Improvements in Coal Cutting Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coal Cutting Machines.
We WILLIAM EDWARD GARFORTH Mining Engineer Normanton, RICHARD
SUTCLIFFE Mechanical and Mining Engineer of Public Hall Chambers Bransley and
WILLIAM BUXTON Colliery Official of Altofts all in the County of York do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention refers to improvements in the details of coal cutting machines, in
which the coal is cut by a wheel provided with cutters on the periphery; and has for
its object first to enable a deeper undercut to be obtained than is possible with
similar machines to which our invention has not been applied, and secondly to obtain a
more suitable feed than is possible with present machines.
In such machines as at present constructed, the bearing for the centre of the
cutting wheel is carried or formed in a so-called butterfly bracket, which bracket is
attached to a second bracket bolted to one of the side frames of the machine. For
the sake of distinction, this second bracket, which usually encloses or carries the
driving pinion or the bearings for the pinion shaft, will be termed the pinion
bracket. This bracket usually projects about 4 or 5 inches beyond the frame side,
and limits the nearness with which the machine can be placed to the coal face, and
consequently shortens by about the same amount the depth of the undercut obtain-
able with the machine. Now our invention consists in dispensing with this pinion
bracket, and in making the aforesaid butterfly bracket longer by the depth of the
pinion bracket, and attaching the butterfly bracket direct by bolting the vertical base
to the frame side. The vertical base is made to join the horizonal triangular part of the
bracket by a curved portion of the same, to allow for the projecting part of
the pinion, and to enable it to gear with the cutter wheel. The bracket is made of
cast steel.
Instead of curving the base of the butterfly bracket upward to be attached to the
side frame, we may carry the bracket back beneath the machine, and attach it to
the lower or under part of both side frames.
In coal cutting machines of the type herein referred to, the ratchet pawl actuating
the hauling drum, is moved by a connecting rod from a stud or crank pin on a plate
attached to the first or second motion shaft. This arrangement has the defect, that
the feed cannot be made as slow or rather the number of feed strokes as few as is
sometimes desirable. To obviate this disadvantage, we add a third motion shaft, to
which we attach the crank pin or stud for actuating the ratchet pawl of the hauling
or feeding mechanism. This third motion shaft is driven from the second motion
shaft, i.e. the aforesaid pinion shaft.
Or in place of adding a third motion shaft, we may drive the ratchet lever from
the first or a second motion shaft, but fit a device consisting of an intermittently.
driven wheel and can to the ratchet gear, to cause the ratchet pawl to engage not at

page_text: every stroke of the ratchet lever, but intermittently; or we may insert such inter-
mittent driving device. so as to operate the ratchet lever intermittenly.
Dated this 11th day of February 1897.
J CLARK JEFFERSON,
30 Park Row Leeds. Agents for Applicants.
We WILLIAM EDWARD GARFORTH Mining Engineer Normanton RICHARD SUTCLIFFE
Mechanical and Mining Engineer of Public Hall Chambers Barnsley and WILLIAM
BUXTON Colliery Official of Altofts all in the County of York 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:-
Our invention refers to improvements in the details of coal cutting machines, .in
which the coal is cut by a wheel provided on its periphery with cutters; and has for
its object, first to enable a deeper undercut to be made than is possible with similar
machines to which our invention has not been applied, and secondly to obtain a more
suitable feed than is possible with present machines.
"
In such a machine as at present constructed, the bearing for the centre of the
cutting wheel is carried or formed in a so called "butterfly" bracket, which bracket
is attached to a second bracket bolted to one of the side frames of the machine. For
the sake of distinction this second bracket, which usually encloses or carries the
driving pinion, or the bearings for the pinion shaft, will be termed the pinion bracket.
This bracket usually projects about 4 or 5 inches beyond the frame side, and limits
the nearness with which the machine can be placed to the coal face, and consequently
shortens by about the same amount the depth of the undercut obtainable with the
machine. Now our invention consists in dispensing with this pinion bracket, and
in making the aforesaid butterfly bracket longer by the depth of the pinion bracket,
and attaching the butterfly bracket direct by bolting the vertical base to the frame
side. The vertical base is made to join the horizontal triangular part of the bracket
by a curved portion, and a hole is formed or cast in this part to allow for the projecting
part of the pinion, and to allow the pinion to gear with the cutter wheel. The
bracket is most conveniently made of cast steel.
Instead of curving the base of the butterfly bracket upward to be attached to the
side frame as just described, we propose in some cases to continue the bracket back
beneath the machine, and to attach it to the lower or underside of both side frames.
In coal cutting machines of the type herein referred to, the ratchet pawl actuating
the hauling drum, is moved by a connecting rod from a stud or crank pin on a plate
attached to the first or second motion shaft. This arrangement has the defect, that
the feed cannot be made as slow, or rather the number of feed strokes as few as is
sometimes desirable. To obriate this disadvantage, we add a third motion shaft,
to which we attach the crank pin or stud for actuating the ratchet pawl of the
hauling or feeding mechanism. This third motion shaft is driven from the second
motion shaft, i.e. the aforesaid pinion shaft.
In place of adding a third motion shaft, we may effect the same purpose by
driving the ratchet lever from the first or second motion shaft, and introducing a
device consisting of an intermittently driven wheel and cam in connection with the
ratchet gear, to cause the ratchet pawl to engage, not at every stroke of the ratchet
lever, but intermittently;
And in order that our invention and the manner in which the same is to be

page_text: performed may be more readily and clearly understood, we have annexed hereto
the accompanying drawings.
Fig 1 is a plan and Fig 2 a side elevation of so much of a coal cutting machine, to
which our invention has been applied, as is necessary to illustrate our invention.
Fig 3 is a vertical section on line A B of Fig 1, of our improved butterfly bracket.
Fig 4 is a plan and Fig 5 a vertical section on line CD of the modified form of our
improved butterfly bracket.
Fig 6 is a side elevation with the upper part of the ratchet lever shewn in section
on line G H of Fig 7, and Fig 7 is a corresponding cross elevation, partly in section,
of the device for operating the hauling or feeding mechanism intermittently.
In all the views the same, reference letter refers to the same or corresponding
parts.
a indicates the side frames of the machine.
b is the butterfly bracket, c being the centre carrying, and about which, the cutter
wheel revolves. The periphery of the cutter wheel is indicated by the lines marked d.
e e are horizontal ribs on the vertical base of the bracket b, which fit over the side
frame of the machine. f is an opening in the curved part joining the butterfly
plate with the vertical base of the same, to admit the projecting portion of the
driving pinion g, and the shaft, or shaft bearings, of the same.
In Figs 4 and 5 the butterfly plate 6 is curved but slightly upwards, and extended
back horizontally to fit against the underside of both side frames a, to which it is
secured; and provided with an opening f for the projecting part of the driving
pinion, and with strengthening ribs h.
i is the crank shaft, and j the pinion or second motion shaft. A bearing lis
formed or fitted to the off-side frame of the machine for carrying a short third motion
shaft, (or axis) m, which is driven by gear wheels as shewn from the second shaft j.
The gear wheel n on this shaft (or axis) carries a crank pin or stud o, adjustable as
to its distance from the centre of the gear wheel n; and from which the ratchet
pawl lever p is operated by means of the connecting rod r.
s is the ratchet wheel,
and t and u are gear wheels connecting it with shaft of the hauling barrel v.
use of this third motion shaft permits the proportion of the number of feed strokes
to the corresponding number of revolutions of the cutter wheel to be reduced,
The
This may also be effected by the device shewn in Figs 6 and 7. In this case the
two-sided ratchet lever p carries a cross shaft w, provided outside the sides with
a small ratchet wheel x, and within the arms and immediately beneath the pawl y
with a cam or set of cams z. The cross shaft w and cams z are partially rotated each
complete stroke of the ratchet lever p, by the fixed spring catch 1 engaging with the
teeth of the ratchet wheel x, when the motion is in the one direction; and yielding
and allowing the teeth to slip over it when the motion is in the opposite direction.
In certain positions the cams z will come in contact with the swell on the underside
of the pawl y, and raise the same out of gear with the teeth of the ratchet wheel,
thus stopping for the time being the feed of the machine. The pawl 2 serves to
prevent any reverse motion of the ratchet wheel 8, and any consequent slackening of
the tension of the hauling rope.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1 In coal cutting machines of the type herein referred to the use in place of the
present butterfly bracket and pinion bracket of a butterfly bracket alone constructed
substantially as herein set forth and illustrated and for the purpose specified.
2. The construction of butterfly brackets for coal cutting machines characterized
by an approximately triangular shaped horizontal portion a vertical portion running
into the former with a curve and an opening about the centre of said curve
all substantially as and for the purposes specified and illustrated in Figs 1 and 3.
3 In coal cutting machines of the type herein referred to the feed mechanism

page_text: consisting of a crank on a shaft separate from and geared to the pinion shaft,
connecting rod, ratchet lever and ratchet wheel actuating directly or by gearing the
hauling drum substantially as herein set forth.
4. In coal cutting machines the combination in connection with the ratchet wheel
and ratchet lever of the feed mechanism of a device for causing the intermittent
engagement of the pawl with the ratchet lever substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 9th day of November 1897
J. CLARK JEFFERSON,
30 Park Row Leeds Agent for Applicants.