IMPROVEMENTS IN CRANES OR OTHER MACHINERY FOR LIFTING, LOWERING, AND HAULING BY MEANS OF STEAM, GAS, HEATED AIR, OR OTHER FLUID PRESSURE, AND IN THE BOILERS OR FURNACES FOR GENERATING THE POWER FOR THE SAME, SUCH IMPROVE- MENTS BEING APPLICABLE IN PART FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles James Appleby and
Isaiah Riley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 18th March 1868.
We, CHARLES JAMES APPLEBY, of Emerson Street, Southwark, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, and ISAIAH RILEY, of Freeling Cottage,
Freeling Street, Caledonian Road, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CRANES OR OTHER MACHINERY FOR LIFTING, LOWERING, AND HAULING BY
MEANS OF STEAM, GAS, HEATED AIR, OR OTHER FLUID PRESSURE, AND IN THE
BOILERS OR FURNACES FOR GENERATING THE POWER FOR THE SAME, SUCH IMPROVE-
MENTS BEING APPLICABLE IN PART FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
I. Our improvements consist, firstly, in the use of one or more
chains arranged so as to maintain a central strain on the piston and
actuate a shaft on which are drums for varying the power, speed, or
height of lift. A cylinder whose piston is operated by the motive
power is fixed in a position suitable for the lift required. Near to
this cylinder is placed a short shaft or spindle running in bearings
and carrying a drum or barrel of a diameter proportioned to the height
of the lift required. To this drum is attached the chain or rope for
lifting, lowering, or hauling. For the purpose of varying the speed,

page_text: power, or height of lift we use a drum or drums of different diameters.
To the short shaft or spindle herein-before mentioned is attached one
end of each of two or more chains, the opposite ends of these chains
being secured to a crosshead on or connected with the piston rod of
cylinder. In lieu of this arrangement a single chain may be used,
both ends of which are connected with the short shaft or spindle, whilst
the bight of the loop thus formed is held in position by a sheave on
or attached to the crosshead. When the lifting or hauling chain is
in the proper position for commencing the lift, the chain or chains
connected to the short shaft or spindle will be coiled upon it, so that
by one stroke of the piston the shaft and drum may be made to
revolve one or a number of times as may be required, and by means
of this arrangement a central and uniform strain will be maintained
on the piston throughout its entire stroke. The piston may be made
in the ordinary way or a piston of a special construction may be used,
which we now proceed to describe.
II. Our improvements consist, secondly, in the pecular construction
of piston which we prefer to employ with the arrangement above
described and in other hoisting machinery, such piston being constructed
or provided with or carrying one or more valves acting as a safety
valve or valves in the event of a chain breaking, so that the piston
will be maintained in equilibrium, and accident to the cylinder thereby
prevented. By preference the valve is formed on the end or in con-
nection with the end of the piston rod, the piston carrying or forming
the seat upon which the valve impinges.
III. Our improvements consist, thirdly, in the use of a self-acting
valve in connection with a break. The valve for admitting the steam
or other pressure to the cylinder we connect with a break in such
manner that when the lever of the valve is released, thereby cutting
off the steam, the break is simultaneously applied.
an
IV. Our improvements consist, fourthly, in apparatus for
economically governing the speed of working. The air which must
necessarily have been drawn into the cylinder is so utilized that in
its exit it actuates a piston or valve connected with a throttle or other
valve on the steam supply pipe, and any increase in the speed of the
piston beyond that for which the mechanism is arranged is instantly
arrested by means of the valve throttling the admission of steam in
the lifting cylinder.

page_text: V. Our improvements consist, fifthly, in our arrangements for
generating steam or for heating air as the means of actuating the
machinery above-described or other machinery or engines, and when
used for generating steam or hot air in self-acting mechanism for
regulating and maintaining the heat at any required degree, gas
being employed instead of ordinary fuel. We now describe these
arrangements more particularly as applied for generating steam. For
this purpose we use a boiler of any convenient form, and in the crown
or around the fire-box, or that part of the boiler usually so called, are
placed a number of hollow receptacles for water or hanging tubes (by
preference those known as "field" tubes) and we cause a series of
jets of ordinary or diluted or mixed gas to play upon these hollow
surfaces or tubes, and thus to generate steam. For the purpose of
regulating the degree of heat to be applied to the receptacles or tubes
we connect the valve or cock on the gas supply pipe by levers or
rods with the safety valve on the boiler, or with some arrangement
of mechanism which will rise or fall or otherwise vary its position
with the variations of pressure in the steam boiler. In this
way the
supply of gas can be regulated to any given degree by the boiler
pressure, whilst the boiler pressure itself may also be maintained at
any required degree, thus avoiding risk from accident from a too high
boiler pressure and loss and inconvenience from steam blowing to
waste, and offering the great advantage in constantly varying work
of an equal and uniform pressure of steam. These improvements
are applicable to existing boilers and boilers of construction differing
from those herein-above described. In some cases we propose to carry
the heated product of combustion away through a central tube direct
into a chimney or into the atmosphere, and in other cases we prefer
to carry it in flues around the boiler in the manner of boilers heated
by fuel of the ordinary description.
VI. Our improvements consist, sixthly, in the arrangement or
means we employ for swinging and regulating crane jibs, more
especially those fixed on warehouses and similar structures. A box,
tube, or bracket is placed in any convenient position for holding or
carrying a spring or a number of springs, through or connected with
which is a bolt, rod, or pin attached by a chain to the crane jib
to be acted upon, or the chain or rope may be passed through
the springs. When the jib is pulled round, the chain coils round

page_text: the part to which it is attached with sufficient force to return the jib
to its original position. Or the bolt, rod, or pin before-mentioned
may have a rack on one end gearing into a pinion on the crane jib,
thus giving a double action of the character above described.