IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REMOVING EARTH, GRAVEL, SAND, MUD, SILT, AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William
Warwick, Engineer, for the
Howard, of Birmingham, in the County of
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR REMOVING EARTH, GRAVEL, SAND, MUD, SILT, AND OTHER
SIMILAR MATERIALS."
Scaled the 24th December 1878, and dated the 26th June 1878.
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Howard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th June 1878.
WILLIAM HOWARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer.
"IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REMOVING EARTH, GRAVEL, SAND;
MUD, SILT, AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS."
The object of my present Invention is to separate or divide earth and other
materials intended to be removed into clods or pieces by an implement resembling
a plough in the cutting part, and having a shoot or trough with a travelling band
or apron on or along the bottom thereof for conveying such materials into wagons,
barges, or other suitable repositories, for removal; or, in certain cases, the materials
may be deposited to form dykes or embankments, as may be required.
In carrying my present Invention into practice, I construct a strong elliptical
or other shaped angle-iron frame and support it at each end on travelling wheels.
Fitted to such frame is a bracket or brackets, to which is jointed a single or double
set of cutters resembling plough gear, of any convenient form to suit the various
kinds of earth or other materials to be removed. I prefer to make the mould
boards at each side of the cutters to turn the excavated materials over towards the
centre.
The excavated materials are carried up against a transverse breaking wheel,
which is fitted with blades or tines, and by it such materials as require it are cut or
broken transversely into pieces, for convenience of removal.
I also joint to the said bracket or brackets a shoot or trough which is fitted on
the bottom with rollers supported in suitable bearing rails. I fit the bottom of
Price G71

page_text: the said shoot with an endless band or apron, and cause the same to travel by
rotating the said rollers in any suitable manner.
The clods and other materials are thrown upon the said band or apron by the said
transverse breaking wheel and are thereby conveyed along the said shoot, and
discharged at the extreme end thereof into wagons, barges, or other suitablo
repositories, for removal; or the said excavated materials may be deposited to form
dykes or embankments, as may be required.
The said shoot is fitted with a swivelling joint to enable it to be turned to any
angle to the frame of the machinery for convenience of discharging the said mate-
rials; and it may also be made telescopic, or be formed of different pieces or lengths,
as may be required.
When I construct the said machinery with a double set of cutting gear I fit one
set at each end of the said frame, and connect them by a chain or links to balance
each other, so that the said machinery may work at either end without turning it
round.
The said machinery is drawn backwards and forwards by a wire rope or other
suitable means over the ground to be operated on for removal by two ordinary
portable winding engines, such as are used for steam ploughing, of any suitable
kind.
My said improved machinery operates on the intervening ground between the
said engines in a similar manner to a plough, but removes the excavated mate-
rials by the said shoot, instead of simply turning them over, as is done in ordinary
ploughing. I prefer to arrange the working so that one of the said engines should
draw the said machinery forward, while at the same time the other engine is used
to drive the said breaking wheel and the band or apron along the said shoot, as
described. I connect the said breaking wheel by bevil-tooth gearing in any suitable
manner, and drive the same by a hempen rope or other suitable means..
When the said machine is drawn backwards to make the return cut, the action
.of the said two winding engines is changed, so that both engines work alternately
in drawing the said machinery and in driving the gearing for removing the mate-
rials excavated.
The said winding engines are stationary while at work, and draw tho said
excavating machinery backwards and forwards between them. Instead of attaching
the said engines. to the said machinery to draw it direct, I also use anchors or
similar well-known devices for guiding the draw rope as required.
When I use my said Invention for removing materials from under water, I
construct the apparatus in a similar manner to that described, but instead of using
ordinary winding engines I draw the excavator or machine by means of floating
engines of any suitable kind, and convey the materials thus excavated into barges,
instead of wagons.
I prefer to submerge the said barges, and suspend them in any suitable manner
from a floating barge or vessel; my object herein being that I thereby do not
require to raise the materials so high before depositing them in such barges or other
suitable repositories for removal, and consequently the said materials are raised by
an expenditure of less power than if they were raised above the surface of the
water and deposited in floating barges or other vessels for removal
Or I modify the previous arrangements by using ordinary winding engines
stationed on one or both the banks, and by them I draw the submerged excavating
machinery backwards and forwards as previously described, and deposit the mate-
rials so excavated into submerged or other barges for removal.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Howard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
December 1878.
WILLIAM HOWARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REMOVING EARTH, GRAVEL, SAND,
MUD, SILT, AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS."
The object of my present Invention is to separate or divide earth and other
materials intended to be removed into clods or pieces by an implement resembling
a plough in the cutting part, and having attached thereto a shoot or shoots with a
travelling band or apron on or along the bottom thereof for conveying such mate-
rials into wagons, barges, or other suitable repositories, for removal; or, in certain
cases, to deposit the materials so as to form dykes or embankments, as may bo
required.
In carrying my present Invention into practice, I construct a strong rectangular
or other shaped angle-iron frame and support it at each end on travelling wheels..
Fitted to such frame is a bracket or brackets, to which is jointed a single or double
set of cutters, resembling plough gear, of any convenient form to suit the various
kinds of earth or other materials to be removed.
The materials to be excavated are first divided into clods or pieces by the said
plough gear and are then carried into the said shoot or shoots, along which they are
carried until they are discharged into vehicles which may be placed alongside the
cutting, or discharged so as to form an embankment, as may be required.
When I construct the said machine with a double set of cutting gear, I fit one
sot at each end of the said frame, so that such machine may work at either end,
without turning it round.
.
The said machine is drawn backwards and forwards by a rope or other suitable
means over the ground to be excavated, alternately by two ordinary portable or
other winding engines, such as are used for steam ploughing, of any suitable kind.
Such engines may either be stationary when at work, or may be attached to the
said machine in any suitable manner and travel with it; or the machine may be
drawn by mechanisin impelled by wind, water, or by animal power, in any suitable
manner.
The said improved machinery operates on the intervening ground between the
said engines in a similar manner to a plough, and at the same time removes tho
excavated materials by the said shoots.
The said delivery shoots are fitted with rollers, upon which is carried the said
band or apron, which band or apron is formed of wire cloth, leather, strong cord
cloth, or similar material or materials. The said rollers are driven by ropes or
chains passing around pullies attached to such rollers. The said ropes or chains
may either be driven by making a rope or chain along the cutting, fast at both
ends, and passed around a grooved or other pulley attached to the said machine,
so that as the said machine is drawn backwards and forwards it drives the said
rollers at the same speed as the machine progresses; or it may be done by one of
the said engines driving a special line for the purpose.
Instead of two portable winding engines, as described, I use two winding frames,
fitted with apparatus for pulling the drag line of the said excavating machine.
I give notion to the said apparatus by a steam engine driving a suitable rope, and
usually at a higher speed than the said drag line, so as to reduce the strain upon the
said driving rope. This arrangement I prefer to use in situations where, from the
softness of the soil or the difficulty of placing ordinary portable winding engines,
there may be obstacles in using two engines, as previously described.
The winding engines or frames are in general stationary when at work, and
draw by wire ropes, or other suitable means, the excavating machinery backwards

page_text: and forwards between them; but instead of attaching the said engines or frames to
the said machinery to draw it direct, I may use anchors or similar well-known
devices for guiding the draw line as required.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
I now proceed to describe my said Invention more particularly, reference
being made to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings by the reference letters
marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the general arrangement of the said
machine.
a is the framing braced with brackets b at each end, which rest upon the
wheels c; these wheels are carried by brackets c³, to which are attached arms c²
worked by the screw and hand wheel c³, so that by turning such screw the said
wheels are swivelled to turn the machine as required.
The spring hook d is arranged to slip when the cutters e meet an obstruction in
the ground, such as roots of trees or large stones, and by slipping the drag line to
prevent injury to the cutters or machinery.
Or the said engines for drawing the said machine may be fitted with a friction or
other clutch to stop the winding when the strain on the drag line exceeds a deter-
mined limit. The general arrangement of such friction gear is well understood,
and, as I do not confine myself to any particular form of it, I need not describe it
further.
Upon the framing of the said machine are carried the stages f for supporting the
transverse shoots g. The said shoots may be of any required length, and may
either be horizontal, as shown, or be inclined to any angle, to discharge the exca-
vated materials into a train of wagons w, which may be placed alongside the
intended cutting, or they may be drawn by one of tho said engines at a reduced
speed, compared with the said machine, to facilitate the discharge of the materials
into wagons. The said shoots may also be fitted to discharge the excavated mate-
rials to form an embankment, as required.
The clevator is carried by the trunnion and screws i, and is capable of being
raised and lowered by the worms and pitch wheels ¹ fitted to the said screws. In
certain cases I fit the said trunnions in brackets supported on the said framing, and
dispense with the said screws.
This elevator and transverse shoots are fitted with a travelling apron or
endless wob of wire-cloth, leather, or other suitable material, supported upon rollers
fitted to the framing of the said shoots upon which the excavated materials are
· conveyed. Or the said shoots may be fitted with strips of iron or other metal
attached to a pitch chain of any suitable kind. The said wire-cloth or substituto
therefor is moved by passing around rollers h' at the ends of the several frames.
These rollers are driven by ropes or chains ³ (not shown in Fig. 2) passed around
pullies h³, or by other suitable means.
In some cases motion is given to the said pullics by a rope or chain / made fast
at both ends of the cutting, and passed around the pulley h, so that by the machine
travelling backwards and forwards in the track of such rope or chain, motion is
imparted to the said rollers at a speed corresponding to the speed of the machine
along the ground.
In other cases, I drive the rope or chain h² by a special driving line, by one of
the engines, independently of the traction of the said machine; thus one engine
would be employed in drawing the machine, and thereby effect the cutting of the
soil, while, at the same time, the other engine is employed in driving the said
rollers to deliver the soil as it is excavated.
In other cases, I drive the said ropes or chains 2 by a small steam engine
carried on or connected to the framing a.
The elevator h is balanced on the said trunnion i, and the inclination to which it
is set is reversed, and also the relative position of the stages f is changed when the

page_text: machine is worked on the return cut; this change may be effected by attaching the
draw gear to the said clevator; or it may be done by hand by attaching ropes or
other means thereto, and connecting such ropes to a hand winch 7 on the framing.
The cutting gear e is formed, by preference, in double set to avoid turning the
machine; it is attached to strong brackets e carried by the framing. The sot not
in use is raised up by any suitable means to keep it clear of the ground.
•
The cutters may be of any convenient shape, to suit the various kinds of soil
required to work in, but I prefer the shape now shown. Theso I prefer to make of
steel, and I securely fix them between a top and bottom plate of iron in such a
manner that they may be removed when required.
When working in clay, I prefer to admit water to leak from between the said
plates to facilitate the cutting of such clay. I carry the water in a suitable tank
and convey it to the said plates by suitable pipes when required.
In order to facilitate the conveyance of the excavated materials across the said
top plate, I make it narrower than shown in the Drawing, and fit the space
between the said plate and the elevator / with a travelling web, of any suitable,
material supported upon small rollers similar to those described for the larger
shoots g and elevator h.
For the same object of facilitating the conveyance of the excavated materials
across the said top plate when they are of a very friable nature, as sand or gravel,
I fit pitch chains with spikes or blades and drive the same around rollers placed
above the said top plate, so as to drag the excavated materials across the said plate.
The said pitch chains are driven at the same speed as the machine progresses over
the ground, and in the same manner as the pullies ³ are driven.
I fit a strong bar m into which I fit cutters to divide the soil longitudinally, like
the coulters used in ploughing. I support the main framing by a truss n, in any
suitable manner.
In adapting my said Invention for removing materials from under water, I
construct the apparatus in a similar manner to that described, but prefer fitting it
with only a single set of cutters, and, in general, I dispense with the transverse
delivering shoots.
Instead of using ordinary winding engines, I draw the excavator or machine by
means of floating engines of any suitable kind, and convey the materials thus
excavated into barges instead of wagons.
I prefer to submerge the barges and suspend them in any suitable manner from
floating barges or vessels, my object herein being that I thereby do not require to
raise the excavated materials so high, before depositing them in such barges or
other suitable repositories for removal, and consequently the said inaterials are
raised by a less expenditure of power than if they were raised above the surface of
the water and deposited in floating barges or other vessels for removal.
Or I modify the previously described arrangements by using ordinary winding
engines stationed upon one or both banks, and by them I draw the submerged
excavating machinery backwards and forwards, as previously described, and deposit
the materials excavated into submerged or other barges for removal.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the method of performing the same, I further state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details or dimensions thereof now illustrated, because, from the
nature of my said Invention, these may be considerably modified in practice with-
out departing from the main characteristics of my said Invention, but what I
specifically claim as novel, and desire to secure by the before-mentioned in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
Firstly. The machinery or apparatus for cutting and delivering earth and other
material, substantially as herein described.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of the shoots for delivering the
excavated materials, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Thirdly. The construction and arrangement of the cutters, and the apparatus for

page_text: moistening the plates attached to such cutters for facilitating the cutting of clay,
substantially as described.
Fourthly. The construction and arrangement of pitch chains fitted with spikes
or blades to assist in dragging earth of a friable nature over the top plate of the
cutters, substantially as described.
Fifthly. The construction of the slip hook connecting the excavating machine
with the drag line, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Sixthly. The method of adapting the said machinery or apparatus for working
under water, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Howard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.