IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING MACHINERY
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Walker, of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, in the
County of York, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING
MACHINERY."
Sealed the 25th June 1875, and dated the 4th May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.left by the said William Walker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th May 1875.
I, WILLIAM WALKER, of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, in the County of York,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ROCK DRILLING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to an apparatus for drilling or boring
rocks by rotary drills described in the Specification of a Patent granted
to me on the 26th September 1874, No. 3299. The said apparatus
consisted of an articulâted arm capable of sliding vertically and turning
horizontally upon a vertical pillar carried by a carriage, at the end of
which arm was a socket carrying the rock drill, which consisted of a drill

page_text: shaft having cranks connected to a pair of small trunk engines by
which the drill shaft was rotated, the shaft and engines being capable of
sliding forward in a framing as the work of boring proceeds.
According to my present improvements instead of driving the drill
shaft direct from the engines, I connect the latter to an intermediate
crank shaft having a pinion in gear with a spur wheel on a hollow shaft
through which the drill shaft passes. The hollow shaft is carried in
bearings on the drill framing, and has an internal feather or feathers
fitting in a longitudinal groove or grooves on the drill shaft, so that on
rotating the hollow shaft the drill shaft is carried round with it, but the
latter is free to move longitudinally through the former. The drill
shaft has an external screw thread formed upon it, and passes through a
screwed bush or nut carried at the front end of the framing; this nut
has fixed upon it a spur wheel in gear with a pinion on the before-
mentioned crank shaft, so that the nut is rotated at the same time that
the drill shaft is rotated, but the spur wheel and pinion to the nut are
so proportioned to the before-mentioned_spur wheel and pinion, which
serve to rotate the drill shaft, that the nut is rotated at a slower speed
than the drill shaft, and thus the latter while rotating is made to
advance slowly through the former as the work of boring proceeds. The
pinion on the crank shaft that drives the nut can be slid out of gear
with its spur wheel and the nut be held stationary by a friction strap,
whereby the drill shaft in rotating will be made to advance or recede
more rapidly through the nut for bringing the drill up to the face of
the rock or for withdrawing it from the bore hole.
The drill may also be made to work with the nut held stationary, as
last described, so as to dispense with the wheel and pinion for rotating
it; in this case the drill shaft must be made with a screw thread of fine
pitch so as to advance slowly. The nut being held by a friction strap
will revolve with the drill shaft, and thus prevent or retard more or less
the advance of the latter whenever the drill meets with a resistance to
its action sufficient to overcome the friction between the nut and its
strap. The crank shaft is provided at the back end with a hand wheel
or crank handle, by means of which the shaft may be rotated by hand
for withdrawing the drill shaft from the bore hole.
The engine cylinders for driving the drill spindle may either have
trunk pistons, as described in my former Specification, or they may be
of any other suitable known construction.

page_text: According to another improvement I construct the front end of the
articulated arm or arms that carry the rock drills to slide in and out of
a socket on the back part of the arm or arms, and I form thereon a rack
in gear with a pinion carried by the back part, so that by turning the
pinion by means of a crank handle the arm or arms may be elongated or
shortened at will in order to bring the drill into the desired position.
Instead of providing the drill carriage with only one such articulated
arm and rock drill I provide two or more such arms and drills, one
above the other, which can be raised or lowered to any desired position
independently of each other. For this purpose instead of the arrange-
ment of one central pillar and two side standards on the carriage, as
described in my previous Patent, I provide only one central cylindrical
pillar of large diameter. On this pillar slide the articulated arms with
their lifting plates; the pillar has a longitudinal slot on each side to
admit a transverse piece of the lifting plates into the interior thereof, and
inside the pillar are vertical screw spindles by means of which the
articulated arms are raised and lowered. In the transverse piece of each
lifting plate is a screwed brush fitting on to one of these vertical screw
spindles inside the pillar. Each screw spindle is rotated by a separate
worm and worm wheel at bottom, whereby each lifting plate and its
articulated arm can be raised or lowered independently of the others.
•
The lifting plates being circular the articulated arms can be moved
right round the pillar into any desired position, instead of their lateral
motion being limited to a certain angle, as in the arrangement described
in my previous Patent. The pillar contains another screw spindle which
passes through a nut at the upper end that can be rotated so as to raise
the spindle and make it abut against the roof of the working so as to
hold the carriage, as described in my previous Patent.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth-
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Walker, Her special license, that
I, the said William Walker, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Walker, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK
DRILLING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Walker, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Walker, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheets of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention has reference to an apparatus for drilling or boring
rocks by rotary drills described in the Specification of a Patent granted
to me on the 26th September 1874, No. 3299. The said apparatus
consisted of an articulated arm capable of sliding vertically and turning
horizontally upon a vertical pillar carried by a carriage, at the end of
which arm was a socket carrying the rock drill, which consisted of a
drill shaft having cranks connected to a pair of small trunk engines by
which the drill shaft was rotated, the shaft and engines being capable of
sliding forward in a framing as the work of boring proceeds.
According to my present improvements instead of driving the drill
shaft direct from the engines, I connect the latter to an intermediate.
crank shaft having a pinion in gear with a spur wheel on a hollow shaft

page_text: through which the drill shaft passes. The hollow shaft is carried in
bearings on the drill framing, and has an internal feather or feathers
fitting in a longitudinal groove or grooves on the drill shaft, so that on
rotating the hollow shaft the drill shaft is carried round with it, but the
latter is free to move longitudinally through the former. The drill shaft
has an external screw-thread formed upon it, and passes through a
screwed bush or nut carried at the front end of the framing; this nut
has fixed upon it a spur wheel in gear with a pinion on the before-
mentioned crank shaft, so that the nut is rotated at the same time that
the drill shaft is rotated, but the spur wheel and pinion to the nut are so
proportioned to the before-mentioned spur wheel and pinion, which serve
to rotate the drill shaft, that the nut is rotated at a slower speed than
the drill shaft, and thus the latter while rotating is made to advance
slowly through the former as the work of boring proceeds. The pinion
on the crank shaft that drives the nut can be slid out of gear with its
spur wheel and the nut be held stationary by a friction strap, whereby
the drill shaft in rotating will be made to advance or recede more rapidly.
through the nut for bringing the drill up to the face of the rock or for
withdrawing it from the bore hole.
The drill may also be made to work with the nut held stationary, as
last described, so as to dispense with the wheel and pinion for rotating
it; in this case the drill shaft must be made with a screw-thread of fine
pitch so as to advance slowly. The nut being held by a friction strap will
revolve with the drill, and thus prevent or retard more or less the
advance of the latter whenever the drill meets with a resistance to its
action sufficient to overcome the friction between the nut and its strap.
The crank shaft is provided at the back end with a hand wheel or crank
Kandle, by means of which the shaft may be rotated by hand for
withdrawing the drill shaft from the bore hole.
The engine cylinders for driving the drill spindle may either have
trunk pistons as described in my former Specification, or they may be of
any other suitable known construction.
According to another improvement I construct the front end of the
| articulated arm or arms that carry the rock drills, to slide in and out of
á socket on the back part of the arm or arms, and I form thereon a rack
in gear with a pinion carried by the back part, so that by turning the
pinions by means of a crank handle the arm or arms may be elongated

page_text: or shortened at will in order to bring the drill into the desired
position.
Instead of providing the drill carriage with only one such articulated
arm and rock drill, I provide two or more such arms and drills, one
above the other, which can be raised or lowered to any desired position
independently of each other. For this purpose instead of the arrange-
ment of one central pillar and two side standards on the carriage, as
described in my previous Patent, I provide only one central cylindrical
pillar of large diameter. On this pillar slide, the articulated arms with
their lifting plates; the pillar has a longitudinal slot on each side to
admit a transverse piece of the lifting plates into the interior thereof,
and inside the pillar are vertical screw spindles, by means of which the
articulated arms are raised and lowered. In the transverse piece of cach
lifting plate is a screwed bush fitting on to one of these vertical screw
spindles inside the pillar. Each screw spindle is rotated by a separate
worm and worm wheel at bottom, whereby cach lifting plate and its
articulated arm can be raised or lowered independently of the others..
The lifting plates being circular, the articulated arms can be moved
right round the pillar into any desired position, instead of their lateral
motion being limited to a certain angle as in the arrangement described
in my previous Patent. The pillar contains another screw spindle which
passes through a nut at the upper end that can be rotated so as to raise
the spindle and make it abut against the roof of the working, so as to
hold the carriage, as described in my previous Patent.

page_text: which is consequently made to revolve with the hollow shaft but is free
to slide longitudinally through it. The crank shaft B has also a second
pinion in gear with a spur wheel G on a screwed nut H carried by the
standard A' of the framing in which it revolves but cannot move
longitudinally. The drill spindle E passes through this nut, and by the
rotation of the drill spindle by the gearing C, I, it is made to advance
through the nut, but as the nut is at the same time rotated in the same
direction as, but at a less speed, than the drill spindle (the gearing F, G,
being proportioned differently to C, I, for this purpose), the advance of
the drill spindle will only be that due to the difference between its speed
of rotation and that of the nut H. The pinion F is loose on the crank
shaft, being engaged therewith by means of a clutch K, so that when it
is disengaged the nut H remains stationary, and it is held so for the
purpose of screwing the drill spindle back from or forward up to its
work by means of a spring bolt L passing through the boss of the
bracket A¹, and entering one of a series of holes formed round the outer
surface of the nut. The spring bolt is withdrawn by a hand lever L' to
allow the nut to rotate while the drill is at work, and for the purpose of
keeping the bolt disengaged, the handle is made with a snap rest for the
spring in the manner of a knife blade.
In place of the spring bolt the before-described friction strap may be
employed. M is a hand wheel on the crank shaft for rotating this by
hand for the purpose of withdrawing the drill spindle. N is the
trunnion by which the drill is mounted on the framing and through
which the working fluid is conveyed to the cylinders..
Referring now to the Figures 3, 4, and 5, the trunnion N is mounted
at the extremity of an articulated and telescopically sliding arm 0, V, W,
which is jointed to either of the two arms P, P¹, each of which is made
with an annular boss encircling a central column R, and carried on a
stage or platform Q, Q. These platforms are arranged, the one above
the other, encircling the single central column R, and each is capable of
being raised or lowered by means of a vertical screw q, q', mounted.
within the column R, and working in nut bushes q, q', respectively
inserted in ribs passing through the column R from each platform.
Each screw has a worm wheel q', q³, on its lower extremity, worked by
a worm and handle 1, 2, one on each side of the truck S. The
portion V of the arm jointed to P is made tubular, and the portion W
jointed to O is fitted to slide within it telescopically, being moved out-

page_text: wards or inwards by means of a handle o turning a pinion w, which is
mounted on V, and which gears with a rack on the sliding part W.
According to this arrangement the drill can be set to work at any level
within the range of the column R, or two drills can be worked simul-
taneously, one supported from each of the arms P and P¹, whilst the
jointing and telescopic sliding of the arm O and the mounting of the
trunnion N allows of the drill being directed in any required attitude
relatively to the arm P, and to various distances from the axis of R, and
the arm P can itself be turned quite round the column R to any desired
attitude, and clamped by hook bolts p, p. T is a screw worked by a
hand wheel t, which can be screwed up to bear against the roof of the
heading in which the drill is used, so as to steady, the framing, and U
are brakes for the wheels of the truck S, to keep it at rest while the drill
is in operation.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I make no
general claim to the advancing or retracting of a rotary rock drill by
means of a screwed nut upon its spindle made to rotate with a speed
different from that of the spindle itself, nor do I claim generally the
use of articulated arms for carrying rock drilling apparatus, but I
claim,―
First. For the purpose of working a rock drill the combined apparatus,
consisting of a pair of engines acting on one crank shaft geared to a
hollow shaft or sleeve for rotating the drill spindle, and also geared in
different proportion to a screwed nut for advancing or retracting tho
spindle, the said nut and its gearing being provided with means of dis-
engaging it from the shaft and stopping it, the whole constructed and
operating substantially as herein described in reference to Figs. 1 and 2
of the accompanying Drawings.
Second. For the purpose of mounting and directing a rock drill, the
combined arrangement of a truck carrying a central column, having
vertical screws arranged within it for raising or lowering platforms, that
carry articulated and telescopically sliding arms, which support the drill
or drills, the said arms being made with annular bosses encircling the
central column, round which they can be turned to any desired attitude,
substantially as herein described in reference to Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of the
accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Third. The use for supporting a rock drill of a telescopically jointed
arm, the one part of the arm being made tubular, and the other part
being fitted to be slid within it by means of a rack and pinion, sub-
stantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Walker, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.