The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL 366 time the axles for the carrier wheels upon which the chains are carried forward. Plates riveted or bolted on the chains, and each reaching from one side to the other, of exactly the width of the pitch of the chain links, form together a continuous platform. The coke coming from the furnace in a hot glowing state is pushed directly upon the carrier chain into the tank, where it is quenched and slowly carried forward. At the further end it is raised out of the water, and upon the rising part of the carrier chain the water can run off and the coke is dried, the heat contained in it quickening the drying process, so that it arrives almost dry at the end, where it is thrown automati- cally upon the grating, and after the breeze has been eliminated by the latter the coke is discharged into wagons. The transporting band or table moves between two inclined side shields v, which are so fixed to the carrier frame that the plates pass below the Ipwer edge of the shields, thus preventing the escape of any coke. The rails or guides for the chain wheels are formed by the channel irons which are parts of the carrier frame. The upper horizontal flange carries the upper chain, while the lower horizontal flange carries the lower or returning chain. When a coke oven has been emptied, and the coke from it has been quenched, conveyed away, and loaded, the whole apparatus is shifted sideways in front of another oven ready for discharge. In the installation at the ironworks at Dumbrick Pavell the hot coke conveyors are erected in front of and parallel with the hearth. The coke is partly quenched on the inclined hearth and then raked into the con- veyors which are 3 ft. wide, and 392 ft. 6 in. long, from centre to centre of terminals. The trays are made of ^-in. mild steel plates with edges turned up to form sides. Each tray is riveted to a manganese cast steel driving link 15 in. pitch, and the links are coupled together with pins of 1{ in. diameter. On every third tray is bolted an axle with two wheels, each of 6 in. diameter. The axles are made of mild steel, the ends of which are lapped with blister steel and welded, and are machined, bored, and hardened. The