AN IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS COMPRISING AN AUTOMATIC BRAKE OR CLUTCH MECHANISM, APPLICABLE TO LIFTS, HOISTS, DUMBWAITERS, ELEVATORS AND ALL HAULING OR LIFTING OR WINDING APPARATUS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, MICHAEL JOSEPH LAWLOB, of the City of Poughkeepsie, State of New York,
United States of America, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS COMPRISING AN AUTOMATIC
BRAKE OR CLUTCH MECHANISM, APPLICABLE TO LIFTS, HOISTS, DUMBWAITERS,
ELEVATORS AND ALL HAULING OR LIFTING OR WINDING APPARATUS" and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and specification.
.
My invention relates to improvements in mechanical movements and consists of
a simple mechanism which is adapted to hold automatically a shaft, drum, pulley.
or wheel, or their equivalent, from revolving in either direction and is adapted to
all machines which now use pawl and ratchet, or other equivalent device for
holding the same part as described and furnishing a simpler device to attain the
object ordinarily attained by pawl and ratchet, retaining the part from revolving
in either direction.
.
By my invention, machines such as Lifts, Elevators, Hoists and all other lifting,
hauling and winding machinery, which require pawl and ratchet devices, are
simplified and machines produced by which the load is automatically suspended at
any height and readily lowered to any point by giving motion to the winding
shaft in a direction contrary to that by which the raising is effected. The load
being automatically suspended at any point by ceasing to give motion to the
driving shaft.
I will describe my invention in relation to a lift.
On the rotary shaft of a lift I place a stationary frame, tube or sleeve, passed
over said shaft and occupying any position on the same, that convenience of
construction may require.
The shaft is capable of rotating freely in said stationary frame, tube or sleeve.
The said frame, tube or sleeve is of such length as to allow the parts hereinafter
described to be placed in said frame or on said tube or sleeve.
On each side of these parts is placed a hub, shoulder, head flange, or other.
equivalent device, firmly fixed to the said stationary frame, tube or sleeve for

page_text: the purpose of limiting the space occupied by said parts and preventing the
spreading of these parts beyond the limited space when out of gear. These
limiting hubs may be parts of the said stationary frame, tube or sleeve or parts.
fixed thereto.
In or on the said stationary frame, tube or sleeve are loosely placed a pinion
wheel with its sides presenting inclined surfaces; two rings or annulars, or their
equivalents, one on either side of said pinion wheel, having their outer ends
perpendicular to the bearings on which they revolve, and their inner sides or
ends presenting surfaces inclined correspondingly to those upon the pinion wheel
and intermediately between, the said pinion wheel and annulars are placed'rings
having parallel sides, and of any required thickness. The said rings never revolve
with the shaft pinion wheel, or annulars, but are retained from revolving by being
fastened in such a manner to the stationary frame, tube or sleeve by sockets, studs,
bolts or their equivalents that they have a wabbling motion to and fro, on the
said frame, tube or sleeve and the said studs, bolts or their equivalents, with
corresponding slots retain them from revolving with the shaft, pinion wheel or
annulars as described.
The office of 'said rings is to lock the pinion wheel to the stationary frame, tube
or sleeve which they do whenever motion ceases to be given to the driving shaft.
The Pinion wheel and annulars are furnished with slots, or their equivalents,
varying in length according to the inclination of the surfaces that clasp the said
rings and the ends of the slots are directly opposite each other when the parts
are in gear. The shaft carries a dog, stud or studs, or their equivalents, of suitable
size and form, to engage with the sides of said slots in the described pinion wheel,
and annulars, and is the only part fixed to the shaft, for the purpose of gearing
the said pinion wheel and annulars. and thereby permitting the load to be raised
or lowered.
It will be seen that whenever the motion of 'said shaft and its dog, cease to hold
the pinion wheel and annulars in gear that the resistance of the load upon the
pinion wheel will cause it to revolve independently of the said annulars in the
direction proper to lower the load and said annulars remain at rest, and thereby
form inclined foundations or bases for the retained rings to lie in angular positions
and thereby form a non-revolving inclined base, or foundation for the pinion
wheel, to wedge between or against and the raised load is held in whatever position
it has been brought to.
The action of the parts is as follows: when the load is at rest the described
pinion wheel, which gives motion to the load is firmly wedged between the retained
wabbling rings, and by the turning of the shaft in the direction proper to raise the
load the described dog or its equivalent engages with the said pinion wheel and
annulars, and the parts are geared to-gether, and do not grip between them the
-retained rings, and said rings wabble freely and adapt themselves in angular.
position to correspond with the inclined surfaces, on the described pinion wheel
and annulars. In lowering the load the shaft is revolved in the opposite direction,
and this motion brings the annulars and pinion wheel in gear so that they do not
grip the retained wabbling rings, but said rings freely adapt themselves to the
inclined 'surfaces 'as described, the descent of the load continuing only so long as
the backward motion of the shaft is continued. Instead of the pinion wheel
having on each side an inclined surface and two annulars, and two retained
wabbling rings as described the said pinion wheel may have only one side with
'an inclined 'surface and an annular and one wabbling ring as described, and the
other side of said pinion wheel be made perpendicular to the bearing on which it
revolves.
To operate the shaft by other than hand power, the gearing of the said shaft
with said power may be effected by Pinion wheels, Bands, Pulleys, or other
'connecting devices. The application of my invention to other machines, such as
Elevators, Dumbwaiters, Crabs, Hoisting, Hauling and winding Machinery differs
⚫in no essential particular from the foregoing description of a lift.

page_text: pinion wheel in the position which allows the retained wabbling rings to escape
being gripped and to move freely without binding on the adjacent parts, and the
moment they disengaged. the said annulars and pinion wheel, the resistance on the
pinion wheel causes it to turn backwards independent of the said annulars and the
pinion wheel immediately locks itself by the action of the wabbling rings to the
stationary frame, tube or sleeve as heretofore described.
To start the pinion wheel again in either direction motion given to the shaft
communicated through the dogs or studs B. B. brings the said parts in gear, and
holds them in, as the shaft A is kept in motion and the retained rings wabble to
escape being gripped by the revolving parts. Instead of the construction shown in
Figs. 1 and 13 of the drawings using two wabbling rings I, one wabbling ring only
may be used thus varying the construction as shown in Figure 7, Figure 9 and
Figure 17.
All or any of the parts which in revolving come in contact with each other may
be made anti-friction by the introduction of slots and balls or their equivalents
ordinarily called anti-friction bearings without departing from the nature of my
invention.
The size and form of the described parts may be varied to meet the requirements
of the work desired to be performed. The working parts of my machine may be
protected from the action of the air and elements by being encased in a suitable
shell of metal of ordinary construction.
The combined action of the parts of my invention as a whole machine is as
follows: When the driving shaft A is turned in the direction proper to raise the
load, the dog or studs B. B. which are fixed to the said shaft engage with the sides
of the said slots J. J. in the pinion wheel H. and annulars G. G. and gear the parts
together and thereby permit the described annulars G. G. and the pinion wheel H.
to revolve freely, their inclined surfaces adapting themselves to and causing the
retained rings I. I. to wabble to and fro in the uniform space left for them between
said surfaces without being gripped and the said non-revolving rings wabble freely
in their path only so long as the driving shaft gives motion to the load, and when
said driving shaft A. ceases to give motion to the load and holds the said parts in
gear, the said rings impinged by the inclined surfaces of the pinion wheel,
automatically lock, the pinion wheel to the stationary frame as described and the
load is sustained in what ever position it has attained.
In order to lower the load the shaft is turned in the opposite direction and its
dog or studs B. B. engage the opposite sides of the slots J. J. in the pinion wheel
and annulars, and brings the parts in gear and the motion of the parts is the same
as above described, only in the reverse direction, and continues only so long as the
shaft is so revolved, and thus the load may be lowered and automatically sustained
at any desired point.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
I. A mechanical movement comprising an Automatic Brake to hold the Pinion
wheel, Pulley or Drum, or an equivalent part, which gives motion to the load on
any Lift, Hoist, Elevator, Dumb Waiter and all other lifting, hauling and winding
machinery at rest whenever motion ceases to be given to the driving shaft, and
only then, substantially as described.
II. The described mechanical movement consisting of the driving shaft A.
carrying a fixed dog or stud B. B. or their equivalents stationary frame, tube
or sleeve F. Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H. the annulars G. G. and the
intermediate rings I. I. and connecting rods G¹ G. substantially as described.
III. The described mechanical movement, consisting of the driving shaft A.
carrying a fixed dog or stud B. B. or their equivalents. stationary frame, tube or
sleeve F, Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H. the annulars G. G. and the intermediate
rings I. 1. substantially as described.
IV. The described mechanical movement, consisting of the driving shaft A.

page_text: carrying the dog or stud B. B. or their equivalents, Stationary frame, tube or
sleeve F, Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H. The annular G. and wabbling ring I,
substantially as described.
V. The retained non-revolving wabbling ring I. fixed to the stationary frame,
tube or sleeve by socket and stud resting between revolving surfaces, inclined
to the axis of motion of the shaft, substantially as shown and described.
VI. The two retained non-revolving wabbling rings I. I. fixed to the frame,
tube or sleeve as described, resting between two revolving surfaces inclined to the
axis of motion of the shaft substantially as shown and described.
VII. The loosely mounted pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum constructed with
beveled side or sides as described, so arranged as to clutch the non revolving rings
I I. whenever said Pinion wheel Pulley or Drum, revolves independently of the
annulars G. G.
VIII. The loosely mounted annular G or annulars G. G. provided with slots J. J.
corresponding with the slots J J in the Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H. the said
parts made as shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.
IX. The combination of the shaft A, and its dog or stud B. B. with the
stationary frame, tube or sleeve F, Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H, Annulars
GG, wabbling rings I. I. with the heads F. and. E. C. substantially as shown and
described, and for the purposes set forth.
X. The combination of the dog or studs B. B. on the driving shaft A. with
the sides of the Slots J. J. in the Pinion wheel and Pulley or Drum H. and
the annular G, or the annulars G, G, as described and shown, and for the purposes
set forth.
XI. The combination of the loosely mounted Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H.
with the annular G. or annulars & G. and the non-revolving wabbling ring
or rings I. I. substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set
forth.
XII. The combination of the wabbling ring I or rings I. I. with the stationary
frame, tube or sleeve F. by the studs, bolts I¹ I¹ and sockets as shown and
described and for the purposes set forth...
XIII. The described non-revolving wabbling ring I. or rings I. I. for the purpose
of locking the Pinion wheel, Pulley or Drum H. to the stationary frame, tube or
sleeve F. to which the wabbling ring I or rings I. I. are fixed as shown and
described and for the purposes set forth.
XIV. An Automatic brake for Lifts, hoists, Elevators and all other lifting and
hauling and winding machinery operated by the load upon the Pinion wheel Pulley
or Drum and liberated only by the action of the driving shaft, substantially as
shown and described.
XV. The Pinion wheel Pulley or. Drum H.
G. G. Wabbling ring I or rings I. I. retained
The tube or sleeve F. the Annulars
from revolving by sockets and stud
all combined to operate by the resistance of the load in either direction as shown
and described.
Dat ALL th 1
1004