5136 5140.output

* GB785543 (A)

Description: GB785543 (A) ? 1957-10-30

Improvements in and relating to mine cars

Description of GB785543 (A)

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PATENT SPECIFICATION Inventor: RICHARD GEORGE BAKER 785,543 <g Date of filing Complete Specification (under Section 3 ( 3) of the Patents Act, 1949): July 55, 1955. Application Date: July 19, 1954 No 21020/54. Application Date: Dec17, 1954 No 36615154. Complete Specification Published: Oct 30, 1957. Index at acceptance:-Classes 65 ( 1), A( 2 C: 2 D: 6); and 103 ( 4), L 2 A 4 A. International Classification:-B 61 d E 05 f. COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to Mine Cars We, COAL INDUSTRY (PATENTS) LIMITED, a Company organised in accordance with the Laws of Great Britain, of Hobart House, Grosvenor Place, London, S W 1, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be

particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to mine car unloading systems and to mine cars of the kind in which a drop-bottom door provides means for discharging the load from the mine car wheit over a discharge area It is desirable in such mine cars to provide a door or doors of sufficient width to ensure a rapid discharge of inter alia ore and coal and to arrange for the discharge to take place with the minimum of violence and an attendant reduction, in the case of 'coal, of dust emission. Mine cars with drop bottoms are well known and various designs have been proposed but the cars usually have a gauge of 3 ' O " or over. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mine car with a drop bottom of such a design that the desiderata above may be obtained with a mine car of a gauge less than 3 ' O ". According to one aspect elf the invention there is provided a mine car of the dind specified wherein at least one track wheel is attached directly or indirectly to the door Preferably the axle of a pair of track wheels or a bogey is directly or indirectly attached to the door. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a mine car unloading system comprising a mine car as referred to above and a support means supporting the said mine car to remove its weight from off its track wheels when the drop-bottom door cf the said mine car is travelling over a discharge area. In carrying the invention into effect we may arrange for the mine car to have a plurality of drop bottom doors and means for unlatching and relatching the door or doors in the bottom of the car It is a further feature of lPrice 3 s 6 d l the invention that the door or each door of the mine car may swing freely open over the discharge area, but a preferred arrangement is to provide each door with rollers or the like at the end remote from the hinge, the rollers being capable of co-operating with guides over the discharge area to give progressive opening of the door and subsequent reclosure thereof. Further, the said guides may be the track rails per se and the track rails over the discharge area may be continuous or discontinuous. The invention will be more readily appreciated from the following description reference being had to the figures of the drawings which accompanied the Provisional Specification No. 21020/54 and the figures of the drawing which accompanied the Provisional Specification 36615/54 Figure 1 of the earlier specification is a side elevation of a mine car sihowing the action of a -door as the car moves over the discharge area Figures 2 and 3 are respectively plan and sectional end elevation on the line III-I of the mine car of Figure 1 Figures 1 and 2 of the second provisional specification are perspective views of a

portion of one side only of the track wheels and carriage of the mine car and the parts which co-operate therewith as tlhe mine car approaches the discharge area The reference numerals used refer to identical integers shown in the drawings which accompanied the earlier Provisional Specification 21020/54 Referring now specifically to the Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing which accompanied the earlier provisional specification, a mine car 10 is provided with track wheels 11 a, lib attached to drop bottom doors 12 a, 12 b by means of springs 13 and hangers 14 It will be understood that the track wheels hla, hlb, could, be mounted on bogies attached to the drop bottom doors 12 a, 12 b Two channels 15 face outwards and are placed on the drawgear centre-line to provide on either side of the car means for engaging with rows of rollers 16 which are carried on; suitable support means 17 spanning the discharge area or pit As the car approaches the discharge area the weight of the car is removed from its wheels 11 by the co-operation of channels 15 with supports 17 and rollers 16 Fastened to the underside of each of the drop-bottom doors 12 a, 12 b are two triangular plates 18 with slots 19 to allow for limited appronimately vertical movement of the cross shaft 20 The plates 18 also carry pivot pins 21 for latch links 22, which carry the said cross shaft 20. Rollers 23 are provided on extensions of the cross shaft 20 beyond the latch links 22 A projection on the upper end of each of the latch links 22 engages with a projection on each of the catch plates 24, which are welded to the channels 15 It will be seen that when the cross shaft 20 is lying in the bottom of the slot 19, the projections of the latch links 22 extend over the projections of the catch plates 24 so that the dro D-bottom doors 12 a, 12 b are securely locked to the main frame of the mine car 10, see the positiens of the parts 22 and 24 below the door 12 b in Fig 1 The ends opposite to the rollers 23 of the dropbottom doors 12 a, 12 b are suspended by hinge bars 25 on hinge pins 26 which are fastened by suitable brackets between the channels 15 forming part of the under frame of the car 10. On approaching (in the direction of arrow X) and traversing the discharge area or pit shownl generally at 27 in Figure 1 the sequence of events to the mine car 10 is as follows: i Channels 15 engage with rollers 16. ii The rollers 23 of drop-bottorm door 12 a strike an abutment 28 a on the guide 28 and 3 cross shaft 20 is raised into the "Up" position, the latch links 22 rotating about these pivot pins 21 so that the projections of the latch links 22 clear the projections of the catch plates 24 and thereby unlatch the door 12 a, as shown in Fig 1 in which the latch link 22 below the door 12 a is clear of the catch plate 24.

iii As the car moves further forward, the leading wheels 11 a leave the track rail 29 and the weight of the door 12 a is transferred froem the wheels hla to the rollers 23 Further the weight of the car is taken gradually by supports 17 and rollers 16. iv As the car 10 moves forward in direction of arrow X the rollers 23 travel down the inclined part of the guide rail 28, thus allowing the door 12 a to open in a progressively controlled mranner, and the coal or other material from the leading end of the car 10 to be discharged into the discharge area 27. v As the car 10 moves further forward in direction of arrow X the same cycle of events is repeated in respect of the drop-bottom door 12 b. vi As the car 10 reaches the end of the discharge area 27, the cvcle of events is repeated in the reverse direction as follows:( 1) Firstly the door 12 a and subsequently the door 12 b, are raised bv the rollers 23 running up the guide 28. ( 2) Wheels lla, 1 lb re-engage with the track rails 30. ( 3) The rollers 23 run clear of the guides 28 and cross shafts 20 fall to the bottom of their slots 19, thus re-latching the drop-bottom doors 12 a, 12 b 70 ( 4) Finally, the channels 15 run clear of the rollers 16 and the weight of the dropbottom doors and car is fully born by the track rails on the wheels 11 a, lib. It will be appreciated that whilst there is 75 no possibility of inadvertent opening of the drop-bottom doors during normal haulage operations, since the said doors are carried on the wheels, nevertheless, latching gear has been fitted to eliminate any fear of jumping 80 of the upper part of the car during violent shunting It is not, however, an essential feature of the design. It wvill also be appreciated that the car 10 may be supported when over the discharge area 85 by rollers on the sides of the car co-operating with a member or members straddling the dislcharge area. Further the controlled opening of the doors may be obtained by using the wheels per se 90 of the car, the wheels co-operating with a guide which is a part of the track rails over the discharge area. Referring now specifically to Figure 1 of the drawing which accompanied the second 95 Provisional Specification large diameter flange wheels A are carried on a support member B spanning the discharge area shown generally at D These flange wheels A engage with the underside of channels 15 which form a portion 100 of the chassis of the mine car The Channels are strengthened bv means of fillets E welded into, the channel section The door 12 a in the bottom of the mine car is unlatched by a tripper F placed between the track rails 29 105 (see only of which is shown) and this tripper engages with a shoe F, secured to the middle of a cross shaft 20 Track rails 29 are continned down into the discharge area D to some convenient point G

and the track rails 30 110 begin again at point H providing a discontinuity between the points G and H. The operation of the discharge is as follows: On approaching the discharge area D the 115 channels 15 engage the wheels A and the shoe F, engages and rides up on the tripper F thus raising the cross shaft 20, in the Slot 19, and raising with it the latch link 22 which Pivots about latch pivot 21 and is thereby disengaged 120 from the catch plate 24 in the manner previously described As the car moves across the discharge area the wheels lla (only one of the pair being shown) begin to follow the downward curve of the track rail 29 towards point 125 G, and the door 12 A is progressively opened. The tripper F holds the latches 22 in the unlocked position until the door has opened sufficiently for the latches to be released without any possibility of their re-engaging with 130 785,543 785,543 3 catch plates 24 which are secured to or integral with the channel 15 At this stage the weight of the door 12 a is still carried by the wheels 1 la so that the upward force exerted by the i tripper F need be only'sufficient to raise the latches 22 It is, therefore, suggested that the tripper F should be hinged at J and supported by a spring at K, this will prevent the weight of the doors being transferred to the cross shaft 20, the shoes F, and the tripper F, when the wheels Ha begin to follow the downward slope of the track rails towards points G As the wheels follow the downward slope of the rails they come to such a position (after much of the load of the mine car has been dislcharged) that rollers R engage with the track rails When the rollers R ran clear of the track rails at points G the door 12 a is able to? swing freely open and the entire load in the mine car will be jettisoned into the discharge area The door 12 is reclosed by the wheels 1 a and/or the rollers R engaging with the track rails 30 at the re-cornneencing points H. The reclosing of the door is effected by the wheels 11,, and/or the rollers R moving upward along the track rails 30 The cross shaft is now at the bottom of its slot 19 in the plate 18 and the latch 22 is therefore able to re-engage and latch with the latch plate 24. Referring now specifically to Figure 2 of the drawing which accompanied the second; Provisional Specification the mine car is again supported during its travel over the discharge area D by a row of flange wheels A, and these wheels engage with the underside of the channel member 15 Door latch M (one only of which is shown here) is fixed to a cross shaft P Which is journalled in the channel 15. The latch M is arranged to engage with the end 12 ai of the door 12 a Latch operating cams S are fixed to the ends of the latch shaft P (one only being shown) and the latches M are tripped when the cam S engages with a fixed cam trip plate T, which is conveniently supported from

the support member B spanning the discharge area D, and which support member also carries the flange wheels A It will be fully appreciated that while we have shown one cam trip} plate T on one side only of the supports spanning the discharge area it is possible to have trip; plates on both sides, and to have if necessary a plurality of door latches M As in Figure 1 the track rail 29 is continued down into the discharge area to a conS venient point G, a discontinuity then appears and the track rail 30 re-commenrces at the point H The discharge operation takes place mutatis mutandis in a manner similar to that described for the construction shown in Figure 1.

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* GB785544 (A)

Description: GB785544 (A) ? 1957-10-30

Improvements in or relating to high frequency transmitting systems


PATENT SPEGFICATION Inventor: -THOMAS SNOWDEN ROBSON. 785544 -, -1 g Date of filing Complete Specification: July 29, 1955. Application Date: Aug 4, 1954 No 22567154. Complete Specification Published: Oct 30, 1957. Index at Acceptance:-Class 40 ( 5), L 14 (B: H). International Classification:-HO 4 ij. COMPLETE SPECIFICATION. Improvements in or relating to High Frequency Transmitting Systems. We, ELECTRIC & MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED, a British Company, of Blyth Road, Hayes, Middlesex, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is

to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - This invention relates to high frequency transmitting systems. Where it is desired to transmit signals such as video signals and audio signals on separate carrier waves having comparable frequencies it has hitherto been the practice to amplify the respective modulated carrier waves and then to combine the two modulated carrier waves in a combining filter prior to feeding the signals to an aerial With such an arrangement the combining filter has to be designed so as to be capable of handling the maximum power output from the amplifiers, which results in the combining filter being of a complicated and costly nature If signals are required to be transmitted in the ultra high frequency bands such as bands which are commonly referred to as Bands IV and V, then if the same technique be followed as is customary in the lower frequency bands, the same difficulties arise in the design of a suitable combining filter. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for use in the ultra high frequency region in which a more simplified manner of transmitting signals on comparable carrier waves is achieved without the necessity of employing a high power combining filter. According to the invention there is provided a high frequency transmitting system for transmitting modulated carrier waves of comparable frequencies wherein the carrier lPrice 3 s 6 d l kSP y waves are combined at a low power level in a combining filter and after combination are fed to a klystron amplifier. In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, it will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates diagrammatically a high frequency transmitting system embodying the invention. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing as applied to the transmission of audio and video signals for a television system in the ultra high frequency band The video signal output from a video amplifier 1 is fed to a modulator 2 where the video signals serve to modulate a carrier wave derived from a crystal oscillator and driver stage 3 Likewise the output from an audio signal amplifier 4 is fed to a modulator 5 where the signals serve to modulate a further carrier wave derived from a crystal oscillator and driver stage 6. The relatively low level outputs from the modulators 2 and 5 are then fed to a combining filter 7, where the modulated waves are combined The outputs from the modulators 2 and 5 are arranged to be at a low power level and it will be appreciated that the combining filter 7 need only be designed to handle the power outputs from the modulators 2 and 5 The output from the combining filter 7 is then fed to a

klystron amplifier indicated at 8 Such klystron amplifier may be of known type and one which has a normal power peak output of 12 k W and has a linear frequency response up to 10 k W Such an amplifier is provided with an input cavity resonator 9, a coupling cavity resonator 10 and an output cavity resonator 11 and the output from the cavity resonator 11 is then fed through a resonant 65. 785,544 cavity 12 to the aerial When employing a klystron amplifier of the above-mentioned peak output and operated at a peak power of 10 k W, it will be appreciated that the a rated peak power outputs of the video and audio signals are a quarter of the peak power which the klystron amplifier can handle In this case a video peak-white power of 2 25 k W and an audio carrier power of 0 56 k W can be obtained The power output of the two modulators is of the order of 100 watts, which is the power that the combining filter aforesaid has to be designed to handle. In order to ensure that the bandwidth of the klystron amplifier 8 is sufficient to include both carrier frequencies an extra load 13 may be provided across the input cavity resonator whilst the coupling cavity resonator 10 may be slightly detuned and the output cavity resonator 11 may be coupled to the aerial through the tuned cavity resonator 12. The frequency response of a klystron amplifier, as stated above, can be linear up to 10 k W and hence cross-talk can be avoided by limiting the power output of the klystron to that level If it should be found that cross-talk arises due to slight non-linearity of the klystron at low power levels, it is possible to provide a correction for such cross-talk by the use of a circuit in which a small proportion of the low frequencies up to approximately 20 Kc/s from the video signal amplifier 1 are fed in suitable phase to the modulator 5 for the audio signals and in which a small audio signal is fed from the audio signal amplifier 4 in the correct phase to the modulator 2 for the video signals so that these small signals produce a modulation of equal amplitude and opposite phase to the cross-talk. An alternative method of correcting for cross-talk is to employ overall negative feedback of frequencies up to approximately 20 kc/s For this purpose signals from the output feeder 13 are fed through video and audio feedback amplifiers 14 and 15 to the video and audio input amplifiers 1 and 4 respectively The feedback amplifiers 14 and 15 contain frequency selective circuits required for the separation of the video and audio signals, and in the video feedback amplifier 14 is a low-pass filter with a cut-off frequency of about 20 kcls. In an ultra high frequency transmitting system, it may in ordinary circumstances be desirable to employ separate klystron amplifiers for amplifying the respective audio and video modulated carrier waves where high power outputs are required, in which case the present

invention may be employed should one of the transmitters fail, in which case both the video and audio modulated carrier waves can then be fed to the operative transmitter in accordance with the present invention, such operative transmitter then serving as a standby transmitter of low power.


* GB785545 (A)

Description: GB785545 (A) ? 1957-10-30

Improvements in or relating to knitting machines


PATENT SPECIFICATION Iinveiztors:-ERNEST START and RAYMOND BLOOD. Date oqf filing Complete Specification: Nov 23, 1955. A-pplication Date: Oct 9, 1954 No 29142154. Complete Specificatiom Published,: Oct 30, 1957. Index at Acceptance:-Class 74 ( 2), 0101, K 40. International Classification:-DO 4 b. COMPLETE SPECIFICATION. I Lprovements in or relating to Knitting Machines. We, WILLIAM COTTON LIMITED, a British Company, of Full Fashioned Works, Baxter Gate, Loughborough, Leicestershire, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention is for improvements in or relating to knitting machines and is concerned with widening of blanks knitted on a Cotton's Patent or other straight bar knitting machine The customary method of

widening blanks on straight bar knitting machines is by the employment of transfer points and associated mechanism whereby knitted loops at the edges of the blank are transferred outwardly in a manner progressively increasing the length of the courses and forming selvedges The usual result of this is that eyelet holes or other transfer marks are left between the body of the blank and the transferred loops In many instances such transfer marks are acceptable and indeed are sometimes an advantage from the point of view of appearance of a garment produced from the blank However in certain instances and particularly when producing blanks e g on an underwear or outerwear or pant frame to form sleeves of garments, it is not desired for transfer marks to be visible Moreover fashioning by transferring is comparatively slow and limits the rate of production undesirably. In previously proposed arrangements avoiding the formation of transfer marks, the fabric has been widened by progressively increasing the traverse of the thread carrier. However such arrangements have been mainly applied to comparatively fine gauge machines, the widening being effected by two-needle incremnents partly because of the lPrice 3 s 6 d l fine gauge and partly because the upper edges of alternate sinkers are usually at different levels and the tip of the carrier is at such a low level as to be capable of being positioned only over the lower level sinkers and between the higher level top edges of adjacent of the remaining sinkers The result of this two-needle widening arrangement is that the selvedges have been of stepped formation and whilst this is not a disadvantage for example in ladies' stockings because the seam embraces sufficient of the selvedge fabric to take in all the selvedge loops, it is a disadvantage in coarser gauge garments such as the sleeves aforesaid because of the undesirable bulk of seam necessary for embracing sufficient of the selvedge fabric to take in all the selvedge loops of the coarser yarn. An object of the invention is to enable widening without forming transfer marks in such improved manner that the selvedges are substantially of linear formation thereby to be capable of being seamed together without an undesirably bulky seam being formed, by embracing less of the selvedge fabric than has heretofore been necessary. The invention provides a method of widening fabric on a Cotton's Patent or other straight bar knitting machine having a thread carrier, needles and sinkers operable to produce knitted courses each on the appropriate complement of needles for the course and wherein the carrier carries the yarn during the operating cycle for a course to a further extent in the direction of its last traverse for knitting by a

needle additional to the complement of needles for said course, which method includes carrying the yarn by the carrier to said further extent at a time during said cycle when the needles are lowered and the sinkers are retracted, 785,545 785,545 and then partly advancing the sinkers so that the yarn between the carrier and the adjacent selvedge of the fabric is carried by the sinkers to extend at the non-beard side of the first adjacent needle outwardly from the complement of needles for said course when the needles rise for the next course. Preferably the carrier traverses the yarn to said further extent from a location registering with said first adjacent needle to a location registering with the second adjacent needle outwardly from said complement of needles so that yarn between the carrier and the selvedge of the fabric then extends in front of those two adjacent sinkers at opposite sides of said first adjacent needle, and subsequent advance of the sinkers to fabric holding down position causes said two sinkers to engage yarn between the carrier and the adjacent selvedge of the fabric and carry it to extend at the non-beard side of said first adjacent needle when the needles rise for the next course. The method, as above, conveniently includes traversing the carrier for said next course whereby the yarn first extends round the outer side and then across the beard side of said first adjacent needle, and operating the needles and sinkers for said next course which includes said first adjacent needle drawing a first loop of the yarn The method may further include operating the carrier, needles, and sinkers to produce a further course which includes forming only one new selvedge loop drawn through the first loop on said first adjacent needle. The blank may be widened by single needle increments progressively at one edge of the blank, or at opposite ends of different courses. The knitting cycle of the machine is repeated without the interruption of modified cycles for fashioning by loop transference. The invention also provides a Cotton's Patent or other straight bar knitting machine having a thread carrier, needles, sinkers, operating means for operating these parts to produce knitted courses each on the appropriate complement of needles for the course, adjustable stops co-operating with the carrier, means for moving the adjustable stops to move the carrier and consequently the yarn to a further extent in the direction of its last traverse at a time when the needles are lowered and the sinkers are retracted, means whereby the needles are next raised with yarn between the carrier and the adjacent selvedge loops of the fabric extending across the non-beard side of the first adjacent needle outwardly from said complement ok needles so that the next draw includes feeding the yarn to the beard side of said first

adjacent needle, and producing a course including this draw whereby a first 6.3 loop of the yarn is formed on said first adjacent needle Conveniently screw adjusting means co-operate with the adjustable stops to adjustably displace the carrier independently of draw mechanism, and cam operated means co-operate with the screw 70 adjusting means to operate these means in required timed relation with said operating means for the carrier to be adjusted in the required manner when the needles are lowerd and the sinkers are retracted 7 a In one arrangement the carrier is controlled by anti-rebound stops, and means are provided for moving the anti-rebound stops for effecting the further traverse of the yarn. Conveniently the anti-rebound stops are 80 arranged to locate the carrier at the end of its normal traverse for a course in registry with the said first adjacent needle, and the means for moving the stops are suitable for further traversing the carrier into registry 83 with the second adjacent needle outwardly from the complement of needles. The machine as above is primarily an underwear and outerwear or pant frame 90 having the upper edges of all the sinkers level and the tip of the carrier is just above this level so that yarn between the carrier and the adjacent selvedge of the fabric extends in front of the retracted sinkers, and means are provided for partly advancing the 95 sinkers after the further traverse of the carrier for those two adjacent sinkers at opposite sides of said first adjacent needle to engage yarn between the carrier and the adjacent selvedge of the fabric and posi 100 tively position it to extend at the non-beard side of said first adjacent needle when the latter rises for the next course. The anti-rebound stops may be mount-d on lead screw means, means being provided 105 for racking the lead screw means when required to move the anti-rebound stops and consequently the thread carrier in the required direction for single needle distances. For this purpose there may be bluffing means 110 having controlling co-operation with the racking means to permit and prevent racking of the lead screw means by the racking means, and pattern controlled cam operated means having controlling connection with 115 the bluffing means for the racking of the lead screw means and consequent movements of the anti-rebound stops to be automatically effected at required times The bluffing means may normally engage the racking 120 means to render it inoperative on the lead screw means and operable to render the racking means or-erative on the lead screw means and there may be provided a half speed shaft, cam operated means operated 125 from the half speed shaft to operate the bluffing means in reauired relationship with pidcarating means in respect of the operatin G cycle

for a course, and pattern mechan sr acting on the cam operated means to 130 Figure 3 is an elevational view of antireboand stop mechanism. Figure 4 is an end view thereof. Figure 5 is a plan view of Figure 3. Figure 6 is a detail side view of pattern 70 control means. Figure 7 is a plan view of part of Figure 6. Figure 8 is a plan view of part of Figure 6. Figure 9 is a detail of a half speed cam. Figures 10 and 11 are details of racking 75 operating means; and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:Figures 12 to 15 are diagrammatic perspective views of relevant parts of the machine according to the invention at different stages 80 Figure 16 is a view of the widened fabric. In one mnethod of carrying the invention into effect a pair of blanks for the sleeves of a garment are produced simultaneously on a Cotton's Patent underwear and outer 85 wear straight bar knitting machine or pant frame The blanks are identical and each has its edges widened and selvedged. Each blank is formed in the main by knitting complete courses of the blank from 90 a single yarn, and the widening of the blank is effected at desired course intervals. Referring now to Figures 12 to 15 of the accompanying drawings, for each widening operation at each of said course intervals, 95 and for each blank, there is first knitted a complete course 1 C (Figure 12) from the yarn "Y" on the appropriate complement of needles "N" for the course (whereof the end one is needle Na) then the yarn "Y" is 100 carried (Figure 13) at the termination of said course to a further extent in the direction of its last traverse for subsequent feeding to at least one additional needle Nb i e the first adjacent needle Nb outwardly from the said los complement of needles N, and then a second complete course (whereof the draw is shown in Figure 15) is knitted from the yarn "Y" on said complement of needles N with the inclusion of forming a first loop on said first 11 o adjacent needle Nb More specifically for the purpose of further traversing the yarn "Y" the thread carrier "T C " is displaced (Figure 13) in the same direction as its last traverse, a short distance in addition to its 115 normal traverse and at a time in the course cycle when the needles N are at their lowest position and the sinkers S are fully retracted. The additional distance traversed by the carrier TC is to single needle extent, con 120 veniently all the sinkers S have their top edges level ard the tip of the carrier is just above thi le 'rl, and the carrier TC is displaced from one location "A" registering with said first adjacent needle Nb (and con 125 sequently with the space between those adjacent sinkers Sa, Sb, on opposite sides of the needle

Nb) to a location "B" registering with the second adjacent needle Nc outwardly from said complement of needles N 130 render it operable and inoperable in required ccurse cycle relationship with said operating I means. The machine wihh needles and sinkers may a have two thread carriers, operating means for these parts to produce two knitted blanks < simultaneously, four lead screws two for each carrier, four screw-nuts one on each screw, four anti-rebound stops one on each screw-nut and whereof two control one carrier and the other two control the other carrier at the opposite ends of their traverse, four racking devices one to rack each lead screw and consequently adjustably displace its carrier at the end of the appropriate carrier traverse, two automatically operable bluffing mechanisms one having controlling co-operation with one racking means for one of the lead screws for one carrier and the other similarly co-operating with the other racking means for the carrier to permit and prevent racking of these lead screw by these racking means, pattern controlled cam operated means having controlling connection 2,5 with the bluffing mechanisms for the racking of the lead screw and consequent adjustable displacements of the carriers to be automatically effected at required times, and manually operable means connected to the 3 cj bluffing mechanisms to render each bluffing mechanisms operative and inoperative on either stop of the pair it co-operates with, thereby enabling independent control of all four stops and consequential adjustment of their carriers There may be manually operable bluffing device for each of said two lead screw racking devices operable independently of the automatically operablebluffing mechanisms for these two lead screw racking devices. The machine with needles and sinkers may have a thread carrier, operating means, including friction carrier-drive means, for operation of these parts to produce knitting courses each on the appropriate complement of needles for the course, stepped selvedge stops for the carrier or stepped stop lugs on the carrier bar, and means for moving the selvedge stops after the draw to render a low part of the step operative so that a traversing bias on the carrier causes the carrier to traverse to a further extent in the direction of its last traverse for the yarn to be subsequently knitted by a needle additional to the complement of needles for said course. The above and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the construction which will now be described, as a specific embodiment with reference to the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification in which:- Figure 1 is a side view of automatic bluff control mechanism according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a rear view thereof. 785,545 785,545 (and consequently with the space between these adjacent sinkers 3 b, 3 c, on opposite sides of this second needle Nc) The result of this is that yarn "Y" extending between the carrer TC and the adjacent selvedge "SV" of the fabric extends in front of the two adjacent sinkers Sa, Sb at opposite sides of the additional needle Nb; therefore when the sinkers S next partly advance to their fabric-holding-down position (Figure 14) the two sinkers Sa, Sb engage and deflect yarn "Y" rearwardly of the needles to extend at the non-beard side of said first adjacent needle Nb when the needles next rise (Figure 14) During the next draw (Figure 15) the yarn "Y" extends round the outer side of said first adjacent needle Nb to the beard side thereof and then across the beard side so that the yarn "Y" is subsequently sunk by the sinkers S for the next course not only around the beard sides of the needles of said complement of needles N but also around the beard side of said first adjacent needle Nb The further result is that when the needles N next descend to knock over, a first loop "L" (Figure 16) formed on said first adjacent needle Nb in addition to the loops of the second course 2 C on the remaining needles N Following this, one or more courses 3 C, 4 C may be produced on the combined complement of needles 1 and said first adjacent needle Nb without further widening, if desired However if desired similar widening to that just described may be effected at the other edge of the blank i.e at the termination of the second course 2 C referred to or in a subsequent course (such as 4 C) as desired, with the next course ( 3 C, 5 Q including knitting on the first adjacent needle to said complement of needles at said other end of the blank and so on. It will be understood that if this arrangement is repeated, needles at increasing distances from the initial end needles Na will be progressively brought into operation so that the blank will be progressively widened at a rate of single needle increments and the selvedges of the widened part will be therefore of substantially linear form Evidently the widening may be effected simultaneously on the two blanks, either at one edge only of each blank or at each opposite edge respectively as desired. For the purpose of effecting the widenings the blanks may be produced on a machine which is normally equipped with two thread carriers, two selvedge stop bolts on separate stop boxes for each carrier, an anti-rebound stop bolt on each stop box, a lead screw for each stop box, racking mechanism for each lead screw, bluffing mechanism for each racking mechanism, and hand controls for the bluffin& mechanism The machine also has 2 half speed shaft, i e a shaft which is driven at half the speed of the main cam shaft, and a pattern chain The machine is further provided with constant lead mechanism or positive

carrier drive means for driving the carriers positively In operation of this machine the thread carriers, at the end of their 7 ' traverse, are located by the s-lvedge stop bolts and are racking mechanisms whichl turn the lead screws to adjust the stop boxes for varying the traverse of the carriers have continuously moving nawls but these are controlled by the bluffing mechanisms through the medium of hand controls. According to the invention the displacement of the carriers, to traverse the yarn further at the termination of the appropriate S O courses, is effected by displacements, at the appropriate timne, of the stop boxes which consequently displace the anti-rebound stop bolts and move the thread carriers for the required distances For this purpose auto 85 matic mechanisms are provided to control the racking of the lead screws such as to allow racking of the stop boxes and consequently the carriers at the required times. These automatic mechanisms may be entirely 90 independent of the hand controlled bluffing mechanisms, but the hand controls mav be dispensed with in certain instances if desired. In one arrangement the hand control is disrensed with for two of the lead screws but 95 remains for the other two lead screws or alternatively the hand controls may remain for all four of the leads screws The automatic mechanism for two of the lead screws is illustrated in Figure 1 Referring now to 11)0 this Figure 1, one of the lead screws is indicated at 1 and a racking pawl for racking the lead screw is indicated at 2 Operation of this racking pawl is normally controlled by a bluffing mechanism on the lead screw 1 o S 5 which is not illustrated, but according to the invention the pawl 2 is bluffed independently of said bluffing mechanism through the medium of a peg 3 on the tail of the pawl 2 which is engaged by an arcuate bluff mem 110 ber 4, the arrangement being such that when the bl Tff member 4 is in a rearward position, the pawl 2 is in operation to rack the lead screw but when the bluff member 4 is in a forward position as illustrated it engages the 113 peg 3 to hold the pawl 2 out of racking operation The bluii member 4 is operated through the medium of a reciprocatable bar on which it is mounted, a rocking shaft 6 to which the bar 5 is connected by a short 120 arm 7 fixed on the shaft 6, an arm 8 fixed on the shaft 6, and an op:erating rod 9 connecte-d to this arm 8 The bar 5 hangs pivotally from a support 10 to permit the recinrccation of the bar 5 upon movement of the rod 12, 9 to rock the arm 8, shaft 6 and arm 7 For the Purpose of rendering the bluff member 4 operative and inoperative when reouired. on the pawl 2 (the parts being continually moved by rod 9 when the latter is in opera 130 l and 30 respectively The stop boxes 25 and 26 are mounted on the appropriate lead screws respectively and the bolts

co-operate with stop lugs 31, 32, 33 and 34 on the carrier bars Thus it will be understood 70 that after a carrier has been traversed, its appropriate stop lug 31, 34 engages the appropriate selvedge stop bolt 27, 28 and the appropriate anti-rebound stop bolt 29, 30 drops in behind the appropriate stop lug 32, 75 33 to prevent rebound of the carrier Therefore if then at that stage one of the stop boxes is adjusted outwardly through the medium of the appropriate automatic mechanism aforesaid allowing operation of the 80 appropriate lead screw racking mechanism, the thread carrier will be consequently adjusted further for subsequent feeding of its thread to the additional needle at the one side of the blank Similarly, after the carrier 85 has traversed in the opposite direction, the other stop box is adjusted further for subsequent feeding of its thread to an additional needle on the other side of the blank It will further be understood that the two 90 further lead screw mechanisms operate simultaneously with those just described respectively for the subsequent feeding of the thread of the other carrier to the additional needles at the opposite sides of the second 95 blank. For said automatic mechanisms to allow the said displacement of the stop boxes at a desired course frequency and at the required time in the operating cycle for a course each 100 automatic mechanism is operated from a half speed shaft which is indicated at 35 in Figure 6 On this half speed shaft 35 there are two appropriate cams 37, one of which is indicated in Figure 9 and each cam acts on 105 a truck lever 38 to which the aforesaid rod 9 (for two of the lead screw mechanisms and its counterpart for the other two lead screw mechanisms) is connected Each of the truck levers 38 is rendered operable and 110 inoperable when required from a pattern chain for determining the course intervals between said displacement of the stop boxes and consequently between the widening operations For this purpose as shown in Figures 115 6 and 7, the truck levers 38 are controlled by props 39, and 40 which are carried by arms 41, 42 respectively pivoted at one end and connected together by a link 43 The two arms 41 and 42 are displaceable to bring the 120 props 39 and 40 into and out of engagement with the truck levers 38 (so that the latter are operative and inoperative by the cams 37) from a pattern chain, indicated at 44, through the medium of link and lever mechanism 125 indicated generally at 45. The racking mechanism for the lead screws may be operated from different cams according to the racking required, and as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11 there may be 130 tion) there are two spaced notches 11 and 12 in the bar 5 with which the arm 7 has alternative engagement, the arm 5 being manually displaceable to engage either the notch 11 or 12 with a peg 13 on the arm 7.

The arm 5 is biased to engage the notches and peg by a spring 14 This mechanism for the one lead screw 1 is for one thread carrier selvedge stop for widening at one side of one blank There is also provided a second mechanism (not shown) which is substantially similar to the above mechanism and operates on a second lead screw for the same carrier but on a second selvedge stop for widening on the other side of the same blank. The mechanisms just described may be interconnected with a third and fourth lead screw respectively (for operation of a second carrier simultaneously on a second blank) one of which is indicated at 15 and which operates through the medium of the normal bluffing disc thereon indicated at 16 Referring now only to the lead screw 15, for example, its bluffing disc 16 is connected to a link 17 which at its other end is connected to a lever 18 freely mounted on said shaft 6 To the top of this lever 18 there is pivotally connected an arm 23 and on the shaft 6 there is fixed an arm 19 having a peg which has alternative engagement with a pair of spaced notches 21 and 22 in the arm 23 The arm 23 has a handle 24 at one end for effecting its manual displacement By this arrangement, operation of the rod 9 to move the bluff member 4 also results in the rocking shaft 6 displacing the arm 19, and, through the medium of the manually displaceable arm 23, the lever 18, and the link 17, displacing the bluff 16 If and when it is desired to render this control operative and inoperative independently of the control for the first lead screw (the parts continuing to be moved by rod 9 when the latter is in operation) this may readily be accomplished by displacing the arm 23 manually to engage either the notch 21 or 22 with the peg 20. From the above it will be understood that racking of the lead screws 1 and 15 is controllable from rod 9 and each is capable of being rendered operative and inoperative on the racking independently of the other. and racking of the lead screws under this control causes the necessary adjustment of the stop boxes for the carriers to traverse the yarn the further desired distance at one side only of two blanks, and that the mechanism is duplicated for the other side of the two blanks. Two of said stop boxes (for example for onnosite sides of one blank) are indicated at 25 and 26 in Figure 3 and it will be seen that they carry selvedge stop bolts 27, 28 respectively and anti-rebound stop bolts 29 785,545 three cams, for each pair of screws, as shown for example at 46, 47 and 48 in Figure 10. The cams 46 and 47 are for normal fashioning purposes without the carrier being additionally moved, and the cam 48 is for widening by additionally moving the carrier according to the invention For co-operating with the cams a truck lever (not shown) is connected to a

racking pawl; and has a truck 49 which is displaceable on to any one of the cams 46 to 48 The truck 49 is conveniently displaceable manually through the medium of a manually movable fork 50. As previously intimated the mechanism as above described is for employment in a machine where the thread carriers are driven positively but if desired the invention may be carried out on a machine where the carriers are driven frictionally In one example of this, in the latter machine the displacement of the carriers is effected through the medium of the selvedge stops or co-operating stop lugs on the carriers being stepped. More specifically the draw cam is so shaped as to impart a traversing bias to the carriers continuously until the carriers are required to return for the next course; in addition the stop bolts are displaceable from a cam on the half speed shaft operating mechanism similar to that indicated generally at 50 in Figure 4. At the time when it is required for the carriers to be displaced further for the subsequent feeding of the yarn to the additional needles, the appropriate selvedge stop bolt is displaced, by said mechanism, so that the low part of the step of this selvedge stop or its stop lug becomes effective thus forming a gap between the selvedge stop and its stop lug. Immediately this happens the bias on the thread carrier causes it to be further displaced until the selvedge stop bolt re-engages with the stop lug which thereupon again stops the carrier in the required displaced position In another instance the stop boxes may be racked out so that the anti-rebound stops thereon carry the stop lugs and consequently the carriers with them.


* GB785546 (A)

Description: GB785546 (A) ? 1957-10-30

Improvements in or relating to integrator circuits


COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to Integrator Circuits We, UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY, of London, a British Authority, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to integrator circuits and has for object to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive circuit which may be employed to give a reproducible and relatively accurate indication of the counting rate of a Geiger-Muller tube. Hitherto relatively simple circuits for such counters have been proposed which included a micro-ammeter or a cold cathode tube with a screen grid trigger, each of which is relatively expensive. In accordance with the present invention an integrator circuit comprises a Geiger Muller tube of the halogen quenched type, a capacitor and resistance connected serially with the Geiger-Muller tube and connections across which a direct current voltage may be applied, and a neon glow tube connected across the capacitor. A resistance may be included in the neon glow tube-capacitor circuit. Suitable Geiger-Muller tubes which may be employed in the circuit of the invention are those known as M2H, EWGSH, G.1OH, G5H and G4H. A suitable neon glow tube is one operating at a low voltage and low current, preferably that known as CC9L. The following are forms of the invention reference being made to the drawing accompanying the provisional specification in which: Fig. 1 is the fundamental circuit of the invention, Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are variants of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a variant of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5 and includes a voltage supply unit. Fig. 7 is a circuit allowing a wide range of rates of counting. In Fig. 1 the inner electrode of the Geiger Muller tube 3 is connected by way of resistance 4 to the one side of condenser 5, and the other electrode of the counter 3 is connected to the negative terminal 1 of a supply of direct current, the positive terminal 2 of which is connected to the other side of the condenser 5. Also connected to the condenser are a resistance 10 and a neon glow

tube 6, which is preferably CC9L. The latter can give a visual indication using a minimum of current from the Geiger-Muller tube of the order of 1/5 to 2 amp. With the G1OH counter at 3 suitable values for resistances 4 and 10 are 5 megohms and 50,000 ohms. The direct current potential across terminals~1 and 2 is suitably 450 volts. In use, when ionising radiation operates the counter, a charge will build up on condenser 5 and when the voltage across the condenser reaches the striking voltage of the neon tube 6, the later flashes discharging the condenser. The cycle is repeated, the rate of flashing being directly proportional to the pulse rate of the Geiger-Muller counter, and inversely proportional to the capacity of the condenser. With components of the values specified above a rate of flash 60 per minute results from a radiation level of 1 milliroentgen per hour. The striking voltage of the neon tube 6 can be varied to a small extent by adjustment of the value of the resistance 10, which, together with condenser 5, determines the duration of the flash discharge through the neon tube 6. The tube CC9L referred to will give a visual indication with low currents of from one fifth to two microamps from the Geiger-Muller tube. The circuit of Fig. 2 differs from that of Fig. 1 by the addition of a condenser 7 across the Geiger-Muller tube 3, the capacity being from about 33 pf to 0.001 mud., (that is much larger than that of the Geiger-Muller. tube) to multiply the current and allow of practical rates of flashing at low levels of radiation, e.g. 0.01 m.r. per hour. By introducing a variable resistance in the lead from condenser 7 to terminal 1 there is provided a continuously variable adjustment of the effect of condenser 7 upon the charge-per-pulse from the Geiger Muller tube. In Fig. 3 a resistance 8 is connected in shunt with the condenser 5. The value of the resistance 8 will determine the leakage rate and hence the minimum current from the Geiger Muller tube which will result in the striking voltage of the neon tube being reached. The resistance 8 can thus be of a value which will result in the neon tube flashing only when a predetermined lower limit of radiation intensity is reached. For example if the resistance 8 has the value 20 megohms and the remaining components of the circuit are as set out above in connection with Fig. 1, flashing of the neon tube will occur when the radiation falling on the tube 3 reaches a value of 10 milliroentgens per hour.

Fig. 4 shows a circuit similar to Fig. 1 with the inclusion of high resistance head phones 9 in the circuit of the neon tube 6. The head phones will permit an audible detection of the neon discharge when very low values of the capacitor 5 are employed for example from 0.001 microfarad to 0.05 microfarad, under which conditions the discharge is not readily visible even in a darkened room. If the circuit is modified by arranging the head phones in series with a condenser between the conductor 11 and the terminal 1, the head phones may be used at very low levels of count-rate to give audible indication of every individual pulse from the Geiger-Muller tube itself. The circuit of Fig. 5 differs from that of Fig. 1 in that a further capacitor 10 is provided, which capacitor may be connected in shunt with the Geiger-Muller tube 3 by means of switch 11, to multiply the current and allow of practical rates of flashing to be observed at low levels of radiation, for example 0.01 m.r. per hour. A value of from 33 microfarad to 0.001 microfarad has been found suitable, where the other components of the circuit are as described for Fig. 1. It may be operated with a miniature battery of 450 volts, a vibrator circuit or a transistor oscillator power pack. The circuit of Fig. 6 is similar to that of Fig. 5 but includes a power supply circuit generally indicated at 12, consisting of the capacitors 13 and 14 and single wave rectifiers 15 and 16 arranged as a Cockcroft-Walton type voltage doubler, the terminals 17 being connected to a source of 50 cycle alternating current of about 250 volts. Suitable capacities for the capacitors 13 and 14 are 0.02 microfarad and suitable rectifiers are those known as K310. The circuit may be built about the Geiger-Muller tube and the whole supported on a bayonet cap to fit any bayonet cap lamp socket. By introducing a variable resistance, for example 5 megohms maximum, between terminal 17 and condenser 14, a variable adjustment of the voltage output can be provided. The circuit of Fig. 7 makes provision for obtaining all the effects of the circuits described above and in addition provides means for varying the various components to change the range of radiation, the threshold value and the multiplication, of the current, the switches SC1, SC2, SC3 allowing of predetermined number of changes of value of capacity for capacitors 5 and 10 and switch SR3 allowing of changes of value of the resistance 8. Two arrangements of the neon tube, 6 and 6a are shotvn: since it has been found that some neon tubes exhibit inconsistent characteristics with the centre contact connected to the positive conductor but operate satisfactorily when that contact is connected to the negative conductor. With this circuit each flash of the neon tube may be adjusted to represent any desired number of pulses from the Geiger-Muller tube

within useful counting limits. Accurate radio logical assay may be carried out employing Geiger-Muller tubes sensitive to , P or y radiation. At reasonably high rates of counting, for example 1 to 10 milliroentgens per hour employing a G.1OH Geiger-Muller tube, a method of use which avoids timing is to adjust the circuit components until the neon tube 6 discharges continuously without interruption. Thus with a neon tube CV988 rhe neon circuit time constant may be adjusted for continuous discharge by varying resisitance 10 from 50,000 to 500,000 ohms and/or varying the current from the Geiger-Muller tube by adjusting resistance 4 from 200,000 ohms to 5 megohms and adjusting capacitor 10 (Fig. 5) to from 0 to .001 microfarad. A further modified circuit of the invention comprises two or even three neon tubes, each with its series resistance 10 and its condenser connected across the neon tube and resistance, the condenser being connected serially across the Geiger-Muller tube and the voltage source. The arrangement necessitates the use of a higher value of direct current voltage. The circuit will provide indication of 40, 200 and 1000 Geiger-Muller pulses respectively. In another modified circuit of the invention the condenser 5 (Fig. 1) is replaced by two serially connected condensers, and the neon tube and serial resistance 10 is connected across the upper condenser while a variable resistance is connected across the lower condenser. With this circuit a nonlinear response of the neon flash rate to Geiger-Muller tube pulse rate may be obtained. What we claim is : - 1. Am integrator circuit comprising a Geiger Muller tube of the halogen quenched type, a capacitor and a resistance connected serially wfth the Geiger-Muller tube atd connections across which a direct current voltage may be applied and a neon glow tube and resistance connected across the capacitor. 2. An integrator circuit according to claim: 1 wherein a resistor is included in the neon glow

* GB785547 (A)

Description: GB785547 (A) ? 1957-10-30

Improvements in and relating to the production of olefinic gases fromhydrocarbon oils

Description of GB785547 (A) Translate this text into Tooltip

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The EPO does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of data and information originating from other authorities than the EPO; in particular, the EPO does not guarantee that they are complete, up-to-date or fit for specific purposes.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to the Production of Olennic Gases from Hydrocarbon Oils We, IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED, a British Company, of Imperial Chemical House, Millbank, London, S. W. 1, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement :- This invention relates to the production of gaseous mixtures containing olefines from hydrocarbon oils, and in particular to such processes in which the oil is relatively heavy and not capable of being completely vaporised at 400 C. at atmospheric pressure. The continuous thermal cracking of light distillates e. g. boiling between 100 and 350 C. in a single operation is a well known manufacturing process for the production of lower olefines such as Cy, Cs and C, olefines in good yield. Examples of variants of this process are : tube or coil cracking ; tube cracking in the presence of an inert material such as water vapour ; cracking with superheated steam ; cracking by contact with a moving burden of refractory pebbles with or without an inert material such as water vapour present ; and cracking in a fluidised bed. However, we have found, when these processes are applied to the continuous cracking of heavy hydrocarbon oils which cannot be vaporised completely at 400 C. and atmospheric pressure, that they are each unsatisfactory. Thus in tube cracking a heavy deposit of carbon is soon formed on the interior surface of the tubes or coils and this seriously hinders the

high rate of heat transfer necessary, and frequent interruptions to clean out carbon are required. These disadvantages are not fully overcome by having water vapour present. When cracking is conducted with superheated steam the inability to vaporise the feed completely leads to distribution difficulties in the empty reaction zone, and there is the strong tendency for tarry materials to be produced. Cracking by contact with a moving burden of refractory pebbles has the disadvantages that : (i) if high temperatures and very short contact times are used, then carbonaceous deposits form, which tend to clog the system and cannot be efficiently burned off from the pebbles ; or (ii) if the temperature is reduced and longer contact times are used so as to secure good operability, then the gaseous products have relatively low contents of olefines and an olefines : paraffins ratio which is uneconomically low if substantially pure olefines are later to be separated. Some increase of the olefine content is obtained by introducing an inert material such as steam, but this acts as a diluent and decreases the output of the plant. Cracking in a fluidized bed with the object of obtaining olefines as the principal product is unsatisfactory because of the difficulty in maintaining an adequate state of fluidization, since the particles are continuously increasing in size and agglomeration occurs. Consequently it may be stated as a generalization that the expected advantage in cost arising from the use in the prior art processes of cheaper, heavier hydrocarbons is wiped out. For when the attempt is made to use large units, for example units capable of treating, say,. 50, 000 tons of heavy oil per annum, and to achieve a process which is reliable in operation over long periods it is found that the product gas has such a high paraffins : olefines ratio that the process becomes, on account of gas separation costs, economically unattractive as a source of substantially pure olefines. According to the present invention there is provided a continuous or semi-continuous process for the production of mixtures containing C2 to C4 olefines, having a high ethylene content and a high ethylene : propylene ratio, which comprises subjecting a heavy petroleum oil or fraction of the sort which cannot be completely vaporised at 400 C. at atmospheric pressure, to a thermal treatment in excess of 550 C. which yields a gas rich in saturated hydrocarbons but not in olefines, and usable carbonaceous material as hereinafter defined, and which is capable of being operated with little interruption over long periods at moderate temperatures, such as contacting it continuously with a hot moving burden of solid media, e. g. pebbles, balls, or pellets of regular or irregular shape, of a highly refractory material, at temperatures, pressures and space velocities which yield such a gas,

and cause a solid carbonaceous product to be laid down upon the pebbles ; continuously feeding the said hot gaseous product with or without prior separation of its heavy constituents, for example those boiling above 250 C., together with an excess of steam heated to a higher temperature than said product, e. g. in excess of 850 C., to an isolated zone within which it is confined without the supply of additional heat for a short period of time ; and then continuously quenching the product to a temperature below 500 C. The olefinic constituents may be separated from the product by, for example, fractional distillation conducted in a series of steps, some of which utilize refrigeration. While the first thermal treatment may be of the semi-continuous sort with a solid fixed heat transfer medium, which is operated intermittently on the thermal treatment and on reheating by combustion, it is preferred to use a continuous process and the invention will now be described more particularly in relation of this latter type of process. In the first stage of the process, the term "moving burden"does not include fluidized beds. Preferably the movement is solely under gravity. In this stage of the process it is preferred to keep the total pressure as low as possible, provided the pressure is sufficient to give continuous even flow between the first and second stages and the pressure at the entry to the second stage and at the exit thereof is not sub-atmospheric. A suitable total pressure is just a little above atmospheric. Steam should be substantially absent from this first treatment, nor should other diluents gaseous at N. T. P. be present, because they would increase the cost of the ultimate gas separation step. The temperature to be used will depend on the feed, but temperatures of the order of 550 to 750 C., for example, are suitable. It may be said that the first stage yields gaseous products suitable for fuel gas but not for the direct production of substantially pure olefines in good yield. Preferably also the solid media comprise pebbles or balls of carbon, and more preferably of coke. The superficial layer of carbon which forms on the pebbles may be conveniently removed by combustion or the enlarged coke pebbles passed through a crusher. In the second or olefine production stage it is most frequently preferred for reasons of thermal economy that the temperature of the hydrocarbon products should, prior to mixing with the hot steam, be of the same order as that at which they leave the first treatment. A suitable range is, for example 600 to 700 C. Other suitable reaction conditions are, for example : the use of steam preheated to 850 to 950 C. ; a steam : hydrocarbon ratio of from 1 : 2 to 4 : 1, preferably at least 1 : 1 if ethylene is the principal

desired olefine ; and a contact time of 0. 3 to 3. 0 seconds. Indirect quenching with water by steam raising, or direct quenching with oil or water, may be used, but if the characteristics of the condensible constituents of the cracked mixture do not interfere with heat transfer then indirect quenching is preferred because of its thermal economies. The present invention in its widest form provides the advantages that mixed gases high in olefines and having favourable olefines : paraffins ratios can be produced from heavy oils of the sort defined, that the conditions in the first thermal treatment stage can be adapted primarily to secure reliability of operation in large scale units, and that the products of the process other than gaseous products can be directed into the form or forms, herein referred to as"usable carbonaceous material,"e. g. liquid fuels, aromatic liquids or coke-like solids, having the most economic outlets preferably having a higher value than their boiler fuel value. The preferred form of the present invention using pebbles provides the advantages that it can be operated on the large scale continuously over long periods without interruption on heavy oils of the sort defined to give a large yield of gaseous products of high olefines, in particular ethylene, content, and with high olefine : paraffin ratios, which make it attractive economically because of lower gas separation costs, together with carbon as a valuable and/or marketable by-product, and that this is achieved with a very moderate over-all heat requirement. These advantages spring from the flexibility of design, particularly in respect of temperature, contact time, and product composition, permitted in the first stage, coupled with the ability of the second stage to yield gases with high olefine contents and favourable olefine : paraffin ratios from hydrocarbon vapours which may be low in olefines and high in the corresponding paraffins, and may vary widely in composition. It may be said that in principle the process affords on the continuous large scale a much closer approximation than has heretofore been achieved to the ideal of converting these heavy oils into olefines to the maximum extent on the one hand, and to pure carbon in a valuable form on the other. EXAMPLE A gas mixture obtained by contacting a heavy oil, which had a specific gravity of 0. 85 and was not capable of being completely vaporised at 400 C. at atmospheric pressure, with a moving burden of refractory media com prising 19 to 41 inch diameter hard petroleum coke pebbles, the average temperature of the gaseous phase in the reactor being 670 to 720 C., using a contact time of 10 to 20 seconds and without the addition of steam to reduce the partial pressure, had the following

weight composition. CH4 18. 5 % C2Hi 23. 8% C, H. 11. 1% C, H, 21. 5 % C3H8 8.4% C4H6 C4Hh8 12.2% Cl, 3. 8% H, 0. 7% The high parain : olefine ratio, which renders the material unsuitable as a source of ethylene on account of the high cost of gas separation, and the high contents of C3 and C4 hydrocarbons, which make it unattractive economically for this purpose, are to be noted. The gaseous and vaporous product at 675 C. was mixed with 3. 05- times its own weight of steam at 925 C., and the combined stream was passed in turbulent flow through a refractory-lined soaking zone in which cracking of the hydrocarbons was effected by the sensible heat, the contact time being approximately 2 seconds. The material issuing from the soaking zone was immediately quenched and the hydrocarbons condensible at N. T. P. were separated out. The residual gas comprising predominantly C4 and the lighter constituents was obtained in 85. 6% yield by weight of the feed gas and had the following composition. CH4 31. 9% C, H, 40. 7% cl. H, 9. 4% C3H 11. 9% C, Hs 0. 9% C4H6 C4H8 2.9% C4H10 Nil % H, 2. 3% The increased ethylene and decreased C3 and C4 hydrocarbon contents of the gas are to be noted. Moreover the ethylene : ethane ratio has been raised to 4. 33, which renders the gas very much more suited for the recovery of substantially pure ethylene and considerably improves the economics of the process in respect of both running and capital cost. Slightly less beneficial results were obtained using a 1. 53 : 1 ratio by weight of steam : feed gas, and the same reaction conditions. The C4 and lighter constituents of the mixture were obtained in a yield of 90. 2% by weight of feed gas. The product had the composition by weight :- CH, 26. 5% C2H4 34. 8 % C2H6 11. 2% C, H. 16. 6% % C, H, 3. 0% C4H6

C4H8 6.1% C4H10 0.2% H, 1. 6% Moreover, use of this low proportion of steam offered considerable savings in operating cost. In both of these procedures the solid media and petroleum material flowed co-currently downward through the reactor. As a preferred feature of the present invention, then, there is provided a continuous process for the production of ethylene as primary product which comprises subjecting a heavy petroleum oil or fraction which cannot be completely vaporised at 400 C. at atmospheric pressure in a first stage to a thermal treatment under conditions of temperature, pressure, and space velocity, which yield a vaporous product which is not rich in olefines, and carbonaceous material of the nature of coke, by contacting it continuously with a hot moving burden of solid media, e. g. pebbles, balls or pellets of coke using co-current downward flow of the petroleum starting material and the moving burden, and in a second stage continuously feeding the hot gaseous product with or without prior separation of its heavy constituents, that is those boiling at atmospheric pressure above 250 C., together with an excess of steam heated to 850 C., to an isolated zone within which the mixture is confined without the supply of additional heat for a short period of time ; and then continuously quenching the resulting mixture to below 500 C. As a more preferred feature, the invention comprises the process described in the immediately preceding paragraph further characterized by the combination of features that the average temperature of the gaseous phase in the reactor in the first stage is 670 to 720 C. ; those constituents of the gaseous product from the first stage boiling above 250 C. are removed before it is fed to the second stage ; the steam : hydrocarbon weight ratio in the second stage is from 3 : 2 to 7 : 2 ; and the contact time there is from 0. 8 to 2 seconds. As an also preferred feature, the invention comprises the process described in the second last paragraph characterised in that : the whole of the gaseous product from the first stage is passed to the second stage and the total product from the second stage is quenched directly with oil, e. g. gas oil. Because in practice the condensible constituents of the product are most frequently viscous, tarry liquids which interfere with indirect heat transfer, direct quenching with oil is most often used. As a most preferred feature the invention comprises the process described in the second last paragraph characterised further by the further feature that the total product from the second stage is

quenched directly with oil. The pressure in the process is kept as low as possible in order to increase the olefines : paraffins ratio, but must be above 1 atmosphere in order to afford gaseous flow through the apparatus. What we claim is : 1. A process operated at least semi-continuously for the production of mixtures containing G2 to C4 olefines having a high ethylene content and a high ethylene : propylene ratio, which comprises subjecting in a first stage a heavy petroleum oil or fraction of the sort which cannot be completely vaporised at atmospheric pressure at 400 C. to a thermal treatment in excess of 550 C. which yields a gaseous product rich in saturated hydrocarbons, and usable carbonaceous material as hereinbefore defined, and which is capable of being operated with little interruption over long periods at moderate temperatures, and in a second stage continuously feeding at least some of said hot gaseous product from the first stage together with an excess of steam heated to a higher temperature than said hot gaseous product to an isolated zone within which the mixture is confined, without the supply of additional heat, at temperatures in excess of 600 C. for a short period of time ; and then continuously quenching the product from the second stage to below 500 C.
