IMPROVEMENTS IN DERRICKS FOR RAISING HEAVY BODIES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRed
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of August, in the thirteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors,
adiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Planta-
tions abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man,
an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DERRICKS FOR RAISING HEAVY BODIES," being.
a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in. Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately

page_text: after the date of the said in part recited Letters Latent, as mi and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "Improvements in Derricks for Raising and Moving
Heavy Bodies," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, will be
clearly understood from the following description thereof, reference being had
to the accompanying Drawings forming part of this my .Specification, in which
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus, and Figures 2, 3, and 4 are
detached views of parts of the same. Instead of making the boom destined to
sustain the weight to be lifted as heretofore to project all on one side of a mast,
it is secured at about. the middle of its length to a short central mast, which
turns in appropriate bearings in the upper part of a rigid frame or standard.
The rear end of the boom is connected by a travelling brace rod with the base
of the standard, which is made circular, and has on its under side a circular
rail, upon which a pair of friction wheels (having their bearings in the lower
end of the brace rod) run, and thus admit of the free turning of the boom.
The rope by which the weight to be lifted is raised is pendent from a pulley
which has its bearings in a sliding block. This block is supported by and
traverses over a pair of rails, together forming one end of the boom, and is
capable of being moved from or towards the central mast by means of two
cords attached to the sliding block. One of the cords is carried over a pulley
mounted in a recess in the mast, and is passed down through the mast, which
is made hollow for that purpose; the other cord passes from the block over a
pulley at the extreme end of the boom, then backward over another pulley
in the mast, and its end is passed down through the hollow mast.
The lifting
rope is carried by two pullies, the one being mounted in the mast, and the other
in the sliding block. The loaded end of the cord hangs from the pulley in the
sliding block; and the other end, which is carried over the pulley in the
mast, is passed down the hollow of the mast to the capstan or windlass employed
to lift the load. This arrangement of parts will admit of the load being
turned in any direction, and deposited at any given point within a circle of which
the boom is the radius. The standard in which the mast is mounted is formed
like a triangular pyramid, and it may be provided with wheels to allow it to
run on a permanent railway, and thereby be moved to any required distance

page_text: with facility; and the upper end of the standard consists of three posts, placed
at equal distances apart at their base, and uniting at their upper end. These
posts are connected together by horizontal ties and by diagonal braces crossing
each other, so as to give strength and rigidity to the structure, the peculiar
construction of which, as well as of the other parts constituting the improved
derrick, will be clearly understood on referring to the Drawing and the
following descriution thereof
a; a, a, are three inclined posts of the framed standard, properly secured'
to a base 6, and connected together to form a triangular pyramid by horizontal
cross tics c, c, c, mortised or otherwise secured, and braced together by diagonal
braces d, d, those indicated by d inclining to the right, and the others d'in-
clining in the reverse direction. These braces are arranged in the same
manner on each face of the triangular pyramid, there being two braces on
each face, extending from one cross tie to the other; and it will be observed.
that, commencing at the base of either of the posts, the two sets form continuous
systems of braces running diagonally all around the pyramid, from top to
bottoni, and forming a stiff and unyielding structure, which therefore is pecu-
liarly adapted to sustain heavy loads, and to resist the strain to which the
standard of a boom derrick is subjected, but to which a single mast sustained
by guy ropes is ill adapted. The braces d and d' overlap each other in the
middle and at the ends, so that by one single bolt e (see the Diagram Figure)
the ends of four braces are connected together and with the posts. When
desired, intermediate cross ties may be introduced. The base 6 is formed of
timbers connected together in a triangle, to correspond with the horizontal"
section of the pyramid, and then by other timbers a circular form may be
given to it, to receive on its under side a circular rail f (see the cross section of
the circular basc, Fig. 2), over which runs a pair of friction rollers
9, 9, having
their bearings in the lower end of the brace rod h, which rod forms a tie
between the back end i of the boom and the base of the standard. The sus-
taining or forward end of the boom is composed of two straight timbers k, k,
placed at a sufficient distance apart to admit of a free passage between them of
the rope m, by which the weight to be raised is lifted, and of the pulley n;
over which the rope passes. These timbers form rails on which the block of
the pulley n can slide or run, if mounted on wheels. They are firmly con-
nected together at their outer extremities, and their inner ends embrace and
are firmly secured to the mast o, and to a single timber l, which forms the
rear or balance end i of the boom to which the brace rod h is attached. The

page_text: mast o is mounted in the upper end of the standard frame, and turns freely in
bearings provided for its reception. The lower end of the mast is made
hollow, for the passage downwards of the ropes, to admit of the boom being
turned without obstruction, there being pulleys, as before mentioned, to guido
the ropes into the hollow in the mast. The upper end of the mast is provided
with a metal plate q, to which is attached a system of brace rods r, r¹, for
securing the boom to the mast. The rods r, which sustain the end e¹ of the
loom, are branched, and attached to the two rails or timbers k, k, to admit of
the free passage of the sliding block, which is governed and moved towards or
from the mast by means of two ropes s and u, the rope s being attached to the
block, and passing through the mast over a pulley t, to draw it towards the
mast, and the other rope u being attached to the sliding block, and passing
over a pulley or pullies at the end of the boom, and thence over another
The
pulley, which has its bearings in the mast.by.the side of the pulley t:
hoisting rope'm, after passing over the pulley n, passes over a pulley on the
same bearing pin as the pulley t, and thence downwards through the hollow
mast to a windlass or other apparatus. The boom is braced laterally in any
suitable manner. If it be desired to move the whole apparatus, to .facilitate
the work, the base. b. may be adapted to run on permanent rails y, y, in any
desired or well-known manner, by being careful to have the base principally
sustained by means of timbers, one of them under one of the posts of the
standard, and the other under the other two posts, as the weight will then
rest to the best advantage, and care should be taken to have the base sufficiently
elevated to give. a free passage. to the rollers 9 on the end of the brace rod h.
In order to ensure a more permanent connection between the boom, and the
standard, the under surface of the circular platform is provided with, a second
or additional iron rail a'; as shewn in the section Fig. 2; and in the plan view
Fig. 3. Upon the railf the rollers g of the brace rod h, as before mentioned,
run, and the inner ends of the axles of these, rollers are, bent up at a right
angle, to receive respectively. a horizontal roller g', which rollers are intended
to run upon the rail a'; and by this means the strain put upon the boom by
the load, is, through the connecting brace h, communicated to the base of the
standard in both a vertical and horizontal direction. The outer ends of the
axles of the rollers g, g, are connected together by a brace piece (see Fig. 4);
and this brace also forms a bearing for the axle of a pinion, the teeth of which
On the
take into the teeth on a portion of the periphery of the rollers g, g.
axle of this pinion is a winch handle, by turning which the boom will be
caused to swing round into any desired position. For greater safety against
any sudden jerk, it may sometimes be advisable to have a rail on the upper

page_text: surface of the base b, and provide the brace h with another roller g to bite
upon that rail.
Having now described the Invention of Improvements in Derricks for Raising
and Moving Heavy Bodies; as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I wish it to be understood that I do not claim as of this Invention any of the
parts herein mentioned, when otherwise employed in the construction of lifting
machinery; but that which I desire to claim under the above in part recited
Letters Patent is the general arrangement and construction of parts con-
stituting the improved derrick, as above described, with reference to the
accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto-
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
Enrolled the Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.