IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING CLAY AND EARTH
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Francis Lawrence, of 6, Gloucester Row,
Clifton, in the County of Gloucester, for the Invention of "IM-
DRAFTNING
Sealed the 19th February 1875, and dated the 17th September 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Francis
Lawrence at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th September 1874.
I, WILLIAM FRANCIS LAWRENCE, of 6, Gloucester Row, Clifton, in
the County of Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING CLAY AND EARTH,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
excavating clay and earth for railway cuttings, dock excavations, and
such like. For this purpose I suspend from the jib head of an ordinary

page_text: swinging steam crane a frame of iron, the two side arms of which form
guides between which a cutter or spade can slide to and fro; the cutter
has also pins projecting from it at the top to work between guides ou
these two side bars, and the cutter or spade when at the lower end of the
frame is free to turn upon these pins. The frame is supported by the
jib of the crane so that its lower end shall come just above the ground
to be cut. The spade or cutter which is heavily weighted on the top is
raised by the chain of the crane to bring it to the top of its guide frame,
and is let to drop suddenly to cause it to cut into the ground to the full
depth of the cutter, or nearly so. To the top of the cutter are jointed
iron arms carrying at one end teeth which can move up to its bottom
cutting edge. The opposite ends of the arms are however weighted so as
ordinarily to hold these teeth away from the cutting edge, but when the
cutter is allowed to drop and cut into the earth, as above explained, the
weighted ends of the arms come against iron plates, whereby the arms are
caused to turn on their axes and the spikes are forced to enter the earth
with sufficient force to make a horizontal cut at the lower end of the slice
of clay or earth which lies in front of the spade or cutter. The spade has
also side cutters standing out from its lower end which cut down at the side
of the slice of clay or earth which is thereby completely severed. To these
side picces is connected a chain, which when a slice of clay or earth has
been cut away, as above described, is hauled on by the crane engine,
whereby the spade is caused to turn on the axes at its upper end and is
raised to such an angle that the earth or clay will rest upon it. The jib
arm is then swung round and the spade brought over a waggon, the
chain just mentioned is then released and the earth falls into the waggon.
The cutter may afterwards be again raised and the jib arm swung round
to bring the cutter into position for making another cut.
The frame upon which the spade or cutter slides may either be allowed
to hang vertically from the jib head and so allow the spade or cutter to
make a vertical cut into the clay or earth, or the lower end of the frame
may be connected by a chain to the jib and the frame be thereby held in
an, inclined position to cause the cutter or spade to cut into the clay or
earth at any desired angle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Francis Lawrence in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 16th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FRANCIS LAWRENCE, of 6, Gloucester Row, Clifton, in the County of
Gloucester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Francis Lawrence,
Her special license, that I, the said William Francis Lawrence, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Francis Lawrence, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING
CLAY AND EARTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Francis Lawrence, 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 Francis Lawrence, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
excavating clay and earth for railway cuttings, dock excavations, and
such like. For this purpose I suspend from the jib head of an ordinary
swinging steam crane a frame of iron, the two side arms of which form
guides between which a cutter or spade can slide to and fro; the cutter

page_text: has also pins projecting from it at the top to work between guides on
these two side bars, and the cutter or spade when at the lower end of
the frame is free to turn upon these pins. The frame is supported by
the jib of the crane so that its lower end shall come just above the
ground to be cut. The spade or cutter which is heavily weighted on the
top is raised by the chain of the crane to bring it to the top of its guide
frame, and is let to drop suddenly to cause it to cut into the ground to
the full depth of the cutter or nearly so. To the top of the cutter are
jointed iron arms carring teeth which can move up to its bottom
cutting edge, the opposite ends of the arms are however weighted so as
ordinarily to hold these teeth away from the cutting edge, but when the
cutter is allowed to drop and cut into the earth, as above explained, the
weighted ends of the arms come against iron plates whereby the arms
are caused to turn on their axes and the spikes are forced to enter the
earth with sufficient force to make a horizontal cut at the lower end of
the slice of clay or earth which lies in front of the spade or cutter. The
spade has also side cutters standing out from its lower end which cut down
at the side of the slice of clay or earth which is thereby completely severed.
To these side pieces is connected a chain, which when a slice of clay or
earth has been cut away, as above described, is hauled on by the crane
engine, whereby the spade is caused to turn on the axes at its upper end,
and is raised to such an angle that the earth or clay will rest upon it.
The jib arm is then swung round and the spade brought over a waggon,
the chain just mentioned is then released and the earth falls into the
waggon. The cutter may afterwards be again raised and the jib arm
swung round to bring the cutter into position for making another cut.
.
The frame upon which the spade or cutter slides may either be allowed
to hang vertically from the jib head and so allow the spade or cutter to
make a vertical cut into the clay or earth, or the lower end of the frame
may be connected by a chain to the jib and the frame be thereby held
in an inclined position to cause the cutter or spade to cut into the clay
or earth at any desired angle.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I have shewn in the Drawings hereunto annexed an
apparatus constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 1 shews a side elevation, and Figure 2 an end elevation of the
apparatus; Figure 3 shews a transverse section taken on the line A, A,
Figure 2; and Figures 4, 5, and 6 shew separate views of the cutter.

page_text: a is the jib of an ordinary steam crane, from the head of which is sus-
pended a frame 6 in the manner shown at Figures 1 and 2. c is the
weighted cutter or spade with pins d projecting from its upper end. These
pins are received into slots in the side bars of the frame 6; on these side
bars are also flanges e, e, between which the ends of the spade or cutter
are received, as shewn at Figures 2 and 3, and which guide it in its fall.
These flanges are not carried down to the lower end of the frame, in order
that when the cutter or spade is in its lowest position it may be turned
on the pins or axes d, as above described. f is a lifting chain passing
over the pulley g at the head of the jib, and provided at its end with a
hook h to hook on to the cutter or spade, as shewn at Figure 2. This
hook is formed with an arm h¹ having a cord attached to it, by pulling
on which the hook may be tripped and the cutter or spade released and
allowed to drop; or other arrangements may be adopted for tripping the
hook whenever the spade or cutter has been raised to the desired height.
k, k, are arms jointed to the top of the spade or cutter at 1, 1; the lower
ends of the arms are formed with teeth k' which can move up to the
edge of the spade or cutter, but are ordinarily held away from it by the
counterweights m.
When the spade or cutter is allowed to fall to make a cut, and as it
comes to its lowest position, or nearly so, the weights m strike against
a plank resting on the earth or against stops carried by the frame, and
the arms are thereby caused to turn into the position shown at Figure 1.
n, n, are side cutters standing out from the spade or cutter. To these a
chain o can be attached to turn the cutter into a horizontal position after
it has made its cut. The chain o is led over a pulley p on the jib arm.
The pulley is carried by a slide which is caused to move upwards along
the jib arm as the arm is brought towards a vertical position; this is
effected by means of a screw passing through nuts on the slide, the
screw having on its lower end a pinion 8 which gears with a rack t fixed
to the framing of the crane.
As before stated the frame b may either be allowed to to hang vertically
so as to cause the spade to make a vertical cut into the clay or earth,
or the frame may be held in an inclined position to cause it to cut at
any angle desired.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim the

page_text: combined arrangement of apparatus for excavating clay and earth, sub-
stantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Francis Lawrence, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this 13th day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.