AN IMPROVED HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR OR LIFT
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lilley and Edward Cay Adams, both of St. John's
Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, and Samuel
Graham Browne and William Boby, both of 10, Walbrook, in same County,
Engineers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR OR
LIFT."
Sealed the 1st September 1876, and dated the 6th March 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lilley, Edward Cay
Adams, Samuel Graham Browne, and William Boby at the Office of the Com-
Inissioners of Patents on the 6th March 1876.
JOHN LILLEY and EDWARD CAY ADAMS, both of St. John's Street, Clerken-
well, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, and SAMUEL GRAHAM BROWNE and
WILLIAM BOBY, both of 10, Walbrook, in same County, Engineers. AN IMPROVED
HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR OR LIFT."
"
The object of our Invention is to obtain a hydraulic elevator or lift to be used in
warehouses, hotels, and elsewhere, simple and economical in its construction and
working, and in which the quantity of water consumed will be in direct proportion
to weight raised.
We propose to use a wheel composed of curved vanes or buckets, fixed between
two rings forming the periphery of the wheel, which may be of any suitable width.
We propose to place these buckets so that they will receive the water on the edge
of the wheel, the discharging angle of the jet or jets supplying said wheel being as
nearly in the plane of the revolution of the wheel as practicable; and to enable
these buckets the better to receive the impact and reaction of the water supplying
the wheel, their form starting from the edge of the wheel will be a tangent to a
suitable curve or arc of a circle, said tangent being at as acute an angle as practicable
to edge or plane of wheel; the remaining portion of the bucket to be taugential to
said curve, at a suitable angle to plane of wheel, and forming a returning bucket,
preferably longer at the receiving than at the discharging side.
We would here observe that we do not propose to confine ourselves to straight
lines, but may adopt any desired curves in place of the tangents above men-
tioned, shaping our bucket so as to gain highest efficiency, taking, however, the
same general form.
The number of buckets may vary, but we deem it preferable that the pitch of the
buckets should not be much more than the width of the stream from jet, and that the
Price 6d1

page_text: aforesaid curve or are should be preferably placed nearer the discharging than
the receiving side. The buckets may be made in separate channels if desirable.
The wheel will in most cases be arranged to work vertically, that is to say, with its
shaft running in a horizontal position; but when necessary it may be run in any
other position.
We proposo to place the one or more jets or nozzles supplying our wheel in such
a position that the discharge will correspond as closely as possible with the receiving
tangent of bucket without losing any of its discharge, by passing bucket in plane
of wheel, and so to construct said jet or nozzle, or jets or nozzles, as to offer the
minimum frictional resistance to discharge. We propose to arrange the discharging
orifice of jet or nozzle so that it may be enlarged or contracted by external
appliances, as herein-after explained, and to make it with a hinged side (the joint
being rendered water-tight by any suitable packing), the corresponding side being
gently curved so as to concentrate the outflow at the proper angie, and the hinged
side also curved to best advantage. We do not, however, confine ourselves to any
decided form of variable nozzle. The nozzle will be provided with a suitable stop
valve. In order to regulate the quantity of water discharged from jet or nozzle,
we propose to place a governor at side of wheel, and to actuate said governor by the
discharge from the buckets. This governor may consist of a segment of a wheel
hung parallel to our tangential wheel and provided with suitable vanes, the dis-
charged water from the wheel moving it in directions corresponding with speed of
wheel and angle of said discharge. Levers or other mechanical means will be
employed to connect the governor with the jet in such a manner that it will operate
the expansion or contraction of the orifice of the jet according to requirement, and
may be so arranged as to cease operating when the orifice is open to most economical
width, which may be accomplished by intervention of a weight and levers, or by
a intermediate. For example, the governor may be made to actuate the valve of
a cylinder the piston of which shall act on the moveable part of the orifice of the
jet.
We propose to make the governor of any desired form, and to hang it in balance
as close to the wheel as possible, and to set this latter in a suitable case, which may be
used as a bed plate for the rest of the machine; the bearings for the wheel may be
cast with or bolted to this casing. We do not propose to limit ourselves to the use
of any special brake or means of reducing speed, but to provide the spindle of our
wheel with such reducing gear to winding drum as we may in practice find most
desirable. For example, we may use an inclined wedge moving on any convenient
centre, its lower part converging towards periphery of brake drum, and carrying a
roller in slots on its raised sides. This inclined plane with roller may be thrown
into contact with the periphery of brake drum by a suitable cam, worked by the
brake rope wedging the roller between the brake drum and the inclined plane when
the drum is rotating in one direction, and freeing it when rotating in the opposite
direction, the slots allowing roller to run up inclined plane, and we thus save
momentum of wheel until on the point of reversal; but we now give preference to
the use of a friction strap and drum, actuated by a weighted lever to form a brake,
the lever to be raised or freed by a cam connected to the starting and stopping
ropes, and another part of said drum being acted upon by a friction roller held by
a forked lever, so that it may be pressed against periphery of drum by a weight on
opposite side of fulcrum, operated by a cain throwing it in and out of gear when
desired, which weight may be shifted on the lever by means of a rotary or other
governor to preserve uniformity of speed. The winding drum will be fixed on a
shaft running in suitable bearings, and of sufficient length to carry the proper
quantity of rope or chain for raising cage or lift, said rope or chain passing over
decreasing pulleys if desired. Suitable starting and stopping ropes will be provided
connected with stop valve of jet, with brake and with friction rollers, in such a
manner that the required agent will instantly act when required, whether for
starting, stopping, or lowering the lift. We propose to enclose the wheel to prevent
extraneous discharge of water.

page_text: The action of our improved hydraulic elevator or lift will be as follows:-A pull
upon the starting rope will move the cam in connection therewith, causing it to lift
or remove the brake weight, also throwing the friction roller out of gear with the
friction drum and opening stop valve on jet; the water will then issue from gaid
jet or nozzle, and, acting on the tangential buckets, cause the water wheel to revolve
carrying with it the winding drum, which in rotating winds up its rope or chain
and draws up the cage attached thereto. Should more water pass through said
nozzle than is required to raise the load, it will issue from the buckets at such an
angle as to act upon the vanes of the aforesaid governor, and cause it to operate the
moveable jaw or hinged side of jet so as to contract the opening or orifice of the
nozzle, and thus decrease the quantity of water issuing therefrom. Should, however,
an insufficient quantity of water be passing through the jet, the angle of the water
as it leaves the said tangential buckets becomes such as to act on the governor in
a contrary direction and cause it to operate upon the moveable jaw so as to enlarge
the opening of the nozzle.
If now it be required to stop the machine, the same rope that was used for the
starting will be pulled in the contrary direction, and the action of the cam thereby
reversed will close the stop valve, put the pressure on the brake, and throw the said
friction roller again into gear with the friction drum.
To start the machine in a downward direction, that is to say, to cause the said
cage or lift to be lowered, it will be necessary to pull another rope, which, acting
on another cam, takes the pressure off the brake leaving the cage or lift to descend
by its own weight, this downward movement being regulated by the aforesaid
friction roller and governor. To stop this downward action of the machine the
said second rope must be pulled in the opposite direction, reversing the can, which
The aforesaid
again brings pressure on the brake and the machine comes to rest.
cams will be coupled in such a manner that pressure cannot be on the brake when
the stop valve or jet is open.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Lilley, Edward Cay Adams, Samuel Graham Browne, and
William Boby, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th September 1870.
JOHN LILLEY and EDWARD CAY ADAMS, both of St. John's Street, Clerken-
well, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, and SAMUEL GRAHAM BROWNE and
WILLIAM BOBY, both of 10, Walbrook, in same County, Engineers. "AN IMPROVED
HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR OR LIFT."
The object of our Invention is to obtain a hydraulic clevator or lift to be used in
warehouses, hotels, and elsewhere, simple and economical in its construction and
working, and in which the quantity of water consumed will be in direct proportion
to weight raised.
We use a wheel composed of curved vanes or buckets, fixed between two rings
We
forming periphery of the wheel, which may be of any suitable width.
propose to place these buckets so that they will receive the water on the edge of
the wheel, the discharging angle of the jet or jets supplying said wheel being as
nearly in the plane of the revolution of the wheel as practicable, and to enable
these buckets the better to receive the impact and reaction of the water supplying
the wheel, their form, starting from the edge of the wheel, will be a tangent to a
suitable curve or arc of a circle, said tangent being at as acute an angle as practicable
to edge or plane of wheel, the remaining portion of the buckets to be tangential to
said curve at a suitable angle to plane of wheel, and forming a returning bucket
preferably longer at the receiving than at the discharging side."
We would here observe that we do not propose to confine ourselves to straight
lines, but may adopt any desired curves in place of the tangents above-mentioned,
shaping our bucket so as to gain highest efficiency, taking, however, the same
general form.

page_text: The number of buckets may vary, but we deem it preferable that the pitch of
the buckets should not be much more than the width of stream from jct, and that
the aforesaid curve or arc should be preferably placed nearer the discharging than
the receiving side. The buckets may be made in separate channels if desirable.
The wheel will in most cases be arranged to work vertically, that is to say, with
its shaft running in a horizontal position, but when necessary it may be run in any
other position.
We place the one or more jets or nozzles supplying our wheel in such a position
that the discharge will correspond as closely as possible with the receiving tangent
of the bucket, without losing any of its discharge, by passing bucket in plane of
wheel, and so construct said jet or nozzle, or jets or nozzles, as to offer the minimum
frictional resistance to discharge. We arrange the discharging orifice of jet or nozzle
so that it may be enlarged or contracted by external appliances as herein-after
explained, and make it with a sliding door or valve, or we may substitute a rocking
valve; we do not, however, confine ourselves to any decided form of variable nozzle.
The nozzle will be provided with a suitable stop valve. In order to regulate the
quantity of water discharged from jet or nozzle, we place a governor at side of
wheel, and actuate said governor by the discharge from the buckets. This governor
may consist of a segment of a wheel hung in balance parallel to our tangential
wheel, and provided with suitable vanes, the discharged water from the wheel
moving it in directions corresponding with speed of wheel and angle of said
discharge. Levers or other mechanical means may be employed to connect the
governor with the jet in such a manner that it will operate the expansion or con-
traction of the orifice of the jet according to requirement, and may be so arranged
as to cease operating when the orifice is open to most economical width, which may
be accomplished by intervention of a weight and levers, or by an intermediate
motion. For example, the governor may be made to actuate the valve of a cylinder
the piston of which shall act on the moveable part of the orifice of the jet.
We make the governor of any desired form, and set the tangential wheel in a
suitable case, which may be used as a bed plate for the rest of the machine; the
bearings for the wheel may be cast with or bolted to this covering. We do not
propose to limit ourselves to the use of any special brake or means of reducing
speed, but to provide the spindle of our wheel with such reducing gear to winding
drun as we may in practice find most desirable. For example, we may use an
inclined wedge moving on any convenient centre, its lower part converging toward
periphery of brake drum, and carrying a roller in a channel formed on its end.
This inclined plane with roller may be thrown into contact with the periphery of
brake drum by a suitable cam worked by the brake rope, wedging the roller
between the brake drum and the inclined plane when the drum is rotating in one
direction, and freeing it when rotating in the opposite direction, thus saving
momentum of wheel until on the point of reversal; but we now give preference to
the use of a friction strap and drum, actuated by a weighted lever to form a brake,
the lever to be raised or freed by a cam connected to the stopping and starting
ropes, and another part of said drum being acted upon by a friction roller held by
a forked lever, so that it may be pressed against periphery of drum by a weight on
opposite side of fulcrum, operated by a cam throwing it in and out of gear when
desired, which weight may be shifted on the lever by means of a rotary or other
governor to preserve uniformity of speed. The winding drum will be fixed on a
shaft running in suitable bearings, and of sufficient lengtht to carry the proper
quantity of rope or chain for raising cage or lift, said rope or chain passing over
decreasing pulleys if desired. Suitable starting and stopping ropes are provided,
connected with stop valve of jet, with brake and with friction rollers, in such a
manner that the required agent will instantly act when required, whether for
starting, stopping, or lowering the lift. We may enclose the wheel to prevent
extraneous discharge of water.
The accompanying Sheet of Drawing represents an elevator or lift embodying our
Invention. Figures 1, 2, and 3 showing an elevation, plan, and end view of the

page_text: machine. In Figures 1 and 2, A. shews the wheel fixed on the spindle B, on which
again is fixed the cogged pinion C, which gears into the wheel D, which gives
motion to the winding barrel E, which carries the rope e. The brake and friction
drum F is fixed on the spindle B, and is acted upon by the weight and lever G
through the brake strap H. I and J are the starting and stopping ropes, K being
the cam which is worked by them, and which raises or relieves the weight G, and
also acts upon the cam L for raising or lowering the friction roller M, and opens or
shuts the stop valve N. O and P are ropes for raising or lowering the brake
weight G independently of the other parts by means of the cam k.
Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of the wheel A and of the governor R. At A¹
and A (Figure 5) are shewn enlarged views of a sectional plan on the line 1, 2,
8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, being the curved vanes or buckets, having a form as already
described.
Figure 5 shews a sectional and outside plan of the nozzle or jet T, in which t is
the orifice, delivering the water at an angle nearly the same as that of the buckets,
but rather more acute with respect to the plane of edge of wheel. V is the sliding
door or valve, having a rack upon it worked by a pinion W, fixed on the same
spindle as the pinion X, which pinion is revolved by the rod and rack Y, which is
connected by suitable levers Z, Z¹, to the governor R.
The action of our improved hydraulic elevator or lift will be as follows:-A pull
upon the starting rope I will move the cam K in connection therewith, causing it
to lift or remove the brake weight G, also throwing the friction roller M out of gear
with the friction drum F, and opening stop valve N on jet T; the water will then
issue from said jet or nozzle, and, acting on the tangential buckets 8, cause the
water wheel A to revolve, carrying with it the winding drum or barrel E, which in
rotating winds up its rope or chain e and draws up the cage attached thereto.
Should more water pass through said nozzle than required to raise the load, it will
issue from the buckets at such an angle as to act upon the vanes of the governor R,
and cause it to operate the sliding door or valve V so as to contract the opening or
orifice t of the nozzle, and thus decrease the quantity of water issuing therefrom.
Should however an insufficient quantity of water be passing through the jet the
angle of the water as it leaves the said tangential buckets becomes such as to act
on the governor in a contary direction, and cause it to operate upon the valve V, so
as to enlarge the opening of the nozzle.
If now it be required to stop the machine, the same rope I that was used for the
starting will be pulled in the contrary direction, and the action of the cam K,
thereby reversed, will close the stop valve N, put the pressure on the brake, and
throw the friction roller M again into gear with the friction drum F.
To start the machine in a downward direction, that is to say, to cause the said
cage or lift to be lowered, it will be necessary to pull the rope O, which, acting on
the cam k, takes the pressure off the brake F, leaving the cage or lift to descend by
its own weight, this downward movement being regulated by the aforesaid friction
roller and governor. To stop this downward action of the machine the said rope 0
must be pulled in the opposite direction, reversing the cam, which again brings
pressure upon the brake and the machine comes to rest. The aforesaid cams are
coupled in such a manner that pressure cannot be on the brake when the stop valve
on jet is open.
Figure 6 shews a method of brakeing the machine which we may adopt. F is the
brake wheel; A is a lever supported by the pin B at a convenient part of the
framing; C is a roller acting as a wedge between the brake wheel F and the
inclined plane D; E is a weight to give sufficient pressure for stopping the machine;
G is a cam for throwing it in or out of gear.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is or may be performed, we claim, as secured to us by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, the combination of the tangential
wheel and governor with lifting and braking gear, forming an improved hydraulic

page_text: elevator or lift, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated on the
accompanying Sheet of Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Graham Browne and William Boby,
for ourselves and on behalf of our co-patentees, have hereunto set our hands
and seals, this Fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six.
S. GRAHAM BROWNE. (L.S.)
WILLIAM BOBY.
(L.S.)