Improvements in or relating to Hoists or Elevators.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Nov., 1892-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Hoists or Elevators.
We THOMAS DAWSON of 137 Eskrick Street, Brownlow Fold, Bolton in the
County of Lancaster, Foreman Joiner, and WILLIAM HAYNES of St. Stephen's
Works, William Street, Salford in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of our said invention to be as follows:-
This invention refers to improvements in or relating to hoists or elevators
employed in mills, warehouses, and other buildings and has for its object that of
providing automatic means whereby accidents arising from persons falling down
the hoist well or otherwise through the removal of the cage are entirely obviated.
It is well known that serious accidents often occur through the cage being
removed from the doorway or entrance to a room or floor by some other person
requiring the same at a higher or lower point, which can be performed without
warning or closing the ordinary doors, consequently if the person last using the
same does not look particularly or is in a hurry to regain the cage may walk back
into the hoist well without perceiving that the cage has been removed, thereby
resulting in injury or loss of life.
Our invention is intended to remedy this defect by automatic mechanical means,
by which the hoist cage cannot be removed from the doorway or entrance to each
room until the door has been closed and locked.
An important feature is that the hoist cannot be set in motion unless all the
doors connected with the hoist well are closed and locked, thereby removing the
possibility of any one being struck with the cage when ascending or descending.
This invention we carry out in the following manner :-On the outside of the hoist-
well and in close proximity to each door handle we mount a fixing in which is
located a sliding rack or its equivalent. This rack or its equivalent is attached to
the chain or its equivalent employed for stopping and starting the hoist. To the
fixing is pivoted a catch, one end of which gears with the rack by the aid of a
and
spring and locks the starting chain or its equivalent as long as the door is
open,
by which it is impossible to operate the same from any other landing. When the
door is closed and locked by swivelling the handle the projecting end of the inner
handle operates on the inner end of the pivoted catch and releases the other end
from the aforesaid rack or its equivalent which allows of the chain or its equivalent
being operated to start the hoist. To ensure of the door of each landing being
locked when the cage moves therefrom we provide a pivoted lever mounted in a
fixing on the inside of the hoist well. The upper end of this pivoted lever is
provided with a lip or projection which slips under the end of the inner handle and
locks the same, being held thereto by a spring. The other end of this pivoted
lever is provided with a bowl or roller or other equivalents to allow of the same
being operated by an incline on the side of the cage to unlock the door handle
immediately it arrives in position opposite each door entrance of the hoist-well.
A bell or index may be employed in connection with each door to denote the
position of the cage in the hoist well.
Dated the 24th February 1892.
EDMUND CHADWICK,
Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Hoists or Elevators.
We THOMAS DAWSON of 137 Eskrick Street, Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Foreman, and WILLIAM HAYNES of St. Stephen's Works, William
Street, Salford in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what mauner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our said invention relates to improvements in hoists or elevators whereby the
mechanism used for raising or lowering the hoist cage is automatically locked or
rendered inoperative when any door giving access to the well of the hoist is opened
and remains in this state until all the doors are closed, and also to means for
preventing a door being opened unless the cage is opposite thereto.
In order that our said invention may be more clearly understood we will describe
the same with reference to the accompanying drawings in all the figures of which
the same letters refer to the same parts or to parts having corresponding functions.
Figure 1 is an elevation.
Figure 2 is a vertical section.
Figures 3 and 34 are sectional plans.
In these figures a represents the door giving access to the hoist well shown in
Figure 1 as seen from the inside thereof. is the floor of the hoist cage which is
raised or lowered in the usual manner as for example by shifting a belt from one
pulley to another over an intervening loose pulley on which the belt runs when the
hoist is stationary. d d are vertical rods working parallel to each other and
extending through all the floors served by the hoist and are connected with the
belt shifting gear. By lifting or depressing these rods when all the doors are closed
the cage is caused to ascend descend or remain stationary as required.
According to our said invention we cause the rods d d¹ to become automatically
locked when a door is opened so that they can be neither lifted nor depressed. We
also provide means for preventing the opening of any door leading to the hoist well
unless the hoist cage is stationary and opposite to the particular door it is desired
to open.
In the casing e secured in the wall is a horizontal lever pivoted on the
bolt and so shaped at the outer end 2 as to engage with notches holes teeth or
other equivalent devices in the outer rod d. Springs f³ are provided to cause the
outer end to bear against the vertical rod d. is a swing bar secured to the
bolt or pin 2 working in a bearing in the door and operated either from the inside
of the hoist well by the handle g¹ or from the outside by the handle g³ also secured
to the bolt g². When the swing bar g is in the position shown in Figure 4 (and in
full lines in Figure 1) the door a which opens outwardly from the hoist cannot be
opened. When the swing bar is however turned by either of the handles g¹ or g³
into the position shown in Figure 3 (and in dotted lines in Figure 1) the door may
be opened. When the door is fastened by turning the swing bar g into the position
shown in Figures 1 and 4 the swing bar g bears against the inner end of the
lever and overcoming the force of the springs 3 disengages the end f² from the
bar d which is thus released and the hoist may be started. On the door being
unfastened by putting the bar in the position shown in Figure 3 (and in dotted
lines in Figure 1) the resilience of the springs f³ causes the end 2 to engage with
the bar d when the starting gear is rendered inoperative. Attached to the inner
rod d by means of set screws ' are adjustable hooks or catches which take into a
hole in the inner end of the horizontal lever when the door is closed and the
hoist is started by lifting or depressing the rod d. While one or other of the
hooks his in the hole in the end of the lever f the latter cannot turn on its pivot
and hence the swing bar is prevented from turning to enable the door to be
opened. When the hooks are clear of f* as occurs when the rod d' occupies its
intermediate position and the hoist is at rest the rounded nose of the swing bar g

page_text: pushes away the end 4 by overcoming the resilience of the spring ƒ³ when the bar
is swung into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
Similar devices to those described are applied to each door giving access to the
hoist and the rods d d¹ are made continuous through the entire depth of the
building. By this means the opening of any one door suffices to prevent the cage
being set in motion until that door closed and barred but with the mechanism
thus far described it would be possible to open any door while the hoist is at rest
and accidents might be caused by a door being opened and left open so as to allow
a person to fall into the hoist well. The object therefore of the next part of our
said invention is to prevent any one of the doors giving access to the hoist well
being opened unless the cage is at rest and directly opposite the door it is desired
to open. To each door is applied a swinging tumbler k freely pivoted at to the
jamb of the door and so shaped that in its normal position it hangs in the position
indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2 and forms an obstacle or block which
prevents the swinging bar g from being turned downwards. On the floor of the
cage is an incline or cam block k² which as the cage is ascending or descending
meets the lower projecting end of the tumbler k and pushing it into the position
shown by full lines in Figure 2 removes the upper end from under the swinging
bar g. The latter can then be turned downwards and the door be opened.
We have herein before described our invention as applied to a swinging door only
but by varying the shape of the handle g' as shown in Figure 5 and causing it to
take into catches or hooks m it may be applied to folding doors.
In the case of sliding doors projections n may be formed on the handle g¹ to take
into corresponding sockets in the sliding doors.
Our said invention may obviously be modified in various ways to suit particular
applications without departing from its essential features. For instance in lieu of
continuous rigid rods d d' short rods may be used opposite to each door and
connected together by chains or other similar means. The shapes of the bars and
parts which engage with each other may also be modified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is-
1. The herein before described combinations of devices for automatically locking
one or more doors giving access to a hoist well and for preventing the opening of
any of the said doors except the one to which the hoist cage is opposite substan-
tially as set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a hoist the combination of the rods d d the horizontal lever f engaging
therewith the swinging bar g the tumbler k and the cam k² substantially as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described and shown.
3. In a hoist the combination of the rods d d' the horizontal lever f engaging
therewith, and the swinging bar g substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and shown.
Deted this gond day of Nazombor 1902
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicants.