Improvements in Hoists or Lifts.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Aug.,
1899
Complete Specification Left, 11th Apr., 1900-Accepted, 18th June, 1900
Improvements in Hoists or Lifts.
We, WILLIAM THOMAS EADES, of 142, Walford Road, Sparkbrook, in the City
of Birmingham, Engineer, and EDMUND ALLDAY, of Fulford Hall, Hockley Heath,
near Birmingham aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this in-
vention to be as follows: -
-
This invention relates to hoists or lifts, principally for use in warehouses and
the like, and has for its object, a hoist having two-speed lifting gear with
automatic lowering.
In a hoist or lift constructed according to this invention, one end of a rotatory
shaft is arranged to work in a suitable bearing and has made fast to it, a hand
wheel operated either by a rope or chain, whilst the other end of the shaft is
fitted with a brake wheel drum, whose periphery normally has a bearing upon
the inside of a band sling or equivalent support suitably suspended at its ends
from hangers or the like. This end of the shaft, and the whole of the parts of
the hoist carried by it, are capable of being bodily lifted, so as to take the
periphery of the drum out of contact with the braking band, by means of a long.
lever, which, when depressed, picks up the said shaft and leaves it free to run
down for lowering. Loosely mounted upon the part of the shaft coming between
the hand wheel and the brake drum is a small load wheel or slow speed pulley.
for heavy weight lifting, having made fast to it, a ratchet wheel whose teeth
are engaged by a pawl on the brake drum, for the purpose of permitting the
rotation of the pulley in one direction whilst holding it against rotation in the
other direction. Also loosely mounted upon the said shaft, and between the slow.
speed pulley and the hand wheel, is another and larger pulley, or high-speed
load wheel for quickly raising light loads, which also is provided with a ratchet
wheel whose teeth rake in the opposite direction to those of the low speed pulley,
and are engaged in like manner by another pawl carried on the framing, but
fitted so as to rotate with, but be free to slide upon, the said shaft is a clutch
device, which is made to engage with one or other of the load pulleys and.
operatively connect it with the hand wheel.
Thus the said hand wheel, when rotated in one direction, actuates the clutch
by a screw or other action and throws in gear, say, the low speed pulley which
then rotates with the shaft and lifts a heavy weight through the medium of an
endless chain, the other and high speed pulley being meantime held stationary
by its ratchet and pawl. The endless chain passes over both the load pulleys and
one of the loops runs through the suspended and hooked sheave of the tackle.
Assuming that a light load is required to be rapidly lifted, the hand wheel.is
rotated in the opposite direction and the clutch is disengaged from the small
load wheel, which is now held stationary by its pawl, and made to engage with
the larger lifting wheel for operatively connecting to the shaft.
The clutch may be worked by a helix on the shaft engaging with a screw box
in the clutch sleeve, or other equivalent means.
For lowering, the lever provided for the purpose is operated so as to lift the
brake drum on the hoisting shaft more or less out of contact with the band
surrounding it, when the running down takes place automatically and at the
desired speed, whilst at other times, the brake acts as a load sustainer.

page_text: Instead of the hand wheel being made fast to the shaft, it may be loose thereon
but secured to the clutch.
Dated this 26th day of August 1899.
WILLIAM THOMAS EADES.
EDMUND ALLDAY.
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicants.
Improvements in Hoists or Lifts.
We, WILLIAM THOMAS EADES, of 142, Walford Road, Sparkbrook, in the City
of Birmingham, Engineer, and EDMUND ALLDAY, of Fulford Hall, Hockley Heath,
near Birmingham aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to hoists or lifts, principally for use in warehouses and
the like, and has for its object, to construct a lift or hoist adapted to raise
various loads at different speeds and provided with automatic lowering gear and
also with an automatic brake by which the hoist is made to efficiently sustain
its load at all speeds of lifting.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a perspective view of a
self-sustaining warehouse hoist designed for lifting varied loads and having an
automatic brake in accordance with one form of my invention. This apparatus
is designed to lift at three different speeds, or two speeds beyond the ordinary
speed according to the weight of the load to be raised, viz., a slow speed for heavy
loads, an intermediate speed (about four times faster than the slow speed) for
raising moderate loads and a high speed for dealing with light loads, which are
lifted at a rate about eight times faster than is obtained with the slow speed gear,
Figure 2 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a side elevation of the said
three-speed hoist, showing the arrangement of the brake, the automatic means
for sustaining the load, and the means for disengaging the brake to permit of
automatic running down or lowering.
Figure 3 represents an end elevation of the said hoist, and
Figure 4 represents a transverse vertical section of the same upon the dotted
lines, Figure 2.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the said
Figures 1 to 4.
According to this form of the invention, the axle or shaft a, of the hoist or
lift is supported at one end a¹ in an open-topped bearing b¹, carried by the fixed
framing b, of the hoist, whilst the other end a³, has mounted loosely upon it, a
brake wheel c, having a central boss c¹, whose sleeved extension ³, lies within an
open-topped bearing 63, located on the opposite side of the fixed framing and con-
stituting the second support for the said axle, which is capable of rotating in
either direction.
"The periphery of the brake drum, normally has a bearing upon the inside of a
friction brake band or sling d, suspended at its ends from hanger brackets d',
secured to the side framings, whilst this end a of the shaft, and the whole of
the parts of the hoist carried by it, are capable of being bodily lifted, so as to
take the periphery of the wheel out of contact with the braking band, by means
of a long lever e, pivoted at el, to a separate bracket, on the side framing,
with its short arm coming underneath the extending end part as of the said
shaft whilst the longer arm is provided with a pull cord . Loosely mounted

page_text: upon a part of the shaft, immediately inwards of the brake drum is a small load
wheel or slow speed pulley f, for heavy weight lifting, having arranged in con-
junction with it, a friction clutch g, of the roiler or other type, located within the
recessed boss of the brake wheel and adapted to act in such a manner as to permit
of the rotation of the said pulley in one direction (for lifting) but to render it
incapable of rotation independent of the said brake wheel in the other direction,
so that when the pulley is clutched to the brake wheel, no running down of the
load being lifted by the slow speed pulley can occur.
Also loosely mounted upon the said shaft but adjacent to the bearing b¹, is
another and larger pulley, or intermediate-speed load wheel h, for quickly raising
moderate loads, provided with an integral or attached ratchet wheel i, whose teeth
are engaged by a pawl carried on the framing, and acting in such a manner
as will permit of its pulley rotating for lifting in an opposite direction to that in
which the smaller pulley turns for lifting, but will prevent it running down in
the other direction by coupling it to the frame of the hoist.
Either the one or the other of these lifting pulleys, which are confined against
outward movement by stop collars f, h, keyed upon the shaft, are actuated by
means of a hand wheel j, operated by an endless rope or chain j¹, and traversed
along the shaft, so as to come into operative frictional contact with the opposed
face of either pulley, by means of a screw or helix a on the said shaft, and a
screw box, formed in the boss of the said hand wheel, which is rotated and
traversed either to the right or to the left, according to which pulley is to be
thrown into gear.
An endless chain k, passes over both the load pulleys, with one of the loops k¹,
thereof directed round the sheave of the hooked block .
OPERATION.
Assuming that a moderate load is required to be lifted at the intermediate
speed, the endless rope passing round the hand wheel is pulled at the side
marked A in Figures 1 and 2 and the said hand wheel is thereby rotated in the
direction indicated by the full arrow in Figure 2, and is at the same time made
to traverse from right to left along its shart through the medium of the helix a
and screw box ja, and thus the said hand wheel and the pulley are clutched
together by the friction exerted between their opposed faces and are made to
rotate in unison for raising the load, the said load being meanwhile sustained and
the running back of the said pulley, being prevented by the pawl i, engaging
one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel i, whilst the turning backwards of the slow-
speed pulley f is at the same time prevented by the pull exerted by the weight
of the load upon the side of the chain marked o, in Figure 1, actuating the
clutch g, by which the said pulley f, is coupled to the brake wheel. Then as the
rotation of the hand wheel and pulley h, in the aforesaid direction proceeds, the
load is lifted by the chain passing over the said pulley, at a speed four times
faster than would be obtained by the small pulley, or at any other desired speed
according to the diameter of the pulley over which the chain passes.
Assuming now that the hoist is required to lift a heavy weight at a slow speed,
the endless rope is pulled at the side marked B in Figure 2, so as to rotate the
hand wheel in the reverse direction, as indicated by the dotted arrow, when the
hand wheel is disconnected from the large load pulley and traversed, by the screw
on the shaft, from left to right along the said shaft into operative connection with
the small load pulley f, which is thereby liberated from the brake drum and
rotated with the hand wheel for lifting the load, which is sustained during the
hoisting operation by the clutch g, preventing the running back of the small
load pulley, and by the pawl and ratchet wheel holding the large load wheel
stationary in opposition to the pull exerted upon it by the load and chain.
The lifting of very light loads at the highest speed is effected by pulling the
endless chain k, at the side marked C, in Figure 2, when the load is lifted at a
speed proportionate to the diameter of the large load wheel, which acts as a simple

page_text: pulley, the running back of the load being prevented, as before, by the clutch g
and brake wheel, and the pawl, and ratchet i.
To permit of the running down of the load, the endless rope is pulled at B,
if necessary, to disengage the hand wheel from the small load-pulley, and then
the brake release cord, is pulled down, when the lever e, is turned and its short
arm lifts the adjacent end of the axle out of its bearing and takes the periphery
of the brake wheel more or less out of contact with the brake-band, when the
brake wheel and pulley rotate together around the axle and the load is run down,
but is kept under control and the speed of running down is regulated by the
attendant releasing the brake corde, when necessary, and allowing the brake
to act. The large pulley is kept stationary during the descent of the load by
the pawl and ratchet arrangement.
It is to be understood that instead of employing a friction clutch of the roller
type, such as g, for preventing independent movement between the loadpulley
and the brake wheel in one direction but permitting of the rotation of the said
load wheel in the other direction, we may employ any mechanical equivalent thereof
such as a pawl and ratchet arrangement, and also that various other means than
that of a screw and screw box may be employed for connecting and disconnecting
the hand wheel to or from either one or the other of the load-pulleys. It is also
obvious that the hand wheel may be made fast to the shaft, in which case, sliding
clutches operated by a screw or helices in connection with the hand wheel, are
provided from throwing it into and out of gear with the pulleys. Thus internally
wormed clutching sleeves, constrained to have only a sliding movement on the
shaft, are mounted upon and traversed by externally wormed bosses on the
hand wheel.
In some instances, instead of obtaining the varying lifting speeds (according
to the weights to be raised) by the employment of load-pulleys of different
diameters as in the last described arrangement, the same result may be obtained
by differential toothed gearing.
Figure 5 represents a side elevation of a two-speed hoist, constructed according
to this arrangement, which is designed for dealing with heavier loads than the
apparatus represented in Figures 1 to 4.
Figure 6 shows a topside plan of Figure 5.
In this arrangement, is the main shaft, mounted in open-topped bearings b¹.
carried by the fixed frame b; c is the brake wheel loose upon said shaft and d
is the suspended band-brake on which the said wheel e normally rests whilst e
is the brake-release lever operated by the pull . f and h are respectively the
high and low speed load-pulleys, loosely mounted upon the said shaft, with the
one being connected to the brake wheel by a cluteh such as g, and the other to
the fixed frame of the hoist by a ratchet-wheel and pawl it, which said clutch and
ratchet devices constitute the load-sustainers or means for preventing the running
back of the load-pulley when a weight is being lifted. Each load-pulley has
made fast to it, a toothed wheel, marked respectively f, h2, with the former,
which is of smaller diameter, gearing with a toothed wheel f¹ of similar size,
loosely mounted upon a hand wheel shaft m, turning in bearings m³, carried on
the fixed frame and having the hand wheel j, made fast to one end, whilst the
larger toothed wheels, on the high-speed pulley is in gear within a small wheel
or pinion h¹, also loose upon the hand wheel shaft. Either one or other of these
loose wheels 1 h, is operatively connected to the shaft by means of a clutch
sleeve, traverse in either one direction or the other (according as to whether the
hand wheel is rotated to the right or to the left) by means of a helix or screw-
thread on fhe said shaft, this said clutch being made positive in its action by
means of a suspended counterpoise j*.
Thus, assuming that a light load is to be raised, the hand wheel and its shaft
are rotated, by means of the endless rope, in such a direction as will compel the
clutch sleeve to impinge against the inner face of the wheel and connect it to
the said shaft by clamping it between the end of the said sleeve and a stop

page_text: collar m², keyed to the shaft, whose motion is communicated at about the same
rate to the load pulley f, through the medium of the toothed wheels f¹, f, and the
load is raised at the high speed, running back being prevented by the load sus-
taining devices previously described. On the other hand, assuming the load to
be raised is a heavy one, the hand wheel is rotated in the reverse direction, the
wheel his clutched to the shaft and the low speed load-pulley h, is rotated
through the toothed wheel h³.
The lowering, or running down of the load, is performed automatically by
lifting the brake wheel out of frictional contact with the band by means of the
release lever e.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
-
First In a load-sustaining hoist or lift for raising various weights at different
speeds; locating between a pair of loosely-mounted load pulleys of varying
diameters, a hand wheel, adapted to clutch or be clutched to either one or
other of the said load pulleys, according to the one which is to be turned for
lifting, substantially as herein described and also as set forth in the accompanying
drawings.
:
Secondly In a load-sustaining hoist or lift for raising various weights at
different speeds, connecting a load pulley by means of a friction clutch or
equivalent device to a brake wheel normally resting upon a friction band or
braking expedient, with the releasing of the said brake to permit the running
down of the load being effected by lifting the said brake wheel out of contact
with the braking expedient, substantially as herein described, and also as set
forth in the accompanying drawings.
Thirdly load-sustaining hoist
:
or lift for raising various weights at
different speeds, comprising a pair of load pulleys of varying diameters, loosely
mounted on a shaft carrying a hand wheel, adapted to be rotated in one direction
or the other and be clutched directly or indirectly to either one or other of
the said load pulleys for raising the load, with one of the said pulleys being con-
nected by means of a friction clutch or its equivalent to a brake wheel normally
resting upon a braking expedient, the release of the said pulley for running
down being effected by lifting the brake wheel out of contact with the said brak-
ing expedient, whilst the running down of the second pulley is prevented by
a pawl and ratchet wheel or equivalent arrangement, substantially as herein
described and also as set forth in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Fourthly In a load sustaining hoist or lift of the kind referred to in the
preceeding claims: locating the brake wheel upon a shaft carried on one or both
ends in open-topped or equivalent bearings, in order to admit of one end of the
shaft being raised by a lever for freeing the brake wheel from the braking ex-
pedient, substantially as herein described and also as set forth in the accompany-
ing drawings.
Fifthly: The modified form of two-speed load sustaining hoist or lift, in which
toothed gearing is employed for obtaining varying rates of lifting speed in load
wheels of a like diameter, substantially as herein described, and also as set forth
in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of April 1900.
WILLIAM THOMAS EADES,
EDMUND ALLDAY,
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham.
Agent for Applicants.