IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING SAND AND GRAVEL UNDER WATER."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Howard John Kennard, 36, Great George Street,
Westminster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
EXCAVATING SAND AND GRAVEL UNDER WATER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Howard John Kenuard
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th June 1861.
I, HOWARD JOHN KENNARD, 36, Great George Street, Westminster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
EXCAVATING SAND AND GRAVEL UNDER WATER," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention has for its object the excavation of sand or
gravel situated under water in places where.excavations of any description are
desired to be made for foundations or other structures, and consists in an appa-
ratus which is placed on the surface of such sand or gravel and into which the
same is drawn by means of suction; when full of sand or gravel this apparatus
is raised out of the water and emptied at any convenient place. The apparatus,
which may be termed a "sand pump," consists of a cylindrical or other shaped
water-tight box of wrought or cast iron, or any other suitable material, and into
the bottom of which is fixed in a water-tight manner, a tube of convenient
diameter, open at both ends and passing upwards inside the box to nearly the
top of the same, and continued downwards outside of the box to an extent which
In the top
is governed by the nature of the soil which the pump is to remove.

page_text: of the box are formed two or more openings which are provided with valves
opening outwards and fitting when closed in a water-tight manner to the
openings and a larger opening situated in about the centre of the top of the
apparatus, over which is fixed in a water-tight manner a tube of large diameter
containing a weighted piston working therein in a water-tight or nearly water-
tight manner, and actuated by a rope or chain from above the surface of the
water, or a cylindrical bellows may be attached over the before-mentioned large
opening and be worked in the same manner, or a disc of india-rubber, leather,
or waterproof cloth may be fixed over the aperture, and motion imparted to it
by being alternately stretched by being pulled upwards and then allowed to con-
tract again, there being also a weight attached to the top of the disc. When
this apparatus has been lowered on to the surface of the sand or gravel and
the before-mentioned tube at the bottom has consequently penetrated to a certain
distance into the same, the before-mentioned piston, bellows, or flexible disc is
pulled up to a certain extent by means of a rope or chain actuated from above,
and a vacuum or partial vacuum would thus be formed beneath the saine were
it not that the pressure of the surrounding water forces a quantity of sand or
gravel mixed with water into the box through the tube at the bottom of the
same, and the sand or gravel subsides in the box by gravity. The piston, bellows,
or flexible disc is then allowed to sink down or to collapse, and a certain
quantity-of water that has penetrated into the box with the sand or gravel
is then forced out of the same through the opening or openings in the top of
the box, which are provided with valves as described. The same operation is
repeated, and more sand or gravel passes into the box through the suction tube
and subsides in the box while the accompanying water is afterwards forced out
as just described, and this operation is repeated until sufficient sand or gravel
has accumulated in the box. The apparatus is then raised by means of ropes
or chains above the surface of the water, and the sand or gravel is removed
from the inside of the box through a door formed in the side of the same, which
door is capable of being closed in a water-tight manner. Although I have.
mentioned the employing of a tube or cylinder with a weighted piston or of
a bellows or flexible disc, other suitable means may be employed for first form-
ing a partial vacuum in the box and then forcing a quantity of water out of
the same. The second part of this Invention has the same object as the first
part, but the apparatus that is to be lowered down upon the sand or gravel
below the water consists of a strong circular or other shaped bag into which
the sand or gravel is driven by the water when in an agitated state, and in
which bag the sand or gravel subsides by gravity. I prefer to form the bag
of a large flat sheet of flexible material such as leather, india-rubber, or canvass,

page_text: having a hole in the centre around which is fixed a shallow ring of iron a
few inches only in depth whilst a deeper ring is fixed around the outside of the
bag; each of the rings are hung from three or more ropes or chains to a central
rope or chain so that the whole may be lowered down on to the surface of the
sand or gravel, or hauled up with facility, thus lifting anything that may have
been thrown into the bag. An agitator of a disc or other convenient form is
arranged to work up and down inside the central ring, and it is guided and kept
in its place either by working in a guide fixed to the central ring, or has short
ropes or chains attached to it and to the large outside ring, so that it may
always fall fairly in the central ring. This agitator is weighted so as to fall
with some considerable force, and thus drive the water and sand or gravel
over the edge of the central ring and into the bag, the agitator is worked by a
rope from above. It is evident that the shape of the bag may be varied, thus i
it may be of an oblong form and the agitator made of an inclined shape below
so as to drive the water and sand or gravel in one direction only into tho
bag, or the agitator may be hinged or jointed at one end and be made to
vibrate up and down or sideways, being actuated by a rope or chain from
above.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Howard John Kennard in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HOWARD
JOHN KENNARD, 36, Great George Street,. Westminster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Howard John Kennard, Her special licence that I, the said Howard
John Keunard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Howard John Kennard, 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 APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING SAND AND
GRAVEL UNDER WATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said

page_text: Howard John Kennard, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Howard John Kennard, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
The first part of this Invention has for its object the excavation of sand or
gravel situated under water in places where excavations of any description are
desired to be made for foundations or other structures, and consists of an appa-
ratus, which is placed on the surface of such sand or gravel, and into which the
same is drawn by means of suction. When full of sand or gravel this apparatus
is raised out of the water and is emptied in any convenient place. The appa-
ratus, which
may be termed a "sand pump," consists of a cylindrical or other
shaped water-tight box of wrought or cast iron or any other suitable material,
into the bottom of which is fixed in a water-tight manner a tube of convenient
diameter open at both ends, and passing upwards inside the box to nearly the
top of the same, and continued downwards outside the box to an extent which
is governed by the nature of the soil which the pump is to remove. In the
top of the box are formed two or more small openings, which are provided
with valves opening outwards, and fitting when closed in a water-tight manner
to the openings, and a larger opening situated in about the centre of the top
of the apparatus, over which is fixed in a water-tight manner a tube of large
diameter containing a weighted piston working therein in a water-tight, or
nearly water-tight manner, and actuated by a rope or chain from above the
surface of the water, or a cylindrical bellows or flexible dise may be attached.
over the before-mentioned opening and moved up and down, there being also
a weight attached to the top of the disc.
In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the accompanying Drawing is shewn an
arrangement of my improved sand pump; Figure 1 shews a plan of the same;
Figure 2 shews an elevation; Figure 3 shews a transverse section; and
Figure 4 shews a front view of one of the handles.
A is a box, which is here shewn cylindrical, but which may be of any other
suitable shape, and is constructed of cast iron or other suitable material closed
at top and bottom. In the bottom is formed a circular or other shaped hole L,

page_text: through which is inserted the tube or pipe B of cast iron or other suitable
material, which is fixed to the bottom of the box or cylinder A in a water-tight
manner by means of the flange M and bolts N. This tube or pipe B passes
upwards, as shewn, nearly to the top of the cylinder or box A, and is con-
tinued downwards outside of the box to an extent which is regulated by the
nature of the soil to be excavated, its length being increased for very loose
sand, or decreased when the soil is of a denser nature. In the top of the box
or cylinder A is formed a large opening C, over which is fixed in a water-tight
manner a cylinder of leather or other flexible material D. This is closed at
the top by having a heavy metal disc E attached to it in a water-tight manner,
in which disc are two openings F, F, furnished with flap valves G, G. Tho
cylinder D with disc E is alternately distended, by being pulled upwards from
above by means of the chain P attached to the eye O, and then allowed to
collapse, as shewn by the the dotted lines in Figure 2, the disc E descending
by its own gravity. Other small apertures H, H, are formed in the top of the
box A, which are also provided with flap valves I; I, of any suitable construc-
tion; J is an opening in the side of the box for the purpose of emptying the
same, which opening is closed by means of the door K in a water-tight
manner, the latter having a ring of leather round its edge, and being pressed.
tight against the box by means of the screw Q and bar R; S, S, S, are loops
of wrought iron, attached to the box A, as shewn in Figure 4, to which are
made fast the chains T, T, for raising or lowering the apparatus. The manner,
of operating is as follows:-The apparatus is lowered on to the bed of the
river or other locality under water where it is desired to excavate; in the first
instance, it becomes filled with water, and the tube B penetrates into the sand
or gravel to the extent of its projection below the bottom of the box A. The
collapsed flexible cylinder D is then distended by the disc E being drawn up.
by means of the chain P and the valves G, G, and I, I, being closed from the
pressure of the water from without; a vacuum or partial vacuum would be
formed were it not that sand or gravel mixed with water is at the same time
forced by the pressure of the surrounding water to enter through the bottom
opening of the tube B, and pass up into the box A. Here the sand or gravel
subsides by gravity, and the cylinder D collapsing by the disc E being allowed
to descend by gravity, the water that penetrated into the box along with the
sand or gravel escapes or is forced out through the valves G and I. The
disc E is then again pulled up by the chain P, more sand and water penetrate
through the pipe B into the box A, the sand subsiding in the box whilst the
water is forced out by the sinking of the disc E, as before described; and this
is continued until sand or gravel has accumulated in the box to about the level

page_text: of the top of the tube B. The apparatus is then drawn up above the level of
the water, the door K is removed, and the sand or gravel is emptied out of
the box A in any convenient place.
Instead of the disc E and flexible cylinder D, I sometimes employ an
arrangement as shewn in Figure 5, where D is a metal cylinder fixed in a
water-tight manner over the opening C in the top of the box A, in which
cylinder a weighted piston E with valves G, G, over openings F, F, is
caused to work up and down easily by being first pulled up by the chain P,
and then allowed to sink again by its own gravity. The cylinder D is pro-
vided with a projecting rim a at bottom, and a loose ring 6 bolted on at top
when the piston E is in place, to prevent the latter from working out of the
cylinder. I also sometimes form this part of the apparatus liko a cylindrical
bellows, as shewn in section at Figure 6.
The second part of this Invention has the same object as the first part, but
the apparatus that is to be lowered down upon the sand.or. gravel below-the
water consists of a strong circular or other shaped bag, into which the sand
or gravel is driven by the water when in an agitated state, and in which bag
the sand or gravel subsides by gravity. In Figures 7 and 8 is shewn an
arrangement of this part of my Invention. Figure 7 shews a part plan, and
Figure 8 shews a sectional elevation of the same. A, A, is a flexible disc or
bag of strong canvass, leather, or other suitable material, attached at its outer
circumference to the ring B of iron, or other suitable material, whilst in the
centre is formed a hole, round which is fixed the ring C, of iron, or other
suitable material, and which is of only a slight depth. In the space inside this
ring a heavy disc or agitator D is placed, capable of being worked up and
down in the same by means of the rod E and chain F, which passes up to
above the surface of the water. This disc or agitator is guided in its motion
so as to insure its always falling fairly into the central ring, either by the
guide G, as shewn, through which the rod E passes, or by having short ropes
or chains attached to it, and to the large outside ring B. It is made of such
a weight as to fall, after having been raised, with some considerable force, and
tbus drive the water and sand or gravel over the edge of the central ring C,
and into the bag A, in which the sand or gravel subsides by gravity. To the
rings B and C are attached chains H, I, for the purpose of lowering the
apparatus down on to the bed of the river or other locality, and raising it out
of the water when the bag A is full of sand or gravel. It is evident that the
shape of the bag may be varied, thus, it may be of an oblong form, and the
agitator made of an inclined shape below, so as to drive the water and sand or
gravel in one direction only into the bag, or the agitator may be hinged or

page_text: jointed at one side, and be made to vibrate up and down, or sideways, being
actuated by a rope from above, as will be readily understood.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the exact proportions or form of the apparatuses as shewn on the
accompanying Drawing, as these may be variously modified without departing
from the principle of this Invention; but what I claim is,―
Firstly, the construction of an apparatus for excavating sand or gravel under
water, which is so arranged, that on being lowered down on to the bed of the
river or other locality under water where it is desired to excavate, sand or
gravel is drawn into the apparatus by suction, substantially as herein-beforo
described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 on the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly, the construction of an apparatus for excavating sand or gravel
under water, which is so arranged, that on being lowered down on to the bed
of the river or other locality under water where it is desired to excavate, a
disc or agitator is caused to move up and down, whereby the sand or gravel is
disturbed, and is drawn or forced into the apparatus, where it subsides,
substantially as herein-before described with reference to Figures 7 and 8 on
the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Howard John Kennard, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
H. J. KENNARD. (L.B.)