An Improved Swinging Scaffold.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1889-Accepted, 20th July, 1889
[Communicated from abroad by ALBERT NOLL and MARCUS MOLL, residing at New
York, in the County and State of New York, one of the United States of North
America, both Manufacturers.]
An Improved Swinging Scaffold.
I, WILLIAM HUMPHREY WHEATLEY of 15€ Strand London in the County of
Middlesex Patent Agent 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 :-
E
The object of the invention is to provide a swinging scaffold on which a painter,
or other person whose business it is to work on the outside wall of a house may
stand securely, and at the same time be able to move the said scaffold to either
side or up or down at pleasure, and it consists in the details of combination and
construction, substantially as illustrated in the drawings, hereinafter described, and
subsequently pointed out in the claim.
Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating our newly invented scaffold.
Figure 2, is a view in elevation illustrating the scaffold and its supports.
Figures 3 and 4 are detail views illustrating a part of the mechanism by which
said scaffold is suspended.
A, B, C, C, designates the frame of the scaffold, which may be of rectangular
shapo as illustrated in the drawings. The various parts of the frame may be fastened
together by bolts, mortises and tenons, angle irons, or in any other convenient
way. This frame is provided with a floor or bottom at R. Upon the top of each
end of this frame is fastened an iron bar D. Attached to each of these bars is a
hook . To each of these hooks, by the link or eye l, is attached the block and
pulley L. F designates a shaft, which may be of any approved construction and
is journaled in the braces H at h. These braces are attached to the posts A. of
the scaffold as illustrated. Upon this shaft F at each end is mounted a winding
spool F, upon which is wound the cord N, as hereinafter described. Upon each
end of this shaft F' is also mounted a ratchet wheel F2 in which works the pawl G.
This pawl is provided with a handle K" and is pivoted to the brace H at K. To
this shaft F is attached the crank I, by which it is turned. Sometimes in using
this scaffold it is desirous to hold it out from the wall by which it is hung.
To accomplish this the guide E, is attached, which consists of a straight bar
provided with the soft roller e, and adjustable by means of the slot e¹ and the set
screw el. This scaffold may be made of any convenient height and breadth, and
I find it preferable to make it of proper height to reach about to the hips of an
ordinarily tall man, that is to say of about the height of about forty inches in
the clear.
A metallic bar o of any convenient length, composed of two angle irons, as
illustrated by o, of Figure 2, and fastened together by the clips q, and bolts q¹9¹¹¹ is
suspended from the cornice or eaves of a house or other building, in any secure and
convenient way, by means of the hooks o' by which it is attached to the sus-
pending apparatus. This bar o is so constructed that it is hollow, has a slot
through the whole length of its bottom, and within has flanges forming a track
parallel to said slot, one either side thereof to accomodate the wheels u*, u*, of the
bar u This bar u" is provided with said wheels on either side, the shanks u' and
the hooks u, and is so constructed and adapted, that it is a carriage moving upon the
bar o, as hereinafter more fully described. Upon each of these shanks u¹ is fastened
the bracket between which and the shank u is hung the pulley . At either end
of the bar o is hung a pulley o¹¹. These pulleys are fastened with separate bolts o*,
so that when for any purpose they are taken out it does not in any way derange the

page_text: bar o. By means of the link v, and the eyes m¹ a block and pulleys M is hung upon
the hook u.
At either end of the scaffold a rope N which may be of any approved
material, is wound by one end, round the spool F, and extending upwards passes
over the pulley m¹ of the block M. Extending thence downward it passes over
a pulley in the block L. Extending thence upwards, it passes over the pulley m of
the block M, and from thence downward, it is at last fastened to the hook of the
block L. When by turning the crank I, this rope N, is wound on the spool F, the
scaffold is raised, and may be held in any desired position, as to height, by dropping
the ends of the pawls G, into the ratchet wheels F. But when the pawls G are
withdrawn from the ratchet wheels F the weight of the scaffold and its load causes
the rope N to unwind from the spools F, and the scaffold moves downward, and thus
the scaffold may be placed and retained at any desired height. To move this scaffold
side wise another rope K, is fastened by one end to the shank u' below the wheels u
and above the pulley. Extending thence it passes over the pulley o". Returning
it passes over pulley of the shank u and extends downward into the scaffold where
it is fastened to the rail C. In the example of my invention given this rope K, is
fastened by the eccentric s pivoted in the brackets, and which may be worked
by means of the handle s". This fastening of the rope K, however may be accom-
plished in any approved and well known way. The ends of this rope K may be
stowed in the pockets z.
To use this scaffold it is hung upon the outside wall of a house and the operator
having taken his stand in it can raise or lower it at pleasure as before described by
turning the crank 1 to wind up the rope N, to raise the scaffold or by allowing this
rope to unwind to lower it. To move the scaffold from side to side the operator pulls
one or the other of the ropes K, and when the scaffold has arrived at the proper
position, holds it there by fastening the ropes K with the clamps s¹ as before described.
Otherwise this device is to be used as an ordinary scaffold.
Having now fully described and ascertained what the nature of our said invention
is, and how the same is constructed and performed, we hereby declare that what we
claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is :-
The combination with the scaffold frame A, B, C, C, the floor R, thereof, the
guides E, fastened upon the ends thereof and having the roller e, the slot e¹ and the
set screw the iron bars D, attached to the top of said frame the hooks d, attached
to said bars D, the braces H, attached to the posts of said frame, the shaft F
journalled in said braces H, the spools F, and the ratchet wheels F mounted upon
said shaft F the crank I, fixed to, and turning the said shaft F, and the pawls G,
pivoted to the braces H, and working in the ratchet wheels F of the blocks and
pulleys L having eyes l, and hooks 7, and attached by the hooks d, to the said
scaffold frame, the ropes N, having one end wound round the spools F, passing
over the pulleys m', the pulleys in the blocks L, the pulleys m" and fastened to
the hooks, of the blocks L, the blocks M hung upon the hooks u by means of the
links and the eyes m having the pulleys m and m¹ and being attached to the
said scaffold frame by the ropes N, the bar o, constructed with hooks o, and
pulleys o as specified, the bar u¹ having wheels u, shanks u¹ brackets & pulleys &¹ and
hooks u, being adapted to work in the bar o, and by means of the hooks u and the
link attaching the same to the pulley blocks M, the ropes K attached to the
shanks ¹ extending thence over the pulleys O", thence returning to the pulleys a² of
the sbanks u¹ passing over these and extending downward to the scaffold frame, where
they may be fastened by the clamps s' and pivoted between the brackets s, and the
bars Cof said scaffold frame, having handles and clamping the rope K, all
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 17th day of June 1889.