IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Wilde, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS. IN.
:
Scaled the 6th November 1874, and dated the 2nd September 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Wilde at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition; on the
2nd September 1874.
I, HENRY WILDE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING COAL AND OTHER
MINERALS," to be as follows:-
.
"My Invention consists in improvements in machinery for hewing or
excavating coal and other minerals, by which they are obtained with
greater ease and economy than by picks actuated by hand in the ordinary
manner. In this improvement the handle of the pick is mounted on a
short verticle axle or shaft, about which it is made to oscillate as a

page_text: radius in the required arc by means of a capstan wheel fixed on the
upper extremity of the shaft. The lower end of the said shaft rests in a
footstep, in order that the moving parts may work with as little friction
as possible.
For the purpose of raising and lowering the pick to make the cut of
the required width the bracket casting carrying the pick handle is made
to slide up and down the vertical shaft by means of a screw working
internally in a nut in the centre of the shaft, which is made hollow to
receive the same. The regulating screw is actuated by a handle attached
to its upper end above the capstan wheel. Provision is made for locking
this handle while the pick is at work. The pick handle is made of wood
strengthened with sheet iron on both sides for securing lightness with
strength. The head of the pick is made of cast iron, to which a cutter
or chisel of steel is bolted. This chisel is made somewhat wider than
the casting to which it is bolted in order that the pick head may be
clear of the work as the cutting proceeds. The blunt end of the cutter
is made to butt against a projection on the casting, so that the coal or
other minerals may receive the full force of the blow from the cutter.
This method of constructing the pick head enables the cutters to be
replaced when required with very little trouble.
The pick, with the capstan wheel for actuating it, arc mounted on a
small carriage which slides along an iron bed, similar to that of an
ordinary slide lathe; and is traversed along the face of the work by hand
or by a rack and pinion motion. The carriage is cramped to the bed
in the required position, while the cutting operation proceeds by means
of a locking screw attached to the back of the carriage. The bed is
mounted on short cross bars of iron, for the purpose of securing it to the
floor of the minc.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Wilde in the Great Seal Patent Office 3
on the 27th January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILDE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Wilde, Her special
licence that I, the said Henry Wilde, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I; the said Henry Wilde, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN¨
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Wilde, 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 Henry Wilde, 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 (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in improvements in machinery for hewing or
excavating coal and other minerals, by which they are obtained with.
greater case and economy than by picks actuated by hand in the ordinary
manner. In this improvement the handle of the pick is mounted on a
short vertical axle or shaft, about which.it is made to oscillate as a
radius. in the required arc. by means of a capstan wheel fixed on the.
upper extremity of the shaft. The lower end of the said shaft rests in a
footstep, in order that the moving parts may work with as little friction
as possible.
".
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For the purpose of raising and lowering the pick to make the cut of
the required width the bracket casting carrying the pick handle is made
to slide up and down, the vertical shaft by means of a screw working
internally in a nut in the centre of the shaft, which is made hollow to

page_text: receive the same. The regulating screw is actuated by a handle attached
to its upper end above the capstan wheel. Provision is made for locking
this handle while the pick is at work. The pick handle is made of wood
strengthened with sheet iron on both sides for securing lightness with
rigidity. The head of the pick is made of cast iron, to which a cutter
or chisel of steel is bolted. This chisel is made somewhat wider than
the casting to which it is bolted in order that the pick head may bc
clear of the work as the cutting proceeds. The blunt end of the cutter
is made to abut against a projection on the casting so that the coal or
other minerals may receive the full force of the blow from the cutter.
This method of constructing the pick head enables the cutters to be
replaced when required with very little trouble.
་
t.
The pick, with the capstan wheel for actuating it, are mounted on a
small carriage which slides along an iron bed, similar to that of an
ordinary slide lathe, and is traversed along the face of the work by hand,
or by a rack and pinion motion. The carriage is cramped to the bed in
the required position, while the cutting opération proceeds by means of a
locking screw attached to the back of the carriage, or otherwise. The
bed is mounted on short cross bars of iron for the purpose of securing
it to the floor of the mine.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 3 a plan of my
improved machinery or apparatus for excavating coal and other minerals.
a, a, are two planks bound on the edges with straps of iron, and
connected at the ends by steady pins or otherwise, forming the foundation
of the machine. These planks are provided with cross pieces of iron,
bearing on the floor of the mine, and secured thereto by spikes. b is a
cast-iron bed, similar to that of an ordinary slide lathe, resting upon the
planks a, and connected to them by screwed studs passing through
the plates be fixed to the under side of the bed, and screwed into holes
made in the plates a' let into the planks a. Upon the bed b is mounted
the carriage c, and this carriage is caused to slide along the bed by
means of the pinion d fixed to the upright shaft d', supported in bearings
in the carriage, gearing into the rack 63 cast to the bed b. d is a toothed
.

page_text: '
wheel fixed to the upper end of the shaft d, and d³ are two catelics taking.
into the wheel d. for locking the carriage during the operation of.
cutting. The wheel dis provided with handles for turning the.
pinion d round when required, or the pinion can be turned. by the hand:
wheel d³, as shewn in Figs. 4, 5, 6. The pinion d may also be actuated
by a worm engaging in the toothed wheel d², in which case the catches a³
may be dispensed with, but I prefer the former arrangement, as by it
the carriage can be moved backwards and forwards more readily along'
the bed. e is a short vertical shaft (working above in a bearing in the
carriage c, and below in a footstep), to which the pick handle fis
connected in the following manner: -The shaft e is hollow, and the
screw 9 passes through it; the lower end of the screw. g passes through'
the nut h, which is provided with trunnions passing through vertical
slots in the shaft e, and into the bracket casting i carrying the pick'
handle f. At the upper end of the shaft e is fixed the capstan wheel j,
through the centre of which projects the end of the screw shaft 9: The
lever handle is hinged to the upper end of g, so that when g is turned
round the screw nut h and the pick handle fare raised or lowered, and
by this means the width of the cut in the coal or other mineral, and its
height from the floor of the mine can be varied. The lever handle is
hinged to the screw shaft. 9 in such a manner that the stud k can drop
into one of several holes in the central boss of the capstan wheel, for the
purpose of retaining the pick handle at a constant height while the
cutting operation proceeds. "The pick handle fis made of wood,
strengthened or stiffened by screwing strips of iron or steel on both
edges, as shewn in Fig. 3. The head of the pick is made of malleable.
cast iron, of the form also shewn in Fig. 8, and to this head is bolted a
cutter of steel, or of iron pointed with steel. The blunt head of the
cutter is made to abut against the projecting end of the pick head in the
manner clearly shewn in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
When the coal or other mineral is required to be undercut to a
greater depth than can be conveniently done by the capstan. handles.
acting directly on the pick the capstan and pick are mounted on
separate axles and geared together by a wheel and pinion, as shewn in
Figs. 4, 5, and 6, by which arrangement the force of the blow can be
adjusted to the length of the pick handle employed. The capstan
wheel. j is fixed to the shaft k, to, which is also fixed the toothed
pinion gearing into the wheel e¹ fixed on the shaft e, to which. the-
"
;

page_text: pick is keyed. The bracket casting i, to which the pick handle is
secured, can be moved up or down on the shaft e, and secured by set:
screws to vary the width of the groove or the level at which it is cut,.
instead of by the method described in reference to Fig. 2.
The action of the machine and the method of working it is as
follows: When the planks a have been laid along the face of the coal.
or other mineral to be cut, and the bed 6 has been secured to the planks
in the manner above described, the operator by turning rapidly the
capstan wheel partly round in contrary directions causes the pick to
move to and fro in the arc of a circle, which cuts and penetrates the
coal or other minerals until it assumes a position at right angles to the
planks; the pick head is then brought out of the cut and the operator
disengages one of the catches d³ from the wheel d², which. is then at
liberty to be turned partly round, thereby causing the pinion & gearing.
in the rack to traverse the carriage.c a short distance in the direction
of the arrow in Fig. 3; the attendant then locks the carriage by
bringing the catch d³ again into gear with the wheel d², when a fresh
segmental cut is given, as shewn by the dotted line in Fig. 3, and these.
operations are repeated until the carriage arrives near the left-hand end
of the bed ; the screws b¹ must then be unscrewed out of the plates a¹
to allow the bed 6 to be traversed along the planks a, when the operations
are repeated as before.
$3
By reversing the position of the pick handle in the bracket casting i
the groove can be cut in the coal or other mineral from left to right:
instead of from right to left, as shewn in Fig. 3.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
most convenient method of carrying the same into operation, I declare
that I claim,
First. The general combination and arrangement of the parts forming
a hand machine for excavating coal and other minerals, as shewn and
described.
Secondly. The application of a capstan wheel for actuating the pick,
as shewn and described.
Thirdly. The application of toothed wheels between the capstan wheel:
or its equivalent and the pick axle, as shewn and described in reference: