US1154035A - Method of perforating separated obstructions in hollow walls. - Google Patents

Description

A. R. LOCKE. METHOD 0F PERFORATING SEPARATED OBSI'RUCTIONS IN HOLLOW WALLS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I5. 191.3.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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APPLICATION FILED JAN.15.'1913.

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ALBERT R. LOCKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF PERFORATING SEPARATED OBSTRUCIIONS IN HOLLOW WALLS.

Application filed January 115, 1913.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT R. Looxn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Perforating Separated bstructions in Hollow Walls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a method of drilling holes through a series of comparatively inaccessible separated bodies such as joists and other such supports in a hollow wall, and is especially applicable as a means for installing electric wires `and interior conduits for said wires, in the spaces between the plastered sides of a vertical hollow wall and between the floor of one room and the ceiling of a subjacent room.

My new and improved method is especially adapted and valuable for use in installing wires, cables, and conduits in buildings that have been completed, although it may be employed with great saving and cost of labor in buildings before the walls have been plastered or otherwise finished.

In placing wires and conduits therefor in a hollow wall in which perforatable supports such as wooden joists, studs and the like are contained at intervals, such supports must necessarily be perforated when lines of wires or conduits are extended at an angle to the longitudinal dimensions of such supports. Heretofore it has been necessary to tear up a portion of the floors or walls in finished buildings before such supports could be perforated for the introduction of wires and conduits.

In the practice of my invention it is not necessary to disturb the walls further than to make a relatively small aperture through such wall or floor, as at a point where an outlet box is to be located. Through this aperture or opening a suitable drill or bit is inserted and, by this means of my method, a series of apertures may be drilled or bored through the successive joists or studs in perfect alinement to some objective point, and at right angles to the application of power.

In carrying my method into effect I provide a suitable drill stock and a rigid, composite, bit extension, the latter comprising a series of separable sections capable of being inserted through said opening and conveniently joined into a rigid whole until enough of said sections have been added to said bit Specification of Letters Patent.

of the boring apparatus.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Seria No. 742,090.

desired to be made a flexible shaft may be connected to the rear end of the elongated bit extension, without the necessity of making further extensions thereto by use of additional relatively short sections.

In the drawings, Figure l is a section of a floor, showing the application of the drilling device as a means for carrying my invention into effect. Fig. 2 is a similar but somewhat smaller section, showing the application of the flexible shaft as a means for rotating the elongated bit extension and bit. Said shaft is herein shown adapted to pass through the perforations made by the bit. rIhe bit is held in substantial alinement by the rigid extension, so that all of the holes will be made in substantially the same horizontal plane. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section Fig. 4: is an end view of the head of said apparatus. Fig. 5 is a section of a portion of the flexible shaft.

In all the views the same reference characters are employed to indicate similar parts.

l1, l2, 13, and 14 are a series of separated joists for supporting the floor l5 and ceiling 16. It is desirable to perforate these joists, in the manner substantially as shown in Fig. l, for a distance substantially equal to the length of the wires or conduit to be inserted. These joists areusually 16 inches apart, from center to center, and run from 2 to 3 inches thick when they are composed of wood.

Before the drilling apparatus is inserted into the space between the licor and the ceiling, it is necessary to make a hole in the' ceiling or in the fioor for the purpose of inserting the bits, sections of shaft, and the boring tool, and also for the purpose of providing room or repose for an outlet box.

After a hole has been driven through the ceiling or wall an expansible shield 25 is contracted and placed in the hole, expanded, and secured in expanded position.v A flange 27 prevents its withdrawal until it has been again contracted. The shield 25 protects the raw surfaces of the hole made in the ceiling or wall and prevents them from being chipped or broken away and also prevents contact of the soiled hands of the workman with the wall while work is being done through the aperture provided in a manner described.

The bit stock, or means for rotating the bit, consists of the tube 29. which may be of any convenient and suitable length and has a head 30 secured to the upper end thereof, as by screw threads, and a casing 31 similarly secured to the lower end thereof. A hollow shaft passes through the tube 29 and has secured on its lower end a pinion 33 and on its upper end a bevel gear wheel 34. A gear wheel 35 is contained in the casing 31 and in constant mesh with the pinion 33 and is adapted to be rotated by any means that may be secured to the coupling member 36.

A bevel gear wheel 37 has its axis at right angles to that of the wheel 34 and is in constant mesh therewith and is adapted to be turned thereby. A screw threaded bitholding stock 38 is adapted to be moved longitudinally through the head 30. .lt is provided with a spline 3f) in which a feather 40 is adapted to be freely moved. The feather 40 is also secured in the bevel gear wheel 37 so that when the gear wheel 37 is rotated the screw 38 is positively rotated therewith. A cylindrical nut 4.1 is contained within the head 30 and has threaded engagement with the stock 38. Now, if the shaft 32 be rotated the bevel gear wheel 37 will be rotated through the agency of the bevel gear wheel 34, and if the nut 41 be 1 unrestrained the said nut 41 and the stock 38 will be rotated together, but if the nut 41 be held against rotation then the stock 38 will be rotated and longitudinally advanced from the head to the right or to the left in accordance with the direction of rotation of the shaft 32. For the purpose of holding the nut 41 against rotation, I provide a screw threaded shaft 42 provided with a knurled head 43 and adapted to screw into the casing 31. The shaft 42 is reduced, as at 43, to provide a shoulder 44 for the spring 45. The reduced end 43 enters a plug 46 which has direct bearing upon the cylindrical nut 41. The tension of the spring on the thrust plug 46 may be varied by turning the head 43. If the shaft 42 is turned to the right more tension is applied to the spring 45 and the plug 46 is pressed more firmly against the screw nut 41 to retain it against rotation and by this means the speed of advancement of the stock 38 may be varied by varying the slip `or the rotative stability of the nut 41. It will be ,understood that if the nut 41 is positively held against rotation the reciprocating movement of the stock 38 will be at its maximum speed and any slip between the plug 46 and the nut 41 will reduce the speed of the stock 38 in its lateral movement.

The boring bit 47 is connected to the stock 38 by means of a coupling comprising a male and a female portion 48 and 49 respectively. The male portion 48 is tapered as at 50, and is provided with an axial bore as at 51, and a transverse bore as at 52. The female portion 49 is provided with a transverse bore as at 53, and a parallel bore as at 54. rl`he tapered portion 50 of the coupling enters the transverse bore 54. A latch bolt is contained in the bore 52 and is yieldingly held with one end projecting from the bore 52 by means of a spring 56. A plug 57 is adapted to slide freely in the bore 51 and is held in an outward position by means of the spring 56 which is provided on its outer end with a taper, as at 58. The spring-pressed latch bolt 55 is provided with a corresponding tapered notch in which the end 58 projects. lf pressure be applied on the outer end of the latch bolt 55, the bolt 57 will be pushed inwardly, by the operation of the tapering portions 58 and 59 of the respective parts, against the resilient yielding resistance of the spring 56. After the latch bolt has been released the spring 56 and the plug 57 will return the latch bolt to its normal position as shown in Fig. 4. To disconnect the coupling between the parts 38 and 47 it is only necessary toapply pressure to the end of the latch bolt 55 until it has been pressed inwardly sufliciently to clear the female portion on the member 47 after which the parts may be separated.

In Fig. l I have shown a composite rigid drill bit extension 7 O passing through horizontal joists 12 and 13. It will be extended by the addition of other sections until the bit 47 has reached the 'joist 14 or until this rigid extension portion spans at least three of the joists. These rigid extension sections may be of various lengths for convenient insertion through the apertures 71 in which the shield 25 is secured, as shown in Fig. 1.

The rigid extension portion is somewhat smaller than the ultimate diameter of the bit so that the perforations made by the bit are somewhat larger than the rigid portion and somewhat larger than the flexible shaft which is to be subsequently employed in carrying out my method of operation. The bit extension sections are preferably threaded on their outside surfaces for the tail in Fig. 3, is held in drilling position' upon a support, such as'a step-ladder or the like, in an adjustable do 72 which is adjustably secured to a clamp held in place by a screw 74 on a suitable support, such as a step-ladder 75 or the like.

The bit stock 38 may be rotated by means of an electric motor 76 connected to the coupling 36 by a flexible shaft 77, when desired, or if preferred a hand-operated crank may be connected to the coupling 36 and the bit stock may be manually rotated. In Fig. 5 an enlarged view of the iexible shaft is shown, and the manner of its connection to the coupling 49. y

Any convenient means for controlling the operation of the electric motor 76 may be employed and located near the drilling apw paratus 29, as on the step-ladder or other suitable support, whereby the speed of the moto-r may be varied and the direction of rotation thereof may be changed at will.

After a series of holes have been drilled through the spaced-apart obstructions in the walls, such as the joists thereof, the tool bit 47 may be removed, in the manner described, through another perforation, as 79, as shown in Fig. 2, and the pull-in attachment 78, may

be connected onto the end of the drillingshaft in lieu thereof. This pull-in attachment 78 is provided with a hole into which a cord, wire, or cable, 81 is threaded and to which it is attached, so that when the drilling apparatus is withdrawn from the perforations which it has made, the cord or wire 81 will be drawn into the said perforations so that subsequently a conduit cr wire may be pulled thereinto.

The use and operation of my system is as follows: A perforation is made through a ceiling wall 16, after which the shield 25 is placed through the perforation so made, to protect the bounding edges of the ceiling or the additional portions of the wall. This shield is held in place by means of an inner fiange 27 and when the shield has been compressed and subsequently expanded is secured in position to prevent its displace ment. The tool 29 is now placed -through the perforation in the shield 25 into the space bounded by the floor, ceiling, and joists 11 and 12, and it may be held in selected position as by the adjustable clamp 72 secured to the stationary support or the stepladder 75, by the clamp 73. At this time a short bit 47 is inserted directly into the bit stock 38 and the hole is first drilled through the joists 11, as at 82. As heretofore explained the bit stock may be given a reciprocating motion by tightening the screw of the shaft 42, by turning the head 43 until the plug 46 makes a rather positive engagement with the rotatable nut 41. As heretofore explained the bit stock 38 is directly rotated through the gears 34 and 37 and the feather 40 which is secured to the gear wheel 37. It will, of course, be understood that when drilling the hole 82 the tool is turned around so that the end provided with one member of the coupling faces the joist 1l. After the hole 82 has been bored the device is returned to the position shown and the bit 38 is retracted until it is substantially Hush with the right hand side of the support., and the projected rear portion` has entered the aperture 82. The bit is now removed from the st0ck38 and a short section of the bit extension is inserted between the bit and the stock 38 in a manner heretofore described, `without removing the tool from its position. The stock 38 is now advanced until the bit comes into contact with the j oist 12, when a hole is bored through the joist, after which the bit and the sections of the extension that have been attached thereto are disconnected from the stock 38, in a manner heretofore described, and another section added until the bit 47 is brought into contact with the joist 13, at which time other bit extensions are connected in and the stock 38 again advanced in a manner heretofore described until a hole is made in the joist 14. Now then the rigid bit extension is supported in three joists 12, 13, and 14 in a horizontal manner. It will continue vto drill holes in substantially the samel plane as long as the rigid portion of the bit is urged forwardly and suliciently rotated. now attach the flexible shaft 77 to the rigid bit extension 7 0 and continue the rotation of the shaft 77 and the bit by means, preferably, of an 'electric motor 76. As the outside portion of the rigid bit extension is screw threaded .and as it bears always upon at least threeof the supports l2, 13, and 14, the screw threads, by their contact with the lower portion of the holes that have been made fin the supports, operate as a means for feeding the bit-47 forwardly without the necessity of applying pressure from the outside end of the flexible shaft. This feed is not positive so as to require excessive power of the motor or to apply excessive strain to any portion of the drilling mechanism, but it is sufiicient to urge forward the bit 47 with sufficient effect to readily drill the holes.

lVhat I claim is: l

1. The process of drilling alining holes through a series of joists or like relatively narrow, widely spaced obstructions located in the inters ace between planar surfaces of a hollow wall perforating the wall between joists,insert ing angled drilling mechanism through said perforation and positioning it to work in substantial parallelism with the planar surfaces of the wall. drilling holes by means of a bit through three or more forward obstructions by the addition thereto of threaded sections after each obstruction has been drilled through, thereby forming a rigid threaded guide as long as the span of three obstructions, and constituting part of said angled drilling mechanism, and thereafter continuing the rotation of the bit by power or the like, which consists in applied rotatively thereto by a flexible shaft, thereby 'causing the guide by its constant thread engagement with two or more obstructions, to advance itself and so to move the bit from a perforated obstruction across the interspace between obstructions to that next in advance thereof.

2. Steps in the art of drilling alining -openings through a series of joists, in the interspace between planar surfaces of a hollow wall, which consists in drilling alining holes in three or more joists by means of a rigid tool having a plurality of connectable screw threaded sections forming when joined a stem long enough to span said three joists, by applying thereto axial pressure and also rotation; and thereafter rotating said tool, substantially without axial pressure thereon, to advance said tool through engagement of its threads with the edges ofthe perforations made in the engaged joists.

3. The process of drilling alining holes through a series of joists or like relatively narrow, widely spaced obstructions located in the interspace between planar' surfaces of a hollow wall or the like, which consists in perforating the wall between joists, to form an aperture less in diameter than' the space between joists, inserting angled drilling mechanism through said aperture, drill ing a hole into the rearward obstruction bounding the inte'r-joist space, backing the drill mechanism into said hole and drilling holes through three or lnore forward obstructions by means of a bit carried by a joined rigid guide which when extended has a length sulhcient to span three obstructions f and thereafter advancing said rigid guide, guiding the latter by its engagement with the apertures in two or more of the obstructions and successively drilling alining holes in more remote forward obstructions.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my lhand in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT R. LOCKE.

In the presence of SAMUEL C. GREENWALD, MARY F. ALLEN.

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