The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-25
NEW INVENTION BY
A Tech GRADUATE
William A. Pentecost Perfects a
New Elevator That Minimizes
Danger and Appeals Because
of its Low Cost of Running

A new elevator with a patented stop
will soon be put upon the market by a
Worcester inventor, William A. Pente-
cost, now with the Union Machine
Company at the corner of Exchange
and Union Streets. The inventor has
a small sized elevator rugged with his
newly patented appliances at the
shops and explained it's workings to
The Spy reporter yesterday afternoon.
The stop, which can be attached to
any sort Of lift, freight or passenger
elevator, Is perfect safety apparatus
In case of an accident, and, being I'M
der the elevator all the time, is pos
tive stop and is not liable to accident
as is the clutch appliances now on lift
elevators and which work from above.
The idea is a radical departure from
any thing in the line and is bound to
meet with success In connection with
the elevator of Mr. Pentecosts designs
1t can be installed into apartment
houses or private homes at a nominal
cost, when compared with the cost of
fitting a fiat or private home with a
plunger elevator. The inventor claims
that he can build and install his ele-
vator at just one-third the cost of the
ordinary plunger elevator.
The idea of the stop is ingenious.
Two, either four or six inch, tubes of
wrought steel run alongside the eleva-
tor to the same height as the building
in which it is placed. Into these tubes
are fitted two flexible columns attached
to the bottom of the elevator and slot
ted into the tracks on which the eleva-
tor runs on the sides of the elevator
we'll The ends of these flexible coll
umns fit into the tubes and are at
tached to a double piston, much the
same as a piston on a locomotive.
These tubes are fitted with air and
the regulation Of the air allows the
piston to shoot up into the tubes when
the car is descending. The descent of
the car is regulated by the amount Of
air that is allowed to escape from the
tubes, the flexible column, made of
links of any sort of material the build
or wishes, making a loop at the foot
of the elevator well and forcing the
piston up into the tube as the elevator
descends. The elevator, which is
hauled up and allowed to go down by
the ordinary wire-rope lift arrange
ment, is ensured against accident by
this means should the wire cable
break Then the safety appliance is
put to a test, which its inventor claims
shows it up to it's greatest advantage.
The whole weight of the elevator is
then thrown upon those flexible col
umns, which in turn puts the weight
upon the piston and the air in the
tubes checks the latter and will not
allow its descent at any higher rate
of speed than which is regulated by
the amount of air which is escaping
from the lower valve. The lower valve
is to allow the escape of the air and
the upper valve permits its entrance
into the tube.
The elevator is operated by a brake
lever with three simple movements
which child can understand. One pull
sends the elevator on its upward rise,'
another reverse pull stops it and a
further pull sends it on its downward
journey.
The inventor is anxious to build his
elevators in this city and build up
business of installing them into Wor-
cester homes and apartment houses.
The elevator itself is of the lift pattern
and can be operated by water motor
or steam power. It's cheapness Is it's
greatest merit in the eyes of the in
ventor. One of these elevators can be
put into a house for $500 and the cost
of running it will not exceed $40 a
month. The inventor claims with a
water motor of his design the elevator
will raise 400 pounds 20 feet high for
will have a speed of so feet a minute
He thinks 1t is a good business propo-
sition to build the elevators in this city
and place them on the market here. He
has been at work upon his plans for
the past year and has perfected them.
On March he applied for letters
patent and they were granted him
Aug. 1.
Already the inventor has had nu-
merous offers from out of town ele-
vator firms inquiring about his pa
tents The firm in Detroit is particu-
larly anxious to learn about his safe
ty appliance. Charles f. Townsend of
Boston has been in this city for the
past three days wanting the inventor
to interest Boston capitalists and get
them to build his appliance and fit
it to lift freight and passenger eleva-
tors in Boston. During the past week
there have been three accidents from
falling elevators in Boston. says Mr..
Townsend
Mr.. Pentecost, the inventor, is a
graduate of Worcester Polytechnic In
stitute, class of 70, He is a thorough
machinist ard a pattern maker. He
has invented and patented the Pente-
cost boiler which made steam heat
ing permissible in tenement houses at
a moderate cost.