CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS, APPLICABLE TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Baines, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Architect, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS, APPLICABLE
TO HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 4th May 1858, and dated the 7th November 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Baines at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th November 1857.
I, HUGH BAINES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Architect, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS, APPLICABLE TO
HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a novel method of stopping or instantly arresting
the descent of the box or chamber employed in "hoists" or other shafts, or,
if preferred, retarding the descent of the said chamber, and instantly reducing
the speed of descent to the rate of from 40 to 60 feet per minute, in the event
of the suspending rope or driving straps or bands breaking, slipping, or
becoming loose, or in case of any of the driving wheels becoming unkeyed, or

page_text: the teeth being broken, or from the engine allowing the suspending rope to un-
wind too quickly, or any other equivalent cause that would allow the chamber
to descend at a greater speed than from 40 to 60 feet per minute, or other
rate at which it may be required and thought safe to descend, and to which
the apparatus is calculated: The apparatus for stopping the descent of the
chamber consists in a rod or lever which is attached to the chamber, and is
connected to a rope or band which is wound upon a pulley upon the driving
shaft; when the box is descending too rapidly from any cause, this rope will
not unwind from the pulley at a quicker speed than usual, and consequently
the rod or lever will be lifted in such a manner as to cause it to project and
catch into the rack, woodwork, or other retaining medium provided for the
purpose, this will stop the descent of the box, and thus slacken the suspending
rope, which will bring other catches into contact with the rack, &c., and thus
effectually prevent the chamber from falling. When it is preferred to retard the
descent of the chamber and still allow it to descend gradually, I employ an
arrangement of friction rollers, cams, or excentrics, which, when the chamber
is descending at too great a speed, become forced outwards against the sides or
interior surface of the shaft or "well hole," thus allowing the box to descend at
a speed regulated by the friction between the rollers or cams and the sides of the
shaft. A further improvement extends to the reversing pulleys of the "hoist,"
consisting in an improved toothed strap fork, so constructed, that, when the
engine is not in motion, the box or chamber cannot be reversed from the
direction in which it was moving when the engine stopped; this is accom-
plished by means of a pair of "governor balls," suitably placed and connected
with the driving shaft of the engine, so that when the engine stops, the
falling of the "balls" will cause a rod or bar to "lock" or fasten the strap
fork.
And, lastly, my Invention relates to "hoists" employed upon railways for
raising and lowering wagons, &c., and consists in the employment of an india-
rubber or other spring, suitably 'encased beneath the box to force out a pro-
jecting rod or catch into the rack or woodwork of the sides of the "hoist,"
to stop the descent of the box, or chamber, or platform in the event of
accident. The whole of which improvements will be more fully illustrated.
and detailed in 'my Complete Specification to be hereafter filed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hugh Baines in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th May 1858.
:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUGH
BAINES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Architect, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Hugh Baines, Her especial licence 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS, APPLICABLE TO
HOISTING AND OTHER LIFTING MACHINES," upon the condition, (amongst others,).
that I, the said Hugh Baines, my executors, or administrators, by an instru-,
ment 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 imme
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that J, 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 following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
:
My Invention relates to a method or methods of stopping or arresting the.
descent of the box, chamber, platform, or table employed in "hoists" or other.
shafts, and of retarding the descent of the said "chamber," and reducing the
speed of descent (whatever that may be to the rate of from forty to sixty feet.
per minute, when it may be requisite or desirable to have recourse to those
methods; in the event of the suspending rope, or driving straps, or bands of
such hoists breaking, slipping, or becoming loose, or in case of any of the,
driving wheels becoming unkeyed, or the teeth being stripped or broken, or
the engine allowing the suspending rope, to unwind too quickly, or when from.
any other cause the chamber may descend at a greater speed than from forty

page_text: to sixty feet per minute, or other speed greater than that at which it may be
required or thought safe to permit it to descend, or according to which the
apparatus may be constructed or calculated to be used.
My said improvements consist, firstly, of a combination or arrangement of
apparatus or parts for stopping and arresting the cage or chamber in its down-
ward course, when the suspending rope, through accident or otherwise becomes
broken or loose; and such apparatus consists of rods, levers, catches, or cams,
springs, and other parts, arranged and connected with the top or any convenient
part of the box or chamber, so that upon the suspending rope breaking or
becoming slack, a spring is liberated, which, by its action, causes catches or
cams to act against one or more of the sides of the shaft, or against racks
placed against those sides in such a manner as to arrest or stop the box in its
descent.
My said improvements consist, secondly, in a combination or arrangement
of apparatus or parts for retarding the descent of the box or chamber of a
hoist, whenever it may in its descent have attained (by any means) a velocity
greater than is consistant with safety; and such apparatus consists of friction
rollers, connecting rods, catches or cams, levers, springs, and other parts acting
in conjunction with a governor; the apparatus being connected with the top
or any other part of the box or chamber which may be most convenient, and
arranged so that when the chamber is descending at too great a speed, catches
or cams may be forced against one or more of the sides of the shaft of the
hoist, or against racks, or other retarding surfaces placed upon those sides, and
with such force as may be necessary, by means of the friction of such catches
or cams against those surfaces, to retard and regulate the downward speed of
the chamber to the required extent.
And, lastly, my Invention relates to hoists employed upon railways for
raising and lowering wagons, &c., and consists in the application of india-
rubber or other springs, in conjunction with levers, connecting rods, and catches
placed underneath the table or platform, and so constructed and arranged that
when any one or more of the four suspending chains of the hoist breaks or
becomes disconnected, all the catches shall immediately be forced outwards
and catch into racks, or some other similar contrivances at the sides of the
hoist, so that the descent of the box, chamber, or platform shall be arrested at
its four sides simultaneously, in the event of any such accident, as above
mentioned.
In order that my Invention may be more clearly understood, I have here-
unto attached two Sheets of Drawings, having similar letters of reference
marked upon corresponding parts of the apparatus in all the Figures.

page_text: Figure 1, Sheet 1 is a top or bird's-eye view of the chamber of a hoist,
having apparatus attached thereto according to the first and second parts of
my Invention, and shewing a portion of the shaft in section.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the upper part of the chamber of a hoist, to
which the second part of my Invention has been applied, and also shewing
part of the shaft in section.
In these Figures a, a, is the top of the chamber or box of a hoist, some of
the parts attached to it being shewn in section; R and R¹ are parts of the
suspending ropes of the hoist attached to the india-rubber springs U and U¹;
so as to compress those springs when the weight of the box is thrown upon
the ropes. The ropes pass under the pullies T and T, and in Figure 1 the
two ropes are shewn as cut off; V and V₁, are two connecting rods attached by
pins to arms or levers fixed upon the shafts q and q', upon the shafts
9 and q are also fixed catches p and p', in such a position that when
the springs U and U¹ force out the rods V and V₁, the catches come
into contact with the sides of the shaft or racks placed against those sides.
And when the suspending ropes are broken, the springs are set free and act so
as to force out the rods V and V¹, and bring the catches against the sides of
the shaft and stop the further descent of the chamber. Upon the top of the
box shewn in Figures 1 and 2 is securely fixed a governor, the central shaft b
of which is mounted in a perpendicular position in a bracket c. The friction
roller d is caused to revolve by its periphery pressing against a guide e at one
side of the shaft during the descent of the chamber, and through the medium
of a strap or belt and the pulley and wheels f, f¹, and 9 the governor b is
caused to rotate; H is the slide of the governor, which lowers or raises the
forked end of the fork lever i. This fork lever has its fulcrum in the bracket
K, and its opposite end is bevelled at a, so as to allow the bevelled end of a
lever to rest upon it. The lever is connected at one end with a spring M,
which assists in drawing it down when the bevelled end of the lever i is
removed, and the other end of the lever is fixed to the cross lever n, the
whole moving upon the axle pin y. The lever n has attached to it two ends
the connecting rods or bars o and o¹; the opposite ends of these rods or bars
are connected with two levers p and p¹, fixed upon the shafts q and q', which
turn in bearings in the brackets S, S. Upon the shafts q and q' are fixed
cams or catches r and r, for acting against the sides of the shaft or some
retarding surfaces placed against those sides. Upon reference to the fore--
going description and Drawings it will be seen that when the governor 6 is
made to rotate by having motion communicated to it by means of bevel wheels
and a strap connected with the friction roller d, the slide h will rise and elevate

page_text: the forked end of the lever i, at the same time depressing the bevelled end of
that lever away from the bevelled end of the lever 1. The bevelled end of the
lever being thus set free the spring M acts upon it, so as to pull it down and
cause the cross lever n, fixed upon it by means of the connecting rods or bars
o and o¹, and levers p and p¹, to force the cams or catches r and r³, against the
guides or retarding surfaces e at the sides of the shaft, and so retard the descent
of the box or chamber. The strength of the spring M and the amount of
leverage employed may be regulated according to the extent to which the cam
or rubbing surfaces and may be intended to be capable of retarding the
descent of the box or chamber. Upon reference to the friction roller d, it will
be seen that another smaller roller d is placed above. it, and supported by a
radial 'rod e¹, having a knuckle joint in the framing f" for sustaining the two
rollers. The framing f" is allowed to swivel in the bracket v, the framing f¹
also being supplied with a spring for making the friction more intense between
the friction rollers and uprights or sides of the shaft. When the cham-
ber or box a is ascending, the small roller d' is brought into action in lieu
of the large roller d, and this is caused by the depression of the radial
arm when the roller d acts against the side of the shaft. When
this radial arm is thus depressed, the small roller d' is slightly projected
beyond the larger roller, and the small brake w is brought into contact
with the periphery of the larger roller d, which is thus thrown out of action,
thereby causing the governor to become stationary and ready for action
when the box again begins to descend; and as soon as the chamber a begins
to descend, the radial arm,e¹.will be elevated and the smaller roller d¹ will cease
to press against the side of the shaft. The large roller d will then be again
brought into action by its periphery coming into contact with the side of the
shaft, and it will thus cause the governor 6 to come again into action.
This description of apparatus may be applied to the boxes or chambers of
hoists working in. any description of vertical shaft.
Figure 3, Sheet 2,; is a front elevation of a railway hoist made according to
my Invention; Figure 4, is a plan or top view of the platform of such a hoist,
shewing some of the other parts in dotted lines; Figure. 5 is a side elevation
of the same platform or table; Figures 6 and 7 are detailed views of some of
the parts.
In Figures 3, 4, and 5, a, a, is the platform or table, having attached
underneath the levers b, b. The outer ends of these levers are attached under
the platform by joints, (see Figure 4), a little beyond the springs n, the
opposite or inner ends meeting, or nearly so, underneath the platform a at its
centre, as-shewn in Figures 5 and 6, so as to be in a position to act upon the

page_text: centre piece which connects the levers 1, 61, together, the suspending chains
C, C, are connected with rods d, d, passing down through the framing of the
platform and through india-rubber or other springs n', which are compressed
by the weight of the platform.
Each of the springs n¹ is placed immediately above a portion of one of the
levers b, so that, upon a suspending chain breaking, the india-rubber or other
spring will start out and press down the lever 6 below it; underneath the
levers b, b, I place another séries of levers 61, 61, the inner ends of which are
jointed together by a joint piece at e (as shewn in Figures 5 and 7) imme-
diately under the place where the inner ends of the levers b, b, meet together,
so that the depression of any one of the levers b, b, will cause-its inner end to
press on the joint piece e, and depress the inner ends of all the levers. b', 6'.
The levers b', 6', have their fulcra at 62, 62, and the outer ends of the levers are
attached by joints 63, 63, to the perpendicular rods f, f. Each of these
perpendicular rods has a bevel or incline at its upper end, so as to be capable,
when elevated, of pressing against bevels or inclines at the back of the catch g,
which is fixed securely to a bracket h under the framing of the platform by a
joint at its lower end.. K is a rack secured to the sides of the uprights, and
m are the eyes of the rods or bolts to which the suspending chains c, c, are
attached.
When any of these suspending chains happens to break or becomes discon-
nected or loose from any cause, the spring beneath will be released and will
press down the lever 6 below it, and cause its inner end to press down the
centre joint piece e, and at the same time depress the inner ends of the levers
, . The outer end of the levers 61, 61, will by these means be elevated,
pressing up the bolts f. f, and thereby causing the inclines at the upper ends
of the rods or bolts f, f, to act against the inclines at the tops of the catches
9, g, so as to force forward the catches into the racks K, and so arrest the
descent of the platform or table at all its sides simultaneously, and hold it
firmly in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of my said
Invention, and also the manner of performing the same, I wish it to be
understood that I do not claim any of the parts composing any of the com-
binations or arrangements of which my Invention is composed, as being
separately and apart from such combinations or arrangements respectively any
part of my Invention. But what I do claim as of my said Invention consists,―
First, of the combination or arrangement of apparatus or parts for stopping
or preventing the descent of the chamber or box of a hoist in cases of accident
as herein-before described.

page_text: Secondly, the combination or arrangement of apparatus or parts for re-
tarding or regulating the descent of the chamber or box of a hoist by means of
a regulator and convenient apparatus connected therewith, as herein-before
described.
t
Thirdly, the combination or arrangement of apparatus or parts constituting
the improvement or improvements in railway hoists herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Baines, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Signed in the presence of
EDW J. B. JELLICORSE,
Solicitor,
52, Brown Street, Manchester.
HUGH BAINES. (L.S.)