IMPROVEMENTS IN PIERS OR SUPPORTS FOR BRIDGES. VIADUCTS, LIGHTHOUSES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Nathan Maynard, of the Viaduct Works,
Crumlin, in the County of Monmouth, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PIERS OR SUPPORTS FOR BRIDGES. VIADUCTS, LIGHTHOUSES,
Sealed the 14th June 1870, and dated the 30th December 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Nathan Maynard
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his l'etition, on
the 30th December 1869.
I, HENRY NATHAN MAYNARD, of the Viaduct Works, Crumlin, in
the County of Monmouth, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIERS OR SUPPORTS FOR BRIDGES, VIADUCTS,
LIGHTHOUSES, BEACONS, JETTIES, BREAKWATERS, AND SUCH LIKE STRUCTURES," to
be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object, firstly, to enable piers or supports for
bridges, lighthouses, jetties, breakwaters, and such like structures to be
erected in a greater depth of water than has hitherto been possible; and,
secondly, to obviate the use of cylinders of large diameters, such as have

page_text: been hitherto employed for piers for bridges when erected in water of
any considerable depth.
My Invention consists mainly in the employment for the above
purpose of screw or other piles, over which are fitted louse sleeves or
tubes, which both act as guides and lateral supports to the piles, and
also afford rigidity to the structure by being connected before immersion
to the sleeves or tubes of the contiguous piles by means of lateral stays
or bracings. Such piers or supports may be variously constructed
according to circumstances. Thus in one arrangement I fit together
above the place where the pier is to be erected a certain length of such
combined sleeves (which may either be formed of tubes, or be an open
or skeleton structure built up of angle, T, or other iron) braced together,
into each of which I insert a corresponding length of the screw or other
pile provided at certain intervals with suitable guides (which may be
either discs or projecting arms or screw bolts) for affording lateral
support, and I then lower such combined length of the structure into
the water.
To the upper end of such structure I then connect a second
length of combined sleeves and piles, which is then lowered with the
first length, and so on till the lower ends of the screw or other piles
(which may project some distance below the sleeves) reach the bed of
the river, sca, or other water. The piles are then driven into the
ground to the requisite extent either by screwing or otherwise, the
tubular sleeves affording the requisite guide and support for this purpose,
and serving also to tie two or more of such piles together, thus producing
a firm structure when the piles have been driven.
If the sleeves are constructed of wrought or cast iron tubes they
may with advantage be filled in with cement or concrete after the piles
have been driven or screwed in, so as to protect these from oxidation.
The upper ends of the piles are connected to and serve to support the
superstructure in the usual manner.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry Nathan Maynard, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry Nathan Maynard; my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Nathan Maynard,
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 PIERS OR SUPPORTS FOR BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, LIGHTHOUSES,
BRACONS, JETTIES, BREAKWATERS, AND
the
STRUCTURES," upon
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Nathan Maynard,
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.
LIKE
SUCH
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Nathan Maynard, 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 Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention has for its object, firstly, to enable piers or supports for
bridges, lighthouses, jettics, breakwaters, and such like structures to be
erected in a greater depth of water than has hitherto been possible; and,
secondly, to obviate the use of cylinders of large diameters, such as
have been hitherto employed for piers for bridges when erected in water
of any considerable depth.
My Invention consists mainly in the employment for the above
purpose of screw or other piles, over which are fitted loose sleeves or
tubes, which both act as guides and lateral supports to the piles, and
also afford rigidity to the structure by being connected before immersion
to the sleeves or tubes of the contiguous piles by means of lateral stays

page_text: or bracings. Such piers or supports may be variously constructed
according to circumstances. Thus in one arrangement I fit together
nhove the place where the pier is to be erected a certain length of such
combined sleeves (which may either be formed of tubes, or be an open
or skeleton structure built up of angle, T, or other iron) braced
together, into each of which I insert a corresponding length of the
screw or other pile provided at certain intervals with suitable guides
(which may be either discs on projecting arms or screw bolts) for
affording lateral support, and I then lower such combined length of the
structure into the water. To the upper end of such structure I then
connect a second length of combined sleeves and piles, which is then
lowered with the first length, and so on till the lower end of the screw
or other piles (which may project some distance below the sleeves) reach
the bed of the river, sea, or other water. The piles are then driven into
the ground to the requisite extent either by screwing or otherwise, the
tubular sleeves affording the requisite guide and support for this
purpose, and serving also to tie two or more of such piles together, thus
producing a firm structure when the piles have been driven.
If the sleeves are constructed of wrought or cast iron tubes they may
with advantage be filled in with cement or concrete after the piles have
been driven or screwed in so as to protect these from oxidation. The
upper ends of the piles are connected to and serve to support the super-
structure in the usual manner.
Having thus set forth the nature of my Invention, I will now proceed
more particularly to describe the manner of performing the same, for
which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
shewing some of the various arrangements by which my Invention may
be applied to different structures.
Figures and 1 shew respectively an elevation and a plan of a set of
four piles A combined with bracings B and sleeves C, and resting on the
ground after having been lowered in their connected condition from
the floating stage D, and temporarily moored into position by mooring
chains E worked by capstans F ready for screwing down the piles
suitable for a bridge or pier.
Figure 2 shews an elevation of a similar structure after the piles A
have been screwed into the requisite depth, and with the super-
structure G of the bridge resting upon it. The sleeves or tubes Care
here also shewn driven into the ground by weighting or otherwise, so as

page_text: to afford additional support. The piles are guided and supported laterally
during the process of screwing by means of the couplings H (shewn in
enlarged section and plan at Figures 18 and 18), which form guides,
either these themselves or the pins or cotters H thereof being made of
such a size as to fit easily into the tubes or sleeves C.
Figures 18 and 18 also show one mode of connecting the bracing
B, B, to the flanges C' of the sleeves C, which in this case are supposed
to be of cast iron. Should the structure require to be of greater depth
than can be conveniently lowered at once from the stage D, then a
certain combined length is first lowered into the position shewn in
Figure 1, after which a second combined length is connected on to it
and is lowered in like manner, and so on till the bottom is reached.
Should the bottom be of rock, such that screw piles could not be used,
then the braced sleeves are first lowered with or without some of the
piles in order temporarily to steady the structure in position; after
which boring rods are introduced for boring holes in which to secure the
piles, as shewn at Figure 3, where at A a pile is temporarily inserted
resting on the rock, while at A' a hole is about being bored, and at A' a
pile is already lewised into the.rock.
Figure 4 shews a plan of an arrangement of five groups or clusters K, K',
of three piles each, those at K shewing the arrangement below water,
while those at K' being above water are braced together by additional
bracings B'.
This arrangement is particularly applicable to piers for
swing bridges, &c.
Figure shews a plan below water of a similar arrangement of six
clusters K, K, suitable for a lighthouse.
Figures 6 and 7 shew respectively a plan below and above water of
an arrangement suitable for a pier for a bridge of about 180 feet span.
Figures and shew similar plans of an arrangement suitable for
piers of bridges of larger spans.
Figures 10 and 11 shew respectively a side and end elevation of an
arrangement in sets of six piles combined to form the supports of the
deep water end of a jetty.
°
Figures 12 and 13 indicate respectively an elevation and plan of an
arrangement shewing the application of my Invention to a timber
structure, a cluster of four piles A, A, with sleeves C of timber being
bound together by timber bracing B; the bottom tier is formed into a

page_text: The pile engine may
ballast box I to assist in sinking the structure.
rest on the structure itself, as partly shewn in dotted lines.
Figure 14 shews a plan of a set of four piles A, with cast-iron sleeves C
connected by means of cast-iron plate bracings B strengthened by means
of tie bars N, thus forming an enclosed space M, which may be filled
in with concrete or other materials. In some cases the before-mentioned
wood sleeves nay if desired also be filled in with cement or concrete
after the piles have been driven.
Figure 15 shews a plan of an arrangement similar to the foregoing,
but having wrought-iron plate bracings B secured to flanges on the
sleeves, and strengthened by cross tie bars N.
Figure 16 shews a plan of another modification of this arrangement,
in which a set of three piles A with wrought-iron sleeves C enclosed in
a cylindrical wrought-iron plate bracing also filled in with concrete,
the sleeves being formed of two semi-cylindrical clip plates of wrought
iron bolted or rivetted together longitudinally.
Figure 17 shews an enlarged detail, partly in elevation and partly in
section, of an arrangement in which the pile A is cut off above high
water level, and the bearing transferred to the upper portion of the
structure by means of a strong iron plate O resting upon the end of the
pile and bolted between the joint of the sleeve C and column C'. The
upper portion of the pier from this point may be constructed of any
suitable materials different from the lower part without interfering
with the arrangement described.
Figures 18 and 18 shew, as before mentioned, an enlarged section and
plan of the coupling of the pile A inside the cast-iron sleeve C, and also
the connection of the bracing B to the flanges of the sleeves, a wrought-
iron plate P' being also secured between the flanges, to which is attached
a tie rod Q.
Figures 19 and 19" shew respectively a detail elevation and plan of
the connection of the bracing to a plain wrought-iron sleeve; and
Figures 20 and 20 shew similar views of an open or skeleton sleeve
with bracing attached, the sleeve being built up of longitudinal, T, angle;
or other iron R, R, tied together at intervals as shewn, within which the
pile A is situated.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner it is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I in no

page_text: way limit myself to the precise arrangements for carrying the same into
practice as herein-before described and shewn on the accompanying
Drawing, as these may be variously modified without departing from the
nature of my Invention; but what 1 claim is,-
First. Constructing piers or supports for bridges, jetties, lighthouses,
and such like structures of piles enclosed in sleeves or tubes acting as
guides and lateral supports thereto, two or more of such sleeves or
tubes being braced together before immersion, substantially as and for
the purposes herein-before set forth.
Second. The various arrangements of such aforesaid combined piles
and braced sleeves or tubes herein-before described with reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Nathan Maynard, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this 22nd day of Junc, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
HENRY NATHAN MAYNARD. (L.S.)