Improvements in Elevators.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 31st July, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 31st May, 1900-Accepted, 7th July, 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elevators.
EDWARD STAMFORD HOUGH, 2, Adelaide Road, Brockley, Kent, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an improvement in portable extension bucket elevators
especially applicable for use on ships or vessels loading or unloading bulk grain
or other granular matters, small coal and the like, and my improvements consist
generally in so arranging the parts of the elevator that I can employ belts of
rubber and canvas or other suitable material instead of the present objection-
able link chains for supporting the buckets, and I accomplish this as follows:
preferably I make the main trunk of the elevator in halves to reduce the lifting
weight the halves being secured when in position back to back and supported,
in the case of being used on board ship upon beams over the hatchway each half
containing a top and bottom drum or pulley over which runs the belt to which is
attached the necessary number of buckets for lifting the grain or other material
from the boots or lower ends of these main portions of the elevator, to the top
and discharging it in the ordinary way these main portions of the elevator being
coupled together form one piece which is lowered into the bulk of the grain
or other material by suitable gearing attached to the supporting beams until
having been lowered to its extreme limit it has elevated all the grain or other
material within its range, suitable provision is made in the formation of these
trunks of the elevator so that space is provided for clearing the parting boards
running fore and aft of the vessels hold, I also provide on the outer side of each
half of the main trunk a sliding carriage, having suitable raising and lowering
gear with provision in each carriage for slinging another elevator suspended in
suitable bearings and made upon the principle of the main trunk elevator viz.
with top and bottom drums or pulleys having a belt provided with the necessary
number of buckets all for feeding the main elevator either through suitable
openings in sliding shutters direct at any point into the main elevator buckets
or the grain or other material may be delivered from this suspended or auxiliary
elevator to the boot of main elevator through suitable shoots which I may form
in the elevator casing or seperately-according to the depth of grain or other
material to be worked I may add any number of these auxiliary elevators all
arranged to finally feed the main elevator so that I obtain the necessary exten-
sion or lengthening of the elevator and am enabled to work out the whole of
the grain or other material contained in the ship or vessel. I may drive the
main portion of the elevator by endless chain or shafting gearing or belting
from the engine or motor and I prefer to drive the suspended or auxiliary
elevators by endless rope or bands led over suitable guide pulleys and driven
from the shafts of the main elevator, but I may drive the auxiliary elevators by
any suitable shafts or gearing either from the main elevator or seperately.
Dated this 28th day of July 1899

page_text: I, EDWARD STAMFORD HOUGH, of 2, Adelaide Road, Brockley, in the County
of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in portable extension bucket elevators
especially applicable for use on ships or vessels loading or unloading bulk grain
or other granular matters, small coal and the like, and my improvements con-
sist generally in so arranging the parts of the elevator that I can employ belts
of rubber and canvas or other suitable material instead of the present objection-
able link chains for supporting the buckets, and I accomplish this advantage-
ously as follows, that is to say, I make the main trunk of the elevator in halves
to reduce the lifting weight, the halves being secured when in position back to
back and supported when used on board ship, upon beams over the hatchway;
cach half has a top and bottom drum or pulley over which runs the belt to
which is attached the necessary number of buckets for lifting the grain or other
material from the boots or lower ends of the clevator to the top and discharging
it in the ordinary way. The said main portions of the elevator are coupled
together to form one piece which is lowered into the bulk of the grain or other
material by suitable gearing attached to the supporting beams until, having
been lowered to its extreme limit, it has elevated all the grain or other material
within its range; the trunks of the elevator are so formed that space is provided
for clearing the parting boards running fore and aft of the vessel's hold. I
also provide on the outer side of each half of the main trunk a sliding carriage,
having suitable raising and lowering gear with provision in each carriage for
slinging another elevator suspended in suitable bearings and made upon the
principle of the main trunk elevator viz., with top and bottom drums or pulleys
having a belt provided with the necessary number of buckets all for feeding the
main elevator either through suitable openings in sliding shutters directly at
any point into the main elevator buckets or to the boot of the main elevator
through suitable shoots which I may form in the elevator casing or separately,
according to the depth of grain or other material to be worked. Any number of
these auxiliary elevators can be employed all arranged to finally feed the main
elevator so that I obtain the necessary extension or lengthening of the elevator
and am enabled to work out the whole of the grain or other material contained
in the ship or vessel. I may drive the main portion of the elevator by endless
chain or shafting, gearing or belting from the engine or motor and I prefer to
drive the suspended or auxiliary elevator by endless rope or bands led over suit-
able guide pulleys and driven from the shafts of the main elevator, although I
may drive them by any suitable shafts or gearing either from the main elevator
or separately.
In the accompanying drawing,—
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an elevator constructed according to
the invention; and
Figure 2 is a sectional end view thereof.
a a are the two halves forming the main trunk of the elevator, the said
halves being secured together back to back at the upper ends as clearly shewn
in Figure 1 and being supported, where the elevator is to be used for unloading
ship's hold, upon the beams b, lying over the hatchway c as shewn in the
drawing. d is the drum rotatably mounted in the upper part of each half a
a

page_text: of the elevator and d is the drum which is rotatably mounted at the lower end
or boot thereof. e is the belt of rubber, canvas or other suitable material which
runs over each pair of pulleys d, d', and e', e' are the buckets which are fixed
to the said belt e by suitable means, such as by rivets or bolts, the said buckets
being adapted in the usual manner to lift the grain or other material from the
boot or lower part of the elevator to the top thereof where they discharge their
contents through the shoot f on to the endless belt or carrier f which runs over
pulleys, the pulleys being mounted upon a spindle ft mounted in
bearings ffixed to one of the halves a of the elevator trunk and being driven
as hereinafter described.
As above mentioned the two halves a, a, when coupled together as shewn,
form a single trunk which is adapted to be lowered into the grain or other
material in the hold gradually as the said material is being unloaded and this
is effected by means of the handles g, g which are keyed upon the spindle g¹
mounted in standards A fixed to the beams b, band having worms 92 which
gear with worm wheels keyed upon spindles g mounted in bearings in the
standards A and carrying at either end a pinion ga gearing with racks go, g
fixed upon the two halves a, a of the elevator trunk. With this arrangement
it will be obvious that by turning the handles the elevator trunk can be raised
or lowered, the worms and worm wheels locking the trunk in any position to
which it may be adjusted.
It will be seen that the two halves of the trunk are made broader at their
upper ends so that when they are connected or coupled together at this part a
space is left between the two halves a, a at the lower part, this having for its
object to enable the said trunk when lowered into the hold of a ship for
example, to clear the parting boards running fore and aft of the said hold.
h, h are the two auxiliary elevators which are similar in construction to the
elevator halves a, a and which are mounted on the said halves. Each of these
elevators is slung at its upper end upon a shaft mounted in brackets h²
fixed to a slide i adapted to run on the outer sides of the two halves a, a of
the main trunk. Each of these slides is provided at its upper part with a
pulley over which runs a rope one end of which is secured at to the
top of the elevator a, the said rope then running down over the pulley and
up over a pulley also fixed to the upper end of the elevator a and thence
passing down and over a drum adapted to be operated by a worm wheel with
which gears a worm on a spindle mounted in bearings fixed upon the
beams and adapted to be turned by the handle 20. With this arrangement
by turning the said handle 10 the rope can be wound upon, or unwound from,
the drum so as to raise or lower the slide i and thus raise or lower the auxiliary
elevator has may be required.
As above mentioned the elevator h is similar in construction to the elevators a,
that is to say, it is provided with top and bottom pulleys or drums ³, h', over
which passes a belt 5 having buckets which raise the grain from the boot
or bottom of the elevator and discharge it through a shoot h, into the buckets e
of the main elevator a to which it is attached. To provide for closing the side
of the elevator a to which the sliding elevator h is attached whilst still leaving,
whatever the position to which the said sliding elevator h has been adjusted,
an opening through which the material raised by the said elevator h can be
discharged into the buckets e of the main elevator a, I provide a kind of sliding
shutter which is attached to the lower end of the slide 1, the said shutter
passing round a groove ¹ in the casing a and being secured at its other end
to one end of a rope which passes up and around guide pulleys ³, 13 mounted
in the casing a and is attached at its other end to the upper part of the slide i
so that it can move with the slide when the elevator is raised or lowered,
thereby always closing the sides of the said elevator whatever the position to
which the slide i may be adjusted.
The elevator belts and buckets are advantageously driven by the following

page_text: mechanism, that is to say, the shafts k upon which the upper drums d, d of
the main elevators a, a are mounted are each provided outside the elevator
casing with a spur wheel k¹ which gears with a pinion upon a shaft k³
mounted in suitable bearings in the elevator casing and having keyed upon the
part projecting from the other side of the casing a double pulley. In the two
grooves of this double pulley there run ropes 1, which thence pass downwards
around guide pulleys idly mounted in the slide i, thence around a double
grooved driving pulley 2 keyed upon a shaft 3 mounted in bearings in the
said slide, the said rope then passing down over guide pulleys idly mounted
in the slide i, thence down to the bottom of the elevator a, over guide pulleys 15
idly mounted on the lower end of the elevator a, thence over pulleys 16 idly
and adjustably mounted in a bracket secured to the beam b and thence over
a driving pulley m on a shaft m¹ mounted on one of the standards A and adapted
to be driven as hereinafter described, after which the said ropes pass over idle
pulleys 18 mounted in the standard A and thence back to the driving pulley.
With this arrangement it will be clear that the driving ropes admit of the
up and down movement of the elevator in the hold with respect to the fixed
driving pulley m, the ropes being always kept in tension.
To drive the pulleys m I advantageously. mount upon the shafts m¹ upon
which they are keyed, bevel wheels m² one of which gears with a bevel wheel m³
and the other with a bevel wheel m. The bevel wheel m is keyed upon a
shaft which is mounted in the standard A and in a bracket n bolted to the
beam b, the said shaft n being adapted to be driven by a pulley n² keyed upon
its outer end, by a belt from any suitable source of power. The other bevel
wheel m³ is mounted upon a spindle o supported in bearings in the bracket A
and being adapted to be driven by a bevel wheel o from the bevel wheel m² in
gear with the wheel m as clearly shewn in the drawings.
The belts of the elevators h, h are driven from the pulleys 2 the shafts 13
of which are provided outside the elevator casing and on the other side thereof
with pinions which gear with spur wheels p₁ mounted on the shafts which
carry the upper drums of the said elevators.
The carrier f is driven from the spindle by means of a chain 7 running
over a chain wheel q' upon the said spindle and a chain wheel q2 upon the
spindle f*.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
-
1. In portable elevators of the kind described, the arrangement of two halves
adapted to be secured together at their upper ends and having endless belts to
which the buckets are secured, the said elevator being mounted on fixed standards
and provided with means whereby it can be raised or lowered, substantially as
herein before described.
2. The combination with an elevator of the kind described in Claim 1, of
one or more auxiliary elevators slung upon slides which can be raised and
lowered upon the main elevator, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In portable elevators of the kind referred to, the means for driving the
elevator buckets substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
4. The improved portable elevator consisting of the parts combined, arranged
and operating substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawing.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.