Te Aroha Battery Self-Feeders.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4479, 14 May 1883, Page 3

Te Aroha Battery Self-Feeders.

A short description of the self-feeders now erected, and intended for use in the Battery Company's mill, may prove interesting to some of our readers. The self-1 feeders consist of a small iron hopper at the back of each stamper box, and fixed in frames 3ft 6in square and 3ft 9in in height, oast iron circular plates 20in in diameter forming the bottom of each feeder, are fixed at an angle, the lower edge being about 6in above the opening of the boxes. Each plate \ can be made to revolve on an iron spindle working in a.socket with bevelled gear on the lower side. Motion is communicated to each plate by a ratchet which is attached to the small bevel pinion working in the teeth on the lower side. The lever of (he ratchet is worked by being pressed down , by the bamping-rod when it receives a blow; a spring forcing it up again, the bumping-rod is placed alongside the second stamp shank on the outside of each battery. The top of the rod is fitted With a vulcanised rubber spring about *£iih \6ng, and is so arranged that when the stamps alongside of which it stands get low, the under side of the disc strikes the bumping*rod, this forces the lever down, and by tho aid of the spring the ratchet is turned, and the plate which forms the bottom of the hopper is made to revolve, by Ihe action of the bevel pinidn. This causes the quartz to move to the lower edge of the plate, where a guiding plate is fixed, which sweeps the quartz into thei stamp box. Wben, a sufficient quantity of quartz has passed into the boxes, the stamper is raised above the height of the bumping rod; this disconnects or prevents the plate revolving. When the quariz in the boxes gets low, the plate agaiu begins to revolve. The above machine causes a regular and contiguous supply of quartz to pass into the boxes without the aid of manual labor for feeding; thereby causing an enormous saving in expense.