IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR BORING WELLS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Erhard, of No. 7, Rue de Navarin, in the
City of Paris, France, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR BORING WELLS."-A communication from Messrs. Chanoit
and Catelineau.
Sealed the 3rd December 1858, and dated the 26th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Erhard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
June 1858.
I, CHARLES ERHARD, of No. 7, Rue de Navarin, in the City of Paris, France,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR BORING WELLS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for boring
wells. For this purpose, in order to keep up a constant flow of water past
the boring tool to remove the earth or matters cut away thereby, the tool is
connected to the end of a tube, which is of less diameter than the diameter of
the boring tool; which tube passes up to the top of the well, and to which a
to-and-fro motion is communicated. Water is supplied freely to the space
between the exterior of the tube and the sides of the well, and the water is
caused constantly to rise up the tube by a piston, in which there is a valve
opening downwards, being attached to the exterior of the tube, near its top,
which piston works in a cylinder, through which the tube passes. The bottom
of the cylinder is open, and at the top of the cylinder there is a valve opening
downwards, which allows the water to pass downwards, but will not allow it
to return back. By these means, the piston in its downward stroke forces the
water down the space between the sides of the well and the tube, and up

page_text: through the tube, carrying with it the matters removed by the cutter, and the
tube being open at the top allows the water containing the earth and matters
removed by the boring tool to pass away freely. Or, in place of a piston
working in a cylinder forcing he water up the tube, a valve opening upwards
may be placed in the interior of the tube, near its bottom, which when the
tube is raised, prevents the water from flowing back, and causes it to escape
from the top of the tube, thus keeping up a constant stream of water up the
tube. In place of the boring tool being permanently attached to the tube
which passes up to the top of the well, the boring tool is attached to a short
tube which slides on its end; and on the tube which passes up to the top of
the well there are two levers which turn on centres, the levers having notches
formed in them, which take into projections formed on the tube to which the
tool is attached, and so raise the tool when the tube which passes up to the
top of the well is raised, but when the tube is raised to its highest point the
catches are released, and allow the tool to fall. The lever catches may be
caused to take into and release the projections either by a loose piece of wood
or other suitable material in the interior of the tube of the same specific
gravity as the water, acting alternately on the top and the bottom of the
levers, as the tube is moved alternately up and down; or when a valve is
employed near the bottom of the tube, by projections on the stem of the valve
acting alternately on the top and bottom of the levers, or the catches may be
actuated by any other suitable means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Erhard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
ERHARD, of No. 7, Rue de Navarin, in the City of Paris, France, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Erhard, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Erhard, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Erhard, 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

page_text: 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
BORING WELLS," a communication from Messrs. Chanoit & Catelineau, the.
Inventors; upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Erhard, 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 Charles Erhard, 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, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for boring wells.
For this purpose in order to keep up a constant flow of water past the boring
tool, to remove the earth or matters cut away thereby, the tool is connected to
the end of a tube which is of less diameter than the diameter of the boring
tool, which tube passes up to the top of the well, and to which a to-and-fro
motion is communicated. Water is supplied freely to the space between the
exterior of the tubes and the sides of the well, and the water is caused con-
stantly to rise up the tube by a piston in which there is a valve opening
downwards, being attached to the exterior of the tube near its top, which
piston works in a cylinder through which the tube passes. The bottom of the
cylinder is open, and at the top of the cylinder there is a valve opening down-
wards, which allows the water to pass downwards, but will not allow it to return.
back. By these means the piston in its downward stroke forces the water down
the space between the sides of the well and the tube and up through the tube,
carrying with it the matters removed by the cutter, and the tube being open at
the top allows the water containing the earth and matters removed by the
boring tool to pass away freely. Or in place of a piston working in a
cylinder forcing the water up the tube, a valve opening upwards may be placed
in the interior of the tube near its bottom, which when the tube is raised
prevents the water from flowing back, and causes it to escape from the top of
the tube, thus keeping up a constant stream of water up the tube. In place of
the boring tool being permanently attached to the tube which passes up to the
top of the well, the boring tool is attached to a short tube, which slides on
its end; and on the tube which passes up to the top of the well there are two

page_text: held down by projections on it passing under projections on the cylinder, but
by turning the cover partly round the cover is released and can readily be
lifted off. The cylinder d is placed at the bottom of a réservoir e, which is dug
before commencing to bore the well; this reservoir is kept constantly supplied
with water, and as the tube 6 is moved up and down, the piston c causes the
water to flow down the space between the tube and the sides of the well,
past the cutting tool, and up through the tube b, carrying with it the earth
and matters removed by the cutter, and the tube being open at the top allows
the water and the earth and matters removed by the cutter to pass away
freely. Above the top of the tube b there is a semicircular cover f, and under.
this cover buckets are suspended; the semicircular cover f. causes all the
water to fall into the buckets before it falls into the reservoir, and in these
buckets the greater part of the earth and matters removed by the cutter is
deposited, and the buckets may be removed from time to time and emptied.
To the top of the semicircular cover is connected by a swivel joint a rod k,
having a screw thread cut upon it; this rod screws into a tube k¹, in the
interior of which there is a female screw. The tube is connected to the
beam (as shown at Figure 1) to which motion is communicated from the
steam engine, so that by turning the rod k the tube is caused to descend
lower and lower; when the end of the rod k has arrived nearly at the end of
the tube, the tube b is lifted by means of the ropes or chains shewn in red
lines, and a fresh length of wooden tube is inserted in it.
The boring tool a is not permanently attached to the tube b, but is attached
to a short tube a', which slides on the end of the tube b, and on the tube b
there are projections 63, which work in slots in the tube a¹, so that the tube a¹
is prevented from falling off the end of the tube b. On the tube b there are
two levers.g, g, which turn on centres g¹; on the lower arms of the levers g
there are hooks or catches which take into projections on the tube a³, and so
raise the tool when the tube b is raised; but when the tube 6 is raised to its
highest point the catches are released, and allow the cutting. tool a to fall.
This action may be accomplished in several different manners; one of the
ways of accomplishing this is shewn at Figure 1; in this case the upper arms
of the levers 9 have a tendency to fall together, and to close the passage
through the tube b, and when the levers are in this position the hooks on the
levers 9 have hold of the projections on the tube a¹. When the tube b begins
to descend, the piston c forces the water, up through the tube, b, which causes
the upper arms of the levers g to separate, and allows the tube a¹ carrying the
cutting tool to fall; when the tube b descends to its lowest position, the
levers g again fall together, and their catches take hold of the tube a', and

page_text: lift it, when the same operation is repeated. Different sections of this cutting
tool and apparatus connected therewith are shewn at Figures 8 to 13.
Figure 3 shews another arrangement for actuating the levers g. In this
arrangement there is a piece g² of wood or other material of about the same
specific gravity as water (through which there is a hole for the passage of
the water), which acts alternately on projections on the upper and lower arms
of the levers g as the tube b is moved up and down.
g
Figure 4 shows another arrangement for actuating the levers g. In this
arrangement, on the upper arm of each of the levers 9 there is a projection,
and there is within the metal tube forming the last length of the tube b, a
smaller metal tube h, on the top and bottom of which there are wings or
projections, which alternately come against the bottom of the levers g and
the projections h¹, and so cause the levers to open and close, by which means
the cutting tool on the tube a¹ will be alternately lifted and released. In this
arrangement it will be seen that, by altering the position of the wings or pro-
jections on the tube h, the distance which the cutting tool is raised before it is
allowed to fall may be varied. Or, when in place of employing a piston to
force the water up the tube b, a valve opening upwards is placed in the
interior of the tube b near its bottom, the levers g may be actuated by pro-
jections on the stem of the valve acting alternately on the top and bottom of
the levers.
Figure 1 (Sheet 2) shews a vertical section of an apparatus for enlarging
the boring made by the apparatus above described; Figure 2 (Sheet 2) shews
another vertical section of this apparatus. In this case the cutters are attached
to rods a, a, which are moved up and down by apparatus similar to that above
described, and the tube b, through which the water and matters removed by
the cutters pass, is stationary, and in the top of this tube a piston c works,
which is caused to move up and down by its rod being connected to the
rods a, a.
In the piston c there are valves opening upwards, so that the
piston c draws the water and matters removed by the cutter from the tube b,
by which arrangement the well need not be entirely filled with water. At
the bottom of the tube b there are two branch tubes 6', in each of which
there is a ball valve 63, to prevent the water and matters removed by the
cutters from flowing back, out of the tube b; the ends of these branch pipes
are kept a little above the surface of the earth which is being cut by the
cutters by means of the wheels 3, which support the tube b, as shewn at
Figure 2 (Sheet 2). The end of the tube is held steady by the tube b*
on its end entering the small boring already made. The upper ends of
the rods a, a, and the tube b, pass through holes in a horizontal wheel d,

page_text: which turns around the top of the boring. On the circumference of this
wheel there are teeth, as shewn at Figure 3, into which a worm takes, so
that a rotatory motion may be communicated to this wheel, and consequently
to the cutting tools. The cutting tools are not permanently attached to the
rods a, but are connected to them in a similar manner to that in which the
cutting tool. is connected to the tube b in the apparatus first described.
9, 9, are the two levers, which turn on centres g¹ in Figure 1 (Sheet 2).
These levers are shown to be actuated by a hollow float, as before described
in Figure 4 (Sheet 2.) The ends of the levers g, when the cutting tool has
been raised to its highest position, are caused to come against projections b³
fixed to the tube b, and so release the tool, and allow it to fall.
When the well has been dug, the sides are supported by means of cast-iron
rings k, k, see Figure 7 (Sheet 2). The rings k are introduced by means of
a frame 1, having a conical end, which is first introduced into the boring, and
the cast-iron rings k are then slid down over the frame l, until a sufficient
number of rings have been introduced when the frame 1, is withdrawn.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I am aware that the
boring tool has before been attached to a tube, and that a continuous current
of water has been caused to flow past the boring tool and up through the
tube, so as to carry up the earth and matters removed by the boring tool; I
do not therefore lay any claim thereto; but what I claim is,-
First, the causing water to flow past the boring tool by means of a pumping
action, as herein described.
And, secondly, the connecting the cutting tools to the tube or rods which
pass up to the top of the well, so that, after the tube or rod has been lifted,
the tool may be released and allowed to fall independently of the tube or rod,
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Erhard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
T. BASSET.
CHARLES ERHARD. (L.S.)