IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRILLING OR PERFORATING ROCKS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRILLING OR PERFORATING ROCKS."
A communication from abroad by Lewis Wood Tracy, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd August 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
DRILLING OR PERFORATING ROCKS." [A communication from abroad by Lewis
Wood Tracy, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer.]
This Invention has for its object the production of a portable rock-drill provided
with an automatic feed, and chiefly adapted to be operated by hand to drill holes in
any direction.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a rectangular frame
composed of two side rods and end-pieces in which the rods are secured by means
of nuts on their ends.
Between ears on the one end piece is held the upper part of the rear leg by
means of a bolt, the lower part fits telescopically in the upper part, and is provided
with an ajustable foot-piece, upon which the operator may place his foot to assist
in holding the machine steady while at work. Two other legs are provided,
consisting of pointed rods and tubular pieces pivoted in sockets. The sockets fit
on guide-rods, and are adapted to be moved along the same for the adjustment of
the machine in a horizontal position or in any angular position, and when it is
desired to drill upwardly the said tubular pieces of the front legs are secured in
lugs provided therefor on one of the end pieces. Rods of different lengths may be
used as required.

page_text: The body of the machine consists of a cylindrical shell, having sockets on its
sides which embrace the two side rods of the frame. These sockets extend rear-
wardly over the rods to provide bearings for a cam shaft. On the sides of the
cylindrical shell are longitudinal flanges which fit in grooves formed in the
front end piece, thereby holding the body with working parts steady as it slides
along the rods in feeding the drill to its work. The guide-rods are held in the
front end piece by means of set-screws.
A plunger is fitted to slide longitudinally and rotate in the cylindrical shell of
the body, and in its front end is held the drill or tool.
A spring located between the end of the cylindrical shell and a flange on the
plunger holds the plunger and drill in a position in which the end of the drill
bears against the bottom of the hole. On the other end of the plunger is secured
a ratchet wheel, against the side of which a tappet on the cam shaft acts to draw
the drill a short distance from the bottom of the hole after each stroke, and while
the plunger and drill are so held back a helical rib on the side of one of the cams is
in position to work the adjacent tooth of the ratchet-wheel, and so cause the
plunger and drill to partly rotate; these movements takes place during the time
the hammer is being moved back to impart the blow to the end of the plunger.
A hammer is secured to a bent spring held in a socket on the lower end of a
bracket projecting downwardly from the cylindrical shell. A spring holds the
ratchet-wheel from turning backwards. The said hammer is moved back by two
double cams secured to the shaft and rotated by means of crank-handles on the
ends of the cam-shaft, and which acts on rollers pivoted on a plate secured at their
lower ends and near the roller to the sides of the hammer by means of screw-bolts.
A series of tapped holes are provided in each side of the hammer arranged in a
circle whose centre is the lower holding screw bolt, thus enabling the force of the
blow to be regulated by setting the upper screw-bolt in any of the tapped holes,
and so governing the distance the hammer is moved back by the cams.
The hammer is not released from the ends of the cams until after the plunger
has been partly rotated by the helical rib and moved forward to press the end of
the drill against the bottom of the hole by the spring, and the feeding device has
been actuated. This feeding device consists of a hollow screw fitted to rotate in a
bearing on the top of the cylindrical shell, but without longitudinal freedom in said
bearing. A rod passes through the screw and through a ratchet-wheel, which is
fitted only to rotate in a bearing in line with the other bearing, and also forming
a part of or secured to the cylindrical shell. The rod is provided with a key and
the screw with a longitudinal slot, so that the screw is caused to rotate with the
rod, and on the end of the rod is secured a taper disc which fits into a corres-
pondingly-shaped recess in the side of the ratchet-wheel. It is held therein by a
spring with sufficient friction to cause the rod to turn with the ratchet wheel, or,
if desired, the edge of the disc and sides of the recess may be serrated. The hollow
screw passes through a plain semi-circular hole formed in the front end-piece of the
frame, to which is pivoted a half nut; this half nut is held down on the hollow
screw by a yoke and set-screw passing through the yoke, so that the body of the
machine and the drill are fed forward when the screw is rotated, which is done by
a tooth on one of the cams working in the teeth of the last named ratchet-wheel
just after the tappet has released the first named ratchet wheel and allowed the
drill to strike the bottom of the hole, as before described, and before the hammer is
allowed to strike against the end of the plunger.
By attaching the front legs to the rear end of the frame the machine may be set
to drill upwardly at any angle. And the machine may be readily set to enable
the drill to operate in a downward direction at any angle, in which case the front
legs may be removed, and the machine rest on the guide-bars and rear leg.
The helical ribs, instead of being on the side of one of the cams, may be formed
on the side of a separate plate secured to the cam-shaft. The teeth for actuating
the ratchet-wheel may also be on the side of a plate instead of on the cam.
The feed-mechanism may be modified by securing the disc on the rod near the

page_text: end of the hollow screw and fastening a recessed plate on the end of the screw
and cutting a spline-way through the ratchet wheel with a spline fitting therein on
the rod, so that the rod will always turn with the ratchet-wheel and only actuate
the feed-screw when the disc is in the recessed plate. Or the friction or other
connecting device of the feed-screw may be actuated by a rod lying parallel with
the screw instead of inside it; or from the rear end of the plunger.
On the front of the bracket on the shell is attached a buffer-spring against
which the hammer strikes before it drives the first named ratchet against the end
of the body, thereby preventing damage to the machine by cushioning the blow
of the hammer should the point of the drill not be against the bottom of the hole,
but the flange is so set in relation to the feed-mechanism which operates as
before described that the machine is always, when in operation, fed forward
sufficiently. to allow the spring to press the drill against the rock before the
hammer acts on the end of the plunger, to which it imparts its momentum
without touching the buffer-spring.
Belt or chain wheels may be substituted for the hand-cranks, and the drill
may be operated by steam or other power.
Instead of making the cams two-throw, they may, if a very hard blow is
desired, be made single-throw cams and the spring made stronger. The number
of tappets, helical ribs, and teeth, will correspond to the throws of the cams.
It is obvious that the feeding device is adapted to be used with other kinds of
rock drilling machines, and that parts of the machine described may be used
independently.

page_text: with the point of the drill f, and in starting the operation these pointed ends are
pressed into or against the rock a¹, as represented in Figures 1 and 7:
The plunger e is fitted to slide longitudinally and rotate in the cylindrical
shell c of the body, and in its front end is held the drill f.
The spring e³ located between the end of the cylindrical shell c and the flange e
on the plunger e holds the plunger and drill in the position shown in the Drawings,
so that the end of the drill bears against the bottom of the hole. On the other
end of the plunger e is secured the ratchet-wheel f¹, against the side of which one
of the tappets g on the shaft & acts to draw the drill a short distance from the
bottom of the hole after each stroke; and while the plunger and drill are so held
back one of the helical ribs g¹ on the side of one of the cams j is in position to
work the adjacent tooth of the ratchet wheel f¹, and so cause the plunger and drill
to partly rotate; these movements take place during the time the hammer is being
moved back to impart the blow to the end of the plunger. The hammer i is secured
to the bent spring held in a socket on the lower end of the bracket o³ projecting
downwardly from the cylindrical shell c. The spring f holds the ratchet-wheel
from turning backwards. The hammer i is moved back against the pressure of the
spring by the two double cams j, j, secured to the shaft d, and rotated by means
of the crank-handles k on the ends of the shaft d, and which act on the rollers ³, i³,
pivoted on the plates i, i, secured at their lower ends and near the rollers to the
sides of the hammer i by means of screw-bolts. A series of tapped holes are
provided in each side of the hammer arranged in a circle, whose centre is that of
the lower holding screw-bolt, as shown in Figure 1, thus enabling the force of the
blow to be regulated by inserting the upper screw-bolt in any of the tapped holes
and so governing the distance; the hammer is moved back by the cams j. j.
The hammer is not released from the ends of the cams j, j, until after the
plunger e has been partly rotated by the helical rib g', and moved forward to press
the end of the drill against the bottom of the hole by the spring e² and the
feeding device has been actuated. This feeding device consists of the hollow
screw fitted to rotate in the bearing on the top of the cylindrical shell o, but
without longitudinal freedom in the said bearing. The rod m passes through the
Screw and through the ratchet-wheel n, which is fitted only to rotate in the
bearing n¹ in line with the bearing, and also forming a part of or secured to
the cylindrical shell c. The rod m is provided with a key or pin taking into a
longitudinal slot in the screw 1, so that the screw is caused to rotate with the rod ;
but the rod is free to slide longitudinally in the screw, and on the end of the rod is
secured the taper disc m¹ which fits into a correspondingly shaped recess in the side
of the ratchet-wheel n. It is held therein by the spring m³ with sufficient friction to
cause the rod to turn with the ratchet-wheel; or if desired the edge of the disc m¹
and the sides of the recess may be serrated. The screw 2 passes through a plain
semi-circular hole formed in the front end piece a² of the frame, to which is hinged
the half nut ; this half nut is held down on the screw by the yoke l³ and a set
scrow passing through the yoke, so that the body of the machine and the drill are
fed forward when the screw is rotated, which is done by the tooth o on one of the
cams; working in the teeth of the ratchet wheel n just after the tappet g has
released the ratchet wheel f¹ and allowed the drill to strike the bottom of the hole,
as before described, and before the hammer is allowed to strike against the end of
the plunger.
The flange on the front end of the plunger e comes in contact with the front
end of the rod m when the plunger is being moved back, and so after each stroke
the taper disc m' is pushed clear of the ratchet-wheel n; and should the drill not
have cut into the hole sufficiently to allow the disc to fully enter the recess in the
ratchet wheel n, then when the ratchet is turned no motion is imparted to the
screw l, and the body and working parts of the machine do not move forward in
the frame; but after one or more strokes the disc m' will be gripped by the
ratchet wheel n and the body and other parts moved forward. These forward
feeding motions for each stroke are such as to be slightly in excess of the greatest

page_text: depth the drill will cut at each stroke in the softest rock it is designed to bore, so
that the end of the drill is always against the bottom of the hole when the blow
of the hammer is imparted to the end of the plunger, otherwise the force of the
blow would be received by the body of the machine.
Should the depth of the hole to be drilled be greater than the length of the feed-
screw Z, the half nut is thrown back when the machine has been moved forward
as far as the screw will move it, the set screws holding the guide bars a³ in the
end piece a are slackened, and the frame of the machine is pushed forward until
the half nut is again at the front end of the feed-screw. The half nut is then
closed down on the feed-screw, and the set-screws are again tightened and the
drilling operation continued, the drill feeding automatically forward until the
other end of the feed-screw again reaches the half nut, and so on, until the desired
depth of the hole is obtained.
By attaching the front legs to the rear end of the frame, as shown in Figure 7,
the machine may be set to drill upwardly at any angle. And it will be seen that the
machine may be readily set to enable the drill to operate in a downward direction
at any angle, in which case the front legs may be removed and the machine rest
on the guide bars a³, a³, and rear leg b.
The helical ribs g³, gl, instead of being on the side of one of the cams j, may be
formed on the side of a separate plate secured to the shaft d. The teeth o, o, for
actuating the ratchet wheel n may also be on the side of a plate instead of on the
cam j.
The feed mechanism may be modified by securing the disc on the rod m near the
end of the hollow screw Z, and fastening a recessed plate on the end of the screw
and cutting a splineway through the ratchet-wheel n with a spline fitting therein
on the rod m, so that the rod will always turn with the ratchet-wheel n and only
actuate the feed screw when the disc is in the recessed plate, or the friction or
other connecting device of the feed-screw may be actuated by a rod lying parallel
with the screw instead of inside it, or from the rear end of the plunger e.
On the front of the bracket c is attached the buffer-spring against which the
hammer i strikes before it drives the ratchet fl against the end of the body c,
thereby preventing damage to the machine by cushioning the blow of the hammer
should the point of the drill not be against the bottom of the hole; but the
flange is so set in relation to the feed-mechanism, which operates as before
described, that the machine is always, when in operation, fed forward sufficiently
to allow the spring e³ to press the drill against the rock before the hammer acts on
the end of the plunger e to which it imparts its momentum without touching the
buffer-spring is.
Belt or chain wheels may be substituted for the hand-cranks k, and the drill
may be operated by steam or other power.
Instead of making the cams j, j, two-throw, they may if a very hard blow is
desired be made single-throw cams, and the spring i' be made stronger. The
number of tappets g, helical ribs g³, and teeth o will correspond to the number of
throws of the cams.
It is obvious that the feeding device is adapted to be used with other kinds 4
of rock-drilling machines, and that parts of the machine described may be used
independently.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I do not confine myself to the particular construction and arrangement of the
various devices, but I claim,-
First. A hand-power rock-drilling machine composed of a spring-acting hammer,
a drill-holder, and a hand-operating device for pressing back the hammer carried by
a body adapted to slide on a fixed frame in combination with an automatic feed
device connecting the body to the frame actuated by the drill-holder to feed the 5
body and operating parts forward as fast as the drill enters the rock, substantially
as hereinbefore set forth.

page_text: Second. In combination a spring-acting hammer, rotating cams, a sliding drill-
holder, and a buffer-spring adapted and arranged to receive the blows of the
hammer when the drill is away from the rock, being operated on, substantially as
described.
Third. In a rock drilling machine, a spring-acting hammer provided with
adjustable rollers, in combination with cams secured to a rotating shaft at right
angles to the motion of the hammer, whereby the force of the blow is regulated by
the distance the hammer is moved back by the cams, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. In a rock-drilling machine, in combination a drill-holding plunger with
a ratchet-wheel on the rear end of the same, a tappet on a transversely rotating
shaft adapted to withdraw the drill from the bottom of the hole by acting against
the side of the ratchet-wheel, and a helical rib on the side of a cam or plate secured
to the shaft, and arranged to work in the teeth of the ratchet wheel to partly
rotate the plunger when the plunger is held back by the tappet, substantially as
and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
Fifth. In a frame for rock-drilling machines, in combination two rods connected
at their ends by end pieces, the rear leg pivoted to one of the end pieces, two
adjustable guide-rods secured in the other end piece by means of set-screws, and
two legs pivoted in sockets adapted to slide along the said guide-rods, and be
clamped or secured thereto, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set
forth.
Sixth. In a feeding device for rock-drilling machines, in combination a hollow
screw working in a bearing on the body and through a nut on the frame; a rod
extending through the screw but adapted to turn therewith; a taper disc secured
to the end of the rod; a ratchet-wheel fitted in a bearing on the body and recessed
out to receive the disc; a spring for pressing the disc in the recess; a tooth on the
side of a cam j or plate secured to the driving shaft, and adapted to actuate the
said ratchet wheel, and a flange on the front end of the drill-carrying plunger
to hold the disc out of the recess, substantially as and for the purposes herein before
set forth.
Seventh. In a rock drilling machine, in combination, the spring-acting hammer,
the cams on a transverse shaft, the drill-holding plunger adapted to receive the
blows from the hammer, and provided with a flange for holding the connecting
gear of the feeding device out of gear until the force of the blows of the hammer
have driven the drill forward such a distance as to require a feeding forward of the
working parts of the machine, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. The combination with the rear leg of a hand-power rock-drill of an
adjustable foot-piece, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
Ninth. In a hand-power rock-drill, the frame composed of two rods secured
together by two end pieces in combination with the body provided with two
sockets to fit over the rods, and two flanges adapted to fit into grooves of one
of the end pieces of the frame, substantially as and for the purpose herein before
set forth.
Tenth. In a rock drilling machine, the spring-acting hammer i, the cams
secured to the transverse shaft d, the drill-holding plunger e, the ratchet wheel f",
the tappets g, g, the helical ribs g¹, gl, the flange e³, spring e, screw 1, half nut 1,
rod m, taper disc m², spring m³, ratchet-wheel n, and teeth o, o, constructed and
combined substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.