US532266A - Apparatus for separating precious metals from sand - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. P. GUPLIN. APPARATUS FOR SEPA RAT-ING PRECIOUS METALS FROM SAND,

'GRAVEL, am.

No. 532,266. Patented Jan. 8 1895.

WITNESSES:

am j I '4e m'wfi I v ATTORNEYS.

m: "cams mans co, PnoTou'mo, wAsmvm'rom n c.

I UNITED STATES PATENT Pr on.

PASCAL P. OUPLIN, WEST BEND, IOWA.

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING PRECIOUS METALS FROM SAND, GRAVEL, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,266, dated January 8, 1895.

Application filed December 23, 1893. Serial No. 494,508. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PASCAL P. OUPLIN, of West Bend, in the county of Palo Alto and State of Iowa, have invented a new andImproved Apparatus for Separating Precious Metals from Sand, Gravel, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. r V

The invention relates to dry placer mining, and its object is to provide a new and improved apparatus for rapidly and thoroughly separating the precious metals from the sand, gravel or other impurities, without the use of water.

The invention consists of certain parts and details, and combinations of the same, as will be hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims. 7

Reference is to be hadtofthe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the improvementon the line l1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improvement with parts broken out. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on theline 33 of Fig. 1;-

and Fig. 4 is a similar view of the same on the line 4-& of Fig. 1.

In the apparatus illustrated in the drawings A represents a frame in which is mounted the revoluble screen 13, arranged in an inclined position, as plainly shown in Fig. 1, and open at both ends. This revoluble'cylindrical screenB is provided with an exterior shell B, and a series of screens B B B B B and B arranged concentric within the shell and having difierent mesh, the innermost screen being the greatest and the outermost screen 13 the finest, with the intermediate screens of a proportionate mesh. The several screens are secured on spokes B attached to the shaft 0,, extending centrally through the screen and journaled in suitable bearings on the frame A.

On the upper end of the shaft 0 is secured a bevel pinion O, in mesh with a bevel gear wheel 0 attached to the transversely-extending shaft 0 journaled on the frame A, and provided with a pulley 0 connected by a belt 0 with suitable machinery'for imparting a rotary motion to the shaft 0 and by the gear wheels 0 and O to the shaft 0 and the'scree'n B.

Into the upper end of the screen B and into the innermost screen B discharges the spout D of a hopper D, into which the material to be treated is placed. The lower ends of the shell B and the screens B B B B B B discharge into chutes E, E, E E, E, E and B, respectively, supported on the frame A. The chute E is designed to carry 0E very coarse material to one side of the machine,

- while the other chutes E, E, E E E, E connect at their lowerends with vertically-disposed tubes F, F, F F F F opening at their lower ends into boxes G, G, G G G G each connected by an opening in one side with an air box H, connected at its outer end with'a blower I, for forcing air into the said box H and through the openings therein into the individual boxes G, G, G G, G G and their corresponding tubes F, F, F F F F respectively, so that the air rises in the latter under a pressure which can be varied by a valve J, held adjustable in each of the boxes G,-G, G ,G, G, G. The lower end of each of the boxes G is provided with an outlet funnel G", adapted to discharge into a pan K, set below the said funnel and adapted to receive the precious metal, as hereinafter more fully described- The pan K fits snugly onto the funnel G to prevent escape of air.

In orderto prevent air from passing into the several chutes E, E, E E E E I provide each of the latter with a hinged gate E (see Fig. 1) adapted to swing open only so far as to permit the amount of the material passin g down'the respective chute to be discharged into the respective tube. Thus, when no material passes down a chute, its gate E closes the latter to corresponding tube F, F, F F F F The upper ends of the several tubes discharge into an outlet trough L, for carrying off the tailings.

Within the air box H is arranged a gate H, pivotally-connected at its free end with a lever N, fulcrumed inside of the box H and connected by a link 0, with the hinged top of a bellows P, of any approved construction, and

located on the top of the box H. The latter is connected with the interior of the bellows by an opening H in the top of the box H, so that air in the latter can pass into the bellows to open the same according to the pressure in the box. Thus, if the pressure decreases, the bellows P will commence to close, so that the link 0 imparts a swinging motion to the lever N, whereby the gate H is opened more fully to permit the blower I to discharge more air into the box H to raise the pressure in the lateach of the tubes, the pressure of the air be- 1 ing regulated by the corresponding valve J.

Now, the material to be treated passes from the hopper D through its chute D into the revolving screen B near the shaft 0 thereof, so that the material is graded in its downward passage, the coarser material passing off to one side of the machine through the which carry the lighter particles upward to fall through the corresponding box and funnel G into the corresponding pan K. Thus, it will be seen that the material is first graded, the several grades are subjected to air under pressure varying according to the grade, so

that the tailings are separated from the valuable metals, and the latter are deposited in the pans K, so that each pan containsa grade from the finest flour gold to grain gold.

It is understood that the pressure of air in the tube F for instance, must be considerably less than the pressure in the next following tube F, as the material passing from the screen B through the chute E into the said tube F is of the finest grade, and contains flour gold which would rise and be carried off with the tailings in case of a high pressure of air in the tube F.

It will also be understood that in order to carry the coarser and heavier tailings passing, for instance, through the chute E into the tube F up to thetailings box L, a higher pressure is necessary in the said tube than in the tube F in which the tailings are comparatively lighter.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. In an apparatus for separating precious metals from sand, gravel, &c., the combination with a revolving inclined screen having different mesh to separate the material into grades, of a series of vertically disposed tubes arranged alongside each other, and connected with an air supply, chutes leading from the said screens and discharging into the said vertically disposed tubes, and hinged gates arranged in the said chutes, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus for separating precious metals from sand, gravel, 850., the combination with a graduated revolving inclined screen to separate the material into grades, a series of vertically disposed tubes arranged alongside each other, chutes connected with the lower ends of said screens and discharging into the vertically disposed tubes, hinged gates arranged in the said chutes, an air box connected at one end with a blower and at the other with the several vertical tubes, and a valve connected with each tube for regulating the admission of air from the air box to the tubes, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an apparatus for separating precious metals from sand, gravel, (he, the combination with a graduated revolving screen, of a series of vertically disposed tubes arranged alongside each other, chutes leading from the chute E while the other grades containing the precious metals pass into the several 3 chutes E, E, E E E, E and into the corresponding tubes F, F, F F F F to be subjected therein to the rising columns of air, I

said screens and discharging into the said tubes, hinged gates arranged in the said chutes, an air box connected at one end with a blower and at the other with the several vertical tubes, a valve for regulating the admission of air from the air box to the tubes and finally discharge the same into the tailings} chute L, While the valuable, heavier particles mechanism, substantially as described for automatically regulating the amount of air passing from the blower to the air box, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. An apparatus for separating precious metals from sand, gravel, &c., comprising a graduated revolving screen, a series of vertically disposed tubes arranged alongside each other and into which discharge the said screens, an air box connected at one end with a blower and at the other end with the several vertical tubes, a valve connected with each of said vertical tubes for regulating the admission of air from the air box to the respective tubes, a bellows located above the air box, the said air box having an opening in its top by which it communicates with the. interior of the bellows, and a lever fulcrumed inside of the air box and connected at one end by a link with the hinged top of the bellows and at its other end with the free end of the said gate, substantially as shown and described.

5.. An apparatus for separating precious metals from sand, gravel, 850., comprising a graduated revoluble inclined screen, consisting of an exterior shell, and a series of screens having different mesh, and arranged concentric within the shell, the innermostscreen having the coarsest mesh, a hopper discharging into the said innermost screen at its upper end, and a chute leading from the lower endof said innermost screen to one side of the machine, a series .of vertically disposed tubes arranged alongside each other, an outlet trough into which the upper ends of the said tubes discharge, chutes connected with the lower ends of the remaining screens and the shell, and discharging into the vertically dis= posed tubes, the said chutes being-provided with hinged gates for the purpose specified, boxes into which the lower ends of the vertical tubes open, each of said boxes having an justable valve held in each of said boxes to regulate the admission of air from the air chamber, a gate arranged in the said air chamber and a bellows connected with the said gate for automatically controlling the air passing from the blower to the air box, sub-v stantially as shown and described.

PASCAL P. OUPLIN.

Witnesses:

L. F. KLIEBENSTEIN, H. 0. BROWN.

Images