IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING UNDER WATER AND FOR RAISING AND LOWERING MATERIALS IN OR OUT OF WATER
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fothergil Batho and Percy David
Hedderwick, of Westminster, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING UNDER WATER AND FOR RAISING AND LOWERING
MATERIALS IN OR OUT OF WATER."
Sealed the 27th February 1874, and dated the 14th November 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fothergil
Batho and Percy David Hedderwick at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 14th November
1873.
We, WILLIAM FOTHERGIL BATHO and PERCY DAVID HEDDERWICK,
of Westminster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING UNDER WATER AND FOR RAISING AND
LOWERING MATERIALS IN OR OUT OF WATER," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements upon an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to the said William Fothergil Batho,
bearing date the 19th May 1873, No. 1809, a communication from
abroad by William Duff Bruce, of Calcutta, India, entitled "Improved

page_text: Apparatus for Excavating Under Water and for Raising and Lowering
Materials in or out of Water."
In this present Invention the spades hinge on levers radiating from
the centre of a vertical spindle. These levers work on trunnions at the
base of the vertical spindle. The opening and closing of the excavator
is effected by raising or lowering a bush, which is free to slide on the
vertical spindle. To this bush the upper extremities of the spades are
attached by means of rigid connecting rods.
The bush is actuated for opening and closing the excavator by means
of chains, one attached to the upper end and three or more, according to
the number of spades, to the lower end. "These latter pass under pulleys
or sheaves and up the centre of the vertical spindle. By suspending the
machine by the chain attached to the upper end of the bush the
excavator is opened, and by suspending it by the chains attached to the
lower end of the bush it is closed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Fothergil Batho and Percy David
Hedderwick in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th May
1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
FOTHERGIL BATHO and PERCY DAVID HEDDERWICK, of Westminster,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said William Fothergil Batho
and Percy David Hedderwick, Her special licence that we, the said
William Fothergil Batho and Percy David Hedderwick, executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William
Fothergil Batho and Percy David Hedderwick, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
EXCAVATING UNDER WATER AND FOR RAISING AND LOWERING MATERIALS IN OR
OUT OF WATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
William Fothergil Batho and Percy David Hedderwick, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one
of our or 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Fothergil Batho and
Percy David Hedderwick, do hereby declare the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in certain improvements upon an Invention
for which Letters Patent were granted to William Fothergil Batho,
dated 19th May 1873, No. 1809, and entitled "Improved Apparatus for
Excavating Under Water and for Raising and Lowering Materials in
and out of Water." In one arrangement of that apparatus there are
three spades so shaped and placed as to form when together a hemisphero
or a portion of a hemisphere. The spades are fixed to double levers
hinged to pins on a centre boss on the level of the centre, from which
the curves of the spades are struck, the levers being so bent as to cross
each other, and one end of the levers is jointed to connecting rods
hinged to a sliding collar acted upon from above by a rope or chain to
close the spades, and the other ends of the levers are jointed to other
rods connected to another collar also acted upon from above by a rope or
chain to open the spades.
:
The object of the present Invention is to simplify the construction of
the machine in order. to obtain greater efficiency, effect economy, and
prevent the parts from clogging.
The manner in which this Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Figures and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in

page_text: which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one arrangement of our improved
machinery or apparatus, and Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, are plans of some of
the parts.
a, Figs. 1 and 2 are the spades (here three are shown), so shaped and
placed as to form when together a hemisphere or portion of a hemisphere.
The centre part of each of these spades is fixed to one end of an arm 6,
having at its other end pivots or pins c working in steel bushes d,
which are fitted in a block e keyed to the malleable iron tube f, and
strengthened by means of a wrought-iron ring shrunk round lower end
of tube. The arms 6 are made fast to the steel pins c, on which they
work by means of a set screw g, and the spades a are free to move
upwards and downwards from each other until they are in the position
indicated by the dotted lines a¹, Fig. 1. The malleable iron tube f
extends upwards to any required height, and at a level indicated on
Drawing in Fig. 1 there are cut three slots i to admit a set of sheaves j,
which are carried by three pairs of snugs / fixed to the tube ƒ by means
of two malleable iron rings 7 shrunk round them. The sheaves j revolve
on steel pins m equal in number to the spades, and directly over their
centre lines. Snugs n on the outer ends of the arms 6 or on the top of
the spades are jointed to the lower forked ends of rods o, which are
connected at their other ends to a collar p, Figs. 1 and 4, which can
slide up and down on the tube fand carry a weight or rammer q to be
used when required; and to the collar p is attached a chain r. From
links or other attachments on the collar are suspended small chains 8,
which pass first under the sheaves and then upwards to be linked to a
guide block t, Figs. 1 and 5, which fits loosely in the tube f, and through
the guide block there is a cotter working in slots u, Fig. 5, cut in
opposite sides of the tube for the purpose of preventing the guide
block t turning round, and also for limiting the opening of the spades,
according to the length of the slots. At the top of the guide block there
is an eye, to which is attached or linked one end of a chain v,
having its other end fastened to the drum of a winch crab or crane,
and at the lower end of the tube there are partitions w, Fig. 3, for
preventing the chains & interlocking with each other.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The spades a are closed by
hauling on the chain and slacking the chain r, and thus pulling the
collar p towards the sheaves j, thereby causing the spades by means of
to come together; and the rammer q is used to
the rods o and arms

page_text: assist the operation when required by its being lifted and then dropped
on the collar p to force it down and act upon the rods and spades.
To open the spades the chain is gently slackened and the chain r
made fast, and thus the tube will be lowered, carrying with it the ends
of the arms b, and causing the spades to open out from each other to the
position indicated by the dotted lines a¹, Fig. 1.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
understood that we do not intend to claim any of the mechanical parts
of the apparatus before described separately or apart from the application
and combination thereof as herein-before described, but what we do
claim is, the mode of opening and closing the spades of the excavator by
means of chains passing through a hollow tube or spindle in combination
with a collar p sliding on the tube and connected with the spades,
substantially as shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fothergil Batho, for and
on behalf of myself and the said Percy David Hedderwick, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.