Improved Appliance for Holding or Supporting Cages or Buckets in Position above the Shafts of Mines, Hoists, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 21st Aug., 1891-Accepted, 17th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Appliance for Holding or Supporting Cages or Buckets in
Position above the Shafts of Mines, Hoists, and the like.
I, GUSTAV OEHME, of 33 Ludenberg, Gerresheim, District of Düsseldorf,
Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In mines and other localitics where cages or buckets have to be raised and
lowered in shafts, the said cages or buckets are supported on the framing above the
shaft by moveable parts such as dogs or catches, which have to be turned to one
side before the cage can enter the shaft. In order to permit of such turning of the
supports, the cage has to be lifted off the same, and this lifting requires an expen-
diture of time and power and puts a prejudicial strain upon the hauling rope or
chain, as it is thereby subject to a sudden jerk in bringing it from the slack to the
taut condition.
My present invention has for its object to do away entirely with the necessity for
the said raising of the cage or bucket before the lowering operation, and at the
same time to reduce the wear and tear of the parts of the supports and the cage that
come in contact to a minimum.
For this purpose the supports and the parts of the cage that are in contact there-
with are so arranged that, both when at rest and when the supports are being
removed from beneath the cage, the parts in contact shall always be constituted as
fixed inclines. In practically carrying out this arrangement I provide, on opposite
sides of the framing, brackets capable of sliding in and out upon horizontal 'base-
plates, which brackets have an inclined bearing surface upon which rests a corre-
sponding inclined bearing surface on the cage or bucket.
a
The said brackets have an inclined slot into which takes a pin on a short lever-
arm the axis of which carries a hand lever for turning the short arm through
certain angle. In the one position of this lever arm its pin holds the bracket in the
forward position for supporting the cage on its inclined surface as described, while
when the hand lever is moved over into a backward position, the pin of the short arm,
in moving in the slot of the bracket, allows this to be pushed backward on the base
plate by the wedging action of the inclined bearing surface of the cage, pressing
with the weight of the latter upon the bearing surface of the bracket, and the
brackets being thus moved back at a speed controlled by the hand lever, the down-
ward motion of the cage into the shaft is thus permitted to commence in a very
gradual manner, without any sudden strain on any of the parts.
The brackets have other horizontal slots that embrace the axis of the lever,
which is carried in bearings on the base plate, and the brackets are free to turn in
an upward direction upon such axes as upon a hinge joint, for which purpose the
before mentioned inclined slot has a downward extension curved with a radius
having the said axis as a centre, so that when the bracket turns upward, the said
curved part of the slot will be able to slide over the pin of the short lever-arm.
Thus if, after the cage has passed the brackets on its descent, these are at once
slid forward again by the hand lever, then on the ascent of the cage this will turn
the brackets upward on their centres so as to clear the cage, until the cage has
risen sufficiently high to allow the brackets to turn down again by gravity and
to resume their normal position, presenting their inclined bearing surfaces to those
of the cage.
Both sets of brackets on each side of the shaft can be worked by means of one
and the same hand lever, by providing a continuous axis carrying all the lever arms

page_text: on one side of the shaft and connecting the hand lever on the one side by a rod to
a corresponding lever on the axis of the brackets on the other side.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1891.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Appliance for Holding or Supporting Cages or Buckets in
Position above the Shafts of Mines, Hoists, and the like.
I, GUSTAV OEHME, of 33 Ludenberg, Gerresheim, District of Dusseldorf,
Germany, 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 :—
In mines and other localities where cages or buckets have to he raised and
lowered in shafts, the said cages or buckets are supported on the framing above the
shaft by moveable parts such as dogs or catches, which have to be turned to one
side before the cage can enter the shaft. In order to permit of such turning of the
supports, the cage has to be lifted off the same, and this lifting requires an expen-
diture of time and power and puts a prejudicial strain upon the hauling rope or
chain, as it is thereby subject to a sudden jerk in bringing it from the slack to the
taut condition.
My present invention has for its object to do away entirely with the necessity
for the said raising of the cage or bucket before the lowering operation, and at the
same time to reduce the wear and tear of the parts of the supports and the cage that
come in contact, to a minimum.
For this purpose the supports and the parts of the cage that are in contact
therewith are so arranged that, both when at rest and when the supports are being
removed from beneath the cage, the parts in contact shall always be constituted as
surfaces of equal inclination which fit together and slide upon each other like
wedges.
The accompanying drawing shews by way of example one arrangement for
carrying my invention into effect.
Figure 1 shews a part vertical section of the cage and its supports in the position
of rest.
Figure 2 the same with the supports withdrawn for allowing the cage to
descend.
Figure 3 shews the position of the supports on the ascent of the cage past them.
Figure 4 shows a cross section through one of the supports, and
Figure 5 shews a plan of the apparatus to a smaller scale.
The moveable supports or catches a and the bearing pieces of the cage c each
have inclined bearing surfaces S S₁ of equal inclination, and the supports are
arranged to slide backwards on their bases 1, so that when they are slid back from
the position shewn at Figure 1 to that shewn at Figure 2, to allow of the descent
of the cage, the inclined bearing surfaces S₁ thereof will move away from the
surface S of the cage, without requiring this to be raised for that purpose.
This backward movement of the supports or catches, as also the forward move-
ment again after the cage has descended past them, can be effected for example in
the manner shewn on the drawing. The supports a are for this purpose formed
with slots a¹ and have backward projecting arms a² which constitute guides a³ by
which the supports are enabled to slide backwards and forwards over blocks d
carried by the shafts supported rotatably in bearings e. In the slots a¹ slide
pins which may be advantageously provided with steel rollers h, and which are
fixed at each end to two levers i, one situated on each side of the support a, and
fixed on the shaft f. The shaft has at the one end a hand lever m working in a
notched quadrant frame m', so that when the lever m is moved over into the
g

page_text: position shewn at Figure 1 and secured by a locking bolt, the lever i on the shaft f
will be held in the horizontal position shewn, thus holding the supports a in the
forward position shewn by the pins g, which prevent them from being slid back by
the pressure of the inclined bearing surfaces S of the cage, so that the latter is thus
securely held by the supports.
When however the lever m is moved backward into the position shewn at
Figure 2, the levers in being thereby turned upward into the position shewn,
cause the pins g to slide in the slots a' so as to allow the supports to be moved
backward by the pressure of the inclines of the bearing pieces of the cage so that
this can now pass freely downward between them as shewn.
The lever mis then again moved forward so as to cause the levers in sliding
with their pins y downward in the slots a', to push the supports back again into the
position shewn at Figure 1.
9
As the cage ascends again, the bearing pieces bin pressing against the front
faces of the supports a, cause these to turn with their slotted arms a upon the
shaft, as upon a pivot, as shewn at Figure 3, so that the cage can rise past them.
In order to allow of this turning motion, the lower ends of the slots a¹ of the
supports are formed with a curvature concentric with the shaft / so that the slot
can slide over the pin g.
When the bearing pieces have passed beyond the front faces of the supports,
these turn down again on the shaft into the position shewn at Figure 1, thereby
bringing their inclined surfaces S' in contact with the inclines on the bearing pieces,
so as to support the cage again in the raised position.
The principal advantages of the above described arrangement consist in that the
blow of the cage in settling on its supports is taken by large surfaces and that the
pressure is taken in every position of the parts by such surfaces.
The weight of the supports a is balanced to a certain extent by the weighted
arms a projecting on the opposite side of the shaft f.
As shewn at Figures 1 and 5, the supports a on both sides of the cage are
simultaneously actuated by the one hand lever m, by connecting this by a rod p to
a short lever q on the opposite shaft ƒ.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The use for supporting cages or buckets of mines, of supports or catches a,
having inclined supporting surfaces S' on which rest the similarly inclined bearing
surfaces S of the bearing pieces on the cage, which supports or catches are
capable of sliding horizontally backward for allowing the cage to descend, during
which motion the inclined surfaces S S¹ slide parallel upon each other, substantially
as described with reference to the drawings.
2. In supports for cages or buckets such as are referred to in the preceding claim,
providing the said supports with guides a³ embracing sliding pieces d on the shaft,
which carries levers with pins working in slots in the supports, the said slots
being of such form that on the partial rotation of the shaft and levers the pressure
of the bearing pieces of the cage will cause the supports to slide back on their bases,
substantially as described.
3. In the arrangement of supports for cages or buckets referred to in the
preceding claim, constructing the lower part of the slot a with a curvature
concentric to the shaft f, so as to enable the supports to be turned upon the said
haft as on a pivot by the ascending bearing pieces of the cages, substantially as
escribed.
Dated this 21st day of August 1901