IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR EXCA- VATING 'EARTH
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Bostock Hulme, of the City of Manchester,
Surveyor, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR EXCA-
VATING 'EARTH."
Sealed the 16th March 1866, and dated the 21st September 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Bostock Hulme
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st September 1865.
I, JOHN BOSTOCK HULME, of the City of Manchester, Surveyor, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR EXCAVATING EARTH," to be as follows:-
This machinery is intended to be used in making railways, roads, and other
similar works, and it consists of a strong framing mounted upon broad wheels
running upon the surface of the soil or clay to be excavated. At the front
end of the framing is jointed a pair of levers, between which a swivel cutting-
tool is suspended; this cutting tool is made to work in the arc of a circle by
means of a portable steam engine attached. to the framing and connected to the
levers above referred to by suitable gearing; the steam engine is also connected
by gearing to the driving wheels. The swivel cutting tool carries forward at

page_text: every stroke a portion of the soil or clay to be excavated, and deposits it in a
hopper from which it is taken by an endless chain of buckets working in a
vertical or diagonal direction; these buckets deposit the soil or clay into a
shoot for delivering it into waggons or trucks as heretofore customary. The
cutting tool in coming back is allowed to clear itself from the soil or clay by
segmental slots fitting on a cross stay or otherwise. The buckets in rising are
guided by side rods, and when they arrive at the top of the drum they are
successively swivelled back so as to empty their contents in the shoot above
referred to. The levers supporting the cutting tool are supported by other
levers, one of which is counterbalanced so as to yield in case the cutter comes
against a stone or is otherwise obstructed in its action; this yielding of-the-
weighted lever throws a clutch box or other equivalent out of gear to dis-
connect the driving power. The hind wheels are connected to the framing
by a screw jack or other equivalent. in order to be able to vary the depth of
the excavation.
·
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Bostock Hulme in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BOSTOCK HULME, of the City of Manchester, Surveyor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year, of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give, and grant unto me,
the said John Bostock Hulme, Her special license that I, the said. John
Bostock Hulme, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Bostock Hulme, 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 FOR EXCAVATING EARTH," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Bostock Hulme, 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

page_text: 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 Bostock Hulme, 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) :-
The nature of this Invention consists in certain improved combinations of
machinery for excavating earth, and it is particularly applicable in making
railways, roads, and other similar works; it is also equally applicable in
excavating and levelling earth for making the foundations of buildings and for
other purposes.
1
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.
top
Figure 1 is an end elevation partly in section of my improved machinery. ;-
Figure 2 is a side elevation also partly in section; and Figure 3 is a plan..a
is the framing, made by preference of wrought iron; and it is supported by the
two large front wheels b and the hind wheels c; these wheels are all made so
broad that they may run on the surface of the soil or clay to be excavated.
In front of the large wheels b is supported the shaft d, near each end of which
is fixed a short lever d³, to each of which is hinged an elbow lever d'; between
the vertical arms of these levers is supported the swivel cutting toole,, which
vibrates on studs e¹; the back frame of the cutting tool is made with
segmental slots e², which fit on a cross stay connecting the levers d'; the back
of the cutting tool hinges on studs e³, and when the
up
of the back comes
against a stud in the framing to cause the back to assume the position shewn
in dotted lines in Figure 2 to deliver the earth into the hopper l. The whole
cutting tool is made to work in the arc of a circle by means of the steam
cylinders f, which are connected in the usual manner to the crank shaft g.
On this shaft the pinion g' is mounted loosely, but connected thereto when
required by the sliding clutch box g²; the pinion g' gears into the wheel h¹
fixed to the shaft h, and on this shaft is mounted the pinion h gearing into
the wheel. keyed on the shaft i. At each end of this shaft is fixed a disc i,
in which discs are crank pins 3 which are connected by links to the horizontal
arms of the elbow. levers d'. By this means an up-and-down motion is given
to the cutting tool, while at. the same time a slow advancing motion. is given
to the supporting and, driving wheels.6 in the following manner:-To the
shaft h is fixed the mitre wheel h³ gearing into a similar, wheel on the shaft,

page_text: on which is the worm gearing into the worm wheel fixed on the
shaft k; to this shaft is fixed the pinion gearing into the wheel 6, which is
connected to the axle of the wheels-6 by a key and groove to allow the
wheel to be moved laterally on the axle by means of the screw 63, see
Figure 1, when it is requisite to disconnect the wheel-be and pinion- The
earth as it is raised by the cutting tool e is deposited in the hopper l, part of
which is concentric with the driving axle 6', on which is mounted the drum b
for the endless chain of buckets m; the sides and segmental portion of each
: bucket are jointed to the links m², and the back of each bucket is' secured
between each pair of links; the drum bt is made with two end disés united by
the stays 65; which form the cogs for the links m' of the buckets m. The
drum 6' is turned round in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2. by the
pinion g³ fixed to the shaft g and by a chain indicated by the dotted line n,
passing around the wheel bloose on the axle b', but connected to the drum b
by a friction disc as shewn in Figure 1. The endless chain-of-buckets m,
passes above over the drum o; in rising the buckets are guided by-side rods
m², and as the buckets fall' over the top centre they deposit the earth into the
shoot p, which delivers it into wagons, trucks, or carts; as in excavating
'machines of the usual construction. As the brackets descend the sides and
segmental portion thereof are swivelled back as shewn in Figure 2, and the
clay or earth adhering to the back or flat side of the bucket is scraped off by
the edge of the shoot, but when the buckets have passed beyond the shoot
they are again brought forward with their mouth downwards so as to be
ready to scoop up fresh supplies of earth from the hopper l:
:
The elbow levers d' are jointed to studs projecting from the short levers d³,
instead of being mounted on the shaft d, for the purpose of, allowing the
wheels for driving the cutting tool to be thrown out of gear when the cutter
comes against a stone, or is otherwise obstructed in its action; to the shaft d
is fixed the long lever do, the outer end of which acts on the horizontal ärm of
the elbow lever q, the vertical arm of which is forked and takes into a groove
in the sliding clutch box g³, the lever is weighted by the weighted lever q¹.
By this arrangement when the cutter is. obstructed in its action the long lever
de is raised and the clutch box g is drawn out of gear with the clutches on
the face of the pinion g', thus stopping the cutting tool' until the obstacle is
removed:
The hind wheels c-revolve on the axle, the centre boss of which is bored
out to receive the partly spherical shoulder of the bush r; this bush fits in the
socket r, which fits in the centre boss of the beam a', connecting the two
sides of the framing a. The upper part of the bush forms a nut for the

page_text: I
screw s which revolves in a bearing in the socket to the upper end of the
screw s is fixed the worm wheels, which is turned round when required by
the worm t' on the shaft t; the end of this shaft is square to receive a box
key. When it is necessary to increase the depth of the cut of the cutting
tooke the screws is turned round in the proper direction for raising the back
end of the framing a, and when the depth of cut is to be reduced the screw is
turned in the contrary direction to lower the hind end of the frame. The
vertical axle us and hand, wheel u¹ are for guiding the machine when it is
being moved from one place to another by horse power connected to the
shafts. (partly shewn in the Drawing) or while it is excavating. To the
axle u is fixed the pinion ², gearing into the toothed segment c², which is
secured to the frame c³, fixed to the axle c'. It is evident that by turning the
hand wheel u³ in, one direction or the other the axle c is. brought into a
diagonal position with, respect to the axle ', and, by this means the whole
machine is guided in either direction.
The boiler w for supplying steam to the cylinders fand the steam pipes w¹
are clearly shewn in the Drawing, and do not require to be particularly
referred to as they may be made in any convenient manner.
The Drawing represents the parts in the positions they occupy when the
cutting tool e is down, as shewn in the full lines in Figure 2; while the
discs are performing half a revolution the cutter is raised, and in rising
carries up a portion of earth, which is dropped into the hopper / by the
partial turning over of the cutter when it is up, as shown by dotted lines.
During the next half revolution of the discs ¹ the cutting tool is again lowered
and in lowering the curved slots e³ allow it to yield when passing over the soil
or clay to be excavated. It is evident that when the whole machine is moved
from one place to another by horse power the steam engines must be stopped
and the driving wheel 62 may be moved out of gear with the pinion k² by
turning the screw 6s or in any other convenient manner, but when it is
desirable to move the machine by steam power without excavating the catch
box must be thrown out of gear in order to disconnect the cutting tool e
from the other working parts. The catch box h* is also connected to the
levers on the wheel 66 to liberate the friction disc by which the endless
chain of buckets is worked.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, the general combination and arrangement of machinery for excavating
earth, as shewn and described.
Secondly, the mode described and shewn for disconnecting the gearing for

page_text: driving the cutting: tool in the event of an obstruction, or any equivalent
arrangement of parts for effecting the same object..
Thirdly, the mode described and shewn, for; supporting the cutting tool;
: and,.
Fourthly, the mode described and shewn for varying the depth of cut, and
for guiding the machine.>
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bostock Hulme, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
J. B. HULME.. (L.S.)