IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES IN TUNNELLING, MINING, AND OTHER LIKE OPERATIONS, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE VENTILATING OF THE WORKINGS IN MINES AND SIMILAR PLACES
Year: 1865

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS AND OTHER HARD
SUBSTANCES IN TUNNELLING, MINING, AND OTHER LIKE OPERATIONS, PARTS OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE VENTILATING OF THE
WORKINGS IN MINES AND SIMILAR PLACES."-A communication from abroad
by Herman Haupt, Civil Engineer, of Washington, in the United States
of America, late Brigadier General, United States Army.
ealed the 6th June 1865, and dated the 6th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th April 1865.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS
AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES IN TUNNELLING, MINING, AND OTHER LIKE OPERATIONS,
PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE VENTILATING OF THE
WORKINGS IN MINES AND SIMILAR PLACES," a communication to me from abroad

page_text: by Herman Haupt, Civil Engineer, of Washington, in the United States of
America, late Brigadier General, United States Army, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar combinations and arrangements of
machinery or apparatus to be worked by steam, air, water, or other elastic or
inelastic fluid for drilling or boring rocks and other hard substances in tunnelling,
mining, and other like operations.
In carrying out the first part of this Invention it is proposed to employ a
tool actuating cylinder, which for the sake of brevity I shall describe as being
worked by steam, it being understood that air or other elastic or inelastic
fluid may, with but slight modification, be adapted for the purpose of operating
drilling tools. This cylinder has trunnions on the sides at a convenient dis-
tance from either end so as to properly balance the whole apparatus, the
machine being hung or mounted in a suitable frame so as to admit of a
swinging motion in a plane at right angles to the axis of suspension. On
the top of the cylinder there is cast the usual valve chamber and orifices or
pipe connections are arranged for the admission and emission of steam. The
cylinder is provided with a piston mounted upon a hollow piston rod, which
passes through both heads of the cylinder, and the piston is moved to and fro
by the action of steam, whose admission to and exhaust from the cylinder
is regulated by the action of the drill itself in the following manner:-To
the head of the cylinder there is cast a lug, to which is pivoted a bell crank,
one of the lever ends of which is connected with a valve rod, while the other
is slotted. In this slot, which is timed according to the work to be performed,
works a pin projecting from the side of the hollow piston rod or tool holder,
so that the reciprocating movement of the latter is transmitted to the valve,
whose operation is thus intimately connected with that of the drill itself.
The hollow piston rod contains the drill bar, or both the drill bar and its
holder. In a drill constructed according to this plan it is preferred to make
the drill in two parts, namely, the tool and the tool holder, which latter being
permanently used in and combined with a gripper box (herein-after described,)
is necessarily more accurately adjusted. The tool holder is held in or on to
the hollow piston rod by means of the gripper box, consisting of the following
parts: A cylinder held in position by means of a collar or flange in the head
of the hollow piston rod, as well as by an internal flange. on the casing is
provided at its rear end with three, four, or more inclines, against which are
applied wedges confined by means of a collar and the head of the hollow
piston rod so as to allow a slight play or sliding movement upon such inclined
planes. At the forward end the gripper box terminates in a disc, at the back
of which is an internal recess which contains a volute spring, whose office it

page_text: is to give the parts in the gripper box the requisite degree of tension so as to
compress the wedges against the tool holder, and firmly hold it. The stiffness
of the spring is calculated to yield to the momentum of the piston rod and drill
bar and holder, when the motion of the gripper box is suddenly checked
by coming in contact with stops for that purpose provided. The drill bar it
will be understood is thus caused to advance in the gripper box until its
further progress is stopped by the tool coming in contact with a resisting
substance. The rotation of the tool, which is an important element in drilling
machinery, is effected in this case in the following manner:-The recessed
portion of the gripper box is provided with ratchet teeth gearing, in which a
pawl hinged to the interior of a ring, from which ring projects a stud, which,
working in a helical or other properly shaped slot in the casing of the gripper
box, imparts to the ring rotary movement. The rotation thus produced on
the ring is transmitted by means of the pawl to the gripper box, which in its
turn is held steady or prevented from turning back by means of an auxiliary
ratchet cut on the periphery of the disc, which is caused to gear in with a
dog of a length not less than the stroke of the piston, and which is caused to
bear against and into the teeth by means of one or more springs. To with-
draw the drill bar or holder I give the head of the piston rod a conical form,
and shape the heads of the wedges in the gripper box accordingly. With
this arrangement I combine a "follower," whose forward end is similarly
formed into a cone, while the taper ends of the wedges are formed correspond-
ingly. By this arrangement it will be understood that if the "follower" be
pushed up or screwed in against the wedges the latter will, following the
inclined planes of the head of the piston rod, expand and diverge so as to
release their grasp on the tool holder; it will then be easy to remove the
drill bar for rechange or other purposes. At the rear end of the cylinder
there is a wrought iron ring or anvil against which the gripper box is caused
to strike at each forward stroke of the piston; but I have found it preferable
to multiply the strokes of the tool on the rock under full head of steam
between each advance or feed of the drill; I have therefore arranged this
anvil ring and a hammer disc in such manner as to come in contact only
once or twice during a complete rotation of the drill. For this purpose both
the hammer and the anvil are provided with stops or projecting studs, whereby
the two are kept out of contact except when the studs or stops on the one
come opposite the others, at which times only the feed takes place, during
the intermediate strokes, however, the drill being firmly held by the grippers it
is driven against the rock with full force of steam. I have described a drill
operated by steam, air, or other elastic fluid consisting of a cylinder through

page_text: the hollow piston of which a drill bar or tool is inserted. In lieu of a hollow
piston rod a solid piston rod may be used in connection with outside gripper
boxes.
To mount such drills so as to economise space and to allow of easy and ready
adjustment is the object of the second part of this Invention. For this
purpose four vertical columns or wrought iron pipes are used, mutually braced
together by means of transverse pipes. This system of pipes, which are
connected by screw threads or otherwise to form hermetic joints, constitutes
the main frame, having at convenient points pipe connections with which
india-rubber steam hose or other hose or tubing is connected so as to allow
of steam or other fluid being conveyed through the columns or pipes to and
from the drill. Upon the sides and to two adjoining columns are mounted
the supports of the drill by means of hooks or clamps tightened by screws;
these supports consist of sheet iron plates slightly curved and slotted trans-
versely. In these slots are fitted adjustable bearings for the trunnions
of the drills. Washers or other like devices may be used for rendering the
adjustment fixed and immovable. The convexity of the supports permits of
the drills being adjusted laterally, namely, horizontally, at any convenient angle
to the face of the rock, while their play upon their trunnions enables their
being adjusted at any given angle to the face of the rock vertically, or in
vertical planes. One or more such supports may be used. In the latter case
they are arranged one above the other. This columnar frame may be held in
place and securely braced by means of wedges or other well known means,
but I prefer to effect this by a system of set screws inserted in the ends of
each main column on the top and bottom, and the columns are closed by
means of plugs screwed into the open ends. Through the centre of each
plug passes a pointed screw, which is protected from the effects of steam in
the interior of the column by means of a sleeve or thimble [screwed into the
plug, but surrounding the set screw. The set screws are turned by means of
rods or levers inserted in the eye of the set screw near the point, and are thus
elongated or shortened for bracing the frame against the roof of the gallery,
or for removing the same. Heretofore it was deemed impracticable, if not
impossible to use steam power in subterranean operations on account of the
products of combustion of the fuel used in keeping up steam in the generator,
and the exhaust steam soon vitiating the atmosphere so as to render it
impossible for men to attend to the work.
The object of the third part of this Invention therefore is to obviate the
objections attending the use of steam machinery, and this it is proposed to
accomplish by a simple device consisting in the use of a pipe extending

page_text: throughout the length of the gallery or tunnel, through which pipe air is
drawn or forced by means of a fan or other means. A vacuum fan driven
by steam or other power is placed outside or inside of a mine or tunnel and
connected with a pipe through which the air is drawn. The pipe, which
extends up to the face of the work, or to any part of the gallery which it is
necessary to ventilate, may be constructed of wood or metal; if of wood it is
put together with pieces like the staves of a barrel, the joints being coated
with pitch or other cement or composition to prevent leakage of air. The
boiler or steam generator communicates with the vacuum pipe, into which
all the smoke, exhaust steam, and vitiated air are drawn, and by means of
which they are carried out and discharged outside the mine or tunnel, at the
same time creating a partial vacuum which establishes a current of fresh air
flowing into the working. In the pipe which connects the steam generator
with the vacuum pipe, dampers may be placed to regulate the intensity of the
draught. For the ventilation of side rooms or galleries branch pipes connected
with the main pipe are employed. The pipe need not be placed on the out-
side of the gallery or tunnel but may be situate at any point intermediate
between the generator and the outer end; the fan would, however, then be
double acting, namely, be both a suction and a forcing fan, the vitiated air
being drawn to the fan, and by it expelled or forced out at the end outside of
the gallery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight bundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRILLING OR BORING ROCKS OR OTHER HARD SUB-
STANCES IN TUNNELLING, MINING, AND OTHER LIKE OPERATIONS, PARTS OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE VENTILATING OF THE WORKINGS IN
MINES AND SIMILAR PLACES," a communication to me from abroad by Herman
Haupt, Civil Engineer, of Washington, in the United States of America, late
Brigadier General, United States Army, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to certain peculiar combinations and arrange-
ments of machinery or apparatus to be worked by steam, air, water, or other
elastic or inelastic fluid for drilling or boring rocks and other hard substances
in tunnelling, mining, and other like operations.
The drilling or boring of rocks or other hard substances for tunnelling,
mining, and other purposes has been heretofore attempted by mechanical
means, but great difficulties have been encountered in the practical application
of machinery devised for that purpose, and this was owing to the changeable
character of the work, while the means to perform the same in point of
operation were permanent. Thus the permanent feed, whether effected by
screw or otherwise, has the serious disadvantage of progressing the drill at a
given rate irrespective of the penetrability of the rock or the condition of the
tool, causing gradual shortening of the stroke of the piston, and finally the
stoppage of the work. To remedy these and other evils which have interfered
with the introduction of machinery for tunnelling and mining operations, it is
proposed to use a drill operated by steam or other elastic fluid, whose principal
characteristic features are as follows:-The drill proper is composed of a
cylinder containing a piston whose rod projects through both heads, and
carries internally or externally one or more drill bars. With the cylinder is
combined as usual a valve chamber and valves preferably balanced to equili-
brate pressure, which valves are operated automatically by connection with

page_text: the piston rod or other moving part. Around each drill bar or rod (and in
the rear of the cylinder and back of the piston rod if it be hollow, and if the
drill bar passes through the piston rod) there is arranged a mechanism which
I call a "gripper box," the object of which is to firmly grasp and hold the
bar during its receding movement, but during part of the advance of the
piston, and when at or about the end of the stroke to release the same, thereby
allowing of its self-adjustment in accordance with the penetrability of the rock.
Rotary movement is imparted to the drill rod at each stroke of the piston by
means of a stud operating in a helical or oblique slot in the casing of the
gripper box," or by any other equivalent arrangement.
"
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents a side view partly in
section of a drilling apparatus constructed in accordance with this Invention,
and showing the internal construction of the "gripper box" before referred to.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the outer casing being shown in section to
exhibit the mechanism or arrangement for rotating the drill bar; Fig. 3 is an
end view of the drill, the drill bar at the forward end being shewn in section;
Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken along the line a, y, (Fig. 1), and showing
the grippers, "gripper box," and drill, or drill holder; Fig. 5 is a transverse
section along the line y, z, in Fig. 2; Figs. 6, 7, and 8, are detail views in
elevation, plan, and section of the intermediate stops, whereby the feed is
effected at given intervals of strokes. In these Drawings A is the steam
cylinder (the following description for the sake of brevity being confined to
drills. operated by steam, it being understood that air or other elastic or
inelastic fluid may with but slight modification be adapted for the purpose of
operating drilling tools). This cylinder has trunnions C on the sides at a
convenient distance from either end so as to properly balance the whole
apparatus, whereby the machine is hung or mounted in a suitable frame so as
to admit of a swinging motion in a plane at right angles to the axis of sus-
pension. On the top of the cylinder there is cast the usual valve chamber B,
and orifices or pipe connections D are arranged for the admission and emission
of steam. The cylinder is provided with a piston mounted upon a hollow
piston rod E, which passes through both heads of the cylinder, and the piston
is moved to and fro by the action of steam, whose admissiou to and exhaust
from the cylinder is regulated by the action of the drill itself in the following..

page_text: manner: To the head of the cylinder there is cast a lug G, to which is pivoted
a bell crank H, one of the lever ends of which is connected with a valve rod F
while the other is slotted. In this slot, which is timed according to the work
to be performed, works a pin I, projecting from the side of the hollow piston
rod or tool holder, so that the reciprocating movement of the latter is trans-
mitted to the valve, whose operation is thus intimately connected with that of the
drill itself. The hollow piston rod E contains the drill bar J, or both the
drill bar and its holder J¹. In a drill constructed according to this plan it is
preferred to make the drill in two parts, namely, the tool, and the tool holder,
which latter being permanently used in and combined with the "gripper box"
is necessarily more accurately adjusted. The tool holder is held in or on to
the hollow piston rod E by means of the "gripper box," consisting of the
following parts: A cylinder K held in position by means of the collar or
flange E¹, in the head of the hollow piston rod E, as well as by the internal
flange a, on the casing S; this cylinder K is provided at its rear end with
three, four, or more inclines N, against which are applied wedges M, confined
by means of a collar L, and the head of the hollow piston rod E, so as to allow
a slight play or sliding movement upon such inclined planes. At the forward
end the gripper box terminates in a dise O, at the back of which is an
internal recess, which contains a volute spring P, whose office it is to give the
parts in the "gripper box" the requisite degree of tension so as to compress the
wedges against the tool holder J, and firmly hold it. The stiffness of the
spring is calculated to yield to the momentum of the piston rod and drill bar
and holder, when the motion of the "gripper box" is suddenly checked by
coming in contact with the stops X, provided for that purpose. The drill bar
it will be understood is thus caused to advance in the "gripper box" until its
further progress is stopped by the tool coming in contact with a resisting
substance. The rotation of the tool, which is an important element in
drilling machinery, is effected in this case in the following manner:-The
recessed portion of the gripper box at 6 is provided with ratchet teeth Q,
gearing with a pawl R, hinged to the interior of a ring c, from which ring
projects a stud T, which working in a helical or other properly shaped slot S¹
in the casing of the "gripper box," imparts to the ring rotary movement. The
rotation thus produced on the ring is transmitted by means of the pawl R. to
the gripper box, which in its turn is held steady or prevented from turning
back by means of an auxiliary ratchet cut on the periphery of the disc O,
which is caused to gear in with a dog W, of a length not less than the stroke
of the piston, and which is caused to bear against and into the teeth O, by
means of one or more springs W¹. To withdraw the drill bar or holder I.

page_text: give the head of the piston rod a conical form, and shape the heads of the
wedges in the "gripper box" accordingly; with this arrangement I combine
the "follower" L, whose forward end is similarly formed into a cone, while
the taper ends of the wedges are formed correspondingly. By this arrange-
ment it will be understood that if the "follower" be pushed up or screwed
in against the wedges, the latter will, following the inclined planes of the head
of the piston rod, expand and diverge so as to release their grasp on the tool
holder. It will then be easy to remove the drill bar for rechange or other
purposes. At the rear end of the cylinder there is a wrought-iron ring
or anvil g, against which the "gripper box" is caused to strike at each
forward stroke of the piston; but I have found it preferable to multiply the
strokes of the tool on the rock under full head of steam between each advance
or feed of the drill; I have therefore arranged the anvil ring g, and the
bammer disc O, in such a manner as to come in contact only once or twice
during a complete rotation of the drill. For this purpose both the hammer
dise O, and the anvil 9 are provided with stops or projecting studs X, whereby
the two are kept out of contact except when the studs or stops on the one
come opposite the others, at which times only the feed takes place; during
the intermediate strokes, however, the drill being firmly held by the grippers it
is driven against the rock with the full force of steam.
Having thus described the construction and arrangement of the parts con-
stituting the improved drilling or rock boring apparatus, I shall now proceed
to describe the operation of the whole.
Steam being admitted to the cylinder in the rear of the piston, the drill is
moved forward against the face of the rock and occupies the position indicated
in Figures 1 and 2; at the moment the valve has been shifted by the action of
the stud I on the bell crank H, steam enters the cylinder in front of the
piston; as the latter travels back the head of the hollow piston rod strikes
the heads of the wedges M, whereby they are caused to converge and firmly
gripe the tool holder, and thus carry it with it in its backward movement.
The drill when thus withdrawn again shifts the valve to admit steam in the
rear of the piston, which moving forward presses through the medium of the
stiff spring P, against the "gripper box." The spring not being sensibly com-
pressed maintains the proper tension of the parts, so that the wedges do not
release their hold on the tool holder although moving forward. In this
manner a blow can be produced with the full force of the steam on the piston,
which operation is repeated successively, rotating the drill during each back
stroke, until the stops X before referred to come opposite to each other. At
this moment the "gripper box" in its forward movement is suddenly checked,

page_text: thereby compressing the spring and loosening the wedges which release the
tool holder. The tool holder thus released by the momentum acquired slides
forward within the "gripper box" until it reaches the face of the rock. The
drill bar is in this manner fed forward twice during each revolution.
I have described a drill operated by steam, air, or other elastic fluid, con-
sisting of a cylinder, through the hollow piston of which a drill bar or tool is
inserted. In lieu of a hollow piston rod a solid piston rod may be used in
connection with outside gripper boxes. To mount such drills so as to econo
mize space, and to allow of easy and ready adjustment, is the object of the
second part of this Invention. For this purpose four vertical columns or
wrought-iron pipes A (Figures 9 and 10) are used, mutually braced together
by means of transverse tubular stays. This system of tubular stays, connected
together by screw threads or otherwise so as to form tight joints, constitutes
the main framing, which is provided at convenient points, such as a, b, c, d, e,
pipe connections with which india-rubber steam hose or other hose or tubing
is connected so as to allow of steam or other fluid being conveyed through
the columns and tubular stays to and from the drill-actuating cylinder. Upon
the sides and to two adjoining columns are mounted, by means of hooks or
clamps tightened, by screws S, the supports G of the drill. These supports
consist of sheet iron plates slightly curved and slotted transversely; in these
slots are fitted adjustable bearings for the trunnions of the drills. Washers W,
or other like devices, may be used for rendering the adjustment fixed and
immoveable. The convexity of the supports permits of the drills being
adjusted laterally, i.e., horizontally, at any convenient angle to the face of the
rock, while their play upon their trunnions enables their being adjusted at any
given angle to the face of the rock vertically, or in vertical planes. One or
more such supports may be used. In the latter case they are arranged one
above the other, four being generally used in galleries or tunnels of ordinary
dimensions. This hollow columnar frame may be held in place and securely
braced by means of wedges or other well known means, but I prefer to effect
this by a system of set screws inserted in the ends of each main column on
the top and bottom. The columns are closed at these parts by means of plugs P,
screwed into the open ends. Through the centre of each plug passes a
pointed screw M, which is protected from the effects of steam in the interior
of the column by means of a sleeve or thimble Q, screwed into the plug, but
surrounding the set screw. The set screws are turned by means of rods or.
levers inserted in the eye of the set screw near the point, and are thus
elongated or shortened for bracing the frame against the roof of the gallery or
for removing the same. Heretofore it was deemed impracticable, if not im-:

page_text: possible, to use steam power in subterrenean operations on account of the
products of combustion of the fuel used in keeping up steam in the generator,
and the exhaust steam soon vitiating the atmosphere so as to render it im-
possible for men to attend to the work.
The object of the third part of this Invention therefore is to obviate the
objections attending the use of steam machinery, and this it is proposed to
accomplish by a simple device consisting in the use of a pipe extending
throughout the length of the gallery or tunnel, through which pipe air is
drawn or forced by means of a fan or other means.
In Figure 11, which represents in horizontal section a gallery or tunnel
having a double track for the drilling or mining machinery and steam generator
to advance upon with the progress of the work, A represents a vacuum fan
driven by steam or other power placed outside or inside of a mine or tunnel,
and connected with a pipe B, through which the air is drawn. The pipe B,
which extends up to the face of the work or to any part of the gallery which
it is necessary to ventilate, may be constructed of wood or metal; if of wood
it is put together with pieces like the staves of a barrel, the joints being coated
with pitch or other cement or composition to prevent leakage of air; C is the
boiler or steam generator, which, instead of having the usual chimney, com-
municates with the vacuum pipe B, into which all the smoke, exhaust steam,
and vitiated air are drawn, and by means of which they are carried out and
discharged outside the mine or tunnel, at the same time creating a partial
vacuum which causes a constant current of fresh air to flow into the working.
In the pipe which connects the steam generator with the vacuum pipe
dampers may be placed to regulate the intensity of the draught. For the
ventilation of side rooms or galleries branch pipes connected with the main
pipe B are employed. The pipe B need not be placed on the outside of the
gallery or tunnel, but may be situate at any point intermediate between the
generator and the outer end; the fan would, however, then be double
acting, i.e., be both a suction and a forcing fan, the vitiated air being
drawn to the fan, and by it expelled or forced out at the end outside of the
gallery.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st, in steam drills, or drills operated by air or other elastic fluid, I claim.
the combination with a hollow piston rod when used as a tool holder of a

page_text: "
gripper box" arranged in the rear of the cylinder and back of the piston rod,
substantially as set forth.
2nd, the employment in machinery for drilling or boring rocks or other
hard substances operated by steam or other elastic fluid of a momentum feed
as described, i. e., a mechanism to firmly connect the piston rod with the
drilling tool or tool holder in such manner as that the hold shall be suddenly
and automatically released at or before the completion of its forward stroke to
allow of the self-adjustment of the tool in relation to the rock, in accordance
with its penetrability and the progress of the work, substantially in the manner
herein set forth.
3rd, in a drill operated by steam or other elastic fluid, I claim the
momentum feed as described when applied to the translatory movement in
combination with a positive rotary feed of the drilling tool, and whether the
two feeds are simultaneous, reciprocating, or intermittent in their action with
respect to each other, substantially as set forth.
4th, the arrangement concentrically with the drill or tool of the "gripper
box" containing a series of wedges held in place so as to firmly grasp the
tool through the agency of a spring in combination with a stationary anvil
ring forward of the "gripper box" for operation, as set forth.
5th, in combination with the " gripper box" operating as described, I
claim the arrangement for driving the wedges home against the tool to grasp
the same with the full head of steam, or the actuating power, by causing the
rear end of the hollow piston rod to butt against the heads of the wedges as
described.
6th, in combination with the "gripper box," constructed and arranged as
described, I claim the follower to expand the wedges for the purposes of
releasing the drill tool or tool holder, substantially as set forth.
7th, recessing the stationary check or anvil ring so as to leave projecting
studs corresponding to similar studs in the forward end of the gripper box
in such manner as that the momentum feed shall be alternated by blows under
full head of steam, substantially as set forth.
8th, in combination with the means described for producing rotatory motion
of the tool, I claim the auxiliary ratchet and dog or the mechanical equivalent
thereof, for the purpose of preventing the tool from turning back after each
rotation, substantially as set forth.
9th, the employment in steam or pneumatic drills and adaptation to the
cylinder at or about the centre of gravity thereof of trunnions for the support
of the apparatus so as to admit of the elevation or depression of the point of
the drill to perform its work, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 10th, mounting, drilling, boring, or other like machinery when arranged
for operation by steam, compressed air, or other fluid upon a columnar frame,
whether solid or tubular, and whether steam or other fluid is conveyed to and
from the said machinery by independent pipes or through the columns,
substantially as set forth.
11th, in combination with columnar frame for the support of machinery
for drilling or boring rocks or other subterrenean operations, I claim the
pointed set screws or the equivalent thereof to brace and steady the said frame
in the manner substantially as set forth.
12th, in combination with columnar frame, which for the purpose of
conveying steam or other fluid is hollow, I claim the thimbles encasing
the set screws to protect the same and prevent leakage, substantially as set
forth.
13th, the combination of the columnar frame with adjustable supports
for the bearings of the trunnions of drills or other like machinery so as to
admit of adjustment, of said drills at any height and at any angle in the plane
perpendicular to the axis of the trunnions.
14th, making the supports of a segmental form, and forming the bearings
therein adjustable so as to admit of universal motion of the drills, sub-
stantially as set forth.
15th, I claim the use in mining, tunnelling, and other subterrenean opera-
tions of steam generators in combination with a vacuum pipe for the purpose
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-five.