The world has changed incredibly since Heyl & Patterson was founded in 1887. The company has grown and changed across 14 decades, thanks to a heritage of innovation and the commitment of our employees. We invented several of the markets for our products and have continuously developed to improve our products to meet or exceed our customers’ needs. Heyl & Patterson holds over 100 patents for new products and improvements to existing machines.
To the left is the first patent filed by Edmund Heyl and William Patterson was for a "Portable Elevator," granted on December 29, 1896. It hearkens back to the partners’ roots in elevators and conveyors, as the company was finding its identity in the bulk material handling industry.
This invention created a single elevator that was all that was necessary to lift material into a boiler, using a series of scoops. The elevator was also combined with a hopper or receptacle that was adapted to deliver the fuel material at several points. The fuel material was then taken from the tanks to the furnaces by simply gravity action. In addition, the entire elevator assembly could be disconnected and moved if necessary.
More recent examples of patents granted to Heyl & Patterson include:
- "Traveling Hammermill" - issued in 1971. This invention is an apparatus for crushing large, frozen lumps of bulk material dumped from railcars onto the grids that cover the receiving hoppers. The device is automatic, simple in operation, capable of operating while railcar dumping is in progress and does not require anyone to venture into the grid area.
- "A Magnetic Device for Connecting Handling Lines" - issued in 1973. This is a device containing an electromagnet in a barge hauling line rope circuit which can be connected to the barge deck by remote control from shore. This invention eliminated the need for a deckhand to scramble aboard the barge to make fast or cast off as each barge is served by our unloader.
"Crane with Means for Removing Worn Lines," shown to the right - issued in September 1974. This idea eliminated most of the manual work of unreaving and re-reaving worn wire ropes on H&P grab bucket unloaders. Extra new rope is stored on a drum in the wire rope circuit and is easily pulled through by the drive when safety requires replacement.- "Fluid Bed Agglomerator" - issued in April 1974. This covers a fluid bed fine-coal refuse burner that turns messy refuse into clean, stable pellets that are easy to dispose of without damage to the ecology. The process is "autogenic," meaning that it uses the coal particles in the refuse as a self-replenishing fuel source. Several coal companies, worried about impoundment dams and other land and water-polluting methods of refuse disposal, were interested in this H&P agglomerator.
- "Railcar Dumper" - issued September 1987. This invention incorporates two hydraulic piston motors for the purpose of turning the frame of the dumper together with the railcar. The first motor rotates the combined frame and railcar about the horizontal axis. The second motor advances the combined frame, railcar, intermediate support member and the first motor about the same horizontal axis until the railcar spills its contents into the dumping area.
"From two men operating their own sales agency to a company with dozens of engineers, Heyl & Patterson's innovative solutions continue to revolutionize the world. These innovations are just a few examples of the ingenuity of Heyl & Patterson engineers.
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