IMPROVEMENTS In Apparatus FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS OR HEAVY BODIES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Hewitt, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Pattern Maker, and Samuel Goff, of Birming-
ham aforesaid, Pattern Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
In Apparatus FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS OR HEAVY BODIES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Hewitt and
Samuel Goff at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th March 1873.
We, BENJAMIN HEWITT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Pattern Maker, and SAMUEL GOFF, of Birmingham aforesaid, Pattern
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS OR HEAVY
BODIES," to be as follows:-
:-
T
1

page_text: to any required distance, and at any required speed. The relaxing of
the hold on the string or light cord causes the descending motion to be
immediately arrested.
Although the sides of the trough-like depression in the curved arm
may, as herein-before described, be plain, yet for greater security they
may have transverse ribs or projections upon them for enabling them the
more firmly to bite or grip the rope, but for ordinary purposes this is
unnecessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel Goff in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 23rd September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BENJAMIN
HEWITT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Pattern Maker,
and SAMUEL GOFF, of the same Place, Pattern Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three,
in the 36th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel
Goff, Her special license that we, the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel
Goff, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as wc,
the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel Goff, our executors, administrators,
or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
RAISING AND LOWERING WEIGHTS OR HEAVY BODIES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel Goff,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should parti-

page_text: cularly 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 we, the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel
Goff, do hereby declare the nature of our 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, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say :-
1
This Invention consists of the construction, arrangement, or com-
bination of parts herein-after described, for raising and lowering weights
or heavy bodies, and has for its object to facilitate the lowering and
suspending at any required height of the weight or heavy body.
The improvements consist of a pulley or series of pulleys sup-
ported by and working in a frame after the manner of an ordinary
pulley block, but with certain additions or modifications, as hercin-after
described.
Near the lower end of the ordinary frame of the pulley block there is
jointed a second light frame, consisting of two parallel bars connected
together at the top by a strong cross piece. The sides of this second
frame lie and work either upon the outside or the inside of the principal
frame. Within the said second frame and near its top there is an axis
parallel with the axis of the pulley. This axis carries a vibrating curved
arm having the same or nearly the same radius of curvature as the
pulley. This curved arm is hollowed on its under side into a trough-like
shape, the sides of the trough being plain.
When the second frame described is raised into a nearly vertical
position the curved arm rests upon the surface of the rope on the
periphery of the pulley. A light spring may or may not be made to a
press the said second frame into the vertical position described.
The rope or cord passing over the pulley is enclosed between the
groove in the pulley, the trough in the curved arm described. When
the rope is pulled in the direction proper to raise the weight suspended
from the pulley the cord suffers little or no resistance from the said 3
curved arm, as the motion of the cord tends to bring the said arm to a

page_text: greater distance from the periphery of the pulley. When the weight
has been raised to the required height it is sustained there by simply
loosing the cord if the spring is used, but if the spring be not used then
before letting go the cord it should be either put on one side so as to
engage with the curved arm, and carry it forward, or be pulled outwards
so as to engage the bottom of the trough, whereupon the tendency of
the cord to move in the direction proper to lower the weight carries
forward the curved arm described into a position nearer the peri-
phery of the pulley, by which action the said cord is gripped or
wedged between the pulley and the said curved arm, and its motion
arrested.
By means of a string or a light cord attached to the upper part of the
second frame, or to the curved arm, the said frame can be pulled back,
and the hold of the curved arm and pulley on the raising cord or rope
relaxed. By this means the weight or heavy body may be allowed to
run down or descend to any required distance, and at any required speed.
The relaxing of the hold on the string or light cord described causes the
descending motion to be arrested, or usually it will be quite sufficient to
give the lifting rope a side movement to right or left if the spring be
not used, in order to bring the grip into action, the cord still being useful
in certain situations.
Although the sides of the trough-like depression in the curved arm
may, as herein-before described, be plain, yet for greater security they
may have transverse ribs or projections upon them for enabling them
the more firmly to bite or grip the rope; but for ordinary purposes this
is unnecessary.
Although I have described the Invention with reference to a
single pulley block, yet it may also be applied to compound pulley
blocks.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood we shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a side elevation of the improved pulley
block; Figure 2 is a similar view with the side plate removed, and
showing the position of the parts when lowering; Figure 3 is a side

page_text: elevation with the side plate removed, and shewing the position of the
parts when the rope is gripped by the curved arm, and the running
down of the weight is prevented; Figure 4 is a front elevation of the
block; Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a detailed section and side
elevation of the curved arm detached; and Figure 7 is a separate detail
of part of the second or inner light frame.
a, a¹, are the two parallel bars, and b is the cross piece constituting
together the said second light frame. a, a¹, are described as being
situated outside or inside of the frame of the pulley block, but they are
shewn in the Drawing as placed inside the frame of the pulley block,
it being merely a question of practical convenience which position they
occupy.
The cross piece 6 may also be the axis carrying the vibrating curved
arm c aforesaid, as shewn in the Drawings.
The under side of the vibrating curved arm c may be either corru-
gated or left plain, and is hollowed to suit the rope (the reason for using
this arm is to spread the grip over more surface of the rope, and thus
prevent its injury); d (Figure 3) shews the position of the spring when
used; e, the hauling rope or cord, which is pulled downwards to raise
the weight, as shown by the arrow f; g is the string or light cord, by
means of which the second light frame a, a¹, may be pulled back, and
the hold of the curved arm c on the rope relaxed; his a peg fixed to
one of the parallel bars a, and working in a slot in the side plate i
(Figure 1) of the pulley block frame, and thus limiting the motion of
the said second light frame.
The spring d, herein-before referred to, and the string or light cord g,
may in many cases be dispensed with; when the spring is dispensed
with, the peg / prevents the second light frame a, a¹, from falling too
far back, the parts assuming the position shown in Figure 2 on pulling
the rope e downwards, or in the direction f, and retaining that position,
even though the rope be allowed to travel in the reverse direction, thus
lowering the weight, unless the rope be caused to assume a slantingor
angular position, as shown by the dotted lines in Figures 1, 2, and 4.
But when the rope is made to assume one of these slanting positions
while travelling in the direction to lower the weight the friction between
it and some part of the second light frame a, a, is sufficient to carry the
latter into the position shown in Figure 3, when it immediately bites the
rope, and the weight is held stationary.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our
said Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the appli-
cation and use to and in connection with a rope pulley of the parallel
bars a, a, and vibrating curved arm c, substantially in the manner
and for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, we, the said Benjamin Hewitt and Samuel
Goff have to this our Specification, set our hands and seals, the
Twentieth day of September One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three.
5
Witness,
F. J. ANDREWS,
Birmingham.
BENJAMIN HEWITT. (L.S.)
SAMUEL GOFF.
(L.S.)