IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BORING OR CUTTING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF TUNNELLING THROUGH MOUNTAINS, OR MAKING OTHER EXCAVATIONS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
BORING OR CUTTING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES FOR THE
PURPOSE OF TUNNELLING THROUGH MOUNTAINS, OR MAKING OTHER
EXCAVATIONS."--A communication.
Sealed the 5th March 1853, and dated the 5th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th October 1852.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BORING OR
CUTTING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF TUNNEL-
LING THROUGH MOUNTAINS, OR MAKING OTHER EXCAVATIONS," to be as
follows:
The nature of this Invention consists in so employing one or more

page_text: metal rollets, or one or more sets of rollets, with the periphery properly
adapted to cut away the surface of the stone by rolling against it; that
they shall describe in their action a segment of a circle from the centre
to the circumference of the tunnel or other perforation to be made, in
combination with a slow motion around the said centre of the tunnel or
other aperture, whether the two said motions be continuous, inter-
mittent, or reciprocating, whilst at the same time the entire machine,
or that portion of it which carries the rollet or rollets, is capable of
being advanced for the feed motion in the direction of the axis of the
tunnel or other aperture that is being cut.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Scal
Patent Office, on the 5th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her
special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my ex-
ecutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Newton, 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 BORING
OR CUTTING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF TUN-
NELLING THROUGH MOUNTAINS, OR MAKING OTHER EXCAVATIONS," being a
communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Scal 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 Edward Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):
The Invention which has been communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent as aforesaid consists in employing one or more metal
rollets, or one or more sets of rollets or rotating discs, with their
peripheries or cutting edges properly adapted to cut away the surface
of the stone by rolling against it; in doing which they shall describe in
their action a segment of a circle from the centre to the circumference
of the tunnel or other perforation to be made, in combination with a
slow motion around the said centre of the tunnel or other aperture,
whether the two said motions be continuous, intermittent, or recipro-
cating, whilst at the same time the entire machine, or that portion of
it which carries the rollets or rotating cutting discs, is capable of being
moved forward or advanced in the direction of the axis of the tunnel or
other aperture that is being cut, in order to keep the cutters to their
work as the face of the stone is cut away by the operations of the
machine.
In the acompanying Drawings Fig. 1, is a plan view of the machine
complete; Fig. 2, is a side elevation; Fig. 3, a front elevation; Fig. 4,
a longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 5, is a detached sectional view
of one of the rollets or cutting discs drawn in the line of the axis of one
of the rollet cutters. The same letters indicate like parts in all the
Figures. a, a, is the frame of the machine, the platform of which is
mounted on slides b, b, fitted to and sliding on rails c, c, laid along the
bottom of the tunnel as the boring progresses These rails may be laid

page_text: .
in any appropriate manner, or instead of the rails the platform may be
provided with wheels to run directly on the bottom of the tunnel, or
otherwise adapted to move thereon. On the frame..is mounted a
hollow shaft d, which is adapted to turn in appropriate, boxes.e; e, in the
standards a, a, .of the frame, so that it can, turn freely and accurately.
To the forward end of this hollow shaft is properly secured a cog wheel
f the cogs of which are engaged by a pinion g, on a shaft, provided
at the other end, with a cog wheel i, which engages a worm on a
transverse shaft k. Motion is communicated to this shaft k, from the
driving power in any convenient manner for the purpose of giving a
slow rotatory motion to the wheel f, and hollow shaft d. The front
face of the wheel f, is provided with flanches or arms 1, in which are
hung two rocking shafts m, m, which carry two sectors n, n, and as
both are similar in construction and operation the description of one of
them will be sufficient. The sector n, is provided at or near. the ends
with two rollet cutters or rotating discs 0, 0, mounted on appropriate
arbors or spindles p, p, the axes of which are. at an angle of 45 degrees
(more or less) with the axis. of the rocking shaft m. The arbor of
each-rollet is fitted to turn freely, but accurately in a tube 4, the bore of
which is excentric to its outer periphery. This tube is in turn fitted to
a box 2, on the sector n, so that it can be turned and moved endwise
therein for the purpose of setting the rollet as may be desired, and
there-secured in place by a set screw or other appropriate means.
The object of this mode of adjustment, is to set the cutting edges of
the two rollets so that one shall-in the vibrations of the sector describe
a different track from the other, so that one may cut what the other
does not; and it will be obvious from the foregoing that this, adjust-
ment can be readily effected by-turning and sliding the excentric tubes
in which the arbors of the rollets. turn. The inner ends of the two
sectors are jointed to two connecting, rods, (sec. Fig. 4) which
extend into the hollow shaft d, and which are jointed at their other e end
to a cross-head t, on a sliding rod u, which is appropriately guided in
the hollow shaft as it receives a reciprocating motion by a connecting
rod v, from the arm, of a rocking shaft (Figs 1, and 2.). This
shaft a, receives motion from the piston rod of a steam engine, the
...

page_text: details of which need not be described, as the required. reciprocating
motion can be derived from any other appropriate mechanical, agent.
The arm of the rock shaft a, which receives motion, from the piston rod
of the engine, is in turn connected by a rod z; with a crank al, on the
shaft of a fly wheel b', to ease off the shocks which would otherwise be
produced by the strokes of the engine. The feeding motion, for turn-
ing the wheel, which carries the cutting apparatus can be derived in
any appropriate manner from the shaft of the fly wheel, or from the
rocking shaft, and as the means. for giving. such motions are nume-
rous and well known, to machinists it, is deemed unnecessary to give a
particular description of any one of them.
:
..
r:
1702-1
From the foregoing it will be seen that as the entire machine is
advanced the rollet cutters are brought in contact with the face of the
rock or other hard substance to be cut, whilst the vibratory or recipro-
eating motion given to the sectors in opposite directions causes the
cutting edges of the rollets to describe, each. a track from the centre of
the wheel to the periphery, and back again, each one describing an
are of a circle in the plane, of, the radii, and as the wheel fis rotated
with a slow motion a series of cuts will be made by the peripheries of
the cutters, which will be nearly in the direction of the radii, gradually
shifting around the entire circle, and so, on in succession, the entire
machine being moved forward by any desired means to keep the cut-
、4༣༥5),「、
ters against the face of the stone. And although I have described the
machine with two sectors and two rollets or rotating discs on each
sector, it will be obvious that it can be made with only one, or with
more than two, and each sector with one or more-rollets. I do not
wish to confine myself to the use of vibrating sectors for operating the
rollets, as it will be obvious that the rollets can be connected with the
periphery of a wheel or wheels having a continuous rotary motion
imparted by cog wheels or their equivalents by means of a shaft passing
through the hollow, shaft d, or, by any other suitable mechanical means.
And as to the mode of rotating the cutting apparatus about the centre of
the tunnel or other aperture to make the series of cuts, it will be obvious
that this can be done by a continuous or intermittent motion in one and
the same direction, or reciprocating. And finally, as to the progressive
."
4.

page_text: motion of the entire cutting apparatus in the direction of the axis of
the tunnel or excavation to keep the cutters against the face to be cut,
it can be continuous or intermittent, and may be communicated in
various ways, such, for instance, as is shewn in Figs 1, and 2, where
screws d', d, are made to work in standards e, e¹, secured to the bottom
of the tunnel, and acting against the end of the frame, or by means of
levers acting against the frame, and abutting against some solid part of
the tunnel, the whole machine may be pushed bodily forward.
What I claim as new in this Invention, and desire to secure--by
Letters Patent, is, the method herein shewn and described, or any mere
modification thereof, for applying a rollet cutter or cutters, or rotating
dises or cutting edges, for boring or excavating tunnels and other
apertures in rock or other hard substances, by causing the said rollet
cutter or cutters or rotating discs, or sets of rollet cutters or rotating
discs, to describe circles from the centre, or near the centre, to the
periphery of the tunnel or other excavation, in combination with a
motion or motions around the centre of the said tunnel to cause the
said cutter or cutters to act in succession on the entire surface to be
cut away.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)