IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING OBJECTS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING OBJECTS." A communication from
abroad by Eugene Borde, Jules Petit-Laroche, and Emile Labalette, all of
Bordeaux, Gironde, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th September 1880.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING
OBJECTS.'
"
[A communication from abroad by Eugene Borde, Jules Petit-Laroche,
and Emile Labalette, all of Bordeaux, Gironde, France.]
According to this Invention the raising and lowering of objects is effected by
the direct action of a piston inside a cylinder arranged in combination with a three
way cock in such manner that the load is raised by the admission of fluid pressure
into the cylinder, is held suspended by the retention of such fluid pressure in the
cylinder, and is lowered by permitting the escape of the fluid pressure.
For this purpose a metal tube of a length corresponding to the distance through
which the load is to be raised or lowered is closed at each end by a cap, one of
which has a strong eye, loop, or hook, by which the tube or cylinder can be
suspended from or otherwise attached to a fixed object, while the other cap has a
stuffing box through which passes the rod of the piston. For the sake of lightness
and portability the tube or cylinder is by preference made of sheet metal, and has
fixed on each end a flanged socket to which the before mentioned caps are secured
by bolts or screws. These sockets are provided with lateral branch pipes or
nozzles, of which the one at the stuffing box end serves for the admission and
emission of the fluid pressure for effecting the movement of the piston, while the
other one may either only serve to allow the air to enter and escape freely as the
piston moves up and down, or the fluid pressure may be made to enter through it
on escaping from the other end of the cylinder. The stuffing box is formed by
a tubular projection on the inner and outer face of the cap through which the
piston rod passes, and of a gland fitting therein, which is pressed inwards by a

page_text: screw cap on the outer end of the tubular projection. The piston consists of two
cup shaped metal discs, between which is a disc of elastic, or expansible, or malleable
material, which is expanded so as to form a tight packing against the cylinder,
firstly by a screw bolt passing through the cup shaped discs, which it presses
together by means of a screw nut, and secondly by the weight of the load itself,
the piston rod from which the load is suspended being connected by a swivel joint
to a loop on the nut of the beforementioned bolt, so that by means of the latter the
upper cup disc is pulled downwards by the load against the upward fluid pressure
on the lower cupped disc. The inner face of the lower cupped disc is by preferenco
recessed and holes are formed through it, so that the fluid pressure can gain access
to the under face of the elastic or expansible disc and thus aid in its expansion.
By the above arrangement it will be seen that the packing of the piston will be
rendered the more fluid tight the greater the load is.
"
The piston rod may either be rigid when its outer end is connected directly to
the load or to a cord or chain from which the load is suspended, or it may be
flexible, such as a wire or cord, when it is passed round a pulley before being
connected to the load. The cylinder may either be suspended in a vertical position
or it may be placed in an inclined or horizontal position. The three way cock for
regulating the admission and discharge of the fluid pressure consists of a barrel
_having two opposite branches, one of which is connected to the supply of fluid
under pressure, while the other is connected-by-a-flexible or jointed pipe to the
inlet branch of the cylinder, and a third branch at right angles to the other two,
-which-is-connected.either_to_an_exhaust chamber or to a jacket surrounding the
working cylinder, such jacket being provided with an escape orifice, or the branch
may simply open into the atmosphere. The plug has three corresponding-ways so-
arranged that the branch leading to the cylinder may thereby either be put in
communication with the supply branch or with the exhaust branch, or inay be
closed entirely when it is desired to retain the fluid pressure in the cylinder.
A quadrant guide having a stop is provided on the barrel for limiting the motion
of the lever by which the plug is turned.
3

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
March 1881.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING
OBJECTS."
A communication from abroad by Eugene Borde, Jules Petit-Laroche,
and Emile Labalette, all of Bordeaux, Gironde, France.
According to this Invention the raising and lowering of objects is effected by
the direct action of a piston inside a cylinder arranged in combination with a three
way cock in such manner that the load is raised by the admission of fluid pressure
into the cylinder, is held suspended by the retention of such fluid pressure in the
cylinder, and is lowered by permitting the escape of the fluid pressure.
For this purpose a metal tube of a length corresponding to the distance through
which the load is to be raised or lowered is closed at each end by a cap, one of
which has a strong eye, loop, or book, by which the tube or cylinder can be
suspended from or otherwise attached to a fixed object, while the other cap has a
stuffing box through which passes the rod of the piston. For the sake of lightness
and portability the tube or cylinder is by preference made of sheet metal, and has
fixed on each end a flanged socket to which the before mentioned caps are secured
by bolts or screws. These sockets are provided with lateral branch pipes or
nozzles, of which the one at the stuffing box cnd serves for the admission and
emission of the fluid pressure for effecting the movement of the piston, while the
other one may either only serve to allow the air to enter and escape freely as the
piston moves up and down, or the fluid pressure may be inade to enter through it
on escaping froin the other end of the cylinder. The stuffing box is formed by a
tubular projection on the inner and outer face of the cap through which the piston
rod passes, and of a gland fitting therein, which is pressed inwards by a screw cap
on the outer end of the tubular projection. The piston consists of two cup shaped
metal discs, between which is a disc of elastic or yielding material, which is
expanded so as to form a tight packing against the cylinder, firstly by a screw bolt
passing through the cup shaped discs, which it presses together by means of a screw
nut, and secondly by the weight of the load itself, the piston rod from which tho
load is suspended being connected by a swivel joint to a loop on the nut of the
before mentioned bolt, so that by means of the latter the upper cup disc is pulled
downwards by the load against the upward fluid pressure on the lower cupped
disc. The inner face of the lower cupped disc is by preference recessed, and holes
are formed through it so that the fluid pressure can gain access to the under face of
the elastic or expansible disc and thus aid in its expansion. By the above
arrangements it will be seen that the packing of the piston will be rendered the
more fluid tight the greater the load is.
The piston rod may either be rigid when its outer end is connected directly to
the load or to a cord or chain from which the load is suspended, or it may be
flexible, such as a wire or cord, when it is passed round a pulley before being
connected to the load. The cylinder may either be suspended in a vertical position,
or it may be placed in an inclined or horizontal position. The threeway cock for
regulating the admission and discharge of the fluid pressure consists of a barrel
having two opposite branches, one of which is connected to the supply of fluid
under pressure, while the other is connected by a flexible or jointed pipe to the
inlet branch of the cylinder, and a third branch at right angles to the other two,
which is connected either to an exhaust chamber or to a jacket surrounding the
working cylinder, such jacket being provided with an escape orifice, or the branch
may simply open into the atmosphere. The plug has three corresponding ways so
arranged that the branch leading to the cylinder may thereby either be put in
communication with the supply branch or with the exhaust branch, or may be
closed entirely when it is desired to retain the fluid pressure in the cylinder.

page_text: A quadrant guide naving a stop is provided on the barrel for limiting the moTION O
the lever by which the plug is turned.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the cylindrical tube with its piston and stuffing
box; Fig. 2 is a part section to an enlarged scale, shewing the stuffing box; Fig. 3.
is a section of the 3 way cock, and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a section and a
plan of the piston; Fig. 6 shews an arrangement of the apparatus as applied to a
crane, and Fig. 7 shows a convenient arrangement for use on ship board for raising
and lowering loads by cords or chains working over multiplying pullies. A is the
tube, to each end of which is fixed a flanged collar B, to which are bolted the
covers C and C', the latter having a ring or book a for attaching the apparatus.
P is the piston consisting of a disc K of caoutchouc or other yielding material
secured between two junk rings I, I, which are pressed together by a central bolt.
The nut of this bolt is in the form of a yoke q, to which is attached the piston
rod D, so that the strain of the load suspended therefrom tends to squeeze the
packing K, and thus cause the piston to work tightly in the tube. Under the
dise K is an annular space s, to which holes t are bored through the lower junk
ring, these holes permitting the fluid pressure to act on the disc. The piston rod D
passes through a stuffing box in the cover C, this stuffing box having a boss b
projecting into the cylinder, and containing-packing c.which is pressed by the
gland d and nut c. To a lateral passage formed in the collar B is attached when
-necessary-by-a.flexible tube_the_supply_pipe aud 3 way cock E. This cock has
three passages o communicating with the supply of leading to the cylinder A¨and o¹¹-
for discharge. The plug F can be turned by a-handle m moving-over-a-quadrant.G.
to either of two stops n or n¹, so as to admit working fluid to the cylinder, or to
permit its discharge, or to intermediate positions, closing the passages when the
load is to be held stationary, or throttling them more or less according to the speed
of movement desired. The tube or the pipe leading to it may be provided with a
regulating valve of any known construction to limit the fluid pressure acting
in it.
As the piston rod D is subject only to tensile strain, it may be flexible, in the
form for example, of a metal ribbon capable of bending round a pulley, as shown in
Fig. 6. When it is desired to magnify the stroke of the piston so as to obtain a
considerable range of motion of the load, this may be effected by compound pullies,
as shewn in Fig. 7.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents,
1 claim,―
First. The use for raising and lowering objects of a tube fitted with a piston
acted on by fluid pressure, and having a rigid or flexible rod, to which is attached
the object to be raised or lowered, substantially as herein described.
Second. Constructing the piston and attaching the rod thereto in such a manner
that the extensible packing of the piston is subject to the strain of the load,
substantially as herein described.
Third. Governing the admission and emission of the working fluid by a threeway
cock connected to the tube and to the pipes of supply and discharge, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord Oue