US1527288A - Storage structure - Google Patents

Description

Feb, 24. 1925.

STORAGE A'. H. woonwARD STRUCTURE Filed June`21, 1920 ATTORNEY Patented F eb. 24, 1925.

ALLAN HARVEY WO'ODWARD,

PATENT OFFIC OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

STORAGE STRUCTURE.

Application filed June 21,

T 0 @ZZ 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLAN H. WOOD- WARD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Storage Structure, of Which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a storage struc ture and has for its object to improve and perfect the type of storage structure forming the subject of my Letters Patents Nos. 732,020, and 732,021, issued to me on the 23rd day of J une, 1903, and in which I sho7 bins peculiarly adapted for the storage of stocks of materials suoli as are used in blast furnace plants, though obviously, the strucn ture is suited for the storage of any character of stock or heavy bulky raw materials.

The end in vievv in the design ofthe structure is to eliminate the expensive construction necessary forl stock bins supported above the ground level by causing the stock or material to repose on the ground with a sub-surface tunnel in Which a stock car or portable bin is movable for the collection of stock from the different bins or the desired part of the same bin. In my former invention the stock Was dumped on the ground from oars on a trestle and rested only in part on an incline bottom, therefore only a small portion of the stock in the storage structure would move by gravity into the cars under the control of gated chutes.

By reason of the fact that the larger percentage of the stock in the former type of bin described rested on the level ground, itdeveloped not only that a considerable amount of labor was necessary to feed all the stock in any part of the bin to the stock cars, but that as practiced the stock remote from the inclined bo-ttom chute was allowed to accumulate' and stand until it made it practically impossible to obtain an accurate inventory or check of the stock. The arrangement forming the subject of my present invention isespecially 'designed to overcome the natural conditions in blast furnace Vprac-tice resulting` from the disadvantages mentioned above and it consists in so designing a-nd arranging the storage structure that While still supporting' the burden of .the stock on the ground, it permit-s of all VWhen emergency demands it.

1920. Serial No, 390,340.

stock being cleaned out at Will and without shovelling, the storage structure being formed with sloping bottom banks formed in part by an excavation and in part by a bank of the excavated material taken from the tunnel and from the excavation for the sloping bottom. The overhead track or tracks should be arranged to discharge the stock so that it will rest Wholly on these sloping banks which have an angle calculated to cause a gravity flow of the stock deposited thereon to the chutes which deliver it to the stock cars. The advantages of this arrangement Will be Well understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art, and especially in so far as my invention is applicable to blast furnace practice, Where the ore charged to the furnaces is charged in pre-arranged proportion fixed by the furnace superintendent, and the ore consumption for the month is based upon the number of skips charged to the furnace, each skip being presumed to contain the tonnage of each class of ore specified by the superintendent. Any storage system Which tends to mix grades would be obviously objectionable. The former system of storage did not permit of satisfactory grading of ore, because it Would not run out clean, causing it to mix more or less. For instance, all ores under an incline track may no-t be moved for tivo or three years, and then onlyr Conditions of this kind Will, without a doubt, foul all records from year to year; and all records of quality or grades are apt to lose their identity or value if allowed to mix as mentioned above.

lVhen dealing With stock-taking in counection with raw materials, the former stzor` age structure as described will not permit of obtaining proper measurement Within a reasonable margin of accuracy. lot is ob vious that the Weight of the given 4unit capacity of ore, say a cubic foot, will vary throughout a pile built up by dropping oro from varying heights With a varying degree of density caused thereby. Again, the dead Weight of ore in the pile Will vary according to the physical nature of the ore, i. e., as to Whether it is earthy, porous or rocky. It is equally obvious that it would be impossible to reproduce the pressure at the bottoms of any pile of ore, (particularly so when standing for different lengths of time) in any test taken to arrive at the average unit Weight of a given capacity of ore in any pile.

From the foregoing' it will be apparent that the only Way to check ore stock is an absolute clean up from time to time of the different bins or piles. By this means Vonly can proper reco-rds be kept, and the present day methods of accounting makes it essential that all operations must be fitted into the accounts system. According to my method of designing a storage structure, I have all of the advantages of a true bin system and yet I still keep the stock on the ground and am able to clean out the ore from the storage or any part thereof at any time so as to permit complete refilling. Moreover, I can restrict the piles of stock to a workable size with a view to having a frequent clean up and to aord `opportunity for a close estimate vof their tonnage content.

My invention in its detailed embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawing which is a vertical cross sectional vievv through a bin structure in accordance with my invention.

In the embodiment illustrated, the line 1*1 indicates the ground level and this is excavated to provide the tunnel 2, which in its bottom is provided With a track Way 3 along` which a stock car or equivalent means moves for the purpose of collecting stock from the overhead pile. The tunnel is lined with concrete sidewalls l connected overhead by an arch or dome 5 Which rises approximately to the ground level and is provided on each side along its `iuncture With the side Walls With a series of stock `discharge ports 6 through which. stock flows into the chutes 7 which project into the tunnel sufliciently to discharge into thestock car when their respective gates 8 are opened by the at-' tendant. 'Ihe earth above the tunnel proper and to each side thereof is cut to form a sloping bottom 9 and the material excavated from the tunnel is banked on each side forming earthen embankments 10. The stock Will rest on continuous sloping banks having each a facing 1l of concrete or old brick fori'ning on each side of the tunnel asloping surface of Such grade that the stock itself Will flow easily and by gravity to the gates. -The stock is dropped on the banks from overhead tracks l2 disposed each above its respective bin bank 1l in such relation thereto that the stock discharged from the cars on both overhead tracks will assume a stock line substantially as indicated by the dotted line 13 with its Whole Weight resting on and supported by the oppositely sloping banks of the bin.

The tracks are supported by suitable conn crete bents 14 arranged at suitable intervals and adapted to form supports for transverse Wooden cribbing When it is desired to subdivide the bin transversely into independent sections.

The bins are tied together by any suitable connections 15 and the gates 7 which extend along each side of the tunnel, are relatively staggered.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that .every advantage of a ground bin system is obtained, the stock is supported entirely on the ground and Without any expensive structural Work, the stock will all flow by gravity to the chutes and discharge itself into the car in the tunnel, and any section of the bin can be cleaned out entirely at any time Without labor andrefilled -so that the character and grade of the stock is at all times under ready control, and can .be closely checked both as to its quantity and its quality, thus materially improving the centainty and reliability of the material charged to the furnace.

My invention Will be equally important Wherever it is of advantage to stock large quantities of bin material, and particularly Where it is a desideratum that any accumulations of old stock in a bin should be avoided.

This invention is not intended to be restricted in scope to the specific embodiments shown, but contemplates such modifications as come Within the spirit and scope ofthe claims.

Having thus describedmy invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

y1. A storage bin structure comprising `a tunnel, a track in the tunnel for a collectingr car, a cover over the tunnel having gate controlled chutes `along each, side, a bin formed above the cover and having coutinuous stock supportingbanks sloping up wardly with a uniform pitch from the tunnel on each side, said Walls being formed in part below ground level by the ground Walls of the tunnel cut that slope to the tunnel and in-part above ground by embankments formed by the spoil from the tunnel, and a concrete facing for said banks `which slope continuously and uniformly at such an angle as to feed by gravity all imaterial resting thereon to said chutes.

9,v In an open storage biu structure, a cut in the ground forming a tunnel open overhead, the upper portion `of the opposite side Walls of the said cut being upwardly and outwardly inclined with respect to the side Walls of said tunnel, embankments formed on the ground surface at the `opposite sides of the said cut and having i-nclined opposed Walls sloping uniformly in the plane of the inclined Wall portions of the cut, material supporting facings carried material through Said chutes7 and means adapted to be moved through said tunnel for collecting material discharged through 1U said chutes.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

ALLAN HARVEY WOODWARD.

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