IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOP THE EXTRACTION OF PIT AND OTHER MINERAL PRODUCTS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Boissau, of Montigny-sur-Sambre, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, and 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOP THE EXTRACTION OF PIT
Sealed the 7th August 1860, and dated the 24th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Boissau at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th February 1860.
I, FRANCOIS BOISSAU, of Montigny-sur-Sambre, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
and 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS POR THE. EXTRACTION OF PIT
COAL AND OTHER MINERAL PRODUCTS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of an improved apparatus which has for its object
the extracting of coal, minerals, and other substances from pits or mines with-
out making use of ropes as has hitherto been done.. The apparatus consists of
four rods placed in the pit or mine, two of which serve for the ascent of the
cages and two for the descent. These ascending rods have a to-and-fro move-
ment imparted to them by means of a double rack, one side of which works in
connection with the segment of a cog wheel formed upon the arm of a balance

page_text: lever, which works in a frame over the pit's mouth. The balance lever may
be worked by a steam engine or other motive power. The opposite side of the
rack is in connection with a pinion placed between the rack on the ascending
rods and the rack on the descending rods, so that when motion is communi-
cated to the pinion one pair of rods rise whilst the others lower, such pinion at
the same time serving to keep the cages in equilibrium during the ascent and
descent into the mine. To the rods on the descending side are added weights,
to counterpoise the weight being raised on the ascending side. The ascending
and descending rods are provided with a series of catches or supports working
on suitable axes and arranged at about 8 yards apart, such catches being
for the purpose of holding the cages whilst being raised. There are also other
similar supports fitted & working upon stages or cross pieces of wood in the
mine, and have also their axes upon a bar which passes through them. The
cages upon being drawn up by the rods come in contact with the catches or
supports and raises them up, and immediately the cages have passed the
catches fall and allow the cage to rest upon them. The cages are then raised
by the rods a distance of about 3 yards at each stroke of the 'engine. The
descending side of the apparatus is worked in a similar manner, but is pro-
vided with a cam and levers connected to the rack for keeping the catches or
supports up or out of the way while the cages are descending. When the
cages have arrived at the mouth of the mine it is necessary to have a truck
placed upon a railway having two lines of rails, one being for receiving the
loaded cage and the other for receiving the empty cage. The cages, as now
constructed for mines, will not require any alteration, with the exception of
adding to them a handrail. The guides which are now used in pits to guide
the cages are equally applicable to my system.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Boissau, in the Great Seal Patent Office on .the
23rd August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, FRANCOIS 3
BOISSAU, of Montigny-sur-Sámbre, in the Kingdom of Belgium, and 4, South
Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her 3

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said François Boissau, Her special licence that I, the said François Boissau,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
François Boissau, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF PIT COAL AND OTHER MINERAL
PRODUCTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said François
Boissau, 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 François Boissau, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of an improved apparatus, the object of which is to
extract coal, minerals, and other substances from pits or. mines without the use
of ropes. The apparatus may also be employed for raising or lowering work-
men in pits or mines.
It possesses the following advantages:-Firstly, perfect security to the
workmen for descending and ascending mines.
Secondly, diminution in the motive power required.
Thirdly, facility and small expense of application and applicability to mines
in general.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the Invention I will now par-
ticularly describe the same in reference to the annexed Drawings, in which
Figure 1, Sheet 1, represents an elevation of a part of the apparatus con-
structed according to my Invention; Figure 2, Sheet 2, is an elevation of the
other part; Figure 3 is a horizontal section through A, B; Figure 4, Sheet 3,
is a plan of the apparatus; Figure 5, a plan on the line C, D.
This improved apparatus is composed of a suitable cast-iron frame 1,
mounted on pillars 2, 2. This frame carries or supports a lever E' formed. at:

page_text: one end with a segmental rack E² for giving motion to the raising and lower-
ing mechanism. The opposite end of this lever is attached by a pin r to a
connecting rod m, and is put in motion by steam or other motive power.
A, A', and B, B'; Figures 1 and 2, are four iron rods united at their extre-
mities by the racks C, C, and D, D'. The double rack C gears with the
segmental rack E, and gives motion to the whole apparatus. Any kind of
stationary steam enginė may be used for working the apparatus. The steam
cylinder may be placed above the pit or mine by mounting it on columns, and
connecting it direct to the double rack C. The rack D is put in motion by
the pinion F, fixed between the two racks on the shaft G, working in brasses
H, H, in the framing 1. The rack rods A, A¹, serve for the ascent of the
loaded trucks, and the rods B, B¹, for the descent of the empty trucks. The
rods A, A', are provided with movable brackets or supports I, I', placed at
about three yards distance from each other.
These supports work on pivots J, J', passing through the rods A, A'. The
rods A, A¹, and B, B', are formed of bars or plates of wrought iron bent to an
angle of 45°, united together by splice pieces and rivets or other suitable
nieans, openings being left between the bars for placing the ends of the
movable brackets or supports I, I', as represented in Figures 1 and 3. These
rods, are placed in recesses or grooves formed in the cross timbers L', L', and
are kept in their proper position by small iron plates 3, 3, serving to guide the
rods, as shewn in Figure 3. The brackets or supports K, K', also set at a
distance of about three yards upon the cross timbers L, L, work on pins J³, J²,
in the sockets M, M. The travel of the rack rods being about a foot and a half
above the brackets or supports K, K', permits the latter to fall after the trucks
4, 4, have raised them by their passage, when they are held by the brackets I, I'.
The brackets K, K', thus fall underneath the said trucks, which are raised
3 yards at each motion of the rack C.
The trucks as now constructed and employed in coal mines require no other
change than the addition of a guide to render them fit to carry out my
Invention. The guides N, N, which are similar to those used in pits, will serve
to guide the trucks without any alteration.
The apparatus for the descent is similar in construction to that for the
ascent, except that I employ two different movements to work the supports
O, O, and P, P¹. When the rods have come down about 9 inches lower
than the coal trucks which they have deposited on the supports or brackets
0,0', the supports P, P¹, remain raised until the rods ascend above the
trucks. To obtain this movement, the small rods Y, Y, are united to the sup-

page_text: ports P, P, by means of small pins 5, 5.
To the
These rods are fixed to the slotted
cross head Z, which is supported on the rack D by means of strong stud pins
6, 6, which pass through the slots 7, 7, in the cross head Z. The cross head
is furnished with a hook A', which is fixed to it by means of a pin a, on which
it works, and is formed with two projecting lugs or catches F, F.
rack D is fixed a pin B, against which the catch F¹ rests. A pin M is
also fixed to the same rack, on which the hook A2 engages. When the rack D
redescends and allows the truck to rest on the supports, the catch F rests on
the snugs D, which are fixed to the framing f; the rack is again moved about
9 inches, and this movement causes the hook to be held by the pin B. The
supports P, P, are thus raised and rise with the rod until they arrive above
the trucks. The snugs E, fixed to the framing f, cause the disengagement of
the hook A; by pressing on the catch F, and allows the supports to fall, which
take hold of another truck and lower it in the manner before stated. When
the trucks have arrived at the lower end of the pit or mine, they are placed on
rails or tramway G, Figure 2, on an inclined plane, and the trucks are removed
from the apparatus. When the rods B, B', raise the truck resting on the sup-
ports O, O', about 9 inches bigb, the said supports remain raised, whilst the
truck redescends and lower again to receive the truck that descends from a
stage bigher. To produce this motion of the supports, the crank V, Figure 4,
is keyed on to the shaft G; this crank has a pin working in a slot of the cam
W, placed between the two small rollers of the connecting rod X, the head of
which is formed with a slot of the same width as the shaft, and of the same
length as the play of the cam W, and the time lost by reason of the slot in
the cam W allows the connecting rod X to work with regularity.
The small rods U, U, Figures 1 and 3, are attached to the supports O, O',
by means of pins g, g; these small rods are thus connected from one bracket
or support to another, and so on to the last, like the rods Y, Y, of the sup-
ports P, P. The connecting rod X gives motion to the two shafts t, t, which
work in the sockets 9, 9, 9. On these shafts are keyed at their extremities the
crank arms h, h, which receive the two rods U, U, Figures 1 and 5, and the
crank arm i is fixed to two branches, one serving to receive the small connect-
ing rod j, which is attached to the crank arm k, and the other branch to
receive the connecting rod X, which is set in motion as above described.
When the connecting rod X descends it causes the shafts t, t, to turn a quarter
of a revolution; the crank armis h, h, then rise and cause the supports O, O', to
rise, to allow space for the truck to descend. For loading the trucks it is
merely necessary to place where the loading is to take place two rails, as shewn

page_text: in plan, Figure 4, and in elevation at H, H, Figure 2.
For this purpose I
advance the truck against the guides, and the rods in rising remove the truck.
The rail or tramway should be withdrawn when a truck is ascending from
beneath. When a truck has arrived at the mouth of the mine, a carriage T,
Figure 1, is employed. On this carriage are fixed two pairs of rails, on of
which is for receiving the loaded truck, and the other for bringing the empty
one to be taken down. In order to receive the loaded truck or for bringing up
the empty one, it is necessary to wait till the truck goes beyond the rails L, L',
and then to advance the carriage while the truck rises about 2 yards higher
up, and when it redescends to place the loaded truck on the carriage, and then
the empty truck placed on the said railway is raised about 2 yards, to allow
time for withdrawing the carriage with the loaded truck, and to allow the
passage of the said truck and also another, which is again removed. The car-
riage withdrawn is placed in connection with two other rail or tramways, on
which the loaded truck is carried to its destination, and the empty one taken
away.
The pinion R, Figure 2, placed at the other extremity of the rods A, A¹,
and B, B', is fixed on the shaft S, working in two plummer blocks U, fixed
on the wooden cross pieces T¹, which are supported in masonry work. The
shaft S thus receives a part of the weight of the said rods which rest on the
pinion, by means of the racks, and when the rods A, A', descend by pressing
on the pinion R, the latter forces the rods B, B', to ascend, and thus supports
a great part of the weight of the rods.
In order to raise water from mines with my apparatus, I place one or two
pumps underneath the racks, which are then constructed so as to serve as piston
rods to work the pumps. The water thus raised is carried by means of a pipe
into a receiver or cistern 10, Figure 3, placed some distance above the bottom of
the pit at the sido of the racks, and a tap 11, of large dimensions, is placed above
the trucks, which are on the railway. As it is not convenient to furnish a truck
full of coal at each movement of the rods, which may be repeated four times
per minute, the trucks should be constructed to hold water, so as to be able to
carry away, if required, a truck of coal and a truck full of water successively.
Two trucks of water and two of coal may thus be raised per minute, and the
workman placed for introducing the truck into the apparatus opens the tap
when the truck is underneath on the railway, as shewn at Figure 3, Sheet 2.
By this method the truck will be instantly filled with water, and may be then
introduced into the apparatus, and when arrived at the mouth of the mine it
will be received and emptied like those filled with coal. To receive the loaded

page_text: car and introduce the empty cars, I employ the arrangement shewn in plan,
Figure 4, and in elevation, Figure 1. On the main shaft W is set the con-
necting rod a, formed with a slot equal to the diameter of the shaft W, and
equal in length to the play of the cam y; this cam is keyed on to the said
shaft, and thus gives motion to the connecting rod . This latter receives the
crank arm, which is keyed onto the said shaft; at the other extremity of the
said shaft is a lever l, keyed thereto; this lever has a slot, in which is placed a
small roller working on a pin fixed to the carriage T. This arrangement
permits of giving a very great speed to the movements of the machine, and
also giving to the carriage two stopping points, in order to allow time for the
rods to remove the empty truck which is placed on the carriage, and for the
latter to receive at the same time the truck of coal to be placed in communi-
cation with a railway, which conducts it to the place where it is to be emptied.
The crank arm n, keyed to the shaft W, is half the length of the stroke r, s,
and gives motion to the lever E', which is worked by the connecting rod m;
on the same shaft is also keyed a spur wheel u, which gears with a pinion fixed
on the crank shaft o, put in motion by means of the connecting rod
P, attached
to the piston of the steam cylinder, placed horizontally. The excentric q serves
to work the slide of the steam cylinder.
Figure 5 shows a modification of the guide rods N¹, N', between which the
truck is introduced to ensure its being properly guided.
Having now, described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
of carrying out the same, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine
myself to the precise construction of the apparatus as herein referred to, as
many variations may be made without departing from the main features of my
Invention.
What I consider novel and original, and desire to be protected by the herein
in part recited Letters is,-
Firstly, the general arrangement and construction of apparatus for extracting
coal and other products from pits and mines by which the use of cords and
ropes is superseded, as herein-before described and represented in the Figures
of the annexed Sheets of Drawings.
Secondly, the construction and employment of iron rods A, A', and B, B¹,
jointed together by splice pieces, and worked by racks for raising and lowering
bodies in mines and pits, as herein-before described and shewn in Figures 1, 2,
and 3 of the Drawings, Sheets 1 and 2.
Thirdly, the arrangement of mechanism for working the supports O, O¹, and
P, P¹, for the descent of the trucks, as herein-before described and represented
in the various Figures of the Sheets of Drawings.

page_text: Fourthly, the employment of pumps in combination with the apparatus for
raising water in mines, as herein-before described and shewn in Figure 3 of
Drawing, Sheet 2.
Fifthly, the arrangement of mechanism for receiving the loaded truck and
introducing the empty truck, as herein-before described and shewn in Figures 1
.and 4 of Drawings, Sheets 1 and 3.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Boissau, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.