US2510158A - Apparatus for adding liquid to control the bulk density of coking coal - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1950 J. VAN ACKEREN APPARATUS FOR ADDING LIQUID T0 CONTROL THE BULK DENSITY OF COKING COALl Filed Aug. 18, 1945 4 Sheets-$heet l INVENTOR. JOSEPH vmv QcKEREAL June 6, 1950 J. VAN ACKEREN 2,510,158

APPARATUS FOR ADDINGLIQUID T0 con'raor. THE BULK DENSITY 0F coxmc com.

4 Sheets-$110M. 2

Filed Aug. 18, 1945 INVENTOR. JOSEPH VAN ,4CKEREN his .4 rTOQ/w. v-

June 6, 1950 .1. VAbi) ACKEREN 2,510,158

APPARATUS FOR AD ING LIQUID T0 CONTROL THE BULK DENSITY OF COKING COAL Filed Aug. 18, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. JosePH vmv AcKEREN.

a TTORNEY.

June 6, 1950 J. VAN ACKEREN 2,5

APPARATUS FOR ADDING LIQUID T0 CONTROL THE BULK DENSITY OF COKING-CQAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 18, 1945 INVENTOR. JOSEPH VAN AcKEREN.

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Patented June 6, 1950 APPARATUS FOR ADDING LIQUID T COB T- TROL THE BULK DENSITY 0F COKING COAL Joseph van Ackeren, Pittsburgh, 'Pa., assignor to Koppers Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application August 18, 1945, Serial No. 611,395

3 Claims. (Cl. 24141) described and claimed in Lohr and McGurl U.

S. Letters Patent 2,378,420 method and means whereby the bulk density of particulate coking coals can be made relatively uniform by welldistributed additions of liquids, for example, water, which decreases the bulk density,'or oil, which in small quantities increases the bulk density of so-treated coal. This adjustment to a uniform bulk density and its resultant main-' tenance of uniform coking conditions in a carbonizing plant provide for carbonization of. the

coal under pressures within desired limits whereby the operating life of apparatus therefor is markedly extended; the said adjustment consistently maintains an optimum of carbonizing capacity in respect of the provided apparatus by regularly ensuring a uniform weight of coal in each coking chamber after leveling the charge; and, as a further result of such uniform charging, it provides relatively unvarying operating conditions in the by-product system of the said carbonizing plant.

It is amongst the objects of the present invention to provide automatically operative method and apparatus for adjusting to uniformity the bulk density of coal in transit to coke ovens whereby the above-described benefits of charging coal of a uniform, optimum bulk density are continuously and economically obtained automatically.

Another of the objects of the present invention is the provision, first, of means for automatically regulating to uniformity the bulk density of coal having the usual size of coal for coking, and, second, of automatic testing and controlling means whereby the so-adjusted coal can be tested for conformity to a standard optimum bulk= density before its delivery to carbonizing means. I

The invention has for further objects such other improvements and such other operative advantages or results as may be found to obtain in the processes or apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

Briefly stated, the method and apparatus of the present invention provide for the efl'ective isolation from the whole coal stream of successive, uniform-volume portions of the fragmental coal during its travel on endless belts, or the like, from coal preparation means to carbonizing apparatus, such effective isolation in the coal stream being obtained automatically and without substantial interruption of the flow of the coal stream to said carbonizing apparatus; the method and apparatus encompass the automatic weighing of each such successively isolated uniform-volume portion of the coal stream and provide for the measuring and indicating of such weights in terms of bulk density; and they further provide for the regulably controlled operation, in automatic response to variations in the bulk density of the coal of the said weighed portions, of modulating control valve means whereby coal, preferably upstream from the coalisolating and bulk-density-determining means,

can be sprayed with liquid and thereafter exten-" sively intermixed and can thus be adjusted automatically to a uniform and pre-selected bulk density. The present invention provides apparatus for automatically repetitive cycles of sampling and testing operation, the cycles recurring at any adjustable preferred rate.

As hereinbefore stated, the bulk-density-determining means is preferably situated downstream from the liquid spraying means. A primary reason for this rather unusual disposition is the factor that coals of 'diflferent moisture or pulverization are difierently affected by treatment with added liquid and thus, without a prior determination of such characteristics, it would notbe possible to maintain a closely uniform bulk density by merely determining the bulk density of a coal and thereafter spraying it with a modifying liquid. Where however the apparatus is arranged in the preferred order, the bulk-density determining means will continue to effect changes in the liquid spraying until a bulk density is provided that will satisfy the said determining means. Especially where coals of greatly varying moistures and pulverlzations are employed, it is thus highly preferable that the bulk density apparatus be located downstream of the spraying means so as to provide a check on the modified bulk density and to ensure a uniformity of the bulk density of coal being charged to coke ovens.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and showing for purposes of exemplification a preferred apparatus and method in which the invention may be embodied and practiced but without meme-the timed invention to such illustrative instance or-instances:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view with parts broken away of a coke-oven battery and its supplying coal-handling means comprising one embodiment of the present invention, andinvention;

-Fig. 3 is a schematic electrical diagram showing in simplified form the electrical means for automatically operating the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 and the electrical controlling means with its interconnections for the communication of controlling effect of determined values to automatic control valves; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevational view, parts being in section and parts broken away, of a second embodiment of the present invention. wherein there is shown complete apparatus including the also-diagrammatically shown controlling electrical interconnections, for testing and controlling bulk density of conveyed coal.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in each of the views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to Fig. 1, there is shown a coal-handling system that transports coal on endless belts from a source represented by hopper car 8 and, after preparation of the same lay-hereinafter described apparatus, to oven-supply bins 9 wherefrom the coal is charged to ovens of a coke-oven battery I for carbonization therein.

After being discharged from the said hopper car 3 the coal is fed to ,a preliminary breaker mill I! which crushes the coal and reduces the larger lumps thereof and thereby establishes a preliminary relatively uniform size range of the coal. Thereafter, in the particular coal-handling system shown'herewith, the so-crushed coal is fed to storage in mixing bins 13, I3, to one of which is delivered one coking coal, for example lowvolatfle coal, and to the other of which is delivered a. second coal, for example, high-volatile coal. These coals are discharged from the said storage bins I3, l3, through measuring means. as upon endless mixer belts H, H, to supply measured volumes of coal, which measured volumes are regulated by means of adjustable knife gates l5, ii. The gates can be placed in vertical position above and across the mixer belts-and serve to.

establish the maximum cross section and predetermined volumes of coal: on the belts. The. coals'may equallywell-be mixed 'by weight in which case weight-controlling feeders, or the like, would be employed in place of the said, adjustable knife gates.

The so-crushed coal falls, in admixture, from the said mixing belts past-and down through a chute across the area of which concentric spray header-pipes l6 and i1 deliver respectively oil and water. The rate of liquid coming into contact with the coal is controlled by automatic means to be hereinafter described. By this treatment the bulk density of the coal is adjusted substantially to uniformity. After having passed the said spraying means the treated coal .falls into a final pulverizing means, such as a hammer-mill 20 which crushes the coal to the final pulverization preferred in the oven-charge, for example to about 80 to 85% through a one-eighth inch square the coal those liquids which are added by the hereinabove-mentioned sprays thereby to provide a uniform distribution of the superficial moisture on the so-sprayed coal and to obtain that adjustmerit in bulk density provided by the liquid spray before testing the so-sprayed coal.

The coal upon discharge from the hammermill 20 is transported by endless belt 22 to-the bulk density determining apparatus 23 which is illustrated' in Figs. 2 and 3.

' Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, the major portion of the coal falls from a header pulley 24 of the belt 22 through a free-fall gravity-drop chute 25 upon an endless belt 26 and is finally delivered thereby after such free-fall to the oven-supply bins 9 and is thus undiverted from the general stream of coal undergoing conditioning in transit to the coke-ovens to prepare the coal for carbonization therein, while at relatively rapid intervals samples of the coal stream across the whole width of the belt at the said pulley are taken and are temporarily diverted therefrom to the said bulk density apparatus 23.

This intermittent. diverting of representative samples from the coal stream being conditioned in transit for coking in the coke ovens is accomtrated is a cam timer 2500 manufactured by the Automatic Temperature Control Company of Philadelphia and illustrated in their bulletin T36.

Upon a signal communicated from the sequence timer 29 to a motor 30, the said motor begins operation and turns a gear reducer 3| which by communicating its motion through chain 32, turns sprocket wheel 33. The said sprocket wheel is communicably interconnected with the said gate 28 by means of connecting levers 34, 35, to a lever 36 which. is rigidly attached to a shaft on which the sampling gate 28 is fixed. The movement of the sprocket wheel 33 is operative to begin moving the gate toward the face of the said head pulley and, upon a half turn of the sprocket 33, to cause the said gate to come into substantial contact with the face of the said head pulley. A continuing additional half turn of the sprocket 33 will cause the gate to return to coal handling plant quickly provides a sufficiency .of coal for test purposes, and more importantly, in order that as many samples as are practicable may be isolated from the main coal stream for a given flow of coal.

The coal sample which has been so-diverted from the main coal stream falls downwardly through chute 31, the angular sides of which cause the coal to change direction as it strikes against these sides, thereby to break the fall of said coal and deliver it, at a velocity equal to that of coal having fallen only a few feet, into a bulk density box 38. The bulk density box 38 is of known dimensions and is preferably of an even unit volume, such, for example, as an even one or two cubic feet; and it comprises supporting flanges 39,' 39, which extend from opposite sides of the top of the box and are flush therewith, and an automatically operable false botopening screen, and which thoroughly mixes with u tom 4| for the discharging of coal therefrom.

The coal sample that flows into box it fills the box to overflowing and thereafter is leveled in a hereinafter described manner to just its known volume by a leveling bar 40 that is operatively attached to a gear reducer 42 and, connectively, to a reversing motor 43: the said gear reducer and motorare supported on flanges welded to one side of the said box 36. The said leveling bar 40 extends edgewise and horizontally across the top of the box, the lower edge of the bar being parallel to and almost touching the said top, and is so disposed that it swings in the arc of its rotation completely thereover.

After a short interval permitting the complete fall of the coal, the hereinabove-mentioned sequence timer 29 initiates the operation of the said motor 43 in rotating the leveling bar. After a swing of the leveling bar 40 completely across the top of the box, the circuit is broken and the sequence timer 2!! then initiates operation of the motor in its reverse direction thereby to cause the bar to return to its starting position and complete a second leveling of the coal. Upon the said return to starting position the circuit is broken and the motor is stopped. That excess coal which is 'pushed from the surface of the box by the described operation of the leveling bar falls from the box down to the endless belt 26.

For the purpose of simplicity the leveling bar is shown with a single blade, but for ensuring a completely uniform leveling of the coal in the box 38, the bar 46 can be double-bladed, a, second blade being also attached to the shaft of the gear reducer 42 and being disposed above the blade shown in Fig. 2 and slightly out of vertical alignment therewith so that it will push away the cone of coal above the top of the box and reduce the load on the lower blade.

Upon completion of the coal leveling step and the breaking of the circuit to the leveling motor 43, the so-isolated constant volume of coal in the bulk density box is automatically weighed. Communication of the coal weight to indicating and controlling scale means 45 is permitted by the unlocking of the scale mechanism upon the receiving of an impulse from the sequence timer 2! by an electrically operated scale thrustor lock 46, of the type manufactured by the Toledo Scale Company of Toledo, Ohio. When in locked position, the thrustor lock 46 that is mounted on the scale 45 prevents the operation of the scale while the density box is being charged and discharged, and'avoids disturbing the scale mechanism, or affecting the controlling apparatus-connected to said scale means. When in unlocked position, such release permits the weight of the coal and of the box and its appendages to be communicated through supporting bars 41, 41upon which rest the said supporting flanges 39 and which themselves hang from depending rods 48, 48 at their one end and from rods 49, 49 at their other end-through scale splices 56', to which the said rods 49, 49 attach, and through supported scale-mechanism levers 5|, 52, and 53 to the said scale 45. The indicating scale 45 is supplied with a dial 54, that is preferably graduated not only directly in pounds, but also in pounds per cubic feet. An indicator 55 in the scale is controllably connected to automatic valves in a manner and the indicator to attain the correct indicating position whereafter the indicator is again locked in the attained position.

After the weighing operation is completed, and the scale mechanism is relocked in the attained position, the sequence timer then initiates operation of a motor 56 which, in operation, drives a gear reducer 51, Figs. 2 and 3, that in turn moves levers 58, 59, and 60 through a complete cycle of operation, thereby to move false bottom 4| to an open position to discharge the weighed coal, and thereafter to return the bottom to a closed position.

The so-discharged coal falls to endless belt 26 and is thence delivered, along with the undiverted coal, to oven-supply bins 9, Fig. 1. As soon as this temporarily isolated volume of coal is discharged from the above-described bulk-density determining apparatus, the sequence timer 29 at once returns to its starting position, the full sequence of testing operation is repeated, and any variation ,from the previously determined bulk density is accordingly ascertained and communicated to the hereinafter described automatically controlled valve means.

Particular reference now is made to Fig. 3 in which, for purposes of clarity, the said sequence timer 29 and its connections to the divers motors of the testing apparatus are shown without those relays, limit switches, and like devices or connections which are preferred or required therewith but which are ordinarily supplied by the timer manufacturer and are, in any case, well known in the art and therefore of no contribution or necessity of explanation here. The timer 29 is, therefore, simply shown as though it directly connected 8. power source 6| to the motors operating the successive steps of the testing sequence, namely, to the sampling-gate motor 30, the reversing motor 43 for both its directions of movement, to the scale thrustor lock 46 and tothe false-bottom-operating motor 56. The Fig. 3 also illustrates, in greater detail, the indicating scale 45 and its controlling connections to the automatic oil and water valves, which are shown herein out of place but are given their correct location in Fig. 4.

These said automatic valves are controlled by the movements of the indicator in response to the varying weights of leveled coal in the constant volume bulk-density box 38. The indicator 55 is adapted to ride on a slide wire resistor 63, that is disposed around the perimeter of the dial 54 and that is divided into two segments 63a, 631), by an insulated neutral point at approximately the center of the arc of the dial, which segments are so-connected to be the two actuating resistor elements in a balanced potentiometric circuit, such, for example, as the one manufactured by Brown Instrument Company and illustrated in their catalogue 17-1 on page 6 or the one manufactured by Automatic Temperature Control Company, and illustrated in their bulletin M-34 on page 2. The movements of the indicator 55 controllably operate, through a balancing relay 64 and the potentiometricconnections, an automatic modulating control valve-operating mechanism 65 having a reversible motor which automatically turns a stem 10 of the water valve 62 speed shaft 69 of a gear reducer of the automatic valve-control mechanism to .the' water valve stem.

I 01' the valve 62. I

The reversing ratchet mechanism 51 is shown in Fig. 4 in simplified form. The reversing ratch- I et has been specifically adapted to automatic operation, by the novel addition thereto of 'a self-retracting solenoid 68 that automatically operates a reversing lever ll of the ratchet in a forward and retracted position thereby to place the ratchet in a position allowing either an opening operating rotation of the water valve 52 or the reverse thereof depending on the direction of the drive' of the valve-control mechanism B5. The said solenoid 68 is actuated by a mercury switch 12 that can be mounted preferably on a lever 13 which is attached to a motor driven resistor element 15 of the balanced poten- This r alternately m dejopmaos of valve 82 is made necessary by the requirement that that particularvalve opening, which is employedto lower a bulk'density-of a more dense coal to the said optimum valve, must be re- 1 tained during the entire period that. the said,

" more dense coal is being delivered to the spraying means to discharge a uniform quantity of water continuously. onto the coal atthe remote point ahead of the sampler, as at ahead of the coal crusher and this valve 62 setting should be so-retained even though coal treated by the certain measured spraying will, on its arrival at the preferably downstream testing means, obviously tiometer circuit, in such manner that, when the fluctuating indicator 55 passes the said neutral wise direction, to a position corresponding to the newly determined bulk density. When the new position taken by the indicator is at a value higher than the optimum weight, the indicator, through the potentiometer circuit, will cause the valve motor mechanism 65 to open the water valve 62 accordingly, i.e., to set it to deliver the quantity of water determined by the amount that the weight of coal in the sample exceeds the predetermined bulk density figure on the indicator and. the resultant treatment with water spray will lower the bulk density of the so-treated coal which will thereafter be tested. However,

exhibit substantially that optimum bulk density to which by said spray the so-treated coal has been reduced. Eventually, of course, it can happen that the bulk density of untreated coal will change and thus the coal that is treated by the above-mentioned particular valve opening will I again momentarily exhibit a bulk density exceed-.

ing, too high or too low, above or below optimum, even with the valve 62 in its previous setting.

-' It is equally important, therefore, immediately should the value of bulk density as determined a by this succeeding test show a reduction toward the optimum value but not lower than such op- 'timum value, the motor mechanism 65 will not operate the valve 62, since indicator .having been held in advanced position by the thrustor lock 46, indicator 55 merely slides backwardly somewhat on 63 to the lower point of weight in excess of optimum, and the motor mechanism will slip at the ratchet mechanism, but will not reverse valve 62 through 61, since mercury switch 12 will not have been reversed, and hence solenoid 58 will not have been reversed, to operate reversing lever II forthe reverse ratchet 51, for reverse rotation of water valve 62. As soon as the indicator 55 should pass from segment 63a on one side of the insulated zone that now marks the optimum value on the dial I5 to segment 53b on the other side, the motor driven resistor lever 13, turning in the same manner, will tip automatically the mercury switch 12 which will aetu-' indicator will procure a corresponding movement of the valve mechanism 55 and a proportionate closing of the valve 62, the ratchet mechanism being now set so that only a rotation of the shaft 69 in the direction which closes the valve will operate through the ratchet.

upon the appearance at the testing means of this coal of altered density, that a proportionate change in the valve 62 setting, automatically should occur and which takes place automatically when the indicator 55 moves along the segments (53a or 63b) which previously set the valve 82,

or when the indicator 55 moves past the insulation from one side to the other of the two segments 53a, 63b.

By translating these aforementioned variations in bulk density to the movements of the indicator 55 which, as before described, is the indicator of such variations, it can be seen that no change in the setting of the valve 62 by the automatic valve control mechanism 55 can occur for any movement of the indicator from any point on either one of the two sides of the dial toward the (insulation) location thereon of the region for the optimum bulk density value, but that the only governing movements of the indicator 5! in respect of the operation of the automatic valve mechanism 65 and water valve 62 may be those movements away, in either direction, from that insulated neutral point, at the top of the axisof the dial 54, which insulation point encompasses I the limits of the weight of the preferred (optimum) bulk density. t

The motor-operated modulating control valveoperating mechanism 55 that is operatively controlled inthe above-described manner can be, for example, the modulating control valve operatin'g mechanism V92-1 that is manufactured by Brown Instrument Company and illustrated in their catalogue 'l'Z-L, on page 12. The valve proper 62 controls the flow of water in pipe 16 that is supplied with'water at constant head and that delivers the same to the hereinbefore-mentioned spray header pipe I I, (shown in Figs. 1 and 4) that is preferably equipped with a plurality of spray nozzles 11 for more efllciently admixing the water and the coal.

The apparatus illustrated for operation of thepresent invention is also adapted automatically to admix oil to the 'to-be-coked coal thereby increasing the bulk density of wet, low-density coals. For this purpose there is provided a contacting element 8| that is disposed on the left side of the dial 54 as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 in the path of movement of indicator 55 which when making contact therewith, will close an opening in a circuit, to open the circuit to the now of electrical current from a source and arelay 10,

preferable that they be employed separately and therefore provision is made whereby, in order to conserve oil the oil valve can be opened only when 10 of uniform volume per length of belt, it will become apparent that the weight of coal as deterthe water valve is closed, such provision being i the disposition in the power line from the actuating mechanism to the oil-valve motor 80 of a cut-oil switch 84 that can be mounted on the aforementioned water-valve stem 10 and that can be closed only by movement of the water-valve stem to the closed position.

In accordance with the present invention, the bulk-density determining apparatus may be so constituted as to achieve a continuous testing of the entire coal stream by providing, as shown in Fig. 4, an alternate apparatus and means employing a directly analogous but simplified method for the automatic adjustment of coal bulk density. The water and the oil-spraying means and the automatic valve-control mechanisms 65 and 80 that regulate the flow of liquid to the former, respectively, are identical to those hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 and can be located in identically the same positions in the coal-handling system.

Located downstream of the said valve and spraying means I6 and I1 and controllably connected therewith is an alternate bulk density determining means I00 that is preferably so disposed that as short adistance as possible exists between it and the spraying means and still permit the hammermill to be situated therebetween.

Such disposition of mixing and crushing apparatus which is common to both embodiments provides for the thorough admixture of added liquid and for the final pulverization of the coal immediately prior to its testing in the bulk-density apparatus therefor, and before the charging of said treated coal to the coke-ovens.

There is further provided as a part of the said mined by the scale conveyor and as indicated by its indicator 55 and dial 54 will be a weight of a known volume which weight per volume, with the volume reduced to unity, is by definition the bulk density. Thus, the bulk density of each eflectively isolated segment of the entire coal stream will, without even temporary diversion therefrom, be determined before being delivered to the oven bins 9.

The actuating mechanism and the controlling mechanism for transmitting the requirements for opening or closing movements through the automatic modulating valve-control mechanism 55,

. to the water and oil valves in response to variaalternate apparatus a small lag bin I02 wherein I coal having been discharged from the said hammermill'20 is momentarily detained in order that there may always be provided an even-flowing source of coal to fall upon an endless belt I03.

This evenly provided flow of coal on the belt is regulated to a constant volume for any segment of the belt by guiding flanges, or skirt boards" I05, I05 disposed longitudinally along both sides of the belt for its entire length, and especially by an adjustable radial knife gate I05 whereby coal of strictly regulated cross section on the belt is measuredly permitted to pass the gate and be delivered to the said testing means I00.

The basic unit of this alternate testing means consists of a belt conveyor scale I01 which can be of any ordinary commercial make or design, and which is arranged continuously to weigh each part of the entire coal stream as it flows over the suspended pulleys I08 of the said scale. Since the said conveyor scale is inherently adapted to weigh the coal lying upon a certain and fixed length of belt and since it has been herewith provided that the coal being delivered to said conveyor scale be of uniform cross section and thus tions in bulk density of the coal as determined by the alternate determining apparatus, is substantially the same as that hereinabove described embodiment for. use with the first-described determining-apparatus, and comprises the indicator 55, the balancing relay 64, the ratchet mechanism 61, and the potentiometrically connecting wires that controllably operate modulating control valve operating-mechanism 65. Here again the said ratchet mechanism 61 operates to provide changes in valve 62 setting only when the bulk density of the tested coal begins to diverge from the optimum bulk density under the previous set position of valve 62, and here again is provided an on-oif controlling mechanism operated by contact of indicator 55 with contacting segment BI on dial 54 whereby oil can be sprayed from spray means I6 upon the coal when the said determining apparatus indicates the same to be below the optimum bulk density and to be at the same time untreated with water or like aqueous liquid.

It is to be noted that a sequence timer such as the timer 29 which controls the steps of testing with the apparatus of the first-described embodiment of the invention, is not needed nor employed with the alternative apparatus embodiment, here described, for the sample testing operation of the latter is continuous and consists,

allowing it to fall to a small lag bin which can be even smaller than lag bin I02 and then to flow through volume-regulating means to the described alternate apparatus embodiment.

The apparatus of either of the above-described embodiments can be simply provided with a switch to cut off operation of the entire mechanism when no coal is running on the belt, simply by providing a resiliently-supported pulley to ride under the coal conveying belt upstream of the testing apparatus and which pulley is connected to a switch which will be closed only when the belt is loaded and the pulley is down.

The automatic coal testing and bulk density adjustment of the present invention is also intended to include such other apparent variations as, for example, having in the system an additional water spray that is downstream of the bulk-density testing means and that is automatically operated by whatever deviations from optimum bulk density still exist in treated coal at ll a the testing means and which could thus be communicated by a potentiometric circuit to an be variously embodied within the scope of the claims hereinafter made.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the automatic adjustment and control of the bulk density of coking coal charges, during preparation for carbonization in transit to by-product coke ovens, comprising: the combination with a coal handling system comprising oven supply-bin means for supplying the finally prepared coal to the ovens, storage hopper means for receiving the coal from a source of supply and storing it for delivery to the oven supply-bins, conveyor means for conveying the coal in measured quantities from the storage means to the oven supply-bin means, measuring means for measuring the quantity of coal delivered by the storage means to the conveyor means, and final coal crusher means for pulverizing the coal in advance of delivery thereof by the conveyor means to the oven supply-bin means; liquid supply means arranged to deliver measured quantities of liquid onto the coal after it passes the measuring means but before it is discharged by the conveyor means to the oven supply-bin means, and valve means for regulating the volume of liquid discharged on the coal by the liquid supply means; of bulk weighing means having a weight indicating movable member, arranged for weighing representative samples of the coal stream and disposed downstream of the region thereof where the liquid is discharged onto the coal by the liquid supply means; and automatically operable valve-control operating means for regulably opening and closing the valve-means for the liq uid supply means, and automatically operable actuating means operatively controlled by the degree of movement of the weight indicating member, for actuating the valve-control operating means in the direction of, and in proport on to the degree oi, movement of the weight indicating movable member, to correspondingly regulably operate the valve for the liquid suppl means; and in which the actuating means is 01. the type arranged to be operated b the weight ind cating movable member only when the weight indicating member indicates a weight which is different from a predetermined weight s ttin on the weighing means for the bulk densitv of the representative sample in the weighing means,

' means includes a device movable into. and o t of,

driving engagement, accordingly as the we ht indicating member moves away from, and towards. the predetermined weight setting on the weighing means, to discharge a uniform qua ntity of liquid continuously onto the coal-ahead of the sampling, with the quantity of liquid determined by the amount that the weight of the re resentative sample is different from the predetermin d bulk density figure set for regularly ensurin the supply of a uniform weight of coal in each coking chamber from the coal handling system.

2. Apparatus for the automatic adjustment and I control of the bulk density of coking coal charges prepared coal to the ovens, storage hopper means for receiving the coal from a source of supply and storing it for delivery to the oven-storage bins, conveyor means for conveying the coal in meas-- ured quantities from the storage'means to theoven supply-bin means. measuring means for measuring the quantity of coal delivered by the storage means to the conveyor means, and final coal crusher means for finally pulverizing the coal in advance for delivery thereof by the conveyor means to the oven supply-bin means; liquid supply means arranged to deliver measured quantities'of liquid onto the coal after it passes the measuring means but before it is discharged by the conveyor means to the oven supply-bin means, and valve means for regulating the volume of liquid discharged on the coal by the liquid supply means; of bulk weighing means having a weight indicating movable member, arranged for weighing representative samples of the coal stream and disposed downstream of the region thereof where the liquid is discharged onto the coal by the liquid supply means; and automatically operable valve-control operating means for regulably opening and closing the valve means for the liquid supply-means, and automatically operable actuating means operatively controlled by the degree of movement of the weight indicating member, for actuating the valve-control operating means in the direction of, and in proportion to the degree of, movement of the weight indicating movable member, to correspondingly regulably operate the valve for the liquid supply means; and in which the actuating means is of the type arranged to be operated by the weight in-- dicating movable member only when the weight indicating member indicates a weight which exceeds, above or below, a predetermined weight set for the bulk density of the representative sample in the weighing means, and in which the valvecontrol operating means for operating the valve for the liquid supply means is of the type which retains the valve in its pre-set position until actuated again only by a movement of the weightindicating member that exceeds, above or below, the setting for the predetermined bulk density weight of the weighing means, to discharge a uniform quantity of liquid continuously onto the coal ahead of the sampling, with the quantity of liquid determined by the amount that the weight of the representative sample exceeds a predetermined bulk density figure set for regularly ensuring the supply of a uniform weight of coal in each coking chamber from the coal handling system, and which includes supplemental automatically operable actuating means operable by the weight indicating movable member for actuating a supplemental valve operating means, a supplemental valve operating means operable thereby, supplemental liquid supply means for separate discharge of a diil'erent liquid onto the coal after the measuring means and in advance of the oven supply-bin means, valve means for the supplemental liquid supply means, said valve means being regulably controlled by the supplemental valve-operating means, and said supplemental actuating means being operable by the weight-indicating movable member, when it ex-- valve means efiective and inefl'ective; said auxiliary control means being arranged to be operated by the closing and opening movements of the valve for the first aforesaid liquid supply means,

Number Name Date 1,413,934 Ramsey et al. Apr. 25, 1922 1,413,935 Ramsey et al Apr. 25, 1922 Lea. Sept. 2, 1924 14 I Number Name Date 2,102,584 Brown Dec. 21, 1937 2,356,648 Brusset Aug. 22, 1944 2,361,267 Clifiord Oct. 24, 1944 2,378,420 Lohr et al. -4 June 19, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 49s,5aa Great Britain Dec. 2, 193a OTHER REFERENCES U. S. Bureau of Mines, R.-I. 3743, December 1943, Control of Bulk Density of the Coal Charge in By-product Coke Ovens, 13 pages.

U. S. Bureau of Mines, Report of Investlg'ations 3807, April 1945', Control of Bulk Densities in Coke Ovens, 22 pages. (Entire paper cited.) '(Pages 1-8 and 19-22 particularly pertinent.)

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