AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT."-A communication
from abroad by Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, of the City and State of
New York Tinited States of America. Engineer.
Sealed the 30th January 1874, and dated the 14th August 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th August 1873.
I, WELLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.;
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT,” á com-
munication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a wood pavement for streets, reads, yards,
and other ways and places, and consists chiefly in the use of blocks cut
to one uniform length, but otherwise left in their natural condition;
that is to say, I take the trunks and branches of trees and saw them into
blocks or pieces of the required length, but do not cut the blocks or

page_text: trim the sides of the said blocks to reduce them to an uniform size or
shape or prepare them in any other manner for use.
It will be obvious that this pavement differs essentially from other
wood pavements heretofore constructed, in which it is an important
feature that all the wood blocks should be worked on all their sides or
faces and cut to uniform dimensions. And by my Invention I greatly
diminish the cost of wood pavements, as I economize both in material
and in labour. I may use trunks or branches of trees of any diameter,
but I prefer that they should not exceed twelve inches, the same being
simply cross cut and then immediately shipped to the place where they
are to be used.
•
In laying down my improved pavement I first level and compress the
soil to form a suitable bed; then I place upon this bed' a single or
double layer of planks or boards. If the latter I place the first layer of
boards transversely, and the second or upper layer longitudinally to the
road. Or instead of having a foundation of planks or boards I may use
concrete. Over this foundation of wood or concrete I spread a layer of
bitumen, asphalt, prepared tar, cement, or other similar binding material,
having mixed with it fine gravel or broken stone. Upon this bituminous
or other binding substance I place the aforesaid wood blocks perpen-
dicularly and in close proximity to each other, and I fill the spaces
between the said blocks with the same binding substance to the level
of the road; then over the whole I spread a layer of the same substance.
Or I first place the said blocks in the proper position upon the wood or
concrete foundation, and then by pouring or otherwise I fill the spaces
between them with the binding substance, consisting of the bitumen or
other like material mixed with gravel or stone, as above described; then
I cover the whole with sand.
The aforesaid blocks being cut to one uniform length, and being placed
upon an
even and durable foundation, it is obvious that the upper
surface of the road thus formed will be uniform or even, and as the
blocks cannot be displaced either by forcing them down into their foun-
dation or by twisting or pushing them to one side the road will be very
durable and will wear evenly in all parts.

page_text: 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 18th February 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT," a communication to me from abroad by
Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, of the Oity and State of New York, United
States of America, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained,
in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to a wood pavement for streets, roads, yards,
and other ways and places, and consists chiefly in the use of blocks cut
to one uniform length, but otherwise left in their natural condition;
that is to say. I take the trunks and branches of trace and

page_text: into blocks or pieces of the required length, but do not cut the blocks
or trim the sides of the said blocks to reduce them to a uniform size or
shape, or prepare them in any other manner for use.
It will be obvious that this pavement differs essentially from other
wood pavements heretofore constructed, in which it is an important 5
feature that all the wood blocks should be worked on all their sides or
faces and cut to uniform dimensions. And by my Invention I greatly
diminish the cost of wood pavements, as I economize both material and
labour. I may use trunks or branches of trees of any size, but I prefer
that they should not exceed twelve inches in diameter, and I may make ]
use of very small trunks and branches of trees of various kinds, such
The said trunks and
as have heretofore been useless except, as fuel.
branches, whatever their size may be, are simply cross cut and then
immediately shipped to the place where they are to be used. It is
unnecessary to specify any particular kinds of trees to be used for my 1
Invention, as there are few, if any, that will not serve my purpose.
The manner in which the said Invention is to be carried into practise
may be fully understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in
which Figure 1 is a plan or top view, illustrating two methods of laying
my improved pavement; Figure 2 is a transverse section of Figure 1.
Similar letters indicate the same parts in both Figures.
In laying down my improved pavement I first level and compress the
soil to form a suitable bed; then I place upon this bed one or two layers
of planks or boards. If two layers a, a¹, are used as shewn in the
Drawing I place the first layer of boards a transversely, and the second
or upper layer a¹ longitudinally to the road so that each board of the
top layer will rest upon a number of those of the bottom layer. Or
instead of having a foundation of planks or boards I may have a concrete
or cement foundation, as shewn at 6, Figure 2. Over this foundation of
wood or concrete I spread bitumen, asphalt, prepared tar, cement, or
other similar binding material, having mixed with it fine gravel or
broken stone; or I may use common grout for this purpose. Upon this
bituminous or other binding substance I place the wood blocks c in the
condition above described perpendicularly and in close proximity to each
other, and I fill the spaces between the said blocks with the same
binding substance to the level of the road. Then over the whole I
spread a layer of the same substance. Or I first place the said blocks

page_text: in the proper position upon the wood or concrete foundation, and then
by pouring or otherwise I fill the spaces between them with the binding
substance, consisting of the bitumen or other like material mixed with
gravel or stone, as above described. Then I cover the whole with sand.
This pavement may be constructed with blocks c of different sizes
arranged as shewn in the Drawing, or with blooks of the same or nearly
the same size.
With the aforesaid blocks cut to one uniform length and placed upon
an even and durable foundation it is obvious that the upper surface of
the road will be uniform or even, and as the blocks cannot be displaced
either by forcing them down into their foundation or by twisting or
pushing them to one side the road will be very durable and will wear
evenly in all parts.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and shewn how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I wish it under-
stood that I claim a pavement consisting of wood blocks or pieces cut
to one uniform length, but otherwise untrimmed or left in their natural
condition, placed upon a foundation of a single or double layer of boards
or planks, or a foundation of concrete, and packed with a suitable cement
or binding substance, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four
Witness,
H. J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
•
W. ROB³. LAKE. (L.S.)