Improvements in Preventing Overwinding at Collieries, Mines, or other Places, and in Machinery therefor.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improvements in Preventing Overwinding at Collieries, Mines, or
other Places, and in Machinery therefor.
I, ALEXANDER BERTRAM of Bank Houses Ince near Wigan in the County of
Lancaster Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the naturo of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention has for its object a method for the prevention of accidents in mines,
hoists, and other places, which result from over-winding, owing to the engine-man
forgetting or being unable through fainting or other causes to slacken off speed as
the cages approach the top and bottom.
There are numerous plans already adopted of automatically unhooking the rising
cage if it comes beyond a certain point. There are others for automatically stopping
the winding at a given point, but, as far as I know, there are none which, if the
speed be too great at any given period of the journey, shut off the steam from the
engine or put on the brake or both, and yet not do so if the engine be slowed beyond
a definite rate. Unhooking the cage only intensifies the disaster as far as regards the
descending cage.
I so arrange my mechanism, that, whenever the cage passes a given point, a braking
and cutting off steam apparatus shall be set in action whenever the governor is going
at a given speed, but not otherwise.
The leading principle of my invention consists in so arranging the governor and a
piece of mechanism moving with the same relative velocity as the cage, that when
the cage reaches a given point, if the governor he going at or beyond a given speed,
that piece of mechanism shall be acted upon by the governor, so as to set at liberty a
suspended weight or other kinetic energy, which, acting in its turn on the throttle
valve, foot, and brake, shall speedily stop the engine.
There is an infinite number of modes by which this idea when once explained in
this way, can be carried out. I will give one or two instances :-
A carriage worked to and fro by a rack and pinion or screw connected with a
winding engine has suspended on trunnions a weighted lever on each side of it. One
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page_text: of these is for use in governing the up journey and the other for the down (for a
given cage); connected with the governor are two catches, each of which will when
the Governor is going at a high speed, project into the line of march of, and catch
one of these levers when the cage is at a given point, but will not come in contact
with the lever or catch it if the governor is going slowly.
When a lever is caught by the catch the lever is drawn away from the vertical
position, and thus comes in contact with, and pushes mechanisin which liberates a
suspended weight, which in descending puts on the brake and stops the engine by
means of levers. In the mechanism, which I have designed for this purpose, a rod
connected to the lever of the throttle valve and to the brake has a heavy counter-
weighted lever attached to it, having a strong tendency to put the brake on and stop
the throttle valve, but it is prevented from working by the friction of the weighted
catch, which weighted catch remains resting against it until the travelling lever
before mentioned is caught by the governor, and by being pushed aside, comes in
contact with this catch and so liberates the arresting mechanism. Another plan,
which may be adopted, is as follows:
A revolving shaft attached to the engine carries a beaked cam. Close to this
beaked eam are two hooks kept apart from the cam by springs, one hook being on
each side. These hooks are pivotted to a counter-weighted rod having a catch at the
bottom holding on to the catch of the arresting mechanism. Attached to the governor,
are two arms, with heavy cams at the end pivotted eccentrically. When the engine
is going slowly, these heavy cams do not come in contact with the hooks, but when
sufficient speed is on the engine, these cams are raised on their pivots and are thus
brought against the hooks. This causes one of the hooks to come into the line of
travel of the beaked cam when it has arrived at a given point, corresponding with a
given height of the cage. The cam now draws up the hook and thus liberates the
catch at the bottom holding the arresting mechanism. If, however, the governor be
slackened in speed before the cam arrives at this point, the pivotted cams fall off
from the hooks, these fall back and the beaked cam passes them without coming in
contact.
These two arrangements are given simply as examples to show the working of my
invention.
Whenever my safety apparatus is brought into action it requires some time and
labour to reinstate it, so that it is impossible for the carelessness of the engine-driver
(necessitating the use of the apparatus) to pass undetected.
Dated this 28th day of December 1887.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: other Places, and in Machinery therefor.
1, ALEXANDER BERTRAM of Bank Houses, Ince, near Wigan, in the County of
Lancaster, mechanical engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has for its object a method of and apparatus for the prevention of
accidents in mines, hoists, and other places, which result from overwinding, owing
to the engine man or attendant forgetting or being unable through fainting or other
causes to slacken off speed, as the cage approaches the top or bottom.
There are numerous plans already adopted of automatically unhooking the rising
cage if it comes beyond a certain point. There are others for automatically stopping
the winding at a given point, but, as far as I know, there are none which, if the
speed be too great at any given period of the journey, shut off the steam from the
engine, or put on the brake, or both, and yet not do so if the engine be slowed
beyond a definite rate. When there is an ascending cage and a descending one
attached to the same engine, the unhooking of the ascending cage does not lessen
the disaster as far as regards the descending cage.
I so arrange my mechanism, that whenever the cage passes a given point, a braking
or cutting off steam apparatus (or both) shall be set in action whenever the governor
is going at or beyond a given speed, but not otherwise.
The leading principle of my invention consists in so arranging the governor or
governors, and mechanism moving with the same relative velocity as the cage, that
when the cage reaches a given point, that mechanism shall if the governor or
governors be going at or beyond a given speed be acted upon or rendered operative
by one or other of the governors according to the speed of the cage, so as to set at
liberty a suspended weight or other kinetic energy, which, acting in its turn on the
throttle valve, or on a steam or foot brake, or on any or all of these, shall speedily
stop the engine.
There are many ways by which this idea, when once explained as above, can be
carried out.
The accompanying drawings show one very successful way of carrying out the
invention, and in the following description it will be assumed that the apparatus is
constructed both to shut off steam and apply a brake.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the principle portion of the apparatus.
Figure 2 is a plan of same.

page_text: Figure 3 is a section on line x, x, Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a central section taken in a plane at right angles to Figure 3.
A is the framework of the apparatus which is secured in any convenient position.
B is a rope, chain, or rod connected with the lever or spindle of the throttle valve, and
with the steam or foot brake or both through the medium of suitable mechanism,
which has a constant tendency to close the throttle valve and put on the brake. The
said mechanism can, however, only become operative when the connection between
the rope B and the framework A is severed. The rope B attached to a sliding catch
bar B which is held in position on the framework by a pivoted catch or pawl C
having its free end c resting in a notch in or against a shoulder on the bar. Or the
catch may be simply pressed upon the bar by a counterweight or spring. The bar B
is released as hereinafter described whenever the speed of the cage (that is, of the
engine governor or governors) at a given point or points in its travel, reaches or
exceeds a given amount.
D is a revolving shaft, which is connected on the one hand with the engine or
winding drum, and on the other hand, by means of suitable gearing such as D' D³ ³ D
with a revolving shaft. E carrying one or more beaked cams E' according to the
number of governors employed in the apparatus, that shown in the drawings being
provided with two, set for different speeds. The gearing connecting the shaft E
with the winding engine or drum, is so proportioned that the beaked cams make one
revolution during the travel of the cage between two given points. The governors
are also preferably driven by the shaft by gearing d, d', d², d, Figure 1.
On each side of the beaked cam is a tappet or hook F which is adapted to be
engaged by one of the beaks when the governors are going at or beyond a given
speed, the particular hook engaged depending upon the direction of rotation of the
shaft E, that is upon the direction in which the cage is travelling. The hooks are
preferably spring pivoted or counterweighted as shown, and each hook is carried by
an arm F, the said arms being kept apart by springs, or by their own weight or
otherwise. The arms F1 are pivoted to crossheads forming part of or connected
with a rod or bar FS Figure 4, which is connected by a link or its equivalent,
with the pawl C aforesaid. The bar F³ may be counterweighted, if desirable.
G, G, Figure 3, are two rotatable spindles each carrying a bell crank lever G¹, G.
One arm of each lever engages the arms F1 by means of the slots g, and the other
lever arms are connected loosely at their free ends, so that the movement of one
lever is imparted to the other. One of the spindles G carries an arm G² which is
connected by means of a link G³ with the counterweighted governor lever H. By
this mechanism the arms are moved inward simultaneously as the speed of the
governor increases.
Instead of the bell crank levers G1 their mechanical equivalent might be substituted
in the form of two cams or eccentrics, each connected by a link with the spindle or
lever of the governor, and bearing upon the outer edges of the arms, in such a
manner that when rotated by the links as the speed of the governor increased they
would force the arms towards each other simultaneously.
The mode of action of the above portion of the apparatus is as follows: When the
engine is going below its given speed, the hooks are not moved into the path of
the beaked cams, but when the engine attains or exceeds a certain given speed, the
governor or governors rise, and the eccentrics or lovers G¹ are turned upon their
pivots, and the hooks are placed in the path of the beaks of the cams E. One of the
beaked cams will now catch a hook F, and raise it, provided the cams are in
the position corresponding to the aforesaid given point or points in the travel of
the cage. The hooks being raised, the arms F, crossheads F and bar F³ are raised
also, and the pawl C is disengaged from the catch bar B₁, and the latter and the
rope B released, so as to apply the brake, and shut off steam as before set forth. If,
however, the governor be slackened in speed before the beaked cam arrives at one
of the aforesaid positions, the hooks are drawn back, and the cam passes them without
coming in contact with them.

page_text: Instead of a revolving Deaked cam, I may employ the roшowing arrangement: A
carriage is worked to and fro by means of a rack and pinion, screw, or other device
connected with the winding engine, the relative speed of the carriage and engine
being adjusted in a precisely similar manner as above described in reference to the
rotating beaked cam. A weighted lever, suspended on trunnions, is mounted on each
side of the carriage one lever being adapted to be operated during the up journey of
the cage, and the other on the down journey. Or a single lever might be arranged
to do the work of both. The projecting ends of these levers, partaking of the
movement of the carriage, are the equivalents of the beaks on the cam ¹. Two
catches, tappets or hooks, similar to the hooks F are connected to the governor in such
a manner that when the latter is going at or beyond its given safe speed, they project
into the path of the lovers so as to catch one or other of them when the carriage has
arrived at a position corresponding to the aforesaid given point or points in the travel
of the cage. When, however, the governor is going below its given speed, the catches
will not project into the path of the lovers, and therefore will not catch them. When
either of the levers is drawn aside by a catch, it comes in contact with or operates
mechanism, which liberates the mechanism aforesaid for closing the stop valve, and
putting on the brake.
Jis a rope, chain, or rod which is connected at one end with one or more tappets
or levers projecting in the path of the cage, or other moving part having the same
relative motion as the cage. The other end is attached to a sliding catch bar J¹
having an inclined surface which rests below a pin or projection c¹ on the end of
the catch or pawl, so that the latter is disengaged from the catch bar B¹ when he
bar J is drawn outwards. When the cage or its equivalent strikes one of these
tappets, the rope J is pullod, the catch or pawl C released, and the stop valve closed
and brake applied independently of the speed at which the cage is going. This lattor
arrangement may be employed either in conjunction with or independently of the
beaked cam and governors, and the mechanisni connected therewith.
The above arrangements are given simply as examples to show the working of my
invention.
Whenever my safety apparatus is brought into action it requires some time and
labour to reinstate it, so that it is impossible for the carelessness of the engine driver
or attendant (necessitating the use of the apparatus) to pass undetected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declaro that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described method of preventing overwinding at collieries, mines, or
other places, consisting in so arranging the mechanism that if the cage be travelling
at or above a given speed at a given point in its course, mechanism connected with
the governor shall come in contact with mechanism travelling at a speed boaring a
constant ratio to the speed of the cage, or in contact with the cage or cages direct,
and the action caused by that contact shall either put on a brake or brakes or shut
off the steam, or perform any or all of these operations.
2. In apparatus for preventing overwinding at collieries, mines, or other places,
the combination of one or more revolving or reciprocating tappets or their equivalent,
having the same relative motion as the cage, one or more tappets or their equivalent
adapted to be moved into the path of the first named tappets, and mechanisın
connecting the second series of tappets with the governor or governors on the one
hand, and on the other hand with a releasing device connected with a brake or stop
valve closing mechanism or with both, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
3. In apparatus for preventing overwinding at collieries, mines, or other places,
the combination of a revolving beaked cam E' making one revolution for each
journey of the cage between two given points, hooked tappets F carried by pivoted

page_text: arms F, and adapted to be engaged as described by the said cam, mechanisın such
as G1, G2, G3, H, or its equivalent for connecting said arms with the engine' governor
or governors, the bar F3 or its equivalent carrying the said arms, and connected with
the pivoted catch or pawl C, and the catch bar B¹ connected with counterbalanced
brake releasing or stop valve closing mechanism, or both, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
4. The apparatus for preventing overwinding, constructed as a whole, substantially
as shown and described.