IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING BODIES IN MINES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Henry Van Hengel, of No. 531, Chaussée de
Malines, Anvers, in the Kingdom of Belgium, and of No. 4, South Street,
Finsbury, London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR RAISING AND LOWERING BODIES IN MINES."
Sealed the 28th November 1856, and dated the 2nd July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Henry Van Hengel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd July-1856.
I, JOSEPH HENRY VAN HENGEL, of No. 531³, Chaussée de Malines, Anvers,
in the Kingdom of Belgium, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING BODIES IN MINES," to be as follows, that
is to say:-
This Invention relates to an improved safety cage, by which accidents from
the cage falling down the shafts of mines or coal pits, by the breaking of the
rope or chain, are prevented.
The apparatus consists of two grooved rack supports fixed vertically in the
shaft of the mine or pit. Between these two vertical wooden or iron supports
the cage is placed. To the top of two sides of the cage are firmly secured by
screws or other means two iron guides which work in the grooves of the
vertical supports. The latter are provided at certain distances on two sides
with wedge-shaped teeth forming a rack, the object of which is to offer a firm
bearing, in the event of the cage falling, to the iron safety plates fixed to the
cage. These plates are four in number, and are secured to the cage by bolts

page_text: or other suitable means. They are formed with a hinge, and one is placed on
each side of the vertical support, so that a steel spring, with which each is
provided, acting against the back, always presses them in contact with the
vertical supports, in order that when the cage falls the iron plates will imme-
diately close and rest upon the wedge teeth of the rack, thus preventing the
cage from falling any farther. The steel plate springs are fixed to the cage,
the end of each spring abutting against the iron plates. At the end of each of
the latter is an eye to which the chain or rope supporting the cage is fastened.
Each of the four chains or ropes passes through a ring fixed to each corner of
the cage.
To prevent the springs from being pulled back too far, so as to
break them, when the cage is suspended, a stop is fixed to the chain at the
proper distance. When the cage is in action it ascends or descends freely,
inasmuch as the plates are withdrawn from the rack by the weight of the cage.
A cap or cover may be placed on the cage to protect persons in the latter.
The different stories of the pits or mines are put in communication with the
apparatus by means of moveable pieces in the grooves, which can be used
according to circumstances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Henry Van Hengel in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 31st December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HENRY VAN HENGEL, of No. 531³, Chaussée de Malines, Anvers, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Henry Van Hengel, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Henry Van Hengel, my executors, adininistrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Joseph Henry Van Hengel, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING BODIES IN

page_text: MINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Henry
Van Hengel, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Henry Van Hengel, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in the employment of two upright grooved rack
supports and guides placed in the shaft, and in applying to the cage or bucket
an arrangement of catches, acted on by springs, by means of which, in the
event of the chain or rope to which the cage is suspended breaking, it is held
to the sides of the rack support, as herein-after described, and represented in
the Figures of the Drawing.
This improved arrangement of cage and guides is applicable to raising and
lowering men in mines, and for raising coal and other minerals to the surface
thereof.
In the accompanying Drawing, in which the same letters refer to the same
parts, Figure 1 represents a side view of the cage or bucket suspended in a
shaft between its supports; Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3 is a front
view of the cage and supports; Figures 4 and 5, detail front and side views
of the grooved rack supports; Figures 6 and 7, detail side and end views of
the catch or stop apparatus; and Figure 8 is a plan of the cap or cover.
A, Figure 1, is a portion of the grooved rack support and guide, composed
of wood or other material, and strengthened by bolted iron plates B, Figures
3, 4, and 5. Each support is constructed at certain distances with wedge-
shaped teeth C, forming a rack, and in the inside with a groove D, as shewn
in the plan, Figure 2. Two of these grooved rack supports A, A, are secured
vertically in the shaft, one on each side, and the cage or tub E is placed
between them. The cage or bucket is composed of a square or other shaped
wooden box, to which at the upper and lower part of two of its sides are bolted
or otherwise fixed two iron guide pieces F, which slide up and down the
grooves D. On each side of the upper guide pieces F is placed a safety catch
or stop G, Figures 5 and 6. Each catch works on a hinge H bolted to the cage
E, and on the front of the catch is formed a flat groove I, which receives the
plate springs J firmly fixed to the sides of the cage. At the end of the catches

page_text: or stops is an eye piece K, to receive the hook L, fixed to a rope or chain M.
The rope or chain passes through an eye N, forming a guide, one eye being
bolted to each corner of the cage. In order to prevent the springs from being
pulled back too far, so as to break them when the cage is suspended, a stop O
is fixed to the chain M at the proper distance. The four chains are fixed to a
central rope or chain by which the cage is suspended, as shewn in Figure 2.
A cap or cover P may be fixed over the cage by four supports Q, passing
through staples R, fastened to the sides of the cage; this cap or cover is for
the purpose of protecting the persons in the cage or bucket from injury arising
from a heavy body falling down the shaft upon them. When the cage or
bucket is being used, its weight causes the stops or catches and springs to be
pulled back a suitable distance, by which means the cage is allowed to ascend
or descend freely in the grooved supports; but in the event of the rope or
chain by which the cage is suspended being broken, the springs being released,
immediately cause the stops or catches to press against the supports, and thus
to rest upon the wedge-formed teeth of the rack, and prevent the cage from
falling any farther. The grooved supports and guides are placed in communi-
cation with the various stories or platforms of the mine by means of moveable
pieces, which may be used according to circumstances. A modification of the
above described cage and guide may be applied to warehouses for raising and
lowering goods from different floors of the building.
Having now described the nature of my sail Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein laid down; but what I claim is,―
First, the peculiar construction and arrangement of safety cages or buckets,
with catches or stops, as herein-before described, and represented in the
Figures of the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, the construction of grooved rack supports to be used in connection
with the cage or bucket, as herein-before described, and shewn in the
accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Henry Van Hengel, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
JOS. VAN HENGEL. (L.S.)