IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Baines, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Architect, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 13th March 1857, and dated the 11th November 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Baines at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the 11th
November 1856.
I, HUGH BAINES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Architect,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHI-
NERY OR APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a novel method of stopping or retaining the
ascending or descending room, chamber, or box employed in "hoists" in
warehouses, mills, factories, &c., for conveying persons and goods from one
floor to another, in the event of the suspending rope breaking, or other
equivalent accident, which would cause the room or chamber to fall to the
bottom of the said shaft, thereby endangering life and property. The im-
provements consist in an arrangement of apparatus for effecting the above-
named object, which is constructed as follows:-Upon the ordinary shaft
carrying the winding drum or pulley at the top of the "hoist" are secured two
eccentrics, bearing upon which are fingers or levers in connection with vertical
rods (one being situated on each side of the shaft) extending from the top to the
Грем 22

page_text: bottom of the hoist," and upon which rods are secured a series of moveable
vibrating or swinging catches, at distances corresponding to the height of
the room or box employed. These catches are so arrangod, and caused to
vibrate (by means of the eccentrics and levers) in such a manner, that when
one set is vertical, to allow of the passage of the room, the next set below
will be horizontal, and so on alternately to the bottom of the shaft, thus
forming a stop or support for the room should the rope break, as each set of
catches or stops will assume a vortical position immediately before tho
ascending or descending chamber arrives opposite to them, and becoming
horizontal directly after the passage of the same. It will also be evident that
either this or a similar arrangement of mechanism is equally applicable to
mines or other like shafts for the prevention of calamitous results arising
from the breaking of the suspending or winding rope, chain, or band.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Hugh Baines in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th May 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Hucu
BAINES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Architect,
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of the
reign, did, for herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Hugh Baines, Her especial license that I, the said Hugh Baines,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Hugh Baines, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS TO BE APPLIED TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES," upon
the condition, amongst others, that 1, the said Hugh Baines, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what mauner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendur months next and immediately
after the date of the suid Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hugh Baines, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to a novel method of stopping or retaining the
ascending or descending room, chamber, or box employed in "hoists" in ware-
houses, mills, factories, pits, &c., for conveying persons and goods from one
floor or height to another, in the event of the rope breaking, or the occurrence
of any other equivalent accident, which would cause or allow the room or
chamber to fall to the bottom of the said shaft, thereby endangering life and
property. The improvements consist in an arrangement of apparatus for
effecting the above-named object, which is constructed as a follows:--Bearing
upon the suspensory rope at any convenient place are one or more eccentrixes
or pulleys, attached to a lever or levers in connection with vertical rods
extending from the top to the bottom of the "hoist" well, or pit. At convenient
distances in the said rods are placed slots, so arranged in connection with
moveable, vibrating, or swinging catches attached to the uprights of the
"hoist." These catches are so arranged that one end shall protrude through
the slots in the vertical rod in a slanting or oblique direction, so that the
other end shall allow of the passage of the room, chamber, or box, so long as
it does not become disconnected from the rope; if the rope breaks, the pulleys
or excentrixes as may be bearing upon the same will give way and cause the
vertical rods to drop by their own gravity, thereby bringing the slots in the
vertical rods to bear upon the catches or stops, causing them to assume a
horizontal position, so that they immediately come in contact with a rack upon
the sides of the box or chamber, thus forming a stop or support for the room,
box, or chamber. Also in connection with the said apparatus I employ a
novel form of catches, affixed to the top of the box and in connection with
the rope, so constructed, that when the rope becomes disconnected they shall
shoot out simultaneously with the catches upon the uprights of the hoist or
well) and fall into recesses or rackets placed along the uprights for their
reception. By the same means, as herein-before described, or any other
mechanical equivalent, I also catch the counterbalance weight if necessary.
In order that my Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings made upon a scale of
about one inch and a half to the foot, and having similar letters of reference
marked upon the corresponding parts of the mechanism in all the Figures.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improvements, shewing more particularly
the pulleys, rods, and catches in connection with the racks and catches for

page_text: sustaining the cage, box, or chamber in the event of the rope breaking;
also the reversing pullies, with my improved toothed strap forked bar, so
constructed, that when the engine or other moving power is at rest, the
cage, box, or chamber cannot possibly be reversed from the direction in
which it was moving when the engine stopped.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the reversing guide rod with my improve-
ments attached. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the counterbalance weight,
having my apparatus attached for catching or retaining the same when it
shall become disconnected from the box. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the
slot in the vertical rod with catch attached to the upright of the hoist.
In Fig. 1, a, a, is the cage, chamber, or box in which goods are conveyed,
sliding between the uprights of the hoist b, b; c is the pulley over which
the rope d, attached to the box and counterbalance weight, traverses; e, e,
are the rollers or pulleys bearing upon the rope d, attached to the axlo of
which is a leverf, having its fulcrum on the axle of the wheel or pulley c, and
its other end attached to the vertical rod g, thus keeping or holding up the
rod g so long as the rope remains entire, that is, unbroken or disconnected
from the box a; h, h, are levers or suugs, swinging, and attached upon the
uprights of the "hoist," kept in a slanting direction so long as the rod g is
suspended by the lever (through the medium of the rollers or pulleys c, c,
(bearing upon the suspensory rope), thereby keeping them clear of the
moveable rack i which is fixed upon the cage or box a. Immediately on the
suspensory rope becoming disconnected from the cage, box, or chamber these
catches orstops are brought into a horizontal position (by means of the rod g
being no longer suspeuded by the lever fand pulleys e, e,) and sustain or hold
the box a by catching into the rack i upon the box side and pressing the said
rack upwards, thereby forcing the wedge behind the legs or catches o, o,
pressing them forward into the rack p. Upon the uprights of the "hoist 'lis
a double rack on the bottom of the rod, 9.
and upon
which press two palls or
catches m, m, so that when the weight of the box is resting upon the snugs or
levers, the rack and catches m, m, keep and retain the rod g down,
causing the slots pressing upon the snugs or levers h to remain horizontal. So
long as the suspensory rope is disconnected the aforesaid apparatus acts in
unison with or without what follows. Upon the moveable rack i being forced
upwards, it comes in contact with the catches o, o; the feet of these catches
rest in a socket supplied with india-rubber, upon which they bed, so that when
they come in contact with the racks p, p, acting in conjunction with the afore-
said apparatus(in sustaining the box,) when the rope is broken or disconnected
prevents or eases the concussion which would otherwise take place. q is n

page_text: spiral spring attached to the tops of the lever catches o, o, for drawing
them inwards when the rope breaks, and forcing those put into the racks
p, p. s is a trigger with a catch lever attached, so that should the cage or
box, &c. be endangered by running into the top gearing, the lever will
come into contact with a bracket or projecting piece of metal fixed at a
suitable place near the top of the "hoist," and thus cause the disconnecting of
the suspensory rope and cage, when it will be instantly arrested by the afore-
said apparatus; uare the reversing ropes,traversing round the guide pulleysu³,
and attached to either end of the strap fork guide rod v, this rod having one or
more indentations in it, so that a lever v¹, one end of which fits into the in-
dentations of the guide rod v, and the other being attached to a roller x upon
the driving pulley w, so that when the engine is at rest the lever v' shall fall
into the indentation of the guide rod v, and prevent the reversing of the
cage; but upon the engine working, the roller x on the driving pulley shall
be driven up, thereby causing the lever v¹ to be removed from the indenta-
tion in the guide rod v, allowing the cage or chamber to be reversed at will.
In Fig. 3, al is a rod or lever, attached, and allowed to swing near its
bottom end to the counterbalance weight, and at the top is attached to the
suspensory rope. 61 is a spring fixed to the weight, and pressing against the
rod or lever a¹, so that when the weight becomes disconnected from the
box the catch c¹ at the foot of the lever or rod a' is forced into the rack or
other substance d' by the springs 61, thereby causing the counterbalance
weight to be sustained between the uprights of the hoist.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the most
practical and efficient mode (with which I am acq-ainted) of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I claim, the above described
novel combination and arrangement of mechanism as adapted and employed
in connection with "hoisting" or lifting machines, and as exhibited in the
Drawing attached to these Presents, or any slight modification or variation
of the same which shall retain the main features and character of my Inven-
tion, as herein described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Baines, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
HUGH BAINES. (L.S.)