IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER IN THE MEANS FOR DRIVING OR ACTUATING THE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Rothery, of Waterloo Main Colliery, near
Leeds, in the County of York, Colliery Viewer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER
Sealed the 10th August 1866, and dated the 15th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Rothery at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
February 1866.
I, JOSEPH ROTHERY, of Waterloo Main Colliery, near Leeds, in the County
of York, Colliery Viewer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention:
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER.
MINERALS, AND IN THE MEANS FOR DRIVING OR ACTUATING THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar eonstruction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery or apparatus for cutting or working coal and other
minerals, and consists, according to one modification, in working the vibrating
cutters by means of cams or wipers upon a eam shaft contained in a suitable
frame or carriage mounted upon wheels, such cams or wipers being actuated
either by a belt and driving pulleys or by gearing, and made to operate upon
tappets or short levers keyed on to the spindle of the cutter. In conjunc
tion with this cam movement there is a coiled or other conveniently shaped
spring which acts upon the cutter shaft or spindle and imparts the cutting

page_text: stroke to the tool, the return or back stroke being made by the cam or wiper.
According to another arrangement of apparatus it is proposed to combine in
the same framing that contains the cutting mechanism and gearing in imme-
diate connection therewith, or to couple with such framing when required a
peculiar horse power herein-after referred to with a view to working the
machine by horse labor, the entire combination forming one machine com-
plete in itself. It is also proposed to work air pumps for charging air
receivers with compressed air or for producing a partial vacuum in suitable
closed vessels or vacuum chambers by means of the said horse power, and to
use such compressed air or vacuum for actuating the pistons of the cylinders
employed in working the cutters of coal-cutting machines, the horse power,
compressed air receiver or vacuum chamber, and actuating cylinders and
pistons with the cutting mechanism being all combined in one and the same
framing or carriage, so as to form a machine complete in itself. The peculiar
horse power which I prefer to use is that wherein the power of the animal is
imparted by the act of stepping upon an endless jointed platform carrying
small antifriction wheels or pulleys, the axles of which gear into notches in a
driving wheel, from which the power is transmitted to the parts to be
actuated
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Rothery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
ROTHERY, of Waterloo Main Colliery, near Leeds, in the County of York,
Colliery Viewer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Rothery, Her special license that I, the said Joseph Rothery,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Rothery, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS, AND IN THE

page_text: MEANS FOR DRIVING OR ACTUATING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Joseph Rothery, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Rothery, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and
combination of machinery or apparatus for cutting or working coal and other
minerals, and to the mode of driving or actuating the same, the object being
the making a narrow undercut in a horizontal or as nearly a horizontal
direction as the nature of the seam of coal will allow in any desired part of
the seam. These longitudinal horizontal grooves may be made in both the
lower and upper part of the coal seam, such, grooves being of such depths or
extent as may be determined according to the nature of the seam and the
sizo of the section to be removed by blasting or otherwise from the face of the
working.
:
In carrying out my Invention I work the vibrating cutters by means of
cams or wipers upon a cam shaft contained in a suitable frame or carriage
mounted upon wheels, such cams or wipers being actuated either by a belt
and driving pulleys or by gearing, and made to operate upon tappets or short
levers keyed on to the spindle of the cutter. In conjunction with this cam
movement there is a coiled or other conveniently shaped spring which acts
upon the cutter shaft or spindle and imparts the cutting stroke to the tool,
the return or back stroke being made by the cam or wiper. I
propose either
to combine with the machine, above described, so as to form part of the same
framing that contains the cutting mechanism and gearing in immediate con-
nection therewith, or to couple with such framing, when required, a peculiar
horse power, herein-after referred to, with a view, to working the machine by
horse labor, the entire combination forming one machine complete in itself.
I also propose to work air pumps for charging air receivers with compressed
air or for producing a partial vacuum in suitable closed vessels or vacuum
chambers by means of the said horse power, and to use such compressed air
or vacuum for actuating the pistons of the cylinders employed in working the

page_text: cutters of coal-cutting machines, the horse power, compressed air receiver, or
vacuum chamber, and actuating cylinders and pistons with the cutting
mechanism being all combined in one and the same portable framing or car-
triage, so as to form a machine complete in itself. The peculiar horse power
which I prefer to use is that wherein the power of the animal is imparted by
the act of stepping upon an endless jointed platform carrying small anti-
friction wheels or pulleys, the axles of which gear into notches in a driving
wheel, from which the power is transmitted to the parts to be actuated.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
"
Figure 1, ou, Sheet 1 of my Drawings, represents a side elevation of my
improved coal-getting machine detached from its driving or actuating
machinery, which I shall herein-after fully describe; Figure 2 is a corre-
sponding plan of the 'same, and Figure 3 is a front elevation thereof.
The main framing of the machine consists of an upper and a lower
rectangular cast or wrought-iron frame A, A', which are connected together
by tubular pillars or struts A" secured to the top and bottom frames by long
bolts and nuts, as shown clearly in Figure 1. This frame is mounted upon
flanged running wheels B, B, keyed on the two axles C, C, which are carried
in suitable bearings in the lower part of the framing. D is the first-motion
shaft of the machine for giving the desired reciprocating or vibrating move-
ment to the cutters; this shaft works in bearings near the upper part, and on
one side of the framing, and is provided on its outer end with a driving
pulley E and fly wheel F, whilst its inner end carries a bevel pinion G in gear
with a horizontal bevel wheel H fast on a vertical shaft I; this vertical shaft
is supported in a footstep bearing K at its lower end, whilst its upper
extremity is supported by the collar bearing L'in the central, cross bar of the
main framing. M, M, M, are three arms or tappets, the central boss N of
which is keyed on to the vertical shaft I; the outer extremities of these arms
or tappets which revolve horizontally carry the antifriction rollers O, which
are adjustable in slots in the arms, as shown in Figure 2. P is a second
vertical shaft, which I shall herein-after call the cutter shaft, as it carries the
outter or pick; on this shaft P there is keyed so as to be capable of vertical
adjustment thereon (the key sliding in a long key way in the shaft) a boss Q
provided with a flange R.; on the lower end of this boss is formed the socket S
for the reception of the stem T of the pick or tool U, whilst to the flange R

page_text: there is secured at any desired angle the adjustable lever arm V by means of
two tapered bolts a, a, which fit one or other of several bolt holes made in the
boss of the lever V and enter corresponding holes in the flange R. By
changing these bolts from one hole to another in the boss of the lever V it is
obvious that the said lever may be adjusted to various angles with the vertical
cutter shaft; the object of this adjustment will be herein-after explained.
The upper end of the boss Q has a ring groove 6 formed therein, into which
are engaged the claws or catches W carried by the hand wheel X, the boss of
which wheel forms a nut which works on the screw portion Y of the cutter
shaft. By turning the hand wheel X the boss Q, with its pick and lever. V;
will be raised or lowered to the desired height at which.the groove or slot is to
be cut in the face of the working. Z is a short lever arm keyed on to the cutter
shaft near its upper end, and having its free extremity jointed to a horizontal
rod c, which is supported by and slides in a bracket d forming part of the main
framing. A helical spring, or two or more lengths of helical springs e, e, surround
this rod and bear against shoulders or collars f, f, the tension of such springs
having a tendency to force the sliding rod in the direction of the arrow shown
thereon, and thereby to impart the desired blow to the pick when making its
out, g is a buffer of india-rubber or other suitable material secured by means
of double nuts h to the rear end of the rod with a view to controlling the
movement of the pick by preventing it from going too far when striking, and
thereby keeping the arm V always within the reach of the tappets M. By
using two or more short springs in lieu of one long one a fractured spring can
be economically and readily made good by introducing a fresh spring for the
damaged one without interfering with those that remain perfect.
The machine, carrying the horse with it, is traversed along its guiding rails i, i;
as fast as the cutting proceeds, by the attendant, who has simply to turn for
that purpose: the horizontal hand wheel k; this wheel is mounted upon a
vertical shaft supported in a bearing in the upper part of the main framing
and in another bearing m in a bracket formed on the lower part of the
framing, as shown clearly in Figure 3, The lower end of this shaft carries
& bevel pinion n, which gears into a bevel wheel o fast on the hinder axle
of the machine; this axle carries a mitre wheel p, in gear with a mitre wheel
q fast on a. longitudinal shaft r supported in bearings in the lower part of
the machine and carrying another mitre wheels, which gears into a mitre
wheelt fast on the leading axle. Any rotatory motion imparted to the hand
wheel k will obviously be transmitted through the mitre gearing. above
referred to to both axles simultaneously, and hence the machine will be
caused to travel along its rails.

page_text: The action of this machine is as follows:-On imparting a continuous
rotatory motion to the shaft D by means of suitable gearing, or by a driving
belt passing over the pulley E, and driven in the manner herein-after described,
a rotatory movement will be transmitted to the three tappet lovers M, the
rollers O of which by successively striking the tail of the lever V will impart
a circular reciprocating or rocking motion to the cutter shaft, and so cause
the cutter stein of the pick to vibrate horizontally round the cutter shaft P as
à centre. The rollers on acting against the lever V compress the helical
spring or springs.e by causing the rod c to be slid in a direction contrary to
that indicated by the arrows, but so soon as the rollers pass the tail of the
lever V, the springs will exert their unrestrained force against the shoulders
or collars on the.rod, and will force that rod in the direction of the arrows
and through the lever Z, will cause the cutter shaft to turn partially in its
bearings and the pick or cutter to make a stroke against the face of the
working; thus the machine exerts its power to compress the springs, and the
compressed springs when released produce the cutting stroke. As the cutting
proceeds the attendant by turning the hand wheel k keeps the machine up to its
cut by causing it to move forward. along its guide rails. I propose to make the
point of the pick or cutter removeable as shown in Figure 2, and to secure it
in its place by a dovetail and cottar, so that when damaged or requiring to be
sharpened these points may be readily removed and replaced by fresh ones.
As the depth of cut deepens by the succession of blows of the pick it is
necessary to readjust the pick or to vary the angle between the stem of the
pick and the lever V in order to admit of the point of the pick entering a
still greater depth without at the same time allowing the end of the lever V
to pass out of the range of the tappet levers; for this purpose the two tapered
bolts a, a, are removed, and the lever. V is turned on its centre to the position
best suited for the action thereon of the tappet levers or wipers, and is then
secured in its fresh position by inserting the bolts a, a, into other holes made
for that purpose. If desired two cutter shafts and their appendages may be
employed, one at each corner of the front of the machine, so that a right
or left handed cut may be made as required by simply throwing one or
other of the lever arms V out of range of the tappets M and rollers O, and
reversing the motion of the cutting mechanism, which latter may be done
by crossing the driving strap in lieu of placing it parallel on the driving
pulleys, as shown at b, Figure 4. In lieu of using the ordinary rails or
tramways, which are ill-adapted for resisting the shock imparted to the
machine by the blow of the pick or cutter, I propose to substitute the improved,
form of rail shown at b, b, in Figure 3, and to secure the same to the sleepers

page_text: by means of bolts and nuts or cottars in lieu of by nails or spikes, whereby I
obtain increased stability and durability of road, such roads being also applicable
for permanent roads under ground. By causing the pick to vibrate in a
vertical in lieu of in a horizontal plane I am enabled to cut vertical grooves'
in the face of the working, or in lieu of using picks vibrating on a fixed
centre the pick or cutting tool may be carried by the end of a longitudinal:
reciprocating slide working in suitable bearings and actuated by springs,
substantially as herein-before described, provision being afforded for raising
and lowering the cutting end of the tool.
Figure 4 represents a side elevation of a coal-getting machine combined
with a "horse power" for driving or actuating the same, and Figure 5' is a
corresponding plan of the same. In these two Figures the "horse power". is
contained in a separate and distinct framing A, A, of its own, and is coupled.
in any convenient manner with the framing of the coal-getting machine; but
in some cases I make one framing common to both machines, the whole then
forming a cutting and actuating machine complete in itself. A rotatory motion
is transmitted to the first motion shaft D of the machine from the driving.
shaft a of the "horse power" (the construction of which I shall herein-after
more particularly describe in reference to Figures 6 and 7 on Sheet 2 of my
Drawings) by means of the driving belt 6 which passes over a driving pulley c
and over the pulley E of the coal-getting machine, as clearly shown in
Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 6, on Sheet 2 of my Drawings, represents a longitudinal vertical
section of the peculiar "horse power" which I propose to employ for driving
or actuating my coal-getting machine, and Figure 7 is a corresponding plan
of the same. The main framing of the machine consists of two parallel side
plates A, A, to which are attached the vertical sides and ends B, B, forming
an enclosed space for the horse or horses employed in driving the machine;
C, C', represent respectively an upper and a lower rail cast on or secured to
the inner faces of the side plates A, A, so as to project sufficiently far to receive
the several rollers D, D, of the endless travelling platform E. This platform
consists of a series of axles F, each carrying a roller or antifriction pulley D at
its opposite extremities and linked together by the several flat links G, G, so
as to form an endless series, as shown clearly in Figure 6. Between each
5 opposite pair of links there is fitted a cross bar H of wood or other suitable
material secured at its opposite ends to the links, and it is the succession of
these cross bars H which forms the platform upon which the horse treads
when actuating the machine. The forward end of this platform passes round
the two notched discs I, I, the axles F entering into and gearing with the

page_text: notches in the dises and imparting a rotatory motion to the shaft a upon which
the discs are mounted when caused to travel in the direction of the arrow by
the walking action of the animal which is tethered or secured by means of a
collar and traces to the rear end of the framing of the machine; K, K, are
the travelling wheels of the machine mounted on axles L, L, and running
along the trams or rails which carry the coal-getting machine.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before, in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for getting coal and other minerals; substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the combined arrangement of machinery or apparatus for cutting
coal and other minerals by means of horse power, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Third, the application of horse-power machines to the compression or
exhaustion of air with a view to the working of machinery or apparatus for
cutting coal and other minerals, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Rothery, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-six.
JOSEPH ROTHERY. (L.S.)