Improvements in Safety Appliances for Insets of Mine Shafts.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1886
Complete Left, 5th Sept., 1887
Complete Accepted, 4th Nov., 1887
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Appliances for Insets of Mine Shafts.
We, HENRY JAMES WARRINGTON of Berry Hill, Stoke-upon-Trent in the County
of Stafford Mining Engineer and ABEL MAYER of 74 Gilman Street Hanley in the
said County of Stafford Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
A bar of metal is fixed partly through and partly across the line of rails in mines
and a pair of gates fixed at the entrance of the roadway or inset from the pit-shaft:
the bar and gates communicate by means of levers with a lever slightly projecting into
the pit-shaft; as the cage passes up and down it presses against the projecting lever
in such a manner as to move the levers communicating with the bar of metal and the
gates respectively and thereby so move the bar of metal and open the gates as to make
the roadway clear while the cage remains in position to receive wagons or men and
replace the bar and close the gates as soon as it has passed above or below the road-
way. The projecting lever can be pulled back and kept from working if desired, still
keeping the roadway blocked.
Dated this Second day of December 1886.
WILLIAM HUNTBACH.

page_text: Improvements in Safety Appliances for Insets of Mine Shafts.
We HENRY JAMES WARRINGTON of Berry Hill Stoke upon Trent in the County of
Stafford Mining Engineer and ABEL MAYER of Hanley in the County of Stafford
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:
This invention has for its object the saving of the lives of workmen and others in
mines or in other places where persons or things are raised or lowered by means of
suspended ropes or chains.
:
Pairs of gates are fixed at the entrance of roadways or insets in mines or in any
other places where cages, lifts, hoists or other means of raising or lowering persons or
things, act by suspended ropes or chains: the gates communicate by means of levers
with a lever slightly projecting into the pit-shaft or hoist as the cage, lift, or hoist.
passes up and down it comes into contact with and presses against the projecting lever
in such a manner as to move the levers communicating with the gates which are
thereby kept open while the cage lift or hoist remains in position to receive wagons
or men and reclose the gates as soon as the cage, lift, or hoist has passed above or
below. The projecting lever can be pulled back and kept from working if desired,
still leaving the gates closed. Levers are attached to the bottom of the gates which
by means of connecting rods block the line of rails when the gates close, and leave the
rails clear when the gates are open.
Referring to the annexed drawings:
-
Figure represents the gates H closed and the bolts L across the railway lines.
Figure 2 represents the cage or hoist in such a position as to adinit of loading or
unloading.
As the cage comes up or down it comes into contact with the lever A which projects
into the pit shaft or hoist thus raising or lowering it as the case may be; and in either
case pulling down one of the slotted rods B thereby lowering the short arm C on the
end of the shaft F and giving a rocking motion to that shaft which pulls back. the
short arm G and by means of a rod connecting with a small arm attached to the outer
post of each gate opening the gate.
The opening of the gate causes a short arm 1 at the bottom of the outside post of
the gate to press back a rod communicating with a back shaft and giving to it a
rocking movement thereby pressing back the lever K which pulls back the bolt L by
means of a rod joining the lever K and the bolt L. The bolt or sliding bar L is fixed
partly through and partly over the line of rails when it is shot forward by the closing
of the gates there is a block over the rails but when the gates open the lines are

page_text: automatically cleared. The movement of the shaft F communicates a similar action
to the shaft F on the other side of the mine, shaft, or boist by means of a connecting
rod P and short arms at each end. The stays E which are fastened to the Inset Bar
or Beam D hold the outer gate posts erect. The weight is sufficiently heavy to
move the shafts F and thus close the gates and block the lines when there is no
pressure on the lever A.
The projecting lever A is drawn back and the gates left shut and the lines blocked
by raising the weight M thereby placing the shaft N in a horizontal and the arm
attached to the weight M in a perpendicular position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1. The arrangement and construction of mechanism for automatically opening and
closing the gates fixed at the entrance of roadways or insets of mine shafts, consisting
of levers attached to the gate posts and connected through rocking shafts and connecting
rods to a lever, one end of which is made to project into the pit shaft, so that the
passing cage presses it up or down and opens the gates, which, after the passing of
the cage are automatically closed by means of the counterweight on one of the rocking
shafts, substantially as described.
2. The arrangement of blocking apparatus, consisting of a sliding bolt or bar for
blocking the rails, and actuated by an arm on one of the gate posts acting through a
rocking shaft and connecting rods substantially as described.
WM. HUNIBAUH.