US2075593A

US2075593A - Apparatus for cleaning coal of foreign matter

Info

Publication number: US2075593A
Application number: US720862A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sveinsson Louis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-04-16
Filing date: 1934-04-16
Publication date: 1937-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 1954-03-30

Description

March 30, 1937. L. SVEINSSON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COAL OF FOREIGN MATTER Filed April 16, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l uh R [Jam's 6vein5son,

W QR Ex A1 (Tierney March 30, 1937. L. SVEINSSON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COAL OF FOREIGN MATTER I Filed April 16, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 mQv Invenior Lam's Jvez'nsson,

fiiorney I March 30, 1937. sv sso 2,075,593

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COAL OF FOREIGN MATTER Filed April 16, 1954 4 SheetsSheet 5 I '1 U 3.1!! Li P Lama's dvein'rsson,

' A fiifor'ney March 30, 1937. SVEINSSON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COAL OF FOREIGN MATTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 16, 1934 16' 5 i if SI 2 I b Invent 5,0)" 19 loads 'JYeinsson,

fliiorney Patented Mar. 30,1937 2,075,593

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COAL OF FOREIGN MATTER- 7 Louis Sveinsson, Shamokin, Pa.

Application April 16, 1934, Serial No. 720,862

Claims. (01. 209173) This invention relates to an apparatus for a filling chute I6 is arranged, as clearly shown in the separation of foreign matter from coal such Figures 1 and 2. This chute I6 extends downas clum, bank coal and river coal. wardly into the tank for approximately one-half It is a special object of the invention to proof its depth and is joined adjacent the base 5 videan apparatus of simple construction and in thereof by a diagonally disposed chute H, the

which water is caused to circulate in a spiral open upper end l1 being positioned a short discourse through the aggregate being cleaned in tance below the top of the tank. The juncture such manner that a buoyant effect is produced, of the chute l6 and I1 defines a well [8. thereby facilitating the efficient separation of coal From the description thus far set forth, it will 10 from undesired dbris. be apparent that the coal to be cleaned is led 10 It is a particular object of the invention to prointo the apparatus through the chute l6, settling vide a novel means for effecting simultaneously in the well I8 by action of gravity, and it is at a reverse whirl fiow of water through the coal this point that the most effective cleaning operbeing cleaned, thereby insuring thorough separaation occurs, as will now be explained. tion of the material under treatment. Communicating with the well I8 there is a 15 It is also an object of the invention to provide tunnel l9, disposed at right angles thereto, the a structure wherein a combined water and air port forming communication with the well being current through the aggregate bulk under treatsuitably screened at at 20. The tunnel [9 has ment may be carried out, whereby floating parrevolubly housed therein a propeller 2|, the ticles may be positively separated from the bulk. blades of which are adjustable to vary the push 20 It is also an object of the invention to provide or pull of water through the coal being cleaned anovel means of combining air and water whereand will be dealt with in detail in the description in influential buoyancy is caused to float porous of the operation of the apparatus. The propeller cinders so as toseparate them from the coal ag- 2| may include any desired number of blades, gregate. although in the present instance, three have 25 Additional objects, advantages and features of been illustrated and while the details of the proinvention will be apparent from the following depeller structure forms the basis of a copending scription and accompanying drawings forming application filed May 29, 1934, Serial Number a part of this application, wherein 728,155, a general description of the construction Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus emwill be given. Briefly, the blades adjacent the 30 bodying the invention. hub of the propeller are given an angular set as Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view at Zla: opposite that of the extremities of the thereof. blades as at Zlw, as clearly shown in Figure 8,

Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of the purpose of which will be apparent as the de- Figure 2. scription proceeds. 35

Figure 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of It should be noted that the tunnel l9 opens Figure 2. into a compartment I9a defined by one end and Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5 of inclined bottom wall I91) of the tank and. a ver- Figure 2. tically disposed apertured partition wall 20d.

40 Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the The bottom wall I9?) is inclined so as to more 40 apparatus illustrating, particularly, the drive for readily feed debris to the conveyorl5, as well as the pick-up drum. to permit free circulation of water through the Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of one of tank l0. However, means are provided for conthe propellers. trolling the passage of water and dbris from Figure 7a is a detail sectional view of another the compartment by the provision of a sliding 45 propeller employed in the apparatus. valve 20!). The valve 201) includes a rack bar Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of one of 2| with which there is meshed a gear Zla suitthe propeller blades. ably fixed to a shaft 22, the shaft 22 being oper- In carrying out my invention I provide a main able exteriorly of the tank ID, by a crank 23a to tank in of a water-tight nature, open at its top suitably geared to the shaft 22, as indicated at and in its base there are provided a pair of bins 23'. With the valve slidably mounted before H and I2, within each of which endless conveyors the aperture 24 of the partition wall 20a, it will l4 and I5 respectively are mounted, as will be be apparent that the degree of opening ofthe explained in greater detail hereinafter. aperture may be readily controlled with conse- Opening upon an upper portion of the tank It) quent control of flow therethrough.

Attention is now invited to Figure 7 of the drawings, wherein it will be seen that the propeller 2| comprises a hollow shell body 22, the hub 23 of which oscillatably support feathering blades 24, and in order to impart oscillatable movements to the blades, a shaft 25 is journalled, as at 26, in the shell 22. The shaft 25 includes a head 21 slotted toreceive an arm 28 of each propeller 24.

An enlarged casing 29 is formed adapted for securement to the shell 22 and houses a plurality of weighted members 30, the members 30 being pivoted as at iii to the casing, the inner ends of the weight members terminating in bill members 32 each of which is engageable in a kerfformed in the shaft 25. A helical spring 33 is interposed between the end of the shaft 25 and a thrust bearing 29 slidably supported bythe casing 23, exerting an endwise pressure upon the shaft tending to hold the shaft against rearward movement.

The casing 29 has integrally formed therewith an extension 34 connected to a drive shaft 35 by means of a universal joint 36.

From the description thus far described it will be understood that with rotation of the drive shaft 35 rotary motion will be imparted to the casing 22, and since the propellers 24 are supported by the casing 22, a similar motion will be transmitted thereto. 7

A housing 3? is provided for enclosing the casing 29 and affording a rockable bearing 38 for the casing 22, the rear portion of the housing having a flange 39 for mounting upon a wall of the tank I0 It will be apparent that the casing 22 is rockably mounted between the bearing 38 and the universal joint 36, so that the propeller hub 23 may be angularly adjusted to present the blades 24 at various degrees of inclination, from the hori- 40 zontal axis of normal operation. The adjustment of the casing 22 is controlled exteriorly of the tank H), as will now be set forth. A block 42 is disposed upon the extension 34, the block being of circular formation as seen in end elevation and 5 upon the periphery thereof, a ring gear 4! is formed, and rearwardly of the ring gear, the block has threads 42 in mesh with internally formed threads of a supporting ring 43. The supporting ring 43 includes a pair of oppositely disposed projections or lugs adapted toengage within respective trackways 44 secured to the inner walls of the housing 3?, and also has an ear 45 with which a lever 46 is pivotally connected. The lever 48 projects outwardly of the tank It? and is supported intermediate its ends by a pin 41 engaged through a slot 48 extending longitudinally of the lever. It will be seen from the foregoing that the block 43 and associated propeller may be shifted upwardly or downwardly from a, horizontal plane,

by manipulation of the lever 46, the block 46 being guided by trackways 44.

The initial setting of the propeller blades 24 is 7 effected by'imparting a rotary motion to the block 40. which is carried out by a gear 49 in mesh with the ring gear 4 I. A suitable bearing 53 is formed upon the supporting ring 43, and has journalled therein a shaft 5| to which the gear 49 is keyed. The shaft 5| extends exteriorly of the tank ill, as shown and terminates in a hand wheel 52. Obviously, rotation of the shaft 5! will rotate the block 40 and since the block is in screw-threaded engagement with the ring 43 which is maintained against longitudinal movements, endwise movements will be transmitted to the shaft 25, through the medium of the thrust bearing 29 and the helical spring 33. The drive for the propeller 2| is provided by the motor A, mounted upon a base B, the drive shaft C of which is journalled in a bearing D. The shaft 35 is also journalled in the bearing D and terminates in a thrust bearing E. The motor drive shaft C has keyed thereto a gear F which is in mesh with a similar gear G keyed to the shaft 35.

Obviously, the foregoing construction permits various settings of the propellers during operation, by merely rotating the block 40 through the hand Wheel 52 and shaft 5|, causing either a compression or permitting expansion of the spring.

During compression of the spring an outward thrust would be imparted to the shaft 25, and since the arm 28 is connected with the head 21 a partial rotation on the longitudinal axis of the propeller would-be effected, and upon expansion of the spring a reverse movement would be given the shaft 25 and propellers 24.

It will also be noted that automatic adjustment of the propellers is, permitted, which is effected through an increase or decrease of the speed of the motor A. The change in the speed of the motor may be varied manually or may be effected due to the varying density of the flow through the tunnel I9. An increase in the speed at which the shaft 35 is driven will cause the weights 3 0 to be swung outwardly by centrifugal force, developing a backward movement of the shaft 25, altering the setting of the blades, while a lowering of the speed will produce a forward movement of the shaft 25, providing a different setting of the blades 24. Therefore, the blades 24 will be set automatically in accordance with the speed of the shaft which will be commensurate with the fluidity of the material flowing through the tunnel l9.

If desired, in order to prevent ingress of water into the housing 31, around the rockable bearing 38, a rubber boot is provided, fixed to the bearing 38, by a ring 381). The boot is of circular formation, entirely encircling the bearing 38 and includes a sleeve portion 380 encircling the casing 26a of the bearing 26. A clamping band 38d secures the sleeve upon the casing 26a.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that water cannot enter the housing 31, yet the flexibility of the sleeve 380 will permit free movements of the rockable bearing 38.

Intermediate the length of the chute IS an opening 53 is formed, controlled by a slide valve 54. The valve 54 comprises a rack bar 55 and a gear 56 in mesh therewith, the latter being operable exteriorly of the tank by a shaft and hand lever 51, and the purpose of this opening is in order that particles intermingled with the coal, which are of a buoyant nature, may seek egress therethrough and discharge into a semi-circular well 58 thereadjacent. Within the well 58 a pickup drum 59 is revolubly mounted within bearings (ill. The drum 59 includes a hub Bl, comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced bars 62 upon which there are secured in'any approved manner, radially disposed perforated plates 63, extending the full length of the drum, the latter being slightly less in length than the inside length of the well, so'that the drum will be readily accommodated within the well.

Upon each plate, at the outer extremities thereof, angle plates 64 are secured, positioned so that the angle plates will scoop up debris, as it leaves the opening 53 of the chute I6, and retain the same upon the plates 63 until the plates have reached a point directly above the chute 65 positioned centrally of and extending outwardly from the hub SI, when the debris will discharge into the chute. The chute 65 may discharge into a suitable container, or if desired, any well known conveyor may receive the debris from the chute.

The wall 66 defining the bottom wall of the well 58 is preferably grooved as at 61 to accommodate the angle bars 64 during rotation of the drum. It will be noted that the wall 66 stops short of the adjacent end wall of the tank, and has hingedly connected thereto a swinging valve plate 68. The plate 68 spans the space between the end of the wall 66 and the end wall of the tank, and adjustment for setting of the plate is accomplished through a pair of cables 69 trained around pulleys I6 fixed to a shaft ll. The shaft 'II is operable by a hand crank I2 exteriorly of the tank, and it will be obvious that the plate 68 may be set and held at various positions to increase or decrease the flow of water or passage of material into the drum 59.

The drive for the drum 59 will now be described and attention is invited particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 6 of the drawings. The drum 59 has fixed to the ends thereof bevel gears I3 which mesh with respective gears IA of a pair of shafts I5. The shafts I5 are suitably journalled in bearings I6 and have fixed thereto sprocket wheels II. An electric motor I8 mounted upon a base I9 is pro- 50 vided, and includes a drive shaft 86. The shaft 86 has keyed thereon a sprocket wheel 8I aligned with one of the sprocket wheels 11 and around these two sprocket wheels there is trained a sprocket chain 92. Upon the base I9 there is 35 also mounted a shaft 83 arranged parallel with the shaft 66 and fixed to the shaft there is a sprocket wheel'84 aligned with the other sprocket wheel 11, a sprocket chain 85 being trained about these sprocket wheels. In order to transmit power 40 to the shafts 83 the shafts 86 and 63 have meshed gears 86 and 81 respectively. It will be seen from the foregoing that an even and positive drive is therefore provided for the drum.

In order to prevent heavy particles from reach- 45 ing the propeller 2I a guard plate 88 is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 89, one end of which projects through the side wall of the tank I6 and has geared thereto, as at 96, a hand lever 9 I. The guard plate 88 may thus be adjusted by manipu- 50 lation of the crank to vary the setting of the plate and stop lugs 92-93 limit the degree of opening and closing movements of the plate. In the full open position of the plate, as shown in dotted lines, it will be seen that any particles 55 which have accumulated upon the plate 98 while in its closed or partially closed position will be deposited upon the inclined bottom wall I9b of the tank I6 leading to the bin I2, from whence they will be conducted to the conveyor I5 for 50 removal, as will be presently described.

Immediately above the bin I2, a bin 95 is formed, within which a conveyor 96 is housed, the bin having communication at its upper side with the well I8, as indicated at 91. The conveyor 65 96 extends from the bin 95 to the outside of the tank I9 opposite that of the conveyor I5, as can be readily seen in Figures 1 and 4. The bin 95 has an inclined wall 96 extended upwardly at a slight angle to the lower wall of the chute I 'I and 70 also has an upper wall 99 which is in effect a continuation of the wall 66 of the well 58. The

walls 98 and 99 are joined by an end wall I I16 through which the chute IT projects.

Extending longitudinally of the tank I6 in the 75 medial plane thereof a tunnel IEII is suitably mountecL'the underside of which is cut away, as at I 62, forming communication with a bin I63. It will be noted from a consideration of Figure 2, that material discharging upwardly from the chute I? will fall downwardly into the bin I63 to I be removed by the conveyor I64, which extends to one side of the tank I6. The tunnel MI is of greater diameter than the chutes I6 and I1, so as to allow ready passage of water and air therearound, as will be more fully explained in the description of the operation.

The bin II previously referred to is located directly below the bin I 63 and receives sediment and small particles of debris which pass through the screened opening I65 of the bin I63. The sediment passing from the opening will fall or settle downwardly upon the conveyor I4, guided by the inclined wall I66. The conveyor I4 extends to one side of the tank I6, opposite that of the conveyor I64.

Within the forward end of the tunnel I III I provide a feathering propeller I6I, the blades I68 of which are adjustable to varying settings through rotation of the hollow shaft I09 by the hand wheel II6. The shaft I69 is threaded as at I69a cooperable with a threaded portion of a bearing III on the tank I6, and by bearing I I2 mounted Within the tunnel I6 I. Any suitable lubricating means may be provided and in the present instance, I have illustrated a grease cup II3 associated with the bearing H2. A drive shaft II4 extends through the hollow shaft I69 exteriorly of the tank, journalled as at H5, and terminates in a thrust bearing II6. It will be obvious that upon rotation of the shaft I69 by the hand wheel II6, the shaft I69 will be moved longitudinally with respectto the drive shaft II 4, by virtue of the threaded engagement between the bearing III and the shaft I69. As the propeller I61 is rotatably mounted by the shaft I69 and movable longitudinally therewith, the propeller blades I68 will be rotated due to their engagement with the headed portion of the drive shaft II 4. A motor III suitably supported by a base H8 is provided for imparting power to the shaft I Hi and includes a drive shaft US, the outer end of which is supported in the journal H5. A gear I26 is keyed t0 the shaft H9, which is in mesh with a gear I2I keyed to the shaft H4.

From the foregoing, it will be clearly apparent that rotation of the propeller I 61 may be effected upon starting of the motor I I1 and that the setting of the blades I68 may be accomplished while the propeller is in operation, thereby increasing or decreasing the effectiveness of the propeller, as conditions demand.

A screen I22 may be installed in the tunnel I 6! in advance of the propeller 567 to prevent the passage of debris into the tunnel and to also diffuse the mixture of air and water as will be dealt with hereinafter.

A vertically disposed baffie wall I23 extends transversely of the tank I6 and is secured to the wall 99 at its upper end, the lower end being deflected as at I24 and stops short of the bottom wall of the bin I2, and to one side of the conveyor I5, so that material entering the bin I2 will be shunted toward the conveyor I5, for removal from the bin.

A wall I25 is built into the bin II extending parallel with the wall I23, and stops short of the wall 98, and it should also be noted that a portion of the bottom wall of the bin I2 extends parallel with the deflector wall I24, as indicated at I26. Thus, the walls I23, I and I26 and deflector I24 define a passageway I21 for circulation of water in the bins II and I2.

It has been found in practice that sometimes the bins II and I2 become clogged with sediment which is not removed by their respective conveyors, and provision is therefore made for removal of such sediment. Associated with the bin H I have illustrated a pair of superposed sliding shutters I28 and I29. These shutters I28-A26 are slidable in trackways I36-I3I respectively, built into the chute framing I32, and may include any suitable means, such as the hand wheel I33 for sliding the shutters backwardly and forwardly to control the passage of sediment through the aperture I34 of the chute. In use, the shutters are normally in closed position, and when it is desired to clear the bin II of sediment, the uppermost shutter I28 is drawn outwardly so as to clear the aperture I34. The sediment will then be free to fiow through the aperture I34 and will be deposited upon the shutter I29. The shutter I26 is then closed and the shutter I29 is opened, when the sediment may flow through the funnel portion I35 of the chute into a suitable receptacle or otherwise.

A singleshutter I36 has been shown as associated with the bin I2, but obviously the superposed arrangement described in connection with the bin II may be employed, if desired.

With further reference to the chutes I6 and I1 these chutes are lined as indicated at I36 to avoid wear upon the chutes proper, due to passage of material therethrough. The chute I1 also includes a sliding valve door I31 operable to open and close an aperture I38 formed in the lower side of the chute. Any suitable means may be employed for operating the door and in the present instance, I have illustrated the door as having a rack bar I39 fixed to the back thereof and in mesh with the rack bar, there is a gear I46. The gear I46 is keyed to a shaft I4I extending transversely of the tank It and projecting through one side thereof, and carries a ratchet gear I42. A pawl I43 is pivotally mounted upon the tank and operable to engage the ratchet gear to maintain the shaft against rotation. A hand lever M4 is also fixed to the shaft I4I, providing means for manually rotating the shaft I4I to vary the setting of the door I31.

The tank I0 may be supported upon any suitable base, but in the present instance, I have illustrated a base framing I45, upon which there are erected upright support members I46 of vary ing heights for support of troughs I4'I-I48 Mil-I56 of the conveyors I4I5-93 and I64 respectively. The conveyor troughs I4'i-I56 may have any suitable inclination, for the most efficient operation of the conveyors.

The operation will be readily understood from a consideration of the following description thereof. The tank It is filled with water to a height indicated by the water-line W, and the motors A, I8 and III are set in motion. The

r water in the tank will be circulated therearound by virtue of the propellers 2! and IE7, and since the tunnel ml is partially open tothe atmosphere, the propeller I91 will draw air into the tunnel and there is mixed by the propeller ID? with the water in the tunnel. The mixing of the air and water will effect a final clearing of the coal emerging from the chute IT, as will be dealt with hereinafter.

Coal to be cleaned is fed into the chute I6 settling downwardly into the water toward the This coal as it comes from the mine quantities of cinders, wood chips and similar foreign matter of a fioatable character, and since the chute I6 is filled with water above the opening 53 formed therein is partly submerged, the floating material will pass through the opening 53 into the well 58 where the material is then picked up by the plates 63 of the drum 59. The plates 63 will maintain the dbris thereon until they reach a point directly above the chute 65 where the material will slide from the plates into the chute 65, where it may be disposed of, as desired.

The'coalentering the chute I6 will also contain a considerable amount of slate, which being heavier than the coal, a large part of the slate will fall through the port 91 into the bin 95 to be removed by the conveyor 96. It should be noted that as the coal and slate pass from the chute I6 to the Well I3, they encounter a cross spiral flow of water developed by the propeller 2!, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2. The blades 24 of the propeller are given a set adjacent their ends opposite to that next the hub, so that the water in the chute I'I will be caused to flow in two distinct paths, namely the water adjacent the inside surfaces of the chute will be caused to flow outwardly toward the discharge end ll" of the chute, while the water centrally of the chute will be drawn toward the propeller ZI. Such a cross flow of water will cause a high agitation of the water or a push or pull" and roll action upon the coal and slate tendingto thoroughly separate the coal from slate into a more or less buoyant aggregate, permitting the slate which may still be mixed with the coal to pass through the opening I38 formed in the lower side of the chute II. The slate passing through the latter opening will fall upon the inclined wall 98 and will be shunted to the conveyor bin 95 where it will be removed by the conveyor 96.

The coal in the chute I I will be floated over the discharge end II where it will encounter a mixture of air and water developed by the propeller Hill. The mixture of air and water will tend to further cleanse the coal of foreign matter, the latter being forced through the tunnel, around the chutes I6 and I1 and finally settling in the drum 59.

The finally cleaned coal settles upon the conveyor I94 to be removed from the tank. Obviously, considerable fine sediment will be mixed with the water, and such sediment will follow circulation of water through the screen I05 whereafter the flow of water occupies a greater area losing velocity in recirculation, allowing sediment to settle upon the conveyor I4, permitting its removal.

The circulation of the water in the tank II) will be substantially as follows: through the tunnel I III into the well 58, the exit therefrom being controlled by the settling of the valve door 68, through the chamber I9a, the tunnel I9; the chute I'i, passing therefrom into the well I03 and thence into the bin II. The Water finally entering the chamber I9a by way of the passageway I2'I, the bin I2 and opening 24' for recirculation.

A certain amount of dbris will come to rest upon the door 68, and this may be removed by allowing the door to swing to full open position by manipulation of the hand crank I2 depositing the dbris upon the plate 88. As has been previously indicated, the plate 88 is operable by virtue of the lever 9I to discharge the dbris upon the inclined floor l9b from whence it will pass to the conveyor l5 for removal.

After continuous operation of the apparatus for any considerable length of time, it is obvious 5 that the water in the tank will become quite dense from slush sediment forming a more solid body in water current, causing a greater buoyancy in spiral current of chute IT. The push agitation against the, water must then be less, which is 10 caused automatically by density of the water which is slowing up the revolutions of motor A controls the centrifugal action of the weight members 30, which automatically controls adjustment of the propeller blades 24.

15 The push agitation against the water is caused by part Zlw of the blades and the pull agitation of the water is effected by part 2| :1: of the blades and the whirl or roll agitation of the water is produced by the centrifugal action of the revolv- 20 ing propeller, as an entirety.

During operation of the apparatus, in order to further insure floating of cinders on the surface of the water, I distribute ground cork on the surface of the water, forming a recirculating buoy- 25 ant net moving continuously with the current formed by the propeller I07. It should be understood that the cinders have previously passed through the well I8 where they have been thoroughly cleaned of culm, by the spiral current of water, leaving the pores or crevices of the cinders open, permitting the entrance of particles of ground cork thereinto. Thus the buoyancy of the cinders is greatly increased.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided anapparatus which will effectively separate debris from coal in a highly eflicient manner, requiring a minimum of labor, and while I have shown and described a preferred embodi-' ment of the invention, I do not confine myself to the exact construction shown, and reserve as my own, all such modifications as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims,

I claim:- 1. In a coal and slate separating apparatus, a 45 tank containing water, a well submerged in the water, said well including a feed chute and a discharge chute, said discharge chute stopping slightly below the water level of the tank, propeller means for circulating a mixture of air and 50 water across the mouth of the discharge chute whereby to separate fioatable particles from the coal issuing from the chute, means for removing the floating particles, a bin formed beneath the discharge chute, conveyor means within the bin 55 for removing coal discharged into the bin, the well having a discharge opening in the base thereof, conveyor means therebeneath for removing material discharged therethrough, water inlet means formed in the well establishing communi- 60 cation with the water in the tank, and means for creating a simultaneous oppositely flowing current of water through the well and discharge chute.

2. In a coal and slate separating apparatus, a 65 tank containing water, a well submerged in the water, said well including a feed chute and a discharge chute, a revolving pick-up drum mounted within the tank in proximity to the feed chute, said feed chute having a port in communication 0 with the drum; said discharge chute being submerged slightly below the water level of the tank, propeller means for circulating a mixture of air and water across the mouth of the discharge chute whereby to separate the floatable particles from 7 the coal issuing from the chute and carry the same to the pick-up drum, a bin formed beneath the discharge chute, conveyor means within the bin for removing coal discharged into the bin, the well having a discharge opening formed in the base thereof, conveyor means therebeneath for removing material discharged therethrough, water inlet means formed in the well establishing communication with the water in the tank, and propeller means for creating a simultaneously oppositely flowing current of water through the well and discharge chute;

3. In a coal and slate separating apparatus, a tank containing water, a well submerged in the water, said well including a feed chute and a discharge chute, a revolving pick-up drum mounted within the tank in proximity to the feed chute, a port formed in the feed chute in communication with the drum; said discharge chute stopping slightly below the water level of the tank, propel-l ler means for circulating a mixture of air and water across the mouth of the discharge chute whereby to separate the floatable particles from the coal issuing from the chute and carry the same to the pick-up drum, a bin formed beneath the discharge chute, conveyor means within the bin for removing coal discharged into the bin, the

well having a discharge opening in the base thereof, conveyor means therebeneath for removing material discharged therethrough, water inlet means formed in the well establishing communication with the water in the tank,'and automatic adjustable propeller means for creating simultaneously oppositely flowing currents of water through the well and chute.

4. In a coal and slate separating apparatus, a tank containing water, a pair of bins formed in the base thereof, partition walls between the bins defining a passage-way therebetween for circulation of water from one bin to the other, conveyors positioned within the bins for removing material deposited within the bins, a well submergedin the water, said well including a feed chute and a discharge chute, a revolving pick-up drum mounted within the tank in proximity to the feed chute, a regulatable port in the feed chute in communication with the drum for permitting passage of debris into the drum; said discharge chute stopping short slightly below the water level of the tank, adjustable propeller means for circulating a mixture of air and water across the mouth of the discharge chute whereby to separate the fioatable particles from the coal issuing from the discharge chute and carry the same to the pick-up drum, a bin formed beneath the discharge chute, conveyor means within the bin for removing coal discharged into the bin; the well having a discharge opening in the base thereof, a bin formed therebeneath, conveyor means within said bin, the bin having a well extending substantially in the plane of the lower wall of the discharge chute defining a passageway communicating with the last named bin, a regulatable port in the discharge chute forming communication with the last named passageway, water inlet means formed in the well establishing communication with the water in the tank, and automatic adjustable propeller means for creating a simultaneously oppositely flowing current of water through the well and discharge chute.

5. In a coal and slate separating apparatus, a tank containing water, a pair of bins formed in the base thereof, partition walls between the bins defining a passage-way therebetween for circulation of water from one bin to the other, conveyor means in the base of the bins for removing sediment deposited therein, valve means in the bins below said conveyors for withdrawing the fluid sediment in the bins not removed by said conveyors, a well within the tank and submerged in the water, said well including a feed chute and a discharge chute, the feed chute opening upon the upper side of the tank, a tunnel extended longitudinally of the tank and partly submerged in the water therein, the mouth of the discharge chute opening into said tunnel and below the water line in the tunnel, variable propulsion means in said tunnel in advance of the mouth of the discharge chute for agitating and mixing air and water in the tunnel, a bin positioned beneath the mouth of the discharge chute, a conveyor in the bin for removing coal from the bin, said bin having an overflow port in communication with one of the bins of the tank, a revoluble pick-up drum mounted within the tank and receiving debris from the tunnel and the feed chute, a chute mounted within the drum and receiving the dbris picked up thereby, a compartment formed adjacent one of the bins of the tank, means for controlling flow of water through the compartment and the bin, means controlling flow of water and debris from the drum and the compartment, a port between the well and the compartment, automatic adjustable propeller means positioned at the port for creating a simultaneously oppositely flowing current of water through the aggregate fed through the feed chute, and means in the base of the well to remove slate settled out of the aggregate, said propeller means further creating a circulation of water throughout the tank for deposition of material into the various bins.

LOUIS SVEINSSON.