Year: 1886

page_text: I REGINALD STANLEY, of Nuneaton Colliery, Nuneaton, in the county of Warwick,
Brick and Tile Manufacturer and Colliery Proprietor do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
My present invention relates to further improvements in that class of machine or
apparatus for boring, tunnelling or helping to make passages, road or air ways in
coal, marl, stone, and other substances described in the Specification of former
Letters Patent granted to me dated 9th January 1885 No. 335 the object of the
present improvements being to provide means whereby in the construction of
passages road or air ways the machine is propelled automatically and thereby
worked with greater economy and rapidity than hitherto.
According to my present improvements the central shaft is not screw threaded,
and is extended beyond the frame to the radial arms a sufficient distance to allow
a man to work behind the arms, or the arms can be brought close back to the
frame and be worked there. The shaft is caused to revolve by any suitable means.
The end of the central shaft opposite to the arms and cutters, works against the
back uprights of the frame so that in the case where a space intervenes between
the arms and the frame the bearing can be removed and the shaft run back until
the radial arms touch the front of the frame, allowing room for a man to work in
front of the arms when necessary to remove the core of coal, or to renew the
cutters.
The whole machine is carried on wheels that run on the floor of the heading or
roadway.
Forward motion is given to the whole machine including the arms and cutters
at one and the same time by means of wheels or rollers which are with advantage
roughened spiked or toothed, working against the roof and floor or sides of the
heading or roadway, below and above the frame, to which they are attached;
motion is communicated from the central shaft to the rollers by means of worms
and cog-wheels and perpendicular shafts, or in any other suitable manner. As the
central shaft revolves the wheels or rollers are caused to revolve and being adjusted
by screw pins or otherwise to catch or bite the floor or sides and roof of the

page_text: heading or roadway; the whole machine is thus caused to advance at the speed
required for the cutters to form the annular groove, and the central drill to make
the bore hole.
The wheels or rollers are suitably fixed to the frame and have adjustable
bearings which are advantageously made elastic.
Suitable wheels for guiding and steadying the machine are provided at each side
of the machine.
By this improved construction it will be obvious that the whole machine being
moved forward automatically, the time hitherto required to screw the frame to the
heading and to unscrew the same and to lay the rails is saved, and it is not necessary
to stop the machine except to remove the coal cut thereby, to replace the cutters
and drill or to effect repairs.

page_text: Improvements in Boring and Tunnelling Machines.
;
I, REGINALD STANLEY, of Nuneaton Colliery, Nuneaton, in the county of Warwick;
Brick and Tile Manufacturer and Colliery Proprietor, 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:-
My present invention relates to further improvements in that class of machine or
apparatus for boring, tunnelling or helping to make passages, road or air-ways in
coal, marl, stone and other substances described in the Specification of former
Letters Patent granted to me dated 10th January 1885 No. 335, the object of the
present improvements being to provide means whereby in the construction of
passages, roads or air-ways, the machine is propelled automatically and thereby.
worked with greater economy and rapidity than hitherto.
According to my present improvements the central shaft is not screw-threaded,
and is extended beyond the frame to the radial arms a sufficient distance to allow a
man to work behind the arms, or the arms can be brought close back to the frame
and be worked there. The shaft is caused to revolve by any suitable means.
The end of the central shaft opposite to the arms and cutters, works against the
back uprights of the frame, so that in the case where a space intervenes between the
arms and the frame, the bearing can be removed and the shaft run back until the
radial arms touch the front of the frame, allowing room for a man to work in front
of the arms when necessary to remove the cuttings and the core of coal, or to renew
the cutters.
The whole machine is carried on wheels that run on the floor of the heading or
roadway.
Forward motion is given to the whole machine including the arms and cutters at
one and the same time by means of wheels or rollera which are with advantage
roughened, spiked, or toothed, working against the roof and floor of the heading or
roadway, below and above the frame, to which they are attached; motion is
communicated from the central shaft to the rollers, by means of worms and cog:
wheels and perpendicular shafts, or in any other suitable manner. As the central
shaft revolves, the wheels or rollers are caused to revolve, and being adjusted by
screw-pins or otherwise, to catch or bite the floor and roof of the heading or
roadway; the whole machine is thus caused to advance at the speed required for
the cutters to form the annular groove, and the central drill to make the bore hole.
The wheels or rollers are suitably fixed to the frame and have adjustable bearings,
which are advantageously made elastic.
Suitable wheels for guiding and steadying the machine are provided at each side
of the machine.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same
by reference to the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 represents a side
elevation, and figure 2 a front view of a boring and tunnelling machine constructed
according to my present improvements. Figure 3 represents a horizontal section
on the crooked line A B of figure 1, the engine for driving the machine being

page_text: •
removed. Figure 4 represents a plan of the top of the rear end of the machine, a
part of the top plate being removed. Figure 5 represents a horizontal section on
the line C. D. of figure 1, shewing the rear end bearing of the central shaft of the
machine. Figure 6 represents an end view of the said bearing. Figure 7 repre-
sents part of a similar view to figure 1, but shewing the machine provided with top
and bottom propelling wheels. Figure 8 is a side elevation of my improved
horizontal cutting arms shewing the same at work. Figure 9 represents a plan
of the said arms and figure 10 a front view of one of the ends of the same.
Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar parts.
I will first describe my invention by reference to figures 1 to 6.
A represents the frame of the machine; B is the motor or engine and a, a¹, a³,
and a³, the gear wheels for driving the central horizontal shaft hereinafter
described; b, b, are the radial arms and 61, 61, the horizontal arms extending
forward from the ends of the said radial arms and carrying the sweepers or
scrapers 6; c, are the cutters fixed on the ends of the arms b¹; c¹ is the drill for
drilling a central hole in the heading. All the foregoing parts except the central
shaft (and the cutting arms shewn in figure 3) are of somewhat similar construction
to those described in the specification of my said former Letters Patent.
e, is the central shaft which is not screw-threaded, and which is mounted on
bearings e, e¹, and e, in the frame A, the shaft e, being extended beyond the front
of the frame A as shewn clearly in figures 1 and 3, and fixed to the radial arms b, b,
a sufficient space being provided to allow a man to work behind the said radial
arms, a seat A¹ being pivotted to the frame A for this purpose; or the said radial
arms can be brought back close to the front of the frame A for the purposes herein-
after described, in which case the seat A¹ can be turned up out of the way; collars e³
are fixed on the shaft e, by means of bolts to keep the said shaft in position, the
said bolts e being withdrawn when it is required to move the shaft back in the
frame A; f, is a longitudinal slot formed in the shaft e, into which slot fits a key in
the gear wheel a, thereby allowing the shaft e, to be drawn back without being
disengaged from the wheel a The shaft e, is revolved in the direction of the
arrows (figure 2).
The thrust of the shaft upon the back uprights of the frame is taken by a
movable plate g, in a bearing fixed to such back uprights against which movable
plate the rear end e³, of the shaft, bears and works, when the shaft e, is in the
position shewn in figures 1 and 3. The said movable plate g, can be removed, and
the shaft e, moved back until the radial arms b, b, are close to the front of the
frame A, thereby allowing room for a man to work in front of the radial arms b, b,
when necessary to remove the cuttings or the core of coal or other substance, or to
renew the cutters c, or to allow the arms to be worked in that position, or for other
purposes.
h, h, are the wheels or rollers mounted on axles ' which run in bearings h³, and
which wheels carry the whole machine and run on the floor of the heading or
roadway. The said wheels are protected from the debris from the cutters c, by
means of covers h*. I find it advantageous in many cases to use only the one
roller h, for the propulsion of the machine. This wheel or roller h, as shown in
figure 3 is broader on the face than the wheel h¹-For this purpose the periphery
of the said wheel is toothed or spiked as shewn. In some cases it may be ribbed
or roughened, and in some cases a wheel covered with adhesive material such as
hardened india rubber, may suffice for the purpose of gripping or biting the floor of
the heading when the wheel is turned as hereinafter described. For the purpose of
turning the said wheel or roller h, I provide its axle h³ with a worm wheel i, which
gears with a worm j, on the lower end of a vertical shaft j, mounted in bearings k,
on the frame A. On the upper end of the shaft 1, is fixed a worm-wheel Z, which
gears with a worm l, mounted on the horizontal shaft e, in a similar manner to the
gear wheel a, that is to say, by means of a key fixed in the said worin l, fitting
into the longitudinal slot f, so that the said shaft e, can be drawn back without
disengaging it from the worm A; the wormilis held between a long cylindrical

page_text: washer_l", and one of the bearings e¹, as shewn. The wheel or roller h³ is also
toothed or spiked and is arranged so that it can be adjusted by means of screws h³,
for the purpose hereinafter described.
m, m, are wheels or rollers provided with sharpened edges as shewn, or they can
be toothed, roughened, spiked, or the like in a similar manner to the wheels h,
and h¹. The axles m¹ of the said wheels are arranged in adjustable bearings m³, in
the top of the frame A so that the said wheels or rollers can revolve against or
enter the roof of the heading or roadway; m, n, are the screws with which the said
bearings are provided for adjusting the wheels or rollers m, m, against the roof of
the said heading. Blocks of elastic material n¹, n¹, may be placed between the
screws n, and the bearings carrying the axles m³, thus allowing the wheels m, m,
to give way to any slight inequality in the roof of the heading when the machine
is being moved. By this arrangement if the wheels m, m, be adjusted so as to grip
or bite the roof, and the wheel h¹, be also adjusted so as to grip the floor of the
heading and the central shaft e, be revolved by the motor or engine B in the
direction of the arrows (figure 2), the wheel h, will also be caused to revolve, and
the whole machine will move forward, the cutters at the same time forming the
annular groove, and the central drill'o', making the bore hole.
For the purpose of guiding or altering the direction of the machine I provide
the bearings of the wheels h, h¹, m, m, with screws o, arranged at the front and
back of each bearing so that by adjusting the said screws o, the direction of the
said wheels can be altered, the movement of the bearings being regulated by pins
and slots.
p. p. p, p, are the side wheels or rollers for guiding or steadying the machine,
which wheels or rollers are mounted on bars or rods q, at the sides of the
machine, the said bars having screwed extensions ql, which are adjustably fixed as
regards their length by means of nuts q* in brackets r, on the side of the machine.
p (figure 3) is a bar which may be arranged at the front of the machine to
protect the operator from falling coal or the like when the machine is being
worked. The said bar can be withdrawn when required by removing the pins or.
screws p³, p³.
8, is a handle for operating the motor or engine b, which may be so arranged that
the same can be worked either at the front or back of the machine as shewn; t, is
a plate hinged to one side of the machine as shewn in figures 2 and 3, and
resting against the wall of the passage, over which plate the debris made by
the cutters c, is passed in the manner hereinafter explained, an inclined plate ti,
being placed in front of the said plate to prevent the debris from getting under
the machine.
A small plumb-weight v, may be hung on the back of the frame A for the
purpose of shewing when the machine is upright. When it is required to move
the machine to some distance the wheels h, and h¹, may be lifted up or removed,
and axles and flanged wheels may be attached to run the machine on rails.
The operation of the machine is as follows,
The machine being introduced into a heading or tunnel the height of which
corresponds to the distance between the opposite sets of cutters c, on the arms b¹,
and the cutters being brought close to the face of the heading or tunnel which has
been previously prepared, the wheels h, h¹, m, and m, are set in the direction
necessary to guide the action of the cutters c, for instance, if it is required to
direct the action of the cutters towards the right the front propelling wheel h; and
the top steadying wheel m, are set with a slight inclination to the right, at the'
same time the back wheels m, and h¹, are set slightly inclined in the opposite
direction, or in some cases the back steering wheels m; and h¹, can be used alone
for guiding; this being done, when the machine is set in motion and advances, the
cutters will work towards the right hand and the whole machine will follow in the
same direction. If the machine is required to cut towards the left hand the direc-
tion of the wheels is reversed. Should the machine deviate from an upright.
position this will be. indicated by the plumb v, and it can be righted by adjusting'

page_text: the top wheels m, m, slightly to work in one direction while the two bottom
and h¹, are set to work in the opposite direction, or one pair only can be adjusted
as may be required.
To obtain the right elevation for the cutters c, the pin h³, for adjusting the
bearing h³, of the wheel h¹, is screwed or unscrewed as may be required, for
instance, if it is required to lower the direction of the cut of the cutters c, the
pin hs, is screwed down so as to raise the rear end of the machine, the pins or
screws n, having been first slackened to correspond. When the proper direction
and elevation of the cutters have been provided for, as just described, the pins n,
are screwed up till the wheels m, m, have the required bite or hold upon the roof
of the heading or tunnel. These guiding and fixing operations can also be carried
on while the machine is in motion. One man now takes his position on the
seat A¹ and by means of the handle 8, starts the motive power and sets the machine
in motion. The arms b, and b¹, with the cutters c, attached, will then revolve with
the shaft e, and by the action of the worm A, worm-wheel 1, worm j, and worm-
wheel, which latter is keyed on the axle h2, the wheel h, is caused to revolve,
thereby propelling the whole machine forward. The scrapers 62, bring the cuttings
from the annular groove, which with other debris are raked or shovelled back as
the work progresses by the man on the seat A¹, on to the plate t, whence the debris
is removed by being shovelled or otherwise to the rear of the machine; should
any pieces of the core be too large for removal in this manner, or if it should be
necessary to break or wedge off the core, the machine is stopped till this has been
done. When necessary to break up the core by means of an explosive compound
the arms b, b, can be withdrawn as before described, or the machine can be run
back a sufficient distance by reversing the action of the engine. A convenient
method of providing for the reversal of the engine is to fix a loose eccentric
block w, with a stud w¹, on its side driven by a fixed cam so arranged that when
the crank shaft is turned back part of a revolution by the action of a spanner on
the squared end of the crank shaft, when motive power is applied, the action of the
engine is reversed; the backward movement of the machine can be accelerated by
adopting quicker-speeded and independent gearing as required.
By this improved construction it will be obvious that the whole machine being
moved forward automatically, the time hitherto required to screw the frame to the
heading, and to unscrew the same and to lay the rails is saved, and the machine
may be worked forward with fewer stoppages.
Instead of allowing the wheel m, in the front of the machine to run loose in its
bearings m³, it is often advantageous to use it to assist in the propulsion of the
machine in a similar manner to the wheel h, in which case I form it with spikes or
the like similarly to the said wheel h. For this purpose I may extend the vertical
shaft upwards, as shewn in figure 7, and provide its upper end with a worm j
which gears with a worm wheel i, on the axle m³, of the wheel m, which is formed
of the same dimensions as the wheel h.
I sometimes find it advantageous to use the improved form of radial arms b,
shewn in figures 8 to 10, in which the sweepers or scrapers are dispensed with and
a tapered projection u, on each of the horizontal arms b¹, is used instead, for the
purpose of clearing the cuttings from the annular groove in the heading in advance
of the cutters c. The thickness of the arm 6', is also greater at the end where the
projection u, is situated than at the opposite end as shewn in figure 10, so as to
allow of its easy passage through any accumulations of cuttings or debris as will
be obvious (or. the said tapered projection can be used in combination with the
said sweepers or scrapers, as shewn in figure 3).
t
It will be obvious that other kinds of engines besides that described can be
adapted to drive the machine, for instance, it might with advantage in some
situations be driven by an electric motor.
Instead of arranging the central shaft e, so that it can be moved longitudinally
in the frame of the machine, I sometimes fix it permanently therein, in which case,

page_text: the driving wheel and worm are keyed to the shaft in the usual manner and it is
not necessary to remove the collars e³.
The propelling wheels or rollers can be arranged to work on any other suitable
part of the heading or tunnel, but I prefer that they should work against or into
the floor or roof or both as herein described and shewn; and other suitable means
than those herein referred to may be employed for communicating motion from
the engine to the propelling wheels or rollers; also the side rollers or steadying
wheels can, if required, be dispensed with.
Further, the machine can, if required, be used without the central drill o¹, in
which case it is removed by unscrewing it from the shaft ; and I do not
confine myself to the herein described means for adjusting the propelling, steering
and steadying wheels.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A boring and tunnelling machine having a central shaft carrying cutters for
cutting an annular groove around the face of a heading, supported upon a carriage
which is automatically propelled forward along the heading formed by such cutters
arranged and operating substantially as herein before described.
2. The arrangement of boring and tunnelling machine having as its essential
features an instrument for cutting an annular groove so as to form a heading
mounted upon a central shaft, supported by a carriage which also carries the
actuating machinery, provided with wheels or rollers which take upon or bite into
the sides of the heading, one or more of such wheels or rollers being furnished
with suitable gearing so as to automatically move forward the carriage with its
cutters whilst the cutting is proceeding substantially as herein before described.
3. The improved arrangement of boring and tunnelling machine substantially
as herein before described with reference to figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the
drawings and also the various modifications of such arrangement substantially as
herein before set forth.
4. The arrangements by means of which the apparatus may be guided in the
required.direction in combination with the other parts of a boring and tunnelling
machine of the type described in this Specification.
5. The arrangements for automatically propelling the carriage forward in com-
bination with the other parts of a boring and tunnelling machine of the type
described in this Specification.
6. The improved cutting instrument illustrated in figures 8, 9 and 10 in com-
bination with the other parts of a boring and tunnelling machine of the type
described in this Specification.