US1727A - William easby - Google Patents

Description

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WILLIAM EASBY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

DREDGING-IVIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent 1\To1,7'27, dated August 25, 1840.

To all h-0m t may concern.' n

Be itI known that I, WILLIAM EAsBY, of the city of Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful improvement in machines for deepening harbors, rivers, canals, and other places by excavating and removing the mud from the bottoms thereof, called Easbys improved dredging-machine, which is described as follows, reference being had to the annexed drawings of the same, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a perspective view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the main shaft and drums. Fig. 3 is a view of the under side of the drop or shutter of the scoop. Fig. t, gearing of the windlass. Fig. 5, lever and lifting dog for raising the vertical anchors.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the figures.

The vessel A, Fig. l, for containing and supporting the several parts of the machine hereafter described is made of sufiicient size, strength, and buoyancy to answer the intended purpose, resembling generally some other vessels in use except at the bow, where it is recessed, as at B, for the purpose of allowing the bucket or scoop and poles to pass into the space or recess at the bow in letting down and raising the scoop, &c., and excepting also at the sides where there'are attached by hinges two segment wings C C, made movable so as to be raised un out of the way when required to carry the boat through locks and other narrow passes, which movable wings are furnished with guards or rails D which rest on deck when they are turned over and down upon it. These segment wings form part of a circular horse track E of greater diameter than the width of the boat formed on deck between midships and the stern, and are supported by movable sliding beams projecting through the sides of the vessel under said wings.

A perpendicular shaft F carrying two barrels Gr on which the chains H and I are wound, is placed in the center of the circular horse track E, its lower gudgeon turning in an oil cup or box fixed on the keelson and its upper gudgeon turning in a box fixed in a cap piece of the frame erected on deck for supporting the several parts of the machine requiring to be supported by it. This shaft F is turned by one or more horses attached to the end of a horizontal sweep L fixed permanently to the shaft. A seat M for the l driver or attendant is formed on the opposite end of the sweep.

The barrels C on which are wound the chains H attached to the scoop are made of suitable material, of any convenient diameter, with rims at the ends to keep the chains from slipping off in winding, which barrels turn with the shaft when locked to it and loosely `on it when unlocked, one barrel being always in gear while the other is out of gear, or both may be outof gear when required.

The locking and unlocking and gearing and ungearing are effected by means of a vertical bolt N arranged against the shaft between the barrels and held in place by staples inserted in the Shaft in which it moves and attached to the short end of a horizontal lever O for raising and lowering it in order to throw it in and out of gear alternately with the upper and lower barrels into which it enters in mortises, in said barrels, the fulcrum of which lever is fixed on the upper side of the sweep near the shaft while its long end extends within reach of the attendant seated on the sweep, who raises and lowers the lever as he wishes to throw the barrels in and out of gear, said lever being held in its place by means of a spring catch P attached to the sweep and passing through the leverv in a mortise therein. The position of the lower barrel is below the deck, and the upper one above it. The main-chain H for raising the scoop extends horizontally from the upper barrel over a pulley Q at the forward end of the frame, then down vertically tothe bale or handle of the scoop, to which it is attached.

The scoop R for receiving the mud, &c., is made of stout wrought. iron in a very strong manner of a semi-oval shape, open on the upper side and closed on the lower side by a shutter S or drop which' can be opened and closed at pleasure by the attendant. The side toward the vessel is straight, the opposite side and theV ends are curved. It is secured firmly by straps, bars, bolts and pins to the ends of two parallel poles or rods T T connected together by a cross brace U. The straight side or back of the scoop, which is fastened to the oles, forms an obtuse angle with it. The hinge of the shutter or drop may be construct/ed in the usual or most approved mode of such hinges. When closed it is secured by a catch V projecting downfromthe edge of the curved side of the scoop and passing through a mortise in the shutter near its edge to 'the under side of which drop is attached a right angled dog W which is forced by a spring sires to let the shutter drop, which draws other chain ners of the vessel to asecure anchorage.

the Vlower end for back the dog, contracts the spring, disengages the dog from the catch, the gravity It is of the shutter causing it to drop.

when

closed by striking agalnst the water the scoop is let down for a new' load. The parallel poles T to which the scoop is xed may be round or square and of any convenient `length and thickness. Shod with plates of metal to prevent wearing and extended through loops b fastened to circular loose collars c turning on a horizontal shaft or windlass d which turns on gudgeons in boxes fixed to two inclined braces of the frame over the opening in the bow of the vessel, by manual power by a crank shaft and cogged gearing g Fig.` 4, for winding a chain fattached to the cross brace u of the parallel poles T for raising them with the scoop to any required position, the aforesaid loops o serving as guides for the poles which.

moveupward and downward in them. An-

I leading from the lower barrel G on the main shaft F is attached to the scoop R for drawing it back when it is raised by the Vwindlass d and poles T from the bottom, and being. drawn back suficiently far, or to `its required position, the barrel is disengaged which lets the scoop fall to the bottom. The main shaft and the windlass are both provided with circular rac-ks and pawls of the usual construction. i p Vertical 4 anchorsg are arranged at the corfor descending into the mud or bottom for holding the vessel firmly Each of said ver-V tical anchors consists of along heavy piece of square timber (g) pointed and shodon entering the bottom of harbors, rivers &c. It moves in vertical grooves formed in any convenientmanner inthe frame. Or instead of shoeing it there may be a sharp pointed bar of iron b inserted in the lower end of the anchor timber and properlyfsecured by bolts. A vertical rack is fastened on the side ofthe anchor toward thevessel intro which plays a lifting dog K Fig. 5 attached to theshort end of a leverim forraising the anchor whose fulcrum is on `a horizontal cross piece of the to the extremity of "fore described.

frame; which lever is operated by manual power in raising the anchor, its gain being held by a common dog placed below it which is put in gear with the rack `before beginning to raise the anchor and remains constantly in gear during .the operation- `and when the anchor is to be let down it is ungeared and moved out of the way. All the anchors are provided in a similar manner to that just described.

yThe operation of this dredging machine isas follows: It'being properly anchored at the place where the excavation is to be made in the manner before described by the anchors d (g) `and the wings brought down to their. proper position the horse is `driven around the circular track E constantly without stopping during the operation, the changes of the bearingbeing effected-by the attendant while the horse is in motion. He draws the spring catch P toward him and raisesthe long end of the lever O which depresses the. short end carrying `down the bolt N and unlocking it from the upper bar-` rel GrV and at thesame time locking it with the lower barrel Gr, theupper barrelbeing thusfliberated from` the bolt turnsloosely on the shaft F suffering the scoop R to descend suddenly to the bottom of the river or harbor. The other barrel G being in gear winds up the chain 1 attached to the hottomof the scoop anddraws it back toward said barrel until it is brought over the place where the excavation is to be made when the scoop descends to its place of destinat-ion at the same time the bolt isr drawn rfrom the lower barrel and inserted `in the lupper one. The `lower barrel is then loose and the upperbarrel turns with the shaft, winds Vup the chain H, raises-the scoop with its load of earth, &c., until the drop S is nearly in a horizontal position when the attendant draws the cordA a attached to the right angled ldog,` W, Fig. 3, which liberates it from the catch when the-drop falls and Vthe load is discharged upon or `into a receiver placed below it.

What I claim as my invention and-which I desire to secure by Letters Patent consists m p .1. The arrangement of the barrels on the perpendicular shaft for `winding and unwinding the main chains in combination with the vertical `sliding bolt and lever for throwing the barrels in and out of gear with the shaft by which the scoop or bucket is `alternately raised, lowered, and drawn back while the animal by whichthe main shaft is turned continues to travel A around on the circular track without interruption "as be- 2. `Also the combination vand arrangement of "the parallel guide poles, chains, and windlass for raising the scoop so as to draw itback to its proper position `as before described, and this also claim in combination chine so that it may pass through a canal with the scoop and the apparatus for disenlock or any other narrow place as before degaging the drop or shutter to discharge the scribed.

load, as described. WM. EASBY.

3. I also claim the arrangement of the Witnesses:

Wings of the horse track which can be raised V. E. HOWARD,

and thereby reduce the Width of the ma- WM. P. ELLIOT.

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