IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING OBJECTS IN MINES AND OTHER LOCALITIES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS
AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING OBJECTS IN MINES AND OTHER
LOCALITIES." A. communication from abroad by Zulma Blanchet, of Epinac,
Saone et Loire. France.
Sealed the 26th May 1877, and dated the 9th April 1877.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Denton Abel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th April 1877.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING
OBJECTS IN MINES AND OTHER LOCALITIES." Communicated from abroad by
Zulma Blanchet, of Epinac, Saone et Loire, France.
This Invention has for its object to effect the raising and lowering of objects,
more particularly coal and minerals in mines by means of pneumatic tubes instead of
by the usual arrangement of hauling ropes or chains.
The Invention is based upon the well known arrangement wherein pistons
carrying the objects to be transported are propelled through a tube by exhausting
the air from the latter in advance of the piston. For this purpose a vertical tube
of large diameter is suspended in the shaft of the nine, the tube being closed at
both ends, and having at the various levels or stages from which coal or other minerals
requires to be raised one or more side doors sufficiently large to admit a truck
with its load. Within the tube is a loose frame or cage having several stages on
which the trucks are carried, and at each end of which is a piston fitting the tube.
The upper end of the tube is connected by a pipe to an air pump or other suitable
suction apparatus, the pipe being provided with a valve, and it also has another pipe
provided with a valve by which the upper end of the tube may be made to com-
municate with the atmosphere. At the lower end of the tube is, firstly, a branch
pipe closed by a valve opening outwards and leading up to the top of the pit; and,
secondly, another branch pipe communicating with the bottom of the shaft, and
having a valve opening inwards.
For raising the piston with its load in the tube, the communications between the
tube and the air pump is established, and the ingress pipe at the bottom is opened

page_text: whereupon the piston with its load will be moved upwards by the atmospheric
pressure acting at bottom against the partial vacuum produced above.
For lowering the piston, the communication with the exhaust is closed, and the
communication with the atmosphere is opened more or less both at top and bottom,
whereby the piston will be allowed to descend in the tube by its own weight, and at
a speed which is regulated by checking more or less the ingress and egress of air.
By closing these altogether the motion of the piston may be arrested at any point.
Other means, to be presently described, are provided for arresting the motion of the
piston at any desired point, and also for moving it to a certain extent for the
successive introduction and delivery of the trucks. In some cases two such
pneumatic tubes are arranged side by side to be worked alternately, so that the air
withdrawn from the one tube for raising its piston can be made to flow into the
other for lowering the piston.
The construction and mode of operating of the apparatus will be readily under-
stood on reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2, on Sheet
I., shew two vertical sections of a single pneumatic tube with the piston and load
respectively at the lower and upper ends; Fig. 3 shews a vertical section of a
duplex set of tubes to a smaller scale; Figs. 3 to 8, Sheet I., and Figs. 1 to 12, on
Sheet II., shew enlarged details.
The pneumatic tube A has near its lower end the branch pipe a for the inlet
of air, and at its upper end it is connected by the pipe b to the air pump. The
air forced out by the descent of the piston escapes through the pipe C, and the air
enters the tube at the top of the pipe d. An equilibrium pipe is provided at e, the
operation of which will be presently described.
Stops are provided at the points 1, 2, 3, at the several stages for retaining the a
piston at those levels, and a slide is also provided at r, which after the upward
passage of the piston is made to project across the tube so as to prevent accident by
the falling of the piston. The stops and slides are worked from the outside by
levers at is the valve for the admission and escape of air above the slide for
raising and lowering the piston. The pipe h establishes a communication between
the tube and the air pump when the valve i in the tube b is closed. At the bottom
of the tube is a blow-off cock j, and at top is a safety valve sa second one being
also provided at bottom to allow the escape of confined air when compressed by the
approach of the piston at either end.
The piston with its load being at the bottom of the tube, as at Fig. I., the valves 3
in the pipes b and a are opened, thus establishing a current of air in the direction of
the arrows, whereby the piston will be caused to ascend.
The piston being at the top, as at Fig. 2, b and a are opened, thereby allowing
the passage of air in the direction of the arrows, whereby the descent of the piston
will be effected. The slide at the station at which the piston is to stop being 4
closed, it will be seen that at any time by closing the escape valve for the air, a
cushion is formed by the imprisoned air below the piston, thus preventing any
violent contact of the latter with the slide. A similar air cushion is also formed at
the bottom of the tube when the piston has passed the escape pipe c.
The plain
circles are intended to shew the valves when closed, and the section circles indicate
them in the open position. The duplex tubes A, A, shewn at Fig. 3, are arranged
and operate in the same manner as the single tubes, the branch pipes to both tubes
being made to join as indicated. The admission of air above the pistons is effected
through the pipes & branching from the main pipe d, and in like manner the ex-
haust pipes 6 branch from the main pipe b¹. There is also a single rising escape 5
pipe c common to both tubes. The various pipes are provided with the requisite
valves for directing the currents to or from the one tube or the other.
The main portion of the pneumatic tube is constructed of thin sheet iron rivetted
with butt joints, the head of the rivets being countersunk inside the tube so as to
present a perfectly flush surface. It is formed of convenient lengths secured to- 5
gether by external angle iron flanges, which also serve as points of support for the
tube. These joints are made air-tight by suitable packing. The portions of the

page_text: tube in which are the side doors, the stops, the branch pipes, and the transverse
slides are made of cast iron. The construction of the lengths of tubes with side
doors is shewn at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Sheet II. Fig. 1 shews a front elevation; Fig. 2,
a cross section; and Fig. 3, a side clevation partly in section. They are provided
with two opposite openings sufficiently large for the admission of the trucks, and
provided with grooved frames a in which slide the doors 6 which are suspended
from counterweights so as to be readily raised or lowered. The meeting surfaces of
the doors and their frames are faced true so that they fit air-tight against each
other. These lengths of tubing also have brackets c which carry levers of that
actuate the rods for working the stops.
The sections of tubing carrying the stops are constructed as shewn in side cleva-
tion, plan, and front elevation respectively at Figs. 4, 5, and 6, Sheet II. The tube
is provided with four stuffing boxes d, d, through which slide the stops e, e, which
when made to project into the tube, as shewn at Fig. 5, serve either to arrest the
piston with its load in its upward course at the station, or to act as a support
thereto while being loaded and unloaded. They are for this purpose connected by
levers to shafts o, which are actuated by means of the cross-shaped levers / through
the connecting rods g, the levers 7 being connected to the hand levers before
mentioned. These stops are arranged in three tiers at the points 1, 2, 3, above and
below each station, the distance between each tiro corresponding with the distance
between the several platforms carrying the trucks 1 to 9, three of which are intended
to be loaded and unloaded simultaneously at each of the three doors arranged one
above the other at each station. Assuming the piston to be held by the stops 3, 3, at
top and bottom, as shewn at Fig. 1, Sheet I., the trucks 3, 6, and 9 can be introduced
through the three doors; this being done the upper stops 3 are withdrawn, those at
2 being made to project, whereupon owing to the vacuum above the piston this
will rise until retained by the stops 2, and the trucks 2, 5, and S can then be
introduced. In like manner by withdrawing the stop 2 and protruding those at 1
the piston will be held in position for introducing the trucks 1, 4, and 7.
If the
same operation is to be performed during the descending notion of the piston this
is effected by means of the by-pass e as follows:-The lower stops at 1 being pro-
truded the piston will be arrested thereby on its descent in position for removing
the trucks 1, 4, 7; on them withdrawing the stops 1 and protruding 2, and opening
the valves on the by-pass, the valve s¹ being closed, the air below the piston will
escape through the by-pass to the space above the piston, and the latter will
descend by gravity until held by the stops 2, and so on. The by-pass also serves
for raising the piston to the various stages when the exhaust is on by opening the
valve g and closing 8, whereupon air will pass in through the bands to the under
side of the piston, as shewn by the arrows, Fig. 1, thus allowing the piston to rise.
Figs. 7, 8, and 9, Sheet II., show respectively a plan, longitudinal section, and
cross section of one of the sections of tubing containing the before-mentioned safety
slides, which are placed immediately below the lower set of stops at each stage both
for preventing the piston and load from falling down the tube by mistakes made in
operating, and for facilitating the above-described mode of operating the piston at
the stages by means of the equilibrium tube e. The section of tubing has a laterally
projecting closed slide box into which the slide is withdrawn when the tube is to
be opened, and having stufting boxes through which pass rods i attached to the
slide, and which rods carry racks gearing with a spur wheel that is rotated by a
hand wheel at f for protruding or withdrawing the slide. In addition to the above
described peculiarly constructed sections of tubing there are other sections on which
are formed the before-mentioned branch pipes with valves for ingress and egress of
air and others carrying indicator keys which are acted upon by the piston on its
passage so as to ring an alarm in order to indicate its approach at a station or
stage; or they are made to close the air supply for the purpose of stopping the
piston. One of the last description of keys is shewn in the vertical section of part
of the tube at Fig. 4, Sheet I. The key T passes through a stuffing box in the side
of the tube, and is caused by a spring I to project slightly, so that the piston in

page_text: passing presses it outwards. It is connected to a lever, which by means of the cord
or chain P actuates a weighted catch B so as to release a stud D on the rod F held
in guides E. This rod is connected by a cord to a slide R in the air pipe G, so that
on releasing the stud D the slide R falls and closes the air supply or exhaust. Slides
such as that shewn at R are placed on all the air inlet and outlet pipes, being
arranged vertically and supported by counterweights, and actuated either by hand
or as above described. In addition to these slides there are also provided flap
valves on the several branch pipes, opening and closing automatically either inwards
or outwards for the inlet or outlet of air, as indicated on the pipes a and c, Fig 1,
Sheet I. There are also cocks or taps at d and respectively on the air inlet and
on the exhaust, and also on the inlet at g.
In addition to the various above described contrivances there are also pressure
gauges or barometers fixed at different points in the height of the tube outside the
same, but communicating with the interior, so that on the passage of the piston the
sudden change of pressure in the tube from that below the piston to that above it,
or vice versa, will be indicated, thus shewing the position of the piston in the tube.
There are also hygrometers for indicating the degree of moisture of the air in the
tube, and thermometers for indicating its temperature; and there are provided chro-
nometers, which, in combination with indicating charts shewing the time occupied
by the transit of the piston, enable the attendants to ascertain when the piston will
arrive at a certain station. By these several means the operators can have exact
information of the motion and whereabouts of the piston in tube, so as to enable
the operations to be carried on with perfect certainty and safety.
The piston with its load, or the "train" as it may be termed, is composed of a
strong but light cage, by preference of steel, in which are formed nine stages, one
above the other as indicated at Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet I. At the upper end of this
cage is a double piston constructed as shewn in vertical section at Fig. 10, Sheet II.
Each piston is provided with packing g by preference of leather, pressed outwards
by seginents & acted on by springs. The rod passing centrally through the pistons
supports the cage, which can turn freely thereon so as to enable the operator to
bring the rails on which the trucks rest in line with the door through which they
are to be removed. Below the cage is the single piston shewn in side view and
sectional plan at Figs. 11 and 12, which is attached to the other end of the central
rod. The pistons are also by preference of steel. The two top pistons are farther
apart than the height of each doorway, but they are not so far apart as the distance
between two doorways, thus any impediment to the notion of the train ou passing
the doorway is prevented.
The arrangement of the pneumatic tube or tubes in the shaft should be such that
access can readily be gained from the exterior to all parts thereof for inspection and
repairs; thus there should be room in the shaft at the side of the tube for a hoist or
hauling rope worked by an auxilliary winding engine or for ladders; thus Figs. 5
and 6, Sheet I., shew in vertical section and plan the arrangement of a single
pneumatic tube in a shaft, and Figs. 7 and 8 shew the arrangement with a
duplex tube. A are the pneumatic tubes; C, C, the lifts; B, ladders; C, the escape
air pipe; and G, the ventilating shaft. A strong framework of oak is built in the
shaft for supporting the pneumatic tubes which are suspended therefrom by iron
rods t connected to lugs b on hoops a fixed round the tube beneath the angle iron
flanges thereof. The rods are partly suspended from straps passing over the beams
of the framework and partly from strong brackets & fixed thereon.
The upper end of the pneumatic tube projects beyond the mouth of the pit to such
an extent as will allow the trucks to be discharged from the piston at the ground
level, such projecting portion is supported either by an extension of the brick shaft
or by strong staging.
By the above described improved means for raising and lowering objects, such
raising and lowering can be effected from greater depths than is possible with the
ordinary hauling ropes or chains and with greater dispatch and safety than these.
The apparatus also serves to ventilate the workings of the mines, as the air supply

page_text: for the tube is always taken direct from the workings, while the exhaust is con-
ducted away at the top of the shaft either by the action of the air pump or by the
escape tube c which rises to the top as before described. The rapidity with which
the air is expelled through the escape pipe on the descent of the train may also be
utilized as motive power.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I claim,―
First. The use for raising, or lowering objects of a suspended vertical tube closed
at both ends, in which a piston carrying the load is propelled upwards by the
regulated exhaust of air from above the piston in combination with the regulated
admission of air below the piston, and is made to descend by the regulated admission
of air above the piston in combination with the regulated escape of air from below
the piston, substantially as herein described.
Second. In pneumatic tubes arranged and operating as described in the preceding
claim, the arrangement of branch pipes with valves and slides for regulating the
admission and exhaust of air to and from the tube, substantially as herein
described.
Third. The use for arresting the motion of the piston with its load and for
manipulating it at the stations, of doors, stops, slides, and by-pass pipes, arranged
and operating substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3,
on Sheet I., and Figs. 1 to 9, on Sheet II., of the Drawings.
Fourth. The use in combination with the pneumatic tube of indicator appliances
for indicating and automatically arresting the motion of the piston in the tube,
ubstantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 4, "Sheet I., of the
Drawings.
Fifth. The construction and arrangement of the piston with cage for the truck
as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet I., and Figs. 10 to 12,
Sheet II., of the Drawings.
Sixth. The arrangement of duplex pneumatic tubes herein described with reference
to Fig. 3, Sheet I., of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
CHA. D. ABEL. (L.S.)