IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING WITH CORVES, TRAMS, OR OTHER TRUCKS ON WHEELS, THE CAGES OF COLLIERY AND OTHER HOISTS, AND IN THE APPLIANCES EMPLOYED THEREWITH."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Barrowman, Mining Engineer, Braehead Cottages,
Borrowstounness, County of Linlithgow, Scotland, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING
WITH CORVES, TRAMS, OR OTHER TRUCKS ON WHEELS, THE CAGES OF COLLIERY
AND OTHER HOISTS, AND IN THE APPLIANCES EMPLOYED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Barrowman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th April 1879.
"
WILLIAM BARROWMAN, Mining Engineer, Braehead Cottages, Borrowstounness,
County of Linlithgow, Scotland. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING WITH CORVES, TRAMS, OR OTHER TRUCKS ON
WHEELS, THE CAGES OF COLLIERY AND OTHER HOISTS, AND IN THE APPLIANCES
EMPLOYED THEREWITH."
This Invention consists of apparatus or appliances for automatically raising;
suspending, and lowering the safety gates of coal-pits or hoists, automatically
controlling the position of the stops, shuts, or cage supports, and automatically
loading and unloading, with wheeled vehicles, the cages of the said coal-pits or
hoists, the object of the Invention being to reduce to a minimum the manual
labour ordinarily employed in loading and unloading the said cages.
The automatic mechanism for raising, suspending, and lowering the safety gate
(or gates) consists of a lever (or levers) having its fulcrum on a support opposite, or
Dear to the gate and gate guides or conductors, and so constructed and placed as
that when the cage (or a projection on the cage) ascends to or above the pit mouth
it will raise the said lever (or levers) and the safety gate. The gate is suspended
in the position to which it has been raised by a weight or weights attached to the
said gate by a rope, the said rope working over a pulley fixed on the pit guide or
elsewhere. To lower the safety gate the cage (or projection on the cage) is raised
above and beyond the lever, so that the lever can fall by its own weight, or other-

page_text: wise, and on the cage descending, it carries down with it the lever and the safety
gate on which the lever acts, the lever being then brought into position for a
repetition of the above described operation by a weight or weights, spring or
springs, acting on the said lever (or levers).
The automatic mechanism for adjusting and controlling the position of the stops
or shuts on which the cage rests whilst being loaded and unloaded, consists of
curved rods attached to the safety gate, which said rods are so curved as that
when the safety gate is suspended above the pit's mouth the said stops or shuts
project into the pit and under the cage, so that when the cage alone is lowered it
will rest on the said stops; but when the cage and safety gate are lowered the
said curved rods force back the said stops and allow the cage to pass by them. The
stops work on pivots, and in their normal position they can either project into
the pit and be forced back by the cage as it ascends, or they can be retained clear
of the pathway of the cage by the rods attached to the safety gate until the
cage has risen above them, and then be allowed to fall forward for the cage to
rest on.
The automatic mechanism for unloading and loading the cage is of the following
general description.
The cage will or can be fitted with two lines of rails, one for full corves or
hutches ascending the pit, and one for empty corves descending the pit, the rails
will be fitted with moveable stops actuated by a lever or levers fixed or fitted to
the bottom of the cage or otherwise.
On the pit bank there will be lines of rails corresponding to those on the cage
so that corves can be run on and from the pit's bank and cage, the line for the
empty corves being inclined towards the pit, and that for the full corves being
level or inclined away from the pit, and when the cage is in position for unloading
and loading, it can be inclined at the same angle as the line of rails (or thereabouts),
or the rails on the cage can be fixed at an angle corresponding (or thereabouts)
to the inclined lines of rails on the pit bank.
To the cage will be fitted a moveable guard (or guards) which will act as a stop
to prevent the corves running off the cage; this guard will have a projection or arm
at its lower end and will turn on a pivot, the projection being made so as to rest
on the bottom of the cage, this guard will be retained in its normal vertical
position by a weight, or spring, or otherwise, and will be lowered by being actuated
by a rod fixed to the shuts or stops (on which the cage rests) a suitable hole being
made in the bottom of the cage to allow the said rod to protrude through the
bottom of the cage when the cage descends on the said shuts or stops.
The cage can or will be fitted with a crank lever or other appliance to impel the
corve or hutch along and off the cage, this crank lever will be actuated by a rod
fixed on the shuts or stops, in the same way as the guard above described is
actuated, as on the rod striking one end of the crank lever the other end thereof
will press on the wheel or other part of the corve or hutch and force it along the
cage.
It may be found practicable and convenient to make the guard for controlling
the position of the corve on the cage, and the crank lever for moving the corve
along the cage in one, or make either the guard or the crank lever answer both
purposes.
The empty hutch or corve will be run on to the cage by having one or more of
them standing on the rails inclined towards the cage, their movement being con-
trolled by a front and back guard fixed to a lever, the said lever having its fulcrum
between the said front and back stop, so that when the front stops is depressed it
will allow a corve to run down the incline at the same time, the back stop being
raised to prevent another corve from following it, the end of the said lever being
depressed by the cage as it descends on to the shuts and being raised by a weight
or spring at the other end when the cage rises from the said shuts, the latter action
raising the front guard and lowering the back guard, by which means another
:

page_text: hutch or corve can run down to the front guard, and it will remain there until the
cage is again in position on the shuts to be reloaded when the above described
operation will be repeated.
The rails on the cage can be level, and the front and back shut need not be
much out of the level in order to allow of the hutch or corve running off the cage,
and due provision will be made on the conductors for the cage to be tilted, or the
conductor can be so inclined as to cause the cage to tilt forward when it arrives
at the pit bank.
The mechanism described for use at the pit bank will or can likewise be adapted
to the same purpose at the pit bottom, and modifications of the above described
apparatus can be applied to cages with two decks or platforms as well as to cages
with one platform only.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Barrowman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
October 1879.
WILLIAM BARROWMAN, Mining Engineer, Braehead Cottages, Borrowstounness,
County of Linlithgow, Scotland. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING WITH CORVES, TRAMS, OR OTHER TRUCKS ON
WHEELS, THE CAGES OF COLLIERY AND OTHER HOISTS, AND IN THE APPLIANCES
EMPLOYED THEREWITH."
This Invention consists of apparatus or appliances for automatically raising,
suspending, and lowering the safety gates of coal pits or hoists, automatically
controlling the position of the stops, shuts, or cage supports, and automatically
loading and unloading with wheeled vehicles, such as hutches, corves, or trams, the
cages of the said coal pits or hoists, the object of the Invention being to reduce to
a minimum the manual labour ordinarily employed in loading and unloading the
said cages.
The automatic mechanism for raising, suspending, and lowering the safety gate
(or gates) consists of a lever (or levers) having its fulcrum on a support opposite or
near to the gate and gate guides or conductors, and so constructed and placed as
that when the cage (or a projection on the cage) ascends to or above the pit mouth
it will raise the said lever (or levers) and the safety gate. The gate is suspended
in the position to which it has been raised by a weight or weights attached to the
said gate by ropes, the said ropes working over pulleys fixed on the pit guides or
elsewhere. To lower the safety gate the cage (or projection on the cage) is raised
above and beyond the lever so that the lever can fall by its own weight or otherwise,
and on the cage descending it carries down with it the lever and the safety gate on
which the lever acts, the lever being then brought into position for a repetition of
the above described operation by a weight or weights, spring or springs, acting on
the said lever (or levers).
The automatic mechanism for adjusting and controlling the position of the stops
or shuts on which the cage rests whilst being loaded and unloaded consists of
curved rods attached to the safety gate, which said rods are so curved as that when
the safety gate is suspended above the pit's mouth the said stops or shuts project
into the pit and under the cage, so that when the cage alone is lowered it will rest
on the said stops, but when the cage and safety gate are lowered the said curved
rods force back the said stops and allow the cage to pass by them; the stops work
on pivots and in their normal position they can either project into the pit and
be forced back by the cage as it ascends, or they can be retained clear of the
pathway of the cage by the rods attached to the safety gate until the cage has risen
above them, and then be allowed to fall forward for the cage to rest on.
The automatic mechanism for unloading and loading the cage is of the following
general description :--
The cage can be arranged with two lines of rails with movable stops actuated by
a lever or levers fixed to the bottom of the cage or otherwise, one for full hutches or
corves ascending the pit shaft, and the other for empty hutches or corves descending
the pit shaft. On the pit bank there will be lines of rails corresponding (or there-
abouts) to those on the cage, the line for the empty hutches or corves being inclined
towards the pit shaft or otherwise, and that for the full butches or corves being
either level or inclined away from the pit shaft, and when the cage is in position for
unloading and loading it can be inclined at the same angle as the lines of rails (or
thereabouts), the two lines of rails and the cage forming (so to say) one inclined
way, or instead of the rails being level on the bottom of the cage, and the cage
being inclined the rails could be inclined on the cage, and the cage itself be level.
To the cage is fixed or fitted a guard (or guards) for controlling the position of
the butches or corves, the normal position of the said guard being vertical or
vertically inclined to act as stops, being retained in that position by a projection

page_text: on the bottom of it resting on the cage. To the shuts or stops (on which the cage
rests) is fixed or fitted a vertical rod (or rods), and through the bottom of the cage
(under the projection of the guard or under a suitable bell-crank lever) is a hole
and on the descent of the cage on to the shuts the rod (or rods) protrude through
the bottom of the cage and strike the projection of the guard or the lever so as to
cause it to take a horizontal position or thereabouts, and thus allow or force the
hutch or corve to run off the cage and allow another hutch or corve to run on to the
said cage, the said guard being so constructed and fitted and operated by the rod
which protrudes through the bottom of the cage, as to act as a guard or stop only,
a separate lever being employed and operated upon by the same or other rods to
impel the corve or to act on the corve or hutch to impel it along and off the cage;
when the cage is raised off the shuts a weight or spring acting on the guard causes
it to rise to its normal position and thus prevent the hutch or corve from running
off the cage. In order to move the hutches or corves from the cage automatically
without force the rails will either be inclined or the front shut will be at a
lower level than the back one, and as the cage descends on to them the cage will
be tilted forward and (the guard having been lowered as before specified) the full
corve or hutch will thereby be impelled forward or otherwise will be impelled by
the ends of the aforesaid guard or lever (or levers) attached to the bottom of the
cage, resting on the shuts, and pressing the stops against the wheels of the hutch,
thus causing the said hutch or corve to run down the incline away from the cage,
and at or about the same time an empty butch or corve will be run on to the said
cage automatically, and will be stopped at the required position on the cage by
movable or fixed stops, by having one or more empty corves standing on the rails
inclined towards the cage, their movement being controlled by a front and back
guard fixed to a lever, the said lever having its fulcrum between the said front and
back stop, so that when the front stop is depressed it will allow a corve to run
down the incline, at the same time the back stop being raised prevents another
corve from following it, the end of the said lever being depressed by the cage as it
descends on to the shuts and being raised by a weight or spring at the other end,
when the cage rises from the said shuts, the latter action raising the front guard
and lowering the back guard by which means another hutch or corve can run
down to the front guard, and it will remain there until the cage is again in
position on the shuts to be reloaded, when the above described operation will be
repeated.
The rails on the cage can be level, and the front and back shut need not be much
out of the level in order to allow of the hutch or corve running off the cage, and
due provision will be made on the conductors for the cage to be tilted, or the con-
ductors can be so inclined as to cause the cage to tilt forward when it arrives at
the pit bank.
Figure 1 is a back end view in elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan of the same;
Figure 3 is a side view in elevation, and Figure 4 is a plan of the same; Figure 5
is a side view in clevation; Figure 6 is a transverse section as taken through the
dotted line A, B, Figure 5; Figure 7 is a transverse section as taken through the
dotted line C, D, Figure 5; Figure 8 is a transverse section as taken through-
the dotted line E, F, Figure 5; Figure 9 is a transverse section as taken through
the dotted line G, H, Figure 5. A¹ is the cage; I, I, the balance chains or ropes;
J, the corves, hutches, or trams; K, the safety gate; L, the conductors or guides;
M, the stops or shuts on which the cage rests; N, the bent rod attached to the
safety gate K; O and 0¹, the levers or guards which secure the corve J on the
cage A¹; P and P¹ the rods which actuate the bell crank levers O and 0¹; Q, R,
the bell crank levers which impel the corve J from the cage A¹; S, the lever, and
T, U, the guards which control the position of the corve J on the inclined tramway;
V, the support for the lever S; W, the balance weights which return the lever S to
its normal position; X and Y, the levers which raise and force down the safety
gate K; Z, the support for the levers X, Y; B¹, the spring which returns the
levers X, Y, to their normal positions. The same letters of reference in each Figure

page_text: of the Drawings illustrate the same detail part. In carrying my improvements into
effect the cage A¹ ascends above the pit bank and raises the levers X, Y, and safety
gate K, the said gate remaining suspended by the action of the balance chains or
ropes and weights I, I. The cage is then lowered on to the shuts M for the purpose
of being unloaded and loaded, and when this operation is completed and the cage is
raised off the shuts or stops M and above the end of the levers X, Y, the said levers
fall by their own weight under a projection on the cage and above one of the bars
of the safety gate, so when the gate finally descends into the pit it forces down the
levers X, Y, and the safety gate K, the said levers returning to their normal position
through the action of the spring B'. The cage A¹ is fitted with one or more
moveable guards or stops having a cranked arm which is actuated by the rod P
striking it when the cage descends on to the shuts or stops M, by which means the
guard O is depressed and takes the position shown in Figure 6, thus allowing the
corve or hutch J to pass over it, and when the cage is raised off the stops M the
said guard Ọ returns to its normal position, as shown in Figure 1, by the action of
a spring as shown at C¹, Figure 7, or by a balance weight attached to the cranked arm
of the said guard O. For propelling the corve J from the cage A¹ bell cranked
levers Qand R (as shown in Figures 3 and 5) are employed, and as the cage A¹
descends on to the stops M the lower end of the lever strikes the said stop, as shown
in Figure 5, and the upper end thereof forces the corve J along the cage. The
safety gate K is fitted with the bent rod N to control the position of the stops or
shuts M. The shuts M work freely on pivots D¹, and in their normal position
are clear of the cage as it descends, but when the safety gate K has been raised and
is suspended the shuts M fall forward for the cage to rest on, but when the cage is
raised clear of the shuts and finally descends in to the pit the bent rod N, which is
lowered with the cage A¹, forces back the shuts M and a free course is thus made
for the descent of the cage. The rod N actuates the left hand shut or stop, and
this stop actuates the right hand stop through the lever and rods, as clearly
illustrated in Figure 3. The cage A¹ is loaded automatically with the hutch or
corve J by the lever S and guards T, U. The front end of the lever S is
immediately over the right hand shut M, and when the cage A¹ descends on to the
said shut the front end of the lever and guard T is depressed and the guard U
consequently raised, as shown in Figure 5, thereby allowing the corve or hutch J'
to run down the incline on to the cage A¹ the guard U preventing the advance of
a second hutch or corve. When the cage A¹ is raised off the shuts M the balance
weights W raise the front end of the lever and guard T and depress the guard U,
thereby allowing the next corve to advance against the front guard T in readiness
for a repetition of the above described operation.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
"
Improvements in the Means and Apparatus for Automatically Raising, Sus-
pending, and Lowering the Safety Gates of Coal-pits or Hoists, and Automatically
Loading and Unloading (with Wheeled Vehicles such as Hutches, Corves, or
Trams) the Cages of the said Coal-pits or Hoists, as hereinbefore specified and
described, and illustrated by the accompanying Sheet of Drawings."
In witness whereof, I, the said William Barrowman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.