AN IMPROVED PORTABLE SCAFFOLDING."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bartolammeo Conci, Italian Engineer, of No. 48,
Rue des Marais St. Martin, in the City of Paris, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED PORTABLE SCAFFOLDING."
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bartolammeo Conci at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th January 1870.
I, BARTOLAMMEO CONOT, Italian Engineer, of No. 48, Rue des Marais
St. Martin, in the City of Paris, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PORTABLE SCAFFOLDING," to be as
follows:-
My improved scaffolding consists of an iron platform mounted on
four wheels running on axles capable of being raised off the ground to
enable the platform to rest thereon when required, and to be mounted on
the wheels again to transport it with greater facility from place to place.
The two axles revolve in four journals upon the platform, and have
motion imparted to them by a toothed wheel fixed upon each of them

page_text: and geared into by an endless screw. Two supports upon the framing of
the apparatus are furnished with a bearing, in which revolves the shaft
on which is the endless screw and the wheel for imparting the circular
motion to the axle for raising and lowering the carrying wheels. An
äron framing or cage is fixed upon the platform by four uprights to four
supports, and is provided both at the top and bottom with an iron
landing, the use of which will be hereafter described. Five other frames
or cages fitting one in the other and constructed in a similar manner to
the fixed cage rest upon the bottom platform of this latter, each of these
cages having also a landing at top and bottom superposed a short
distance one above another when the cages are closed up in the bottom
cage, which not only holds them but guides them in their ascent. The
ascent of the five cages is successively performed, commencing with the
inner one which is raised so that its lower landing is at the same height
as the top landing of the second cage, when the two top cages are secured
together by pins and cotters so as to impart the necessary rigidity to
raise them higher. The second cage is then raised, then the third,
fourth, and lastly the fifth in the same manner, thus obtaining an
elevation of about 20 yards from the ground. To raise the cages in the
manner described an endless chain is placed on two wheels, one of which
is fixed on the lower part of a pillar bearing upon a support on the
platform of the apparatus, the other on the upper part of the said pillar
The cage required to be elevated is attached to the chain by an iron
hook jointed to an iron cross bar under the lower landing of the cage.
The chain in its upward movement drags with it the cage and raises it to
the height of the upper landing of the next cage, five of such operations
raising the scaffolding to the required height. The chain wheel at the
lower end of the pillar is mounted upon a shaft having two toothed
wheels, a second shaft carried by four supports upon the platform of the
apparatus has two pinions gearing with the two toothed wheels and with
two other similar wheels, and a third shaft supported by the same
bearings as the second shaft has three pinions gearing into the two last-
mentioned toothed wheels. Two cranked handles actuate the whole
train of wheels for the transmission of the power to the elevation of the
cages. Upon the second shaft and between the two pinions is a second
pinion gearing into a chain for raising weights to the upper part of the
scaffolding. To make use of this movement it is necessary to displace
the pillar carrying the endless chain and to slide its support upon the
platform; the four bearings should also be displaced and slid upon the

page_text: .
said platform; the chain is then passed over the pinion and upon a
grooved pulley fixed on the upper landing of the top cage, and con-`
siderable weights may be raised or lowered by this means. Two
moveable landings are placed upon each stage of the scaffolding to
receive workmen when the apparatus is used in ornamenting or repairing
a house or for washing the walls, salvage at fires, or other similar
purposes. Ladders communicating with the different cages render the-
surveillance of the work an easy matter.
i
SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Bartolammeo Conci in the Great Seal. Patent
Office on the 28th July 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BARTOLAMMEO
CONCI, Italian Engineer, of No. 48, Rue des Marais St. Martin, in the
Oity of Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Bartolammeo Conci, Her special licence
that I, the said Bartolammeo Conci, my executors, administrators, and:
assigns, or such others as I, the said Bartolammco Conci, 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 "AN IMPROVED
PORTABLE SCAFFOLDING," upon the condition (amongst otliers) that I;.
the said Bartolammeo Conci, my executors or administrators, by an-
instrument 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters.
Patent
.
i

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Bartolammeo Conci, do hereby declaro
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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
My improved scaffolding is constructed with an iron platform mounted
on four wheels running on axles, which are adjustable so that the plat-
form may rest on these wheels or may be lowered upon the ground.
When mounted on the wheels it may be transported with great facility
from place to place, and when arrived at its destination it is lowered and
secured upon the ground and forms a firm bed or foundation plate for
the scaffolding. The two axles revolve in four bearings upon the plat-
form, and have motion imparted to them by toothed wheels, one of which
is fixed upon each axle and geared in connection with an endless screw.
Two supports upon the framing of the apparatus are furnished with a
bearing for the shaft of the endless screw and the wheel for imparting
the circular motion to the axle for raising and lowing the carrying
wheels. An iron framing or cage is supported upon the platform by
four upright supports, and is provided both at the top and bottom with
an iron landing, the use of which will be hereafter described. Five
other frames or cages fitting one in the other and constructed in a
similar manner to the fixed cage rest upon the bottom landing of this
latter, each of these cages having also a landing at the top and bottom;
these landings are a short distance one above the other when the cages
are closed within the bottom cage, which not only holds them but guides
them in their ascent. The ascent of the cages is successively performed
commencing with the inner one, which is raised so that its lower
landing is at the same height as the top landing of the second cago, these
two cages are then secured together by pins and cotters so as to impart
to them the necessary rigidity to allow them to be raised higher. The
second cage is then raised, then the third, fourth, and lastly the fifth in
the same manner, and I can thus casily obtain an elevation of about
20 yards from the ground. To raise the cages in the manner described
an endless chain is arranged to run on two pulleys, one of which is
placed on the lower part of a pillar supported upon the platform of the
apparatus, while the other is carried on the upper part of the said pillar.
The cage to be elevated is attached to the chain by a hook jointed to a
cross bar under the lower landing of the cage; the chain in its upward
movement drags with it the cage and raises it to the height of the uppor

page_text: "
་
landing of the next cage, five of such operations raising the scaffolding
to the required height. The chain wheel at the lower end of the pillar
is mounted upon a shaft forming part of a windlass. By means of two
cranked handles the windlass is actuated to effect the elevation of the
cages. Upon one shaft of the windlass is a chain pinion, which operates
a chain for raising weights to the upper part of the, scaffolding....To
make use of this second chain it is necessary to displace, the pillar
•
1
carrying the endless chain and to slide its support to one or the other
side of the platform. The chain is then passed over the pinion and over
a grooved pulley placed at the upper landing of the top cage.. Two
moveable landings are placed upon each stage of the scaffolding. to
receive workmen when the apparatus is used in ornamenting or repairing
a house or for washing the walls, obtaining salvage at fires, or other
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of my improved portable scaffolding; Figure 2 is a
side elevation, and Figure 3 an end elevation of the same.. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the platform, which is supported upon the axles of the iron
wheels B. By means of the screws F, G, arranged at the centre of the
two sides and by the aid of a fly wheel the apparatus may be moved in
either direction. If it is to be moved to any great distance a horse may
be harnessed to the apparatus. When at its destination the platform is
lowered from these wheels to the ground and forms the base of the
scaffolding. I, J, K, L, M, are the cages fitted one within the other
and received by the principal cage H. Being made of angle iron these
cages, are very light while giving to the apparatus all the strength
required. The triangular sheet iron plates N augment the rigidity of the
cage. Planks placed at different heights form landings or gangways
upon which may be received the articles or materials to be used. By
means of step ladders communication is easly established between the
different stages. The windlass has a cast-iron frame X; Z is a toothed
wheel; Y, Y, are pinions keyed on the shaft and gearing with wheels U
at the right and left of the drum O. The said drum receives a flat
linked chain o', which is passed over another drum O³ at the top of the
pillar or mast P, which is supported by struts P¹ of round iron. A
hook Q fixed on the chain takes hold of the top framing of the cages,
and it is only necessary to turn the windlass to raise them one after the

page_text: other, commencing with the cage I, the same is raised to the required
height and then secured to the cage J, which in its turn is raised in
raising the preceeding cage I another stage. The cage J is fixed to K,
K to L, L to M, and finally the cage M is secured to the fixed cage H.
The lowering or withdrawal of the cages is effected in the same manner, &
commencing with cage M and finishing with I.
My improved portable scaffolding is adapted for various uses, such as
the erection of buildings, repairing or restoring public edifices, for
salvage in case of fire, and many others. The size and strength of the
apparatus may be varied to suit the nature of the work which it is 1
designed to perform.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, I wish it understood
that I claim, the portable scaffolding consisting of a platform mounted
on adjustable wheels, the cages and the means for elevating, lowering,
and supporting the same, all constructed and combined together sub- 1
stantially as specified for the purposes set forth.
B. CONCI. (L.S.)