IMPROVE. MENTS IN HOISTS SUITABLE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WRIGHTS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Crooke and Thomas Wrightson, of the
Teesdale Iron Works, Stockton-on-Tees, for the Invention of "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN HOISTS SUITABLE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WRIGHTS"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
left by the said Walter Crooke and
Thomas Wrightson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 27th April 1867.
We, WALTER CROOKE and THOMAS WRIGHTSON, of the Teesdale Iron
Works, Stockton-on-Tees, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOISTS SUITABLE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in hoists suitable for raising
and lowering weights. A large trunk or tube of boiler plate or other material
is erected of a height exceeding the lift required, and both at the top and
bottom of the trunk are tanks, that at the bottom is enclosed air-tight, and
the trunk dips into it nearly to the bottom. Sufficient water or liquid is used
in the apparatus to fill the trunk and lower tank. In the trunk is a heavy
barrel or hollow case so constructed that its weight in the liquid exceeds the
heaviest load the hoist is required to raise, and the hollow within it is of
such capacity that when filled with air the power of floatation of the said
barrel or case is equal to its weight as weighed in the liquid. With the barrel
[Price 8d.1

page_text: or case a cage or cradle, or it may be two cages or cradles (the one balancing
the other), are connected by a chain or chains passing over pullies. By a
steam engine or by other means air is forced into the lower tank, and it
causes the water or liquid to pass up the trunk into the upper tank, and so the
lower tank may be nearly filled with air under pressure. When the lower
tank is sufficiently full of air a float within it, acts on the throttle valve of the
air-pumping engine and stops it; or the admission of air under pressure to
the lower tank may be otherwise regulated. At any time when it is desired
to raise and lower the cages or cradles of the hoist when the barrel or case is
at the bottom of the trunk a valve is opened which allows compressed air
from the lank to pass into the barrel or case from which the water or liquid
is thus expelled until the barrel or case begins to rise, and then the admission
valve at its bottom closes, and the flow of air from the lower tank is stopped
by self-acting mechanism. The barrel or case rises up in the trunk, bringing
down the cage, or if there be two cages bringing down one and drawing up
the other. When the barrel or case gets near the top of the trunk the water-
way or space around it is contracted by filling rings, and so it is gradually
brought to rest. When it is desired that the cage or cages should return a
valve is opened at the top of the barrel or case which lets the air escape, and
the water or liquid enters until the barrel or case begins to sink, moving the
cage or cages with it; as soon as the motion commences the air-escape valve
on the barrel or case closes and the movement continues until at the bottom;
the descent of the barrel or case and the movement of the cage or cages is
checked and stopped by throttling the liquid in the space around the barrel or
case, as already described. The air allowed to escape from the barrel or case
having a considerable pressure may be utilized as a blast or in other ways.
In place of connecting the barrel or case directly with the cage or cages
sheaves and chains or other mechanism may be interposed so as to cause the
cage or cages to be taken a distance greater or less than that through which
the barrel or case moves.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Crooke and Thomas Wrightson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WALTER
CROOKE and THOMAS WRIGHTSON, of the Teesdale Iron Works, Stockton-on-
Tees, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Walter Crooke and Thomas Wrightson, Her special licence that we,
the said Walter Crooke and Thomas Wrightson, our executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Walter Crooke and Thomas
Wrightson, 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
HOISTS SUITABLE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Walter Crooke and Thomas Wrightson,
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
IN
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Wrightson, on behalf of myself
and the said Walter Crooke, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to
say:
This Invention has for its object improvements in hoists suitable for raising
and lowering weights. A large trunk or tube of boiler plate or other material
is erected of a height exceeding the lift required, and both at the top and
bottom of the trunk are tanks, that at the bottom is enclosed air-tight, and
the trunk dips into it nearly to the bottom; sufficient water or liquid is used
in the apparatus to fill the trunk and lower tank. In the trunk is a heavy
barrel or bell so constructed that its weight in the liquid exceeds the heaviest
load the hoist is required to raise, and the hollow within it is of such capacity
that when filled with air the power of floatation of the said barrel or bell is
sufficient to raise any weight it may have to lift in rising. With the barrel or
bell a cage or cradle, or it may be two cages or cradles (the one balancing
the other), are connected by a chain or chains passing over pullies. By a
steam engine or by other means air is forced into the lower tank, and it
causes the water or liquid to pass up the trunk into the upper tank, and so the

page_text: lower tank may be nearly filled with air under pressure. When the lower
tank is sufficiently full of air a float within it acts on the throttle valve of the
air-pumping engine and stops it, or the admission of air under pressure to
the lower tank may be otherwise regulated. At any time when it is desired
to raise and lower the cages or cradles of the hoist when the barrel or bell is
at the bottom of the trunk a valve is opened which allows compressed air
from the tank to pass into the barrel or bell from which the water or liquid
is thus expelled until the barrel or bell begins to rise, and then the admission
valve at its bottom closes, and the flow of air into it is stopped
by self-acting mechanism. The barrel or bell rises up in the trunk, bringing
down the cage, or if there be two cages bringing down one and drawing up
the other. When the barrel or bell gets near the top of the trunk the water-
way or space around it is contracted by filling rings and so it is gradually
brought to rest. When it is desired that the cage or cages should return a
valve is opened at the top of the barrel or bell which lets the air escape, and
the water or liquid enters until the barrel or bell begins to sink, moving the
cage or cages with it; as soon as the motion commences the air escape valve
on the barrel or bell closes and the movement continues until at the bottom,
the descent of the barrel or bell and the movement of the cage or cages is
checked and stopped by throttling the liquid in the space around the barrel or
bell, as already described. The air allowed to escape from the barrel or bell
having a considerable pressure may be utilised as a blast or in other ways.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a hoist thus constructed and arranged
suitably for raising materials to the top of a blast furnace; Figure 2 is a side
view, partly in section, of the same.
A represents the trunk or water tube extending the whole height of the
lift. At the top is an enlarged part or tank E, and at the bottom is placed
the accumulator or enclosed air tank B, which may form the base of the tube
or be detached, as preferred. F is the pipe leading from the air-pumping
engine; the air as it is pumped into the accumulator B presses the surface of
the water downward until the float valve falls so low as to shut the valve by
which the air enters. The water thus displaced rises up the passage C and
trunk A, filling the tank E at the top of the trunk. G represents the barrel
or case. The ropes H and I are respectively attached to the top and bottom
of the barrel, and pass over and under the sheaves at the top and bottom of
the trunk and are connected to their respective cages; by this arrangement
the cages move in reverse directions. When the barrel is at the bottom of
the trunk air is admitted into it from the air tank C through the valve L and
the pipe K.

page_text: Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of the valve J at the bottom of the barrel,
which is opened by the descent of the barrel upon the pipe K. The upward
arrows show the direction of the air ascending into the barrel, and the down-
ward arrows show the direction of the water descending out of the barrel. As
soon as sufficient buoyancy has been attained the barrel rises and the valve J
closes as it leaves the pipe K. The object of the valve J is to prevent the com-
pressed air from changing its volume as the barrel ascends nearer the surface.
The valve O is for allowing the escape of air when the barrel is at the top and
is required to descend; this is pressed by the lever and rack S, or other
suitable arrangement. T, T, are the brake rings which diminish the water
space around the barrel, and act as a cataract brake at top and bottom and stop
the motion of the cages as gradually as may be required and as may be adjusted
by varying the pressure of these rings. The cages may be guided either by
wire ropes, as shown in the Drawing, or by rigid guides, as preferred, and the
position of the guides with reference to the tube may be modified to suit
different circumstances.
Figure 4 is a vertical section, and Figure 5 is a side view, partly in section,
of a hoist suitable for lifts of sinal range, such as for lifting to cupola stages
in a foundry and other similar purposes. The action is similar to that described
previously for higher lifts, except that but one cage or cradle is applied. The
bottom of the barrel or bell in low lifts may be made quite open, as is here
shown, as the expansion of the air in rising will not be great. It will be
observed that self-acting mechanism is not here employed for shutting off the
air from the barrel or bell as soon as it commences to rise, as for short lifts it
is not necessary.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of a hoist carrying a tipping frame for
emptying waggons after they have been lifted; Figure 7 is a transverse vertical
section of the same. The lifting apparatus is very similar to that shown at
Figures 4 and 5, except that two trunks and barrels or bells are used to raise
the tipping frame and its platform between them. The axes of the tipping
frame are so placed that the weight upon it causes it to tip as soon as it is set
free, and it is retained until required by a rod connecting it with a piston
working in a cylinder filled with water, oil, or other liquid. A pipe having a
regulating cock upon it connects the two ends of the cylinder; when this cock
is closed the tipping frame is held stationary, and when it is opened more or
less the tipping takes place more or less rapidly. In place of connecting the
barrel or bell as in the instances already given directly with the cage or cages
sheaves and chains may be interposed so as to cause the cage or cages to be
taken a distance greater than that through which the barrel or bell moves.

page_text: The application of this principle to the working of jib cranes is shown at
Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11. Figure 8 is an elevation, partly in section,
Figure 9 is a plan, and Figures 10 and 11 are details of the valves. The
chain H is attached to the side of the tube A, and passing over a pulley
inserted in the bell doubles the moving distance of the weight lifted. In order
that the weight may be stopped in various positions, as in raising goods from
vessels in a tidal river, the bell is made a close working fit in the water trunk,
and passage room for the water is obtained by channels at the sides of the bell,
which are fitted with the valves B; these as represented in the Drawing are
slide valves, and are worked by a pinion C actuated by the vertical shaft D
sliding through the hand wheel E. If the bell is in motion and is required
to be stopped the pinion is turned so as to close the valves; the passage of
the water is thus checked as gradually as may be desired, and the bell is
brought to rest by the edges of the valves pressing against the guides fastened
to the side of the tube. The wedge pieces O, O, at top and bottom also act as
water brakes at each extremity of the stroke of the bell. The air may be
admitted at any part of the stroke by the pipe F or by a telescope or flexible
pipe attached to the bell and following the same in its upward motion. The
air is also discharged at any position of the bell by the valve G, which is
worked by a rod I passing up to the handle K, the lever working the valve
sliding on the rod in its motion up or down with the bell. Where an
arrangement is required for slewing the jib a second trunk L may be placed
beside the lifting trunk; the chain from the bell in the trunk L passes over
a conveyance sheave and round the turning drum M attached to the jib; the
other end of this chain may either return down the inside of the tube L and
round a sheave to the bottom of the bell, or may be attached, as shown in
Figure 9, to balance weights sufficiently heavy to slew the jib when the bell is
allowed to rise. The bell of the slewing apparatus may be supplied with air,
and have the air let oui from it in the same way as the main bell F, and its
movement may be checked and stopped in a similar manner, or the brake for
the slewing gear may be worked by a strap round a brake wheel attached to
the turning drum. The air under pressure is supplied from a main pipe N,
which may work any number of cranes or other machines, the engine for
pumping the air being situated at any convenient position; such a main may
be carried below the surface of the ground in a trough of water, which will
enable the slightest leakage of air to be readily detected. The air accumulator
may either be placed under the tubes, as is shown in Figures 8 and 9, or it
may be at any convenient position in the path of the air main.
Figure 12 shows plan of an hotel hoist. A is the water trunk, the chain

page_text: from the bell therein in descending turns the drums B, C; on the latter is
hung a balance weight which in descending as the bell ascends has the same
power to turn the shaft as the bell has when full of water. A suitable clutch G
on the shaft H throws either of the wheels E or F into gear with the wheel D.
The barrel is keyed to the shaft H and has the chain for lifting the cage
attached to it. The chain passes over pulley K placed at top of the lift. The
water trunk A is made comparatively short, say the height of one storey of the
building. The action then is as follows:-In lifting from one floor to the next
the bell may be either rising or falling, the direction of the cage being entirely
dependent upon which of the wheels E or F is in gear. The clutch handle.
should be made to work the air valve at bottom of the trunk, and also the
lever for opening air escape valve at the top of the bell, by which means at
every storey the cage must stand until the attendant works the clutch lever;
or the opening and closing of the valves and the reversing of the clutches may
readily be determined by self-acting mechanism, and then the barrel or bell
will rise and fall continually until it is stopped by the attendant throwing part
of the mechanism out of gear. A similar arrangement is applicable to the
pumping of mines, in which case it will be convenient to connect the pump
spears by a rocking lever, or it may be by a chain passing over a pulley with
the barrel or bell.
In some cases it is convenient to dispense with the use of compressed air.
Figure 13 shows a vertical section of an arrangement by which the barrel or
bell may be filled with air without compressing the same. The barrel or
bell A in descending is guided to a seat. B upon which it rests; on opening
the slide valve C the water falls through the valve H and the slide valve C,
and air enters into the barrel or bell in its place; the whole pressure due to
the head of liquid in the trunk is then pressing upon the area of the seat B,
thus keeping the barrel or bell down and the joint water-tight; on reclosing
the valve C the equilibrium is established between the outside of the seat B
and the chamber beneath it by the valve C pressing open the small valve D;
the barrel or bell then rises off its seat, while the valve H is closed by the
pressure of the water from below. This motion of the valve from below does
not affect the valve E owing to the slot F in rod G. When the barrel or bell
is required to descend the valve E is opened from above, the motion being
transmitted to the lower valve H, so that as the air escapes at the top the
water enters at the bottom. In this application of the buoyant system the
power is sustained by pumping the water or liquid up again to the top of the
system instead of compressing the air.
Figure 14 shows a vertical section of another arrangement by which the

page_text: barrel or bell may be filled with air without compressing the same. The
barrel or bell A in descending is guided to a seat forming the valve B;
within the area of this seat is a valve C, and within the valve C a valve D.
On the treadle E being pressed the small valve D opens, allowing the water to
escape within the area of the seat B, and by thus relieving the pressure causes
the whole head of water in the trunk to keep the barrel or bell tight on the
area of seat B. By continuing the motion of the treadle the small valve G
in the barrel or bell is pressed open, allowing the air to rise to the top of the
bell; the shoulders F and G then come in contact with the valves C and H
respectively, which are lifted, and the water rushes out from the inside of the
barrel or bell through the valve H, the air supplying its place at the atmo-
spheric pressure and passing through valves D and G to the top of the
barrel or bell. As soon as sufficient water is displaced the treadle G is
liberated, which allows valves C, D, G, and H to close. In order to prevent
the pressure of water in the tube acting upon the area of the seat B to keep
the barrel or bell from rising after the valves are closed a small equilibrium
valve I is made to open by the treadle just as the other valves have closed;
this allows water in main part of the trunk to pass through the pipe J to the
area within the seat, and the equilibrium being established the barrel or bell
rises off its seat. On arriving at the top the valve L is lifted by a lever K or
other suitable mechanism. The rod M has a pin moving in a slot M', which
pin raises the valve and rod G, thus allowing the water to ascend in the
barrel or bell as the air escapes. The valve and rod G must be weighted so
that it will not be raised by the pressure of water on the area of G when the
bell is at its lowest position. The same applies to the combined weight of G
and H on the area of valve H.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we do not confine
ourselves to the exact details described; but what we claim is, the arranging
hoists suitable for raising and lowering weights with a trunk containing water
or liquid, and having within it an air barrel or bell, such barrel or bell having
the liquid displaced from it or admitted into it to cause it to rise or fall, and
being connected by ropes or chains passing around pulleys with weights to be
raised or lowered.
We also claim the arranging valves in connection with the air barrel or bell
so that as soon as the said barrel or bell commences to move either up or
down in the trunk the passage of air into or from it is arrested automatically
so as to render it impossible for the load to attain a dangerous speed.
We also claim the contracting the water way between the trunk and the

page_text: barrel or bell so as to check the rise or the descent of the said barrel or bell
and bring it quietly to rest.
We also claim the application of a reservoir of air under pressure to supply
air to the barrel or bell to displace the liquid therefrom.
We also claim the combining a sheave or sheaves with the barrel or bell in
such manner that the weight may be raised or lowered a distance exceeding
that passed over by the barrel or bell.
In witness whereof I, the said Thomas Wrightson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
THOMAS WRIGHTSON. L.S.)