CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVEMENTS FOR STREETS, ROADS, AND OTHER SURFACES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING AND REPAIRING THE SAME
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BUNNETT, of Deptford, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-first day of June, in the Sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph
Bunnett, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my exors, admors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my exors, adñiors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter, during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her
said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVEMENTS FOR STREETS, ROADS, AND OTHER
SURFACES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING AND REPAIRING THE SAME;"
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that I, the said
Joseph Bunnett, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, under my
hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Bunnett, do hereby declare that my improvements consist,-
Firstly, in a new form of wooden block for pavements, whereby each block
is connected to and supported by those blocks which are in contact with it,
without the use of dowels, keys, tongues, or other connecting media.
Secondly, in a new mode of connecting wooden blocks for pavements by
means of keys, tongues, or tenons, inserted into indents, chases, or motices cut
in the sides of such blocks, by which means every block is connected to and
supported by those blocks which are in contact therewith.
Thirdly, in a new and complete system of uniform grooving in the upper
surface of wooden pavements, whereby a good foothold is obtained for horses,
and great facility afforded for the removal of accumulated dirt and other
obstructions from such grooves, and their deepening or renewal from time to
time when necessary.
Fourthly, in machinery for cutting and preparing wooden blocks for
pavements as herein described.
Fifthly, in machinery for cleaning and repairing the grooves in the upper
surfaces of wooden pavements, as herein described.
My first improvement consists in the employment of wooden blocks for
pavements of the form shewn in the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 being
a side view, and Figure 2 an end view thereof. Figure 3 shews the manner
in which the blocks are fitted side by side to form a continuous pavement, so
as mutually to rest upon and support each other. Thus it will be seen that
the shoulder e of the block A rests upon and is supported by the projection f
of the block B, while the shoulder g of the latter block is supported by the
projection h of the block C, that block being in like manner supported by the
next. At the same time it will be observed that a bearing is also taken by
the inclined portion of the upper side of each block upon the blocks next to
it, so that while each block is supported upon the adjoining ones by means of
the shouldered projection, every block in its turn reciprocates the bearing by
means of its inclined sides; and as the block A is supported upon the block
B in the manner described, so B in its turn becomes supported upon the block
A, the block C upon B, and so on, making the support in that direction mutual
and uniform throughout the series. The support of the blocks in the other
direction is rendered uniform by their ends being inclined with the fibres of
the wood in alternate rows from right to left, as shewn in Figure 4. I prefer
the fibres to be inclined at an angle of from sixty-five to seventy-five degrees;
a more obtuse angle than seventy-five degrees will not, I consider, give the
required elasticity, while. a more acute angle than sixty-five degrees will be

page_text: liable to produce an inconvenient slipperiness of surface; the blocks being
laid so as to break joint become firmly interlocked and supported throughout.
I would remark that I prefer the blocks to be not smaller than eight inches
square, nor larger than twelve inches square, but I do not confine myself to
these dimensions. In order to facilitate the laying down and taking up of
this pavement, the longitudinal blocks which form the gutters at the sides of
the street, road, &c., are so prepared as to fit the square paving blocks, ard
partake of the system of universal support, and at the same time they form
key blocks
means of which access is obtained to the pavement when it is
necessary to take it up, the removal of one of the gutter blocks, by lifting
it out of its place, allowing the paving blocks to be withdrawn one after
another to any required extent. What I claim under this head of my
improvements is the block for paving as described and shewn in Figures 1
and 2, and the application thereof, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4.
My second improvement in wooden pavements consists in a new mode of
connecting wooden blocks for pavements by means of keys, tongues, or tenons
inserted into indents, chases, or mortices cut in the sides of the blocks, as
shewn in Figure 5, which is a square block with vertical sides, but having the
ends inclined with the fibres of the wood at an angle of from sixty-five
degrees to seventy-five degrees. In the middle of each of the two vertical
sides of the block I cut, by means of machinery (as hereafter described), or by
other means, an indent, chase, or mortice m, Figure 5, which indents or
mortices are segments of circles, as shewn in the horizontal sectional plan,
Figure 6. These mortices are for the reception of tongues, keys, or tenons,
by means of which the several blocks composing the pavement are connected
together and equally supported. One of these tongues, keys, or tenons is
shewn in Figure 7. They are prepared by cutting a piece of oak one inch in
thickness, and two inches broad, transversely across the grain, as shewn by
the dotted lines in Figure 8; or these tenons, keys, or tongues may be
of iron or other metal, either east or wrought, in which case they will
not require to be more than half an inch thick. When laying down
this pavement the keys, tongues, or tenons, Figure 7, are inserted in the
mortices m. As the blocks are placed, each alternate row of blocks has its
ends inclined differently, as already described and shewn in Figures 4 and 5,
by which means the blocks break joint and become firmly interlocked and
supported throughout. In order to facilitate the laying down, taking up, and
relaying of this pavement, a series of blocks, which I call key blocks, are
inserted across the road at certain determined intervals. In these blocks the
indents, chases, or mortices, are cut right through the sides of the block
towards one of the ends, as shewn in Figure 9. I prefer these series of key

page_text: blocks to be inserted at intervals of about ten feet asunder, although they may
be placed at greater or smaller intervals, according to the width of the street and
other circumstances. When it becomes necessary to take up any portion of
the pavement, a series of key blocks is sought out lying nearest to the place at
which the repairs, &c. are to be done; a sufficient number of key blocks being
withdrawn, the blocks on either side are set free, and may be taken up to any
required extent and afterwards relaid, and the key blocks replaced as before.
Figure 11 shews another modification of my second improvement in
pavements, consisting in the employment of square blocks with four vertical
sides, in all of which an indent, chase, or mortice is cut, as before described,
for the reception of keys, tongues, or tenons, of the form shewn in Figure 7.
Figure 12 is a sectional plan of these blocks, shewing the position and form
of the indents, chases, or mortices; and Figure 13 is a sectional plan of one of
the key blocks for facilitating the taking up and relaying of the pavement, as
already described; or I make my key blocks by cutting the indents, chases,
or mortices downward to the base of the block, as shewn in Figure 14, and
remove such key blocks by lifting them out of their places instead of sliding
them out, as must be done with the blocks shewn in Figures 10 and 13. The
removal of the key blocks sets the adjoining blocks free, as before described.
In laying down these blocks to form a pavement they are placed side by side,
as shewn in Figs. 12 and 12 A, and do not break joint; but Figure 15 shews
another modification of my improvements in wooden pavements, in which
every alternate row of blocks has the indents, chases, or mortices cut in the
four corners instead of the sides of the block, the segmental indent or mortice
being completed by the junction of the corners of two blocks. In this arrange-
ment no key blocks are required, and the blocks are alternately supported by
the keys, tongues, or tenons in the sides of the adjoining blocks, and by those
at the corners in the indents, chases, or mortices before described. What I
claim under this head of my improvements is, the manner of connecting wooden
blocks for pavements by means of keys, tongues, or tenons inserted into
indents, chases, or mortices, as herein-before described and shewn in Figures
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
a
and
My third improvement in pavements consists in the adoption of a regular
and uniform system of grooving for the upper surface of the blocks, whereby
good foothold is obtained for horses, and great facility afforded for the
removal of the accumulated dirt and other obstructions from the grooves,
also for the application of machinery to renew or deepen the grooves from time
to time as may be found necessary. These grooves may be arranged in lines
crossing each other at right angles, as shewn in Figures 11 and 12 A, or they
may consist of two series of lines crossing each other diagonally, as sliewn in

page_text: Figures 4 and 5. One series of these grooves may be placed parallel with
the sides of the street or road, or at any angle thereto that may be preferred;
whatever position and form of groove may be preferred, each block is grooved
accordingly, so that on laying it down in its place the grooves on its surface
will range
with grooves in all the blocks which are in contact with it, and form
a series of continuous and unbroken lines of grooving, along which any suitable
tool or instrument may be passed from end to end, either for the purpose of
cleaning out or deepening the grooves. What I claim is, the system of
uniform grooving of the upper surface of wooden pavements, and its appli-
cation in the manner and for the purposes herein described.
My fourth improvement in paving consists in machinery for cutting and
preparing wooden blocks for pavements, which is shewn in the accompanying
Drawings, Figures 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Figure 16 is a side elevation
of the machinery for giving the required form to the blocks of wood, and
Figure 17 is an end view of the same. In these Figures 0, 0¹, is a bed
plate suitably supported; P, P¹, are two guides or fences lying length-
ways on the bed plate, the one P' being fixed, and the other P capable
of adjustment, so as to take in blocks of any size that may be required.
The blocks of wood being previously cut from lengths of squared timber,
with their ends and fibres inclined at the desired angle, they are fed on
on to the machine at the end O', where they are taken hold of by a ribbed
wheel Q, driven by a pulley R, which is on the same shaft, and has a proper
motion communicated to it from some convenient source. The motion of the
wheel Qurges the blocks along the bed plate in the direction of the arrows,
which takes them over two circular saws S, S, carried by a shaft T, sup-
ported in an inclined position beneath the bed plate 0, 0¹. Motion is
communicated to the saw shaft by a band or belt running upon the pulley V.
These saws give to the upper portion of the sides of the wooden block, which
is placed downward upon the bed plate, the proper inclined form, and the
block then passes on between two horizontal saws S, S, carried by the vertical
shafts W, W, on either side of the machine. These saws cut the horizontal
shoulders or projections on each side of the blocks, which, continuing their
forward progress, pass under the saw S³, which cuts off the superfluous wood
above the one shoulder directly in front of the latter saw; upon the shaft V,
laying under the bed plate O, O', are a series of circular cutters y, Y, Y,
according to the number of grooves required in the longitudinal direction of the
block. These cutters, which can be set at any required distance asunder, form
the grooves in the surface of the blocks as the latter pass over them, and the
blocks leave this machine in a finished state, withs the exception of the cross or
diagonal grooves, which are cut by another series of revolving cutters in a second

page_text: machine. In order to prevent the blocks from rising when acted upon by the
several saws and cutters, the blocks pass along beneath guide plates z, z, furnished
with rollers and held down by springs a², to which any required degree of force
can be given by screws. The wheel Q is also mounted in journals carried by
two springs, the force of which can be increased or diminished by the
wheel cacting on the pinions and screws d³. There are moveable guides in
the fence P¹, P, at e, which are acted upon by springs, which allow them to
recede through a space of about a quarter of an inch, so as to compensate for
any little irregularity in the size of the blocks.
Figure 18 shews a horizontal revolving cutter for cutting the indents, chases,
or mortices in the sides of wooden blocks for pavements. F is the back plate,
capable of being set at any required distance from the front edge of the cutter,
according to the depth which is desired to be given to the mortice. G, G³, are
the side stops or guides, which, being set to the size of the block, guide it up
to the cutter, and ensure the indent being cut in the right place.
Figure 19 is a machine for cutting two indents at the same time, to be used
for such blocks as have indents cut in all four of its sides, whereby the four
indents are cut by twice placing the block. One of the cutters is shown
detached in Figure 20. It consists of two circular saws or cutting discs, with
a broad-faced cutter between them, which clears away the wood as the saws or
discs advance into it. What I claim is, the arrangement of machinery for
cutting and preparing wooden blocks for pavements, described and shewn in
Figures 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.
My fifth improvement consists in machinery for cleaning and repairing the
grooves in the upper surface of wooden pavements, one modification of which
is shewn in Figure 21. This instrument consists of a species of rake, with
angular or other shaped teeth h², h2, h², corresponding with the form of the
grooves in the pavement. These teeth are affixed by screw bolts passing
through a slot in the head of a rake, and secured on the other side by nuts, so
as to admit of the teeth being set at different distances asunder, corresponding
with those of the grooves. The bandle is attached to the head of the rake by
a pin joint at 2, and works in a semicircular guide, being furnished with a set
screw at , by which it may be set at any angle, for the purpose of conve-
niently clearing out the diagonal grooves. When used for clearing out grooves
either parallel with or at right angles to the direction of the road the handle is
set at a right angle with the head of the rake.
.
grooves
Figures 22 and 23 shew a machine for clearing out or deepening the
of wooden pavements, Figure 22 being a side view, and Figure 23 an end
view thereof. It consists of a strong frame mounted on four wheels m³, m³.
The upper rail of the frame carries a flat-edged fly wheel N2 on a cranked

page_text: shaft, while in the lower rail of the frame a spindle 3 is placed, having on its
cuter end a pulley, to which motion is communicated from the driving
wheel N. Upon the spindle n³ are placed six or any other convenient
number of revolving angular cutters 0%, 0%, fixed at distances corresponding
to the distances of the grooves by set screws. The machine being placed with
its wheels m² in the grooves of the pavement, and the revolving cutters 0%, 0%,
being set so as to fall into all the grooves lying between the former, a man,
standing upon the floor of the machine P, turns the handle Q, which,
through the instrumentality of the wheel N and the pulley n³, gives a rapid
rotary motion to the cutters 02, 0%, which, revolving in the grooves, clears
them of dirt and other obstructions, the machine being at the same time
pushed across the road by another man until the grooves have been traversed
and cleared throughout their length. As the dirt, &c. is thrown up by the
revolving cutters it is received and collected in a box R in the lower part of
the machine. If the grooves require to be renewed or deepened the cutters
0, 0%, are lowered sufficiently for that purpose by means of the set nuts and
screws, which act upon a jointed lever on each side, by which the axles of
the hind wheels are supported. V is a tightening roller for keeping the
belt or band which drives the cutting apparatus in a proper state of tension.
What I claim under this fifth head of my improvements is, the machinery
for cleaning and for repairing the grooves in the upper surface of wooden
pavements, as described and shewn in Figures 21, 22, and 23.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bunnett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, One thousand