IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR DRILLING OR PERFORATING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the Firm of Haseltine Lake
"
and Co Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR DRILLING OR PERFORATING ROCKS OR
OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES. A communication from abroad by Alfred
Shedlock of the City and State of New York United States of America
Mechanical Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th February 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings London “IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR DRILLING OR
PERFORATING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES [A communication from
abroad by Alfred Shedlock, of the City and State of New York United States of
America Mechanical Engineer.]
"
This invention relates to that class of rock drilling machines designed to be
operated by hand power, and comprises improvements in the supporting legs,
consisting of slotted bolts through which rods of the frame, and plain straight
supporting bars pass, the whole being clamped together by means of washers, and a
nut on the end of the bolt, whereby the machine may be readily adjusted in working
position; also improvements in the construction and arrangement of the striking
hammer and its actuating spring, whereby the hammer has a direct linear move-
ment to and from the drill holder, and the spring may be easily removed, to be
substituted by a stronger or weaker one, as the quality of rock operated upon may
demand; also an improved device for actuating the drill to and from the bottom
of the hole, and partly rotating it between each successive blow, consisting of a
sliding head loosely holding the drill holder operated by cams on the driving shaft
for moving the drill backwards and forwards positively, and a worin cam also on
the driving shaft arranged to work in a worm wheel on the drill holder and to
partly rotate the same when the sliding head has withdrawn the drill from the

page_text: bottom of the hole; the whole so constructed as to obviate the necessity for using
spring pawls or springs, and to make said movements of the drill perfectly positive;
also an improved feeding device for carrying the drill forward as fast as it performs
its work, consisting of a ratchet shape threaded screw fitted in bearings on the
body of the machine, and embraced by two half spring acting nuts secured to the
fixed frame, one end of said screw being provided with a ratchet wheel, into the
teeth of which works a lever pawl actuated from the sliding drill holder.-The
teeth of the ratchet wheel are so proportioned, that the lover pawl catches into a
new tooth of the ratchet wheel when the drill holder and drill are moved forward
their maximum distance, the forward movement of the sliding body due to the
angular rotation of the feed screw equal to the pitch of the ratchet wheel, being
considerably in excess of the greatest depth the drill will cut at each blow of the
hammer on the end of the drill holder, a short compensating spring is placed on
the drill holder to allow for the excess of feed over the work done by the drill
and it further comprises such improvements in the general construction and
arrangement of the various parts, that the same are not liable to get out of order,
there being no bolts or nuts in the machine to jar loose.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide a frame consisting simply
of a rear end piece, and side bars, secured at one of their ends thereto.-The end
piece is provided with three short rods. Two of them project at the sides and the
other one at right angles to them.-It may have a pad, against which the operator
may press when using the machine. One bar is pointed at its front end and the
other bar is provided with an adjustable point, screwed on the end of it, to
accommodate irregularities in the rock and that both bars may bear with equal
pressure when the machine is adjusted to drill in the desired direction, The three
supporting legs are alike. They each consist of a straight rod which passes through
a hole in the bolt laterally enlarged, and at right angles to this laterally enlarged
hole is formed another hole, partly in the head of the bolt adapted to receive short
rods of the end piece, and the end of the side bar.
Between the straight rod and the bar or the short rods are placed two washers,
having partly circular recesses to embrace their respective rods, and the contact
lacos of these washers are preferably roughened or radially corrugated to prevent
them shifting when the legs are set; or a friction-washer may be placed between.
On the bolt beyond the rod is placed a washer and on its extreme end is a
tightening nut.
By means of this arrangement of parts each leg may be set in any position by
simply loosening the nut the rod then being free to slide longitudinally through
the bolt and washers to adjust the machine as to height, and free to move sidewise
in the laterally-enlarged hole in the bolt to adjust the rod in an angular position in
one direction, the angular position in the other direction being provided for by the
bolt turning on the rods or bar on which it is placed; and when set as desired all
parts are firmly held by simply tightening the nut.
The working parts of the machine, with the exception of the hammer, are con-
tained in or connected to the body or frame composed of cylindrical shell girders
and an end piece and bearings which fit freely on the bars.-In bearings on the
cylindrical part of the body is fitted to rotate the feed screw which passes
through a nut frame adapted to be clamped in any desired position on the bars
by set screws closing the split bearing on the bars. In this frame are
pivoted two half-nuts which are closed down on a screw by springs, this
screw has a ratchet-shaped thread, the object of which is to prevent any
injury to the screw or half-nuts if the hammer be allowed to act against the
drill-plunger when the end of the drill is away from the rock, and it permits the
body and drill to be pushed forward, the springs of the nuts allowing then to slide
over the thread of the screw in the one direction. The ends of the half-nut project
above the frame and one of them has pivoted to it a cam lever which when pressed
down between their ends, separates the nuts from the screw leaving the body of
the machine free to be moved on the bars when it is desired to withdraw the drill

page_text: froin the hole or to set the machine for a continuation of the feed after the screw
has moved the body as far forward as it can, which resetting is accomplished by
slackening the set screws of the nut frame and moving the nut frame forward on
the bars to be again secured thereto, and the half nuts allowed to embrace the
screw by throwing back the cam lever.
The screw is provided with a head, which bears against its front bearing, and
has secured to its other end a toothed wheel or disc which bears against its rear
bearing, so that while free to be rotated, it has no longitudinal play. It is actuated
by a pawl pivoted on the top of a yoke fitted in a groove turned in a plunger to
the front end of which the drill is secured. This plunger has a reciprocating
motion imparted to it by means hereafter described, said motion varying in extent
according to the work done by the drill.-The pawl moves with the plunger and
being cam-shaped near its end, which is provided with a projection adapted to
catch in the teeth of the wheel said end is caused to move laterally as the pawl is
drawn backward by the cam working over a roller or stud on the body and it is
held thereto by a spring. The front edges of the teeth of the wheel are pointed,
and the projection lies beyond these teeth when the pawl is in its extreme forward
position. To ensure the teeth of the wheel being in proper position for the pawl
to actuate it I propose to arrange an ordinary spring pawl or catch, to engage in
the teeth of the said wheel.
In a modification of the feeding device a wheel on the screw has face ratchet
teeth. A pawl is caused to slide backward and forward by the plunger in a
similar manner to the other pawl. The projection on the pawl is caused to enter
one of the ratchet teeth of the wheel by the pin near its pivotal centre striking
against a fixed bracket when the pawl with the plunger, moves into the extreme
forward position, and when the plunger moves back the pawl moves into the
angular position, and so turns the wheel one tooth. The pawl remains in this last
position until it is again knocked back by the bracket.
The drills of this class of machine have heretofore been pressed back against the
bottom of the hole by means of a spring after being moved therefrom to receive a
partial rotation. Now in this machine the drill is actuated both as regards its
to-and-fro motion and rotation by means of positive-acting devices, so that the
minimum of power is required to operate this part of the machine and the liability
of derangement entirely avoided. A good practical way of carrying this out is as
follows. The rear end of the plunger is fitted to rotate in a head which is provided
with a sleeve fitted in the end of the cylindrical part of the body and this head
has a positive reciprocating motion imparted to it from the driving shaft by means
of two sets of cams acting respectively against vertically-projecting bearers. The
plunger has secured to its rear end a worm-wheel. Outside the bearing in the
head and on the plunger is a collar located near an end sleeve allowing the plunger
a little play longitudinally in the head which will about equal each forward move-
ment due to the feed, so as to prevent the cam binding in the head when they
move the head and plunger forward, should the drill strike the bottom of the hole
before the head has completed its full movement, the plunger being so moved
forward by the end of the sleeve striking a collar and moved back by the worm
wheel striking the other end of the bearing in head. Instead of the collar the end
of the slot in the sleeve through which the upper part of the yoke passes, may be
used to move the plunger forward with the head.
In some cases as, for instance in upward drilling-it may be advantageous to
employ a small spring to hold the worin-wheel to the end of the head. In such
case, where the construction of the head is used, I propose to place said spring
between the yoke and the shoulder of the head reducing the plunger in this part
to accommodate the spring; or the spring may be placed outside the worm-wheel
and the head made in two parts and screwed together to form a box for the spring.
Between the same and forming one piece therewith, is a worm-cam having
connecting ribs, which rotate in the spaces of the worm-wheel to positively hold it
and the plunger from rotating, excepting when one of the worm cams (of which

page_text: there are two) is operating to turn the wheel which takes place just after one cam
has withdrawn the drill from the bottom of the hole, the worn-wheel being carried
by the head changes its position under the worm-cam but the teeth of the worm
wheel and worm-cam are so shaped as to properly work together during such
movement of the wheel. As the cams are double acting, the drill is withdrawn
and partly rotated twice during each revolution of the shaft which has bearings in
girders of the body and is rotated by crank-handles. Secured to the shaft just out-
side the bearings in the girders are two throw cams. These cams operate a striking
hammer by acting on rollers. The hammer in this machine is adapted to slide on
the side bars of the frame by bearings so that it has a direct linear movement to 1
and from the end of the plunger. The striking plug of the hammer is concave on
its face, and the plug secured in or to the end of the plunger is correspondingly
convex, this plug being detached. The object of so shaping these striking plugs is
to obviate as much as possible the spreading of them from the continual blows by
providing them with considerable contact surface, and the concavity of the hammer
plug tends to cause the other plug to retain its shape. The concavity and convexity
of the plugs may be reversed.
One of the main features of this invention is the method of applying the
striking spring to the machine, the object being to secure it in place, without
employing any screws or bolts therefor, in such a manner that all possibility of its
getting loose is obviated besides providing for the ready removal of the same and
replacing it by another spring of different strength when desired. Several forms
of springs may be used, but they are all retained in position in substantially the
same manner between the front side of the end pieces of the body and the rear
side of the haminer.
I may employ an elliptic spring the ends of the leaves of which are bent round
and connected together by hooking said round ends over the pins of yoke pieces,
one of the pins being separable from its yoke, to be inserted through it and the
corresponding rounded end of the spring after the other three rounded ends have
been placed over their pins in the yokes. The centres of the two sides of the
elliptic spring are punctured and fit over studs on the end piece and hammer. The
spring is placed in position by passing it between the girders of the body and end
piece and hammer and compressing it to allow the two sides to spring over the studs.
Bow springs made of flat steel, are held in place by simply passing their rounded
ends over bars formed on the end piece, and hammer. This form of spring is
preferable in most respects to the elliptic spring, and the ends, of the bow spring-
are merely bent at right angles to fit into recesses formed in the centre of the
haminer and end piece. Two springs may be used one above, the other below-if
thought best; but one spring will be sufficient to impart the required impetus to
the hammer as said form of spring may be made of any strength desired. From
the foregoing it will be seen that the spring maintains its position between the
hammer and end piece by reason of its resilience only.
It is advantageous that the working parts of machines of this description should
be protected from the grit dust and the like. To enable this to be done I propose
to continue the ribs of the girders so as to meet the rear-bearing of the feed screw
thus forming the three sides of a box in which most of the working parts are
contained, and the top covered by a wrought or cast metal plate bent down in
front of the cams and plunger, and provided with a hole, through which the
striking plug of the hammer may pass. A plate may be cast on the body to form
the bottom of the box.
To enable the hammer-actuating device to be also placed in the enclosing box,
I propose to substitute for the ordinary cams arms provided at their ends with
rollers which, when the arms are rotated, come in contact with arms projecting
from the front of the hammer and so move back the hammer against the springs.
These arms occupy much less space than the cams and may be placed inside the
girders and formed if desired in one piece with the cams. The front bearing of the
hammer is at the ends of the arms thereby increasing the length of the hammer

page_text: bearing on the side-bars of the frame. This form of hammer actuating device is
in some respects superior to the cams and may be placed outside the girders as are
the cams.
In this machine no nuts or bolts are employed in the construction of it; so the
liability of any of the parts becoming deranged or being lost is obviated, which
derangement or loss of parts is very liable to happen to machines of this class in
which nuts and bolts are used, on account of the continuous jarring they are
subjected to.
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
28th August 1882.
OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR DRILLING OR
A communication from
abroad by Alfred Shedlock, of the City and State of New York United States of
America, Mechanical Engineer.
PERFORATING ROCKS OR
This Invention relates to that class of rock-drilling machines designed to be
operated by hand power, and comprises certain improvements in the supporting
legs, whereby the machine may be readily adjusted in working position; also
improvements in the construction and arrangement of the striking hammer and its
actuating spring, whereby the hammer has a direct linear movement to and from
the drill-holder, and the spring is easily removed to be substituted by a stronger
or weaker one, as the quality of the rock operated upon may demand; also an
improved device for actuating the drill to and from the bottom of the hole, and
partly rotating it between each successive blow, so constructed as to obviate the
necessity of using spring-pawls or springs, and to make the said movements of the
drill perfectly positive; also an improved feeding device for carrying the drill
forward as fast as it perforins its work. The invention further comprises such
improvements in the general construction and arrangement of the various parts,
that the same are not liable to get out of order, there being no bolts or nuts in the
machine to jar loose.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal central section of a drilling machine con-
structed according to this invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figure 3 is a detail view showing a modification of the hammer-actuating
device and springs and also of the feeding device.
Figure 4 is a plan of the same.
Figure 5 is an enlarged section on the line x, x, Figure 3.
Figure 6 illustrates a modified form for holding the hammer spring in position.

page_text: 2334
hammer.
Figure 8 is also a section on the line y, y, but showing the opposite side.
Figure 9 is a section on the line z, z, Figure 1.
Figure 10 is an enlarged view, partly in section, showing a modification of the
drill-turning device.
Figure 11 is an enlarged detail view of the leg-clamping device, and,
Figure 12 represents the manner in which the three legs are attached to the rear
end plate for upward drilling.
In carrying this invention into practice I provide a frame consisting simply of
a rear end piece a, and the side bars a¹ a³ secured thereto. The end piece a is
provided with three short rods; two of them a³, a³, project at the sides, and the
other one at at right angles to them. It may have a pad a³, against which
the operator may press when using the machine. The bar a¹ is pointed at its front
end, and the bar a² is provided with an adjustable point a, screwed on the end of
it, to accommodate irregularities in the rock, and ensure that both bars a, a, may
bear with equal pressure, when the machine is adjusted to drill in the desired
direction. The three supporting legs are alike; each consists of a straight rod b,
which passes through a hole in the bolt b' laterally enlarged, as shown in Figure 11:
at right angles to this laterally enlarged hole is formed another hole, partly in the
head of the bolt b' adapted to receive the short rods a³, a¹, of the end piece a and
the end of the side bar a¹.
Between the rod b, and bar a¹, or rods a³ a' are placed two washers 6ª, b³, having
partly circular recesses to embrace their respective rods; the contact faces of these
washers are preferably roughened or radially corrugated, to prevent them shifting
when the legs are set: or a friction-washer may be placed between. On the bolt b¹
beyond the rod b is placed a washer bt, and on the extreme end of the said bolt is
a tightening nut b³. By means of this arrangement of parts each leg may be set
in any position by simply loosening the nut 6, the rod b then heing free to slide
through the bolt b¹, and washers b³, b, to adjust the machine as to height, and free
also to move laterally in the enlarged hole in the bolt b' thereby allowing the
adjustment of the rod b in an angular position in one direction, the angular position
in the other direction being provided for by the bolt b turning on the rods a³ or a
or bar a on which it is placed; when set as desired all the parts are firmly held
by simply tightening the nut b
In Figures 1, 2 and 7 a leg is shown on each of the short rods a³ of the rear
plate a third one being on the front end of the side bar a¹. This is the disposition
of the legs when the drill is operating upon the face of a rock, from which it will
be seen that the machine is self sustaining. The object of the third short rod a*
on the plate a, is to enable the leg on the end of the bar al to be used in upward
drilling as shown in Figure 12, or in downward drilling, the plate a being then in
a reverse position.
The working parts of the machine, with the exception of the hammer, are
contained in or connected to, the body or frame c; the said body is composed of
the cylindrical shell girders c¹, c', an end-piece c, and bearings c³, c³, which slide
freely upon the bars a³, a². Arranged to rotate in bearings on the cylindrical part
of the body c is the feed-screw d, which passes through a frame e, adapted to be
clamped in any desired position on the bars a¹, a², by the set-screws el closing the
split-bearing on the bars, Figure 9. To the frame e are pivoted the two halves of
a screw-nute which are closed on the screw d by springs e³. It will be observed
that this screw has a ratchet-shaped thread, the object of which is to prevent any
injury to the screw or half-nuts, if the hammer be allowed to act against the drill-
plunger when the end of the drill is away from the rock. It also permits the body
and drill to be pushed forward, the springs es of the nuts e, e³, allowing them to
slide over the thread of the screw d'in one direction. The ends of the half-nuts
project above the frame e, and one of them has pivotted to it a cam lever et which
when pressed down between the said ends, disengaged the nuts from the screw d.

page_text: The body of the machine is thus free to be moved on the bars a¹ a² when it is
desired to withdraw the drill from the hole, or to set the machine for the con-
tinuation of the feed, after the screw d has moved the body as far forward as it
can; this re-setting is accomplished by slackening the set screws e¹ of the frame e
and moving the said frame forward on the bars a, a, to which it is again secured tho
half nuts e are also allowed to embrace the screw & by throwing back the cam lever c*.
The screw d is provided with a head which bears against its front bearing;
to its other end is secured a toothed wheel or disc d' which bears against its rear
bearing so that while free to be rotated, it has no longitudinal play. The said
screw is actuated by the pawl d³, pivoted on the top of the yokef which is
fitted into a groove turned in the plunger f¹. To the front end of this
plunger the drill f' is secured. The said plunger has a reciprocating motion
imparted to it by means hereafter described; the said motion varying in
extent according to the work being done by the drill. The pawl d³ moves
with the plunger fl and is cam-shaped near its end; the said end is provided
with a projection d Figure 10 adapted to catch in the teeth of the wheel d
and is caused to move laterally as the pawl is drawn backward, by
the cam coming into contact with a roller or stud on the body c; the said pawl
is held against the said roller by a spring dº. The front ends of the teeth of the
wheel are pointed, and the projection d lies beyond these teeth when the pawl
is in its extreme forward position. If the said pawl be drawn back by the
plunger f¹, the projection d' enters the space between the two lower teeth, and as
the pawl comes into contact with the roller or stud ³, the projection d* is moved
laterally carrying the wheel d², one tooth forward, and so partly rotating the
scrow d, and feeding the drill forward a certain distance. This distance is in
excess of the depth that the drill is capable of cutting at one blow. The blow of
the hammer is imparted to the drill, just before it, with the plunger f' is moved
back; if the blow has not caused the drill to cut the maximum depth, then when
the plunger f¹ moves forward carrying with it the pawl d³, the projection d' will
remain in the space between the teeth it previously entered, and so slide backward
and forward, until the plunger f1 is allowed to make its maximum forward
movement. Then the projection is moved beyond the front edge of the wheel d³,
and the pawl d is pushed back by the spring against the roller or stud d³,
bringing the projection d' again into position, to catch into the succeeding tooth of
the said wheel d³, when the pawl is next moved back by the plunger f¹. The
pressure of the spring acting on the half-nuts e² on the screw & will in most cases
be sufficient to prevent the screw d, and toothed wheel & from jarring back, or
moving too far ahead. To ensure the teeth of the wheel d³ being in proper position
for the pawl ds to actuate the said wheel I arrange an ordinary spring pawl or
catch to engage in the said teeth as shown in Figures 2 and 9.
In a modification of the feeding device shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 the wheel g
on the screw d has face ratchet teeth. The pawl g' is caused to slide to and fro
by the plunger f'in a similar manner to the pawl. The projection on the
pawl g is caused to enter one of the ratchet teeth of the wheel g by a pin near its
pivotal centre striking against the fixed bracket g² when the pawl with the plunger
moves into the extreme forward position; when the plunger moves back the
pawl gl moves into the angular position shown by dotted lines in Figure 4 and so
turns the wheel g one tooth. The pawl remains in this last position until it is
again knocked back by the bracket g².
The drills of machines of this class as heretofore constructed, have been pressed
back against the bottom of the hole, (after being moved therefrom to receive a
partial rotation) by means of a spring. In a machine constructed according to
this invention the drill is actuated, both as regards its to-and-fro motion, and
rotation, by means of direct acting devices, so that the minimum amount of power
is required to operate it, and the liability of derangement greatly lessened. The
rear end of the plunger f' is fitted to rotate in the head h; Figure 10; this head
is provided with a sleeve h' fitted in the end of the cylindrical part of the body o

page_text: and has a positive reciprocating motion imparted to it from the driving shaft i,
by means of two camis ¿¹ and ¿ª acting respectively against the vertically projecting
bearers ³.
The plunger Figure 10, has secured to its rear end a worm-wheel j. Outside
the bearing in the head and on the plunger is a collar fs located near the
sleeve h¹ and allowing the plunger a little play longitudinally in the head / about
equal to each forward movement of the feed; the object of this is to prevent
the cam binding the head h. when the said head and plunger move forward,
should the drill strike the bottom of the hole before the head has completed its
full movement; the plunger is moved forward by the end of the sleeve striking
the collar and moved back by the worm wheel j striking the other end of the
bearing in head h. Instead of the collars the end of the slot in the sleeve h¹
through which the upper part of the yoke f passes may be used to move the
plunger forward with the head.
In some cases, as for instance in upward drilling,—it may be advantageous to
employ a small spring to hold the worm wheel j to the end of the head h. In such
case where the construction of the head h Figure 10, is used I propose to place the
said spring between the yoke f and the shoulder of the head h reducing the
diameter of the plunger in this part to receive the spring; or a spring h* may be
placed outside the worm wheel and the head h made in two parts and screwed
together to form a box for the spring, as shown in Figure 1.
Between the cams and 2 and integral therewith, is a cam having ribs which
engage in the spaces of the worm-wheel j to securely hold it and the plunger from
rotating excepting when one of the ribs of the cam j', (of which there are two) is
operating to turn the wheelj; this movement takes place immediately after the
cam has withdrawn the drill from the bottom of the hole. The worm-wheel j
being carried by the head / rotates under the cam j¹; but the teeth of the whool j
and ribe of the cam j', are so shaped, as to work together during such rotation of
the wheel j. As the cams i,, are double acting, the drill is withdrawn and
partly rotated twice, during each revolution of the shaft i. The said shaft has
bearings in the girders c' of the body c and is rotated by the crank-handles k. k.
Secured to the shaft i just outside the bearings in the girders c' are the two
Arms, L. These arms operate the striking haminer m and act on rollers m m³.
The hammer in this machine is adapted to slide on the side bars a, a, of the frame
by the guides m³, m², so that it has a direct linear movement to and from the end
of the plunger f¹. The striking plug n of the hammer is concave on its face and
the plug n secured in or to the end of the plunger f¹ is correspondingly convex,
as shown in Figure 6, the plug n' being detachable. The object of so shaping
these striking plugs is to obviate as much as possible the spreading of them from
the continual blows, by providing them with considerable contact-surface, and the
concavity of the plug n, tends to cause the plug n' to retain its shape. The
concavity and convexity of the plugs n and n, may be reversed.
One of the inain features of this invention is the method of applying the
striking spring to the machine, the object being to secure it in place, without
employing any screws or bolts therefor, and in such a manner that all possibility
of its getting loose is obviated, besides providing for the ready removal of the
same and replacing it by another spring of different strength when desired.
Several forms of springs are used, but they are all retained in position, in substan-
tially the same manner between the front side of the end-pieces of of the body c
and the rear side of the hammer m.
An elliptical spring o is shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7, the ends of the plates of
which are bent round, and connected together by hooking the said round ends over
the pins of the yoke-pieces o¹, o¹, one of the pins being removable from a yoke, to
allow of its being inserted through it and the corresponding rounded end of the
spring, after the other three rounded ends have been placed over their pins in the
yokes. The centres of the two plates of the spring o are punctured, and fit over
the studs o², o³, ou the end piece c² and hammer m. The spring is placed in

page_text: position by passing it between the girders c¹, c¹, of the body, end piece c², and
hammer m, and compressing it, to allow the two plates to spring over the studs oª
and o³.
Bow springs P P made of flat steel, are shown in Figures 3 and 4; they are held
in place by simply passing their rounded ends over bars p¹, pl, formed on the end
piece and hammer m. This form of spring is preferable in most respects to the
elliptical spring, a simple manner of securing it in place is shown in Figure 6,
where the ends of the bow spring 9 are merely bent at right angles, to fit into
recesses q¹ and q³ formed in the centre of the hammer m and end piece c³ ; one
spring only is shown in Figure 6, two springs however may be used, one above
and the other below the hammer, but one spring will in most cases be sufficient to
impart the required impetus to the hammer m, as this form of spring may be
made of any desired strength. It will thus be seen that the spring maintains
its position between the hammer m and end piece c² by reason of its resilience
only.
It is preferable that the working parts of machines of this description should
be protected from grit and the like. To do this I continue the ribs of the
girders c¹ so as to meet the rear-bearing of the feed-screw d as shown in Figures 3
and 4 thus forming three sides of a box in which most of the working parts are
contained, the top being covered by a wrought or cast metal plate bent down in
front of the cams and plunger, and provided with a hole, through which the
striking plug of the hammer may pass. A plate may be cast on the body to form
the bottom of the box.
To enable the hammer-actuating-device to be also placed in the enclosing
box, I substitute for the arms 1, t, the short arms r, r, provided at their ends
with rollers r¹, r¹, which when the arms are rotated come into contact with the
arms 8, 8, projecting from the front of the hammer m as shown in Figures 3 and 4,
and so move back the hammer against the springs P P. These arms r, r, occupy
much less space than the arms l, l, and may be placed inside the girders c', c², and
if desired formed in one piece with the cams i¹, i, and j'. The front bearing of
the hammer is at the ends of the arms 8, 8, thereby increasing the length of the
hammer bearing on the side-bars a, a, of the frame. This form of hammer-
actuating device is in some respects superior to the arms 1,1, and may be placed
outside the girders c', c², as are the arms l, l.
In this machine no nuts or bolts are employed in its construction so that the
liability of any of the parts becoming deranged or being lost is greatly reduced.
The derangement or loss of parts is very liable to happen to machines of this class
in which nuts and bolts are used, on account of the continuous jarring they are
subjected to.
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. An adjustable leg or supporting rod, for rock-drilling machines, adapted
to slide through a bolt fitted at right angles on a rod or bar of the frame, in com-
bination with clamping-washers between the straight supporting-bar and the said
rod or bar, and a nut on the end of the bolt for clamping the whole together,
substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the straight supporting-rod b, the bolt b' having
two holes at right angles through it, one of which is laterally enlarged, the clamping-
washers b, b, b, the nut bo, and the rod or bar of the frame adapted to pass
through the plain hole in the bolt, substantially as set forth.
Third. A frame, for rock-drilling machines, composed of the two side bars a¹, a³,
one of which is pointed, and the other provided with an adjustable point, the end
pieces a having the three short rods a³ a³, as, in combination with three adjustable
supporting-legs, two adapted to be connected to the short rods a³, a³, and the other
to the front end of one of the side bars a¹ and also to the short rod a*, substantially
as, and for the purpose, set forth.

page_text: Fourth. The body a composed of a cylindrical shell in which fits the drill holding
plunger, the end piece c³, the connecting girders c', c, provided with bearings for
the driving-shaft, and the bearings c³, c, by which the body c is supported, and
free to slide on the side bars of the frame of the machine, substantially as set
forth.
Fifth. In a rock-drilling machine, the body carrying the operating mechanism,
and adapted to slide on the side bars of the frame, a hammer also adapted to slide
on the said side bars between one end of the main portion of the body and an end
piece connected thereto by girders, and a spring located between the hammer and
end piece of the frame and adapted by its resilience to drive the hammer against
the end of a plunger fitted in the main portion or cylindrical shell of the body,
substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Sixth. The combination, with a sliding hammer and end piece of the body, of a
spring adapted to be secured to the hammer and end piece and maintain its position
between them by reason of its resilience only, substantially as set forth.
Seventh. The curved flat spring 7 in combination with the end piece c³ having
the recess q, and the hammer m having the recess q¹, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. The combination of the body c, c', c', c, ³, c, and the hammer m,
with the actuating cams on the shaft and the spring q, substantially as set
forth.
Ninth. The striking plug of the hammer having a concave face, in combination
with the plug at the end of the drill-plunger having a convex face, substantially
and for the purpose, set forth.
as,
Tenth. A drill-holding plunger fitted to slide and the body of the machine
and operated reciprocally to move the point of the drill to and from the bottom
of the hole positively in both directions by means substantially as described,
and actuated from the driving shaft, with or without a compensating spring.
Eleventh. A drill-holding plunger fitted to slide and rotate in the body of the
machine, in combination with means, substantially as described, for positively
moving the drill to and from the bottom of the hole, and means, substantially as
described, for intermittently rotating the same when away from the bottom of the
hole.
Twelfth. The combination of the plunger f¹, sliding head having bearers h³, h³,
worm-wheel j, and cams ', ³, whereby the plunger flis caused to move to and
from the bottom of the hole positively in both directions, substantially as
described.
Thirteenth. The combination of the plunger f, sliding head h having bearers
h³, h³, cams i¹, i, worm-wheel j and cam ji, whereby the plunger f¹ is caused to
move to and from the bottom of the hole positively in both directions and be
positively rotated when away from the bottom of the hole, substantially as
described.
Fourteenth. The combination of the plunger f¹ adapted to receive a reciprocating
movement after each blow of the hammer thereon, the worm-wheel j and cam
substantially as described.
J
Fifteenth. The combination of the drill-holding plunger f1, sliding head h, cams
,, worm-wheel and spring h, whereby the head is allowed to move a short
distance, after the drill has reached the rock, substantially as set forth.
Sixteenth. The body carrying the operating parts of the machine and adapted to
slide on the two side bars of the frame, in combination with the feed-screw fitted
to rotate in bearings on the body, and a nut-holding frame adapted to be adjusted
in position on and secured to the said side bars, substantially as set forth.
Seventeenth. A feed-screw for rock-drilling machines, having a ratchet-shaped
thread, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Eighteenth. In combination with a ratchet-shaped threaded feed-scrow fitted in
bearings on the body, the spring-acting half-nuts carried by a frame connected to
the main frame of the machine, substantially as set forth.

page_text: Nineteenth. The combination of the screw d, the toothed wheel ², the spring-
acting pawl d, the yoke ƒ, the roller or stud d³, and the plunger f¹, substantially
as described.
Twentieth. The combination of the screw d on the body and the half nuts eº
provided with the springs and the nut-frame e, substantially as described.
Twenty first. A drill holding plunger fitted to slide in the body of the machine
and operated reciprocally to move the point of the drill to and from the bottom of
the hole positively in both directions by means, substantially as described, and
actuated from the driving shaft, in combination with a compensating spring and a
feeding device constructed and operated to feed the machine forward as fast as the
drill cuts, substantially as set forth.
Twenty second. A drill-holding plunger fitted to slide in the body of the machine
and operated reciprocally to move the point of the drill to and from the bottom of
the hole positively in both directions by means substantially as described, and
actuated from the driving-shaft, in combination with a compensating-spring, a
feeding device constructed and operated to feed the machine as fast as the drill
cuts, and a spring-acting hammer, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty sixth day of August in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.