AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT
Year: 1872

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LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT." A commu-
nication from abroad by Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, of the City and
State of New York, United States of America, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 23rd April 1872, and dated the 2nd February 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
..
the 2nd February 1872.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT," a
communication, to be as follows:-
My said Invention relates to wood pavement, and more particularly
to improvements in the construction of the pavement described in the
Specification of the Invention for which Letters Patent were obtained by.

page_text: Samuel Norris, bearing date the 17th day of September, A.D. 1870,
No. 2509. This pavement is constructed with a plank or board
foundation, upon which the wood blocks are placed with spaces or
intervals between them. At the bottom of these spaces wood strips are
placed, and the space above the said strips is filled with gravel or other
material rammed or packed tight with asphalte, tar, or other similar
substance.
According to my present Invention after first properly levelling and
preparing the ground I lay thereon a plank or board foundation, con-
sisting of two layers of planks or boards so placed one upon the other
that those of one layer break joint with those of the other layer. Then
upon this flooring I place the wood blocks in rows or lines with the
required spaces or intervals between the rows.
In the Specification of the Letters Patent herein-before referred to,
the strips placed between the rows of blocks are described as planks or
boards, placed edgewise upon the flooring between the blocks. It has
been found in practice that such planks could not be economically
adapted to the ordinary curved form of the surface of a roadway, and
although they have been made to serve the desired purpose by using
short pieces or sections instead of one continuous piece extending entirely
across the rows of blocks, yet their use has always been attended with
difficulty. I therefore now use instead of such a rigid piece or plank,
a rod or strip of wood, square or nearly so, in transverse section, which
when placed at the bottom of the space between the blocks will readily
take without any resistance the curvature of the road, and will there-
fore lie upon the flooring without any tendency to rise out of its place
at either end. I can therefore use a strip or rod extending entirely.
across the road or the rows of blocks, and so effect a saving of time and
also obtain a better result.
I may use one, two, or more of these flexible wood strips or rods, one
above the other, in each space. They may be of any required thickness
so long as they are not thick enough to prevent their readily assuming
the required curvature. Above these strips the spaces are filled with
gravel, small stones, or other like substances, which are rammed or
packed tightly by means of a hammer or other implement, whereby
sufficient force may be exerted to wedge the stones or other substances
into the wood blocks. By this tight packing I bind-the entire pavement

page_text: in one solid mass, and it will therefore be practically impossible for any
of the blocks to work loose or be displaced as is frequently the case with
wood pavement where the spaces between the blocks are simply filled
with cement or other like substance poured in or packed loosely in such
a manner that the stones or other substances are not forced or wedged
into the sides of the blocks.
The entire payement is covered with asphalte, tar, or other similar
substance, or with any suitable preserving cement, a portion of which
may be mixed with the stone or other packing before the same is rammed
or driven down into the spaces.
I sometimes secure the aforesaid flexible rods or strips by means of
shouldered blocks placed at intervals between the other blocks, the said
the.
shouldered blocks being so formed that when they are placed upon
flooring the shoulder is just high enough to project over and hold the
flexible strip or rod. The upper part of these shouldered blocks is made
of such a depth that the whole block corresponds in depth with the
other blocks, and therefore these shouldered blocks do not impair the
uniformity of the paved surface.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent.
Office on the 27th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen. Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 "AN IMPROVED
WOOD PAVEMENT," a communication to me from abroad by Benjamin
B. Hotchkiss, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Civil Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-
My said Invention relates to wood pavement, and more particularly
to improvements in the construction of the pavement, described in the
Specification of the Invention for which Letters Patent were obtained for
Samuel Norris, bearing date the 17th day of September, A.D. 1870,
No. 2509. This pavement is constructed with a plank or board
foundation, upon which the wood blocks are placed with spaces or
intervals between them. At the bottom of these spaces wood strips are
placed, and the space above the said strips is filled with gravel or other
material rammed or packed tight with asphalte, tar, or other similar
substance.
According to my present Invention I construct a pavement as
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a trans-
verse section, and Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the said pavement
on the line x, x, Figure 1. Like letters indicate the same parts in both
of the Figures.
After first properly levelling and preparing the ground I lay thereon
a plank or board foundation, consisting of two layers a, b, of planks or
boards so placed one upon the other, that those of one layer "break joint”
with those of the other layer. Then upon this flooring I place the wood

page_text: blocks c in rows or lines with the required spaces or intervals & between
the rows.
i
In the Specification of the Letters Patent herein-before referred to,
the strips placed between the rows of blocks are described as planks or
boards placed edgewise upon the flooring between the blocks. It has
been found in practice that such planks could not be economically
adapted to the ordinary curved form of the surface of a roadway, and
although they have been made to serve the desired purpose by using
short pieces or sections instead of one continuous piece extending
entirely across the rows of blocks, yet their use has always been attended
with difficulty. I therefore now use instead of such rigid pieces or
planks, flexible rods or strips e of wood, square or nearly so; in transverse
section, which strips when placed at the bottom of the space between the
blocks will readily take the curvature of the road, and will therefore lie
upon the flooring without any tendency to rise out of place at either
end. I can therefore use a strip or rod extending entirely across the
road or the rows of blocks, and so effect a saving of time and also obtain
a better result.
I may use one, two, or more of these flexible wood strips or rods one
above the other in each space. They may be of any required thickness
so long as they are not thick enough to prevent their readily conforming
to the shape of the foundation upon which they are placed. Above
these strips e the spaces d are filled with gravel, small stones, or other
like substances, which, are rammed or packed tightly by means of a
hammer or other implement, whereby sufficient force may be exerted to
wedge the stones or other substances into the wood blocks. By this
tight packing I bind the entire pavement in one solid mass, and it will
therefore be practically impossible for any of the blocks to work loose or
be displaced as is frequently the case with wood pavement, where the
spaces between the blocks are simply filled with cement or other like
substance poured in or packed loosely in such a manner that the stones
or other substances are not forced or wedged into the sides of the blocks.
The entire pavement is covered with asphalte, tar, or other similar
substance, or with any suitable preserving cement, a portion of which
may be mixed with the stone or other packing before the same is rammed
or driven down into the spaces.
I sometimes secure the aforesaid flexible rods or strips e by means of

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shouldered blocks f placed at intervals between the other blocks c, the
said shouldered blocks being so formed that when they are placed upon
the flooring the shoulders f' project over and hold the adjacent flexible
strips or rods. These shouldered blocks are made to correspond in depth
with the other blocks, and therefore they do not impair the uniformity
of the paved surface.
In some instances it is desirable to use the aforesaid flexible strips to
assist in placing the blocks properly upon their foundation, and then to
remove the said strips and fill up the spaces between the blocks entirely
with the stone, gravel, cement, or other material, which may be tightly
packed in the said spaces, as herein-before set forth.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The use of flexible strips in the construction of pavements, as
herein specified for the purposes set forth.
Second. A pavement constructed with a plank or board foundation,
whereon are placed wooden blocks in rows separated by flexible wooden
strips, and packed with cement, gravel, stones, or other suitable material,
as herein set forth.'
Third. The combination with the other parts of the said pavement of.
the shouldered blocks, in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
Witness,
CHAS. J. GOOCH.
W". ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)