IMPROVEMENTS IN GETTING COALS AND OTHER MINERALS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Oswald Dodd Hedley, of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GETTING
COALS AND OTHER MINERALS."
Sealed the 12th February 1853, and dated the 9th November 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Oswald Dodd
Hedley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 9th November 1852.
I, OSWALD DODD HEDLEY, of Newcastle upon Tyne, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GETTING COALS AND OTHER MINERALS" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of employing rotatory saws or cutting
wheels in such manner that they may be set further and further
into the material as the cut is made; and also in using horse power
under ground in giving motion to the cutter carriage and rotatory
cutters or saws.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Oswald Dodd Hedley in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 9th May 1853.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
OSWALD DODD HEDLEY, of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Oswald Dodd Hedley,
Her special licence that I, the said Oswald Dodd Hedley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Oswald Dodd Hedley, my executors, administrators, and as-
signs, 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 GETTING
COALS AND OTHER MINERALS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Oswald Dodd Hedley, 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 Oswald Dodd Hedley, 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 several Drawings hereunto annexed, and in which said
several Drawings similar parts are marked and referred to by similar
letters or figures.

page_text: My said Invention consists of an apparatus or machinery for
working a rotary saw or cutter fixed upon a vertical axle, mounted
in bearings on a carriage, so that such saw or cutter may be em-
ployed in making cuts in a bed of coal or other mineral which can
be cut with such instruments for the purpose of getting or winning,
or facilitating the getting or winning, of such coal or other mineral.
And I mount such saw or cutter in a horizontal position upon
moveable bearings in such manner that it may cut laterally, and be
set further and further into the mineral to be cut and won as the
cutting progresses.
And I cause the wheels of a carriage, to which a saw or cutter is
attached, to be mounted on a railway or tramway, and motion to be
given by means of the wheels of the carriage to the saw or cutter,
so that the horse or other power which impels the carriage along
may also give motion to the saw or cutter.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed, I have shewn the manner in
which I prefer to construct an apparatus or machine for the purposes
of my Invention.
In these Drawings, Figure 1, is a plan of the machine; Figure 2,
is a side view or elevation; Figure 3, is a transverse section taken
through the machine at or near to the axle of the saw; and Figure
4, is a transverse taken at a position near near to the carriage
wheels, so as to exhibit the driving gear by means of which motion
is given to the rotary saw or cutter.
The same letters denote the same parts in each figure, and also in
Fig. 5, so far as they apply, which figure a longitudinal section shews
another method of applying or communicating the motion of the
carriage to the rotary saw or cutter. A, A, is the frame of the
carriage, which may be called the bearing carriage; b, is the sliding
saw frame mounted on the carriage a, a, and of which the sliding
carriage f, traversing along the groove c, c, forms part external to
the sliding carriage; it is for the purpose of steadying and supporting
the axle of the rotary cutter. This axle g, passes through the
sliding carriage and revolves at bottom on the step f; there being a
collar on the axle for the purpose of keeping it in its proper position.

page_text: be
and on the top the axle revolves on the centre h. The rotary
cutter i, is fitted upon the axle, and up and down which it may
inoved so that it may be set at any desired height upon the axle.
The sliding carriage f¹, containing the cutter, is moved transversely
in the groove c, c, by means of the screw d, working in a nut fixed
to the sliding carriage. j, j', are two bevilled wheels running loose
between collars upon one of the axles of the carriage wheels and
gearing into the bevilled pinion &; m, is a sliding clutch by which
either wheel can be locked to the axle when necessary, so as to
cause the pinion k, to revolve in either direction; n, is a pully
fixed upon the spindle of the pinion k, and o, is a pully fixed upon
the axle of the rotary saw; p, is a driving belt or rope passing
round the pullies or sheaves N, O, long enough to allow the sliding
carriage f¹, to stand at either end of the groove c, c, but kept tight
by the tension sheave r, which is acted on by a strong cord s,
passing over a sheave placed at or near t, and having a weight w,
suspended from it; or in place of the axles k, and g, being connected
by a driving belt, a connecting rod might be used. In this case c, c,
would have to form the segment of a circle of which k, would be
centre.
Fig. 5, shews a different method of communicating the mo-
tion of the carriage in the rotary cutter. I fix upon the axle of
one of the carriage wheels a drum or barrel x, of the requisite
diameter, and extending the length of the axle or nearly so, around
which I pass the band, belt, or rope p, and by means of the guiding
sheaves y, it is made to lead fair for and passed round the sheave
O, on the axle of the rotary cutter i, as represented. Two guiding
sheaves are necessary, one for that portion of the rope going off
the drum, the other for that portion going on; but it will frequently
I happen that the drum a, itself will be of adequate height to lead
fair for the sheave O, in which case only one guiding sheave will be
required. The rope or band may be kept in a state of tension by
the usual means, or the guiding sheave or sheaves may be readily
adjusted for this object, little tension being required if the sheave
O, be adapted to take firm hold of the band or rope. The (bearing)

page_text: carriage being put in motion, the drum x, upon the axle of one pair
of its wheels revolves, and by means of the rope or band passing
round the pully o, the cutter i, is immediately put into rapid
motion. The saw will only cut when revolving in one direction;
to cause it to cut continuously, it is necessary that the rope should
be taken off the sheave O, and replaced after the rope has been alter-
nately crossed and not crossed, as the carriage moves in alternate
directions along the face of the work. The method of making the
saw cut continuously is differently effected in the machine repre-
sented by Figures 1 to 4. One of the bevilled wheels (assume j)
being engaged with the sliding clutch, and the carriage set in
motion in the direction of the arrow 1, the saw or cutter is caused
to revolve in the direction of the arrow 2, through the agency of
the intermediate machinery. On reversing the motion of the
(bearing) carriage, the clutch is shifted on to the wheel j'; the saw
still revolves in the direction of the arrow 2, although the motion
of the carriage is reversed. R, R, are rails upon which the wheels
of the bearing carriage run; the wheels of the carriage I usually
nake with double flanges to insure precision of action; s¹, s¹, are
friction sheaves working into the sides of the rails for the purpose
of reducing the lateral friction of the carriage; c', are crooks for
attaching the horse to the carriage. The number of cuts in the
stratum is arbitrary, and may be made at or little above the level
of the rails to any practicable height, and applying wheels of dif-
ferent diameter to the bearing carriage will facilitate a change of the
height at which the saw cuts. In place of a high saw frame for the
purpose of steadying or supporting the axle of the cutter, I prefer
to have the platform of the carriage raised for this object. The
saw in a machine constructed as shewn in the Drawings will cut in
a plane parallel to that of the railway, be it horizontal or inclined.
Should it be necessary to make a cut or cuts in a different plane,
the construction of the carriage must be varied by altering the
position of the axle g, and corresponding parts, so that the saw may
cut in the intended angle or direction. When necessary the fore
and hind wheels of the machine carriage, may be connected by a

page_text: connecting rod or band to make the carriage act by the friction or
adhesion due to the entire weight; but applying a small fly wheel
working into the driving axle will generally render this unnecessary.
I prefer to give motion to the machine by horse or other con-
venient animal power, but occasionally I propel it by manual
agency, and it may be propelled by any motive power suitable to
the situation in which it is intended to be used.
Operation: I place the machine upon a railway, which is
made parallel to and as near the stratum which it is proposed
to excavate or cut as conveniently may be. I then adjust or
advance the sliding carriage f, upon which the rotary saw is
placed, by means of the strong screw d, along the groove c, to
the extent which may be necessary to cause the saw to make
a cut or incisure of the required depth in the first instance, the
screw d, retaining the saw in position during the operation.
The motive agent then causes the bearing carriage to pass along
the side or face of the stratum or seam, into which the cut is
to be made, and the progress of the wheels causes the rotary
cutter to revolve rapidly, making the cut or incision into the
face of the stratum as it passes along. This accomplished, the
saw is again adjusted by means of the screw d, so it may, in again
passing along, increase the depth of the cut or incision as much as
can be conveniently effected at one operation, and the carriage is
then again made to pass along the side or face of the work, the
saw also passing along in the cut or incision and cutting to an addi-
tional depth. And by thus adjusting the position of the saw from
time to time, and causing the bearing carriage to pass along in
front of the part of the stratum to be cut in alternate directions,
the full depth of incision which the saw is capable of making may
be obtained, which is generally nearly half the diameter of the saw.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that
I do not claim as of my Invention any of the parts or elements of
which my improved apparatus or machinery is composed, and that
I claim as my Invention,―

page_text: Firstly, the construction of apparatus or machinery consisting of
a bearing carriage running along a railway or tramway, and carry-
ing a rotary saw or cutter mounted in such manner upon the
carriage as to be capable of making cuts or incisions into the face
or side of a stratum of coal or other mineral as the carriage passes
along in manner herein-before described.
And, secondly, the mode or modes of deriving the motion of the
rotary saw or cutter mounted in such a bearing carriage as afore-
said from the axle or axles of the wheels of such carriage, in
manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Oswald Dodd Hedley, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three
OSWALD DODD HEDLEY. (L.S.)
OSWALD DODD HEDLEY. (L.S.)