IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE LOWERING OF SACKS OR BAGS OF GRAIN OR OTHER ARTICLES FROM GRANARIES WAREHOUSES, OR THE LIKE to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, CHARLES THOMAS DENNIS, of 30 All Saints Street, Kings Lynn, in the County
of Norfolk, Builder and Inspector of New Dock Works, do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for " IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE
LOWERING OF SACKS OR BAGS OF GRAIN OR OTHER ARTICLES FROM GRANARIES
WAREHOUSES, OR THE LIKE to be as follows:-
"
My Invention relates to an apparatus for lowering sacks of grain, barrels, chests
of tea or other articles or packages from granaries, warehouses, or other buildings
or places to the ground, or otherwise, in a very convenient and simple manner.
The said apparatus operates by means of the weight or gravity of the article to
be lowered and is arranged in such a manner that its action may be controlled by
hand, either on the ground or at any other desired point, and with the utmost ease
and convenience.
In carrying my Invention into practice I provide two chains or ropes, both of
which are secured to a drum or roller upon which they are wound and unwound
alternately by the action of the sack or other weight being lowered, as hereinafter
described, that is to say, the chains are so arranged that when the drum rotates in
one direction one chain will be coiled around the drum and the other will be uncoiled
therefrom, and when the drum rotates in the other direction the coiling and uncoiling
will be reversed. The free end of each chain is led over a separate grooved pulley,
which pulleys are secured to one end of an oscillating lever pivotted in suitable
supports above the drum, one pulley being on one side of the lever and the other
on the other side thereof. The free end of each chain hanging from these pulleys
is designed to be fastened, in its turn, by hooks or other suitable means to the sack
or other article. The said lever is pivotted near the end at which the pulleys are
secured, and in such a manner that there is one long arm and one short one.
the end of the long arm, that is to say, the end farthest from the pulleys, I secure
a rope or chain by means of which the said lever may be operated. This chain
or rope may be led to the ground or to any other position to be conveniently
utilized.
To
The said drum is hung in a suitable frame which may be secured to the flooring
by bolts and nuts, or by screws or otherwise, and a metallic band is passed around

page_text: the drum to act as a brake for retarding or arresting the motion of the former.
One end of the band is secured to a bracket or bearing beneath the drum and the
other end to a lever pivotted in the said bearing or bracket. One end of this lever
is furnished with a heavy weight which acts to keep the band brako tightly
pressed upon the drum at all times excepting when it is lifted, the lifting being
effected by depressing the other end of this lever which is provided with a cord led
to any convenient position for this
purpose.
The said apparatus is preferably placed in the highest story of the building, and
when it is desired to lower a sack of grain or other article, say from the next story
beneath, the end of one of the two chains is brought to the proper position and
secured to the said article; then the chain or rope attached to the end of the long
arm of the upper lever is pulled, the short arm rises, and the sack is lifted from the
floor and swings out of the open door and hangs in a vertical line from the pulley
situated on the lever which is so fixed as to project outside the building. The
sack cannot however descend until the weight on the lower lever is raised, for the
reason that this weight keeps the brake upon the drum. When, however, the sack
has been so swung out of the warehouse and all is ready for its descent the
attendant pulls the cord or chain depending from the lower lever, whereupon the
weight rises, the band is released, and the sack descends by its own weight uncoil-
ing the chain from the drum, and at the same time coiling the second chain upon
the same and thus drawing it up. When the sack has descended to the proper
position the attendant releases the cord or chain and the brake being thus applied
again, all motion is arrested. The other chain is then secured to the next sack to
be lowered and precisely the same operations are repeated, and so on continuously,
that is to say, the sack. or package being lowered by means of one chain acts to
pull up the other chain to the required position to be attached to the next package.
It will thus be seen that the operation is rapid and continuous, and that a con-
siderable amount of work can be effected within a very short space of time with
great ease and safety.
In some cases I carry one of the chains over another pulley in addition to the
lever pulley, this arrangement being designed to prevent any inconvenience which
might result in some cases as a result of the two chains hanging too closely to each
other,

page_text: I, CHARLES THOMAS DENNIS, of 30 All Saints' Street, Lynn, in the County of
Norfolk, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR FACILITATING THE LOWERING OF SACKS OR BAGS OF GRAIN, OR OTHER
ARTICLES FROM GRANARIES, WAREHOUSES, OR THE LIKE" and in what manner tho
same is to be porformed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement:-
My invention is designed to provide improved apparatus whereby sacks con-
taining grain or other materials, or bales, or other articles or packages can be
lowered from granaries, warehouses, or other buildings or places to the ground or
to a wagon or other vehicle, in much less time and with greater facility than has
heretofore been practicable.
The methods heretofore adopted for this purpose are objectionable by reason of
the great wear and tear of the ropes used and the considerable length of time
required for effecting the lowering of the sacks.
My apparatus can be easily operated by one man or even by a boy, and the
lowering of the sacks can be effected thereby with great rapidity. Moreover the
wear and tear of the ropes or chains in my apparatus is very slight.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a plan, partly in horizontal section.
Figure 2 a rear elevation, partly in vertical section, and
Figure 3 a side elevation, partly in vertical section, shewing my apparatus
erected upon one of the upper floors of a building.
Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, shewing a modified
arrangement of my said apparatus.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
a is a frame which is secured to the floor of the building in any convenient
manner; b is a drum or roller fixed on a shaft b¹ mounted in bearings in the said
frame; c, c¹ are chains or ropes which are secured at one end to the said drum or
roller and are wound thereon in opposite directions. The said chains or ropes are
passed over pulleys d, d' which are fitted to rotate upon a shaft d' carried by the
short arm of a lover e and by an arm e'. This lever and the arm e¹ are fixed on a
shaft e carried in bearings in the brackets f. The long arm of this lever is provided
with two weights g, g', one or both of which is or are fitted to slide to and fro on
the said lever so that they can be adjusted to any desired position thereon.
h is a catch-lever which is pivotted at h¹ and is so arranged in combination with
the lever e that it can be made to hold the said lever in the position shewn in full
lines in Figure 3. h³ is a rope or cord fastened to another rope or cord h³ which
is attached to the lever e and to the lower extremity of the catch-lever h.
A brake band or strap i is fitted upon the drum or roller b; this brake band is
normally applied to the said drum by a weighted lever k, to which is attached a
rope or cord ', whereby the said lever can be actuated to take off the brake.
ر

page_text: The ropes h and k¹ are preferably so arranged that they are accessible on any of
the floors of the building from which the sacks are to be lowered.
In Figures 1, 2 and 3, the parts of the apparatus are shown in the positions
which they occupy when the said apparatus is ready for use.
When a sack is to
be lowered, it is placed on the floor of the building in the position indicated at Z,
and the end of one of the chains or ropes, c¹ for example, is made fast to it; the
rope or cord is then pulled downward to disengage the catch-lever from the
lever e, which then operates to lift the sack from the floor and permit it to swing
outwards from the building into a convenient position to be lowered. The weights
on the long arm of the lever e are not sufficiently heavy to counterbalance the
weight of the sack, but, by reason of the momentum which they acquire while
tightening the chain or rope c', they are enabled to lift the sack from the floor. The
lever e then assumes the position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 3. When the
sack has swung out from the building, its weight, acting upon the short arm of
the lever e, overcomes the weights on the long arm of the levor and moves the said
lever back to its original position, so that the catch-lever engages therewith and
holds it in readiness to again operate in the manner above described. The rope or
cord is then pulled downward to take the brake off the drum or roller, and permit
the sack to descend. The sack in its descent causes the said drum or roller to
rotate so that the chain or rope c¹ is unwound therefrom until the sack reaches the
ground or the wagon in which it is to be placed, whilst the chain or rope c is wound
on the said drum or roller and its free extremity thus raised to the level of the
floor from which the sacks are to be lowered. Another sack is then made fast to
the chain or rope c and the operations above described are repeated. As each sack
reaches the ground, the rope is released so that the brake will be applied to the
drum or roller b to prevent the rotation thereof until another sack is in position to
be lowered.
The end of the long arm of the lever e is preferably arranged to slide between
guides m. Moreover I prefer to place the pulleys d, d sufficiently far apart to
prevent the rubbing of the ascending chain against the sack which is being lowered.
The said pulleys are mounted loosely on the shaft d so that they will move to
and fro thereon according to the position of the chains or ropes on the drum or
roller.
I sometimes make the drum b in two parts so that, if necessary, either chain can
be wound or unwound independently of the other chain. In this case I unite the
two drums or portions of the drum by a metal band or strap n which is firmly
secured thereon by means of a bolt and nut. When this nut is slackened, the
drum, or portion of the drum, farthest from the brake is set free and can be easily
turned in either direction to increase or diminish the quantity of chain wound
upon it, as may be required for lowering sacks from the different floors of the
building.
In Figure 4 I have shewn a modified arrangement of my apparatus wherein the
lever e is placed behind the drum or barrel b instead of in front thereof and is bent
as shewn, so that the apparatus can be conveniently fitted in the roof of a building.
The apparatus, in this case, operates substantially as above described.
It is obvious that the construction of my apparatus may be somewhat varied
without departing from the nature of my said invention, for instance, in some cases,
I dispense with the catch and the weights on the lever e and attach a rope to the
end of the long arm of the lever, so that it can be moved by hand to lift the sack
from the floor and permit it to swing into position to be lowered.
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
First. An apparatus for facilitating the lowering of sacks, bales or other articles
or packages, in which apparatus two chains or ropes secured to a drum or roller

page_text: and wound thereon in opposite directions are passed over pulleys carried by an
oscillating lever, for the purpose above specified.
Second. The improved apparatus consisting of the parts constructed and com-
bined substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, or Figure 4
of the drawings and operating as, and for the purposes, above specified.