IMPROVEMENTS IN DIFFERENTIAL PULLEYS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING AND SUSTAINING OR SUPPORTING LOADS OR HEAVY
Year: 1875

page_text: I ETTERS PATENT to Henry Douglas Gough, of Handsworth, in the
County of Stafford, Naval Pensioner, and Oliver Altree, of Aston,
near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Accountant Clerk,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DIFFERENTIAL PULLEYS FOR
RAISING AND LOWERING AND SUSTAINING OR SUPPORTING LOADS OR HEAVY
Sealed tho 21st March 1876, and dated the 6th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Douglas Gough
and Oliver Altree at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 6th October 1875.
We, HENRY DOUGLAS GOUGH, of Handsworth, in the County of
Stafford, Naval Pensioner, and OLIVER ALTREE, of Aston, near Bir-
mingham, in the County of Warwick, Accountant Clerk, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN DIFFER-
ENTIAL PULLEYS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING AND SUSTAINING OR SUPPORTING
LOADS OR HEAVY BODIES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in

page_text: constructing and arranging the parts of differential pulleys, in which a
rope is used instead of a chain, our said improvements consisting prin-
cipally in arranging or "reeving" the rope and of automatic mechanism
for nipping or binding the rope upon the pulley, so as to suspend or
sustain the load or heavy body when required. We mount the differential
pulley in a frame, as usual, and use in conjunction with the said pulley
a lower pulley having three sheaves working together.
-
We arrange or reeve the rope around the differential pulley in the
following manner : -We first pass the rope twice around the smaller
groove of the pulley, and afterwards pass the rope twice around the
larger groove of the pulley; there are thereby formed four depending
loops. Upon the three inner loops the lower pulley is placed, the three
sheaves of the said lower pulley taking upon the said three loops. The
sides of the outer loop within which the three loops described are situated
constitute respectively the pulling or hauling and lowering ropes, that is,
the side of the loop situated near the larger groove of the differential
pulley constitutes the pulling or hauling rope, and the side of the loop
situated near the smaller groove of the differential pulley constitutes the
lowering rope.
We construct mechanism for causing the rope to be gripped upon the
pulley, and the weight thereby suspended or sustained, in the following
manner-Below the differential pulley we arrange an oscillating frame.
The said frame is jointed at its middle to the middle straps of the pulley
frame, and each end of the said oscillating frame carries a double reel or
roller. The functions of these reels or rollers are to guide the rope of
the differential pulley, and at the proper time to press the said rope into
close contact with the said differential pulley. The ropes passing around
the differential pulley are situated between these reels or rollers, and the
ropes work in and are guided by them. The said rollers are loose upon
their axes, and the ends of their axes work in inclined or curved slots in
the cheeks of the pulley frame. The ends of these slots constitute stops
for limiting the motion of the oscillating frame.
When the oscillating frame is turned on its axis the two reels situated
on its ends respectively move in opposite directions, one of the said reels
rising and the other reel falling. The ropes engaged with the said reels
are thereby pressed together and tightened on and made to "nip" or
bear with great pressure on the differential pulley, and the load carried

page_text: by the said pulley is suspended or sustained in the position to which it
has been brought.
The oscillating frame described and its attachments are self-acting,
that is to say, are brought into action as soon as the load being raised
becomes stationary, the turning of the oscillating frame on its axis being
effected by the pressure of the ropes on the guide reels of the said
oscillating frame, but we prefer generally after the load has been raised
to the required height to put the sustaining mechanism into operation
by slightly pulling the lowering side of the rope.
When the hauling or pulling side of the rope is operated to raise the
load the oscillating frame resumes its normal position, and its gripping
action upon the rope is removed and the load may be raised.
In order to give a greater hold upon the rope a zig-zag or undulating
groove may be made on the acting surface of the larger groove of the
differential pulley.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Douglas Gough and Oliver Altree in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
DOUGLAS GOUGH, of Handsworth, in the County of Stafford, Naval
Pensioner, and OLIVER ALTREE, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Accountant Clerk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Henry Douglas Gough and Oliver
Altree, Her special license that we, the said Henry Douglas Gough and
Oliver Altree, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Henry Douglas Gough and Oliver Altree, 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,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DIFFER-
ENTIAL PULLEYS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING AND SUSTAINING OR SUPPORTING
LOADS OR HEAVY BODIES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Henry Douglas Gough and Oliver Altree, our 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
particularly 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Douglas Gough and Oliver
Altree, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, 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:―
Our Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
constructing and arranging the parts of differential pulleys in which a
rope is used instead of a chain, our said improvements consisting
principally in arranging or "reeving" the rope, and of automatic
mechanism for nipping or binding the rope upon the pulley so as to
suspend or sustain the load or heavy body when required. We mount
the differential pulley in a frame as usual, and use in conjunction
with the said pulley a lower pulley having three sheaves working
together.
"
We arrange or I reeve the rope around the differential pulley in
the following manner:-We first pass the rope twice around the
smaller groove of the pulley, and afterwards pass the rope twice around
the larger groove of the pulley. There are thereby formed four
depending loops. Upon the three inner loops the lower pulley is
placed, the three sheaves of the said lower pulley taking upon the said
three loops. The sides of the outer loop, within which the three loops
described are situated, constitute respectively the pulling or hauling
and lowering ropes, that is, the side of the loop situated near the larger
groove of the differential pulley constitutes the pulling or hauling rope,
and the side of the loop situated near the smaller groove of the
differential pulley constitutes the lowering rope,

page_text: We construct mechanism for causing the rope to be gripped upon the
pulley and the weight thereby suspended or sustained in the following
manner-Below the differential pulley we arrange an oscillating frame.
The said frame is jointed at its middle to the middle straps of the pulley
frame, and each end of the said oscillating frame carries a double reel
or roller. The functions of these reels or rollers are to guide the rope
of the differential pulley, and at the proper time to press the said rope
into close contact with the said differential pulley. The ropes passing
around the differential pulley are situated between these recls or rollers,
and the ropes work in and are guided by them. The said rollers are
loose upon their axes, and the ends of their axes work in inclined or
curved slots in the cheeks of the pulley frame. The bottoms of
these slots constitute stops for limiting the motion of the oscillating
frame.
When the oscillating frame is turned on its axis the two reels
situated on its ends respectively move in opposite directions, one of the
said reels rising and the other reel falling. The ropes engaged with the
said reels are thereby pressed together and tightened on and made to
nip or bear with great pressure on the differential pulley, and the load
carried by the said pulley is suspended or sustained in the position to
which it has been brought.
The oscillating frame described and its attachments are self-acting,
that is to say, are brought into action as soon as the load being raised
becomes stationary, the turning of the oscillating frame on its axis
being effected by the pressure of the ropes on the guide reels of the
said oscillating frame; but we prefer generally after the load has been
raised to the required height to put the sustaining mechanism into
operation by slightly pulling the lowering side of the rope. When the
hauling or pulling side of the rope is operated to raise the load, the
oscillating frame resumes its normal position, and its gripping action
upon the rope is removed and the load may be raised. In order to give
a greater hold upon the rope a zig-zag or undulating groove may be
made on the acting surface of the larger groove of the differential
pulley.

page_text: Figure 3 in plan of under side a differential pulley, in which the rope is
arranged or reeved and guided according to our Invention, in com-
bination with automatic sustaining mechanism constructed according to
our Invention for nipping or binding the rope upon the said pulley.
Figure 4 represents the automatic sustaining mechanism in action.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several
Figures of the Drawing.
a, b, is the differential pulley, a being the larger, and the smaller
groove of the said pulley; c is the frame in which the differential
pulley a, b, works; d is the lower pulley used in conjunction with the
said differential pulley a, b, the said lower pulley d having three sheaves
working together, as represented; e is the frame of the lower pulley, to
which the weight to be raised or lowered is hung. At each end of the
frame c of the pulley is a double reel or guide roller, marked respectively
f and g, for guiding the ropes of the differential pulley. i, k, l, are the
three inner depending loops passing around the two grooves a, b, of the
differential pulley, and upon which the lower pulley d is placed; and
h, m, is the outer loop, the side of the loop near the larger groove a
forming the pulling or hauling rope m, and the side of the loop near the
smaller groove 6 forming the lowering rope h.
b
The way in which the rope is arranged or "reeved" on the pulley so
as to form the four loops i, k, l, and h, m, is as follows:-Commencing
at the side h the rope is first passed around the smaller pulley 6 so as to
form the loop i, in which the left-hand sheaf of the bottom pulley d is
placed. The rope is again passed around the said smaller pulley b, and
the second loop k formed, in which the middle sheaf of the lower
pulley d is placed. The rope is next passed around the larger pulley a,
so as to form the loop 7, in which the right-hand sheaf of the lower
pulley d is placed; the rope is again passed around the larger pulley a,
and the descending end m is joined to the ascending end of the rope /
from which the making of the loops commenced. There are thus formed
the three inner depending loops i, k, l, and the outer depending loop h, m.
The way in which the rope is passed around the two grooves b, a, of the
differential pulley to form the four loops i, k, l, and h, m, will be readily
traced by reference to Figures 1 and 2 and the diagram, Figure 10.

page_text: By reeving or arranging the rope around the differential pulley in the
manner described and illustrated the pulley is self sustaining, that is,
there is no tendency in the rope to run down when a load or body is
placed upon it. When however the pulley is used for raising and
lowering heavy bodies, we prefer to combine with the said pulley the
automatic sustaining mechanism, which we will now describe, for
nipping or binding the rope upon the pulley, so as to suspend or
support the load or heavy body when required. The double reels or
guide rollers f, g, are carried by the oscillating frame n, the said
frame being situated within and turning on the centre p of the
principal frame c of the differential pulley (see the plan, Figure 3).
The reels or rollers f, g, are loose upon their axes f³, g²; the ends of the
said axes when the oscillating frame n is in its normal position, as repre-
sented in Figures 1, 2, and 3, being stationed in inclined or curved
slots c, c, in the cheeks of the pulley frame c, as represented. The
ends of the slots c³, c², constitute stops for arresting the motion of the
oscillating frame n when it reaches its normal position, the motion of
the said frame n in the other direction being limited by the stops 2, 9,
on the cheeks of the principal pulley frame.
The manner in which the ropes are engaged with the double reels f, g,
so as to guide the said ropes will be best understood by an examination
of Figures 1, 2, and 4.
When the oscillating frame n is turned on its axis p as illustrated in
Figure 4 the two reels f, g, move in opposite directions, the reel 9 rising
and the other reel ƒ falling. The ropes engaged with the said reels f, g,
are thereby pressed together, or the opposite sides of the loops made to
approach each other and the said ropes tightened on or made to "nip"
or bear with great pressure on the differential pulley a, b, and the load
carried by the said pulley is thus firmly sustained or supported. The
oscillating frame n and its reels f, g, are self-acting, that is, are brought
into action as illustrated in Figure 4; as soon as the load being raised
becomes stationary the turning of the osillating frame n into the
position, Figure 4, being effected by the outward pressure of the
temporarily ascending sides of the ropes against the guide roller or reel g;
the sustaining mechanism may however be put into operation when
necessary by slightly pulling down the lowering side h of the горе.
When the hauling or pulling side m of the rope is operated to raise
the load, the sustaining frame n resumes the position represented in

page_text: Figures 1 and 2, by the action of the ascending sides of the ropes upon
the guide roller or reel f, and its gripping action upon the ropes is
removed and the load may be raised.
Figure 5 represents in side elevation and Figure 6 in front elevation a
differential pulley constructed according to our Invention without the
sustaining mechanism described, the rope of the pulley being removed.
When the sustaining mechanism is not used in combination with the
other parts of our Invention, the guide reels or rollers f, g, are carried
by the frame c of the differential pulley a, b, the axes of the said reels
or rollers f, g, being connected to the cheeks of the said frame c.
Figure 7 represents the lower pulley d and its frame e, and Figure 8
represents a plan and Figure 9 a side elevation of the frame e of the
said lower pulley detached. The construction of the frames of the
differential pulley a, b, and the lower pulley d will be readily understood
by an examination of the Drawing.
When we construct the differential pulley a, b, of iron we prefer to
make in the acting surface of the larger pulley or groove a of the said
differential pulley a zig-zag or undulating groove, as represented in
Figure 6 and marked r, for the purpose of giving the rope a greater hold
or "bite" upon the pulley, but the said zig-zag or undulating groove
may be used in combination with wooden differential pulleys.
Instead of using a differential pulley containing two grooves only, as
described and represented, a differential pulley containing more than two
grooves may be employed. When a differential pulley having more than
two grooves is used the lower pulley and the guide reels or rollers have
a corresponding number of grooves made in them.
Having now described the nature of our Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we
do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention of improvements in
differential pulleys for raising and lowering and sustaining or supporting
loads or havy bodies,―
First. The combination with differential pulleys in which a rope is
used of the guiding reels or rollers described and represented, and the
method described and represented of arranging or "reeving" the rope

page_text: about or around the differential pulley, whereby the pulley is made self-
sustaining, that is, the weight has no tendency to run down.
Secondly. The combination with differential pulleys in which the rope
is arranged or "reeved" as described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing of the guiding and automatic suspending mechanism described
and illustrated for guiding the rope or ropes of the differential pulley,
and for nipping or binding the rope or ropes upon the pulley so as to
suspend or sustain the load or heavy body when required, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Thirdly. Making in the larger groove, by preference, of the differential
pulley a zig-zag or undulating groove for increasing the hold of the rope
upon the pulley, as described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Douglas Gough and
Oliver Altree, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
HENRY DOUGLAS GOUGH. (L.S.)
OLIVER ALTREE.
(L.S.)
Witness,
WILLIAM F. SPITTLE.