An Improvement in Pile Driving Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1890
Complete Specification Left. 12th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 14th Mar.. 1891
An Improvement in Pile Driving Machines.
I, WELLS HOOD, of the Recife and San Francisco Railway, Pernambuco,
Brazil, Engineer in Chief, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
22
My invention relates to an arrangement and construction of parts of a pile driving
machine in such a manner that the "monkey or striker is easily and readily
caught to be raised, and is automatically released at a greater or less height as may
be required for the blow.
To the chain I attach a frame carrying two or preferably three, pawl levers with
their lower ends latch shaped, these levers being arranged radially round the centre
of the frame and loaded so that their latch ends lie inwards towards the centre; the
upper ends of the levers are curved a little inwards. To the top of the monkey I
attach a stem carrying a cone the base of which forms a shoulder around the stem.
At or near the top of the frame of the machine I suspend a bell shaped casting.
through which the chain passes, and this bell can be raised or lowered according as
a greater or less descent of the monkey is desired. The operation is as follows:
On lowering the chain, the pawl levers encountering the cone of the monkey latch
over it and catch under the shoulder at its base. On now raising the chain the
monkey is raised with it until the upper ends of the pawl levers entering the bell
are pressed inwards, thus withdrawing the lower ends from under the shoulder of
the monkey cone, and allowing the monkey to descend. The monkey, the pawl
frame, and the bell are guided in the usual way along the uprights of the
framing.
Dated this 19th day of May 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Pile Driving Machines.
I, WELLS HOOD, of the Recife and San Francisco Railway, Pernambuco, Brazil,
Engineer in Chief, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to an arrangement and construction of parts of a pile driving
machine in such a manner that the "monkey" or striker is easily and readily caught
to-be raised and is automatically released at a greater or less height as may be
required for the blow.
To the chain I attach a frame carrying two or preferably three pawl levers with
their lower ends latch shaped, these levers being arranged radially round the centre
of the frame and loaded so that their latch ends lie inwards towards the centre; the
upper ends of the levers are curved a little inwards. To the top of the monkey 1
attach a stem carrying a cone the base of which forms a shoulder around the stem.
At or near the top of the frame of the machine I suspend a bell shaped casting
through which the chain passes, and this bell can be raised or lowered according as
a greater or less descent of the monkey is desired. The operation is as follows: On
lowering the chain the pawl levers, encountering the cone of the monkey, latch
over it and catch under the shoulder at its base. On now raising the chain the
monkey is raised with it until the upper ends of the pawl levers entering the bell

page_text: are pressed inwards, thus withdrawing the lower ends from under the shoulder of
the monkey cone, and allowing the monkey to descend. The monkey, the pawl
frame, and the bell are guided in the usual way along the uprights of the
framing.
The accompanying drawing is an elevation partly in section shewing the
construction and arrangement according to my invention of the parts of a pile
driving machine for catching and releasing the striker or monkey.'
r
M is the monkey having projecting from it upwards a stem with a conical or
conoidal head K the base of which forms a shoulder around the stem. Preferably
I make the head K and its stem tubular with a trumpet mouth as indicated by the
dotted lines. From the chain C I hang a frame F, in which are pivotted two
levers L having their lower ends latch shaped and their upper ends rounded. The
frame F is preferably made with a centre pin P projecting down from it. On the
framing of the pile driver I fix or suspend at any desired height a hollow cone A.
When the frame F is lowered by slacking the chain C, the pin P entering the
trumpet mouth of K serves as a guide, and the latch ends of the levers L glide over
the external slope of K and catch under its shoulder. The chain C being then
pulled up the monkey M is raised until the rounded upper ends of the levers L
entering the cone A are pushed inwards, thus withdrawing their lower ends from
under the shoulder of K leaving the monkey M free to fall. Instead of two levers L
there might be three pivotted in the frame F so as to move in radial planes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In a pile driving machine the combination of the stem, shoulder and conoidal
head of the monkey, the frame suspended from the chain with latch levers pivotted
thereon, and the hollow cone to receive the upper ends of the latch levers, substan-
tially as described.
ad this 10th da
1901
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.