IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ACTUATING TOOLS USED IN MINING, OR EXCAVATING, OR BORING, PART OF THE IMPROVED MACHINERY BEING ALSO
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Simpson, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Civil and Mining Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ACTUATING TOOLS USED IN MINING, OR
EXCAVATING, OR BORING, PART OF THE IMPROVED MACHINERY BEING ALSO
Sealed the 11th October 1867, and dated the 16th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Simpson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
April 1867.
I, GEORGE SIMPSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Civil and Mining Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ACTUATING TOOLS USED IN MINING,
OR EXCAVATING, OR BORING, PART OF THE IMPROVED MACHINERY BEING ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR ACTUATING MINE OR OTHER PUMPS," to be as follows, that is
to say:
This Invention relates to machinery of the kind described in the Speci-
fication of Letters Patent granted to the present applicant, and dated 21 June

page_text: 1802 (No. 1831), and comprises various
the combining of various parts.
A modification of the improved machinery suitable for mining or excavating
(coal, for example), comprises a direct-acting cylinder worked by steam, air,
or gas, with a piston having a trunk or ram on the front side to reduce the
area on that side. The ram directly actuates one or more cutters or tools
working in line with the cylinder's axis, and these can be adjusted at any
distance in front of the piston by means of a screw spindle working in the
trunk or ram, and in a tubular rod extending from the back of the piston out
This screw spindle
through a stuffing box in the back end of the cylinder.
can be turned by hand or by automatic gear consisting of a star wheel
actuating the spindle through bevil gear, and actuated by tappets on rods
The teeth of the star wheel are
fixed to and moving with the trunk or ram.
uneven in number, and at such distance apart that one tappet when moving
forward turns a tooth round and passes it without the next tooth coming into
the way of the tappet's return; this, however, puts a tooth on the other side
of the wheel in the way of the other tappet, which strikes it on the back
stroke, and so continues the motion of the wheel in the same direction, and at
the same time puts another tooth in the way of the tappet which acts on the
forward stroke. The front end of the cylinder is in constant communication
with the steam, air, or gas supply, but a stop-cock or valve is fitted to the
communicating pipe for regulating the inlet aperture so that when the pressure
is excessive it may not carry back the piston too quickly. In order to
prevent the steam in front of the piston from retarding the forward stroke a
lift valve may be fitted in a passage connecting the front end of the cylinder
and the supply pipe, or in a passage formed through the piston. The move-
ments of the piston are brought about by the action of two slide valves in
connection with the back end of the cylinder, one admitting the steam and
the other controlling the exhaust; these valves are worked by levers acted on
by adjustable tappets on the tappet rods, and in each case there are two
levers, one of which is moved by a tappet during its forward stroke, and
'whilst itself turning out of the way turns the other lever into the way
of the other tappet which acts during the return stroke. This arrange-
ment admits of working expansively and of otherwise easily regulating the
action of the steam, air, or gas in any way that may be desired; whilst the
piston can be made to make a short or long stroke as may best suit the
hardness or character of the coal or other mineral the machine may be
operating on. The cylinder is mounted on a slide or carriage, and when
wheels are used these are mounted in swivelling holders so that they can all

page_text: be adjusted to admit of the carriage being traversed in any direction without
being turned. The cylinder is formed with flanges to receive a transversely
disposed beam of timber or metal provided to withstand the reactionary
concussions of the blows. The beam is held between pillars fixed between
the floor and roof by means of screws or wedges, and consisting by preference
of wrought-iron bars of angular section held in iron shoes and caps; these
pillars are to be set in pairs at convenient distances apart, and can be shifted
in detail from stage to stage without interrupting the work. The arrange-
ments herein-before described are suitable for "holeing" or making a hori-
zontal cut in the bottom of a coal face. For making a vertical cut a
modification is used in which the cylinder is gradually moved up or down on
a pillar or between pillars such as have been herein-before described, by means
of fixed vertical screws, on which travel nuts bearing up the eylinder. These
nuts are turned by a central star wheel actuated by tappets. The pillars may
be made with joints to admit of their being set at any angle to the roof or
floor. The cylinder may be carried by means of trunnions, or of a ball and
socket or other universal joint, so as to be adjustable in various angular
positions. One or more endless chains may be used instead of the screws for
moving the cylinder, such chains passing round pulleys at the top and bottom
of the pillars and round a barrel on the machine, the tappet and star wheel
actuating gear being applied to the barrel; or a small piston and cylinder
may be used for obtaining the progressive movement of the main cylinder or
machine in connection with catches engaging in one or more ratchet racks.
One stroke of the piston and cylinder moves forward the machine, which is
retained by the catches, and the return stroke draws up the cylinder or piston
after it to be similarly retained by the catches; this or the endless chain
arrangement may be applied instead of screws to any of the progressive
movements of the machinery. When arranging the improved apparatus for
boring, appliances are added for turning the cutter between the strokes, the
spindle on which the cutter is fixed having on it a wheel in gear with a wheel
with star teeth and actuated by tappets as in similar arrangements herein-before
described.
The parts of the herein-before described improvements applicable to
apparatus for working mining and other pumps are the regulatin valve
n connection with one end of the cylinder, and the separate admissions and
exhaust valves in connection with the other end of the cylinder.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Simpson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
SIMPSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil and
Mining Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Simpson, Her special licence that I, the said George Simpson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Simpson, 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
ACTUATING TOOLS USED IN MINING, OR EXCAVATING, OR BORING, PART OF THE
IMPROVED MACHINERY BEING ALSO APPLICABLE FOR ACTUATING MINE OR OTHER
PUMPS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Simpson,
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 is 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 George Simpson, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say:-
My said Invention relates to machinery of the kind described in the
Specification of certain Letters Patent granted to me and dated 21 June 1862
(No. 1831), and comprises various improvements in details and in the com-
bining of various parts.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, I bave hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing a modi-

page_text: fication of my improved machinery suitable for mining or excavating (coal,
for example), and as constructed with my present improvements.
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus, whilst
Figure 3 is a horizontal section.
The apparatus comprises a direct-acting cylinder 1 to be worked by steam,
compressed air, or gas, which has access to it by the pipe 2, leaving it by the
pipe 3; the cylinder 1 has working in it a piston 4, having a trunk or ram 5 on
its front side to reduce the area on that side; the weight of the ram is also
of service in transmitting impetus to the percussive strokes which it is the
design of the apparatus to produce. The ram 5 directly actuates one or
more cutters or tools (one 6 being shown) working in line with the cylinder's
axis; the tool 6 can be adjusted at any distance in front of the piston by
means of a screw spindle 7 working in the trunk or ram 5, and through a
tubular rod 9 extending from the back of the piston 4 out through a stuffing
box 10 in the back end of the cylinder 1. The screw spindle 7 may be.
turned by hand for adjusting the tool, or it may be turned by self-acting
gearing to gradually feed forward the tool, as, for example, when the appa-
ratus is being used for boring I propose to effect such gradual turning of the
screw spindle 7 by means of a star wheel like the star wheel 11 delineated,
and herein-after described, for giving a transverse progressive motion to the
machine; but I find that the feeding of the spindle 7 can be more con-
veniently effected by an ordinary ratchet feed motion, such as is represented
in the Drawing. A toothed feed wheel 12 is carried on the back end of the
spindle 7, which projects out beyond the tubular piston rod 9, this wheel
being fitted with a key and groove to admit of the spindle 7 moving longitu-
dinally. The ratchet catch 13, for acting on the wheel 12, is carried by a
lever 14 centred on the end of the tubular piston rod 9, and is formed with
a bevil toothed segment in gear with a similar bevil toothed segment 15
centred on a stud fixed laterally in the rod 9; the segment 15 is formed in
one piece with a lever which is connected by a link 16 to a stud fixed on the
cylinder 1, and the reciprocation of the piston and its rod 9 causes the
oscillation of the toothed segments and levers and the intermittent rotation
of the feed wheel 12 in the ordinary way. The front end of the cylinder 1 is
in constant communication with the steam, air, or gas supply by a passage 17
leading from the box of the main steam valve 18, but a valve 19 is fitted in
this passage 17 for regulating the inlet aperture, so that when the pressure is
excessive it may not carry back the piston too quickly.
In order to prevent the steam in front of the piston from retarding the
forward stroke I proposed to fit a lift valve in a separate passage connecting

page_text: the front end of the cylinder and the supply pipe, or in a passage formed
through the piston, but such separate provision is rendered unnecessary in
consequence of the regulating valve 19 being arranged free to lift, as will be
understood from the Drawing. The movements of the piston 4 are brought
about by the action of two slide valves 18 and 20 in connection with the
back end of the cylinder, one 18 admitting the steam, and the other 20
controlling the exhaust; these valves are worked by forked levers 21, 22,
acted on by adjustable tappets on a tappet rod 23 fixed by brackets to the
ram 5 at its front end, and to the tubular piston rod 9 at its back end. One
branch of the forked steam lever 21 is moved by a tappet 24 during its forward
stroke, and whilst itself turning out of the way turns the other branch into
the way of another tappet 25, which acts during the return stroke. The
forked exhaust lever 22 is similarly acted on by two other tappets 26, 27.
This arrangement admits of working expansively, as I prefer to do, and of
otherwise easily regulating the action of the steam, air, or gas in any way that
may be desired; whilst the piston 4 can be made to make a short or long
stroke as may best suit the hardness or character of the coal or other mineral
the machine may be operating on. I prefer to use steam or compressed air
of considerable pressure, say of about forty pounds per square inch, and to
cut it off early in the stroke by a suitable adjustment of the tappet 24,
so as to open the exhaust valve 20 when the piston has reached a point
three or four inches short of the end of its forward stroke, whereby the
return of the piston will be insured, even if it should be prevented from
reaching the extreme end of its stroke from extra hardness at any part
of the mineral it is operating on. The cylinder 1 may be mounted on a
slide or carriage of any convenient kind, and when wheels are used these
are mounted in swivelling holders, so that they can all be adjusted to
admit of the carriage being traversed in any direction without being turned.
In the example represented in the Drawing the machine is carried by four
wheels 28 on short axles 29, fitted to swivel on the ends of two transverse
bars 30, fixed between flanges formed for them on the cylinder 1; the cylinder 1
is also formed with two strong flanges 31 to receive a transversely disposed
beam 32 of timber or metal, or of both combined, as shown, being provided
to withstand the reactionary concussions of the blows, that is to say, to with-
stand the reaction of the impact of the steam on the piston, as from the steam
being cut off prior to the contact of the tool with the mineral no reaction from
that contact takes direct effect on the cylinder. The beam 32 may be held in
any convenient way, as, for example, by means of pillars fixed between the
floor and roof by means of wedges or screws, and consisting by preference of

page_text: wrought-iron bars of angular section held in iron shoes and caps; these
pillars are to be set in pairs or otherwise at convenient distances apart, and
can be shifted in detail from stage to stage without interrupting the work.
Two modifications of pillars for the purposes last herein-before referred to
are shown in Figures 4 and 5, from which Figures their construction will
readily be understood, an opening or chair 33 being provided in each case for
the beam 32, which is fixed therein by screws capable of being loosened when
the pillars have to be shifted. In order to effect the transverse progressive
motion of the machine when "holeing" coal or the like, a rack 34 is fitted
to one side of the beam 32, and in gear with this rack there is a pinion on a
spindle 35 carried in brackets fast on the cylinder 1; on the upper end of the
pinion spindle 35 there is a star wheel 11, which is acted on by two tappet
pins 36, 37, fast in a bracket fixed to the tappet rod 23. The teeth of the
star wheel 11 are uneven in number, and at such distance apart that one
tappet pin 36 when moving forward turns a tooth round and passes it without
the next tooth coming into the way of that tappet's return; this, however,
puts a tooth on the other side of the wheel in the way of the other tappet
pin 37, which strikes it on the back stroke, and so continues the motion of the
wheel in the same direction, and at the same time puts another tooth in the
way of the tappet pin 36 which acts on the forward stroke. By suitably
adjusting the tappet pins 36, 37, they may be made to turn the star wheel
in either direction. The tappet pins are adjusted so as to act, one 37 at the
end of the back stroke, and the other 36 at the beginning of the succeeding
forward stroke, so that the consequent transverse movement of the machine
takes place when the tool 6 is drawn back from the coal. Any other con-
venient feed motion may be used instead of the tappets and star wheel for
obtaining the transverse progressive movements.
The arrangements herein-before described are suitable for "holeing" or
making a horizontal cut in the bottom of a coal face. For making a vertical
cut a modification is used in which the cylinder 1 is gradually moved up or
down on a pillar or between pillars, such as have been herein-before described,
by means of fixed vertical screws, on which travel nuts bearing up the cylinder.
These nuts may be turned by a central star wheel actuated by tappets, or by
means of any other convenient feed motion. The pillars may be made with
joints to admit of their being set at any angle to the roof or floor. The
cylinder 1 may be carried by means of trunnions, or by means of a ball and
socket or other universal joint, so as to be adjustable in various angular
positions. One or more endless chains may be used instead of the screws for
moving the cylinder 1, such chains passing round pulleys at the top and

page_text: bottom of the pillars and round a barrel on the machine, the tappet and star
wheel or other feed-actuating gear being applied to the barrel; or a small
cylinder and piston may be used for obtaining the progressive movement of
the main cylinder or machine in connection with catches engaging in one or
more ratchet racks. One stroke of the piston or cylinder moves forward the
machine, which is retained by the catches, and the return stroke draws up the
cylinder or piston after it to be similarly retained by the catches. This or
the endless chain arrangement may be applied to any of the progressive
movements of the machinery.
When arranging my improved apparatus for boring, appliances are added
for turning the tool or cutter 6 between the strokes. For this purpose the
screw spindle 7 is made tubular, and a central spindle 38 passes through it,
and is fixed at its front end to the tool holder 39, which is free to turn at the
end of the spindle 7.
At the back end the central spindle 38 projects beyond
the end of the spindle 7, and has fixed on it a toothed wheel 40, which is
actuated from the feed wheel 12 of the screw spindle 7 by means of two
wheels 41, 42, carried on a tube 43 loose on the back end of the tappet
rod 23. One wheel 41 is fast on the tube 43, but the other 42 is fitted
thereon with a groove and key, so as to be able to follow the longitudinal
movement produced by screwing the spindle 7. A link 44 held by washers
on the bosses of the wheels 40 and 42 keeps these wheels in gear with each
other, and these wheels can be changed when a different turning motion
relatively to the screwing motion is required.
My improved machinery may be used for boring holes horizontally, as, for
example, at each end of a horizontal cut when holeing under a coal face; it
may also be used in other positions, as, for example, for putting down a bore
vertically from the surface, in which case it may be arranged together with
the accessory details, as described in my earlier Specification herein-before
referred to. In Figures 1 and 2 the tool 6 shown is suitable for cutting coal,
and is not intended to turn, but the tool 6 shown in Figure 3 is suitable for
boring, and is screwed to the holder 39, a small coupling piece intervening or
the usual lengthening rods.
The parts of my herein-before described improvements applicable to apparatus
for working mining and other pumps are, the regulating valve (19) in con-
nection with one end of the cylinder (1), and the separate admission and
exhaust valves (18, 20,) in connection with the other end of the cylinder,
together with their actuating details; and in applying these improvements I
prefer to arrange the other parts of the pump and connections as described in
my earlier Specification herein-before referred to.

page_text: Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, generally the arranging
or combining together of the parts of machinery for actuating mining or
excavating tools, boring tools, and mine and other pumps, substantially in the
improved manner herein-before described, and more particularly the applying
to such machinery of separate steam regulating and exhaust valves with their
actuating details, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Simpson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
5 Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
GEO. SIMPSON. (L.B.)