The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

VIBRATING OR RECIPROCATING TROUGH CONVEYORS 113 Figs. 148 and 150 show one of these conveyors in elevation and in cross section. It is of the original type with a few improvements. Such a conveyor would be suitable for lengths of 50 ft., and for widths up to 24 in. It has been shown that the original conveyor could only be used in com- paratively narrow limits; but this appliance has now been improved, and is well known, especially in colliery districts, as the “Zimmer Conveyor.” It is used in lengths up to 500 ft. for narrow widths, and in widths up to 6 ft. 6 in. for short lengths. The essential improvement which rendered it possible for this conveyor to be made in such proportions was the introduction of the balancing device, by means of which the conveyor is made in Fig. 152. Cross Section of Balanced Zimmer Conveyor. two halves, one being about 2 in. higher than the other, so that one half delivers into the other half. The two sections are manipulated by triple and multiple cranks which stand at an angle of about 180° to each other. One half of the conveyor moves Figs. 153 and 154. Plan and Elevation of Zimmer Conveyor for Conveying at Right Angles. forward whilst the other moves backward, and at the same time the material is moved from end to end and in the same direction, as all the spring legs are of the same inclination. A portion of such a balanced conveyor is shown in Figs. 151 and 152. Figs. 153 and 154 show a similar arrangement of balanced conveyors, the two sections of which work at an angle to each other, one half balancing the other. Ordinary alanced conveyors are necessarily driven at or near the centre of their length. In cases where this is not convenient, they may be driven at one end, as shown in Figs. 155 and 8