IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR EXCAVATING
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, THOMAS
SYMES PRIDEAUX, of Southampton, Gentleman, sond giceting
WHEREAS er present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by e
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Butain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifteenth day of July,
In the tenth year of Her reign, dud, for lerself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, tho said Thomas Symes Prideaux, my exois, admors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authouty, that I,
the said Thomas Symes Prideaux, my exors, adfiois, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Thomas Symes Prideaux, my exors, adiiors, or assigns,
should at any time agice with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years thei ein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, excicise, and vend, with England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
EXCAVATING," in which said letters Patent is contamed a proviso, that I, the
said Thomas Symes l'ideaux, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in waiting under my hand and scal, to be inrolled in Пer 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
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Symes Pudeaux, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention,

page_text: My invention relates to a mode of arranging machinery so that a series
of cutting surfaces are caused to cut or pare slices of caith for the purpose of
excavating, and so that the earth so cut or pared may be clared out of the
way of the machine to enable it to progress forward
But in order that my
Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed
to describe the Diawing hereunto annexed.-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a plan, Figure 2 a side view, and Figure 3 an end
elevation of a machine aanged according to my Invention, in each of the
Figures the same letters are used to indicate similar parts. a, a, is the fiaming
of the machine, which is carried upon four wheels b, b, affixed to the axles c, c';
d, d, are the cutting instruments, one of which is shown separately at Figure 4
These cutting usti uments d, d, are each affixed to an aim canied by the
shaft e, which is caused to evolve in the direction indicated by the allow, by
which the edges d' will be brought against the caith to be cut, and slices of
the earth will be cut or pared off, and received into the box formed by the
peculiar shape of cutting instrument I employ, and as the cutting insti uments
revolve the fresh cut earth will not be allowed to fall from the instruments d
until they have each arived at a point about A, and this is accomplished
by the part d of the instruments d being extended forwards, as shewn, to
enable the earth to be held in the msti ument d till it alives about the point A
On the shafte is affixed the chain wheel f, which receives and is given motion
to by the chain g, which passes over and is duiven by the chain wheel h on the
axis h. This axis h' is carried by the fiaming a, as shewn, and has affixed
upon it the screw wheel, which is driven by the worm wheel 7 on the axis 7',
upon which is also affixed the bevilled pinion 7, which is genied into and
given motion to by the bevilled pinion on the crank shaft 7, which has
cranks,, by which motion is given to the shaft I, and and thence to
the vanous parts of the apparatus by a steam engine or other suitable
power, which may be carried by the framing a, but which is not shewn, to
prevent complexity of the Diawings. The caith, as it is thrown from the
instruments d, d, is received into buckets m, n, which I secure to leather
belts or aprons carried by the endless chains o, o, p, p, there being two
sets of each of the buckets m, n, used, although only one of each is shewn in

page_text: the Drawing, the others having been omitted in order that other of the paits
may be more clearly seen. Each bucket moi n is composed of a back m², n¹,
and two sides m³, n; and the two sides m³ or n³ of one bucket overlap the
two sides of the next bucket, as is more clearly shewn at Figure 5, where
a part of one of the endless chains of buckets m is shown separately on a
larger scale. The lapping over of part of one bucket over the other is in
order to prevent there being openings at the sides when the buckets aic
passing over their chain wheels The endless chains of buckets have motion
given to them in the dnection of the arrows in the following manner :-
On the axis are affixed excentrics 1, 1; these excentrics by their rods 1, 2,
which are connected to the crank pin s¹, s', on the cranks s, give motion
to the axis &, upon which are affixed the chain wheels o³, o', which give
motion to the endless chains o, o, and consequently to the series of buckets
m, m, and these chains o, o, give motion, by means of the chain wheels o³, o³,
to the axis q, and thence to the chains of buckets n, n, by their being other
cham wheels q, q', on the axis q, which give motion to the chains p, p, to
which the buckets n, n, are affixed. The upper parts of the chains p, p, pass
over and are guided by pullies on the axis t. The earth from the two outer-
most of the cutting instruments d, d, is received into the chain of buckets n,
which, as they move forward in the duection indicated by the arrows, allow the
carth to fall into troughs or shoots v, which ducct it into the endless chains of
buchets m, m, which also receive the earth taken up by the other of the
instruments d, d, and deposit it in the trough w. This trough w is called by
the main framing a, and it has a sliding bottom w¹ supported on wheels w³, w³;
and the wheels w run upon the rails w³, also carried by the frame u, so that
the contents of the trough w may from time to time be allowed to fall into
suitable trucks or carts to be removed elsewhere. In working the machine
I prefer that each of the cutting instruments & should come into operation
about four times every minute, cutting thin slices each time; for this purpose
I have arranged the parts so that a slight onward motion will be given to it,
causing it to move forward on the rails a, a, there being on the shaft / a
worm wheel, which by taking into the sciew wheel y on the axis y³, upon
which is affixed a worm wheel y, which takes into a screw wheel c² on the
axle c¹ of the hund canying wheels c. And I vary the speed at which the
machine shall travel along the rauls a, and consequently the quantity which
shall be cut or pared off each time by the instruments d, according to the
nature of the soil to be excavated, by substituting other woim wheels of
different pitch for those at y or y; and I arrange the parts so that the axle e
may overhang the fiame in front a distance that will enable fiesh nails a to be

page_text: joined to others for the canying wheels to run upon as required. and by the
outer of the cutting instruments projecting sideways beyond other parts of
the machine, I am enabled to work in a deeper cutting (say, to two-tlunds or
three-tour ths the diameter of a circle formed by the cutting instruments) than
could be the case where the cutting instruments with those parts At the
same time I do not confine myself to the use of only one aale e cari ymg
cutting instruments d, as the machine may be so arranged as to have two or
more of such axles arranged one above the other It will be seen that accord-
ing to the arrangement shown there will be thiec 1dges of earth left between
the cutters; but such ridges will not be found to interfere with the conect
working of the machine, as, if they do not fall as they would in light soil,
from their being very thin, they may easily be removed by a workman
attending upon the machine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to bo canied into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details herein described so long as the peculiar
character of the Invention be retained; but what I claim is the mode of
arianging mechanical parts into a machine for excavating as herein described,
whereby a series of cutting instruments d are caused to revolve, and in such
manner that as they ascend they cut off portions of the carth, and carry it
over their axis of motion, and deposit it so as to be conveniently moved away
In witness whereof, 1, the said Thomas Symes Prideaux, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our
Loid One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven
THOMAS SYMES (LS) PRIDEAUX.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifteenth day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Thomas Symes Prideaux, came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Loid One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.