators above, pass down at or near the sides of the washer, where the current is comparatively weak.

The pins on the top surface of the upper one of the lower pair of agitators serve to impede the force of the water, and thus adord greater facilities for the gold and quicksilver to settle thereon previously to being passed onto the next or lowest agitator.

The agitators furnish one other important advantage in the saving of gold and quicksilver. The agitators, by keeping the sand loose immediately above them, cause the sand to wash down to a lower grade, and, consequently, give the current in the vicinity a more gentle flow than it would otherwise have. Thus, in the vicinity of the upper groovrd rifdes and blades, where there is no machinery, it has been found necessary, in

order to prevent the sand from clogging and remaining behind, to place the wooden blocks and grooved riffles on an incline at the rate of ten inches iu twelve feet; but in the vicinity of the agitators a fall at the rate of live inches in twelve feet is ample.

1. The removable. grate-. bar a, provided with the groove a6 in the side of the web part, as and for the purposes described.

2. In a. machine for washingI and amalgamating gold, the grate to receive the goldbearing earth, composed of the sides a, transverse plates a", grate-bars a, and keys a5, all constructed and arranged as and for the purposes substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the rie-arrest C, of the removable grate Xseated in its upper face, and provided witha series of parallel grooves or pockets, substantially as herein set forth.

4. The riffle or arrest E,.provided with a concave, e, in its upstream faceas and for the purposes substantially as described.

5. The rifde f, having a projecting top, f', in combination with reciprocating agitatorbars m and m', as and for the purposes described.

6. 'Ihe reciprocating barsmand m', provided with angular projections 6 on their under sides, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The reciprocating agitator-bars m and m', having ribs 2 and intervening grooves 3 ou their upper sides, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. The reciprocating agitator-bars m and m', provided with mortifes or holes 5, formed transversely through the bars, substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. The agitator-bars m and m', provided with ribs 2, intervening grooves 3, and mortises 5, as and for the purposes described.

10. The reciprocating agitator-bar n, liaving a series of pins on its top side, and angular projections on its under sides, substantially as described.

11. The reciprocatingagitator-bar n', angular in form, and with pins projecting from its sides, substantially as described.

12. In a machine for washing and amalgamating gold, av reciprocating. agitator, coinposed of the frame L, agitator-bars m and m n and n', constructed as described, in combination with two or more grooved rifes, such as fg h, and trough I', as and for the purposes described.

13. The trough I', having transverse blocks il and nozzles '54, in combination with the agitator-bars n', as and. for the purposes substantially as described.

14. The nal rifIle J, with the grooves or grating on its top, constructed as shown, in combination with the trough I', provided with the water-nozzles i, and the reciprocating agitator-bar n', as and for the purposes described.

15. .lhe combiuationwith thewater-pipes 18. In a machine for washing and amalgamating gold, the automatic device for supplying quicksilver in the operation, consisting of the combination of the adjustable plunger T, reciprocating cup T', cistern V, funnel o, and pipe o', substantially iu the manner and for the purpose described.

BRYAN TYSON.

Witnesses J. MASON GoszLER, NEWTON CRAWFORD.

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