IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES Communied
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake,
and Co, Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING
ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES Communicated to him from abroad
"
by Alexandre Cantin, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th January 1883.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings London " IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES"-[A communication
to him from abroad by Alexandre Cantin, of Paris, France.]
The object of this invention is to provide an improved rock-drilling apparatus
which is distinguished from apparatus of the same class as heretofore constructed
by the following chief characteristic points vis-First the peculiar mode of
mounting the drilling-machine upon its frame or carriage, and the special arrange-
ment of the latter to render the direction of the holes to be bored independent of
the position of the said frame or carriage-Second, the general arrangement of the
apparatus together with the employment of bydraulic pressure for exerting upon
the drill a forward pressure always proportionate to the resistance of the material
to be perforated. Third, an improved rock-drill arranged and constructed in such
a manner that it segregates the material by cutting excentrically; and so that the
material, thus crushed or segregated by the extremity of the tool will be conducted
automatically, by the tool itself, out of the hole that is bored; and also so that the
hole bored will, in proportion to the advance of the tool, allow at the rear part
thereof a play sufficient to avoid all liability to torsion or rupture. Fourth, the
general mode of construction of the drilling machine, which is capable of oscillatory
inovement upon its point of suspension, in order to give the drill freedom during
its rotary movement of drilling to alter its direction as may be required.
I have adopted, for the propulsion of the drill-holder, hydraulic pressure exerted

page_text: upon a piston which constantly presses the drill to the bottom of the hole, with
the force most suitable for its advance, in order to obtain the maximum yield or
effective work.
The principal advantages which I obtain by the improved apparatus consist in a
great economy as regards the motive power required for operating the machine,
less wear of the drills, and a yield or effective work much more considerable, that
is to say, a more rapid deepening of the hole, than with the machines heretofore
employed.
Moreover, the improved machine, as herein set forth, producing a hole larger
than the tool, and widening as it advances, is more advantageous for the effect of
the charge than holes made by the machines heretofore used, because theso holes,
becoming narrow according to the depth, necessitate the employment of drills of
different diameters.
Furthermore, the improved machine not being subjected to constant vibration
and shocks, as is the case with other machines, is, owing to its simplicity, liable to
hardly any wear.
For the sake of clearness in the description of the improved apparatus, I will
divide the same into three principal parts, which I will describe successively,
referring to the accompanying drawings in which the said invention is illustrated.
The first part, which I will now proceed to describe, is the drilling machine, in
which I employ hydraulic pressure. This machine is designed for boring holes for
blasting purposes in rocks or other kinds of resisting material, in the making of
tunnels, cuttings, mines, quarries, or for submarine purposes.
Figure 1 represents two of the improved machines mounted upon a frame or
carriage, for operating in open quarries, the machine on the left-hand side being
shewn in central longitudinal section, and that on the right hand side being shown
in elevation.
Figure 2 is a plan of this arrangement
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the piston in which the rod of the tool-holder
is mounted.
The drilling machine is composed essentially of a cylinder a, a piston p, a drill-
holder b and bevel-wheels d and e, which I may replace by any other suitable
means for transmitting motion.
i
The admission and regulation of the hydraulic pressure is effected by means of
the cocks N and R; g is the delivery cock. The cylinder a carries all the
mechanism and serves as the frame of the machine.
The drill-holder b, which is cylindrical, is fitted to the piston by means of a fixed
collar 8, bearing upon the rollers z of this piston (Figure 3) in such a manner that
the piston will not rotate with the drill-holder. The end of the drill-holder is
provided with a projection u which enters a recess formed for this purpose in the
centre of the piston, and thus constitutes a guiding point for the drill-holder which
is fitted with a slight amount of friction into the cylinder a and has keyed upon it
the wheel d which imparts to it a movement of rotation. The forward movement
of this drill-holder is imparted to it by hydraulic pressure
exerted upon the
surface of the piston p.
It will be seen that the improved machine requires a relatively alight motive
power inasmuch as all the force is exerted upon the drill for its rotation only.
The cock R serves to intercept the admission of the fluid into the cylinder, and
allow it to escape from the same; the cock N serves to admit the fluid to act upon
one face or the other of the piston according as it is desired to effect the advance
⚫ or retreat of the tool.
The apparatus is suspended upon its frame or carriage by means of three rings c,
provided with trunnions placed as shown in Figure 4, the exterior ring c¹ resting
in, or upon, the frame or carriage.
The object of this arrangement is to allow the direction of the pressure to be
guided by the drill itself in such a manner that, whatever be the deviation which
the nature of the rock gives to the drill, the apparatus, will adapt itself thereto.

page_text: In the machines heretofore constructed, when any deviation takes place, the
apparatus being fixed, the tool is inevitably bent,
For drilling rocks whose nature and resistance are extremely variable, I have
adopted hydraulic pressure which only requires an apparatus of restricted volume.
For this purpose I arrange, upon the frame or carriage, a reservoir B combined
with a pump o for drawing water from the said reservoir and forcing it into the
cylinder h upon which are mounted the supply-pipes.
The pipes for the discharge of the water which has been employed in working
the drilling machine, are conducted back to the reservoir B, so that the apparatus
will work for a long time with the same water. This arrangement with a pump
is especially adapted for cases where a number of drilling machines are acting
simultaneously upon the same face of the rock and are arranged upon the same
frame or carriage. For a drilling machine, upon a separate frame or carriage, for
working in narrow galleries in mines or tunnels, I employ a force-pump fixed upon
the cylinder of the drilling machine, furnished with a valve for regulating the
pressure, and worked by means of the fly wheel or pulley actuating the drill. In
this case it is only necessary to employ a single movable bucket into which are
conducted the suction and delivery pipes.
I will now proceed to describe the frame or carriage upon which the machine is
mounted and which will vary according to the nature of the work to be executed,
that is to say, in a general manner, according to whether the operations are to be
carried on in open quarries, in a gallery, for making mines, tunnels or cuttings, or
for submarine purposes. A number of drilling machines may be mounted upon one
frame or carriage whether they are worked by hand or by a motor.
A frame or carriage for isolated operations in open quarries (Figures 1, und 2) is
composed of two horizontal superposed plates connected by a bolt 1, represented by
dotted lines in Figure 1. The upper plate carries vertical semi-circular guides Ď
between which move the arms F carrying the drilling machine. The arms F are
held apart by the cross-bars i, at their lower part, and by the exterior ring c', of the
suspension device of the drilling machine, at their upper part. These arms F
oscillate around a common axis q to give the drilling machine any desired position
in the vertical plane, where it is held by bolts or pins v passing through the said
arms and entering the semi-circular guides D.
The lower plate is provided with spurs to prevent it from sliding; it also has
segments serving as rails for the movement of the upper plate. For transport
this kind of frame or carriage is provided with arms y into which is introduced a
bar or other suitable contrivance; the arms F are then shifted in such a manner
as to lay the drilling machines upon the frame or carriage, which has, at its centre,
the hydraulic apparatus.
It will be readily understood that the drilling machines mounted upon this
description of frame or carriage can operate at any angle or inclination. In the
example represented in the drawing, of the frame or carriage supporting two
drilling machines, the one can bore vertically and the other horizontally, which is
very advantageous in working in quarries. Moreover, this arrangement perinits
the strains to be equilibrated, thus giving the apparatus great stability, without
the necessity for making the weight or volume thereof too great.
:
A frame or carriage for operating in galleries of mines is represented in Figures 5
and 6. This frame or carriage, which may support one or more drilling machines,
is chiefly characterized by its simplicity, lightness, and consequent facility of
removal from one place to another, and by the ease with which it is capable of
drilling endwise. It is composed essentially of four iron plates or girders, braced
at one extremity by a piece of cast iron forming the head of the frame and receiving
at its contre a screw-claw, and at the other extremity by a plate provided with
spurs and forming the foot of the frame.
The drilling machine is free to slide between the said arms by means of rollers-
mounted upon its trunnions. In the said arms are formed apertures for securing
the machine at the desired height or in the position by means of bolts or pins. The

page_text: frame or carriage is fixed by its screw-claw and its spurs between the roof and the
floor of the gallery or between its side walls.
Figure 5 represents a drilling machine provided with hydraulic apparatus which
comprises two cocks, one in front and the other at the rear; but these two cocks
may be replaced by a single cock. Moreover, to ensure a rapid return stroke of
the drill, and to simplify the management of the piston cylinder, I arrange a
pressure reservoir or accumulator A, which, by means of a cock, furnishes its
excess of force in front of the piston to drive the same back.
A frame or carriage for use in tunnels is formed of a wagon with very low
wheels, and surmounted by a sliding and rotating frame upon which are mounted
racks receiving any suitable number of drilling machines, varying according to the
section of the tunnel.
A frame or carriage for use in making a large cutting is composed of a kind of
locomotive, the axis of the boiler and the machine being arranged perpendicularly
to the rails. The boiler rests upon two cross-pieces braced at their extremities by
bands of iron in such a manner as to form, on each side of the generator, a
rectangular space permitting the operations upon the rocks to be observed.
Near the axles the said cross-pieces rise and receive, at the commencoment of
the operation, two frames, one of which carries three shafts upon which are mounted
pulleys for transmitting motion to the drilling machines; the latter are mounted
upon a second frame which is fixed to the cross-pieces below the first frame.
After the first vertical drilling the frame of the drilling machines descends into
the cutting and the frame supporting the transmitting mechanism takes its place,
and so on to the bottom of the cutting adding an auxiliary transmission at each
drilling operation.
In order to provide for the removal of the apparatus after each attack, these
different devices are suspended by means of trunnions, and the whole apparatus is
advanced automatically.
In making cuttings for canals, railways or the like, the debris or fragmonts
follow the apparatus, according to this system, and I do not employ explosives;
the material is broken by means of wedges.
The drilling machines designed to be applied to a frame or carriage for submarine
operations, have a great length of stroke, so as to enable them to drill in the water,
without the necessity for previous draining.
This frame or carriage is similar in construction to that above described for
working large cuttings, but it is made fast between two pontoons which it braces
together. To permit of overlooking the operation, the drilling machines of this
length carry one dial for indicating the pressure and another for indicating the
degree of advancement or penetration of the tool. The apparatus thus arranged
forms a floating drilling machine carriage which may be anchored and moored like
a ship.
I will now proceed to describe the drill actuated by the improved drilling
machine, which drill I prefer to make in the form of a gimlet, by twisting and
forging a bar of steel of double convex transverse section presenting sharp edges to
prevent the debris or fragments of the rock from wedging between the drill and
the sides of the hole. I only give the form of a helix to the said tool in order to
assist the discharge of the debris and to give force to the drill; moveover the said
tool is smaller than the hole, the cutting portion being larger than the other part.
As the tool acts upon the rock by cutting excentrically and not by the ordinary
drilling action, its extremity is rounded (as shown in the drawing) and notwith-
standing its enlargement retains the required form.
According to the nature of the rock in which the hole is to be drilled, the
extremity of the drill is simply of steel, or is provided with diamonds, the latter
arrangement being principally employed for drilling granite, quartz, and similar
material.
The mounting of the diamonds upon the improved drills is effected in a special
manner which forms a feature of the said invention.

page_text: Heretofore diamonds have been fixed by setting or introducing them into holes
or sockets provided for the purpose. It is well known that owing to the difficulty
of setting the diamonds in the holes which do not exactly correspond to their shape,
this mode of fixing offers little resistance.
In order to fix the diamonds I form a mould, by pressing into the ground each
diamond, then with this mould I form a punch or stamp by means of which I form
the recess, which is to receive the diamond, in the extremity of the drill which is
heated to a suitable temperature.
Each diamond having generally a different form, will have its special punch;
the burrs, which are formed at the entrance of the hole or socket by the stamping,
are set back over the diamond which is thus secured in a very solid manner.
Moreover, the contraction produced by the cooling of the drill which has been
heated, still more firmly secures the diamond thus mounted in the tool and prevents
it from coming out.
From the above description it will be seen that I adapt the improved apparatus
to the different cases met with in practice, by modifying the arrangement thereof
according to the nature of the work to be executed; and that I make the drilling
machine a simple machine-tool acted upon by elastic pressure and capable of being
operated either by hand or by a motor.

page_text: .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th July
1883.
"6
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES "-A communication
to me from abroad by Alexandre Cantin, of Paris, France,
The object of this invention is to provide an improved rock-drilling apparatus
which is chiefly distinguished from apparatus of the same class as heretofore con-
structed by the following characteristic features, viz:-First, the peculiar mode of
mounting the drilling machine upon its frame or carriage, and the special arrange-
ment of the latter to render the direction of the holes to be bored independent of
the position of the said frame or carriage. Second, the general arrangement of the
apparatus together with the employment of hydraulic pressure for exerting upon
the drill a forward pressure always proportionate to the resistance of the material
to be perforated. Third, an improved rock-drill arranged and constructed in such
a manner that it segregates the material by cutting and tearing, and so that tho
material, thus crushed or segregated by the extremity of the tool will be conducted
automatically, by the tool itself, out of the hole that is bored, and so that the hole
bored will be of such size as will allow full play to the rear part of the tool, in
proportion to its advance, and thus avoid all liability to torsion or rupture. Fourth.
The general mode of construction of the drilling machine, which is capable of
oscillatory movement upon its point of suspension, in order to give the drill freedom
during its rotary movement of drilling in such a manner that the drill resting upon
the rock may take any direction required.
I employ, for the propulsion of the drill-holder, bydraulic pressure exerted upon
a piston which constantly presses the drill towards the bottom of the hole, with
the force most suitable for its advance, in order to obtain the maximum yield or
effective work.
The principal advantages which I obtain by the improved apparatus are as
follow, that is to say, great economy as regards the motive power required for
operating the machine, less wear of the drills, and a yield or effective work much
more considerable, that is to say, a more rapid deepening of the hole, than with the
machines heretofore employed.
Moreover, the improved machine, as herein set forth, produces a hole which is
larger than the tool and widens as it advances, and which is more advantageous
for the effect of the charge than holes made by the machines heretofore used,
because these holes, becoming narrower as their depth increases, necessitate the
employment of drills of different diameters. Furthermore, the improved machine
not being subjected to constant vibration and shocks, as is the case with other
machines, is, by reason of its simplicity, not liable to much wear.
For the sake of clearness in the description of the improved apparatus, I will
divide the same into three principal parts, which I will describe successively,
referring to the accompanying drawing in which the said invention is illustrated."
The first part, which I will now proceed to describe, is the drilling machine, in
which I employ hydraulic pressure. This machine is designed for boring holes for
blasting purposes in rocks or other hard material, in the making of tunnels,
cuttings, mines, quarries, or for submarine purposes.
Figure 1 represents two of the improved machines mounted upon a frame or
carriage, for operating in the open air, the machine on the left hand side being

page_text: D&V
in elevation.
Figure 2 is a plan of this arrangement
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the piston in which the rod of the tool-holder
is mounted
The drilling machine is composed essentially of a cylinder a, a piston p, a drill-
holder b and bevel-wheels d and e for which I may substitute any other suitable
means for transmitting motion. The admission and regulation of the hydraulic
pressure is effected by means of the cocks N and R; g is the delivery cock.
The drill-holder b, which is cylindrical, is fitted to the piston by means of a
fixed collar & bearing upon the roller z of this piston (Figure 3) in such a manner
that the piston will not rotate with the drill-holder. The end of the drill-holder is
provided with a projection u which enters a recess formed for this purpose in the
centre of the piston, and thus constitutes a guiding point for the drill-holder which
is fitted with a slight amount of friction into the cylinder a and has keyed upon it
the wheel & which imparts to it a movement of rotation. The forward movement
of this drill-holder is imparted to it by hydraulic pressure exerted upon the surface
of the piston p.
It will be seen that the improved machine requires a relatively small motive
power inasmuch as all the force is exerted upon the drill for its rotation.
The cock R serves to intercept the admission of the fluid into the cylinder, and
to allow it to escape from the same; the cock N serves to admit the fluid to act
upon one face or the other of the piston according as it is desired to effect the
advance or retreat of the tool.
The apparatus is suspended upon its frame or carriage by means of three rings c
provided with trunnions placed as shewn in Figure 4, the exterior ring c¹ resting
in or upon the frame or carriage. The object of this arrangement is to allow the
direction of the pressure to be guided by the drill itself in such a manner that,
whatever be the deviation which the nature of the rock gives to the drill, the
apparatus will adapt itself thereto. In the machines heretofore constructed,
when any deviation takes place, the apparatus being fixed, the tool is inevitably
bent.
For drilling rocks whose nature and resistance are extremely variable, I have
adopted hydraulic pressure which only requires an apparatus of restricted volume.
For this purpose I arrange, upon the frame or carriage, a reservoir B combined with
a pump o for drawing water from the said reservoir and forcing it into the
cylinder h, upon which are mounted the supply-pipes.
The pipes for the discharge of the water which has been employed in working
the drilling machine are conducted back to the reservoir B so that the apparatus
will work for a long time with the same water. This arrangement with a pump is
especially adapted for cases where a number of drilling machines are acting
simultaneously upon the same face of the rock and are arranged upon the same
frame or carriage. For a drilling machine, upon a separate frame or carriage, for
working in narrow galleries in mines or tunnels I employ a force pump fixed upon
the cylinder of the drilling machine, furnished with a valve for regulating the
pressure, and worked by means of the fly-wheel or pulley actuating the drill.. In
this case it is only necessary to employ a single movable bucket into which are
conducted the suction and delivery pipes.
I will now proceed to describe the frame or carriage upon which the machine is
mounted and which will vary according to the nature of the work to be executed,
that is to say, in a general manner, according to whether the operations are to be
carried on in the open air, in a gallery, for mining or for the boring of tunnels or
cuttings, or for the removal of submarine rocks.
A number of drilling machines may be mounted upon one frame or carriage
whether they are worked by hand or by a motor.
A frame or carriage for isolated operations in the open air (Figures 1 and 2) is
composed of two horizontal superposed plates connected by a bolt r represented by

page_text: 'dotted lines in Figure 1. The upper plate carries vertical semi-circular guides D
between which move the arms F carrying the drilling machine. The arms Fare
held apart by the cross-bars i at their lower part, and by the exterior ring c¹ of
the suspension device of the drilling machine, at their upper part. These arms F
oscillate around a common axis q to give the drilling machine any desired position
in the vertical plane, where it is held by bolts or pins v passing through the said
arms and entering the semi-circular guides D.
The lower plate is provided with spurs to prevent it from sliding, it also has
segments serving as rails for the movement of the upper plate. For transport
this kind of frame or carriage is provided with arms y into which is introduced a
bar or other suitable contrivance; the arms F are then lowered in such a manner
as to lay the drilling machines upon the frame or carriage which has, at its centre,
the hydraulic apparatus.
It will be readily understood that the drilling machines mounted upon this
· description of frame or carriage can operate at any angle or inclination. In the
example represented in the drawing of the frame or carriage supporting two
drilling machines, the one can bore vertically and the other horizontally, which is
very advantageous in working in quarries. Moreover, this arrangement permits
the strains to bo equilibrated, thus giving the apparatus great stability, without
the necessity for making the weight or volume thereof too great.
.
A frame or carriage for operating in galleries of mines is represented in Figures 5
and 6. This frame or carriage, which may support one or more drilling machines,
is chiefly characterized by its simplicity, lightness, and consequent facility of
removal from one place to another, and by the ease with which it is capable of
' drilling endwise. It is composed essentially of four flat pieces of iron or T-irons
braced at each end by a piece of cast iron forming the head of the frame and receiving
at its centre a screw-claw, and at the other extremity by a plate provided with
spurs and forming the foot of the frame.
The drilling machine is free to slide between the said four arms or pieces of iron
· by means of rollers mounted upon its trunnions. In the said arms are formed
apertures for securing the machine at the desired height or according to its different
positions by means of bolts or pins. The frame or carriage is fixed by its
screw-claw and its spurs between the roof and the floor of the gallery or between
its side walls.
Figure 5 represents a drilling machine provided with hydraulic apparatus which
comprises two cocks, one in front and the other at the rear; but these two cocks
may be replaced by a single cock. Moreover, to ensure a rapid return stroke of
the drill and to simplify the management of the piston-cylinder, I arrange a
pressure reservoir or accumulator A, which, by means of a cock, furnishes its
excess of force in front of the piston to drive the same back.
A frame or carriage for use in tunnels is formed of a wagon with very low
wheels, and surmounted by a sliding and rotating frame upon which are mounted
I racks receiving any suitable number of drilling machines varying according to the
section of the tunnel.
A frame or carriage for use in making a large cutting is composed of a kind of
locomotive, the axis of the boiler and the machine being arranged perpendicularly
to the rails. The boiler rests upon two cross-pieces braced at their extremities by
bands of iron in such a manner as to form, on each side of the generator, a
rectangular space permitting the operations upon the rocks to be observed.
Near the axles the said cross-pieces rise and receive, in order to commence
operations, two frames one of which carries three shafts upon which are mounted
pulleys for transmitting motion to the drilling machines; the latter are mounted
upon a second frame which is fixed to the cross-pieces below the first frame.
After the first vertical drilling, the frame of the drilling machines descends into
the cutting and the frame supporting the transmitting mechanism takes its place,
and so on to the bottom of the cutting adding an auxiliary transmission at each
drilling operation.

page_text: In order to provide for the removal of the apparatus after each attack, these
different devices are suspended by means of trunnions, and the whole apparatus is
advanced automatically.
In making cuttings for canals, railways, or the like according to this system, the
said cuttings are made as the apparatus proceeds and I do not employ explosives,
the holes being burst open on the side of the cutting by means of wedges.
The drilling machines designed to be applied upon a special frame or carriage for
the removal of submarine rocks have a great length of stroke, so as to enable them
to drill in the water, without the necessity for previous draining.
This frame or carriage is similar in construction to that above described for
working large cuttings, but it is made fast between two pontoons which it braces
together. To permit of overlooking the operation, the drilling machines of this
length carry one dial for indicating the pressure and another for indicating the
degree of advancement or penetration of the tool. The apparatus thus arranged
forms a Boating drilling machine carriage which may be anchored and moored liko
a ship.
I will now proceed to describe the drill actuated by the improved drilling
machine, which drill I prefer to make in the form of a gimlet, by twisting and
forging a bar of steel of double convex transverse section presenting sharp edges to
prevent the debris or fragments of the rock from wedging between the drill and
the sides of the hole. I only give the form of a helix to the said tool in order to
assist the discharge of the debris and to give force to the drill; moreover the said
tool is smaller than the hole, the cutting portion being larger than the other part.
As the tool acts upon the rock by cutting and tearing and not by perforation, its
extremity is rounded (as shown in the drawing) and notwithstanding its enlargement
retains the form of a small wing.
According to the nature of the rock in which the hole is to be drilled, the
extremity of the drill is simply of steel, or is provided with diamonds, the latter
arrangement being principally employed for drilling granite, quartz, and similar
material.
The mounting of the diamonds upon the improved drills is effected in a special
manner which forms a feature of the said invention.
Heretofore diamonds have been fixed by setting or introducing them into holes
or sockets provided for the purpose. It is well known that owing to the difficulty
of setting the diamonds in the holes, which do not exactly correspond to their
shape, this mode of fixing offers little resistance.
In order to fix the diamonds, I form a mould by pressing into the ground each
diamond, then with this mould I form a punch or stamp by means of which I
make the recess which is to receive the diamond in the extremity of the drill which
is heated to a suitable temperature..
Each diamond, having generally a different form, will have its special punch;
the burrs, which are formed at the entrance of the hole or socket by the stamping,
are set back over the diamond which is thus secured in a very solid manner.
Moreover, the contraction produced by the cooling of the drill, which has been
heated, still more firmly secures the diamond thus mounted in the tool, and prevents
it from coming out.
From the above description it will be seen that I adapt the improved apparatus
to the different cases met with in practice, by modifying the arrangement thereof
according to the nature of the work to be executed; and that I make the drilling
machine a simple machine-tool acted upon by elastic pressure and capable of being
operated either by hand or by a motor.
I may also use a screw in order to supply the pressure upon the tool without
departing from the nature of the said invention, in cases where it is not desired to
work the drilling machine by hydraulic power.
The machine thus arranged is shown in Figures 7 and 8, by way of example.
I will now describe the gearing used in combination with the drill-holder, their
relation being the same, although the pressure may be greater; the drill-holder

page_text: slides,, during its rotary motion, in the centre of the gear-wheel d which is set in
motion by means of a pinion e receiving motive power by means of the fly-wheel V.
provided with a crank and operated either by hand or from a transmission pulley
or by other suitable mears.
The cylinder a does not differ materially from the cylinder herein before described,
with the exception that its rear part, instead of having a bottom, carries a gear-
wheel N having a similar diameter to that of the wheel d.
In the centre of the said cylinder and upon the outside of the same a circular
groove is formed in which move the rollers mounted upon plates provided with
journals, the latter are introduced through an aperture in the lower part of the
cylinder a their object being to retain the said gear-wheel in place and to facilitate
the rotary movement thereof.
The drill-holder 6 is a hollow tube provided with a screw thread at its front part,
or a nut of bronze or other suitable antifrictional material may be fixed to the said
tube as a substitute for the screw-thread upon the lower part of the drill-holder,
this last arrangement being preferable in order to preserve the screw and the drill-
holder; on the opposite side is formed a hole having a square section and made
conical to receive the drill, which is carried, in its rotary movement, by the key
fixed in the wheel & in the arrangement hereinbefore described.
The pressure screw c, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, passes by its screw-threaded
portion into the hollow part of the drill-holder and has a shoulder c¹ and a rod T
formed integrally with it. The rod I is surrounded by a spiral spring S the ends of
which are pressed between the shoulder of the screw and the bottom of a recess in
the gear-wheel N forming a box for the spring, whilst the rod I passes through the
bub and is provided with a screw-nut which maintains the shoulder of the screw c
in the said box. This box has a notch or a short key, not shown in the drawing,
fixed to the said hub, which key enters a groove forined in the thickness of the
shoulder of the screw c; in this manner the latter is elastically connected to the
hub of the wheel N and moves therewith.
Above the wheel N is mounted a toothed pinion ƒ which is geared at will with
the said wheel, according to whether the drill-holder is to be moved forward or
back ward in the cylinder, the pinion is thrown out of gear by means of the forked
lever P which enters a circular groove in the sleeve forming part of the said
pinion; the said sleeve also forins a grooved pulley to receive a cord for transmitting
motion from a pulley mounted upon the shaft of the forward pulley 6.
The pitch of the screw for advancing the drill may, according to the nature of
the material to be drilled, be larger or smaller. The simple crossing of the cord
may cause the advance to be accelerated, that is to say, may cause it to be doubled
or tripled, if the material permits, or to be retarded in the same proportions if
the material should be harder. The proportions are regulated by the size of the
pulleys.
The result of the arrangement of the two trains of gearing is that the forward
one for causing the tool to advance into the rock unscrews the drill-holder, being so
to speak articulated with it, whilst the rear one is articulated with the screw, it is
like one hand being applied to the nut and the other to the bolt and acting in
inverse directions. But the movement of one may be more rapid than that of the
other and it is the difference between the two rates of speed which effects the
augmentation or diminution of the speed of advance of the screw. This speed is
obtained by the difference between the diameters of the pulleys.
This arrangement, consisting in causing the screw to bear at the same time upon
a spring and upon a system of rollers, has for its object, in the first instance, to
give a semi-elastic pressure, and, in the second instance, to diminish the friction due
to the pressure, which friction would exist to an injurious degree, if the turning
part rubbed upon fixed parts.
In principle, this arrangement for avoiding friction is the same as that applied to
the hydraulic piston; the nature of the pressure is only modified, one being a
physical application and the other purely mechanical. The hydraulic pressure is

page_text: exerted under the influence of a column of air which renders it very elastic, giving
the elasticity, necessary for drilling very hard rocks, whilst the slight elasticity
offered by the pressure of the screw does not permit of drilling excessively hard
rocks.
.
:
Hydraulic pressure may serve in both cases, except where water cannot be
obtained, upon ridges for example where it is desired to effect any operation; I
therefore employ the two means for obtaining, the required pressure, without
materially modifying the other peculiar features of the apparatus.
I have described above an arrangement of carriage or frame serving for
transporting the apparatus. An arrangement of this kind is shown in elevation
in Figure 9 and in plan in Figure 10.
This carriage or frame which constitutes a kind of wheelbarrow is composed of
two bars connected by cross-pieces and upon which is mounted an axle i carrying
the wheels r. The carriage or frame is provided with arms b for moving it, and
arms are articulated upon the axle i in such a manner that they can be moved
toward the front or the rear upon the said bars 7, where they are held in any suitable
manner. The arms of receive a platform g upon which is placed the charge serving
as the resistance to the tool when working in the vertical direction.
The drilling machine is mounted, as in the circular carriage or frame, upon arms a
articulated at c and capable of being fixed by means of pins upon the sector 8. The
water tank or reservoir k is also arranged upon the wheelbarrow and may contain
the pump. Spurs g, which engage in the ground, serve to resist the effort exerted
by the tool when it operates in the lateral direction.
T
The dotted lines indicate the different positions which the drilling machine may
occupy with this system of carriage. It will thus be seen that the apparatus may
be made to drill according to a great amplitude (at least 120°).
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 special mode of application of hydraulic pressure for causing the
advancement of the tool in proportion to the resistance of the material to be
drilled, substantially as set forth.
Second-The peculiar arrangements of the carriage or frame, according to the
nature of the work to be executed, permitting in each case the transport or removal
of the apparatus, and the placing at any point and in any direction of the drilling
machine or machines to be effected with facility, and constituting a stable support
as above described.
Third The peculiar construction of the tool and the special mode of mounting
the diamonds upon the same when very hard rocks are to be drilled, substantially
as, and for the purpose, set fort':.
Fourth-The special mode of suspension of the drilling machine upon its carriage
or frame which permits the said machine to follow, as required, the deviations of
the tool caused by its coming into contact with materials of different nature and
resistance as above set forth.
Fifth The substitution for the communicating tube with the admission and
outlet cock of the cylinder, of two apertures bored in its mass and by means of a
slide valve connected with an excentric cam for actuating it which slide valve causes
the evacuation by the same orifice by the movement of the valve face, whether the
exterior admits the pressure upon one of the faces of the piston or the interior
causes the opposite orifice to communicate with the outlet.
Sixth The application of a box in the rear part of the guide of the drill-holder,
in the cylinder, this box being furnished with a grooved ring which surrounds the
drill-holder the pressure of which pushes it against the guide, and the said ring
acting as a valve when the piston is caused to retrograde and stop the orifice of the
groove of the key formed upon the drill-holder.
Seventh-The application of a stuffing-box or metal segment for enveloping the
hub of the wheel d, the same being fixed by means of a flange to the cylinder and
-

page_text: another stuffing box enveloping the drill-holder upon the head part of the gear-
wheel d, the packing being metallic,, as above described.
Eighth The portable frame or carriage constructed and arranged, according to
the nature of the work to be executed, substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my hand &
and seal this sixteenth day of July in the year of our Lord One, thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.