IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING COAL, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Bartholomew, of Broxholme, Doncaster, in
the County of York, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
Sealed the 5th July 1864, and dated the 12th January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Bartholomew at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th January 1864.
I, CHARLES BARTHOLOMEW, of Broxholme, Doncaster, in the County of
York, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING COAL, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be
as follows:-
By the present method of getting coal the seam is undercut or holed at the
bottom of the face to a depth of six feet, more or less, according to the thick-
ness of the seam and in a leading bank one or both ends cut, and if not wedged
down which is a tedious and expensive process, two or three holes are drilled
into the coal, and by powder in cartridges, with fusees properly rammed in and
ignited, the coal for a certain distance is blasted down. In collieries where
inflammable gas prevails this operation with powder requires to be performed
with the greatest care and with peculiar safeguards, and the improvements
consist of the following methods of getting the coal without the use of gun-
powder modified according to circumstances.

page_text: The hydrodynamic or hydraulic process is the first method. A hole is
drilled into the face of the coal at a suitable distance from the floor top and
two ends penetrating therein to such a distance from the face as is considered
most effective, having regard to the thickness of the seam; this hole is made
in the usual manner by means of a drill, and when made the far end or inner
extremity of the hole is enlarged in diameter by means of a bar or rod with a
cutter jointed to its end. The back of this cutter is made of such a shape that
when it touches or is pushed against the end of the hole the cutter curves or
is forced out sideways, and then as the bar or rod is pushed firmly in and
turned round the end of the hole is enlarged. By means of this instrument
or tool the end portion of the hole may be enlarged to any size that may be
thought convenient. And by having a projecting piece or extension of a
portion of the bar or rod beyond the joint of the cutter the height and shape
of the internal portion so enlarged will be determined according to the length
of this extension piece and the length of the cutter. This enlargement is
unnecessary in case there occurs at the end of the hole in the coal what is
called a back or seam sufficiently open for water to penetrate. When the
hole is prepared a tube is inserted with a small ring or enlargement on the
outer surface of its inner end which fills or nearly fills the diameter of the hole.
This tube is inserted into the hole, but not beyond the commencement of the
enlargement above described. The space between such tube and the side
of the hole is then rammed firmly in with damp coal dust and made as solid
as possible, being in fact as solid as the coal itself. The outer end of the pipe
is then connected either with pipes that are supplied with water from the pit
top and so at the pressure due to the depth of the pit in which case by the
sudden opening of a tap at some distance from the face of the coal not only
the hydrostatic effect of the pressure is obtained but also the hydrodynamic
effect of impact is thrown on to the back of the coal operated on, the force
being due to the full area of the internal enlargement of the hole according to
the force of the impression and impact per square inch; or the pipe may be
connected with the pump of an bydraulic press, and then the force brought to
bear upon the coal likewise depends upon the area of the enlarged part of the
hole and the area of the section of the pump and the power employed. If
the water has access to a back seam of the coal the force brought to bear
upon such open back will be larger according to the increased area of such
back, it is obvious that the requisite force to bring down the coal will depend
upon the compactness of the coal, its being more or less full of gas, more or
less exuding water, or whether it has been disturbed or undisturbed by the
superincumbent pressure of the ground so as to interfere with the firm-

page_text: ness or solidity of the coal; or in place of this arrangement a hole is drilled as
before mentioned, and the far end of the hole is sufficiently enlarged and formed
into the shape of a frustrum of a cone of a proper size. A cylinder is introduced
into the hole; the first or entering part of this cylinder, for a length equal to
the height of the frustrum of the cone, is divided into longitudinal sections or
segments working on strong hinges or retaining pieces, is hollow towards the
outer end corresponding with the hollow of the cylinder, but tapering to
nothing, so that the parts meet solid in the centre at the end of the hole.
These pieces, longitudinal sections, or segments, when closed form externally a
short cylinder of the same external diameter as the cylinder to which they are
attached, but internally form a hollow space of the shape of an inverted cone
having its apex towards the inner end of the hole, and its base at the point
where the pieces are attached to the cylinder to which they are jointed
of the same diameter as the hollow of that cylinder. When this tool is
employed, and properly inserted in the hole, a rod of steel or iron is introduced
into the cylinder and hammered down until it pushes out the moveable parts
at the end of the cylinder above described (when they will act as lewises) &
until the end of the iron or steel rod is driven firm against the solid coal.
An bydraulic press or bydraulic or screw jack is attached to this cylinder and
rod in such a manner that the cylinder & its attached pieces are drawn out-
wards and the rod is pushed inwards with the full force applied, and thus the
coal will be wrenched off, or a worm is made on the outer end of the steel or
iron rod with a nut on the same worked by handles or levers and connected
by a ring and holding bars with the cylinder, so that the working of the
bydraulic or screw jack or nut pushes the rod inwards and draws the cylinder
outwards and with it the coal. Or in place of these arrangements a hole is
drilled as before and the far end suitably enlarged as above described, then
a solid iron or steel rod is introduced, the far end of the rod being of the
diameter of the hole and made like the frustrum of a cone whose height
equals the height of the conically enlarged part of the hole. This rod being
introduced to the full depth the whole of the space between the sides of the
hole and the solid rod is rammed full with damp coal dust or other material,
and made thoroughly solid, and a lever combined with a jack or hydraulic
power or otherwise is brought to act upon this rod so as to wrench out the
coal, or a worm is made on the outer end of such solid rod with a nut on the
same working against a spring, spring bar, or frame, the ends of which rest or
are supported against the face of the coal at points a proper distance from the
hole and the nut worked by handles, levers, or otherwise, so as to draw the
rod outwards and with it the coal. Or a hole may be drilled without an

page_text: enlargement at the far or inner end and the rod of iron or steel with an
enlargement at the end of.it of the shape of the frustrum of a cone may be
introduced and the space between the rod and the sides of the hole filled and
the outer end of the rod prepared and then dealt with as above described.
It is obvious that all these. methods can be applied either with or without
undercutting the bottom or cutting the sides of the coal to be extracted, and
that one or more of the holes or processes can be made to act simultaneously
and with manual labor on with steam nAWAN
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Bartholomew in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
BARTHOLOMEW, of Broxholme, Doncaster, in the County of York, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, 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, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Bartholomew, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Bartholomew, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Charles Bartholomew, 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 WORKING COAL AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Bartholomew, 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 Bartholomew, 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:-

page_text: By the present method of getting coal the seam is undercut or holed at the
bottom of the face to a depth of six feet, more or less, according to the
thickness of the seam, and in a leading bank, one or both ends cut. And if
not wedged down, which is a tedious and expensive process, two or three
holes are drilled into the coal, and by powder in cartridges, with fusees
properly rammed in and ignited, the coal for a certain distance is blasted
down. In collieries where imflammable gas prevails this operation with powder
requires to be performed with the greatest care and with peculiar safeguards,
and the improvements consist of the following methods of getting the coal
without the use of gunpowder modified according to circumstances.
The hydrodynamic or hydraulic process is the first method. A hole is drilled
into the face of the coal at a suitable distance from the floor top, and to ends
penetrating therein to such a distance from the face as is considered most
effective, baving regard to the thickness of the seam. This hole is made in
the usual manner by means of a drill, and when made the far end or inner
extremity of the hole is enlarged in diameter by means of a bar or rod with a
cutter jointed to its end. This rod and cutter are shewn at Figures 1 and 2.
a is the rod; b, the cutter; and c, a projecting piece. The rod at the outer
end has suitable holes a¹, a², for receiving the levers or turning bars; the
back of the cutter 6 is made of such a shape that when it touches or is
pushed against the end of the hole the cutter curves or is forced out sideways,
and then as the bar or rod is pushed firmly in and turned round the end of
the hole is enlarged. By means of this instrument or tool the end portion of
the hole may be enlarged to any size that may be thought convenient. And
by having a projecting piece c or extension of a portion of the bar or rod
beyond the joint of the cutter, the height and shape of the internal portion so
enlarged will be determined according to the length of this extension piece
and the length of the cutter. This enlargement is unnecessary in case there
occurs at the end of the hole in the coal what is called a back or seam
sufficiently open for water to penetrate. When the hole is prepared a tube is
inserted with a small ring and enlargement on the outer surface of its inner
end, which fills or nearly fills the diameter of the hole. This tube, with its
enlargement, is shewn at Figure 3. The outer end of the tube d has a
thread d¹ upon it to connect it with other pipes leading to an elevated
reservoir or to a hydraulic pump. The inner end of the tube has an enlarge-
ment d³, on which enlargement there is a shoulder d³, as shewn. The ring d*
shewn at Figures 4, 5, and 6, is capable of expanding, it is placed on the
tube d when unexpanded, as shewn at Figures 4, it will then readily enter the
hole in the coal, and when the tube d is drawn through it, as shewn in

page_text: Figure 7, the enlargement d² of the tube comes against the ring and expands
it until the ring abuts against the shoulder d. The ring will then be
expanded to the size shewn by Figure 5. dis an iron plate having spaces d
therein for the passage of water to the enlargement of the hole in the coal.
Figures 3* shew this plate separately.
Figure 7 shows the hole in the coal with the tube & having the ring d*
thereon inserted into the hole; the space between such tube and the side of
the hole is then rammed firmly in with damp coal dust, and made as solid as
possible, being, in fact, as solid as the coal itself. The outer end of the pipe
is then connected either with pipes that are supplied with water from the pit
top, and so at the pressure due to the depth of the pit, in which case, by the
sudden opening of a tap at some distance from the face of the coal not only
the hydrostatic effect of the pressure is obtained, but also the hydrodynamic
effect of impact is thrown on to the back of the coal operated on, the force
being due to the full area of the internal enlargement of the hole according
to the force of the impression and impact per square inch. Or the pipe may
be connected with the pump of a hydraulic press, and then the force brought
to bear upon the coal likewise depends upon the area of the enlarged part of
the hole and the area of the section of the pump and the power employed.
If the water has access to a back seam of the coal, the force brought to bear
upon such back will be larger according to the increased area of such back.
It is obvious that the requisite force to move or bring down the coal will
depend upon the compactness of the coal, its being more or less full of gas,
more or less exuding water, or whether it has been disturbed or undisturbed
by the superincumbent pressure of the ground so as to interfere with the
firmness or solidity of the coal.
When the coal is not brought down by this operation, the steel rod D,
shown at Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10, operated by hydraulic power, or a screw
jack may be applied, as hereafter described. Or in place of this arrange-
ment, a hole is drilled, as before mentioned, and the far end of the hole is
sufficiently enlarged and formed into the shape of a frustrum of a cone of a
proper size.
Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 show one form of cutter which may be employed
for shaping out this enlargement. By inserting a rod the full size of the
internal diameter of the cylinder e it forces the cutter e' out, and the cylinder
being connected with an extension piece, to which levers may be applied, it
can be turned, and so cut the enlargement at the end of the hole into proper
shape. A cylinder is introduced into the hole, the first or entering part of
this cylinder for a length equal to the height of the frustrum of the cone is

page_text: divided into longitudinal sections or segments working on strong hinges or
retaining pieces. It is bollow towards the outer end corresponding with the
hollow of the cylinder, but tapering to nothing, so that the parts meet solid
in the centre at or near the end of the hole. These pieces, longitudinal
sections, or segments, when closed, form externally a short cylinder of the
same external diameter as the cylinder to which they are attached, but inter-
nally form a hollow space of the shape of an inverted cone, having its apex
towards the inner end of the hole, and its base at the point where the pieces
are attached to the cylinder to which they are jointed of the same diameter
as the hollow of that cylinder. This cylinder is shown at Figures 15 and 16,
and may also be employed in cases where the coal has only been moved
and not brought down by the first method. When this tool is employed, and
properly inserted in the hole, a rod of steel or iron is introduced into the
cylinder f, and hammered down until it pushes out the moveable parts fat
the end of the cylinder fabove described, (when they will act as lewises,)
and until the end of the iron or steel rod is driven firm against the solid coal,
or against a plate of iron d' shown at Figures 3 and 3*. Or the steel rod D
may be employed and forced into the tube d, as shown at Figures 7, 8,
9, and 10. A screw jack, such as is shown at Figure 8, or hydraulic
jack shown at Figure 9, is attached to this cylinder and rod in such a
manner that the cylinder and its attached pieces are drawn outwards, and
the rod is pushed inwards with the full force applied, and thus the coal
will be wrenched off. Or, as is shown at Figure 10, a worm is made on
the outer end of the steel or iron rod with a nut on the same, worked
by bandles or levers, and connected by a ring and holding bars with the
cylinder, so that the working of the hydraulic or screw jack or nut pushes
the rod inwards, and draws the cylinder outwards, and with it the coal. Or
in place of these arrangements a hole is drilled as before, and the far end
suitably enlarged, as above described, then a solid iron or steel rod is intro-
duced, the far end of the rod being of the diameter of the hole, and made
like the frustrum of a cone, whose height equals the height of the conically
enlarged part of the hole. This rod being introduced to the full depth, the
whole of the space between the sides of the hole and the solid rod is rammed
full with damp coal dust or other material, and made thoroughly solid, and a
lever combined with a jack or hydraulic power or otherwise is brought to
act upon this rod so as to wrench out the coal. Or a worm is made on the
outer end of such solid rod with a nut on the same working against a spring,
spring bar, or frame, the ends of which rest or are supported against the
face of the coal at points a proper distance from the hole, and the nut worked

page_text: by handles, levers, or otherwise, so as to draw the rod outwards and with it
the coal. Or a hole may be drilled without an enlargement at the far or
inner end and the rod of iron or steel with an enlargement at the end of it,
of the shape of the frustrum of a cone may be introduced, and the space
between the rod and the sides of the hole filled, and the outer end of the rod
prepared, and then dealt with as above described.
It is obvious that all these methods can be applied either with or without
undercutting the bottom, or cutting the sides of the coal to be extracted,
and that one or more of the modes or processes can be made to act simul-
taneously, and with manual labor, or with steam power, or partly both.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Bartholomew, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
CHARLES BARTHOLOMEW. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
above-named Charles Bartholo-
mew, in the presence of
JOHN THOMAS LOXLEY,
Clerk to Messrs. Baxters & Co.
Sol.,
Doncaster.