IMPROVEMENTS IN LIFTING-JACKS
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIFTING-JACKS," and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:―
5
This invention relates chiefly to improvements in lifting jacks, and the objects of
the invention are to construct a novel, efficient and durable jack, for raising
buildings or other objects, provided with means for ascertaining the weight of the
object being raised, thereby rendering it possible to determine (where a large
number of jacks are employed in raising a heavy object, such as a building) if all
the jacks are performing their proper share of work, and whereby the jacks can be
successively adjusted until the weight is suspended.
"
The said invention consists partly in the combination with the lifting bar of a
jack, of a spring sustaining the bar under the weight of the load or object to be
raised.
.
It also partly consists in the combination with the lifting bar of a jack, of a
spring sustaining the bar under the weight of the load or object to be raised, and
a scale or indicator of any suitable construction for indicating the weight of the
object raised.
It also partly consists in the combination of a supporting frame or stand,
a screw lifting bar, and a spring for sustaining the bar under the weight of the
load or object raised.
It also partly consists in the combination of a supporting frame or stand,
a lifting bar having a cap-piece at one end to bear against the load or object to be
raised, and a spring sustaining the lifting bar under the weight of the load or
object.
It also partly consists in the construction of the stand or frame, the lifting bar,
the sliding tube, the weighing or weight-indicating mechanism, and the device for
supporting the lifting bar by the spring, all of which will be fully hereinafter
described.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1, is a side elevation of an improved lifting jack.
Figure 2, is a vertical central sectional view of the same.
Figure 3, is a side elevation showing a modification of the invention..
Figure 4, is a vertical central sectional view of Figure 3, and
Figure 5 is a sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale of the registering or
weight indicating mechanism.,

page_text: Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the Figure 1 indicates a tubular
stand having a base 2 by which it is supported in an upright position, the lower
end of the tube being provided with an interior shoulder or flange 3, serving as a
supporting bearing for the lower. end of a powerful coiled or other equivalent
spring 4, on the upper end of which rests, and is sustained, the lower end of a
tube 5, having in its upper end a rigidly fixed nut 6 provided with a lateral
flange 7 resting upon the end of the said tube. A lifting bar 8 in the form of a
screw, passes through, and engages, the screw-threaded opening in the nut 6, and
at its upper end is provided with a cylindrical journal 9, carrying a loosely
journalled cap-piece 10 in such manner that the journal end of the screw can
revolve in the cap-piece if the latter be held stationary, while directly beneath the
cap-piece the screw is provided with an angular head 11, for the purpose of rotating
the screw through the medium of handles or rods inserted in sockets 12 in the
outer edge of the head. This head may be a rigid and permanent attachment of
the screw, but I prefer to construct the screw with an angular portion 13 fitting a
correspondingly shaped socket in the head to permit the latter to be conveniently
placed in position or removed if desired.
A series of anti-friction balls, rollers, or wheels 15 are arranged between the cap-
piece and the head, for sustaining the weight, avoiding undue friction, and lessening
the power necessary to turn the screw in the screw-nut.
The outer surface of the inner tube 5 is provided with a scale 14, and the upper
edge of the tubular stand constitutes an indicator for the scale; but I do not confine
myself to the particular construction of scale and indicator shown, as various
modifications will readily suggest themselves.
-
In practice, when the screw-head 11 is turned to move the screw outward and
lift a load or object resting on the cap-piece, the inner tube carrying the screw nut
will move inward and contract the spring, so that the indicator and scale will.show
the weight the jack is lifting. The spring and the screw are proportionately strong,
that is to say, for example, if the spring is sufficiently powerful to support ten tons,
the screw must be capable of supporting the same pressure. Where many screw-
jacks are employed in raising a large building or similar object, it is very desirable
to determine if all the jacks are performing their proportion of the work, and this
is readily ascertained by my invention through the mediuin of tlie' scale and
indicator.
In ordinary screw-jacks, the screws are rigid as regards any longitudinal yielding
movement, and consequently it is almost impossible to raise one screw without
relieving the adjacent ones of the weight to a great extent, and therefore it is
necessary in practice to simultaneously turn the screws of all the jacks, whereas by
my invention each screw can be raised up to, or nearly up to, all the pressure it is
adapted to stand before raising the adjacent screw, for the reason that the spring
in tlie lätter keeps the screw out to sustain its proportion of the weight.
It frequently occurs with ordinary jacks, that the screws of some work tighter,
or with more friction, than those of others, and as the attendants can only judge
by the force required to turn them, those working the easiest sometimes perform
the greatest amount of work, and hence the screw-threads are often stripped-This
serious objection is avoided by my invention, as the scale and, indicator readily
show the work each jack is performing.
The number of. jacks necessary to effect a certain amount of work, is readily
determined if the total weight to be raised is known, and the pressure can be
uniformly distributed throughout all the jacks if desirable.
The invention will be. found useful in determining if goods wagons are over-
loaded, as a wagon can be jacked up and the sum of the pressure on all the jacks
will be the weight of the wagon. By this means the expense of erecting track
scales in many rural or other districts can, be avoided, as the jacks can be placed
under the empty wagon and then the allotted weight, say ten; tons, loaded on the
same if the jacks are constructed to sustain ten tons, as lierein before explained.

page_text: In the construction shown, the screw is sustained by the spring through the
medium of the screw-nut and the inner tube while the screw can be easily adjusted-
outward to act on, and lift, the load.
I have shown and described the lifting bar 8, as a screw working in a screw-nut,
but the said bar may be provided with means by which to extend it (such for
example as hydraulic power, or rack and pinion) that is, the spring sustaining. the
lifting bar may be used in bydraulic and other jacks, and therefore I do not confine
myself to tho screw lifting bar and nut. Where the screw lifting bar is used, I may
use any means for turning it, such as a ratchet collar, pawls and lever.
I will now proceed to describe the jack illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5 of the
drawings, where the figure 1 indicates the tubular stand or frame, and 2 the
supporting base therefor, the stand being formed of a steel casting cored out to
create upper and lower inwardly projecting flauges 3 and 4, which are drilled or
bored to form bearings and guides for the sliding tube 5. The stand and its base
are socketed together and secured in any suitable manner, as by bolts or screws,
and tlie base plate is provided on its upper face with an annular rib or flange 6
resting closely against the interior lower end of the coiled spring 7. Within the
upper end of the spring is suspended, by a lateral flange 8, a cup-shaped support 9,
having a hemispherical seat on the interior for receiving and supporting a
hemispherical block 10, having on its upper side an annular rib or flange 11 which
closely fits within the lower end of the tube 5. The ribs or flanges on the base
plate and block co-act to maintain the sliding tube and the spring properly in line.
at all times, while the block and cup constitute a ball and socket joint which yields
to any uneven pressure of the spring that may arise, in such manner as to prevent
the sliding tube from cramping or binding in the stand or frame.
The upper end of the sliding tube is thickened interiorly as at 12, and such
portion is tapped with a female screw-thread engaging the male screw thread ou
the lifting bar 13, by which construction the sliding tube constitutes, in itself, a
screw-nut for the lifting bar, which simplifies the structure very materially. The
lifting bar is composed of a steel casting cored out longitudinally to constitute a
tubular screw lifting bar, which reduces the quantity of metal necessary to construct
ordinary lifting bars, and also diminishes the weight of the structure while
preserving the requisite strength. The upper end portion of the lifting bar is
constructed with circular bearings 14 between which is an angular hub 15, and the
extreme upper end of the bar is hemispherical, as at 16, and provided with an
annular groove 17. The hemispherical end receives the loosely mounted cap-plate"
18, which is held from vertical displacement by a set-screw or a pin 19 passing
through it into the annular groove. A lever 20 is provided with two apertured
arms 21, loosely mounted on the circular bearings 14, and to the angular hub 15,
between the lever arms, is rigidly attached a ratchet wheel 22, with which engage
pawls pivotted on the lever, so that by swinging the lever in the proper direction
the lifting bar is rotated and caused to move upward or downward according to the
direction in which the bar is turned.
The stand or frame is provided with an attached circular dial or scale 23, and a
cavity in which is arranged a circular rotary disc 24 carrying an index or finger 25,
which is preferably rendered adjustable by a set-screw or otherwise, so that it can'
be set at zero after the lifting bar is adjusted to the position required for use.
The wall of the stand or frame, centrally with relation to the circular disc 24, is
provided with an orifice, and with a laterally projecting sleeve-bearing 26 for a
short shaft 27.which is rigidly secured at its outer end to the disc, and at its inner
end to a pinion 28, engaging a vertical rack-bar, provided in any suitable manner
on the exterior surface of the sliding tube 5. Any longitudinal movement of the
tube will impart a rotary movement to the disc carrying the index or finger, which
will thus travel about the dial to indicate the weight of the load, and by the means
shown the slightest deflection of the sustaining spring 7 will be indicated. The
nost minute indications can be made by interposing accurate gearing between the

page_text: rack-bar and rotary index or finger, or by varying the diameter of the pinion 28,
with respect to the diameter of the rotary disc and dial.
In order to compensate for any slack or play between the pinion and the rack
I provide a spring 29 between the pinion and disc, this spring being preferably coiled
around the sleeve-bearing 26, with one end secured to the latter and the other end
to the disc. By this rotary indicating mechanism, the most minute weights can be
indicated, while greater loads can be weighed without undue longitudinal movement
of the sliding tube. I do not confine myself to the particular rotary weight-
indicating mechanism here shown, as modifications can be made, for instance, the
index or finger might be stationary and the dial revolved by the gearing but the
construction shown is satisfactory and useful. Neither do I confine myself to a
screw lifting bar; nor to the exact arrangement of the spring here shown, as
changes in the location may be made without departing from the nature of this
invention.
The invention is applicable to jacks wherein the lifting bar or ram is actuated by
hydraulic pressure, and I also design to use my invention in connection with an
ordinary office-chair or chair for other purposes, the spring serving as a cushion,
while the seat which will be secured to the head of the screw, can be adjusted to
any desired height by properly turning the screw.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be perforined I declare that what
I claim is
First. The combination with the lifting bar of a jack, of a spring sustaining the
bar under the weight of the object to be raised, substantially as described.
Second. The combination with the lifting bar of a jack, of a spring sustaining
the bar, a scale and an indicator, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Third. The combination of a supporting stand, a screw to act on the weight or
load, and a spring sustaining the screw, substantially as, and for the purpose,
described.
Fourth. The combination of a supporting stand, a screw having a cap-piece at
one end to bear against the weight or load, and a spring sustaining the screw,
substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Fifth. The combination of a supporting stand, a screw to act on the weight or
load, a spring sustaining the screw, a scale and an indicator, substantially as
described for the purpose set forth.
Sixth. The combination of a supporting stand, a screw having a cap-piece at
one end to bear against the weight or load, a spring sustaining the screw, a scale
and an indicator, substantially as described.
Seventh. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by the spring, a screw-nut on the tube, and a screw in the screw-nut, substantially
as described for the purpose set forth.
Eighth. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by the spring, a screw-nut on the tube, a screw in the nut, a head by which to
rotate the screw,
and a cap-piece loose on the end of the screw, substantially as,
and for the purpose, described.
Ninth. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by the spring, a screw-nut on the tube, a screw in the nut, provided with a
cylindrical journal, and a cap-piece loosely mounted on said journal substanțially
as, and for the purpose, described.
Tenth. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by the spring, a screw nut on the tube, a screw in the nut, a scale and an indicator,
substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Eleventh. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by a spring, a screw nut on the tube, a screw, in the nut, a loose cap-piece on
the screw, a scale and an indicator, substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.

page_text: Twelfth. The combination of a tubular stand, a spring therein, a tube supported
by the spring, a screw nut on the tube, a screw in the nut, a scale on the
outside of the tube, and an indicator, substantially as, and for the purpose,
described.
Thirteenth. The combination of the tubular frame cored out to forin the inward
projecting bearings, with a lifting bar and a spring sustaining the bar under
the weight of the load to be raised, substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.
Fourteenth. In a lifting jack, the combination of the tubular frame cored out to
form the inward projecting bearings with the sliding tube, substantially as, and for
the purpose, described.
Fifteenth. The combination of the frame cored out to form the inward
projecting bearings, the sliding tube, the lifting bar and the spring, substantially
as described.
Sixteenth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube, a jointed support for the
tube, a lifting bar and a spring, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Seventeenth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube, a spring, a cup
supported thereby, a block in the cup supporting the tube, and a lifting bar,
substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Eighteenth The combination of a frame, a spring, a flanged cup suspended
thereon, a block in the cup supporting the tube and the lifting bar, substantially as
described.
Nineteenth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube formed with a female
screw-thread, a screw lifting bar, and a spring supporting the tube, substantially
as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Twentieth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube, a tubular lifting bar,
and a spring sustaining the tube, substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.
Twenty first. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube formed with a female
screw thread, a tubular screw-threaded lifting bar, and a spring sustaining the
tube, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Twenty second. The combination of a frame, a lifting bar, a spring sustaining
the bar, and a rotary indicator for weighing a load lifted by the bar, substantially
as, and for the purpose, described.
Twenty third. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube, a lifting bar in the
tube, a spring sustaining the tube and a rotary indicator operated by the tube,
substantially as described for the purpose set forth.
Twenty fourth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube, having a rack-bar,
a lifting bar, a spring sustaining the tube, and a rotary indicator in gear with tho
rack-bar on the tube, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
Twenty fifth. The combination of a frame, a sliding tube having a rack-bar, a
lifting bar, a spring sustaining the tube, the rotary indicator having a pinion
engaging the rack bar, and the spring between the pinion and indicator,
substantially as described for the purpose set forth.
Twenty sixth. The combination of the frame, the sliding tube, the spring
sustaining the tube, the screw lifting bar having the ratchet wheel secured thereto,
the lever loosely mounted on the bar and engaging the wheel, and the loose cap-
piece, substantially as described for the purpose set forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.