IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION. OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR STEAM PLOUGHING, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PORTABLE STEAM OR TRACTION ENGINES
Year: 1864

page_text: the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION. OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR STEAM PLOUGHING, PARTS
OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PORTABLE STEAM OR
TRACTION ENGINES."
Sealed the 7th October 1864, and dated the '13th April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Cope at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th April,1864.
"I, JAMES COPE, of New North Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said "Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR STEAM PLOUGHING, PARTS
OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PORTABLE STEAM OR TRACTION
ENGINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention of Improvements in the construction of apparatus employed
for steam ploughing, relates in the first place to the adaptation to the engine
of a peculiar form of anchor, or apparatus for securing the engine while
hauling on the traction ropes. The engine of steam ploughing apparatus is
usually secured by means of anchors, spiked fastenings, or tangs driven into
the ground by hand labour, and these fastenings are generally unconnected
with the engine.
2
The present improvement consists in adapting the anchor or securing

page_text: apparatus to the engine itself, and making the holding anchor in the form
of a thin disc, which may be made to rotate on its centre of motion when
brought into action, and thereby to enter the ground, and offer considerable
resistance to side pressure. This disc may be adapted excentrically to one of
the axles of the running wheels, so that it may be brought down when
required, and made to cut its way into the ground, or it may be mounted in
a rocking frame, by lowering which the disc will be brought in contact with
the ground, and made to cut its way in; or the disc may be mounted at any
other convenient part of the engine, the action of the disc being to cut its
way into the ground.
The next improvement consists in mounting the drum or rigger for taking
up the wire, rope, or chain horizontally on the lower part of the boiler or fire-
box, and keeping this drum or rigger in a central position thereon, by means
of friction wheels or rollers. The rigger or drum is also supported horizontally
about the level of the fire-bars by means of friction wheels or rollers. By
this means the pull of the rope will be upon the heaviest part of the engine,
and the required amount of resistance will therefore be offered to the pull of
the rope or chain.
Another improvement consists in mounting horizontal boilers in such a
manner that one end thereof may be raised or lowered, in order to keep the
same in a horizontal position when the engine is going up or down hill. To
this end the end of the boiler is supported upon a screwed cylinder or tube,
in which works a nut, which may be moved up or down in this cylinder by
means of any suitable gearing under the command of the attendant. Or the
boiler may be supported by the piston rod of an hydraulic cylinder, so that
by forcing water into the latter the end of the boiler may be elevated to the
required height, and there retained as long as may be desired. This hydraulic
Arrangement may be made self-acting by adapting to the cocks a vibrating
lever or ball, which as the level of the ground varies will act upon and open
the water valves or cocks. The same effect may be produced by cranking the
axle of the running wheels, and attaching the boiler in any convenient
manner thereto, so that by turning the axle on its centre of motion the end of
the boiler will be raised or lowered as required.
.
The last improvement consists in giving to the axles of the running wheels
the facility of rocking on a centre, so that the axle may always preserve its
parallelism to the surface of the ground, and the running wheels be always
allowed to rest thereon. The engine will thereby work equally well, and
without strain on any of its parts, even when one wheel may be on considerably
higher ground than its fellow. By the axles of the running wheels being

page_text: capable of being rocked on a centre, either of the running wheels may if
desired be lifted off the ground when required. This may frequently be found
convenient when the hauling rope or chain is being hauled in a line at an
angle to the axle, as the rope or chain may then be allowed to pass under the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Cope in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th October 1864.
!
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
COPE, of New North Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
send greeting.
;
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, given and grant
unto me, the said James Cope, Her special license that I, the said James
Cope, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Cope, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR STEAM PLOUGHING,
PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PORTABLE STEAM OR
TRACTION ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
James Cope, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Cope, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and 'by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Apparatus

page_text: employed for Steam Ploughing," relates in the first place to the adaptation
to the engine of a peculiar form of anchor, or apparatus for securing the
engine while hauling on the traction ropes. The engine employed in steam
ploughing apparatus is usually secured by means of anchors, spiked fastenings,
or tangs driven into the ground by hand labour, and these fastenings, are
generally unconnected with the engine.
The present improvement consists in adapting the anchor or securing
apparatus to the engine itself, so that the weight of the latter will be rendered
available for assisting in holding the anchor down. The holding anchor is
made in the form of a thin disc, which may be made to rotate on its centre of
motion when brought into action, and thereby to enter the ground, and offer
considerable resistance to side pressure. This disc may be adapted to the
engine in various ways, several of which are shewn in the accompanying
Drawings.
Two of these plans are shewn in side elevation at Fig. 1, Sheet I., and one
of them in end elevation at Fig. 2.
One of these arrangements consists in adapting the disc anchor a excen-
trically to the axle of one of the running wheels b, as shewn at the forward
end of the engine in Fig. 1, and also at the end elevation Fig. 2. The disc a
being mounted on an excentric on the axle may be raised and lowered by
means of the sector rack c and worm d. It will be seen that when the disc a
is brought down it will be made to cut its way into the ground, and thereby
securely hold the engine, and prevent it from being drawn sideways by the
lateral tension of the traction rope.
As a modification the disc a may be mounted on a pin at the end of a
lever e, as shewn at the rear end of the engine in Fig. 1, and also in plan view
at Fig. 3. This lever e rocks on a pin 7, and is raised or lowered when
required by means of the sector c' and screw d¹. If desired rotary motion
may be given to these discs by means of an endless chain passed from a
wheel on the crank or driving shaft of the engine round a stud wheel on the
disc axle.
Another modification is shewn in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet II., and consists
in mounting the disc a in a rocking frame g, g, which swings on a shaft or
axle h mounted in suitable bearings on some fixed part of the engine or boiler.
This rocking, or swinging frame is raised or lowered by means of a sector c
and screw d², as seen best in Fig. 5. By lowering the rocking frame g the
disc will be brought in contact with the ground, and made to cut its way in in
the manner already described. In order to communicate rotary motion to the
disc a, a driving band or chain is made to pass from the crank or driving shaft

page_text: of the engine round a stud wheel i on the shaft h. A chain
from the boss
of the stud wheel i passes round a similar wheel k on the disc axle, and
thereby rotates the same. In order to prevent the disc from cutting too
deeply into the ground a broad wheel is mounted on the disc shaft, and will
run along the surface as the disc a rotates.
Another mode of arranging. the disc a consists in mounting it on an
excentric secured to a sleeve on the axle of one of the running wheels. This
arrangement is shewn in elevation at Fig. 7, Sheet III., and in cross section
at Fig. 8. It will be seen that the running wheel is divided vertically into
two parts, between which the disc a is placed in such a manner that it may be
made to project or protrude beyond the periphery of the running wheels, such
projecting part being capable of being raised from or lowered into the ground
by turning the excentric q, which is actuated by means of the quadrant and
screws c3 and d³.
The next improvement, consists in mounting the drum or rigger for taking
up the wire, rope, or chain horizontally on the lower part of the boiler or, fire:
box, and keeping this drum or rigger in a central position thereon by means
of friction wheels or rollers. This improvement is also shewn in Fig. 1,
Sheet I., in which it will be seen that the rigger or drum m is supported
horizontally about the level of the fire-bars by means of friction rollers, as
seen in the detached sectional view, Fig. 6, in which m is the rigger or drum,
which is supported by the antifriction rollers n on a circular casting p secured
to the fire-box of the engine. This circular casting p is provided with a series
of vertical rollers o, o, which run in an annular chamber around the periphery
of the circular casting p, and prevent the drum or rigger from binding on the
latter, and keep it in a central position. By this means the pull of the rope
will be upon the heaviest part of the engine, and near/to the ground, the
required amount of resistance will therefore be offered to the pull of the rope
or chain without the risk of displacing the engine.
Another improvement consists in mounting horizontal boilers of portable
engines in such a manner that one end thereof may be capable of being raised
or lowered, in order to keep the same in a horizontal position, and the water
level when the engine is going up or down hill. For this purpose the end of
the boiler is supported upon a screwed cylinder or tube in which works a nut,
which may be moved up or down in this cylinder by means of any suitable
gearing under the command of the attendant. This arrangement is shewn in
Figures 9 and 10, .Sheet II., Fig. 9 being a transverse vertical section, and
Fig. 10 a longitudinal vertical section. 7 represents the end of the boiler,
which rests on the screwed cylinder s. The axle b of the running wheels

page_text: passes through vertical slots made in the screwed cylinder s. A screwed nut t
works in the cylinder s, and rests on the axle b¹. A bevil wheel on the top
of the axle of the nut gears into and is driven by a similar wheel t³, which
may be turned by means of a key applied to its square head. It will therefore
be seen that by turning the nut t by means of its bevil wheels the screwed
cylinder s, and with it the end of the boiler r may be raised or lowered
at pleasure.
As a modification of the above the boiler may be supported by the piston
rod of an hydraulic cylinder, as seen in Figures 11 and 12, so that by forcing
water into the hydraulic cylinder u the end of the boiler r may be elevated to
the required height, and there retained as long as may be desired. This
hydraulic arrangement may be made self-acting by adapting to the cocks a
vibrating lever or ball, which as the level of the ground varies will act upon
and open the water valves or cocks. In the arrangement shewn in Figures
13 and 14, Sheet I., the end of the boiler is raised and lowered by means of
the cranked axle of the running wheels, and by attaching the boiler in any
convenient manner thereto, so that by turning the axle on its centre of motion
by means of the worm and wheel v¹ the end of the boiler r will be raised
or lowered as required.
The last improvement consists in giving to the axles of the running wheels
the facility of rocking on a centre, so that the axle may always preserve' its
parallelism to the surface of the ground, and the running wheels be always
allowed to rest thereon. One mode of effecting this object is shewn in
Figures 13 and 14. To the fore part of the boiler is secured the short
cylinder w, in which is inserted the end of the cylinder s, to which is attached
the axle of the front pair of wheels. The outer edge of the upper end of the
cylinders and the inner edge of the lower end of the cylinder w are both
bevilled, so as to admit of the inner cylinder being rocked on its centre of
motion 1. It will also be seen that the cylinder w may be turned round
horizontally when required, carrying the running wheels with it, so that the
engine may be steered in any direction. On referring to Figures 9, 10, 11,
and 12, it will be seen that instead of bevilling the edges of the inner and
outer cylinders, the bottom of the nut t and the shoulder of the hydraulic
cylinder are rounded, so as to admit of the axle of the running wheels
assuming any required angle. From the above it will be seen that the engine
will work equally well and without strain on any of its parts, even when one
wheel may be on considerably higher ground than its fellow. By the axles of
the running wheels being capable of being rocked on a centre, either of them
may if desired be lifted off the ground when required; as, for instance, in

page_text: order to lift them out of the way of the traction rope. This may frequently
be found convenient when the hauling rope or chain is being hauled in a line
at an angle to the axle, as the rope or chain may then be allowed to pass
under the wheel which will have been raised up off the ground for the
purpose. A convenient mode of lifting the wheels off the ground for the above
purpose is also shewn at Figures 15 and 16, Sheet III. In this instance the
axle box is made in two pieces, one part being removeable. The moveable
piece is held in its place by a key y, and when the latter is taken out the
picce may be removed, and the wheel b may be lifted up, so as to bring the
axle into the semicircular socket z. The moveable piece x is then turned over
and placed on the axle, and is secured there by the key y.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Construction
of Apparatus employed for Steam Ploughing. Parts of which Improvements
are also applicable to Portable Steam or Traction Engines," and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First, the adaptation to the engine of a steam ploughing apparatus of an
anchor or securing apparatus, as herein set forth.
Second, placing the rigger or drum for the traction rope around the lower
part of the fire-box of the engine.
Third, I claim the mode herein set forth of raising and lowering one end of
horizontal boilers, for the purpose of keeping the water level.
Fourth, I claim adapting the axles of the running wheels of portable
engines to the body of the engine or boiler, in such a manner as herein set
forth, that the axle may be always kept parallel with the surface of the
ground, or turned in any direction without straining any part of the engine.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Cope, have hereunto set my
hand and seal; the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JAMES COPE. (L.S.)