IM- Annin LAWDD Bonton EATS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Septimus Hill, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Insurance Agent, for the Invention of "IM-
Annin
LAWDD Bonton EATS "
Sealed the 16th March 1875, and dated the 19th September 1874.

page_text: -
rope hangs down to the ground and it is carried one or more times
around a wood or other cylinder to which the person or weight is
suspended, the rope also passes through staples fixed in the cylinder.
When a person is lowering himself he must take hold of the slack
end of the rope, and by holding it more or less tight he can regulate the
speed at which he descends or he can stop himself in any position, but
when the slack end of the rope is held below, the same result can be
obtained he the norson holding it
"
-
rope hangs down to the ground and it is carried one or more times
around a wood or other cylinder to which the person or weight is
suspended, the rope also passes through staples fixed in the cylinder.
When a person is lowering himself he must take hold of the slack
end of the rope, and by holding it more or less tight he can regulate the
speed at which he descends or he can stop himself in any position, but
when the slack end of the rope is held below, the same result can be
obtained by the person holding it.
I also propose to employ an endless rope to save time in working the
machine, and the cylinder and rope may be rendered fireproof or other-
wise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Septimus Hill in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
SEPTIMUS HILL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Insurance
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Septimus Hill, Her
special licence that I, the said Alfred Septimus Hill, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Septimus Hill, my 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 IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING BODIES OR
WEIGHTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Septimus Hill, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and

page_text: 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Septimus Hill, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to care).
Hut & improvements in Apparatus for Lowering Bodies or weights.
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Septimus Hill, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say):
This improved apparatus is particularly applicable as a fire-escape,
but it may be used for lowering weights in loading ships and for other
purposes.
The apparatus consists of a rope one end of which is secured to the
building from which it is desired to escape or to any other fixture, this
rope hangs down to the ground and it is carried one or more times
around a wood or other cylinder to which the person or weight is
suspended, the rope also passes through staples fixed in the cylinder.
When a person is lowering himself he must take hold of the rope
below the cylinder, and by holding it more or less tight and letting it
pass through his hand he can regulate the speed at which he descends,
or he can stop himself in any position, but when the slack end of the
rope is held either below or above the same result can be obtained by
the person holding it.
I also propose to employ an endless rope which would be passed
through a block or over a pulley to save time in working the apparatus,
and the cylinder and rope may be rendered fireproof or otherwise.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved
apparatus for lowering bodies or weights, and Fig. 2 is a view of the
same when used as a fire-escape.
The apparatus consists of the rope a one end of which is provided
with a loop which is suspended to a hook or secured to any fixture, and
of the wood or other cylinder 6 in which are the staples c and d through
which the rope is threaded, the rope is coiled one or more times around
the cylinder between the staples c and d. At cach end of the cylinder
is fixed a staple c to which the sling for holding the person or weight to

page_text: be lowered is suspended, this sling in firc-escapes consists of a broad
strap with a ring at one end, and of two smaller straps fastened to a
ring at the other end passing through the first-named ring, and then
connected to the staple e by a spring hook or otherwise, as shewn in
Fig. 2, or a net or sack might be used instead of the sling.
When a person is lowering himself he must take hold of the rope
below the cylinder, and in descending he must allow the rope to pass
through his hand, and by holding the rope more or less tight he can
regulate the speed at which he descends, or he can stop himself in any
position. When the apparatus is used on board ship or for lowering
goods in any other cases, the slack end of the rope must be held by the
person in charge, and by coiling the rope more or less times round the
cylinder the friction can be varied to suit the weight to be lowered or
the speed at which it should be allowed to descend.
It may in some cases be desirable to employ an endless rope a to save
time in returning the cylinder and sling to the top of the building after
they have been lowered, and by connecting the staple at the top of the
cylinder by a runner to the slack side of the endless rope, the apparatus
can be made to descend at an angle according to the distance at which
the end of the rope is held or fixed from the building.
It may also be desirable to render the rope and cylinder fireproof or to
make the rope of wire or a chain and the cylinder of metal.
I also propose to carry the rope through a spiral groove in the
cylinder b, and then through an eye in a plate or cap fixed to the ends
of the cylinder.
In lowering barrels a double spiral is used, the middle of the rope
being fastened by a ring bolt, or otherwise, and the ends of the rope
passed under and around the barrel, and then in a double spiral coil
around the cylinder which must be fixed, and then into the hands of the
person lowering.
The apparatus will also be found useful to house painters and in
various other like employments, where the operator requires the
lowering power under his own control. Cragsmen and alpine tourists
would also find it useful as the rope is not liable to friction. If a safety
weight of from two to three per cent. of the weight to be lowered with a
spiral of three turns around the cylinder be placed on the lower end of

page_text: the rope, it will very gradually allow and control the descent at a safe
speed without any other assistance.
-
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described a con-
venient mode of carrying the same into operation, I wish to observe that
I do not intend to limit myself to the details given, and that I claim the
use of a cylinder around which is coiled a rope, and to which is
suspended the body or weight to be lowered, in the manner and for the
purposes described.