Improvements in and relating to Sack or Luggage Elevators and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Sack or Luggage Elevators and
the like.
I, THOMAS HARRISON, of Stamford, in the County of Lincoln, England,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to elevators used for raising, sacks of, say, wheat or potatoes
and the like, or luggage, so that they can be easily carried or removed, said
elevator being drawn up by means of a rope which is connected with a windlass
provided with a turning handle.
At present it is necessary, after say a sack has been raised to the required height,
to connect a pawl with a ratchet wheel which is attached to the said windlass, this
of course prevents the windlass from turning, and consequently holds the elevator
in position.
°
Now the object of my invention is to dispense with the pawl and ratchet wheel
and provide suitable grippers beneath the elevator to automatically engage with
the guide bars or skids when the weight of, such as a sack of potatoes or the like,
is placed on the elevator platform said grippers being released as soon as the
weight is removed, so that the platform can descend to its original position by
gravitation.
The invention consists in suitably hinging the inner end of the horizontal.
platform to a vertical iron loop which connects with both sides of said platform.
Two guide pieces are secured to the upper portion of the iron loop so as to retain
eaid elevator in position and allow it to slide freely upon two skids or guides one of
which is arranged at each side of the elevator.
The haulage rope for raising the elevator connects with a straddle bar the ends
of which are pivotted, in a convenient position, to the platform.
Beneath the platform and attached to each end of said iron loop is a projecting
lug, which is arranged to slide at one side of each skid, whilst a correspondingly
placed gripper, which is firmly secured to the under side of each end of the
platform, slides at the other side.
When the weight to be raised is placed on the elevator, said platform is depressed,
this causes the grippers to bind firmly on to the skids or guides, but by reason of
the position of the connections of the straddle bar with the platform, the elevator
may be raised by the haulage rope. As soon however, as the rope is again
slackened the grippers, automatically come into action and hold the elevator in the
desired position.
After the weight has been removed the platform assumes its original position,
thus releasing the grippers so that the elevator is free to descend.
Dated the 13th day of December 1895.
W. D. ROWLINGSON,
7 Quality Court, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: 15
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Sack or Luggage Elevators and
the like.
I, THOMAS HARRISON, of Stamford, in the County of Lincoln, England,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to elevators for raising sacks of say wheat, potatoes or the
like, or boxes or cases of luggage and to that class of such elevators especially
intended for lifting goods shoulder high, such for instance, as used upon hand
barrows or trucks. In such elevators as generally heretofore constructed the
lifting platform is raised by the rotation of a winch.or windlass carrying a rope or
chain, the windlass, after the load has been raised to the required height, being
held by engaging a pawl with a ratchet wheel.
The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the lifting platform,
when any weight is upon it, shall automatically be retained at any point to which
it may have been raised and to this end I provide, in connection with the lifting
platform, grippers adapted to engage with the guide bars upon which the said
platform slides.
.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator having my improvements applied
thereto :
Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the application of the construction shewn
in Figure 1 to a barrow:
Figure 3 is an elevation of a barrow in which the construction of the elevating
mechanism is somewhat modified.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the fixed frame of the elevator having the guidé bars b, b and c is a frame
sliding between the said guide bars and carrying the lifting platform d, the
said frame c having connected to it'one end of a chain e, or the like, the other
end of which is connected to a winch ƒ upon which, when rotated, the said chain
can be wound.
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figures 1 and 2, the sliding
frame e is provided near its upper end with two guide pieces g, g sliding upon the
uprights b, b and at its lower end has fixed to it two brackets h, h having lugs i, i
which bear against the uprights at one side thereof. The platform d is connected
to the said brackets h, h by pivot pins j, j passing through brackets j',, the said
brackets, being provided with lugs k, k which bear against the uprights b, b
upon the side opposite to that upon which the lugs i, i, bear.
With this arrangement of pivot platform and lugs, which will be clearly under-
stood by reference to Figure 2, it will be obvious that any weight upon the
platform d when not being lifted will push the lugs k, k on the brackets j, j, firmly
into contact with the uprights b, b upon one side thereof, and draw the lugs i, i of
the brackets into tight contact with the other side of the said uprights thereby
tightly gripping the latter and so retaining the platform.
The winch in the apparatus shewn in Figure 1 is arranged on an axis at right
angles to the plane in which the sliding frame c moves and is operated by the lever
arms 1, 1, whilst in the arrangement shewn in Figure 2 the axis of the winch fis in
a plane parallel to that in which the sliding frame c moves and is operated by a
crank handle m. In both arrangements the lifting chain or rope e is represented
as connected to a straddle bar n connected to the platform d'at the two sides
thereof.

page_text: In practice the lifting chain or the straddle bar is connected to the platform d
at such a distance from the uprights that when no weight is upon the platform the
weight of the gripping devices will cause the rear side of the platform to descend
first and so disengage the said gripping devices from the guides of the uprights
and that when the weight is being lifted the gripping devices will not bind against
the uprights.
:
In the modification of my invention shewn in Figure 3, the sliding frame c,
instead of having guide pieces g, g, slides between the uprights b, b, which are of
channel section, and in this case the platform d has gripping lugs i, k, formed on
each bracket, so that on the lifting ceasing any weight upon the platform exerts
a grip upon the said uprights in a manner which will be readily understood by
reference to Figure 3. In this modification the lifting chain e is directly connected
with the platform without the intervention of the straddle bar n; in other respects
the lifting mechanism is practically the same as that shewn in Figure 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and, in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An elevator of the kind described wherein the lifting platform is arranged in
conjunction with gripping devices which, under the action of a weight upon the
platform, will be caused to grip the guides upon which the platform slides,
Bubstantially as described.
2. In an elevator of the kind referred to in the preceding claiming clause the
arrangement of gripping devices, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3. In an elevator of the kind described in the first claiming clause the arrange-
ment of gripping devices, substantially as described with reference to Figure 3 of
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 12th day of Septembe
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.