US465979A - Ore-concentrating machine - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G. IELWOODBURY. ORE GONGENTRATING MACHINE.

No. 465,979. Patented Dec. '29, 1.891.

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I Patented Dec. 29-, 1891.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. E. WOODBURY.

ORE OONOENTRATING MACHINE. No. 465,979. Patented Dec. 29, 1891.

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UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE EDXVIN WVOODBURY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ORE-CONCENTRATING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,979, dated December 29, 1891. Application filed March 3, 1891. Serial No. 333,633. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWIN W001)- BURY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Concentrating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ore-concentrating machines of the kind having endless traveling belts or aprons with vibrating or shaking motions, and more especially to improvements in the pulp-distributing apparatus and the driving mechanism that moves the endless belt along under the pulp-distribute]:

The objects sought to be attained in and by these improvements are an even consistency of pulp and its distribution to a uniform depth upon the surface of the belt, to prevent the pulp from banking or settling upon the surface of the belt in portions of unequal depth, and to secure progression of the belt without irregular or abrupt motions.

In machines of this class the separation and concentration of the metallic particles are more elfectively and completely produced in proportion as the pulp is the more evenly distributed across the face of the belt, and the progressive movement of the belt is the more smoothly and regularly maintained without jerky or abrupt motions; and therefore to secure these ends and object I have produced and constructed the following parts and mechanism, which are clearly set forth in the following description, and represented in the accompanying drawings in connection with such partsof a concentrating-machine as are necessary to an explanation of the construction and operation of my improvements.

Figure 1 of the drawings herein referred to represents in side elevation the head or feeding-in end portion of an endless travelingbelt machine with my improvements applied to it. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale and in detail of the belt-driving mechanism. Fig. 4

' illustrates the construction of the belt-carrying drum or head-roller and is a longitudinal section through one end. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show the parts of the pulp-distributing apparatus in detail, of which Fig. 5

shows the distributing-hopper in vertical section on an-enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a top view with the body in section. Fig. 7 is a View in perspective of the distributing-tray. Fig. 8 is a front view of the equalizing-trough. Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the distributing tray, and Fig. 10 is a top view of the equalizing-trough. Fig. 11 is a top view of the driving mechanism, partly in section. These parts are on an enlarged scale.

This pulp-distributing apparatus is composed of three parts, which are arranged to operate conjointly at the head of the machine over the belt or endless traveling concentrating-surface. The firstof these parts is a hopper A, open at the top and closed at the bottom. It is mounted for rotation upon a post or upright spindle B, and such motion is given to it from one of the shafts of the machine by some suitable connecting mechanism, such as a short counter-shaft C, receiving motion through belt and pulleys 0 G and connected by bevel-pinion C to a gear 0 on the hopper. Through this means the hopper is turned on the post with continuous motion.

A is a plate or disk fitting into the upper part of the hopper and provided with an opening A on one side of the center, and A is a closed bottom having outletapertures A at intervals apart around the margin. The disk A, while it fits closely to the hopper, is stationary and does not turn With the hopper, but takes the end of the pulp spout or conductor through which the material for concentration is carried from the mill to the machine, that end of the conductor being set in the opening in the plate; or if it is set above the disk to deliver the pulp into the hopper, then the disk is fixed in some suitable way to the conductor by a stationary part above.

Below the apertured bottom of the hopper is placed the second part D of the distributing apparatus, which I have termed and shall refer to herein as the equalizing-trough. Its office is to divide the pulp into streams or separate portions of about equal quantity for distribution across the surface of the belt,

and for such purpose it is formed with a number of diverging channels d cl, running from a common center radially outward and then forward to the front end of the trough. The bottoms of these channels are pitched or inclined toward the front and the higher or receiving ends are arranged in a circle, at the center of which is fixed the post B, so that the outlet-apertures in thebottom of the hopper set directly over the channels and pass regularly across them as the hopper rotates. The channels have high standing sides and are of about equal width or space between the sides.

D are arms or laterally-projecting pieces on the sides of the trough, by which this part is fixed to stationary supports D on the concentrator-frame. These supports D are fixed on each side of the frame and are bolted at the lower ends to the frame W, while at the upper ends are slots (1 for the projecting arms of the trough. In the present construction these upright supports are utilized to carry the water-box R, which has supplypipes R delivering into it from the main pipe R whose connection is fitted with suit-- able cocks, as shown, to throw the water to box R or to waste-pipe R The third part E of the apparatus is a shallow box or tray, having its bottom divided into as many compartments with sloping sides as there are channels in the equalizing-tro ugh and mounted beneath the trough directly over the concentrating-belt. The compartments E* have sloping sides meeting at the bottom on a straight line which extends longitudinally or in the direction of the travel of the belt, and in each compartment thus formed the outlet-holes 6* through the bottom along the center line. The ends of the tray are secured to the side pieces F having ears or flanges F, which rest on the side bars V of the shaking frame and are fastened to them by screws g. Thus the distributing-tray E is mounted on the frame that carries the concentrating-belt and moves with the frame, while the equalizing-trough supported above the tray is mounted on the lower stationary frame and has no mot-ion of itself. As thus constructed and arranged these parts operate to produce a uniform consistency of pulp and to feed and distribute it regularly across the traveling belt; but to secure the best results in concentration in these machines itis important that the progression of the belt shall take place continuously without jerky or abrupt movements, for, as the belt, in addition to its travel, has a constant vibratory or shaking motion either lengthwise-thatis, in the direction of the travel-or breadthwise-that is, from side to side-it has been found difficult to drive the belt smoothly without afiecting the progressive movement or feed of the belt, as it is commonly termed. The driving mechanism which I have produced for this purpose is designed to overcome lost motion or the tendency of the belt to slip on the driving or propelling drum or roller and to secure a smooth even feed of the belt under the pulp-distributer.

It consists of a belt-carrying drum 11', an internally-toothed ring-gear I, keyed on the shaft ll of the drum, and a spur-gear K of smaller diameter set within the ring-gear and having rolling contact and engagement with the teeth of the ring. The gear K is set on an eccentric L, which is fixed on the driver or pulley M, to which motion is given from the main shaft of the machine through a system of connecting belts and pulleys, hereinafter described. The eccentric L, moved by that pulley, imparts to the spur-gear a peculiar motion in the ring-gear, and by the engagement of that gear the surrounding ring is given a continuous rotary motion.

The spur-gear K is prevented from rotating by an arm L projecting from one side of a hub K*, that is in one piece with the gear K, and therefore it has rolling contact in the ring-gear without rotation. The end of the arm L rests in a plate L in which it is free to slide. This construction will be understood from the detail views, Figs. 3 and 11.

Motion is transmitted to the pulley M from the principal driving-shaft Xof the machine through the pulley T on that shaft, the belt T, cone-pulley T, and the intermediate pulleys S S and S, and the belt P, and to prevent the shaking motion of the movable frame V from affecting this connection, and also to afford means for readily throwing the feed off and on, I hang the pulley S in a swinging or tilting frame S and set in the same frame the guide-pulleys S S A handlever S 'is provided for elevating and depressing the tilting frame and locking it in either position, by which means the belt P is caused to run loosely on the driving-pulley M, or is drawn tightly and made to rotate the pulley. The lever S is fast at the end of the tilting frame, and is held by a notched segmentplate S on the stationary frame, which notched segment-plate is a Well-known means for locking hand-levers on all sorts of machinery. By drawing the lever backward to elevate the outer end of the tilting frame it will be seen that the belt P is loosened and it will slip on the pulley M, while the movement in the opposite direction will draw the belt tight on the pulley. A belt-shifter T is fixed at this end of the machine-frame for the purpose of moving the belt T on the conepulleys T T to vary the speed. The shifterbar has a forked end embracing the belt T and moves in a slotted guide T on the stationary frame. The speed of the concentrating-belt-is therefore varied by shifting the belt T on the cone-pulleys T T and the feed or progression of the belt is thrown on or stopped from time to time as the work re quires by moving the hand-lever S".

The machine herein described and shown in the drawings to which these improvements are applied has its concentrating-surface formed of a number of narrow belts with standing edges that divide the concentratingsurface into several narrow ways or channels,

each one receiving a proportion of the pulp from the distributing apparatus; but it should be understood that the same improvements in distribution of pulp and in mechanism for driving the concentrating-belt are applicable to any other forms of concentrator belt or surface. They will be found to work well With a concentrator-belt having no partitions or strips dividing its surface into compartments.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- V 1. In an ore-concentrator having an endless traveling belt or concentrating-surface, a rotating pulp supplying hopperhaving discharge-apertures in its bottom, an equalizingtrough having ways or channels radiating from a center which is situated beneath the hopper, as described, to receive the pulp therefrom and divide it into separate streams or portions, and a distributingtray having divisions or compartments with outlets in their bottoms located between the equalizingtrough and the concentrating-belt, combined for operation as set forth.

2. In a pulpdistributing apparatus, the combination, with a rotating hopper having discharge-apertures in its bottom arranged around the center on which the hopper rotates, of an equalizing-trough having separate ways or channels that radiate from a center directly below the outlets of the hopper and diverge or extend laterally, as described,'to divide and distribute the pulp in streams or portions of about equal quantities, substantially as described.

3. In a pulp distributing apparatus, the combination, with the distributing -trough having diverging ways or channels and a rotary hopper mounted over said distributingtrough, as described, of the equalizing-tray concentrators, having a supply hopper or receptacle adapted to rotate over a trough or part having separate Ways or channels and to distribute the pulp by its rotation into the said channels, and a tray or part having spaces or compartments with outlets corresponding in number with the said channels beneath the said channels and arranged to receive and distribute the streams of pulp over the concentrating-surface, substantially as described.

5. In an ore-concentrator of the kind having an endless traveling belt or ore-concentrating surface, the driving mechanism consisting of the internally-toothed ring-gear fast on the belt-carrying drum, the spur-gear having rolling contact without rotation within said ring, an eccentric on which said spurgear is mounted, a pulley having said eccentric fast to or formed with it, and mechanism by which rotation is imparted to the said pulley from a rotating shaft on the machine, substantially as described.

6. In combination with the belt-carrying drum H, the internally-toothed ring I, the spur-gear K, having rolling contact Within said ring without rotation, the pulley M, having an eccentric hub or part on which the gear is mounted, the belt P, tilting frame S, pulleys 'l S S cone-pulleys TT and belt T, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

GEORGE EDWIN WOODBURY.

IVitnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, CHAS. E. KELLY.

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