IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE DRIVING MACHINERY
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Morrison, of the Town and County of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PILE DRIVING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 5th September 1856, and dated the 6th March 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Morrison at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th March 1856.
I, ROBERT MORRISON, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PILE DRIVING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for driving piles by the direct action of steam, by
which arrangement two or more rows of piles may be driven simultaneously
without the necessity for any lateral or transverse movement being imparted
to the pile-driving mechanism, and consequently the expence of driving
temporary piles and erecting platforms for the machine to traverse laterally
upon, from one row of piles to another, is obviated.
According to this Invention, one, two, or more steam cylinders and driving
rams are employed, according to the number of rows of piles to be driven at
one time, the distance between such cylinders and rams corresponding to the
width between the centres of the rows of piles.
The cylinders and valve gearing are carried in suitable supports on one end of

page_text: a travelling carriage running on wheels, and a vertical tubular boiler and small
steam engine for hoisting the piles and raising the cylinders when they have
each driven a pile are carried at the other end of the carriage. The boiler is
fitted with a conical or tapered fire box, the contracted-end being uppermost ;
as fast as each pile in a row is driven, the machine is traversed forward
between the rows to the next piles, and so on, until the whole of the piles in
each row are driven. The driving rams are made solid, and the pistons are
forged or cast in one piece. therewith; a.stuffing box is fitted on to each end
of the cylinders, and the driving rams work through both stuffing boxes, which
thus serve as guides without the necessity for any other means of steadying
them during working.
"The lower end of the ram, or that part which works through the lower
stuffing box, is made cylindrical, whilst the upper portion, working through the
top stuffing box, is made square, to prevent the ram from turning round; or, in
place of making it square, it may be first-turned-cylindrical, and then have one
side planed off, or it may be simply fitted with a feather on one side; any other
form, however, would answer, other than cylindrical.
The valves of the steam cylinders are so arranged, that the steam may
either be admitted on the under side only of the piston or pistons for the
purpose of raising the ram or rams, and then-allowing such ram or rains to
fall by their own gravity to drive the piles, or the steam may be admitted on
each side of the piston or piston's, so that the force of the blow may be increased
in proportion to the pressure of the steam. In the former case the upper
stuffing box will not of course require packing, but will merely serve as a
guide to the ram.
The small steam engine which it is proposed to employ för raising the
cylinders after they have done their work, and hoisting fresh piles to deposit
under the rams, is an inverted trunk engine, the lower end of the trunk being
flattened to such an extent as will balance the weight of the piston-trunks.
The connecting rods are also flattened slightly.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Morrison in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th September 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME; I, ROBERT
MORRISON, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer, 'send 3.
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert
Morrison, Her special license that I, the said Robert Morrison, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I the said Robert Morrison, my
executors, administrators, or 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 PILE DRIVING MACHINERY,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Morrison, 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 Robert Morrison, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
This Invention relates to a peculiar arrangement and construction of
machinery or apparatus for driving piles by the direct action of steam, by
which arrangement two or more rows of piles may be driven simultaneously
without the necessity for any lateral or transverse movement being imparted
to the pile-driving mechanism, and consequently the expense of driving
temporary piles and erecting platforins for the machine to traverse laterally
upon from one row of piles to another is obviated.
According to this Invention, one, two, or more steam cylinders and driving
rams are employed, according to the number of rows of piles to be driven at
one time, the distance between such cylinders and rams corresponding to the
width between the centres of the rows of piles.
The cylinders and valve gearing are carried in suitable supports on one end
of a travelling carriage running on wheels, and a vertical tubular boiler and
small steam engine for hoisting the piles and raising the cylinders when they
have each driven a pile are carried at the other end of the carriage. The
boiler is fitted with a conical or tapered fire box, the contracted end
being uppermost. As fast as each pile in a row is driven, the machine is

page_text: traversed forward between the rows to the next piles, and so on, until the
whole of the piles in each row are driven. The driving rams are made solid,
and the pistons are forged or cast in one piece therewith. A stuffing box is
fitted on to each end of the cylinders, and the driving rams work through both
stuffing boxes, which thus serve as guides without the necessity for any other
means of steadying them during working.
The lower end of the ram, or that part which works through the lower
stuffing box, is made cylindrical, whilst the upper portion working through
the top stuffing box is made square, to prevent the ram from turning round;
or, in place of making it square, it may be first turned cylindrical and then
have one side planed off, or it may be simply fitted with a feather on one side;
any other form, however, would answer other than cylindrical.
The valves of the steam cylinders are so arranged, that the steam may either
be admitted on the under side only of the piston or pistons for the purpose of
raising the ram or rams, and then allowing such ram or rams to fall by their
own gravity to drive the piles, or the steam may be admitted on each side of
the piston or pistons, so that the force of the blow may be increased in pro-
portion to the pressure of the steam. In the former case, the upper stuffing
box will not of course require packing, but will merely serve as a guide to
the ram.
The small steam engine which it is proposed to employ for raising the
cylinders after they have done their work, and hoisting fresh piles to deposit
under the rams, is an inverted trunk engine, the lower end of the trunk being
flattened to such an extent as will balance the weight of the piston trunks and
connecting rod.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a front elevation of my double pile
driving machine complete; Figure 2 is a corresponding side elevation of the
same; and Figure 3 is a plan of the machine. The same letters of reference.
indicate corresponding parts throughout all these Figures. The whole
of the apparatus, auxiliary engine, boiler, and lifting tackle, are supported
by and carried on the moveable platform A, A, which runs on eight small
running wheels B, B. On this platform are erected the two strong uprights
C, C, which are securely strutted together by the struts D, D, and held
in a vertical or inclined position, as the case may be, by the supports E, E,
and tie rods or braces F, F, secured to the after end of the platform, G, G,
are a pair of large pullies, carried in cast-iron brackets H, H, bolted to the
top of each of the uprights.
These pullies are for the purpose of raising the driving cylinders I, I, and
placing them on the top of the piles J, J; for this purpose, the cylinders are

page_text: suspended by the chains K, K, which pass over the large pullies G, G, and
thence down to the two hoisting drums L, L. M, M, are two smaller pullies,
suspended from the brackets H, at the top of the uprights, for the purpose of
raising and placing fresh piles underneath the cylinders. A chain N is passed
over each pulley M, and secured, as shewn at Figure 1, to the heads of the
piles, which are then raised by the smaller hoisting drums O, O.
The machinery and gear for effecting the raising of the cylinders and
elevating the piles is driven by a small auxiliary engine P, which also causes
the whole apparatus to travel forwards along the rails Q. The piles at
the top are made round, and are hooped at R, thereby forming a shoulder
to receive the collars S, S, to each of which are attached the four columns T,
T, which are bolted at their upper ends to the flanges U, U, on the cylin-
ders. The piston rods or driving rams V, V, are made of large diameters
and form the bulk of the weight, and as they are made in one piece
with their pistons, they are perfectly secure against all liability of fracture.
The cylinders I, I, are guided in their upward and downward traverse by
iron plates W, fitted on to the faces of the uprights C, such plates being
embraced laterally by the lugs or brackets X, X, on the cylinders, as shewn
at Figure 2. The jointed steam pipes Y, Y, convey the steam from the
vertical boiler Z to the valve chests a, a, of the cylinders, and by being jointed
allow of the cylinders being moved up or down as the height of the piles may
require. When it is desired to put the machine in operation, the auxiliary
engine P is started, and the gearing for driving the large hoisting drums L, L,
is brought into action, whereupon the cylinders I with their driving rams V are
lifted to the top of the uprights by the chains K, to which the cylinders are slung.
The drums L are then. held stationary by suitable breaks, and the gearing is
disconnected from them by the clutches b, b, and is simultaneously brought
into gear with the smaller hoisting drums 0, 0, round which are wound the
chains N, N, connected to the piles to be raised, which are placed in position
for driving. This having been effected, the cylinders are lowered so that the
collars S may pass over the rounded ends of the piles and rest on their
shoulders, the whole of the weight of the cylinders and rams being thus
allowed to bear upon the piles, whilst the strokes of the rams drive the piles
into the ground. As the piles gradually sink, the cylinders descend with
them, being thus constantly in contact with or resting upon them.
The apparatus for working the rams or hammer bars is very simple, and
consists of an ordinary slide in the valve chest a, such slide being connected to
the valve spindle c, which is fitted with a piston working in a small cylinder d,
and so arranged, that by the pressure of the steam acting on this piston, the

page_text: slide is forced into such a position that steam is freely admitted into the
cylinder to raise the ram. Near the bottom of the ram is a projecting stud or
catch e, which by coming in contact with the tail of the spanner or lever f
draws down the valve, shuts the steam off from the main cylinder, and allows
that steam which has already effected the up-stroke to escape, at the same time
bringing a small catch g into a notch h on the upper end of the valve spindle,
thereby holding the valve down until the hammer or driver has descended and
struck the head of the pile. The concussion of the blow causes the "kicker"
or lever i to descend and strike open the catch g, whereupon the steam acting
upon the piston in the small cylinder d raises the slide, and allows the steam
in the valve chest to enter below the main piston and force up the ram again.
When the steam is used on both sides of the piston an additional valve is used;
attached, and similar to that described.
In place of the above described self-acting gearing for working the valves,
another contrivance may be adopted for admitting and discharging the steam
into and from the cylinders, namely, a balance valve, which I shall now proceed
to describe. This balance valve is représented in section at Figure 2 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed. The upper piston A admits the steam into and
out of the hammer cylinder, and has a conical face at B, with the view of pre-
venting the escape of steam round the edges when the hammer is not at work.
The lower piston C is employed for the sole purpose of balancing the pressure
of steam on the upper piston, and is made of slightly larger diameter, that the
upper piston may be always kept well upon the cone B when the handle is let
free. E, the eduction port, and D, the steam port, communicate by the passage
F. with the bottom of the hammer cylinder. The valve cylinder has a jacket
G, into which the steam is freely admitted from the boiler, and the throttle
valve H regulates its admission between the upper and lower pistons. The
two pistons A and C being raised by hand by means of a lever attached to the
spindle I, the upper piston A is lifted off the cone B, and the eduction port E
being thereby closed, steam is admitted below through the steam port D. By
properly working the handle attached to these pistons, the ports E and D may
be wholly or partially opened, and consequently a blow of any amount of force
may be given at will. When the steam is admitted to both sides of the pistons
two such balance valves must be employed, connected with one another by the
centre spindle, and both worked by the long lever, already mentioned, which
must be so set that the steam port of one valve is open when the steam port
of the other is closed. The pair of piles having been driven home, the anxiliary
engine is again put into action, and the wheel jis thrown into gear by means
of a suitable clutch, when the whole apparatus is made to advance along the

page_text: rails to a position suitable for the next succeeding pair of piles to be driven,
and so on, throughout the entire series of piles, the rails Qbeing laid as the
work progresses on longitudinal bearers, placed on the tops of the piles, all
temporary piles or erections being entirely abolished. Two, three, or more
cylinders may be employed, according to the number of rows of piles to be
driven, and these piles may either be driven vertically or at an angle, by
adjusting the uprights accordingly. The hammer bars or driving ranis V, V;
are guided in their movements solely by the two ends of their cylinders. The
lower end of each ram which acts upon the pile may be made cylindrical or
any other shape, although I prefer the cylindrical form, and works through a
large stuffing box k in the lower end of the cylinder, whilst the upper end of
the ram is made square, or of any other section not 'round, and if square is
finished up in the planing machine. This square 'portion of the ram works
through a correspondingly shaped stuffing box 7 on the upper end of the
cylinder; by this means the ram is prevented from turning round during
working. When the steam is used for lifting the hammer bar or ram only
the upper stuffing box l need not.of course be packed, as it will simply serve
the purpose of a guide to the ram and prevent it from turning. The form of
section which I most prefer to give to the upper part of the ram is to turn it
round in the lathe first, and then plane off one side of it slightly. When I use
the steam on both sides of the piston, then of course I pack the upper stuffing
box as well as the lower one. By thus dispensing with external guides for
the driving ram, I shorten the distance between the end of the pile and the
cylinder to an extent .equal to the length of stroke.
When the pistons
become worn I turn them down and contract pieces on to them. The auxiliary
engine P is so arranged that the connecting rod works through a flat elongated
trunk, fixed to the piston and passing through a stuffing box in the bottom of
the cylinder, the piston having also a round trunk projecting through the top
of the cylinder, serving as a means of lubricating the end of the connecting rod,
and also for balancing the weight of the piston trunks and connecting rod,
since the areas of the two trunks are so arranged that the effective area of the
under side of the piston (regard being had to the pressure of steam intended to
be used) shall exceed the effective area of the top of the piston.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that although the details or arrangements
which I have bercin-before described or referred to are sufficient for the
purposes intended, yet I do not confine myself to them precisely, as many
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles or main

page_text: features of iny said Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general arrangement, construction, and application of machinery
or apparatus as herein-before described for driving piles.
Second, the constructing or forming the ram or actual pile-driver in one
solid piece with the piston, and causing it to work through both ends of the
cylinder, as herein-before described.
•
Third, the system or mode of guiding the ram by means of the top cover
of the cylinder, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the application and use and peculiar arrangement of one, two, or
more cylinders for driving one, two, or more rows of piles simultaneously.
Fifth, the application and using of the steam on both sides of the piston or
pistons in pile-drivers, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the application and use of the balance valve apparatus in place of
the self-acting gearing for regulating the admission of the steam into the
hammer cylinder, as herein-before described.
Seventh, the peculiar arrangement and construction of carriages or plat-
forms for carrying the whole of the pile-driving and hoisting mechanism, and
dispensing with all temporary piles and platforms, as hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Morrison, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.
ROB MORRISON. (L.S.)