IM- PROVEMENTS IN HOISTING APPARATUS AND CARS FOR MINING PURPOSES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN HOISTING APPARATUS AND CARS FOR MINING PURPOSES."―A
✓ communication from abroad by George Williams, of Sterling, in the
County of Park, and Territory of Colorado, United States of America.
Sealed the 5th April 1867, and dated the 6th October 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th October 1866.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOISTING APPARATUS AND CARS FOR MINING PURPOSES," to
be as follows:
These improvements in hoisting apparatus for mining purposes consist in
the arrangement of a bucket or car elevator for raising ore, coal, water, or
the detritus of mines in connection with guide wheels and rods operated by
means of a hoisting rope or chain working on a drum or windlass by horse or
steam power in the ordinary way for raising and lowering the bucket or car,
so that it shall be steadily supported and discharged by the deflection of the

page_text: guide wheels from their normal line of travel on to inclined ways, the axis of
the guide wheels forming a transverse line of support upon which the bucket
or car is canted or "tipped" over for the discharge of its load as it is raised by
a lever bail attached to its lower end. By this arrangement no additional
power is required to upset and empty the bucket or car containing ore or
coal into the shoot at the mouth of the mine as in ordinary methods of
attachment, in which the bucket is suspended at a point between its upper and
its lower end, and is tipped over by an obstacle which arrests its motion, as, for
instance, upsetting it by grasping and holding the rim with the hands. Any
obstacle placed in the way of the bucket to tip it over increases the resistance
at that point suddenly, producing a shock and strain on the power, which should
be avoided, as the power in that case must necessarily be sufficient to over-
come the greatest resistance in addition to that employed in the operation of
hoisting. The arrangements permit the bucket or car to be loaded with coal
or ore, or discharged at various points in the shaft of a mine so as to be used
for a number of drifts or levels at different depths, and also to discharge water
into an adit or shoot for carrying it off.
Another branch or part of these improvements in mining apparatus consists
in the arrangement of a car, the doors at the ends of which are so constructed
and connected with the body of the car that it shall be capable of being con-
verted readily into a closed car for containing ore or coal, or an open car for
carrying timber lying lengthwise on the bottom, and also the plan of securing
the doors in place for containing ore or coal, and tripping the door fastening
for discharging the car.
In carrying out this Invention guide timbers are secured to the timber
framing or lining of the shaft, between which guide wheels fixed on the
elevator or bucket traverse up and down the shaft. The bucket or elevator
is lifted by bail or discharging levers to which the hoisting rope is attached,
which hoisting rope may be operated by a hand winch, the rope running over
a pulley and wound upon a drum. It will be understood that this arrange-
ment is merely illustrative, and that a whim with horse power or an engine
and drum may be applied, and also that the description of the appa-
ratus herein is not confined to a simple line of elevators, it is equally
applicable and is designed to work in a double shaft with a double line
of elevators or buckets for ascending and descending in the usual way
simultaneously. Power being applied to the winch, the elevator rises
until the guide wheels meet an oblique and curved deflecting guide,
which causes them to diverge laterally from their normal perpendicular
line of travel between the guide timbers, while the sides of the supporting bail

page_text: or discharging levers preserve their vertical position, and at the same time the
elevator or bucket is gradually canted or turned over end on the axis on
which it is mounted to the ends of which the bail or discharging levers are
pivoted, the guide wheels resting in a track curving outwards and the dis-
charging levers still ascending in a perpendicular line under the guidance of
the guide timbers until the elevator or bucket is finally upset sufficiently to
discharge the contents into a shoot or a water trough, as the case may be,
according to their position of adjustment. A curved deflecting guide is of
course fixed at the mouth of the shaft, but in the case of deflecting guides
placed at lower levels they are made to be adjusted as occasion may require,
either for discharging at one of such lower points, or to allow the elevator to
travel higher. This is accomplished by means of a lever which operates
connecting rods on each side of the shaft or other equivalent device for
vibrating a second deflecting guide on the upper pivot by which it is suspended,
so as to draw it inwards at the lower end against one of the guide timbers,
and thus close the vertical track and deflect the guide wheels into a curved
opening upon the curved track, so that the elevator or bucket shall be
discharged into the shoot or the water trough, as may be required. At each
point of discharge in a shaft a similar adjusting arrangement of the guides is
required, and at each point where the bucket is to be loaded an overbanging
shoot is provided, and chains with a bail hook are hung over it for catching
in a bail chain connected with the top of the discharging levers for the
purpose of holding the bucket in position for loading or receiving the ore from
the overhanging shoot and disengaging itself when the elevator ascends. At
this point there may be a drift or level leading to the shaft, and by which the
laden car to be discharged into the overhanging shoot arrives for loading
the bucket or elevator. The shoots for discharging the ore or other matter
from the ascending bucket or elevator are pivoted so that they can be operated
by levers and suitable connecting rods. When the bucket descends to the
point to receive a load the bail hook is applied by band to the bail chain, and
is there held by the weight of the bucket which it supports; but when the
bucket begins to ascend, the central angular link of the bail chain disengages
itself from the bail hook and the latter swings out of the way, thereby
obviating the necessity of personal attention of the miner to placing and
removing props or stays for holding a bucket when it is unhooked. As
herein-before stated, the sides of the bail of the elevator or bucket, or as they
are called discharging levers, always maintain a straight course in line with
the shaft, and this is effected by arms or side projections which embrace the
guide timbers, but as soon as the elevator wheels diverge into either of the

page_text: lateral curved ways the elevator will begin to cant or tilt over upon its axis or
support to which the bail or discharging levers are pivoted, and this tilting
will be continued until the elevator assumes a position suitable for discharging
its contents. Now, therefore, it is manifest that when the guide wheels enter
the curved guideway a portion of the weight of the elevator is immediately
transferred to one or other of the curved tracks, as the case may be, and will
increase its bearing thereon as the bottom of the elevator continues to rise by
the action of the bail or discharging levers, the effect of which will be to
relieve the strain upon the hoisting rope in equal proportion, diminishing it to
such an extent that the operation of tilting and discharging the elevator will
be accomplished with no sudden shock, and with even greater facility and less
exertion of power than was required for raising the elevator perpendicularly
instead of requiring more power and disturbing the equilibrium of the engine
and machinery, as in the ordinary mode of discharging. Hence it will be
.seen that an essential feature of this Invention consists in having the
point of suspension located at the bottom of the elevator or bucket, and the
deflecting rollers or guide wheels at some point on its sides, a position midway
between the ends and near the front part being preferable. The elevator
may also be arranged in connection with an inclined shaft, the axis or support
being transferred from, the centre of the bottom toward the back side, allowing
the elevator to rise level, while it may be tilted to a greater extent than
before, because the pivoted heel of the bucket is made to rise higher relatively
to the deflecting guide wheels. At the upper extremities of the curved guide
tracks there is a fixed transverse roller, upon which the bottom of the elevator
rests when the guide wheels reach that point, in order to prevent them from
running back or downward in the guideways, to which movement they would
otherwise be liable with the continued ascent of the pivoted heel of the
elevator. The said transverse roller supports the elevator till the guide wheels
run upon an upper and outer guide, upon which they will travel upward until
the hoisting gear can be conveniently reversed, after which the guide wheels
will move freely downward in the same vertical guides by which they ascended
without jar or other disturbance of the motive power or hoisting machinery.
An arm having a small roller on its end may be fixed to the timber framing
of the shaft, and by catching the lower edge of the rim at the top of the
elevator may be made to answer the same purpose as the transverse roller.
The second part of this Invention consists in an improved ore car mounted
as usual on a truck and tram wheels, at the ends of which are doors pivoted
to hang at the upper corners of the truck, the upper half of the door being
made wider than the lower half, so that their sides will lie against the ends

page_text: of the car frame, while the lower half will fit inside of the frame, the upper
half of the door being above and the lower half below notches made in the sides
of the car; this arrangement secures the doors against displacement in any
direction, and it is held in place by a latch pivoted on the bottom of the car in.
such manner that a blow or pressure against or beneath the forward end of
the trigger will not open it, and that it can be moved only by actual contact of
the inner end with a post set in the track when the car reaches the discharging
point to empty its load. When the doors of the car hang down in place, as:
described, the car is then adapted for containing and transporting ore and
other substances, but by this arrangement of the doors to swing upon pivots
they can be turned up and over to rest on the top of the car, when the same
car is at once converted into an open end car for containing and transporting
timber into and out of the levels of a mine, thus obviating the necessity of
employing special timber cars and making one car capable of serving both
purposes. The form of the doors fitting in the ends of the car renders
braces, cleats, or bars to support the sides unnecessary. The elevator can be
made with open ends for receiving an ore or coal car loaded, which can
thus be raised to the mouth of the mine and there discharged instead of
discharging into a closed elevator or bucket from the drift as before described.
The operation of the elevator with the car enclosed will be in all respects the
same in ascending and discharging the contents as in the case of a bucket or
elevator containing ore or coal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th April 1867.
TO ALL TO. WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter..

page_text: during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HOISTING APPARATUS AND CARS FOR MINING PURPOSES," a communication to me
from abroad by George Williams, of Sterling, in the County of Park, and
Territory of Colorado, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE,. that I, the said William Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being. had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
These improvements in hoisting apparatus for mining purposes consist in
the arrangement of a bucket or car elevator for raising ore, coal, water, or the
detritus of mines in connection with guide wheels and rods operated by means
of a hoisting rope or chain working on a drum or windlass by horse or steam
power in the ordinary way for raising and lowering the bucket or car, so that
it shall be steadily supported and discharged by the deflection of the guide
wheels from their normal line of travel on to inclined ways, the axis of the
guide wheels forming a transverse line of support upon which the bucket or
car is canted or "tipped" over for the discharge of its load as it is raised by
a lever bail attached to its lower end. By this arrangement no additional
power is required to upset and empty the bucket. or car containing ore or
coal into the schute at the mouth of the mine as in ordinary methods of
attachınent, in which the bucket is suspended at a point between its upper and
its lower end, and. is tipped over by an obstacle which arrests its motion, as,
for instance, upsetting it by grasping and holding the rim with the hands.
Any obstacle placed in the way of the bucket to tip it over increases the
resistance at that point suddenly, producing a shock and straiu on the power,
which should be avoided, as the power in that case must necessarily be
sufficient to overcome the greatest resistance in addition to that employed in
the operation of hoisting. The arrangements permit the bucket or car to be
loaded with coal or ore, or discharged. at various points in the shaft of a. mine,

page_text: so as to be used for a number of drifts or levels at different depths, and also
to discharge water into an audit or schute for carrying it off.
Another branch or part of these improvements in mining apparatus consists
in the arrangement of a car, the doors at the ends of which are so constructed
and connected with the body of the car that it shall be capable of being con-
verted readily into a closed car for containing ore or coal, or an open car for
carrying timber lying lengthwise on the bottom, and also the plan of securing
the doors in place for containing ore or coal, and tripping the door fastening
for discharging the car.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings is a side elevation of the hoisting
apparatus of this Invention in a shaft; Figure 2 is a vertical section of the
same; Figure is also a vertical section, the plane of which is at right
angles to the plane of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a detached perspective view of
an elevator or bucket showing in detail the bail by which it is suspended and
its connection with the hoisting rope; Figure 5 is a detached view showing
the mode of connecting the bail to the elevator or bucket when working in an
inclined shaft or slope; Figure 6 is a detached view of an elevator adapted
for containing a car; Figure 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of a car of
this Invention having the doors closed to contain coal or ore; Figure 8 is a
vertical longitudinal section of the same with the doors folded on the top of
the car for carrying timber; Figure 9 is a vertical longitudinal section of the
same showing the car in the act of dumping a load, and the tripper being
tripped for the purpose; Figure 10 is an end elevation showing the construc-
tion of the doors fitted in the sides of the car. Similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts.
In the Drawings Figures 1, 2, 3, A, A, are the timbers of the framing or
lining of the shaft, and B the wall rock. C, C', Figure 1, are guide timbers,
between which the wheels D of the bucket or elevator E traverse up and
down the shaft. The elevator is lifted by the bail or discharging levers F, F,
to which the hoisting rope G is attached, the hoisting rope being represented
as operated by the hand winch I running over a pulley H, and wound upon
a drum I. It will be understood that this arrangement is merely illustrative,"
and that a whim with horse power or an engine and drum may be applied,
and also that the description of the apparatus herein is not confined to a
simple line of elevators, whereas it is equally applicable and is designed to
work in a double shaft with a double line of elevators or buckets for ascending
and descending in the usual way simultaneously. Power being applied to the
winch I the elevator E rises until the wheels D meet an oblique and curved
deflecting guide J or J*, which causes them to diverge laterally from their

page_text: normal perpendicular line of travel between the guide rods C, C¹, while the
sides of the supporting bail or discharging levers F, F, preserve their vertical
position, and at the same time the elevator or bucket E is gradually canted
or turned over end on its axis L, to the ends of which the bail or discharging
levers F, F, are pivoted, the wheels D resting on the curved track M, and
the discharging levers still ascending in a perpendicular line under the
guidance of the guide timber C until the elevator or bucket E is finally
upset, as shown in the upper section of the shaft, Figure 2, sufficiently to
discharge the contents into the schute N or the trough O, as the case may be,
according to their position of adjustment. The curved deflecting guide J in
the upper section Figure 2 is a fixture at the mouth of the shaft, but in the
case of deflecting guides placed at levels below, such as J*, shown in the
lower section of the same Figure, and also in Figure 1, they are made to be
adjusted as occasion may require, either for discharging at that point or to
aHow the elevator to travel beyond it; this is accomplished by means of a
lever J, which operates connecting rods J' on each side of the shaft or other
equivalent device for vibrating the deflecting guide J* on the upper pivot by
which it is suspended so as to draw it up at the lower end against the guide
rod C, and thus close the vertical track and deflect the wheels D into the
curved opening K* upon the curved track M*, so that the elevator or bucket
shall be discharged into the ore schute O* or the water trough N* as required.
At each point of discharge in a shaft a similar adjusting arrangement of the
guides is required, and at each point where the bucket is to be loaded an
overhanging schute P is provided, and chains S, S, with a bail hook T are
hung over it for catebing in a bail chain F¹ connected with the top of the
discharging levers F, F, for the purpose of holding the bucket in position for
loading or receiving the ore from the schute P, and disengaging itself when
the elevator ascends. At this point Q may represent a drift or level leading
to the shaft, and H* the car to be discharged therefrom into the schute P
for loading the bucket E, which is seen in position for this purpose in
Figure 1.
The schutes 0, 0, for discharging the ore or other matter from
the ascending bucket or elevator are pivotted so that they can be operated by
levers O' or 0 and suitable connecting rods. When the bucket descends to
the point to receive a load the bail hook T is applied by hand to the bail
chain F¹ in the lower section, and is there held by the weight of the bucket
which it supports, but when the bucket begins to ascend the central angular
link of the chain F disengages itself from the hook T, and the latter swings
out of the way, thereby obviating the necessity of personal attention of the
miner to placing and removing props or stays for holding a bucket when it is

page_text: unhooked. As herein-before stated the sides of the bail of the elevator or
bucket, or as they are called discharging levers F, F, always maintain a
straight course in line with the shaft, and this is effected by arms or side
projections f, f, which embrace the guide rod C, but as soon as the elevator
wheels D diverge into either of the lateral curved ways K or K* the
elevator E will begin to cant or tilt over upon its axis or support L, and this
tilting will be continued until the elevator assumes the position for discharging
its contents, as represented in Figure 2. Now, therefore, it is manifest that
when the wheels Deuter the curved guideway a portion of the weight of the
elevator is immediately transferred to the curved track M or M*, as the case
may be, and will increase its bearing thereon as the bottom of the elevator
continues to rise by the action of the discharging levers F, F, the effect of
which will be to relieve the strain upon the hoisting rope G in equal
proportion, diminishing it to such an extent that the operation of tilting and
discharging the elevator will be accomplished with no sudden shock, and with
even greater facility and less exertion of power than was required for raising
the elevator perpendicularly instead of requiring more power and disturbing
the equilibrium of the engine and machinery, as in the ordinary mode of
discharging. Hence it will be seen that an essential feature of this Invention
consists in having the point of suspension located at the bottom of the
elevator or bucket and the deflecting rollers or wheels D at some point on its
sides, a position midway between the ends and near its front part being
preferable.
In Figure 5 the application is shown of the arrangement of an elevator to
an inclined shaft, the axis or support L being transferred from the centre of
the bottom toward the back side, allowing the elevator to rise level, while it
may be tilted to a greater extent than before because the pivoted heel of the
bucket is made to rise higher relatively to the deflecting wheels D. In
Figure 4 the details of arrangement of the discharging levers F, F, the chain
F, the transverse axis L, the guide arms f, f, and the guide wheels D are
shown in connection with the elevator E. At the upper extremity of the
curved guides M or M* there is a fixed transverse roller U, upon which the
bottom of the elevator rests when the guide wheels D reach that point in order
to prevent them from running back or downward in the ways K or K*, to
which movement they would otherwise be liable with the continued ascent of
the pivoted heel of the elevator. The roller U supports the elevator till the
guide wheels D run upon the upper guide V, upon which they will travel
upward until the hoisting gear can be conveniently reversed, after which the
guide wheels D will move freely downward in the same vertical guides by

page_text: which they ascended without jar or other disturbance of the motive power and
hoisting machinery. The arm W having a small roller on its end, shown in
Figure 2, is fixed to the frame A, and by catching the lower edge of the rim
at the top of the elevator may be made to answer the same purpose as the
roller U.
In Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 are represented this improved ore car H*
mounted as usual on a truck and tram wheels, at the ends of which are
the doors L*, L*, pivoted to hang at the upper corners c, c, the upper half of
the doors being made wider than the lower half, so that their sides will lie
against the ends of the car frame, while the lower half will fit inside of the
frame, the upper half above and the lower half of the doors below the notch a in
the sides of the car. This arrangement secures the doors against displacement
in any direction, and it is held in place by a latch d pivoted on the bottom of
the car in such manner that a blow or pressure against or beneath the forward
end of the trigger will not open it, and that it can be moved only by actual
contact of the inner end with the post e set in the track, as shown in Figure 10,
when the car reaches the discharging point to empty its load. When the
doors L*, L*, hang down in place, as described, the car is then adapted for
containing and transporting ore and other substances, but by this arrange-
ment of the doors to swing upon pivots they can be turned up and over to rest
on the top of the car, as shown in Figure 8, when the same car is at once
converted into an open end car for containing and transporting timber into
and out of the levels of a mine, thus obviating the necessity of employing
special timber cars and making one car capable of serving both purposes. The
form of the doors fitting in the ends of the car renders braces, cleats, or bars to
support the sides unnecessary.
In Figure 6 is represented an elevator arranged with open ends for
receiving an ore or coal car H* loaded, which can thus be raised to the
mouth of the mine and there discharged instead of discharging into a closed
elevator or bucket from the drift, as before described. The operation of the
elevator with the car enclosed will be in all respects the same in ascending and
discharging the contents as in the case of a bucket or elevator containing ore
or coal itself.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be pro-
tected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the elevator E with the discharging levers F, F, applied to the
bottom thereof, substantially as herein described.
Secondly, and in combination therewith, the guide wheels D, D, and

page_text: the curved guideways K, K, arranged and operating substantially as
described.
Thirdly, also the bail hook T for supporting the elevator when loading
and disengaging itself when the elevator ascends in combination with the
supporting chains S, S, and the elevator bale chain F¹, F', substantially as
described.
Fourthly, the fixed section J and the adjustable section J* for deflecting the
guide wheels D, D, into the ways K, K*, at different points of a shaft for
discharging the elevator, substantially as herein described.
Fifthly, the hinged schutes O, O*, in combination with the levers 0', 0³,
or either of them, as they are related, respectively operating substantially as
described.
Sixthly, the transverse stop roller U, or its equivalent, the hook W in com-
bination with the elevator E, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described.
Seventhly, a car constructed with end doors, having the upper part wider
than the lower part, fitting in and against the sides of the car, substantially as
and for the purposes herein described.
Eighthly, a car constructed with suspended end doors for converting
it into a timber car by folding upon the top, substantially as herein
described.
Ninthly, in combination with the car a trigger d provided with an inner
projection for tripping against the post e, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. (L.S.)