AN IMPROVED SELF-ACTING HOOK OR HOLDER TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN LIFTING, HOISTING, OR WINDING AT COAL PITS, OR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Marland, of Glodwick, near Oldham, in the
County of Lancaster, and James Widdall, of Abbey Hill, in the said
County, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SELF-ACTING HOOK OR HOLDER
TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN LIFTING, HOISTING, OR WINDING AT COAL PITS, OR
OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES."
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 8th July 1858..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Marland and James
Widdall at the Office of the Commissioners. of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 8th July 1858.
We, JOHN MARLAND, of Glodwick, near Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
and JAMES WIDDALL, of Abbey Hill, in the said County, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SELF-ACTING HOOK OR
HOLDER TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN LIFTING, HOISTING, OR WINDING AT COAL PITS,
OR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as follows:—
Our Invention relates to the arrangement of a hook or holder which will
open or give way when it has arrived at a certain elevation, so that when
employed in connection with safety descending apparatus, it will give additional
means of security by preventing the cage, hoist, or other frame from arriving
in contact with or being carried over the pulley or drums at the top. The
part of the hook to which the band, rope, or chain is suspended is jointed at

page_text: one end and held or clipped at the other by a catch acted upon by a spring
when within the bounds of safety, which catch gives way and releases the hook
when the latter too nearly approaches the pulleys or drums by its coming in
contact with a bar or projection placed for the purpose.
These improvements will be more clearly understood by reference to the
accompanying outline Drawing, in which a is the body of the hook or holder;
b, the part of the hook to which is connected the band, rope, or chain attached
to the cage, hoist, or frame; c, the catch at the short end of the lever d. It
is evident that when the long end of the lever comes in contact with a bar or
projection, the catch is raised and the part 6 falls down, thereby releasing the
cage or hoist, which is then held firmly by the means employed in the safety
descending apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Marland and James Widdall in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
MARLAND, of Glodwick, near Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, and JAMES
WIDDALL, of Abbey Hill, in the said County, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Marland and James Widdall, Her special licence that we, the said John
Marland and James Widdall, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said John Marland and James Widdall, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED SELF-ACTING HOOK OR HOLDER TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN
LIFTING, HOISTING, OR WINDING AT COAL PITS, OR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Marland and James
Widdall, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within

page_text: Six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Marland and James Widdall,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
5 same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in, and
by the following statement (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of self-acting
hooks or holders which will open or give way when they have arrived at a
certain elevation, so that when employed in connection with safety-descending
apparatus, they afford additional means of security by preventing the cage,
tub, or other frame from arriving in contact with or being carried over the
pulleys or drums at the top of the lifting or winding apparatus.
.
These improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, with the figures and letters thereon.
Fig. 1 is a side, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of one of our improved self-
acting hooks; Fig. 3 is a side, and Fig. 4 an end elevation of a modification
of the same. In all the Figures the body of the hook or holder is shewn at
a, jointed at the lower end to the hooked part b, to which is attached the
band, rope, or chain, connected to the receptacle or frame to be lifted. The
top of the part 6 is held by one end of a lever catch c, working on the pin d,
in the body a. In Figs. 1 and 2, the said catch is extended and turned
upwards as ate, and kept in its place by one or more springs f; which positions
are maintained so long as the traverse of the self-acting hook is confined to a
certain limit of safety.
In order to prevent the weight lifted from passing beyond the aforesaid
limit, we fix a bar or projection to the framework in any suitable position, so
that if the hook rises too high, the end e of the catch shall strike the bar or
projection and be forced downwards, moving the notched end 9 of the catch
upwards, and releasing the hooked part b, which is instantly pulled over and
allows the receptacle or frame to be held by the safety descending apparatus.
In Figs. 3 and 4, the lever catch c is held in its safe working position by
another catch h, jointed at i to the body a, and held in its place by the
spring k.
In this case a bar or projection is employed as in the former
example, so that the catch h and the end of the lever catch c may strike
against it and be forced downwards if the hook proceeds too high, thereby
raising the notched part m of the catch c, and allowing the hooked part 6 to
fall down and release the weight, which is then held by the safety descending
apparatus.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein
set forth, as such may be. varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of
our knowledge and belief has not been hitherto used within the realm,
the employment of hooks or holders made self-acting by means of lever
catches, which give way when they strike against a bar or projection, placed
for the purpose, so as to release the suspending part and allow the weight to
fall, which is afterwards supported by any safety descending apparatus, and
,also the arrangement and construction of hoists, as all such improvements are
.herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Widdall, for and on behalf of
myself and the said John Marland, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Seventh day of January; in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named James Widdall, in the presence
of.
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JAMES WIDDALL. (L.S.)