IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Bower, of the City of Dublin, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said John Bower at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd February! 1853.
I, JOHN BOWER, of the City of Dublin, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF ENGINES FOR DRIVING PILES" to
be as follows:--
My Invention relates..to pile driving engines in which the rotary
motion of the working barrel is continued in one direction, and
consists in adapting. the form, construction, and arrangement of the
ram and its appurtenances to this kind of engine; so that the arm
[Price 8d.1

page_text: may be lifted to its required height, and allowed to fall at regular
intervals, without interrupting the uniform course of the working
barrel..
The ram is lifted by means of an endless rope or chain with a
regular series of projecting pieces upon it, which, as the tackle
passes upward, catch against the under side of a pair of spring
shears or jaws bolted to the head of the ram, and carry the ram
upward along the guides or standards, until the said jaws are opened
by coming in contact with a suitably formed trigger at the head of
the standards. The opening of the jaws disengages the ram, and
allows it to fall. At this time the spring or springs close the shears
or jaws, so that they may stop the next projection on the endless
rope or chain, and be again lifted. carrying the ram with them as
before. The tackle passes freely through the jaws, until one of
the projections arrives underneath them.
SPECIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said John Bower in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd August 1853.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, ],
JOHN BOWER, of the City of Dublin,, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
..WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letiers Patent, bearing date the Third day of February. in: the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did. for Herself, Her heirs, and suc-1
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Bower, Her special
license that I, the said John Bower, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I. the said John Bower, 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

page_text: and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and, Isle of Man. an Invention. for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF ENGINES
FOR DRIVING PILES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Bower, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, 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 John Bower, 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 following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed. and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
My Invention of Improvements in and applicable to certain
Descriptions of Engines for Driving Piles" has for its object the
saving of time and labor or power in the working of such engines
by maintaining a constant rotary motion in one direction of the
working barrel or capstan, for the purpose of raising the rain and
letting it fall at proper intervals, instead of allowing the barrel or
capstan to return, or to be stopped on the fall of the ram.
' :
And my Invention, with this object, consists in the adaptation
and application to engines for driving piles of a suitable tackle with
stops, to be worked continuously by the barrel or "capstan, such
tackle being mounted in such a manner at the upper and lower
part of the frame-work as to preserve the required degree of uni-
formity in the tension of the same during its working. The ram
atso, is so formed, and has fixed to it a pair of spring jaws likewise
so formed, that the tackle or endless ropa or chain may pass
through them, but that the stops on the tackle may catch on a
portion of the said jaws, and carry the ram upwards until the ram
is brought in contact with a wedge-formed trigger fixed in the
framework; which trigger, in passing into a cavity in the ram,

page_text: passes also between the arms of the jaws on the opposite side of their
centre of motion from that at which they hold the said stops,
thereby opens the jaws, and disengages the ram. Immediately on
the disengagement of the ram, the spring or springs again close the
jaws, so that they may be in the position to be caught by the next
stop or projection on the tackle. The distance at which the stops
are to be placed apart depends on the height of fall required for the
ram. They should be equidistant, and always exceed the length of
fall in a degree proportioned to the relative velocities of the tackle
in rising and the ram in its descent as a falling body, so as to
prevent the shock that would be occasioned by a stop coming in
contact with the falling ram. The intervals or distances between
the stops are so arranged as to bring a stop under the ram imme-
diately after it has given the stroke or blow to the pile; which
stop, by the motion of the barrel or capstan, carries the ram upwards
until it is disengaged. And this operation is continued without in-
terruption, the rotary motion in one direction of the working barrel
or capstan being undisturbed throughout.
In order, however, that my Invention may be fully understood,
I will proceed to describe the accompanying Drawing, which
contains several Figures representing the different parts of an
engine for driving piles constructed according to my Invention.
Fig. 1, is a front elevation of the engine; Fig. 2, is a side, and
Fig. 3, a back, elevation of the same; Fig. 4, is a horizontal section
(on an enlarged scale) in the line Z. Z, of Fig. 2. A, A, are the
standards or guides for the ram in its ascent and descent; B, B,
are struts, stays, and ladder; C, is a capstan, through which motion.
is communicated to the machine; D, is the ram, being formed with
arms or projections d, d, which pass between the standards or guides
A, A, the front part of the ram extending a short distance over
the front of the guides. These arms or projections d, have holes in
them, through which wedges E, E, are passed behind the standards
or guides A, A; and in this manner the ram is kept within the
guides. These parts are shewn in the detached Figures 5, and 6,

page_text: also on an enlarged scale.
F, F, in the same Figures represent a
pair of spring shears, fixed to the head of the ram D, by means of a
screw bolt, washer, and nut, or otherwise, so as to form a centre of
motion for said shears, which are crossed at the centre, and extend
in the form of arms a, a, confined towards the end by a spring or
springs V, by which means the jaws i, j, are kept closed, until their
arms a, a, are forced apart. The spring V, may consist of a band
of vulcanized india-rubber, or a metal spring or springs of spiral or
other form, and may be variously applied to the arms a. for the
purpose of closing the jaws. These arms a. a. lie over a recess or
cavity e, in the head, of the ram by passing into which, between
the arms a, a, the wedge-formed trigger R. (see Figures 1, and 3.)
forces the arms apart, and opens the jaws at the time required.
.
G, G, is the tackle. with stops z, placed at suitable intervals
thereon, as above described. This tackle may consist of a hempen
rope, with metal cones for stops, or a wire rope with like stops. as
at Fig. 8; or it may consist of a metal chain with stops, as at
Fig. 9, or a chain of the form represented at Figure 10, with hooks
for stops to catch on a bar in the jaws.
H, is a pulley in the upward part of the standards A. A. over
which the tackle G, passes. This pulley is mounted in a carriage [,
which is capable of being adjusted to its required position by means
of the vertical screw J, passing through the cross rest K, and acted
upon by means of the capstan nut. L.
M, is a pulley at the lower part of the standards A. A. under
which the tackle G, passes. This pulley is mounted in a carriage N.
which is susceptible of a slight degree of vertical movement. being
connected to the lower end of a spiral spring P. attached to the
bar O, fixed in the standards A. A. An additional use of these 2
pulleys H, and M, is to regulate the tension of the tackle, and to
obviate the necessity for shifting the engine, as the work proceeds.
By means of the pulley, H., mounted, as described, the tackle may be
tightened, or slackened in order to secure the, required power of
lift; and it may also be removed by the same means; but, there is
No text detected.

page_text: likewise a further use of the said pulley.
In driving piles along the
straight side of a coffer dam, and using the endless rope or chain
above referred to, it would be found that the same length of tackle
would not suit for driving more than one or two piles in the same
row, until the engine was shifted. By means of the sliding
carriage I. however, the same
tackle may
be worked without
alteration at variable distances within the range of the screw J.
Thus, to increase the working distance, the carriage I, with its
pulley, must be lowered by the screw, and the engine moved forward;
and to decrease the same. the carriage, with its pulley, must be
raised by the same means, and the engine moved back.
By means of the pulley M. mounted as described, the incon-
venience of the slackening of the tackle consequent on the lifting of
the weight, and of the shifting of the same in "surging." may be
obviated. The tackle having been tightened by means of the screw
attached to the pulley I, the carriage N, of the pulley M, is drawn
upwards, so as to compress the spring, P, tightly. Motion having
commenced on the barrel, on the first slacking of the tackle (from
either lifting or surging), the spring P, exerts its force downwards,
and produces the tightness required for effectual working. Imme-
diately afterwards, the motion of the capstan tightens the tackle,
and the spring P. yielding to the
pressure upon it occasioned
thereby, the carriage N, is drawn up to its first position, and thus
the required tension is maintained throughout.
These pulleys H. and M, may also be mounted in fixed bearings
in the standards A, A, without the adjusting screw J. and the spiral
spring P but I prefer the arrangement above described. Q. is
the trigger carriage or frame; R, is the trigger, which is fixed at
its required altitude by means of the screw U, passed through the
plate T. (see Fig. 4.) which is thereby secured at any required
height at the back of the standards or guides A, A. The screw is
turned by means of the vice handle S. The length of fall of the ram
is regulated by the position in which the trigger is fixed in the
standards.
.:
The operation of the engine is as follows:-The ram D, being in

page_text: its place between the standards or guides A, A, and the tackle
arranged as described. the latter. is adjusted to a proper degree of
tension by means of the screw J, belonging to the pulley II. On
power being applied, and the capstan C, turned, the tackle G.
moves freely upwards between the jaws i, j, until one of the stops
or projections, arrives under the said jaws, when the thicker part
of the cone catches against the same, and, bearing upon the under
surface of the jaws, carries the ram upwards.
This motion of the ram is continued. until it arrives at the under
part of the trigger R, which passes into the recess C, in the ram;
and its arms being wedge-formed, force apart the arms a, a, on the
opposite side of the centre of motion of the jaws j, j. and cause the
jaws to open suddenly, by which the stop at once loses its hold on
the jaws, and passes through them, the ram thus disengaged falling
freely on to the pile head.
As soon as the ram falls from the trigger, the pressure of the
wedge-formed arms of the same against the arms a, a, of the jaw
ceases, and the spring or springs V, again close the jaws j. j, in
readiness to receive the next stop or projection, on the tackle G.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood
that I do not mean or intend to confine myself to the precise forms
and arrangement of the parts shewn and described; and I would
remark that my improvements may be applied with advantage to
some pile driving engines in ordinary use:
But what I claim as of my Invention, is,-
First, the adaptation and application to engines for driving piles
of an endless tackle, with stops and suitable pulleys, together with a
form and construction of ram capable of being raised to its required
height, and allowed to fall at regular intervals without interrupting
the uniform course of the working barrel or capstan, as described;
and,
Secondly, the arrangement of upper and lower pulleys mounted
in carriages capable of adjustment by means of a screw and spiral
spring, for the purpose of regulating the tension of the tackle, and

page_text: obviating the necessity for moving the engine so frequently during
the course of the work, as described.
have
In witness whereof, I, the before-named John Bower,
hereunto subscribed my hand and
and affixed my seal, this
Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Signed, scaled and delivered by
the before-named John Bower
in presence of
1. B. FERRITER,
JNO. NETTLETON,
JOHN BOWER. (L.s.)