AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Jenkins, of Troedy Rhiw, Merthyr Tydvil,
in the County of Glamorgan, Viewer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL."
Sealed the 6th April 1863, and dated the 31st October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Jenkins at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st
October 1862.
I, WILLIAM JENKINS, of Troedy Rhiw, Merthyr Tydvil, in the County of
Glamorgan, Viewer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL," to be as follows:-
My Invention of an improved mode of and apparatus for cutting coal
relates, first, to a novel mode of cutting or separating coal from the bed or
seam, so that it may be removed from the mine. Instead of picking and hewing
the coal in the ordinary manner with picks or tools, which inevitably produce
a large quantity of small coal, I propose to saw or cut it out in blocks of con-
venient size. In carrying out this part of my Invention I first drill one or
more holes in the upper or other convenient part of one of the faces of the
coal near the roof of the mine for the purpose of making an opening for the
introduction of the saw or cutting instrument, with which I proceed to cut
down through the coal in a vertical or diagonal line from top to bottom.
I then drill one or more holes in the other face of the coal, and at right angles-
to the former cut, and proceed to cut down in a vertical or diagonal line from

page_text: top to bottom as before. By this means a pillar of coal from 12 to 18 inches
square, according to the desired size, will be divided from the seam, except at
the top and bottom, from which, if desired, it may be easily detached by a
lever if it does not fall away by its own weight.
The second part of my Invention relates to the apparatus whereby the
above-mentioned operations are effected. The cutting tool consists of a
drilling instrument or instruments, to which rotary motion must be imparted
for making the holes in the faces of the coal, and of a saw or saws of peculiar
form for cutting the vertical or diagonal lines. I prefer that this saw or saws
should be straight, and have a reciprocating motion communicated thereto.
They are mounted on pivots or studs in such a manner that their own weight
will keep the teeth or cutting edge down to the hard coal, and always in a
position to cut. The teeth of the saws are made to slant upwards and
forwards towards the front or outer end of the saw, so that they will cut when
being drawn back, instead of when moving forwards as is usually the case with
saws. By this means the saw will draw out with it the debris which it
makes, and thus always keep itself clear. The necessary movements.are com-
municated to the cutting instruments by means of a frictional or hauling rope,
which is extended along the roadway of the mine, and is made to actuate
sheaves or driving pullies placed at the end or other convenient part of the
face to be operated upon. Round these sheaves pass endless ropes which are
conducted or laid along the passages in front of the faces of the seam, so that
they may be made to actuate the driving gear and work the cutting instru-
ments. The main driving or hauling rope may be actuated by any suitable
motive power placed at any convenient spot. In some cases where the ropes
cannot be conveniently applied for driving the cutting instruments, the driving
gear for actuating these latter may be worked by hand labour.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Jenkins in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JENKINS, of Troedy Rhiw, Merthyr Tydvil, in the County of Glamorgan,
Viewer, send greeting.
: 1.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of

page_text: Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Jenkins, Her special license that I, the said William
Jenkins, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Jenkins, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Jenkins, by an instrument
in: writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
! NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Jenkins, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
.
.My Invention of "An Improved Mode of and Apparatus for Cutting Coal
relates, first, to a novel mode of cutting or separating coal from the bed or
seam in order that it may be removed from the mine. Instead of picking and
hewing the coal in the ordinary manner with picks or. tools, which inevitably
produce a large quantity of small coal, I saw or cut it out in blocks of con-
venient size. In carrying out this part of my Invention, supposing: I commence
at an angle that has been prepared for the purpose, I first drill one or more
holes in the upper or other convenient part of one of the faces of the coal near
the roof of the mine in order to make an opening for the introduction of the
saw or cutting instrument with which I proceed to cut down through the coal
in a' vertical or diagonal line from top to bottom. I then drill one or more
holes in the other face of the coal, and at right angles to the former cut and
proceed to cut down in a vertical or diagonal line from: top to bottom as
before. By this means a pillar of coal from twelve to eighteen inches square,
according to the desired size,. will be divided from the seam, except at the top
and bottom, from which, if. desired, it may be easily detached by a lever if it
does not fall away by its own weight, or if desired.a saw.cut' in: a horizontal
direction may be made to facilitate the removal of, the block of coal from the
bed or seam. In order to cut out the coal on my improved plan, I arrange

page_text: my operation systematically, so as to be enabled to actuate by mechanical
power the machines I employ for the purposes of my Invention.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn the manner in which I.
adapt my Invention for cutting coal on the "long wall" system, but it may
also be employed for cutting coal on the pillar and stall system. Fig. 1 is a
Diagram plan view of the workings of part of a mine. It will be seen that
the face and long wall of the coal is cut in steps for the convenience of work-
ing two or more sets of machines, if required, simultaneously. The part of
the mine shewn in the Drawing may be supposed to be a sufficient portion of
the workings for the power of one engine and set of ropes, but two or more
cutting machines may be simultaneously driven by the same rope and engine,
if desired. The drilling and cutting machines, for convenience and speed of
work, may be used in pairs, that is, one drilling and one cutting machine, the
drilling machine being always in advance of the cutting machine, in order to
drill holes for the saws or cutting instruments to work in.
It will be seen that I drive headings or ways in the mine from 1 to 2 and
from 2 to 3. The heading from 1 to 2 shall be a short distance, say, five
yards always in advance of the face operated upon by the machinery or
apparatus from the heading 2 to 3. Roads C are formed at right angles to the
headings at suitable distances apart, over which roads the coals are brought
out from the face or long wall of the coal where the machinery has operated
upon and cut it out. I lay a wire rope of suitable size along the heading 1, 2,
over proper rollers, and along the heading 2, 3, and also along the face or long
wall of the coal to 4, 5, and 6, and from thence to the engine, which is fixed
in a convenient position, but is not shewn in the Drawing. The wire rope is
passed round suitable guide pullies at all the angles of the working, and is
coiled once or twice round the driving drum D, after which it is carried over,
and fastened to the other end of the rope, thus forming an endless rope. The
drum D is made to revolve by the power of the engine, and consequently the
rope is drawn forward in the direction of the arrows, and continues to move in
that direction while the drum continues to revolve. All along the route of
this rope are placed antifriction rollers for the purpose of supporting the rope.
and preventing it from wearing away on the ground. Guide pullies; E, E, E,
are secured at suitable points, such as at all the angles, as shewn in the
Drawing. These guide pullies, as well as the antifriction rollers, are portable,
the latter being placed upon cast-iron frames of sufficient weight to keep
them in their places when once set.
The guide pullies E, E, are also mounted in frames, which are firmly
secured by screws and holdfasts to the roof and floor of the roadway, as shewn at

page_text: Fig. 2, Sheet I., which represents a vertical frame with one of the corner guide
pullies E, E, mounted horizontally therein. E is the horizontal sheave or pulley;
b, the frictional rope; c, the strong cast-iron framing, which is provided with
projecting claws e, e, at bottom. At the top of a hollow column f is placed
a female screw nut g, through which passes a male screw h, carrying at its
upper end a projecting claw e'. The screw nut g is provided with handles,
whereby it may be turned round so as to force up the claws e¹ of the male
screw h into the roof of the mine and the claws e below into the floor, thereby
holding the frame perfectly secure against any pull of the frictional rope. As
the extraction of the coal advances, the rope must of consequence be increased
in length so as to enable the operating machines to be at all times brought
near the face or wall of coal in its required place. To provide for this extra
-length of rope, I make another heading, roadway, or excavation in a suitable
place in the mine, and of, say twenty yards more or less in length, as at F, F,
and in this heading, roadway, or excavation I provide at intervals of, say one
yard apart, blocks or fastenings fixed in such position that they admit of
receiving a framing containing a large sheave or wheel F1, F, around which
the rope, in returning from the places operated upon, passes previous to its
being taken up by the driving drum D. Now, as the face extends, and the
rope requires to be lengthened, I arrange this wheel and framing so that I
can advance it from one step of these fastenings to the other, as may be found
necessary from the extension of the works of extraction. As soon as this
sheave and framing has been brought out to the last step, I provide a piece
of rope of the length of the increased distance, which, upon being added to
the original rope by splicing or otherwise, will, when fastened on to the other
ropes, considerably lengthen them. The elongated rope is passed round the
framed sheave F', which is moved back to the extreme end, and the work is
allowed to proceed, and all goes on as before. This compensating heading
can be formed in any part of the mine near where any portion of the rope
passes, but would, I think, be preferable near the driving drum D, say, behind
it. Motion is given to the driving drum D (around which the rope passes)
by any suitable motive power, say, an ordinary steam engine fixed in a con-
venient part of the mine. The revolving of the drum causes the drawing of
the rope in one direction, as indicated by the arrows, and paying out in the
other direction, and so it continues for any length of time, the rope being
endless. The endless rope passes from the driving drum round, and thereby
actuates pulleys or sheaves in the operating machines at the face of the coal,
and these machines are kept going as long as the drum is kept revolving,
unless an accident and a breakage occurs. As this rope is kept continually

page_text: travelling, it communicates motion to the operating machines, hereafter
described, but these latter may be thrown in or out of gear, and stopped
when required by the attendant workman.
I would observe that, in the Diagram, Fig. 1. I have shewn what I believe
to be a convenient arrangement of ropes and pullies for driving the moveable
operating machines from a fixed engine; but I do not intend to confine myself
to such arrangement, as it must necessarily be varied according to. the system
upon which the mine is worked, and other circumstances.
The second part of the Invention relates to the machines or apparatus where
the above-mentioned operations of cutting the coal from the .seam. are
effected.
.
The cutting tools consist, first, of a drilling instrument or instruments, to
which rotary motion must be imparted for making the holes in the faces of the
seam of coal, and second of a saw or saws of peculiar form for cutting the
vertical or diagonal lines. The instruments are, by preference, worked..in.
separate machines, but if desired, they may be combined in the same machine.
The saws I employ for the purposes of my Invention are straight, and have a
reciprocating motion communicated thereto; they are attached to holders or
clamps, and mounted on pivots or studs in such a manner that the weight of
the saws will keep the teeth or cutting edge down to the hard coal, and always
in a position to cut. The teeth of the saws are of peculiar form, being made
to slant upwards and forwards towards the front or outer end of the saw,
that is, in a contrary direction to the teeth of ordinary saws, so that they.
will cut when being drawn back instead of when moving forwards as is usually
the case with saws. By this means the saw will draw out with it the debris
which it makes, and thus will always keep itself clear. The necessary move-
ments are communicated to the cutting instruments by means of the frictional.
or hauling rope which is extended along the roadway of the mine, as already
described and shewn in Fig. 1, Sheet I., and is made to actuate the sheaves
or driving pullies of the operating machines, which are placed at the end or
other convenient part of the face to be operated upon.
:
Fig. 3, Sheet I., is a side elevation, and Fig. 4 an end elevation of the
drilling machine or apparatus whereby holes about three feet deep and six
inches in diameter are made in the face of the coal for the purpose of receiving
the sawing or cutting instruments of the second machine. a, a, a, is the
framing of the machine, which is mounted on running wheels b, b, so that it
may be moved with facility along the face of the coal on rails laid for the
purpose. A large grooved pulley or sheave c is mounted on the horizontal
shaft c', which carries at its opposite end a large toothed wheel c², which gears

page_text: into and drives an intermediate wheel c³ on a stud fixed in the framing. This
grooved pulley c is actuated by the frictional driving rope or band c*, and
thereby actuates all the rest of the mechanism. A long horizontal shaft d
(which may for convenience be composed of several lengths screwed together
in order to suit the width of some workings, as shewn in the Figure) carries
at one end the drilling tool d, and passes through the boss of a pinion d³, and
through the brass collar d³, both of which are mounted in moveable arms a*,
capable of turning on: the stud pin of the intermediate wheel c³ as their centre
of motion. By turning the arms d* to the right or left, and securing them by
means of tightening screws at any part of the semicircular slot or groove a¹ in
the framing the drill and its accessories may be fixed at any point within range
of the arc of the slot a¹. A nib, stud, or feather on the inside of the boss of the
pinion d works in a long groove made in the shaft d, as shewn by dots in the
Figure, and consequently carries the shaft d round with the pinion d². The
shaft d' is, however, capable of moving longitudinally through the boss of
the pinion d³, as the boring operation proceeds, and is moved forward by means
of the hand lever e. The slotted upper ends of this lever are forked, and
embrace both sides of the sliding collar d, which has studs d entering the
slots in the lever. This collar d' is provided with a spring catch d', (see
Fig. 4,) which enters into: the annular grooves 1, 2, 3, 4, in rotation as the
shaft & requires lengthening. One edge of this catch is chamferred off to allow
the collar. to be slidden from one groove to the other. As the hole made by
the tool d¹ in the mass of coal deepens, the shaft d must, of course, enter
farther in, and it then becomes necessary to move, the stud d' farther back on
the shaft d to the points marked 3, 4, 5, &c., so that the hand lever e may be
enabled to operate the shaft.
;
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The drilling tool d having
been brought opposite to the place where a hole is.required to be made, the
frictional rope c* from the driving drum D, Fig. 1, is tightened against the
pulley c by depressing. the. lever f, and causing the grooved friction pulley f
at the other end of the lever to lift up the rope, and cause it to bite in the
groove of the large pulley or sheave c, and when this latter is set in motion it
will, through the toothed gearing and c³ communicate rotary motion to the
shaft d'and drill d. Then as the drill cuts away the soft coal, the shaft 'd, is
pressed forward by means of the. hand lever e, as already explained. When
the hole. is made deep enough the machine is stopped by releasing the pressure
of the friction pulley F! on the rope c*. The drill and its shaft may be drawn
out, and the machine moved on the rails to another place, and the drill having

page_text: been set and adjusted again to the proper place by turning the moveable
arms d in the required direction, the drilling operation for the next hole may
be commenced. Circular holes of the desired depth having been made in the
wall of coal, the next operation will be to cut out the coal by means of vertical,
diagonal, or other saw cuts, as may be found necessary. This operation is
performed by the machine shewn in Sheet II., in which Fig. 5 is a side
elevation and Fig. 6 a plan view of the machine, which like the drilling machine
already described, is mounted on wheels which run on rails laid down along
the face of the coal. The framework of the machine is seen at h, h. On this
framing are constructed two sets of horizontal guides i, i, i, i, in which work
the ends of the horizontal vibrating saw frames j, j. These vibrating frames
are provided with vertical slotted guides k, which are made to correspond in
length with the thickness of the seam of coal to be operated upon, and in these
vertical slots are fitted the clamps or holders l, to which the saws m are
secured, or the saws may be hung on pivots upon the holders l, as shewn in
the detached views, Fig. 7. The holders 1, with the saws m attached thereto,
are free to move vertically in the slotted guides k, and therefore as the saw
cuts away the coal, it will descend in the saw cut by its own weight. It will be
seen that the upper and lower frames j,j, are connected together by the vertical
shaft j', and a to-and-fro motion is communicated therėto from the crank n on
the upper end of the vertical shaft n¹ by the link n². This shaft turns in
bearings in the cross bar h¹ of the main framing, and carries at its lower end
the bevel pinion n³, which is driven by a similar wheel o on the inner end of the
horizontal driving shaft o¹, which carries the grooved pulley or sheave p,
whereby motion is communicated to the machine from the frictional rope c, as
in the former instance. The frictional rope c* from the stationary driving
engine D, Fig. 1, passes under the grooved pulley or sheave p, and is tightened
against the same, so as to communicate motion thereto by means of the
friction roller f¹, which is actuated by the hand lever f, as in the drilling
machine. It will be seen that two saws are worked simultaneously in these
machines, and that the teeth of the saws are made in the contrary direction
to ordinary saws, so that when moving back the teeth will draw out the dust
that has been produced by the saw. I find it convenient for the saws to be
made with double teeth, and for the teeth to be fixed separately, so that
should one be broken, it may be removed and another fitted in its place.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 represent different views of part of a saw constructed
in this manner, drawn full size. Fig. 8 is a plan view, Fig. 9 a cross section,
and Fig. 10 a side elevation of the saw, which is composed of a bar q, rebated

page_text: at bottom to receive the shanks of the teeth r, r, which are fastened thereon
by screws, as shewn in the Drawing, and may therefore easily be detached if
injured.
. The two vertical or diagonal saw cuts made by the machine just described
will be generally found sufficient to enable the miners to remove the coal in
solid blocks from the seam, but it may sometimes be found desirable to make
a horizontal cut near the floor of the mine or bottom of the seam of coal.
At Figures 11, 12, and 13 I have shewn views of a machine constructed on
the principle of that already described, but modified so as to cut in a horizontal
direction. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 12 is a plan
view; and Fig. 13 an end elevation. In order to avoid useless repetition in
the description, I have marked corresponding letters on similar working parts
of the machine to that shewn in Figures 5 and 6. In the present instance it
will be seen that the vibrating frame ; which actuates the saws runs on
horizontal guide rods i, i. The saw blade m is connected at one end to the
vibrating frame j, so that a reciprocating motion is communicated to it as in
the other case, and its other end is supported by a diagonal stay rod m³.
the saw m cuts its way into the coal the machine is moved along slowly on the
rail, so as to keep the saw up to the work. If preferred, a horizontal cut may
be made by means of a circular saw mounted horizontally on a vertical shaft,
which may be actuated by the grooved pulley and frictional band, precisely as
in the machine just described. In some cases where the ropes cannot be
conveniently applied for driving the cutting instruments the driving gear for
actuating these latter may be worked by hand labor.
As
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of an improved mode
of and apparatus for cutting coal, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim effecting the separation of coal from the bed or
seam by the means above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Jenkins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eigth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM JENKINS. (L.S.)