MODIFYING THE INSTALLATION AND WORKING OF CABLES USED IN SPRINGING UP MINES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Théophile Guibal, Professor at the School of the
Hainaut Mines, in the City of Mons, Belgium, for the Invention of
"MODIFYING THE INSTALLATION AND WORKING OF CABLES USED IN SPRINGING
UP MINES."
Sealed the 27th March 1860, and dated the 30th September 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Théophile Guibal at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th September 1859.
I, THEOPHILE GUIBAL, Professor at the School of the Hainaut Mines, in the
City of Mons, Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "MODIFYING THE INSTALLATION AND WORKING OF CABLES USED IN SPRINGING
UP MINES," to be as follows:-
Mining cables, as now used, rest upon fixed pulleys, and my proposed
improvement is to pass them over moveable ones made of the ordinary shape
and materials, but resting upon springs which yield to the action of the load,
protecting the length of cable unrolled in the shaft from the deterioration to
which it is (under the existing system) exposed by the insufficient elasticity
of the material of which it is composed, be it hemp or other fibre or
metal. These springs are of metal, caoutchouc, or other elastic material, and
are placed beneath the axle or the axle bearing of the pulley. I further
propose giving by the same means a certain amount of elasticity to the bobbin
or spindle upon which the cable rolls itself.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Théophile Guibal in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THEOPHILE
GUIBAL, Professor at the School of the Hainaut Mines, in the City of Mons,
Belgium, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Théophile Guibal, Her special licence that I, the said Théophile
Guibal, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Théophile Guibal, 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
MODIPYING THE INSTALLATION AND WORKING OF CABLES USED IN SPRINGING UP
MINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Théophile
Guibal, 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 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 Théophile Guibal, 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 follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and forming part of this my Specification, and to the figures and
letters of reference placed thereon.
The object of my Invention is to relieve the cables used in extracting
minerals from the destructive effect exercised upon them by the powerful
shocks to which they are subjected during the different manoeuvres. To this
end I employ a means applicable to every arrangement, consisting in the
interposition of a system of elasticity between the cable and the mechanical
action exercised upon it. My Invention may be applied to the pulleys or
whirls placed at the mouth of the shaft, or to the spindles and drums or

page_text: bobbins on which the cables roll; and I will first describe its application to
the pulleys by reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the annexed Drawing,
which represent a pulley furnished with springs, a being the axle, a, a, packing
blocks in which turn the spindles, and which may slide vertically in the pulley
or support P, P. Beneath these blocks are placed strong steel springs R, R,
resting upon the screws, with cap v, v. These springs are guided during their
flexion by their bearing m and its rod n.
It is obvious that this arrangement
gives the pulley the property of yielding as much as the pressure of the load
upon the cable may exact, and thereby produce a gentle and uniform traction
exercised upon the entirety of the cord descending the shaft. The Figures 4
and 5, as well as those 6 and 7, shew how, according to the disposition of the
framing, the arrangement may be placed above the axle of the pulley or
whirl. The application of the springs beneath the pulleys provides a very
simple means of arresting the machine in case of any unanticipated resistance
during the ascent of the load; it consists in placing on one of the pulleys the
system of parts shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, namely, a bent lever p, b, 9, in
connection with the rod n; another lever e, jointed at a, and moved up and
down by a small spring r, and its end opposing the movement of the lever q,
produced partly by the weight p, and finally a screw v fixed to the bearing of
the mainspring R, and so disposed, as under the medium pressure to touch
the lever e.
This system produces the following results:-If the load or the
effect exercised upon the pulley exceeds the prescribed limit, the springs R
bend, the small levere is lowered, the lever 9 escapes, and the weight p
falling exercises a traction upon the rod n, which, being in connection with
a break, arrests the motion, and may also shut off the steam, if required.
The application of my Invention to the drums or bobbins is shewn, Figures 8
and 9, Figure 8 being elevation and perpendicular section, and Figure 9
clevation and section parallel to the axle. The part represented (which is
but the nave of the bobbin or drum) is composed of two similar discs D, D,
which are united the one to the other, but with a gorge (G, Figure 9), where
the cable lodges, the discs being held together by the bolts b, b. Between
the two discs D, D, before bringing them together, is placed a piece (M,
Figure 9) composed of a nave and arms c, c. This piece is solidly fixed to
the axle x, whereas the discs D, D, may turn freely. If it be understood that
within the annular space, where are the arms, here and there are partitions E
or stops on which rest spiral springs R, it will be evident that the whole of
the effort exercised upon the axle will not be transmitted to the bobbin or
drum (and consequently to the cable) until the banding or driving in of the
spiral springs R; or, as these springs may be very strong and numerous, the

page_text: entire weight of the load and cable may rest upon them, and thereby all
shocks will be deadened, not only protecting the cable, but easing the march
of the machine to an extent that will much increase its durability. The
several Diagrams shewn so thoroughly illustrate my Invention that further
detail is needless, it being evident that the several arrangements shewn are
not the only ones which may be used, but that the substitution of any other
would but contribute to the same result, which is, to soften the shocks to
which mining cables and their machinery are liable by elastic apparatus
placed beneath the pullies, or between the driving axle and the bobbins or
drums.
And having now described the nature of my Invention, and some of the
means of carrying it into practical effect, I desire it to be understood that I
do not confine myself to steel springs only, but obtain the elasticity required
by the use of india-rubber or any other suitable material; and I claim as
of my Invention the introduction of springs or elastic apparatus beneath the
pulleys of mining or other cables, or within the drum or bobbin round which
they roll, for the purpose of protecting the cable against the damage caused
by sudden tension, and the machines from the destructive effects of sudden
shocks, together with the arrangement herein described and shewn in the
Drawing for instantly arresting the machine when any unanticipated resistance
is experienced.
In witness whereof, I, the said Théophile Guibal, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
JULES BOURLARD,
Avocat, Conseiller Provincial,
Rue d'Havré, 79.
GUIBAL. (L.S.)