NEW INVENTION AND IMPROVEMENT IN AND UPON CRANES FOR RAISING AND LOWERING GOODS INTO AND OUT OF WAREHOUSES, &C., AND WHICH CONSIDERABLY LESSENS THE LABOUR THAT IS USUALLY REQUIRED TO WORK THEM
Year: 1799

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, DAVID HARDIE,
of the Parish of Saint James; Westminster, in the County. of Middlesex,
Gentleman, sends greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date. at
Westminster, the Eighth day of March, in the thirty-ninth year of His reign,
did give and grant unto the said David Hardie, his exors, admors, and assigns,
His especial licence, full power, sole priviledge and authority, that he,, the said
David. Hardie, his exors, adññors, and assigns, should and lawfully might,
during the term of fourteen years therein expressed, make, use, exercise, and
vend, throughout that part of His Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called
England, the Dominion of Wales; and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, his
"NEW INVENTION AND IMPROVEMENT IN AND UPON CRANES FOR RAISING AND
LOWERING GOODS INTO AND OUT OF WAREHOUSES, &C., AND WHICH CONSIDERABLY
LESSENS THE LABOUR THAT IS USUALLY REQUIRED TO WORK THEM;" in which said
recited Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging the said David Hardie,
by, writing under his hand and seal, to cause a particular description of the
nature of his said Invention and improvement in and upon cranes for raising
and-lowering goods into and out of warehouses, &c., which considerably lessens
the labour usually required to work them, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, by an instrument in writing under his hand and seal, and cause

page_text: the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one
calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, and the Statute in that behalf made, relation being hereunto had, may
more at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Hardie, in compliance with the
said proviso, do thus hereby particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed.
The principle of the raising apparatus of my crane is to constitute the force
employed, sometimes by the whole weight of the person or persons working it,
sometimes by the whole of his or their weight, with the superaddition of his
or their muscular exertion, and sometimes by only part of his or their weight,
without the superaddition of any muscular exertion, and also to oblige
each person, in the case of a plurality of workmen, to perform his due share
of the labour, not affording an opportunity to the appearances of exertion
without the reality, and forming an efficient combination of their respective
efforts; and the principle of the lowering apparatus of my crane consists in
applying a convenient quantity of water or other liquid to counteract the
accelerating velocity natural to falling bodies, so that the weight lowering shall
on no occasion descend with precipitation, but with a gentle motion at all
times, to be easily arrested by the common gripe wheel, both principles being
attended with dispatch of business, saving of labour, and prevention of
dangerous accidents.
The modes by which I carry these principles into practice are fully ascer-
tained by the following description, and reference to the above Drawings, with
remarks. Fig. 1, a front elevation of the crane; Fig. 2, an end elevation and
section of the lowering apparatus; Fig. 3, an end elevation of the barrel
and tread wheel. The same letters of reference are put to the corresponding
parts of each Figure. This crane is composed of three principal parts:-
Ist. A, A, A, A, a tread wheel, less than half the size of the walking wheel in
common use, and of a reverse construction in regard to the steps, which
are on the outside instead of the inside of the circumference of the wheel.
2d. B, the barrel, upon which is coiled the rope a, a, that is connected with
the weight to be raised or lowered; b, b, is a gripe wheel, upon the axis of the
barrel B; and c, c, a brake, to gripe and stop the motion when necessary.
3d. C, C, the lowering wheel contained in the box or cistern d, d, d, d, upon
which stands a head or covering d, e, d, made semicircular or otherwise; and so
slight as to be easily lifted off when occasion requires. In Fig. 1, a vertical
section of the cistern d, d, d, d, and its head d, e, d, in the direction of their

page_text: breadth, is represented, and in Figure 2, a vertical section of the cistern and
head, in the direction of their length, in order to shew the lowering wheel C, C,
composed of the eight spokes or arms f. f. f. f, or they may be more or less,
or of various other shapes, fixed to and radicating from the axis i, k. These
'arms are made single and double, alternately, as represented by the two shewn
in Fig. 1, in order to produce a better effect when they strike and pass through
the water or other liquid contained in the cistern d, d, d, d, and the water or
other liquid to operate with its greatest power must be kept neither higher
nor lower than the center of the axis i, k, but its power is reduced in pro-
portion as that quantity is diminished. Each of the aforesaid three principal
parts of the crane is supported by and turns upon its own shaft or axis, the
three shafts being in the same straight line of direction, and the shafts g, h,
and i, k, can be connected to or disconnected from the shaft h, i, by means of
à sliding box coupling at h, moved at pleasure by a lever or otherwise, and a
ratchet wheel and click at i; or any other mode of coupling may be used. The
manner of using this crane, when the goods are to be raised, is to connect the
tread wheel A, A, A, A, with the barrel B by means of the aforesaid coupling.
A competent number of men are to mount upon the steps 1, 1, that occur a
little above the center of the wheel, it not being so convenient to suffer
themselves to descend below that point, and laying hold with their hands of
the rails m, m; m, m, m, fastened to the top of the framing of the crane, and
projecting at a convenient heighth on each side of the men respectively, they
are enabled on all occasions to maintain their proper situations on the wheel,
sometimes to cause their whole weight only to operate, sometimes to superadd
their muscular exertions to the whole of their weight by pulling the rails
m, m, m, m, m, upwards, which has the effect to force their bodies downward,
and sometimes to support part of their weight on their hands, either for the
purpose of diminishing the velocity of the wheel or for giving ease to their
legs when tired. It is to be observed that while they continue on the wheel
they cannot avoid giving the greater part of their weight towards producing
the intended effect, as no person would long prefer supporting his weight by
his armis rather than his legs, and that, consequently, an efficient union of their
respective efforts is obtained. The tread wheel a, a, a, a, on moving round neces-
sarily turns round the barrel B, and winds up the rope a; a, raising the weight
attached to it. The steps n, n, marked on the brace of the framing of Fig. 3,
which may be made variously, serve for the men to mount upon or dismount
from the tread wheel. The clicks or pawls o, o, by falling into the steps of
the tread wheel as it turns round, will prevent dangerous accidents from the

page_text: weight overpowering the men. When weights are to be lowered, the tread
wheel A, A, A, A, is to be disconnected from the barrel B. The click and
ratchet wheel at i will connect the lowering wheel C, C, to the barrel B, and
the descending weight will necessarily carry round the wheel C, C, the arms
ffff, of which alternately striking on the surface of the water or other
liquid in the cistern .d, d, d, .d, and forcing their passage through it, will
counteract the accelerating velocity natural to falling bodies, producing a
gentle motion of the weight free from all danger of precipitation, and subject
at all times to be arrested with ease and certainty by the gripe wheel b, b,
and brake c, c. The rope a, a, after being, detached from the weight lowered,
is brought up again by a sufficient counterpoise weight attached to the
back rope p, p, which had been wound upon the barrel B as the rope a, a,:
descended. Thus the operation of lowering can be performed by the attendance:
of only one man to the crane, combining at once dispatch, a great saving of:
labour, and perfect security from all danger to men or goods.
Another mode of applying water or other liquid, for the purpose of lowering.
weights, may be effected by putting a crank upon the axis i, k, instead of the.
spokes, and attaching to this crank a piston, which, by the motion of the
crank, is moved up and down in a box or cylinder filled with water or other
liquid, both ends of the cylinder being covered, and the piston rod moving
through a stuffing box; in the upper cover an aperture, regulated by means of
a cock, or otherwise, being made in the piston, the water or other liquid is
obliged to pass through this aperture as the piston moves up and down, and
the velocity with which the piston can move will be in proportion to the size
of the aperture. The upper cover of the cylinder may be formed into a small
reservoir round the stuffing box, to receive the small quantity of water or other
liquid that may be forced up through it. This liquid may again be easily
introduced into the cylinder by means of a cock through the bottom of the
reservoir, which is the top of the cylinder, and this cock. may also serve as
an opening to introduce an instrument to regulate the cock in the piston when
occasion requires, without being under the necessity of taking off the upper
cover of the cylinder; for that purpose accuracy in the fitting of the piston to
the inside of the cylinder is not necessary, as a small quantity of the liquid
that passes by the side of the piston does not injure the effect of the apparatus,
or water or other liquid may be applied to the like purpose of lowering weights
by various other ways. When the lowering apparatus is used for the purpose
of lowering goods or persons from a building in the case of fire, it will be
proper to attach two ropes or chains to the barrel, winding in contrary direc

page_text: tions, in order that the descent of one weight by one rope may wind up the
other rope, to be in readiness to continue the operation.
In witness whereof, the said David Hardie hath hereunto set his hand
and seal, the Fourth day of April, in the year One thousand seven
hundred and ninety-nine.