IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDING GEAR AND SAFETY APPARATUS FOR MINES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Pieper, of Dresden and Berlin, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDING GEAR AND SAFETY APPARATUS FOR MINES."
A communication to him from Friedrich Koepe, of Zeche, Hannover, near
Bochum.
Sealed the 17th May 1878, and dated the 19th November 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Carl Pieper at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 19th November 1877.
" IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDING GEAR AND
A communication from Friedrich Koepe, of
CARL PIEPER, of Dresden and Berlin.
SAFETY APPARATUS FOR MINES."
Zeche, Hannover, near Bochum.
The object of this Invention is to simplify and improve the arrangement of the
winding drum, and in combination with such improvements to provide for an
efficient safety apparatus, to balance the weight of the rope, and to prevent the cages
from being lifted too high.
The two drums and the overhead pulleys of the ordinary winding arrangements
are, in this case, replaced by a single pulley having a groove on its periphery. This
pulley is keyed on the shaft of the winding engine or otherwise driven by the same,
and is placed over the working pit. The winding rope, which is simply hung over
the said pulley so as to encircle only its top part, is actuated by friction alone. If
the pulley is larger than the distance between the centers of the two divisions of the
pit, suitable guide pulleys have to be employed.
The safety apparatus is arranged in the following manner :-Below the above-
mentioned winding pulley a shaft is placed, carrying two other grooved pulleys,
over which are placed auxiliary ropes attached at the ends to the hoisting cages.
The bearings of the said shaft are supported by springs. Supposing the tension of
I Price B11

page_text: the auxiliary ropes to be regulated in such a manner that the springs bear a part of
the weight of the cage, &c., and a breakage of the winding rope occurring, the whole
weight of the cages and the load will be thrown on the springs, which are thereby
compressed. The pulleys, over which the auxiliary ropes run, are thereby drawn
down to a certain amount, and their rims brought into contact with a fixed
brake beam, so that friction ensues, which causes the pulleys, and consequently also
the cages, to be stopped.
For the purpose of balancing the weight of the winding rope and of the auxiliary
or safety ropes, a rope, having the weight of the three together, is attached with
its ends to the under side of the cages, whilst its bight is at the bottom of
the pit. The total weight of rope on one side of the winding pulley is thus
balanced by the weight on the other side, at whichsoever point of the pit the cages
may be.
The cages are prevented from being lifted too high by regulating the tension of
the auxiliary or safety ropes in such a manner that the friction between the winding
pulley and the main rope is just sufficient to raise a loaded cage, whilst the empty
cage is suspended by the descending part of the rope. When, under these conditions,
the empty cage settles on the platform at the bottom of the pit, its weight is
taken off from the winding rope, whereby the friction on the winding pulley is
decreased, so that this pulley slips under the rope without raising any further the
loaded cage.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Carl Pieper in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th May
1878.
CARL PIEPER, of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WINDING GEAR AND SAFETY APPARATUS FOR MINES." (A communi-
cation by Friedrich Koepe, of Bochum, Prussia, Engineer.)
The object of this Invention is to simplify and improve the arrangement of the
winding drum, and in combination with such improvement to provide for an efficient
safety apparatus to balance the weight of the rope, and to prevent the cages from
being lifted too high.
The two drums and the overhead pulleys of the ordinary winding arrangement
are, in this case, replaced by a single pulley, having a groove on its periphery.
This pulley is keyed on the shaft of the winding engine or otherwise driven by the
same, and is placed over the working pit. The winding rope, which is simply hung
over the said pulley so as to encircle only its top part, is actuated by friction alone.
If the pulley is larger than the distance between the centres of the two divisions of
the pit, suitable guide pulleys have to be employed.
On the accompanying Drawing this arrangement of winding gear
represented
by Fig. 1 in a front view, and by Fig. 2 in a side elevation; the Figures 3 and 4
show details to a larger scale.
A is the winding pulley, over which the winding rope S is hung, the said
pulley being driven by an engine H; B, B', are the guide pulleys, serving to keep
at the required distance apart from each other the two parts of the rope S attached
to the cages G, G¹.
It will be seen that by this arrangement the load on the ascending cage is lifted
by the friction between the rope S and the periphery of the winding pulley A. If
the distance between the center lines of the two parts of the winding shaft is made
equal to the diameter of the pulley A, the guide pulleys B, B¹, may be dispensed
with. The lenght of the rope must, of course, be adjusted in such a manner, that,
when one cage has arrived at the bottom of the pit, the other is on a level with the
bank at the pit mouth.
The safety apparatus is arranged in the following manner :-Below the winding
pulley A a shaft is placed, carrying two other grooved pulleys C and C³ (see also
Figs. 3 & 4), over which are passed the auxiliary ropes S¹, S', attached with their
ends to the hoisting cages. The bearings of the said shaft are fixed on beams I,
supported by a number of springs D, enclosed in suitable casings. Supposing the
tension of the auxiliary ropes S¹ to be regulated in such a manner that the springs D
bear a part of the weight of the cages, &c., and a breakage of the winding rope
occurring, the cages will be held by the ropes S', and their whole weight, as also
the weight of the load, will be thrown on the springs D, which are thereby com-
pressed. The pulleys C, C¹, over which the ropes S¹ run, are consequently drawn
down to a certain amount, and their rims brought into contact with the fixed brake
blocks E, E, so that friction ensues, which causes the pulleys C, C', and also the
cages, to be stopped.
By preference, one of the pulleys C, C³, is keyed on its shaft, while the other is
loose on the same. This arrangement has been adopted to make up for any
inequality in the diameter of the two pulleys, and to prevent any injurious slipping
of either of the ropes. The pulleys C, C', are provided with broad rims suitable for
being acted upon by the brake blocks E, E¹.
It may be observed that the idea from which this safety arrangement originated
is not altogether new, but its practical application was hitherto impossible, as with
the common hoisting gear the cages do not, at all points of their course, run the
same distance in the same periods of time. This, however, is the case with the
-

page_text: present arrangement, and it is necessary that this condition be fulfilled for the pur-
pose of causing the tension of the safety ropes to be unvarying.
For the purpose of balancing the weight of the winding rope S and of the
auxiliary or safety ropes S¹, S¹, a rope S", having the weight of the three ropes
S, S¹, S', together, is attached with its ends to the under side of the cages, while its
bight is at the bottom of the mine. The total weight of the ropes on one side of
the winding pulley is thus balanced by their weight on the other side, at which-
soever point of the pit the cages may be. The said rope S" may be passed under-
neath a pulley F, the bearings of which are free to slide between guides, as shown
in Figs. 1 & 2; but this pulley is not necessarily required, as the rope S¹ also
answers its purpose without the same.
The cages are prevented from being lifted too high by regulating the tension of
the auxiliary or safety ropes S¹, S', in such a manner that the friction between the
winding pulley A and the main rope S is just sufficient to raise a loaded cage while
the empty cage is suspended by the descending part of the rope. When, under
these conditions, the empty cage settles on the platform at the bottom of the pit,
its weight is taken off from the winding rope, whereby the friction on the winding
pulley is decreased, so that it slips under the rope, without raising any further the
loaded cage. In consequence, even if the engine should not be stopped in due time,
no accident from this cause can take place. As soon, however, as the motion of the
engine is reversed, there will be again the necessary friction between rope and pulley
for raising the load, which is now on the other cage.
In the ordinary arrangement of hoisting gear, it is usual to secure the cage at the
pit mouth by means of palls catching under the same. For this purpose the cage
must be lifted slightly above the level of the pit mouth or bank, and then lowered,
so as to allow it to settle on the palls. With the described arrangement, this, how-
ever, would be impossible; but if it is nevertheless desired to apply the said palls
for sake of security, an attachment has yet to be provided for, by which a slight
extra amount of lifting is made possible. This attachement consists of a strong
spring K, introduced between either cage and the main rope S. While the cage is
suspended by the rope, the spring K is strained in proportion to the weight which it
has to bear; but when the lower cage settles on its platform at the bottom of the
pit, the strain is more or less taken off from this spring, which consequently tends
to re-assume its normal shape, and thereby causes (in co-operation with the engine)
to lift the upper cage sufficiently as to allow the palls to catch automatically, or to
be brought into engagement by a hand lever, so as to lock the cage. When the
palls are to be released, the necessary amount of lifting of the cage is again
effected by assistance of the spring, as in the first case.
With this arrangement the maximum power of engine may be reduced to the
power necessary for lifting the neat load, while otherwise it is requisite for the pur-
pose of lifting both cage and load above the pit mouth to have a spare amount of
power corresponding to the weight of the cage.
It may finally be observed that the hoisting engine may, if preferred, be placed
on the ground floor sideward of the pit. In this case the winding rope has to be
led over guide pulleys arranged above the shaft. The groove of the winding pulley
is, by preference, lined with wood or other suitable soft material for the purpose of
increasing the friction, and of diminishing the wear and tear of the rope. This
system is also applicable to lifts as used in hotels, etc.
Having now described the nature and object of this Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be or may be carried into practical effect, as communicated to me
by my correspondent, I claim as new and essential features of the same,―
1. The combination with a winding pulley A of a winding rope S, which is
simply hung or passed over the said pulley and actuated by friction alone, as and
for the said purpose specified.
2. The combination with the winding pulley A and the ropes S of the pulleys
C, C, the springs D, the brake blocks E, E¹, and the auxiliary or safety ropes S¹, S),
as described, and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 3. In combination with the pulley A and winding rope S, the rope S",
attached with its ends to the under side of the two cages, as and for the purpose
described.
4. In combination with the pulley A, winding rope S, and cages G, G', the springs
K, K¹, as specified, and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Pieper, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
CARL PIEPER. (L.S.)