The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

6i2 THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL widened so that the material can be easily shovelled in. This would practically complete the machine for many purposes, but in this particular case, the installation being for handling salt, a short worm conveyor is inserted between the delivery from the elevator to the truck, presumably to break up any conglomeration of the salt. The worm so used is driven by a separate belt from the motor. A similar plant by the same firm is depicted in Figs. 858 and 859 for handling dusty material. As the method of reversing the machine previously described on the rails must be looked upon as rather a primitive way of doing things, the present machine is so built that the whole upper part can be rotated on a turntable running on a ball race. The incline of the elevator is alterable, and as the well is open at the circumference (protected by bars as usual), it can be pushed into the heap to be removed when it will feed itself. The elevator is raised or lowered by a small winch driven by hand, and the delivery Figs. 858 and 859. Portable Loader for Dusty Material. (The dimensions are in millimetres.) shoot is made with a universal joint and telescoped. The final delivery into the tipping trucks is through a shoot, which is connected to the centre of the lid fitting the truck, to prevent dust escaping. The electro-motor is geared by three countershafts and chains to the upper terminal of the elevator, and the lower one is fitted with a tightening gear. The speed of the elevator is 120 ft. per minute, and the capacity, when handling minerals, up to 30 tons per hour. Fig. 860 represents a somewhat similar machine, but unlike the previous one, where the elevator head was in a fixed position, the order is here reversed, and the lower terminal is a fixture. The carriage of this machine is fitted with ordinary road wheels, and is therefore independent of rails. A frequent method of using this device is by feeding it with one or more self-contained and portable band conveyors, one of which is shown in the diagram, and also alluded to on page 614. The drive is geared to the lower terminal of the elevator, and the extreme positions of the latter are shown in dotted lines.