IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN GETTING COAL, STONE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Theophilus Wood Bunning, of the Town and
County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and William Cochrane, of Oak-
field House, Coxlodge, in the County of Northumberland, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN GETTING COAL, STONE,
Sealed the 29th March 1870, and dated the 5th October 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Theophilus Wood
Bunning and William Cochrane at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 5th October 1869.
We, THEOPHILUS WOOD BUNNING, of the Town and County of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and WILLIAM COCHRANE," of Oakfield House,
Coxlodge, in the County of Northumberland, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN GETTING
COAL, STONE, AND OTHER MINERALS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to apparatus for getting coal, stone, or other
minerals, and to that class of such machinery where a cutter bar

page_text: worked by hydraulic pressure is employed to slot or cut grooves in the
coal.
-
"
We mount the cutters upon a bar, one end of which forms the ram in
a hydraulic cylinder, and we mount such hydraulic cylinder upon a truck
running upon rails laid in front of the "face" of coal or other mineral,
or the cylinder may be otherwise mounted and supported so that the
apparatus can be moved along the face of the coal as the grooves is out.
The cylinder is so mounted or pivotted upon the truck or other support
that its angle or elevation can be regulated according to the requirement.
Attached to the hydraulic cylinder of the cutter ram is a guide bar,
which enters the groove cut in the coal and carries, a second hydraulic
cylinder and ram which acts to jamb the guide bar in the groove during
the time the cut is being made by the cutter bar, the guide bar forming a
slide for the cutter bar. In front of the face of coal we fix one or more bars
or wire ropes, which we employ as the means for assisting to secure the
parallelism of the cut and for moving. the machine forward step by step
between each cutting movement of the cutter bar. This bar or rope
may be fixed in any convenient manner, and it may be secured by the
aid of the groove cut in the coal. One end of a bar may be secured by
means of the groove cut in the coal and the other end supported by the
apparatus itself. In order to secure the apparatus to the bar or wire
rope we provide a hydraulic cylinder and ram, which grips the bar or
wire rope whilst the cut is being made and while the tool is returning
from the cut. In order to move the apparatus forward for a fresh cut
the surfaces of the groove cut in the coal may be employed as the point
of resistance; but according to one part of our Invention we provide two
hydraulic cylinders, and we cause the ram of one of such cylinders to
grip the bar or rope, and we so form such cylinder that it acts as the
ram of the second cylinder, by which the apparatus is moved a suitable
distance for the next cut. We provide a nut or other means by which
the distance moved by the apparatus between each cut is regulated.
The hydraulic rams are so formed that they present a greater surface on
that side upon which the pressure is exerted to bring them into opera-
tion than on the other side, and we so arrange the water pipes that a
constant pressure is exerted on that side of the ram which presents the
smaller surface, and by this means the return movements of the rams
are effected. The pressure of water can be admitted to the cylinders by
the movement of a lever handle or by self-acting mechanism, and we
provide a distributing valve acted upon by the cutter bar by which the

page_text: pressure of water is directed into the cylinders for jambing the:
apparatus and for moving it forward between each cutting action of the
cutter bar.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Theophilus Wood Bunning and William Cochrane'
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THEOPHILUS
WOOD BUNNING, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
and WILLIAM COCHRANE, of Oakfield House, Coxlodge, in the County of
Northumberland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Theophilus Wood Bunning and William
Cochrane, Her special licence that we, the said Theophilus Wood
Bunning and William Cochrane, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Theophilus Wood Bunning and
William Cochrane, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN GETTING COAL, STONE, AND OTHER
MINERALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Theophilus Wood Bunning and William Cochrane, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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.
we,
NOW KNOW YE, that the said Theophilus Wood Bunning and
William Cochrane, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: .
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say :-
Our Invention relates to apparatus for getting coal, stone, or other
minerals, and to that class of such machinery where a cutter bar
worked by hydraulic pressure is employed to slot or cut grooves in the
coal.
We mount the cutters upon a bar, one end of which forms the ram
in a hydraulic cylinder, and we mount such hydraulic cylinder upon a
truck running upon rails laid in front of the face of coal or other
mineral, or the cylinder may be otherwise mounted and supported so
that the apparatus can be moved along the face of the coal as the groove
is cut. The cylinder is so mounted or pivotted upon the truck or other
support that its angle or elevation can be regulated according to the
requirement. Attached to the hydraulic cylinder of the cutter ram is
a guide bar, which enters the groove cut in the coal, and carries a second
hydraulic cylinder and ram which acts to jamb the guide bar in the
groove during the time the cut is being made by the cutter bar, the
guide bar forming a slide for the cutter bar. In front of the face of
the coal we fix one or more bars or wire ropes, which we employ as the
means for assisting to secure parallelism of the cut, and for moving the
machine forward step by step between each cutting movement of the
cutter bar. This bar or rope may be fixed in any convenient manner,
and it may be secured by the aid of the groove cut in the coal. One
end of a bar may be secured by means of the groove cut in the coal,
and the other end supported by the apparatus itself. In order to secure
the apparatus to the bar or wire rope we provide a hydraulic cylinder
and ram, which grips the bar or wire rope whilst the cut is being made
and while the tool is returning from the cut. In order to move the
apparatus forward for a fresh cut the surfaces of the groove cut in the
coal may be employed as the point of resistance; but according to one
part of our Invention we provide two hydraulic cylinders, and we cause
the ram of one of such cylinders to grip the bar or rope, and we so form
such cylinder that it acts as the ram of the second cylinder, by which
the apparatus is moved a suitable distance for the next cut. We provide
a nut or other means by which the distance moved by the apparatus
between each cut is regulated. The hydraulic rams are so formed that
they present & greater surface on that side, upon which the pressure is

page_text: exerted to bring them into operation than on the other side, and we so
arrange the water pipes that a constant pressure is exerted on that side
of the ram which presents the smaller surface, and by this means the
return movements of the rams are effected. The pressure of water can
be admitted to the cylinders by the movement of a lever handle or by
self-acting mechanism, and we provide a distributing valve acted upon
by the cutter bar by which the pressure of water is directed into the
cylinder for jambing the apparatus and for moving it forward between
each cutting action of the cutter bar.
And in order that our Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into practice, we will proceed to describe the Drawing
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a plan of a machine or apparatus for getting or
cutting coal arranged in accordance with our Invention to suit hydraulic
agency; Figure 2 shows a section of the apparatus for causing the
machine to advance along its work; and Figure 3 shows the apparatus
for jambing the machino in the groove also in section. The same letters
refer to the same parts in all the Figures.
D is the cutter bar, which in this arrangement is shewn with four
cutters attached thereto 1, 2, 3, 4, in the manner shewn in the Drawing,
whereby the total cut in the coal is divided into four steps, one stroke of
the cutter bar being equal to one step or one-fourth of the cut. One
or any other number of cutters may be attached to this bar, the stroke
of the actuating cylinder being made to correspond. The cutter bar D
is of cylindrical form at O so as to enter and move to and fro in the
main cylinder A. with the piston B attached thereto, as shewn. The
cylinder A. is fitted with a cover or end f, and 9, 9, 9, 9, are leathers or
packing for keeping the parts fluid tight. a is the inlet passage for
water from the force pump, and J is a valve, which may be of any usual
construction, and which is here shewn as worked by hand by means of
the handle b, but which may as readily be worked by the reciprocating
motion of the cutter bar if thought desirable. This valve J, while it
allows a constant pressure to act by means of the pipes W, W', in the
annular space between the cylindrical end of the cutter bar C and the
cylinder A, and so upon the smaller area of the piston B, admits at the
will of the operator the pressure on the larger area of the piston B,
or allows the water- thus admitted to escape through the exhaust

page_text: It will be seen that by this
space
passage Z, Z, when it has done its work.
arrangement the cut is effected by the pressure of the water acting on.
the circular piston B, which forces back the water in the annular
on the other side of the piston B through the pipes W', W', the constant
pressure on this annular space bringing back the piston and with it
the cutter bar, when by the motion of the handle 6 the pressure is
removed from the larger area to the piston B, and the water is allowed
to escape through Z, Z. H, H, is a frame attached to the cylinder A
projecting from it into the groove cut by the machine, where it
terminates in a cylinder K in which works the jambing piston or ram G,
which, like the piston B already described, has a constant pressure in
the annular space k³, which presses it in one direction when the pressure
is withdrawn from the larger space . This piston G being jambed in
the groove when the cut is being made resists the tendency the machine
would otherwise have to draw itself out of the groove, and also by
holding the frame H fast makes it a steady guide to the gutter bar D
inside the groove. R is a rope stretched across the face of the coal,
which is used to advance the machine along its line of work, and also
to assist in steadying that portion of the apparatus which projects from
the groove, and in keeping the cutter bar D at a uniform angle with
the face of the coal.
This rope R is made to pass through small
cylinders O, I, N; the central one I is bolted to the frame H at c, and
carries the other two. The cylinder O is fitted with a piston or ram U
fitted with leathers 9, and receives pressure at will only on one side /*
which forces the piston or ram U on to the rope R, and forms an abut-
ment for the piston or ram S to push against when pressure is admitted
at between it and the cylinder I. The piston or ram S working in
the cylinder I is attached to the cylinder O by the screw P; the piston
or ram S is so arranged in its cylinder I that it has on one of its sides
an annular space ³, which presses it in one direction when the pressure
is withdrawn from the larger space P, so that when pressure is simul-
taneously admitted into the spaces and the ram U jambs the rope R,
and fixes the cylinder O and the ram S, thereby causing the cylinder I
and the frame H, together with the apparatus which is fixed thereto, to
advance for another cut. The cylinder 'N which is attached to the
cylinder I is fitted with a ram or piston in precisely the same way as the
cylinder O, whereby its piston is made to jamb the rope at V when
required. Qis a distributing valve of any usual construction, which
receives its motion alternately by the constant pressure of the water

page_text: through W, and by the action of the tappet L forged on the foot of
the tool 4 on the projecting spindle M.
In order to render the action of the several rams as intelligible as
possible the same letter W is used to designate all pipes in which the
constant pressure of the actuating fluid is exerted, and W', W³, W³,
and W' shew how this constant pressure is admitted respectively to the
annular space of the actuating or cutting cylinder A; of the
jambing cylinder in the groove G, ³ of the feeding cylinder I, and,
lastly, to the distributing valve Q; while the same letter X is used for
those pipes which admit pressure at will by means of the distributing
valve Q in the larger spaces to act against the constant pressure in the
annular spaces, X' and X' respectively admitting the pressure into ³ of
the jambing cylinder K and of the feeding cylinder I, and the water
being admitted into the space l' of the cylinder A by the valve J, as
before described; and, lastly, Y' and Y' respectively show how water is
admitted at will by the distributing valve Q upon the single-acting
compressing rams U and N. The machine may be attached to a small
truck or carriage E running on a tramway set parallel to the face of the
coal. By means of the pivot F it may be set at any required angle with
the tramway, and also be packed up to suit irregularities of the floor
and the varied heights at which it may be desirable to cut the groove.
This packing up may, if necessary, be effected by hydraulic pressure, but
it is not thus shewn in the Drawing.
The operation of the machine may be thus described. On water at
a suitable pressure being admitted through the inlet pipe a it also flows
through all the pipes W, W³, W³, W, and exerts a constant pressure
on the annular spaces ³, 1, 1, and the bottom of the distributing
valve Q, as before described. When the distributing valve is in the
position in which it is shewn in the Drawing, that is, when not shoved
down by the tappet L, pressure is admitted through the pipes X' and 'Y'
respectively to the larger area of the piston or ram G and the jambing
ram N, and the machine is held steady while the cutter bar is being
withdrawn from the groove by the pressure exerted in the annular
space on the piston B, while the feed cylinder I and the jambing
cylinder O are respectively in communication with the exhaust Z' by
the pipes X, Y. The pipe Y¹ terminates in a small piston e provided
with leathers g working in a small cylinder % which allows the motion
between the cylinders I and O to take place when the cylinder I advances

page_text: with the feed, or this motion may be allowed for by any other suitable
connection. As soon as the cutter bar becomes disengaged from the
groove the tappet L strikes the valve spindle M, the jambing ram N and
the larger surface of the jambing ram G are relieved from pressure
through the pipes Y' and X' being respectively in communication with
the exhaust Z', whereby they cease to offer any opposition to the motion
of the machine while pressure is admitted through the pipes Y¹ and X'
respectively into the jambing cylinder O and in the larger area of the
piston S in the cylinder I; as this piston is prevented moving through
the piston U in the cylinder O jambing the rope it forces the machine
to advance in the direction of the arrow the distance necessary to make
another cut, T being a nut which regulates the amount of such distance.
Pressure is now admitted by means of the handle 6 and the valve J into
the space in the cylinder A, and the cutter bar is driven out and a
cut is made in the coal, for as soon as the tappet L leaves the valve
spindle M the rams N and G.are again made to jamb respectively the
rope and groove and the machine is held steady, the ram G resisting
the outward motion of the machine while the ram N preserves the angle
at which the cut is made and keeps it parallel with the preceding cut.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means
we are acquainted with for carrying the same into practice, we would
have it understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details
herein shewn and described, as the same may be considerably varied
without departing from the true character of our Invention. We would
further remark that under the present in part recited Letters Patent we
do not make any separate claim to the cutter bar D, the slide bar H, and
the jambing piston G, such parts and their operation corresponding
with similar parts which have been described and claimed by us in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to us, bearing date 4th May 1867,
No. 1311.
.
"What we claim is,―
First. The combination with a mineral "getting" machine operating
as herein-before described of a holding on cylinder N so arranged as to
grip a rope, chain, or bar, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described and shewn in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The combination with a mineral "getting" machine operating

page_text: with a rope, chain, or bar, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described and shewn in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Thirdly. The application and use of the rope, chain, or bar R, or its
equivalent, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described
and shewn in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly. The general arrangement and combination of parts into a
machine, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described
and shewn in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Theophilus Wood Bunning and
William Cochrane, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Thirtieth day of March, in the year our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and serremby.
THEO. WOOD BUNNING. (L.S.)
WILLIAM COCHRANE.
(L.S.)