Improvements in or relating to Lifts or Hoists.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 10th Jan., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Lifts or Hoists.
I, AUGUST EICHERT of the Hohenzollern Mine, near Beuthen, Silesia, in the
Kingdom of Prussia, Foreman, 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 :-
The object of this catch device is to prevent the articles or persons placed in the
cage or platform of an elevator from being violently shaken or thrown out in case of
rupture of the cable or rope, such accidents being generally consequent upon the catch
or brake levers being abruptly driven by springs or the like into the guide posts made
of wood or iron, or against guide ropes and thus meeting with a sudden resistance.
To remedy this serious defect a great variety of devices have been tried some of which
however were found too expensive owing to their complicated construction, while others
proved ineffective or only fulfilled the desired purpose partly.
It is the aim of this invention to remove the drawback in question entirely by pro-
viding each cage with a special and comparatively inexpensive device such as
illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
Upon the cage or platform A is arranged a cylinder B in which is adapted to slide
a piston C through the medium of whose rod D both the junction of the ropes or
chains at the top is ensured and the catch levers E E' are operated by the piece S.
The piston C is provided with a number of parallel or other openings of sufficient
size and the cylinder is partly filled with a liquid which will not readily freeze such as
glycerine for example. With the cylinder is connected a box F containing a
spring G.
Should the rope or chain break the operation of this safety device is as follows:-
The spring G which is compressed as the elevator moves up and down expands in
case of breakage and forces the catch levers E E' into the guide posts or against the
guide ropes LL' but at the same time the piston encountering the resistance of the
air or fluid cushion the catch levers though pressed against the said posts or cables are
relieved from concussion so that the cage or equivalent will by slow degrees descend
along the said guide pieces; for, as the cage continues to descend the piston in
descending also meets the liquid (such as glycerine) contained in the cylinder, and
under the influence of the spring slowly and gradually forces the said liquid through
the above mentioned openings until the levers reach the position indicated in dotted
lines that is the "zero" position in which the cage is entirely under brake action.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is :-
A catching or shock deadening device for lifts or elevators, in which in case of
rupture of a rope the shock consequent upon the sudden engagement of the brake or
catch levers (E E') with the guide posts or ropes (L L') is deadened by the piston (C)
attached to the piston rod which connects with both the top rope and the said brake
levers which piston under the action of a spring (G) is pressed down upon the liquid
contained in the cylinder (B) thus displacing the said liquid as the cage or equivalent
descends and gradually forcing it through openings provided in the piston thereby
allowing the operation herein above described to take place substantially as set
forth.
Dated this 24th day of November 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.