Improvements in Excavating Machinery.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 18th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Excavating Machinery.
WC ARTHUR CRYER, of No. 55 Alfred Street, Cardiff, in the County of
Glamorgan, Engineer and EDGAR CHARLES NEWBY, of No. 3 Moira Place,
Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to provide an excavating machine for use
especially in forming railway or dock cuttings and the like, the principal part of
the machine being caused to travel upon a temporary railway representing the
bottom of the cutting, the machine travelling along towards the embankment to be
cut away.
The machine itself is composed principally of a heavy travelling carriage with
a central upright gudgeon or pintle, upon and around which a suitable revolving
framework is placed and upon this framework rests the engine and boiler for
working the mechanism to be hereinafter described. Near the top of this framework,
bearings are formed for supporting a strong shaft upon which is fitted a tumbler
as commonly used and known as the top tumbler of a dredger.
This tumbler is caused to revolve by any known method usually employed for
this purpose, preferably, a series of cog-wheels driven from a pinion attached to
the engine below. A hollow boom is caused to project in front of the machine one
end of which is caused to swing upon the tumbler shaft or upon suitable collars
formed upon the bearings thereof. At the furthest end of the boom is also another
tumbler working in bearings therein. Around the tumblers are placed a chain of
dredging buckets connected up by links in the well known method and are revolved
around both the tumblers as before mentioned.
At the free end of the boom, it is enlarged both upwards and downwards, the
downward enlargement carrying the bottom tumbler so that the full buckets shall
pass upwards and through the hollow boom, the descending or empty buckets being
free and allowed to travel along the face of the work.
Between each bucket, a tray is placed so that the full buckets can convey their
load practically at any angle either above or below the horizontal line, the buckets
taking their cut carry the material upwards and when the boom is placed say in a
horizontal position, the material excavated can fall into the trays and is therein
carried forward until the driving tumbler is reached, when the material is deposited
into suitable formed shoots which direct the excavated material into waggons or
other receptacles, preferably placed on temporary rails, each or either side of the
apparatus.
Rollers are placed in the bottom portion of the hollow boom for carrying the
buckets and links. The buckets have steel scrapers or teeth as usual placed upon
the mouth for excavating the material and for facilitating the repairs when word.
Upon the sides and backs of the buckets, angle iron scrapers are rivetted. These
are for the purpose of clearing any material that may have been deposited on the
inside of the trunk.
In addition to the ordinary method of cutting the face to be excavated by means
of the lips on the bucket, we place upon the end of the hollow boom an additional
revolving cutting or digging arrangement. This consists of a spindle slightly in
advance of the ends of the buckets and upon which is placed a sprocket wheel and

page_text: chain, cog-wheels or other known device for driving the revolving picks. This is
made of a number of bent steel bars which are attached to the spindle by suitable
strong attachments, the ends of the bars or picks being so shaped as to penetrate
the material to be excavated. They are shaped in accordance therewith, the
direction of revolution of the picks being in opposite direction to the revolution
of the bucket tumbler, so that the material dug out shall naturally fall into the
buckets and be lifted thereby as before described. The picks, instead of being
fixed on to the spindle, may have a clawing or eccentric motion applied thereto.
The engine and boiler are placed at the rear of the machine and so arranged as
to form an equipoise or balance to the excavating portion and the jib. A suitable
slow hoisting motion for raising and lowering the boom, a slewing motion for
revolving the whole apparatus on its centre and locomotive gear for travelling
backwards and forwards are provided.
The boom and excavating apparatus herein described, may be attached to any
ordinary locomotive crane of sufficient power to carry the mechanism, in which
case a separate engine is provided to drive the excavating mechanism.
As an alternative matter, we may, if necessary, use more than one boom and
may have a pair of booms working as follows. Upon the jib of the crane, one of
the booms is fixed at a lower level than the other, the lower boom having a train
of buckets working comparatively near the ground level but capable of being
raised, lowered and otherwise worked as before described.
Higher up the jib and at any convenient distance is attached a second boom
and upon the outer end of which, the revolving picks as before described, may be
attached and worked, the material excavated by the revolving digger would
naturally fall downwards, be collected and conveyed by means of the bucket gear
below. Both booms may have an arrangement for causing the butt ends to slide
up and down the jib if necessary so that the whole of the gear can be adjusted to
any convenient height, otherwise the working of the excavating gear is as before
described.
Dated this 26th day of November 1895.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Excavating Machinery.
We ARTHUR CRYER, of 55 Alfred Street, Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan,
Engineer, and EDGAR CHARLES NEWBY of 3 Moira Place, Cardiff in the
County of Glamorgan, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is an excavating machine especially adapted for
effecting railway or dock cuttings and the like, the principal part of the machine
being caused to travel upon a temporary railway at the bottom of the cutting
towards the bank that has to be cut away.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings are respectively a side view, and
an end view of a machine according to our invention. Figs. 3 and 4 are
corresponding views of a modification.
In all these figures the same reference letters are employed as far as possible
to indicate corresponding parts.
Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, A is a strong truck having on it a revolving
base frame B on which are placed a suitable engine and boiler and gearing C for
working the excavating mechanism. On the front of the base frame B is pivotted.
a jib D which can be raised and lowered in the usual way. Also on the front part

page_text: of the base frame is pivotted on trunnions at e an upright frame E on the top of
which bearings are formed for a strong shaft carrying a tumbler F such as the top
tumbler of a dredger.
This tumbler is caused to revolve by bevil gear or it might be by other.
connections from the engine gearing C. A hollow boom G pivotted on trunnions™
concentric with F projects forwards from the frame E, its front end, on which is
mounted another tumbler F¹, being suspended from the jib D. Around the'
tumblers F and F is a chain of dredging buckets H which, as the tumblers
revolve travel in the direction of the arrows, the full buckets passing upwards at
the front end of the boom and travelling back through the boom, while the empty
buckets travel forwards under the boom and ascend along the face of the work to
be excavated.
Between each pair of the buckets H there is a tray or open ended trough h
these trays forming with the flat sides of the buckets a continuous floor on which
the excavated material is carried, whatever be the inclination of the boom, to
shoots K arranged on the frame E down which the material descends into wagons
preferably placed on temporary rails on either, or on each side of the apparatus.
Each bucket H has at its mouth steel scrapers or teeth and on its sides and back
a scraper h¹ to clear away material that may be deposited on the inside of the
boom G.
In order to facilitate the excavation, we arrange at the end of the boom
additional cutting or digging apparatus consisting of a shaft mounted a little i .
advance of the mouths of the buckets H and driven by chain, or other gear, from
the tumbler F. On this shaft are fixed revolving picks L which may be made as
shewn of a number of bent steel bars having their ends so shaped as to penetrate,
loosen and break down portions of the material to be excavated. The direction in
which the picks revolve being opposite to that of the tumblers F¹ the material dug
out by the picks falls into the buckets H and is carried away as before described.
The boiler is placed at the rear of the base frame so as to form a counterpoise
to the excavating machinery. By means of the engine and gearing C suitable
barrels are driven for raising and lowering the jib and boom, and gear for turning
the base frame horizontally and for moving the truck backwards or forwards.
Also, by means of suitable gearing such as a worm and toothed segment e' on
the frame E, this frame can be moved for some distance to and fro on its trunnions e
as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.
As the material is excavated in front of the machine, the boom G is advanced
for fresh cuts by moving the frame E step by step till it attains the dotted position
somewhat inclined beyond the upright. It is then moved back till it is as far
inclined backwards, and then the truck A. is advanced a distance equivalent to the
stroke of the frame E.
In the modified form of the apparatus shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, the boom G is
pivotted about the middle of the jib D which is consequently made of suitable
strength to carry it.
The chain tumbler F may in this case be worked by suitable gear from the
engine gearing C or by an engine d fixed on the jib and supplied with steam by
flexible or jointed pipes from the boiler. In other respects the construction and
operation of the machine are substantially the same as in the machine described
with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. An excavating machine comprising a truck, a revolving base frame thereon
carrying boiler, engine, hoisting and crane gear, a pivotted upright frame and a jib,
a boom having its one end pivotted to the upright frame and its other end
suspended from the jib, a chain of dredging buckets and a set of revolving picks
carried by the boom, all arranged and operating substantially as described.

page_text: 2. An excavating machine comprising a truck, a revolving base frame thereon
carrying boiler, engine, hoisting and crane gear, a pivotted jib and boom pivotted
thereon, a chain of dredging buckets and a set of revolving picks carried by the
boom, all arranged and operating substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 3 and 4.
3. In combination with the dredging buckets H, the trays and scrapers ¹
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 18th day of September 1896.
ABEL & IMKAY,
Agents for the Applicants.