IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING MACHINERY
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick John Adams, of Lancaster Street, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING
MACHINERY."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick John Adams at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th July 1880.
FREDERICK JOHN ADAMS, of Lancaster Street, in the County of Surrey, Engineer.
IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING MACHINERY."
This Invention relates to improvements in rock drilling or perforating machines
(for use in mining, quarrying, and like operations), of that class in which the
drilling bit or tool is carried by a reciprocating piston driven by steam or air,
which is admitted to the cylinder by an oscillating distributing valve, whose
motion is derived through the medium of the said piston, and the object of my
improvements is to simplify the construction, reduce the weight and cost, and
increase the durability of such machines.
In carrying out my Invention I cast on one side of the cylinder a recess, to
which is fitted a cap; in the recess I cast three ports, one leading to the top side
of the piston, one to the bottom side of the piston, and the other serving for the
exhaust port; into this recess, which is bored out true, I fit a bush, in which I cut
three ports to correspond with the said ports in the herein before described recess.
Into the said bush I fit a valve in which I cut two ports for a portion of its length;
on either end of such valve I fix an arm or tappet contained within the cylinder,
and fitting in a recess cast in the same. In the cylinder I fit a piston which has both
ends turned on a bevil (for operating the valve), and made with one end or rod to
pass through a stuffing box, the said end to have a collar or clip with two screws,
and I cut the end with a ratchet tooth shaped thread, and bore up that end of the
piston which takes the drill, the said end to be cut through so as to give a spring
to the same; the body of the piston is bored up and a nut fitted to the same, into
which I fit a rod cut spirally; the rod passes out at the back end of the cylinder,
and on the end of the spiral I fit a ratchet wheel having two pawls, so as to cause
Price 1

page_text: the same to turn only in one direction. I make one end of the valve to pass
through the end of the said recess, and through the back cover to the said end I fit
a short lever with a pawl fitted to the same, which causes the feed nut on which I
cut a ratchet to turn on the feed screw on the motion of the piston between the
said tappets in the cylinder.
.
The herein before described pawl is forced against the teeth of the feed ratchet by
means of an arrangement consisting of a small cylinder pivotted at its outer end,
and containing a spiral spring pressing against a piston or rod, the outer end of
which takes into a countersink in the pawl. An equivalent arrangement is
provided for the pawls of the rotating ratchet. A cap is fitted over the back end
of the machine so as to enclose the parts. Means are provided for preventing the
turning of the feed screw when the machine is in operation so as to allow the nut
to carry the machine forward.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick John Adams in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th January 1881.
FREDERICK JOHN ADAMS, of Lancaster Street, in the County of Surrey, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROCK DRILLING MACHINERY."
This Invention relates to improvements in rock drilling or perforating machines
(for use in mining, quarrying, and like operations), of that class in which the
drilling bit or tool is carried by a reciprocating piston driven by steam or air,
which is admitted to the cylinder by an oscillating distributing valve, whose
motion is derived through the medium of the said piston, and the object of my
improvements is to simplify the construction, reduce the weight and cost, and
increase the durability of such machines.
In carrying out my Invention I cast on one side of the cylinder a recess, to
which is fitted a cap; in the recess I cast three ports, one leading to the top side
of the piston, one to the bottom side of the piston, and the other serving for the
exhaust port; into this recess, which is bored out true, I fit a bush, in which I cut
three ports to correspond with the said ports in the hereinbefore described recess.
Into the said bush I fit a valve in which I cut two ports for a portion of its length;
on either end of such valve I fix an arm or tappet contained within the cylinder,
and fitting in a recess cast in the same. In the cylinder I fit a piston which has
both ends turned on a bevil for operating the valve, and made with one end or rod
to pass through a stuffing box, the said end to have a collar or clip with two screws,
and I cut the end with a ratchet tooth-shaped thread and bore up that end of the
piston which takes the drill, the said end to be cut through so as to give a spring
to the same; the body of the piston is bored up and a nut fitted to the same, into
which I fit a rod cut spirally; the rod passes out at the back end of the cylinder,
and on the end of the spiral I fit a ratchet wheel having two pawls so as to cause
the same to turn only in one direction. I make one end of the valve to pass
through the end of the said recess, and through the back cover to the said end I fit
a short lever with a pawl fitted to the same, which causes the feed nut on which I
cut a ratchet to turn on the feed screw on the motion of the piston between the
said tappets in the cylinder.
The hereinbefore described pawl is forced against the teeth of the feed ratchet by
means of an arrangement consisting of a small cylinder pivotted at its outer end,
and containing a spiral spring pressing against a piston or rod, the outer end of
which takes into a countersink in the pawl. An equivalent arrangement is
provided for the pawls of the rotating ratchet. A cap is fitted over the back end
of the machine so as to enclose the parts. Means are provided for preventing the
turning of the feed screw when the machine is in operation, so as to allow the nut
to carry the machine forward.
But to make my Invention better understood I will now proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a
side elevation; Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a rock
drilling machine constructed according to my Invention; Figures 4 and 5, end
views of Figure 1; Figure 6, end view of cylinder and clip; Figure 7, end view of
the machine with the cover removed to shew the feed movement and rotating
ratchet and pawls; Figure 8, section on line A, B, of Figure 3; Figure 9, detached
view of the tappets. Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar parts.
a is the cylinder; b is the recess cast on one side of the cylinder a; c is the cap
fixed to the said recess by means of studs; in the recess I cast three ports; two of
the ports are marked d and e respectively, the port d leading to the top side of
the piston A, and the port e to the bottom side of the piston; the other port which

page_text: serves for the exhaust is not shewn in the Drawing, but is placed in a line with the
the port e, but divided therefrom; the recess b is bored out true and receives the
bushf, which is shewn in detached view at Figure 10; g, h, and i, are the three
ports in the bush f, such ports corresponding with the three hereinbefore described
ports in the recess b; j is the valve fitted in the bush f, and k and are the ports
in the said valve, the said ports communicating by means of the passage m for
balancing the pressure; the valve is also formed with two transverse ports n, n',
for conveying the steam or compressed air to either side of the valve; o, o¹, are the
arms or tappets, one at each end of the valve, such arms or tappets contained or
working within two corresponding recesses in the cylinder at the ends of the ports
d and e, as clearly shewn in Figure 3. The ends p, p, of the piston A are turned
on a bevil for operating the valve j by means of its tappets o, o¹, as hereinafter
described; B is the piston rod which passes through the stuffing box C fixed to
the front end of the apparatus; D is the collar or clip, and q, q', the two screws of
same; the end of the piston rod is cut with a ratchet shaped screw thread, as
shewn in Figure 3, the clip having a corresponding female thread; by this form
of screw thread a flat surface forming a collar is provided to prevent the clip D
being forced off in the direction of the blow; E is the bore for receiving the drill;
r is the nut fitted in the back end of the piston A; into this nut works the rod F
cut with a spiral thread and passing into the bored out portions of the piston A;
the rod F passes out through the back end of the cylinder, and on the end of the
said rod is fitted the ratchet wheel t; u, u¹, are the two pawls for operating the
ratchet wheel; t' is a nut for fixing the ratchet wheel on the rod F.
The end of the valve j passes through the end of the recess b and through the
back cover G; vis the short lever fitted to the end of the valve; v', pawl on the
said lever, such pawl v gearing into the ratchet on the feed nut w so as to turn the
nut on the feed screw K by the movement of the piston.
x is the small cylinder pivotted at x¹, and containing a spiral spring which
presses against a piston or rod y, the outer end of the rod y taking into a counter-
sink (shewn in dotted lines) in the pawl v¹, whereby this pawl is forced against the
teeth of the feed ratchet. His the cap fitted over the back end of the machine so
as to enclose the parts. The pawls u and u' are kept in the teeth of the rotating
ratchet by means of a somewhat similar arrangement to that herein before
described and provided for the feed ratchet pawl, except that for the pawls u and u¹,
the cylinders, 2', containing the springs and pistons are not pivotted at the end,
but each is screwed into the cap marked G, and is shewn in Figure 7. J, J, cushions
at each end of the cylinder, each cushion consisting of a loose metal ring in a recess
in the cylinder and enclosing an india rubber ring between the metal ring and the
corresponding cylinder cover.
The machine may be mounted in any suitable carriage, but I prefer a carriage
such as that shewn at I, I, in Figures 1 and 7, the carriage being omitted in the
other Figures for the sake of simplicity. It will be understood that the said
carriage may be mounted on a column or tripod in the usual manner, according to
the nature of the work to be executed.
1
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The parts being in the position shewn in the Drawing, steam or compressed air
is admitted through the inlet S into the bush f forming the valve casing, and
passes into the cylinder through the port d, thereby forcing the piston A forward
(and with it the drill) until its conical end comes against the tappet o, so as to
partly rotate, and thereby reverse the valve j and allow the steam to be admitted
to the other end of the cylinder through the port e, thereby reversing the movement
of the piston, and so on. When the valve ) is reversed by the forward motion of
this piston the pawl 1, by means of the arm v on the end of the valve j, is moved
into the next tooth of the ratchet w so as to be in the position to turn the ratchet
on the backward movement of the piston, as hereinafter described. On the a
backward motion of the piston the arm vis caused, by means of the spindle j¹ of
the valve j, to move the pawl v¹ so as to push the ratchet and feed nut w partly

page_text: round, thereby causing the machine to advance a certain distance on the feed
screw K. By this arrangement it will be understood that should the piston not
complete its full forward stroke the pawl v will not be moved sufficiently to take
a complete tooth of the ratchet, so that the machine will not be advanced until the
stroke is sufficient to move the pawl the full distance of a tooth, thus rendering the
feed automatic.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the best means with
which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein laid down and shewn in
the accompanying Drawing, nor do I lay claim to the employment generally of a
rotating or oscillating valve, except when balanced in the manner herein described
but what I do claim is,-
Firstly. The peculiar construction and application to rock drilling machines of
the balanced valve, arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein described.
Secondly. The combination of parts herein described for effecting the automatic
advance of the machine by the movement of the valve operated by the piston, in
the manner substantially as herein before described and represented in the Drawing.
Thirdly. Forming the end of the piston rod which carries the drill with a ratchet
shaped screw thread for holding the clip, having a corresponding female screw
thread, as and for the purpose described.
Fourthly. The combination of the parts herein described, forming, when put
together, a rock drilling machine of improved construction, substantially as herein-
before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick John Adams, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street,
Finsbury,
London.
FREDERICK JOHN ADAMS. (LS.)