IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING, REMOVING, AND TRANSPORTING HEAVY BODIES FROM PLACE TO PLACE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Douglass Munro Fyfe, of Maidenhead, in the County
of Berks, Adjutant of the 19th Regiment of Berks Volunteers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING,
REMOVING, AND TRANSPORTING HEAVY BODIES FROM PLACE TO PLACE."
Sealed the 6th May 1864, and dated the 12th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Douglass Munro Fyfe at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th November 1863.
I, DOUGLASS MUNRO FYFE, of Maidenhead, in the County of Berks.
Adjutant of the 19th Regiment of Berks Volunteers, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND APPARATUS FOR
RAISING, REMOVING, AND TRANSPORTING HEAVY BODIES FROM PLACE TO PLACE,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in carriages and apparatus
whereby heavy bodies may be raised, supported, removed, and transported from
one place to another with great facility.
For this purpose I will describe the arrangement of apparatus I prefer to
employ. According to the first part of my Invention, I construct the frame or
body of a carriage of a strength suited to the weight of the body or load it is
Price 8d.1

page_text: intended to raise, support, and carry. This frame is mounted (by preference)
on four wheels, the hind wheels being by preference arranged to, travel in
different tracks to the fore wheels, shafts or other means of draught are applied
to the fore part of the carriage which, if desired, may be drawn by a traction or
other engine or locomotive. To the back end of the frame or body of the
carriage another frame or platform of suitable strength is hinged, jointed, or
attached in such manner as to be capable of being raised by suitable
mechanism into a vertical or nearly vertical position in front of or near to the
heavy body, load, or weight which it is intended to raise and remove. The
upper end of this frame or platform when in a vertical or nearly vertical
position may if desired be furnished with a pulley, over which a rope or chain
passes, connected at one end to the barrel of a crane or winch mounted on the
carriage and at the other end to the heavy body or weight to be raised, so that
it may be drawn or moved by the crane or winch up to the face of the frame or
platform, to which it can then be clashed, clamped, or otherwise secured in a
position ready to be raised with the frame or platform on to the body of the
carriage. Props or supports are hinged or otherwise attached to the hinder
part of the carriage capable of being extended or contracted in length by
screws or otherwise, so as to support the end of the carriage and prevent the
fore part from tilting up or overbalancing whilst the weight is being raised; or
in place of supporting the back end of the carriage as previously described, a
counterbalance lever or levers may be applied thereto, such levers extending
to the front of the carriage, and by being connected by a strap to the horse or
to a fixed point on the earth the carriage will be prevented from tilting up
when the heavy body is in the act of being raised on to the carriage. To the
under side or back of the frame or platform a toothed segment (or segments)
is jointed or attached thereto, being guided in suitable guides and having a
friction roller (or rollers) supported at the back thereof, against which the
back of the toothed segment moves when there is any strain on the apparatus.
Upon the frame of the carriage an axis is mounted and turns in suitable
bearings, and on this axis a toothed pinion is fixed, the teeth of which take into
the teeth of the segment attached to the under side of the platform. A worm
wheel is fixed on one end of the axis before referred to, the teeth of which
enter between the threads of a screw or worm fixed on another axis mounted
and turning in suitable bearings fixed on the carriage. On the end of this
axis a winch handle is fixed, by which motion can be transmitted to the
mechanism before described in order to give motion to the toothed segment,
and thus raise and lower the frame or platform to which the heavy body or
weight to be raised on to the carriage is attached. Rollers, toothed racks, or

page_text: other mechanical contrivances may be applied to or arranged in combination
with the moveable frame or platform in order to adjust the position of the
heavy body or load when raised and placed in a horizontal position on to the
carriage.
I would remark that a previous Patent has been granted to me, dated
15th May 1863, No. 1222, for apparatus for raising, removing, transporting,
and replacing military targets or mantlets, such apparatus being similar in
construction (but differing in detail) to that previously described under the
first part of my present improvements, I therefore now make no claim to the
raising, removal, transporting, or replacing of military targets or mantlets by
means of the apparatus constituting the first part of my Invention, except
so far as the additional improvements, therein described are applicable
thereto.
I will now describe an arrangement of apparatus for raising heavy bodies,
such as casks of liquor or other matters, from one level or stage to another,
such apparatus being similar in principle and partly so in action to that
previously described, but the arrangement of mechanism for lifting the weight
to a higher level is somewhat varied. The moveable frame or platform in this
arrangement is jointed to and moves on the end of a horizontal framed lever,
which lever is supported and is capable of moving upon an axis carried by
standards or supports fixed on each side of a carriage or platform. The cask,
barrel, or other weight to be lifted is secured in any convenient manner to the
front of the moveable frame or platform when in a vertical or nearly vertical
position. On the back of the platform a curved or semicircular toothed
segment (or segments) is jointed or affixed, to which motion is communicated
by toothed wheels or other suitable mechanism carried by and combined with
the framed lever, by which the moveable frame or platform with the cask or
weight attached thereto can be moved over into a horizontal or nearly
horizontal position, and thus raise the cask or weight to a height corresponding
with the upper surface of the moveable frame or platform when thus placed
horizontally, from which position the weight may be readily removed on to a
fixed stage or floor placed at that height or level. Should it be desired to
raise the moveable frame or platform and weight attached thereto to a higher
level, then the following arrangement of mechanism is brought into action:-
To the back part of the framed lever a toothed segment is affixed, the end of
the lever being weighted by an adjustable weight to balance the weight of the
moveable frame and load attached thereto. By imparting motion to the
toothed segment by means of a toothed wheel, pinions, and winch, or by any
other suitable mechanical means, the previously horizontal framed lever will

page_text: be moved into a vertical position, the long arm thereof carrying the platform
with its load to a height equal to the length of the arm from the axis upon
which it is supported and moves. After thus raising the weight or load to
the height desired, the platform or carriage on which the apparatus is mounted
, may be caused to travel from one position to another upon wheels and side
rails, or flaps may be attached to the moveable platform in order to transfer the
cask or other load on to a fixed stage, floor, or other elevated position. Breaks
or other locking apparatus is arranged in combination with the mechanism to
retain the parts in any desired position, friction rollers and guides are also
arranged in combination with the toothed sector and other parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Douglas Munro Fyfe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DOUGLAS
MUNRO FYFE, of Maidenhead, in the County of Berks, Adjutant of the 19th
Regiment of Berks Volunteers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Douglas Munro Fyfe, Her special licence that I, the said Douglas
Munro Fyfe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Douglas Munro Fyfe, 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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING, REMOVING, AND TRANS-
PORTING HEAVY BODIES FROM PLACE TO PLACE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Douglas Munro Fyfe, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Douglas Munro Fyfe, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
.:.
This Invention has for its object improvements in carriages. and apparatus
whereby heavy bodies may be raised, supported, removed, and transported
from one place to another with great facility.
For this purpose I will describe the arrangement of apparatus I prefer
to employ. According to the first part of my Invention; I construct
the frame or body of a carriage of a strength suited to the weight of
the body or load it is intended to raise, support, and carry.... This frame
is mounted (by preference) on four wheels, the hind wheels being by
preference arranged to travel in different tracks to the fore wheels.; Shafts or
other means of draught are applied to the fore part of the carriage, which, if
desired, may be drawn by a traction or other engine or locomotive.. To the
back end of the frame or body of the carriage another frame or platform of
suitable strength is hinged, jointed, or attached in such manner as to be
capable of being raised by suitable mechanism into a vertical or nearly vertical
position in front of or near to the heavy body, load, or weight which it
is intended to raise and remove. The upper end of this frame or platform
when in a vertical or nearly vertical position, may, if desired, be furnished
with a pulley, over which a rope or chain passes, connected at one end to the
barrel of a crane or winch mounted on the carriage and at the other end to
the heavy body or weight to be raised, so that it may be drawn or moved by
the crane or winch up to the face of the frame or platform, to which it can
then be lashed, clamped, or otherwise secured in a position ready to be raised
with the frame or platform on to the body of the carriage. Props or supports
are hinged or otherwise attached to the hinder part of the carriage capable of
being extended or contracted in length by screws or otherwise, so as to support
the end of the carriage and prevent the fore part from tilting up or over-
balancing whilst the weight is being raised; or in place of supporting the
back end of the carriage as previously described, a counterbalance lever or
levers may be applied thereto, such levers extending to the front of the carriage,
and by being connected by a strap to the horse or to a fixed point, on the
earth the carriage will be prevented from tilting up when the heavy body is
in the act of being raised on to the carriage. To the under side or back of the
frame or platform a toothed segment (or segments) is jointed or attached.
being guided in suitable guides and having a friction roller (or rollers) sup-
ported at the back thereof, against which the back of the toothed segment

page_text: moves when, there is any strain on the apparatus. Upon the frame of the
carriage an axis is mounted and turns in suitable bearings, and on this axis a
toothed pinion, is fixed, the teeth of which take into the teeth of the segment
attached to the under side of the platform. A worm wheel is fixed on one
end of the axis before referred to, the teeth of which enter between the threads
1of a screw or worm fixed on another axis mounted and turning in suitable
bearings fixed on the carriage. On the end of this axis a winch handle is
fixed, by which motion can be transmitted to the mechanism before described
in order to given. motion to the toothed segment, and thus raise and lower the
frame or platform to which the heavy body or weight to be raised on
to the carriage is attached. Rollers, toothed racks, or other mechanical
contrivances may be applied to or arranged in combination with the moveable
frame or platform in order to adjust the position of the heavy body or load
when raised and placed in a horizontal position on to the carriage.
I would remark that a previous Patent has been granted to me, dated 15th
May 1863, No. 1222, for apparatus for raising, removing, transporting, and
réplacing military targets or mantlets, such apparatus being similar in con-
struction (but differing in detail) to that previously described under the first
part of my present improvements, I therefore now make no claim to the raising,
removal, transporting, or replacing of military targets or mantlets by means of
the apparatus constituting the first part of my Invention, except so far as the
additional' improvements therein described are applicable thereto.
will now describe an arrangement of apparatus for raising heavy bodies,
such as casks of liquor or other matters, from one level or stage to another,
'such apparatus being similar in principle and partly so in action to that
previously described, but the arrangement of mechanism for lifting the weight
to a higher level is somewhat varied. The moveable frame or platform in
this arrangement" is jointed to and moves on the end of a horizontal framed
lever, which lever is supported and is capable of moving upon an axis carried
by standards or Supports fixed on each side of a carriage or platform. The
cask, barrel, or other weight to be lifted is secured in any convenient manner
to the front of the moveable frame or platform when in a vertical or nearly
vertical position. On the back of the platform a curved or semicircular
toothed segment for segments) is jointed or affixed, to which motion is com-
municated by toothed wheels or other suitable mechanism carried by and
combined with the framed lever, by which the moveable frame or platform
with the cask or weight attached thereto can be moved over into a horizontal
or nearly horizontal position, and thus raise the cask or weight to a height
corresponding with the upper surface of the moveable frame or platform when
a

page_text: thus placed horizontally, from which position the weight may be readily
removed on to a fixed stage or floor placed at that height or level. Should it
be desired to raise the moveable frame or platform and weight attached
thereto to a higher level, then the following arrangement of mechanism is
brought into action:-To the back part of the framed lever a toothed segment
is affixed, the end of the lever being weighted by an adjustable weight to
balance the weight of the moveable frame and the load attached thereto. "By
imparting motion to the toothed segment by means of a toothed wheel, 'pinions,
and winch, or by any other suitable mechanical means, the previously horizontal
framed lever will be moved into a vertical position, the long arm thereof
carrying the platform with its load to a height equal to the length of the arm
from the axis upon which it is supported and moves. After thus raising the
weight or load to the height desired, the platform or carriage on which the
apparatus is mounted may be caused to travel from one position to another
upon wheels and side rails, or flaps may be attached to the moveable platform,
in order to transfer the cask or other load on to a fixed stage, fldor, or other
elevated position. Break or other locking apparatus is arranged in com-
bination with the mechanism to retain the parts in any desired position;
friction rollers and guides are also arranged in combination with the toothed
sectors and other parts.
...
And in order that my invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
+4
nivi
"
...
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a plan, and Figure 2 a side elevation of a carriage mounted
on four wheels, and having apparatus applied thereto suitable for raising,
removing, and transporting heavy bodies from place to place, according to
the first part of my improvements; and I would remark that it will not be
necessary for me to enter into a minute description of this arrangement of
carriage and apparatus, as it is very similar in construction to that fully
described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me, dated the 15th day
of May 1863, No. 1222, for raising, removing, and transporting military or
other targets or mantlets, and only differs therefrom in certain minor details,
the nature of which will be readily understood on examining the Drawing,.
Sheet 1 (which is marked with corresponding letters of reference), aided by
the previous description thereof, together with that given in the Specification
before referred to, and my present improvements consist in the application of
..
0

page_text: carriages and apparatus of this character to the raising, removing, and trans-
porting of heavy bodies, such as slabs of marble, stone, slate, castings,
ordnance, or other heavy or bulky articles, (with the exception of targets
and mantlets, to which my previous Patent before referred to only applies,)
from place to place with greater facility than heretofore.
.The construction and arrangement of the carriage and apparatus mounted
thereon will of course be varied to suit the particular purpose for which it is
required, and I have not thought it necessary to show in detail all the
mechanical contrivances which may be rendered available to the different
purposes to which a carriage of this character may be found applicable, as a
competent workman will readily arrange and apply such apparatus where the
same may be found desirable; for instance, it may be advantageous for some
purposes for the moveable platform b to be furnished with a truck or carriage
mounted thereon, and capable of being secured thereto for receiving the heavy
body or article to be raised, and when raised or lifted into a horizontal position
to be capable of travelling on tramways or slides, also mounted on the upper
surface of the moveable platform b towards the middle or front of the carriage
whilst being removed or transported from one place to another. Or the
moveable platform may be of much smaller dimensions than the platform a or
body of the carriage, and be simply employed for receiving and raising the
heavy body or weight into a horizontal or other suitable convenient position,
in order that it may be readily transferred on to the main body of the carriage.
When the weight to be raised is of considerable length, such as a piece of
timber, then I prefer to arrange the platform b with a receiving frame,
capable of revolving upon an axis when the platform b has been raised into a
horizontal position, by which arrangement a heavy body of considerable length
can be raised in a transverse position to the carriage, and then by causing
the frame to make a partial revolution it can be placed longitudinally on the
platform
b.
i
Figures 3 and 4. show a plan and side view of another carriage and
apparatus constructed according to my Invention mounted on two wheels,
and suitable for being actuated by manual power. In this arrangement the
axis c is mounted so as to be capable of sliding to and fro in its bearings c¹, in
order to disconnect the toothed pinion c² from the toothed sector b³, and by so
doing place the pinion in gear with the toothed wheelf on the barrel f',
which can then be caused to revolve by means of the worm wheel d and
worm e, and thus wind up the rope or chain g which passes over the pulley h,
and is connected to the heavy body or load to be raised, which can thus be.
..

page_text: drawn up to and secured to the platform b when in a vertical position ready to
be raised on to the body of the carriage by causing the toothed pinion to
gear with the toothed sector 62, and by giving motion to the axis c by means
of the worm. e and worm wheel d, the platform b with the heavy body attached
thereto can be raised on to the body of the carriage.
I will now describe an arrangement of apparatus constructed according to
the second part of my improvements mounted upon a carriage, and being
suitable for raising heavy bodies, such as casks of liquor or other matters from
one level or stage to another. Figure 5 shows a side view of the apparatus
mounted on the carriage or platform a. The moveable platform b is jointed
at b¹ to the horizontal framed lever c, which is supported by and moves on
axes c¹ carried by standards c³ fixed on each side of the carriage or platform a.
The cask, barrel, or other weight to be lifted is secured in any convenient
manner to the front of the moveable frame or platform b when in a vertical
position. d is a curved toothed sector fixed on the back of the moveable
platform b (or two such toothed sectors may be employed if required), and
motion is communicated to the toothed sector d, and by it to the platform or
frame b, so as to cause it to make a partial revolution on its axis b¹, and thus
raise the weight or load attached thereto in the following manner:-d¹ is a
toothed pinion fixed upon an axis carried by the framed lever c; on the end
of this axis a winch handle is fixed, by turning which motion is com-
municated to the toothed pinion d', which takes into and drives the toothed
wheel fixed on the axis d', also turning in bearings carried by the lever c;
on the axis d' the toothed pinion d5 is fixed, the teeth of which take into and
thus give motion to the toothed sector d, by which means the lifting frame or
platform b can be moved into the position shewn by red lines. When it is
desired to raise the frame b with the weight or load attached thereto to a
higher level than that shewn by red lines, then motion is communicated by
the winch handle e to the toothed pinion e¹. which takes into and drives the
toothed wheel e fixed on the axis e on which the toothed pinion e is fixed,
the teeth of which take into the toothed sector e fixed to or forming part of
the weighted end of the framed lever c, which is thus caused to make a partial
revolution on its axis c¹, in order to raise the lifting frame or platform b with
the load or weight attached thereto into the position indicated by the blue
lines in Figure 5.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for carrying the same into practice, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein shown and
described, so long as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained; but

page_text: what I claim is, the improvements in carriages and apparatus for raising,
removing, and transporting heavy bodies from place to place, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Douglas Munro Fyfe, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE, Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.
D. M. FYFE. (L.S.)