Show A ad local loca coal mines mine s expert invents device n is to clean up mines and prevent disasters of es by mark hopkins w id in this article mr hopkins offers what has the appearance of a practical solution of the vexatious problems that I 1 the d dry y and gaseous coal mine operators in a few words lie he hns has invented an apparatus that applies the principle of tile the confront sweeper e 1 to tile the cleaning up tip of coal mines with the vacuum le difference that instead of sucking sticking the collected dust into a ba hag hopkins would deposit it in a tank of water vater and beneath the surface el ap P every time there is a coal mine explosion with its resultant damage and a appalling P loss of life much money is spent and much experimenting is done to determine why the explosion occurred and what pr precautions e should be taken for future safety in the face of it all the wreckage of mines and the destruction of life on mr hol hopkins offers such a sil simple tiPle solution of the problem that it will not likely set well with the scientific research goes advocates apace because can e of its simplicity and because the seli scheme ente was not fathered or thought of by some 41 bureau burean of investigation mr hopkins h rays ti the coal mines are full of dust and gases and that lie he has a practicable inexpensive plan for cleaning tile the mines and keeping them clean he leaves little room for the permissible 19 expert to exclaim piffle by submitting a system of cleaning that looks reasonable and the apparatus with which to do it no coal mine operator under present methods of dust and gas handling can say which of them is next in line for a disastrous explosion the palliatives palliative s and makeshifts of dust s sprinkling crinkling p rin kling I 1 and adulteration now in use and the complete lack of bf any positive method of removing gas from the mines except by adding it to the main ventilating current do not protect the life of the miner nor the property of the operator coal dust the implacable foe of every coal operator and miner seems to have been set apart in the general engineering mind as if it did not belong to the dust family Is this because of its color the attitude of helplessness in the presence of dangerous and deadly dust does not apply to any comparative harmless dusts in the home the store the office building the public building factory or even paved street As a lifelong coal operator and engineer I 1 wish to assume my share of the blame deserved by all coal operators and engineers for not doing what could and should have been done for the protection of life and property in mines and I 1 feel certain that the sin of omission is the only one that can be charged against us in all other walks of life and enterprises the engineer does not dodge problems but is ever ready to attack and to conquer we have never approached the coal mine problem with a determination or an effort to eliminate our troubles but have contented ourselves with devices used to raise lawn grass grass and flowers for the graves of our victims the destruct destructive tive and deadly firedamp of the mines is virtually the same b gas as we use in our homes the method 0 of f and for its cont control rol is obvious the reason why varying amounts of firedamp are contained in coal beds is largely due to location in relation to outcrops near exposed ones the free gases have largely escaped just as oil is drained from oil formations that outcrop so it may escape it is interesting in this connection to note that the gasoline vapor that drives our automobiles is a member of the same family as coal mine firedamp the fine dust that is made from coal and that floats in air from any agitation causes is familiar to everybody with a or that uses coal gas and dust make death traps these two materials that are used and met with in the daily walks of life the gas useful the coal dust annoying make deathtrap deathtraps death tra traps p s out of our mines we have in the past treated them I 1 as if they were impossible to handle why we ave have taken this unethical costly and unwarranted atti tude is partially excused by the fact that most soft coal as f we know it is dirty to the touch and it has been assumed that clean articles mined would still be dirty to explode this fallacy brush a lump of coal clean freeing its surface of the dust accumulated through its various hand lings and you will find it does not soil the hands would it not be cheaper to go over a mine min e with a broom and dustpan than to lose a million dollars through having a dusty mine mine such loss would ruin nine tenths of our local corporations and investors in coal company bonds should insist on the protection and maintenance of the property underlying their loans certain it is that no mine under existing rules of practice is safe from the fate which overtook castle gate when a disaster occurs we get official reports stating in substance that somebody pulled the trigger not realizing the gun was loaded I 1 propose to unload the gun to paraphrase an old adage in the spring the popular fancy turns to thoughts of cleanliness and we have our house cleanings gleanings clean ings inside and cleanup campaigns outside and everywhere with the exception of the coal mine where cleanliness is not only desirable but a necessity I 1 firmly believe if the coal mines of the country were officered by women they would be cleaned up and kept clean even to the whitewashing of the roof and sides of inabin main arteries modern mechanical appliances for handling dust and dirt have kept pace with the creation of enormous areas due to general skyscraper construction and store and factory buildings covering acres to which must be added an enormous mileage of paved city streets in the open I 1 apparatus that will clean mines when I 1 state that I 1 have devised an apparatus for cleaning up a coal mine cheaply and efficiently in fact at much less cost than for proper sprinkling of floor and washing down of walls I 1 am speaking 6 quite advisedly further the same apparatus can be used for collecting in gas gas I 1 either from accumulations or as made by blowers or feeders and discharging the same through a low pressure pipeline to the surface and finally that it will collect dust as and when made by undercutting machines first cost of the necessary equipment is well within the cost of a water system for sprinkling purposes in any given mine it seems desirable to review conditions as they now ex exist in the average mine in the operation of coal mining as largely Z carried on at the present time a great deal of dust is produced and allowed lo ved to accumulate by the use of cutting machines in the working faces these faces are always just ahead or beyond the active ventilating currents and any dust freed either by machines or car loading settles in the vicinity where made and as work progresses a dangerous 6 accumulation accumulation of 0 dust is left behind on walls and floor and prior to my invention no method has been in use for collecting or removing said dust other than by the unsatisfactory imperfect antiquated and very expensive common shovel how dust and gases are formed haulage tracks in coal mines are nearly all ballasted bal al lasted ki with small coal 0 al this original nucleus receives a coti continuous iiii addition of coal leaking and spilled from loaded cars bound for the outside the dust creating and disseminating effect of the travel of men and animals and trips of cars over such roadways is obvious the effect of shot firing in working places is threefold first it performs the function of breaking down coal for loading second the concussion puts an any y nearby dust into suspension and it is on the enclosing walls and roof and floor with a sorting result viz that the finest dust is the last to settle the quota of dust chargeable to and created by blasting is small if powder is properly used third the exposure of fresh coal faces as a result of shot firing liberates whatever free b gases gases may have been confined in the coal and this gas methane or firedamp being lighter than air takes a position at and in the high places of the working place the properties of this gas allow separation from air and accumulation by floating thereon attempts to remove these accumulations by bratticing 6 in order that the portion available of the general mine ventilating current may remove them by force or diffusion and carry them along through the mine ventilating system between the point of origin and the surface is present practice probably nine tenths of the producing b faces in a coal mine are being driven to the rise or upgrade and said faces are always just ahead of the active ventilating current 6 giving conditions peculiarly favorable for firedamp accumulations which need only a flame contact to explode with dust present as heretofore recited the concussion of the gas explosion puts the dust in suspension and the flame from the gas explosion upon penetrating the dust charged air extracts the gas contained in the dust particles and progressively extends and builds up the power and force of the original explosion of a small accumulation of firedamp until the whole mine and everything and everybody in it is involved in destruction present control methods only palliative the present palliatives such as turning loose firedamp into the general ventilating currents and sprinkling of coal dust or mixing it with noninflammable inflammable non dusts are the only y methods in use for attempted control of the conditions recited sprinkling is of little value in beds of coal thicker than ten or twelve feet if coal dust was not continually being produced and disseminated in mines adulteration of a given quantity of dust with a larger quantity of noninflammable dust might be efficient but in reality the lighter dust will sort itself to the surface mixing with additional dust being made and added daily the only cure for the dangerous destructive and costly conditions above recited is the actual removal of gas and dust accumulations as they occur my invention contemplates this removal of existing accumulations from the floor roof and sides of the mine workings in any thickness of coal and thereafter such daily removals as conditions may demand hopkins apparatus described my apparatus for carrying out this collection and removal consists of an open platform car conforming as to gauge and approximating as to the size of the mine upon this platform I 1 mount an electric motor driven suction fan the motor to be variable speed control in order to regulate suction velocity in mines where electric haulage is used power may be taken off existing wires by trolley under other conditions current will be furnished by storage batteries mounted on the truck with the suction fan and its motor A suction pipe havinga universal joint connection to the suction fan is provided A specially constructed collection nozzle for cleaning the roof sides and floor is used and for use with coal undercutting machines and for collection of gas I 1 use a nozzle similar to the lower portion of the discharge terminal the fan discharge consists of I 1 the necessary amount of flexible piping to connect with the t receiving tank terminal or where gas mains many be int stalled for the removal of methane sufficient piping or hose to connect with the mains the receiving tank consists of I 1 I 1 a hopper bottomed sheet steel tank and is partially fill filled ed d with water when in use details of construction I 1 provide transverse braces at the upper edge b of said tanks to support and guide the tank terminal th the e tank has r a discharge opening in its bottom for unloading tank and is fitted with lever type valve the discharge terminal is made of sheet metal with an elbow which connects with fan 01 discharge pipe and has a flange at its other end the said R flange rests on a guide washer or plate that in turn is supported by and fastened to the guide braces both of which are detachable on the lower end of the elbow is carried a vertical tube has a central opening conforming to the tube and is secured on a float which is carried on the surface of the water which is attached to a flanged plate the said flanged plate thereby insuring underwater position of discharge terminal in the receiving tank said float conforms in shape with the shape of the tank in cross section and is spaced from the interior walls of said tank to allow the air discharge from the discharge end portion of said terminal to escape and to prevent splashing of water from arom the tank due to the discharging air current when the apparatus is in use elioplos 0 0 at least two receiving tank units will be required with each collecting unit so as to permit of removal of loaded one and replacing by an empty the combined apparatus may be used in connection with any kind of haulage on mine tracks and in the absence of tracks tracks as in airways and abandoned workings with the provision of proper wheels could go anywhere in any mine mine how machine operates operate in cleaning t the floor roofs and side of haulage ways and rooms the combined collecting and receiving unit will be moved about by the method of haulage in use the cleaning operation proceeding while the apparatus is in motion A smaller sized collection unit is contemplated to meet the requirements of undercutting machines and can be mounted on the machine itself the removal of dust from working face air and the beneficial effects of air agitation and its purification by a water bath and before joining the I 1 general ventilating current are important sanitary incidents in connection with the use of my method and apparatus I 1 the operation of my method and apparatus is TO i remove dust the apparatus is moved by the system of haulage in use and a following position given to the suction nozzle the vertical wheels allow the nozzle to be drawn along the sides of the haulage ways and 0 on n the sides ot of the track without damage to the suction nozzle the hor of iz wheels preventing injury to said suction nozzle S should hould either end portion strike the wall or the roof in to clean dust from the floor and particularly between SC the rails the apparatus travels the opposite way and all of dust and light particles of coal encountered are drawn ed through the suction nozzle and are discharged into the tank under the surface of the water the platform float which is the means I 1 use for always id keeping the discharge or terminal nozzle submerged under as vater floats on the surface of the water in the tank and as is the dust accumulates in the form of mud in the bottom of is the tank the water rises carrying the float and terminal 0 upward until the tank is filled when it is uncoupled and d replaced with another proposes clean up of coal mines under favorable conditions a drill hole from the surface to the workings underneath can be used as a gas main facilitating discharge of gas and saving pipeline in some locations it might pay to save the gas and put it to a beneficial use what I 1 am proposing is thorough cleaning up of coal mines including walls roof and floor and removal of dust to surface the attachment of my collecting apparatus to all undercutting machines for handling and removal of the dust made by them as made a continued and consistent warfare on dust the same as in the home store hotel public building and paved street why not a mine janitor we now have our gas watchmen why not our dust watchman the gas watchman will still remove gas but will do so in the new and controlled way the dust watchman will get rid of the dust positively and will be expected to keep the mine clean abandoned workings not permanently walled off or caved should be kept clean and free from gas under a regime of this kind a mine can be kept clean and safe as cheap or cheaper than dust can be washed off the walls and |