IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING AND SECURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME, AND FOR CARRYING ON OTHER OPERATIONS UNDER WATER
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Henry Tuck, of Great George Street, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING AND SECURING TELEGRAPHIC
CABLES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME, AND FOR CARRYING ON OTHER
OPERATIONS UNDER WATER."
Sealed the 14th May 1859, and dated the 17th November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Henry Tuck
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th November 1858.
I, JOSEPH HENRY TUCK, of Great George Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING AND SECURING TELE-
GRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME, AND FOR CARRYING ON OTHER
OPERATIONS UNDER WATER," to be as follows:-
My Invention with reference to laying and securing telegraphic cables
consists in the mode herein-after described of forming a channel to receive
the cable, and afterwards of securing it therein; also in the use of the
apparatus herein-after described for the purpose. And with reference to
carrying on other operations under water, my Invention consists in the use
of similar apparatus, modified as described, for the various purposes of
excavating or cutting channels, forming foundations, and other similar works.
The apparatus for cutting channels consists of a carriage, on which is or
are mounted an engine or engines, intended to be driven by water or other

page_text: liquids, or by air or other fluids, and a set or sets of rotary cutters driven by
means of suitable gearing, the front bearing wheels of the carriage being
also driven thereby, in order to move it forward as the work proceeds. On
the frame of the carriage is or are also mounted a set or sets of clearing
tools following the cutters or excavating tools, and capable of turning off the
debris as left by the cutters. On the axle of the said clearing tools are also
mounted bearing wheels, to which axle is jointed the hinder part of the
carriage, in which is or are mounted a wheel or pair of wheels with broad
flanges and a segmental guide, through which the cable is or may be passed,
either from the surface of the water or from a drum or other carrier under
water, and laid in the channel as the carriage works forward; also at the
hinder end of the carriage is a platform, on which a diving bell may be
supported, or on which divers, protected by the usual armour, may work.
The carriage may also be worked forward by the divers instead of by the
engine, if preferred, or from a vessel, or from the shore.
The channel to receive the cable is intended to be formed with the lower
part, in which the cable is to be deposited, smaller than the upper part thereof,
and so as to be capable of supporting the covering of stones, or half pipes, or
other suitable material, or the stones or covering may be hollowed out for
the purpose of safely resting over the cable. In some cases the cover may
not be required, and particularly when pipes are laid in the channel instead
of telegraphic cables.
The carriage or apparatus above described may have combined with it
various forms of rotary or vibratory cutters, which may be mounted so as to
work either vertically. or horizontally, according to the nature of the work
required to be executed. This apparatus, or a modification thereof, may be
combined with a derrick or other lifting apparatus, when required.
Instead of the above-described carriage or apparatus may be used a heavy
block. capable of carrying an air or water engine or engines, and guiding
apparatus for boring or excavating tools, connected so as thus to be driven
by the engines or engines under water, or they may be worked by an engine
or by manual power from above.
Also, instead of the above-described carriage or apparatus; may be used a
diving bell, which I propose to mount on wheels if necessary, and with which
is to be connected an engine or engines driven by water or other incom-
pressible fluid. In cases wherein it is required to work under cover, the
apparatus above described, or a modification thereof, may be contained within
or under a diving bell or vessel.

page_text: Both the carriage or apparatus above described, and the diving bell, are to
be protected, if required, by guards of such form as to deflect the water from
the apparatus, to which guards are connected anchors and mooring apparatus
of the ordinary description.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Henry Tuck in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HENRY TUCK, of Great George Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Henry Tuck, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as-
I, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, 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 "IN-.
PROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING AND SECURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN
APPARATUS FOR THE SAME, AND FOR CARRYING ON OTHER OPERATIONS UNDER
WATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Henry.
Tuck, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Joseph Henry Tuck, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Mode of Laying and Securing
Telegraphic Cables, and in Apparatus for, the same, and for Carrying on other

page_text: Operations under Water," consists, with reference to laying and securing
telegraphic cables, in the mode herein-after described, of forming a channel
to receive the "cable, and afterwards of securing it therein; also in the use
of the apparatus, berein-after described, for the purpose. And with reference
to carrying on other operations under water, my Invention consists in the use
of similar apparatus, modified as described, for the various purposes of
excavating or cutting channels forming foundations and other similar works.
The apparatus for cutting channels consists of a carriage, on which is or
are mounted an engine or engines intended to be driven by water or other
liquids, or by air or other fluids, and a set or sets of rotary cutters driven by
means of suitable gearing, the front bearing wheels of the carriage being also
driven thereby, in order to move it forward as the work proceeds. On the
frame of the carriage is or are also mounted a set or sets of clearing tools,
following the cutters or excavating tools, and capable of turning off the debris
as left by the cutters. On the axle of the said clearing tools are also
mounted bearing wheels, to which axle is jointed the hinder part of the
carriage, in which is or are mounted a wheel or pair of wheels, with broad
flanges and a segmental guide, through which the cable is or may be passed,
either from the surface of the water or from a drum or other carrier under
water, and laid in the channel as the carriage works forward; also at the
hinder end of the carriage is a platform, on which a diving bell may be sup-
ported, or on which divers, protected by the usual armour, may work. The
carriage may also be worked forward by the divers instead of by the engine,
if preferred, or from a vessel, or from the shore.
The channel to receive the cable is intended to be formed with the lower
part, in which the cable is to be deposited, smaller than the upper part thereof,
and so as to be capable of supporting the covering of stones, or half pipes, or
other suitable material or form of covering, or the stones or covering may be
hollowed.out for the purpose of safely resting over the cable. In some cases
the cover may not be required, and particularly when pipes for other purposes
are laid in the channel instead of telegraphic cables, or the cable may be
contained within a pipe formed in two halves or parts suitably united.
The carriage or apparatus above described may have combined with it
various forms of rotary or vibratory cutters, which may be mounted so as to
work either vertically or horizontally, according to the nature of the work
required to be executed. This apparatus, or a modification thereof, may be
combined with a derrick or other lifting apparatus when required.
Instead of the above-described carriage or apparatus may be used a heavy
block, or a frame capable of carrying an air or water engine or engines, and

page_text: guiding apparatus for boring or excavating tools, connected so as to be driven
by the engine or engines under water, or they may be worked by an engine or
by manual power from above.
Also, instead of the above-described carriage or apparatus, may be used a
diving bell, which may be mounted on wheels, if necessary, and with which is
to be connected an engine or engines driven by water or other incompressible
fluid. In cases wherein it is required to work under cover, the apparatus above
described, or a modification thereof, may be contained within or under a diving
bell or vessel.
Both the carriage or apparatus above described, and the diving bell, are to
be protected, if required, by guards of such form as to deflect the water from
the apparatus, to which guards are connected anchors and mooring apparatus
of the ordinary description.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by
reference to the accompanying Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2, a plan or horizontal view of the carriage or
apparatus above referred to. A, A, is the framework of the carriage; B, B,
the bearing wheels, a pair of which are driven as herein-after described;
C, C, are the engines communicating in the ordinary manner, by means of
connecting rods, with the cranks D on the shaft E; on this shaft is mounted
a pinion F, taking into a spur wheel G on the shaft H, which carries a toothed
pinion I, taking into an internal toothed rim formed in the rotary cutting
wheel J, which is a drum with cutters inserted in its periphery, and arranged
in the manner shewn, (that is to say,) so that each successive cutter on coming.
into operation on the ground, will be made to excavate a portion thereof at
the side of that which was operated upon by a former cutter, thereby widening
the channel cut to the extent of the width of the cutter, the outside cutters
projecting sufficiently beyond the width of the drum, to allow the latter to
clear itself.
By this arrangement a complete revolution of the drum J will cause a
channel to be cut or excavated equal in width to the whole of the cutters,
while the resistance to the driving power is little more than that caused by
forcing one comparatively narrow cutter through the ground or rock; or if
the ground will admit of it, cutters of the whole width of the channel may be
used, or dredging buckets may be substituted for the cutters. The larger
bearing wheels B are also driven from the shaft II on each side by means of

page_text: the pair of mitre wheels K, which communicate motion to the shaft L, on
which is keyed a worm pinion M, taking into a worm wheel N, keyed to the
shaft O, a spur pinion P on which takes into an internal toothed rim formed
in the bearing wheel B. The pair of bearing wheels thus driven are roughened
on their outer circumference, so as to adapt them for taking firm bold of the
ground or rock; Q, Q, are the drums with the clearing tools inserted therein,
as shewn. These drums are mounted on the axles R, so as to be capable of
following the excavating tools or cutters on the drums J, and lifting the débris
or broken ground out of the channel; they are also driven from the shaft H
on each side by means of the chain pullies S, S. The carriage is jointed near
the axles R, so that the hinder part thereof may be capable of accommodating
itself to the unevenness of the ground, as required; and in the hinder part are
mounted on the axles of the bearing wheels B, a pair of wheels T, T, with
broad flanges, as shewn, and applied to which wheel is a segmental guide U for
delivering the cable, so that it may be properly laid in the channel as the
carriage or apparatus proceeds; V is a platform, on which the divers may
work. When a diving bell is used, it may be supported upon this platform;
W is a hook or staple inserted into the front part of the. carriage or apparatus,
by means of which the carriage may be drawn forwards instead of being
propelled by the engine or engines. In such case the worm on the shaft L
being thrown out of gear, the wheel B becomes merely a bearing wheel.
It will thus be evident that as the engine or engines is or are set to work,
the cutters on the drum J will be successively brought into operation on the
ground, so as by the successive and combined action to cut or form a channel
of the required width, the carriage or apparatus being moved forward as the
work of excavation proceeds; the clearing tools on the drum being also
made to lift the broken ground or rock left by the cutters out of the channel,
and turn it on one side by the conical form of the body of the wheel or drum.
The channel thus cut or formed will have its precise sectional form and area
determined by the particular kind of cutters inserted in the drum J; but
it is intended when required, to employ such cutters as may be adapted for
cutting the channel with its lower part smaller than the upper, as represented
in the section Fig. 3, although this precise form in the cross section may be
varied.
The telegraphic cable when deposited in the channel is covered by stones
or half pipes, or other suitable means of protection, admitting of removal in any
particular part or parts in case of need. The channel may, however, be formed
without this provision for a covering, when pipes for the conveyance of fluids,
or liquids, or other matters, are intended to be deposited therein.

page_text: For the purpose of carrying on some operations under water, it may be
found desirable to employ, instead of the above-described carriage or appa-
ratus, a heavy block or a frame with an engine and guides for the tools
adapted and applied thereto, similar to the well-known steam pile drivers or
hammers. When an air engine is applied under water it is worked by con-
densed air from the surface of the water, supplied thereto by a pipe, and the
exhaust air is allowed to escape into the water, or by means of a pipe to the
surface thereof. When a water engine is applied, the water for working the
same is supplied under pressure from the surface through a pipe. When tho
depth of water will allow, the engine or engines may be fixed on that portion
of the frame which extends above the surface of the water, such frame con-
sisting of open timber work, or a combination of timber and iron, or it may be
of iron, if preferred, of suitable form and proportion, adapted to the work to be
executed. This frame is provided with guides at convenient distances, for
directing the connecting rod between the piston of the engine and the tools at
the bottom; in this case any suitable motive power may be employed for
driving the engine or engines. The frame may also have combined with or
connected to it a hollow buoy or vessel to contain air, gas, or water, for the
purpose of facilitating the raising and lowering of the structure; the kind of
tool combined therewith would be varied according to the nature of the
operations required to be performed; but this would only involve such
mechanical adaptations as are well known and need not therefore be here
described.
When a diving bell is used instead of the above-described carriage or appa-
ratus, it may be mounted on wheels so as to make it more portable if necessary,
and with the diving bell I connect or combine an engine or engines driven by
water or other incompressible fluid. In some cases also the mechanical tools
above referred to may be arranged so as to be capable of working within or
under cover of the bell. When guards are applied either to the apparatus or
to the bell, they are formed or arranged so as to present an angular deflecting
surface of resistance to the current of water.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that what
I claim as of my Invention is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of the carriage or appa-
ratus above described, for the purpose of cutting or forming channels or
excavating ground or rocky bottoms for telegraphic or other purposes.
Secondly, the mode described of cutting or forming channels so as to bo
capable of supporting a cover for the cable or the pipe deposited therein.

page_text: Thirdly, the adaptation and application of air or water engines to the
carrying on of operations under water by combining them with the tools and
block or frame above referred to; also the application of steam, air, or water
engines at the upper end of the frame, as described, so as to work the tools at
the bottom.
And, lastly, the combination of a diving bell with an engine or engines
driven by water or other incompressible fluid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
WILLIAM SPENCE,
50, Chancery Lane,
Patent Agent.
(L.B.)