IMPROVEMENTS (PARTLY THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING ACCIDENTS) APPLICABLE TO HOISTING MACHINERY USED IN MILLS, WAREHOUSES, AND OTHER PLACES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Walmsley and John Rostron, both of Disley,
in the County of Chester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS (PARTLY
THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING ACCIDENTS) APPLICABLE TO HOISTING
MACHINERY USED IN MILLS, WAREHOUSES, AND OTHER PLACES."
Sealed the 10th December 1861, and dated the 12th June 1861.
L
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Walmsley and John
Rostron at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 12th June 1861.
We, DAVID WALMSLEY and JOHN ROSTRON, both of Disley, in the County of
Chester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IK-
PROVEMENTS (PARTLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING ACCIDENTS) APPLICABLE TO
HOISTING MACHINERY USED IN MILLS, WAREHOUSES, AND OTHER PLACES," to be as
follows:-
The first part of our Invention relates to a system or mode of stopping the
motion of hoisting machinery by self-acting arrangements at any predetermined
position or floor, so that if the hoist box is at, say, the bottom, and the attendant
wishes it to ascend to any one of the floors above, he has only to arrange a
simple "stop" or handle and he may leave the hoist after putting the driving
geer in motion and it will stop at the required floor. The arrangements by
which this object is accomplished are as follows:-The ordinary stopping rope
or chain is connected with an arrangement of geering fixed to the hoist box

page_text: so that when it ascends the geering will turn in one direction, and when
it descends in the opposite direction, and we arrange stops or provide mechan-
ism by which we can obstruct the movement of the geering after it has received
any predetermined amount of movement. The friction upon the arrangement
of geering is so little that it does not act upon the stopping rope or chain so as
to move it, but if the motion of the geering is obstructed then the stopping
rope or chain can no longer pass, and it partakes of the motion of the hoist box
and consequently puts the driving mechanism out of gear by shifting the
driving belts on to the loose pulleys. The arrangement of gearing in the
hoist box may be a pulley on the end of screw having a nut upon it, which will
be traversed from one end of the screw to the other in the ascent of the
hoist and back again in the descent of the hoist, so that if a series of stops are
arranged, which can be placed so as to obstruct the movement of the nut, the
rotating motion of the screw will be arrested at any point according to the
position of the stop, and thus the driving mechanism may be put out of gear
at any required position in the ascent or descent of the hoist box. Wheel or
other gearing may be used instead of the screw, and instead of having a con-
tinuous motion it may receive an intermittent motion. The gearing in the
hoist box need not receive its motion from the stopping or starting rope or
chain, it may be actuated either continuously or intermittently by ropes or
chains on the outside of the hoist box, or by pins, studs, or cam inclines fixed
in convenient positions on the sides of the hoist shaft, the essential requisite
being that the mechanism in the hoist box shall receive a motion in one
direction when the hoist ascends, and in the opposite direction when it descends,
so that each position of the mechanism in the hoist box shall correspond
relatively to the position of the hoist in the shaft, and thus bring a stop or other
arrangement to obstruct the passage of the hoist stopping rope or chain by
holding such rope or chain by friction or by coming against collars placed in
the required positions on the stopping rope or chain. Or a trigger arrangement
may be employed in the hoist, so that when the trigger is acted upon the rope
or chain may be instantly pinched by the action of a weight or spring, the
trigger being acted upon by stops or inclines fixed in the side of the hoist shaft ;
or one of the ordinary starting and stopping ropes or chains may be made to
pass on the outside of the hoist box, or a rigid rod may be substituted passing
on the outside of hoist box in suitable guides fixed to the side of the hoist
shaft. On this rope, chain, or rod at any convenient position above each floor
an adjustable projection is fixed in such manner that every projection will be
at a different horizontal distance from the same vertical line. In the hoist
box moveable stops or projections are placed, each being arranged so that it

page_text: may be placed when required so as to come against the corresponding pro-
jection on the rope, chain, or rod in the ascent or descent of the hoist box, and
thus carry the rope, chain, or rod up or down, and consequently stóp the driving
mechanism.
The second part of our Invention consists in a system or mode by which tho
doors of the hoist shaft are closed as the hoist box begins to move away from
a floor, and are only opened when the hoist box is properly opposite the floor
or landing, thus preventing accidents frequently happening by persons falling
down the hoist shaft. The means by which we carry out this part of our
Invention consist in arranging the doors to open and shut by sliding vertically
balancing each door by means of suitable weights, ropes, or chains and pulleys,
and by arranging catches or projections upon the hoist box and doors, or the
chain or ropes, which will cause the door to descend as the box approaches a
floor and to ascend as it leaves a floor; the catches, projections, or other
arrangements being arranged so that they can be made to pass without acting
upon those doors not required to be opened. By this provision no passage
open at any time to the hoist shaft, only one to the hoist box.
is
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Walmsley and John Rostron in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 12th December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
WALMSLEY and JOHN ROSTRON, both of Disley, in the County of Chester, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said David Walmsley and John Rostron, Her special license that we, the
said David Walmsley and John Rostron, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said David Walmsley and John Rostron, 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, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS (PARTLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PREVEN-

page_text: TING ACCIDENTS) APPLICABLE TO HOISTING MACHINERY USED IN MILLS, WAREHOUSES,
AND OTHER PLACES," upon the conditions (amongst others), that we, the said
David Walmsley and John Rostron, or one of us, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and scals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 David Walmsley and John Rostron,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
The first part of our Invention relates to system or mode of stopping the
motion of hoisting machinery by self-acting arrangements, at any predeter-
mined position or floor, so that if the hoist box is at, 'say the bottom, and the
attendant wishes it to ascend to any one of the floors above, he has only to
arrange a simple "stop" or handle, and he may leave the hoist after-putting
the driving gear into motion, and it will stop at the required floor. The
arrangements by which this object is accomplished are as follows:-The ordi-
nary stopping and starting rope or chain is connected with an arrangement of
geering fixed to the hoist box, so that when it ascends the geering will turn in
one direction, and when it descends in the opposite direction, and we arrange
stops or provide mechanism by which we can obstruct the movement of the
geering after it has received any predetermined amount of movement. The
friction upon the arrangement of geering is so little that it does not act upon
the stopping and starting rope or chain so as to move it, but if the motion
of the geering is obstructed then the stopping rope or chain can no
longer pass, and it is made to partake of the motion of the hoist box and conso-
quently puts the driving mechanism out of geer by shifting the driving belts
on to the loose pulleys. The arrangement of geering in the hoist box may be
a pulley on one end of a screw having a nut upon it, which will be traversed
from one end of the screw to the other in the ascent of the hoist, and back
again in the descent of the hoist, so that if a series of stops are arranged
which can be placed so as to obstruct the movement of the nut, the rotating
motion of the screw will be arrested at any point according to the position of the
stop, and thus the driving mechanism may be put out of geer at any required
position in the ascent or descent of the hoist box or cage; wheel or other
geering may be used instead of the screw, and instead of baving a continuous
motion it may receive an intermittent motion. The geering in the hoist box

page_text: need not receive its motion from the stopping or starting rope or chain, it
may be actuated either continuously or intermittently by ropes or chains on the
outside of the hoist box or by pins, studs, or cam inclines fixed in convenient
positions on the sides of the hoist shaft, the essential requisite being that the
mechanism in the hoist box shall receive motion in one direction when the
hoist ascends and in the opposite direction when it descends, so that each
position of the mechanism in the hoist box shall correspond relatively to the
position of the hoist in the shaft, and thus bring a stop or other arrangement to
obstruct the passage of the hoist stopping rope or chain, by holding such rope
or chain, by friction or by coming against collars placed in the required
positions on the stopping rope or chain. Or a trigger arrangement may be
employed in the hoist, so that when the trigger is acted upon the rope or
chain may be instantly pinched by the action of a weight or spring, the trigger
being acted upon by stops or inclines fixed in the side of the hoist shaft. Or
one of the ordinary starting and stopping ropes or chains may be made to pass
on the outside of the hoist box, or a rigid rod may be substituted passing on
the outside of the hoist box in suitable guides fixed to the side of the hoist
shaft; on this rope, chain, or rod at any convenient position above each
floor, an adjustable projection is fixed in such manner that every projection will
be at a different horizontal distance from the same vertical line. In the hoist
box moveable stops or projections are placed, each being arranged so that it
may be placed when required so as to come against the corresponding projec-
tions, or the rope, chain, or rod in the ascent or descent of the hoist box, and
thus carry the rope, chain, or rod up or down and consequently stop the driving
mechanism. The accompanying Drawings illustrate those arrangements for
carrying out this part of our Invention which we prefer to use.
Fig.1 is a plan or front sectional view; Fig. 2 a cross sectional view on the
line 1, 2, Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a cross section on the line 3, 4, Fig. 1, illus-
trating the stopping arrangement with a screw, we may first premise that
hoisting mechanism in general receives motion from two belts, one "crossed"
and one "open" working on fast and loose pulleys. The belt guides are acted
upon simultaneously, and when the belt guides are in the central position, both
belts are upon the loose pulleys and the hoist machinery is motionless, but
if the belt guides are moved to one side, one belt is on a fast pulley and the
other on a loose pulley, and the hoist box will (say) ascend, but when the belt
guides are on the contrary side the belt which was upon a fast pulley is on a
loose pulley, that which was on a loose pulley is on a fast pulley, and the
hoist box will descend. The beit guide is generally acted upon by a rope, one
end of which is secured to one side of the belt guide slide, and then passes

page_text: over one or more guide pulleys down the hoist shaft through holes in the
top and bottom of the hoist box to the bottom of the hoist shaft, where it
passes round a guide pulley and ascends the hoist shaft, passes through the
hoist box over one or more guide pulleys, its other end being also secured to
the belt guide slide. The hoist may be started or stopped by either pulling
up or pulling down at the same rope as the case may be, and in applying our
mechanism it is arranged, so that if the hoist is ascending the pulling up of
the rope, chain, or rod operated, upon will stop the hoist, and if descending the
pulling down at the same rope, chain or rod, will also stop the hoist.
a is the frame, box, or case secured to the side of the hoist box y (the
screw and the stops in the lengthway being in a horizontal position); it carries
in bearings a screw (b), which has a pulley (c), fixed upon it at one end;
this pulley works between two bearings, between the sides of which and
the pulley discs (d) of leather are placed which form a brake tending to
resist the rotation of the pulley (c), and thus preventing a two severe wedging
action when any of the "stops" operate as herein-after explained. In using
this mechanism a chain is employed for acting upon the belt guide slide,
and this chain passes through the mechanism in the direction of the peculiar
dotted line in Fig. 2, (e being guide and antifriction pulleys) and its links
pass upon the pins fixed in the pulley (c), so that there can be no slip. The
nut (6), upon the screw (b) is arranged so that it can slide to and fro upon,
but not rotate with the screw stops (f), for six floors are shewn and num-
bered 1 to 6; each stop is made to slide in a piece (9), which is secured
and can be adjusted on a bar (h) arranged to slide sideways in suitable bearings.
The extent of end movement of this sliding bar (h) is limited by the adjustable
collar () in one direction, and by a shoulder on the sliding bar in the other direc
tion. Each piece (9), and each stop (f) has a notch cut out to allow the projection
from the nut to pass through when the stops are in, as shewn in Fig. 3, but when
a stop is pulled out the opening in that piece (9) is closed, and the projection
from the nut (1) is thus prevented from passing. The instant at which contact
takes place the screw receives end movement according to the amount of
"play" which brings the pulley against one of the leather discs, which stops
its rotation, and thus acts upon the chain and moves the belt guides. As long
as the motion of the nut is uninterrupted the pulley can pass along the
chain freely, as the friction of the screw is not sufficient to cause the chain to
Each stop is adjusted for its particular floor by fixing its piece g by
means of the set of screw on the sliding bar (h) at that place where the projec-
tion from the put (6') will come in contact with it (the stop) when the hoist bas
arrived at that point where the action upon the stopping chain is to commence.
"1
move.

page_text: If the stop pieces g were fixed in position a little consideration will shew that
owing to the thickness of the projection from the nut and the thickness of the
tops the mechanism would only be correct in its action in one direction, but
by making all the stops of exactly the same thickness, and by arranging all the
stop pieces (g) to move sideway to an extent equal to the sum of the thickness
of the projection from the nut, and the thickness of one of the stops, the
mechanism will be in adjustment for both directions, and this is the object of
the sliding bar (h). Supposo the hoist is descending from No. 6 room, and it
is required to stop at No. 3 room, then the left-hand side of the projection
from the nut will come against the right-hand side of No. 3 stop (looking at
Fig. 1), the sliding bar (h), as shewn in the Drawing, will not move in that
direction and the screw will be stopped, but suppose the hoist box to be
ascending from No. 1 to No. 3, then the opposite sides of the projection from
the nut and the stop will come in contact, but the bar will slide till the nut
arrives in the same position in which it stopped the motion of the screw, when
the hoist box was descending.
Fig. 4 is a front view, Fig. 5 a plan sectional view, and Fig. 6 a cross
sectional elevation illustrating another arrangement for carrying out this part
of our Invention. In this case we prefer to employ a wire rope for one side,
upon which we fix, in such manner as to be easily adjusted, as many collars.
as may be required, similar to that seen best in Fig. 6. The rope having the
collars upon it is made to pass through a double funnel or trumpet-ended
tube (a) forming part of a frame or casting a¹, secured by bolts to the side of
the hoist box y, so that the tube a is in a vertical position. This frame carries
a slide 6 capable of being moved to and fro horizontally, and this slide carries a
series of stops (f) which can be slided in and out. These stops are all shown
inwards in the Drawing, so that if the slide is moved they will pass in
succession through a space between the double-trumpet ended tube (a). Secured
to the slide by set screws is a bracket c, which carries an axis having an
antifriction bowl e on its end, which is acted upon by a cam incline, 9, fixed on
a bracket secured to the side of the hoist shaft, one of these cam inclines being
placed at some point between each floor. These cam inclines are arranged in
the following manner, namely:-Suppose the hoist box to be at the bottom
floor, then the slide b is supposed to be on the right (looking at Fig. 4) to
its greatest extent, then the first cam incline placed between the bottom floor
and the next above is fixed so as to act upon and move the slide 6 to the
extent of the distance between the stops f (from centre to centre). The next
cam piece between the second and third floor is fixed to act in like manner, so
that the slide will receive one movement between each floor till the hoist box

page_text: gets to the top, and on the descent of the hoist box the movements will be
made in the contrary direction till when the hoist box arrives at the bottom,
and the slide 6 will have been brought back to its first position. Each move-
ment of the slide brings the centre of a stop opposite the centre of the rope,
so that it is evident that there will be an obstruction to the passing of the
adjustable collars a', and thus the rope will be acted upon to stop the motion
of the hoist. The mechanism shewn is designed for a six-storey hoist, so that
as the hoist must of necessity stop at the top and bottom rooms, moveable
"stops" are only required for the intermediate rooms. To hold the slide,
steady and prevent it from moving by accident; a spring his applied which
enters a notch in the slide corresponding to each stationary position of the slide,
and to prevent the stop which is to act from being accidentally pushed back by
the rope, a catch h¹ is employed, which takes hold of part of the handle when
it is brought under by the movement of the slide b. To cause the mechanism
to act at the same point both in the ascent and descent, the collars on the
rope are all made of the same length, and "play" or slack rope is arranged
equal to the length of a collar a and thickness of a stop f.
Fig. 7 is a front view, Fig. 8 a plan section, and Fig. 9 a cross sectional
elevation illustrating another arrangement for carrying out this part of our
Invention. x is a rod passing vertically from top to bottom of the hoist shaft
at the exterior of the hoist box; it is capable of sliding vertically in suitable
guides, but is prevented from turning. The upper end of this rod is attached
to a rope or chain, which is secured to the belt guide slide, and this rope or
chain descends to the hoist shaft through holes in the top and bottom of the
hoist box, and passes under a pulley fixed at the bottom of the hoist shaft, and
is secured to the lower end of the rod. Upon this rod collars are placed at the
top and bottom, so that a projection fixed at the top of the hoist box will act
upon the top collar, and one fixed on the lower part of the hoist box will act
upon the bottom collar, and thus the hoist will be stopped at the top and bottom.
The intermediate rooms are provided for by projections 9, each fixed at a
different position from the rod, as shewn in Fig. 8, these projections having
corresponding stops f arranged in a frame a, secured to the side of the hoist
box g. If the stops are all pushed in, as shewn in Fig. 8, then the hoist box
will be stopped at each floor, otherwise it will stop at that floor corresponding to
the "stop" which is pushed inwards. Play or slackness in communicating the
motion to the belt guides is allowed equal to the thickness of the projections g
and stops f, so as to make the arrangement exact both for the ascent and
descent of the hoist box..
The second part of our Invention relates to a method of closing the doors

page_text: leading to the hoist shaft so as to prevent accidents which frequently happen
by persons falling down the hoist shaft. We limit this part of our Invention
to closing the doors and not to both closing and opening as mentioned in our
Provisional Specification.
The means by which we carry this part of our Invention into effect consists
in arranging the doors to slide vertically and so as to open by descending and
close by ascending, and in balancing the doors in somewhat similar fashion to
that in which the ordinary window sash is hung, making the weights prepon-
derate, so that the door will always ascend or close when left alone.
We have now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same may be carried into effect, and
wish it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise arrange-
ments shown as they may be modified in various ways, but claim as our Iuven-
tion, so long as its peculiar features are retained, the systems or modes and
arrangements and combinations of mechanism for stopping hoisting machinery
as herein-before described.
Secondly, the arrangement of the doors of hoist shafts as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Rostron, on my own behalf and on
behalf of the said David Walmsley, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord Oue
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
JOHN ROSTRON. (L.g.)