The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

364 THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL scheme, it has the advantage that men can load it from both sides, and, furthermore, when one truck is full, the band may be stopped with the full load on it, and driven to the next truck to be filled. There is, however, the great disadvantage common to both systems, that a large gang of men have to be employed to load the coke by hand, and whether they load it on to a band conveyor or into a skip or crate, to be subsequently moved by a crane, is really of little consequence, so the apparent advantage of the conveyor over the crane and skips is more or less illusionary, and the working expenses will probably be much the same. Mechanical appliances have quite recently been introduced for coke ovens fitted with level hearths for lifting the coke on to the conveyors, and thus dispensing with a gang of hand labourers. Figs. 504 and 505 show a conveyor so fitted with lifting appliances ; it Figs. 504 and 505. — Rickert’s Method of Handling Coke. a. The conveyor, b. Wheels running on the hearth without rails, c. Recess in hearth. d. Rails running the length of the hearth, e. Flanged wheels which determine the path of the machine, f Toothed rack running the length of the hearth, by means of which and a wheel coupled to the motor the machine can traverse the length of the hearth, g. Motor, coupled at one end to the travelling gear, and to the conveyor and the coke-lifting apparatus, h. Coke- lifting apparatus (see Fig. 506). i. Spindle, k. Gearing of countershaft. Z. Levers carrying the lifters, m. Lifters, n and 0. Forming a revolving frame, p. Strip which fills the space between lifters and conveyor. q. Guide for coke from lifters. r. Flywheel. j. Live rail. t. Shoot, zz. Truck. is that of Kickert, at Wattenscheid, Germany. The previous description of similar appliances will render a detailed description unnecessary, and the explanation of the letters of reference will be sufficient for the understanding of the drawing. The lifters m are so supported and guided that at their lowest position they come close to the hearth to pick up the coke, whilst in ascending they move inward in order to clear the rail 0. When coke, sufficiently cooled, is ready for loading, the machine is driven up to the coke, and the three sets of lifters, the teeth of which are about as far apart as the prongs