Improvements in and relating to the Sinking of Wells.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1896-Accepted, 13th June, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Sinking of Wells.
I, ALOIS LENGAUER, of Wersecz, in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of the present invention is a process for sinking wells in shifting-sand
or in other loose soil without employing brick work, the constructions of which
involves considerable danger to the life of the workmen.
Instead of brickwork I provide a steel caisson formed of a series of cylindrical
sections connected together by means of bolts, said caisson being sunk into the
earth by means of the contrivance described in the present Specification. I also
provide a perforated plate at the bottom of the well which may be sunk more or
less into the interior of the caisson and removed very easily if the well is to be
deepened.
In order to render the present Specification more easily intelligible reference is
had to the accompanying drawing in which
Figure 1 represents a front view partly in section of the improved device,
Figure 2 shows the upper part of the scaffolding intended for supporting the ram
or hammer for driving the caisson into the earth.
Figure 3 is the upper part of the caissou showing the block for receiving the
blows of the monkey or tup,
Figure 4 shows a device for sinking the bottom of the caisson,
Figure 5 represents a modified form of bottom-plate.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
The caisson is composed of a series of cylindrical sections, cach section being
provided with an inwardly extending angle iron ring by means of which it may be
bolted to the next section above it.
The first section a is provided at its lower end part with a steel ring b having a
slanting or sharpened lower edge to facilitate its penetration into the earth.
In commencing work the first section is placed in position where the well is to
be sunk. The diameter of the same is large enough to allow of two workmen
working therein in the usual manner. As soon as the upper part of the cylinder a
has reached the ground level another section is bolted to the first one and the
operation continued. In this way one cylinder after the other can be sunk as long,
as the friction of the soil on the side of the cylinders is not too great to prevent the
downward motion of the tube.
During the sinking the removal of too much earth at the bottom of the caisson
should be avoided, in order that no space may be formed outside the caisson at the
bottom, as such would tend to increase the pressure of the earth above it on the.
sides of the caisson.
The caisson is driven into the ground by the following means:-
The contrivance used for sinking the well-tube into the earth is a kind of pile-
driver constructed specially for the present case. On the top of the cylinder a
a steel ring A is fitted provided with a suitable shoulder to fit exactly to the
angle iron ring c. To the steel ring A are fastened three standards B supporting
a block C having fitted therein a block of hard wood D and forming together
a block to receive the blows of the hammer so as to avoid the detachment and

page_text: flying about of iron splinters. The block C is connected by means of strong
bolts E to the two rails F F for guiding the monkey or tup G which may be
raised by the rope H passing over pulleys J and K to the winch L and then
allowed to fall with its entire weight on the block CD; in this way the caisson
is gradually sunk into the earth.
The rails F F are guided by guides M M and descend with the blocks CD
so that it is not necessary to remove the stakes which form the scaffolding for
supporting the monkey or tup as the caisson descends. As soon as one cylinder
has reached the level of the soil, the monkey or tup is raised by means of the
winch L the steel ring together with the block and the rails are removed and
another cylinder arranged on the first one.
The work can be continued in this way until the water level has been reached,
whereupon the workmen stop working at the bottom of the well and the work is
continued under water by means of a chain of dredging buckets extended into the
caisson.
To this end a drum having hexagonal or other section is mounted in the interior
of the steel ring A and an endless chain e to which are fixed the buckets f, fis
supported on said drums said endless chain passing over a lower drum similar to
the upper one-arranged at the bottom of the well to be excavated.
The latter drum is capable of downward movement inside the tube.
The dredging chain is driven by means of a pulley fitted on the same shaft as
the upper drum d from a winch G (Figure 1).
In this way the buckets ff can clear the bottom of the well and remove the sand
and small stones, and, in proportion as sand and earth are taken away from the
bottom of the well, the pile-driver should be operated to force the caisson into the
earth.
The whole caisson descends with the block C D and as soon as one section is
driven into the level of the soil, a suitable number of links are added to the chain
of the dredging machine in order to continue the work. Too much earth should not
be excavated from the bottom of the well without, at the same time, sinking the
caisson because otherwise the excavation might be continued under circumstances
for days at the bottom of the caisson the buckets always coming up full without
however making any progress in the sinking of the well. This material would be
taken from outside the caisson which would give rise to a varying pressure on
the sides of the same and might cause the whole caisson to be shifted from its
original position, the consequence of which would be the loss of the well. In order
to avoid this care should also be taken that the water-level remains about the same
at both sides of the caisson and the removal of too much water from the bottom of
the well should therefore be avoided.
As soon as the caisson has attained the necessary depth, all the contrivances
which were used for sinking the same should be removed and the well should be
closed by a bottom plate to prevent the choking up to the same. The closure of
the well is carried out in the following manner Figure 5 showing the lower part
of a finished well.
On the sides of the well are arranged vertical shaped iron bars & having racks A¹
formed at their lower ends. These bars are intended to retain the bottom-plate in
its lowest position by engaging the pawls ii which retain said bottom plate N.
The latter consists of two perforated plates which allow the water to pass
upwardly. These plates are of non-oxydising material, as for example platinum, go d
or silver, but the material which is the most suitable for the purpose is asbestos, on
account of its cheapness. Between the two plates is a layer m of suitable material
to filter the water.
The device for removing the bottom-plate of the well, if it is desired to deepen
the same is as follows
The bottom plate carries a ratchet device engaging into the teeth of the above-
mentioned rack. To this end, the said bottom-plate is provided with bearings n to
receive a shaft o provided with a bell crank lever p. This lever p is provided at

page_text: one of its extremities with a counterpoise p' and at the other extremity with a
downwardly extending arm p³, the latter serving to operate the above mentioned
ratchet which is guided between the plates ss and the U-shaped iron bar t. The
ratchet is provided with a slanting edge to engage the teeth of the racks h¹.
The bell crank lever p is further provided with an eye through which a chain or
cord is passed extending upwardly. On pulling the chain, the arm p* retracts the
ratchet, so that during the sinking of the bottom plate the said ratchet r remains
inoperative if the chain or cord is released the counterpoise p¹ falls by gravity and
the arm p² moves the ratchet r outwardly, so that the same engages the teeth of
the rack. In this way, the bottom may be more or less sunk according to
circumstances and very easily removed if it is necessary to deepen the well.
As shown at Figure 5, the bottom may also be provided with a perforated tube O
in order to more readily reach the source of supply.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
A process for sinking wells in shifting-sand or other loose soil consisting in first
letting down the caisson by gravity in a hole which is gradually excavated by
handwork as long as the friction of the walls of the caisson does not prevent its
sinking; further, in continuing the excavations by hand and in sinking the caisson
into the earth by means of a pile-driver device, the monkey or tup of which is
adapted to strike a block attached to the upper part of the caisson and driving the
same into the earth; then, as soon as the water level is reached in ceasing the
the hand excavation and continuing the excavation by means of dredger provided
with buckets for digging out the bottom of the well; and finally, in closing the
well by means of a bottom plate having a ratchet and pawl connection with the
sides of the well which enables the said bottom plate to be sunk more or less in
the interior of the caisson or to be removed from the same at will, substantially as
described.
Dated this 19th day of May 1896
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.