IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE-DRIVING MACHINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Toshach, of the Railway Works, Bristol
Road, Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE-DRIVING MACHINES."
Sealed the 4th March 1859, and dated the 10th September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Toshach at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his. Petition, on the
10th September 1858.
I, WILLIAM TOSHACH, of the Railway Works, Bristol Road, Gloucester, in
the County of Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE-DRIVING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The timber framework is similar to that of pile-drawing machines in ordinary
use, with the exception that the leaders are made wider, to allow room for
wedge-formed pieces or inclines to slide up & down clear of the back plate, for
freeing the hammer, as hereafter described.
On the main shaft of a crab is fixed a cast-iron wheel, made of such a shape
as to fit into & give motion to an endless pitch chain, which moves behind &
as close to the leaders as.possible; & round a similar wheel on the top. The
chain is formed to receive iron pins put through any of the links, & sufficiently
wide to carry them up true & square. The pins referred to are made long
enough to catch a fork that is attached to & projects from the hammer. The
pin, by the motion of the endless chain, carries up the hammer with it, until

page_text: the chain is forced back clear of the fork by the wedge pieces, which are
adjusted as required on the leaders; the hammer thus freed falls on the pile,
after which another pin is ready to again take it up, & so continue the
process until the pile is driven. The wedge pieces referred to are made of
iron, & are made to slide up & down the leaders by a winch handle at the
bottom, which turns a shaft carrying two spiked wheels, which give motion to
two chains that are attached to tlie inclines or wedge pieces, causing them to
rise or fall as required" to regulate the length of the stroke. The fork
attached to the hammer may be made to go through it or over it, & to reduce
the friction; an iron back plate is used instead of wood, to allow the chain
to work as close as possible to the leaders; friction rollers are also put on the
hammer & back plate. To raise the pile, a common chain is fixed to the
pitch chain by a shackle, or otherwise, and over the top of the framework; the
pitch chain being set in motion draws the other along with it, & raises the
pile. The greatest advantage to be gained by this machine is the continual
motion of the endless chain, which is always ready to pick up the hammer
immediately after it falls on the pile, thereby saving the time usually taken up
in pulling down "nippers" & slack chain. A steam engine may be fixed
alongside the crab, which is moved altogether with the machine, or it may be
driven with a strap from a portable engine, or by a countershaft driven by a
portable or other engine; but the gearing is so made that, where steam cannot
conveniently be applied, handles may be put on, and the machine worked by
hand.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Toshach in the Great Seal Patent Office on the.
9th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TOSHACH, of the Railway Works, Bristol Road, Gloucester, in the County of
Gloucester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight; in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, 'for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto I, the
said William Toshach, Her special licence that I, the said William Toshach,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Toshach, my executors, administrators; and assigns, should at any time agree-

page_text: 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, aud
vend, within the United Kingdom of. Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE-DRIVING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Toshach, 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 William Toshach, 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 Sheet of Drawings hercunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :
My improvements in pile-driving machines consist in so arranging them
that the lift of the hammer is effected by an endless chain or chains, such
endless chain or chains having continuous motion imparted to them (or it may
be intermittent), and lifting the hammer by the contact and hold of certain
parts, which parts are caused to withdraw their hold from the hammer, when
the required elevation thereof has been attained, and thus producing the fall
and blow required to drive the pile.
Immediately the hammer has fallen the parts are in position to raise the
hammer again, and this without loss of time or trouble in overhauling the
chain as in ordinary machines. The timber framework of this machine is
similar to that of pile-driving machines in ordinary use, with the exception
that the "leaders" are made wider to allow room for wedge-formed pieces or
inclines to slide up and down clear of the back plate for fixing the hammer, as
herein-after described. .On the main shaft of the crab or other driving gear
is fixed a cast-iron wheel made of such a shape as to fit into and give motion
to an endless pitch chain, which moves behind and as close to the leaders as
possible; it also passes round a similar wheel on the top. The chain is
formed to receive iron pins put through any of the links, and is made of
sufficient width to carry them up true and square.
The pins referred to are made long enough to catch a fork that is attached to
and projects from the hammer; one of these pins by the motion of the endless
chain carries up the hammer with it until the chain is forced back clear of the
fork by the wedge pieces, which are adjusted as required on the leaders; the

page_text: lannier thus freed falls on the pile, after which another pin is ready to
take it up, and so continue the operation until the pile is driven. The wedge
pieces referred to are made of iron, and are made to slide up and down the
leaders by a winch handle at the bottom, which turns a shaft, carrying two
spiked wlieels, which give motion to two chains that are attached to the
inclines or wedge pieces; causing them to.rise or fall as required, and thereby
to regulate the length of. the stroke.
The fork attached to the lammer may be made to go through it or over it,.
and to reduce the friction; an iron back plate is preferred instead of wood, to
allow the chain to work as close as possible to the leaders; friction rollers are
.also applied to the hammer and back plate.
"
To raise the pile a common chain is fixed to the pitch chain. by a shackle or
otherwise, which is drawn up and over the top of the framework, the pitch
chain being set in motion draws the other along with it, and raises the pile.
The great advantage to be gained by this machine is the continual motion
of the endless chain, which is always ready to pick up the hammer
immediately after it falls on the pile, thereby saving the time. usually taken
up in-pulling down "nippers" and slack chain, besides the labour necessarily
expended in that operation.
A steam engine may be fixed alongside the crab, and altogether portable
with the machine, or it may be driven with a strap-from a separate portable.
engine, or by a shaft driven by any suitable power. At the same time I prefer
the gearing to be such that, where steam cannot conveniently be applied,
handles may be applied, and the machine worked by hand,
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a piling engine or machine constructed
according to my Invention, and Fig. 2 a plan of the same.
In Fig. 1 the full height of the machine is not represented, as will be
observed by the broken lines showing the top of the machine brought down on
the lower part. In this Drawing the machine is represented as combined
with a small engine, portable with it, any description of which it will be
unnecessary to give. a, a, are the leaders or main timbers of the machine, on
which the hammer 6 slides during its rise and fall; these leaders are erected
from a suitable base c, c, mounted on rollers or flanged wheels to run on
timber or rails, effecting the traverse as usual. In addition to the leaders, the
top of the machine is supported by inclined supports d, d, which form the
ladder, the whole being braced and stayed as usual.
On the top of the machine I place a chain wheel e, on which the endless

page_text: i
chain ff, is supported and gears; this endless chain also gears with a chain
wheel e', keyed on the shaft g of the crab or gear used for actuating the
chain. The chain fconsists of a series of links, usually called a pitch chain,
each link having at the middle of its length a hole h, through which an iron
pin may be inserted. The hammer is mounted on the leaders a, a, as
usual, and furnished with friction rollers i, i, to traverse easily thereon. The
hammer is furnished with a strong forked piece k, which passes through
between the leaders a, a, the fork projecting beyond the vertical line of the
front part of the chain, so that the pin i passed through a link of the chain
comes in contact with this fork; and by its upward motion lifts the hammer.
m, m, are two.inclined surfaces, one on either leader a, which surfaces project
beyond the fork. k, which inclines are capable of being slid up and down,
so as to occupy positions at different elevations. These inclines are attached
to an endless chain p, shown dotted in Fig. 1, which is carried by chain
wheels q, q, the axes of the lower one of which has a winch handle, whereby
the chains p, p, are actuated, and the position of inclines m, m, varied as
required. The lower wheels or axis q is furnished with ratchet and paul
or other gear for fixing chains pand inclines in the position determined.
The shaft g of the crab or gear is furnished with a spur wheel », which
gears with a pinion s, on the shaft of which a wheel is keyed, this again
gearing with a pinion on the engine shaft u. The shaft, as shown in
the Drawing, is driven direct by the motion of the engine, it being, in
fact, the crank shaft thereof. vis the crank, & w the connecting rod of
the engine. Instead of this shaft u being the crank shaft of the engine, it
may be the handle shaft, or a further addition to the multiplying power of
the driving gear may be made, as may be required.
The action of the pile-driving machine is as follows:-Motion being given
to the chain, in the direction of the arrows, & the pins 2, 1, disposed in
the chain according to the height the hammer h is to be lifted, the pin P,
on coming in contact during its rising motion with the fork of the hammer,
that body will be lifted and carried up until pin & comes in contact with the
inclines m, m, when the chain is forced back, and caused to assume the
position shown dotted, which causes the pin to be thrown beyond the extreme
ends, and out of contact with the fork k, thereby liberating it and the hammer,
which is free to descend and strike the pile x. Immediately the hammer
strikes the pile, another pin advances to the position of pin l, just described,
and repeats the operation; thus by the continuous motion of the chain, the
blows of the hammer b may be repeated in quick succession. The pins l are
disposed in the chain according to the length of stroke required or obtainable.

page_text: Thus, for instance, in commencing to drive a pile the strokes of the hammer
are short, on account of the height the pile stands above ground, in which
case the pins will be somewhat near each other in the chain f, but for the
full fall of the hammer there will be but two pins inserted, and placed at
the extreme distance from each other. These pins must be inserted and fixed
so as to remain sufficiently firm in the
required.
links of the chain f for the purposes
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the construction of pile-driving
machines with endless chains, acting in combination with parts k, l, & m,
for the purposes and as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Toshach, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this [Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred & fifty-nine.
WILLIAM TOSILA CIT
WILLIAM TOSHACH (LS)