US846036A - Device for disintegrating ore in cars. - Google Patents

Description

N0. 846,036. PATBNTED MAR. 5, 1907.

I. LAWLER. DEVICE FOR DISINTEGRATING ORE IN CARS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1906.

JOSEPH A. LAWLER, OF BRADDOCK, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR DISINTEGRATING ORE IN CARS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 5, 1907.

Application filed November 22, 1906- Serial No. 344.634.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. LAWLER, a resident of Braddock, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Disintegrating Ore in Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to a device for thawing out bodies of ore or other material which have become frozen in transportation in cars from the mines to the point of consumption.

In the transportation of iron ore in winter season the ore, owing to the moisture therein, frequently arrives at the place of consumption in a frozen stat-e and in such condition that it is impossible to discharge it from the hoppers of the car when the doors are opened. It is only by the use of crowbars, picks, &c., that it can be broken up, while in some cases explosives are resorted to in order to disintegrate the mass. Such proceedings are often attended with great and serious damage to the steel cars, which are now almost universally employed for conveying the ore.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and efficient device to thaw out the mass of ore and enable it to be readily discharged from the hoppers when the doors are lowered.

To these ends my invention comprises, generally stated, a removable heater adapted to rest in the car with pipes extending therefrom into the mass of ore and means for connecting the heater up with a pipe supplying said heater with steam or other heating medium, whereby heat is diffused throughout the mass, and a thawing out of the same results.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a hopper-car, showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the hoppers. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the heater; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4 4, Fig. 1.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention in connection with a steel car of the ordinary hopper-bottom type, comprising the side walls 2, bottom sheets 3, and the hoppers 4. These hoppers are four in number and are separated by the cross-wall 5 and lon itudinal wall 6, formed of hopper-plates in the ordinary manner. The cross-wall 5 is saddled by the heater 7, which may be formed of a hollow casting and adapted to lit over and conform generally to the shape of said cross-Wall. The end portions of the heater 7 are slightly concaved, as at 8, and the intermediate portion is substantially straight to give greater strength to the casting. The heater 7 is provided with the opening 9, to which the pipe 10 is connected. Additional pipes 11 are connected to openings in the lower portion of the heater, said pipes extending down into the different hoppers, one to each. 4

Before each car is loaded a heater 7 is placed in position on the cross-wall 5, with the pipe 10 extending up to a suitable height and the pipes 11 extending down into the several hoppers. The ore is then introduced into the car, filling the hoppers and covering the pipes 11 and heater 7. The ore when loaded generally takes about the position indicated in the drawing.

When the car arrives at its destination and. it is found that the ore is frozen so that it will not chscharge through the doors when opened, a steam-pipe 12 is connected up to the pipe 10. The steam then passes down into the hollow heater, and thence by the pipes 11 down into the hoppers. The heat given off by the heater, as well as the steam conveyed by the pipes 11, is diffused throughout the frozen mass, and a thawing-out of the same takes place. This acts to disintegrate and break up the masses of ore until they are freely discharged from the hoppers. It is apparent that hot water, hot air, or other heating medium might be employed instead of steam.

By my invention I provide a device which may be readily removed when not required, as in the summer season or when the cars are used to transport other material which does not freeze up in the same manner as ore. Furthermore, by the use of my invention the severe wear and tear on the cars is avoided, as well as the labor of breaking up the frozen mass of ore to remove it from the car.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a removable heater therein, and means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply.

2. The combination with a hopper-bottom I car, of a removable heater contained therein,

pipes leading therefrom to the several .hop pers, and means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply.

3. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a removable heater contained therein, means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply, and means for conveying heat therefrom to the several hoppers.

4. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a cross-support therein, a removable heater resting on said cross-support, and means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply.

5. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a cross-support therein, a removable heater straddling said support and means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply.

6. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a cross-support with slanting sides, a

removable heater engaging said support and conforming substantially thereto, and means for connecting said heater up to a steam or like supply.

7. The combination with a hopper-bottom car, of a cross-support therein, a removable hollow casting straddling said support, and

-means for connecting said casting up to a steam or like supply.

8. The combination With a hopper-bottom car, of a support therein, a removable heater on said support, a pipe extending up from said heater, means for connecting said pipe to a steamsupply, and means for conveying heat from said heater down into the several 35 hoppers.

1n testimony whereof I, the said JOSEPH A. LAWLER, have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH A. LAVLER. Witnesses:

J. B. MCMILLAN, CHARLES P. DOWLING.

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