US1327667A - Metal-separator - Google Patents

Description

A. D. FISH.

METAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1916.

1,327,667, v Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET L Witnesses: -N| 44") y my W/ZLWZ A. D. FISH.

METAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0. 1916.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A. D. FISH.

METAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR-10.1916.

1,327,667, Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

| I I I l l I W/fr: es: as: 0f

nnirnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE D. FISH, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

METAL-SEPARATOR.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, AMBROSE FISH, a citizen of the United States, residmg in the city of Portland, county of-Multnomah, and

State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal-Separators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metal separators, and more particularly to a device especially adapted for separating metal,'such as gold, silver, platinum and the like, from sand, gravel and other pulverized ore, and it has among its salient objects to provide a machine especially adapted for carrying out a new method or process of extracting or separating such metals as referred to, such method or process comprising the use of a metallic solution, or liquid, such, for example, as a solution having a mercury base, with other lighter matter mixed therewith,

. the sand, or pulverized ore being conveyed through the same at different depths and in such a way that the difierent metals will assume a position in the liquid or solution according to their respective specific gravities. During the movement of said ore through said solution, the solution is being drawn off through a filter in which the different metals are gathered together in one mass, and the solution returned to the container, as by means of a pump, thus maintaining a. circulation of the solution. In order to facilitate the carrying out of this process, I provide a structure in which the metallic solution can be heated. I also provide an inclosure over the container in which the metallic solution is placed, including the mechanism for conveying the ore therethrough, in order to prevent the escape of gases generated by reason of heating the metallic solution, and which gases condense and return to the solution. I also provide a structure by means of which the sand or pulverized ore is carried or conveyed from a hopper in a layer through a liquid seal under the edge of the cover over the container for the metallic solution, andv in order to accomplish this the container for the liquid solution is also surrounded by a liquid down into which the edges of the cover extend. Thus the liquid solution container and the mechanism for conveying the sand and pulverized ore through the same is sealed against communicationwith the atmosphere and at the same time it-is possible Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed April 10, 1916. Serial No. 90,229. Y

to convey the sand or pulverized ore into the container at one end, through the metal- 110 solution, and then to discharge the sand or pulverized ore free of the metals at the other end of the inclosure.

In order that others may more clearly understand my invention I have illustrated in the accompanying four sheets of drawings one practical machine for carrying out the method, or process, referred to, which I will now describe.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine, the cover or inclosure for the metallic solution and operating mechanism being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on line 8-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary side elevation showing a slot in the side to receive the cover or closure for the metallic solution container;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig; 1;

Fig. 6 is a similar sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is anenlarged detail view showing one of the smaller rollers with its supporting hangers, showing its bearings and a driving disk or roller therefor;

Fig. 8 is an end view of Fig. 7, with the driving disk omitted;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 shows end and side views of supporting hangers for large rollers;

Fig. 11 is a topplan view looking down .into the container for the metallic solution,

and the surrounding structure for containing the sealing liquid, the outline of the coier being indicated in light broken lines; an

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view showing adjustable means for regulating the height from which the metallic solution is drawn ofl.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, I will describe the mechanism here shown for purposes of illustration. 1 designates a metallic solution container, prefer ably of cast iron and comprising a shallow box-like structure having near its opposite ends two transversely extending trough-like extensions 22, with drain outlet 3 3,

as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, said box having end blocks 4-1, in the opposite ends thereof, with incline surfaces 5-5, tapering down to the trough portions 2-2, of the container, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Upstanding flange, or wall, portions, 6-6, are also :r'or ne1d in said box-like structure as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 11, thus forming a shallow container portion which is surrounded by the container or box 1, said inner box, or container having also formed therein wall-like members 7 and S, for a purpose hereinafter referred to. The bottom 9 of the inner box, or containenis of considerable thickness, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and has formed around it and crosswise through it, channel-like recesses 10, with outlet openings, as 11-11, through the bottomof said box, as illustrateddn Fig. '11. There is also formed through the bottom of said box, bearing openings, as

12 and 13, surrounded by suitable flange,

or collar, portions hereinafter again referred to.

Referring to Fig. 2, 14 designates a filter connected by means of a pipe 15, with the inner box, or container, by means of an adjustable mechanism,shown in Fig. 12 comprising a tubular member 16, adapted to be adjusted up and down through the bottom of the container by'means of an operating stem 16 having a screw connection with the elbow 15, whereby the metallic solution can be drawn off from any level desired, the tubular member 16, being slid ably mounted in the connecting elbowlfr", and provided with suitable packing 16 Said filter 14 is connected at its opposite side to a pump 17 with which is also con nected a return pipe 18, running to the opposite side of the inner box,or container, as at 19, the object of which is that the metallic solution can be drawn from any level from one side of the box through the filter 1-4, by the pump 17, and forced back through the pipe 18, up into the opposite side of said inner box, or container, as will be clear from Fig. 2, thus causing a circulation of the solution. I have also provided gas jets 20-20, underneath the bottom 9, of said inner box for heating the same. Of course any suitable heating medium may be used and these burners are merely meant to be illustrative. The box, or container, 1 is shownto be supported at its opposite ends by short jack screws 21-21, by means of which its position can be regulated. Mounted along the opposite sides and above said box, or container, 1, are supporting side members designated 22, 23 and 24 at one side, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1, and and'26 at the opposite sides, .said members being connected together at their ends by means of end pieces 27 and 28, saidsupp rt es 'Lbsiss earr el e h r opposite ends upon end pieces 29 and 30,

upon jack screws 31 and 32, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and Movably supported upon hangers 33-33 at one'end, is a series of small rollers 34-34, there being five of these small rollers movablysu'pp orted upon said hangers 33-33, as

edges of members 23 and 24,1said construc tion being shown more clearly in Fig. 7. Mounted upon ,the. short shafts 37-37, between the supporting members 23 and 24, are gears 39-39. Mountedupon the inner ends of said shafts 37 ,are roller disks 40-40, said disks being ofa proper size to respectively engage the small rollers 34 at one end,

as,clearlyillustrated in Figs. 1,, 3, 6 and 7,

whereby as said shafts 37 are driven by their respective gears 39, said small rollers are revolved by frictional engagement therewith of the disks 40-40. Said small rollers 34, are adjustably supported at their opposite ends in the hangers33 and 3,6, as clearly indicated in F igs. 7 and 8, in suitable b'earing members, as 34 -34 said bearing members 4 -l34hfit the driven end of the rollersbeing, acted upon by small coiled springs 34 mo ving them yieldingly upwardly, 'whereby;eachQroller .34, is held yieldingly in engagement with the friction disk .40. 'Monnted under eachsmall roller 34, isa scraper-like member 34, clearly shown in Fig. 7, and adapted to keep the roller clean. Mounted upon the upper edges of the supporting members 23 and 24, between the.

bear ng members 38-3 8, and the gears 39-39, are bearing boxes 41-41, for supporting short'shafts 42-42, upon which are mounted intermediategears 43-13, for connecting the gears .3 9-39, as will be clear from Fig. 5, and'thetop side of Fig. l, and also indicated in broken line 5, Fig. 3. '.Mount-- ed onIt-he outer supporting member 22, are

bracket" arms 44-44,. there being foiir of thesebracket arm's shown clear and one of wh ch is'shm'rir in side view in Fig. 5. Swingingly supported from the inner ends of said arms 44, are hangers 45, to the lower end of wh ch are mounted the correspendingv ends of large rollers 46-46, as

clearly indicated in Figs. 1' and 5, said largo rollers, 46, being supported at their opposite ends upon short vshafts 47-47, extending through: suitable openings in the supporting .member .25, and J attached to the lower end t dat their pper ends Fin. 1

members 25 and 26. Short shafts 47 are provided with gears 47, which mesh with shown clearly in Fig. 6, and in dotted lines in Fig. 2, said driving shaft being provided at its lower end with abeveled gear 58, which meshes with a beveled gear 59, upon a driving shaft 60, provided on its outer end with a driving pulley 61, and on its opposite end with a friction roller 62, adapted to be driven by a friction disk 63, which friction disk is mounted upon the lower end of a vertical shaft 64, mounted in the opposite side of the machine, as seen in Fig. 1,

and indicated in dotted lines in Fig 3, said shaft being provided on its upper end with a worm gear 65, and driving a gear 66,

mounted upon one of the short shafts 37, which carries one of the intermediate gears 43, at the opposite side of the machine. Thus as power is applied to the pulley 61,

and its shaft 60, as clearly indicated in Fig. i

6, it drives the train of gears mounted upon the upper edges of the supporting members 25 and 26, and through said gears drives the large rollers 46, and also by means of the friction drive at 62 and 63, drives the train of gears mounted upon the upper edges of the members 23 and 24, and through them drives the friction disks 40, which drive the small rollers 34-34. Thus the large rollers 46, and the small rollers 34, can be simultaneously driven, and at the same time both sets are swingingly supported so as to be moved within certain limits by moving their respective" hangers for the purpose of regulatin'g their depth in the metallic solution in the box, or container, 1. indicates a hopper container into which the sand and pulverized ore is placed before treatment, and from which it is fed downwardly through an opening 66, in a layer upon an incline 67, and discharged into one end of the container 1, into the metallic solution around the outer portion of the container and in the trough-like extensions 22, said ore being discharged over the incline surface 5, of the portion 4, of said container 1, as clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. A conveyer belt 68, runs over aroller 69, whose shaft is mounted in suitable bearings -70, upon the upperedges of the supporting side members 22, 25 and 26, thence down under small rollers 71 and 72, mounted one above the other in the trough-like extension 2, of the container 1, and thence up over a roller 73, supported upon a shaft 74, running in bearing brackets, as 75, mounted upon the upper edges of supporting members 22,

and 26, said shaft 74 being also provided with a gear 76, which meshes with the gear 51, as clearly shownin Fig. 2, from which said belt 68 is driven.

The sand and pulverized ore from the chute 65,.is carried by the belt 68, which is driven in the direction indicated by the arrows, down through the metallic solution in the trough-like extension 2, and up on the other side where it is carried up and over into the inner container, by said belt 68, and which inner container, or box, has the thick bottom 9, with the channels 10, cut therethrough, and also the concaved depressions extending transversely thereof for the large and small rollers, and designated 9 and 9", respectively, as indicated in Fig. 11, and also shown in the sectional views, Figs. 2 and 3.

in this inner box, or container. within which the large and small rollers, designated, respectively, 46 and 34 run, said rollers being designed to convey the sand or fine ore through said metallic solution from the receiving end of said inner box, to the opposite end, where it is discharged over the end of the box, picked up by a belt 77, arranged in a manner similar to the arrangement of the belt 68, at the opposite end of the machine,

' The principal metallic solution, of course, is,

said belt 77 running over a pulley 78, mounted upon a shaft 79, upon which is a gear 80, adapted to mesh with and be driven by the large gear 51. Said belt 77, extends down under small rollers 81 and 82, mounted in the trough-like extension 2, and then up over a. roller 83, mounted upon a shaft 84', having its bearings 85, 86 and 87 uponthe upper edges of the side members 22, 25 and 26, said belt being driven in the direction indicated by the arrows and being designed to carry the ore out over the end of the box 1, in the manner indicated in dotted lines, the left hand end of Fig. 2. r

. An inclosure, or housing, 88, is adapted to be set over the structure in the manner indicated in sectional view, Figs. 2 and 3, the ends of said housing, or inclosure, being adapted to set down through vertical slots, as 89, cut inthe side members 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, whereby the lower edge of said housing 88. is submerged in the metallic solution, as will be clearly understood from Figs. 2 and 3. Said housing is shown in horizontal sectional outline in Fig.1, and will be seen to cover all of the inner box, or container, surrounded by the wall members 66,and to include and cover the roller driving mech anisms. Asa part of said housing, a drum,

or cylinder, 90, is mounted thcreabove in open communication therewith, as at .91, with a valve 92, ,for controllingsaid communication.

As a means for moving said small and large rollers. 34 and 4.6, withtheir respective hangers, I have provided operating cross bars 93 and 94, provided with handles 93 and 94, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and also in FigsQQ and 3. Said bars 93 and 94 have side bars at their opposite ends, designated, respectively, 95-95 and .96-96, said side bars being bent near their operating ends so as toloop down underneath the edge of the housing, or inclosure, 88, and then to pass lengthwisethrough the opposite side of the box, :or container, and be attached, respectively, to the hangers upon which the rollers' 34 and '46 are mounted, whereby the movement of either one of said bars 93 or '94, operates to move their respective rollers with their hangers in one direction or the other, as the case maybe, which movement tends to move all of said rollers in parallel relationshipwith each other about their pivotal axes of their respective hangers in a way to regulate the depth which the rollers occupy/in the metallicsolution, and in this way to more effectively control the passing of the sand and ore through the metallic solution within which the metal is gathered from said sand or ore.

"The small rollers 34-34, are covered or plated with silver or' copper, while larger rollers are of steel.

'As an example of the solution I prefer to use, I me tin and add metallic sodium by degrees until solution is reduced to the required density. Mercury is then heated and thetin and sodium solution is added to the mercury solution in proper proportions according to the ore to be treated, or according to the, specific gravities of the metals contained in the ore.

The use and operation of my invention may he briefly described as follows:

' The sand and pulverized ore, or other granulated matter containing metals, is placed in the hopper 65, and runs down through the opening 66,, over theincline 67, into the solution, filling the trough-like extensions 2, and surrounding the outer sides i 3 6 iYallm be i 6*55 o the nne 0 mn eies i a d s der one b ing. or dbwn i i q fihe sq uti n by th e '68, t avelthe direction indicated by the arrows, and upwardly on the inside of the housing or covering '8,8,'and thence it'is forced up over the mu members 6-6, 'into the inner box, or container. Here it is acted upon by the rollers 34 and 46. The small rollers 34-34,

" a e mad with i ve p r n are r ven i a dire ti n n i at d by the ro Fig; 2, so as torcarry the scum-like layer of sand or} pulyerized ore up over the, roller and to pass itflon to ths'next larger roller which isbeing driven in theopposite direction, as indicated bythe arrow,,and1 bymeans of which said metal vcontainin matter lis submerged .andcausedto pass own Jnnd'er said large roller, and thenceitis passedto and up over the next smaller roller, and so on, passing under the large steel rollers and over the small coated rollers, themetal contained \therein being collected in the solution at different heights, according to its specific gravity, andthe matter being-forced out over the other end of the box, by the rollers and drawn down by the belt 77 ,-and discharged out over the other end of the shallow box 1. During this operation the metallic solution is being .draw'n'oii through the filter 14, by the pump 17,and,forced@back to the opposite side of the container," being thus kept in circulation while )the metal is gathered in the filter 14. The metallic solution is kept heated, as by means of gas jets 2020, in order to more effectively facilitate the gathering of the metal from the matter being carried vtherethrough. The metallic solution, it will be understood, is composed of a mercury base with other matter of lighter specific gravity, said solution, therefore, having dili'erent strata, and the metal being .retained at the level corresponding to its specific gravity, while the sand or ore is moved along over and down through the metallic solution as a scum until it is discharged at the opposite ends of the device. In order to regulate the depth of the rollers in the solution they are capable of movement itogether, as hereinbefore described, by means of the operating members 93 and 94.

Referring to Fig. 5, I have shown a pipe extension 100, communicating with the solution container 1, in the upper end of which is mounted a thermometer 101, supported by means of a rod 102, said thermometer being used to determine the temperature, and, therefore, the density of the metallic solu- 110 tion in the container, and making it possible to regulate the density by meansof the heat.

The rollers 46 and '34, which are kept revolving, operate to keep the top of the solution free of scum, or the like, by carrying 115 it forwardly and thereby to keep the solution in a condition so that the metal is more readily precipitated therein. The small rollers 34, also operate to bring a'layer of the mercury from the bottom of. the solution up 120 in contact with the sand, ore, or other metalcontaining matter which attracts the metallic substances therein, increasing their specific gravity and causin precipitation.

It is to be understoo of course, that the 125 machine can be constructed and arranged so as to be: adapted for treating different-ores and metal-containing matter, and also, that the solution may be varied as maybe required to best adapt it for the matterto be 130 treated. I do not, therefore, limit the invention to the particular form here shown and described, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims forming a part hereof.

I claim:

1. A metal separator, comprising in combination, a container, a metallic solution in said container, means for feeding metalcontaining matter in pulverized condition into said metallic solution, means for moving said metal-containing matter through said metallic solution at varying depths, an inverted cover over said container having its lower edges submerged in said metallic solution, whereby to seal the same, and means for heating said metallic solution, substantially as described.

2. A metal separator, comprising in combination, a container, a metallic solution in said container, means for feeding metalcontaining matter in pulverized condition into said metallic solution, means for movin said metal-containing matter through said metallic solution at varying depths, an inverted cover over said container having its lower edges submerged in said metallic solution, whereby to seal the same, said cover having an extension forming a chamber in the top thereof, a valve for controlling communication between said chamber and the interior of said cover, and means for heating said metallic solution, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the character referred to, a shallow box-like container having inner wall members forming an inner container therein, a conveyer structure set down over said inner container and having its edges submerged in said solution outside of said inner container, a hopper structure adapted to receive and feed pulverized metal-containing matter to said outer container, a traveling conveyer adapted to carry said matter down under the edge of said cover structure and up into said inner container, means for conveying said matter through said metallic solution in said inner container at varying depths, and means for carrying said matter down under the opposite side of said cover structure and up on the outside thereof, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the character referred to, a shallow box-like container having inner wall members forming an inner container therein, a conveyer structure set down over said inner container and having its edges submerged in said solution outside of said inner container, a hopper structure adapted to receive and feed pulverized metal-containing matter to said outer container, a traveling conveyer adapted to carry said matter down under the edge of said cover structure and up into said inner container, a series of movably suspended rollers for conveying said matter through said solution at varying depths with means for driving said rollers, and means for carrying said matter down under the opposite side of said cover structure and up on the outside thereof, substantially as described.

Signed at Portland, Multnomah county, Oregon, this 4th day of April, 1916.

AMBROSE D. FISH.

In presence of- I. M. GRIFFIN, J. O. STRENG.

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