IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION COUPLING BREAKS APPLICABLE. TO HOISTING APPARATUS. AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Aldridge Weston, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Aldridge Weston
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th May 1867.
I, THOMAS ALDRIDGE WESTON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION COUPLING BREAKS APPLICABLE. TO HOISTING APPARATUS.
AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain new and improved methods of operating
the friction coupling break, for which Letters Patent were granted to me on
the 29th of Jan' 1863, No. 263, and on the 2nd of December 1865, No. 3093,.
and is applicable wholly or partially to hoisting machinery and other purposes.
as herein-after described, and consists of certain peculiar arrangements, for
applying and withdrawing the pressure requisite for operating the coupling
brake, such coupling break consisting essentially of two series of discs.

page_text: arranged alternately with each other upon a shaft. as described in the
Specification of my said Patent, No. 263.
According to one mode of carrying out my said Invention I place upon the
shaft carrying my said coupling break a short hollow cylinder having a
central boss capable of turning freely upon such shaft; the bed or cover of
this cylinder also provided with a central boss so as to turn freely upon the
shaft with the cylinder is forced outwards from the cylinder by springs con-
tained therein, and the central boss of the lid or cover is extended along the
sbaft so as to reach and press upon the discs of my said coupling break when
required to effect the coupling or break action of the discs. Upon the shaft
there is fitted a collar for the cylinder or "spring box," as I shall herein-after
call it to abut against, and a similar collar for the break box to abut against,
so that neither may slide away from the other. When the springs exert their
force upon the coupling break the spring box (or cylinder and cover) may
revolve with the shaft; when the coupling pressure is withdrawn by the
spring box, and its cover being mutually compressed together, the spring box
is brought to rest with and by the parts employed to compress it, which I will
.now describe: Upon each side of the spring box is a forked bell-crank lever
embracing the shaft within the forks, by which means the spring box may be
compressed or released as the bent ends of the said levers are elevated or
depressed by the longitudinal motion of a sliding bar provided with suitable
elevations and depressions for lifting and lowering the lever ends' as it slides
under them.
In applying my improvements to a steam-power hoist I place centrally
upon a single casting or girder. one end of the barrel shaft of the hoist (the
other end being also suitably supported in a bearing) and fit a bevel wheel on
such shaft next the girder; upon each side of the bevel wheel and gearing
therewith is a bevel pinion with its shaft lying parallel to the said girder and
'extending outwards towards either end of the girder, suitable bearings being
formed for these pinion shafts upon the girder. Upon each pinion shaft there
is a spur pinion combined with the coupling, break, such pinion being geared
to a common driving shaft, and being operated-by-the-cranked-levers-and-
sliding bar, as before described, SO that on one of these spur pinions being
coupled to its shaft by the means described the motion of the common driving
'shaft is imparted to the pinion shaft, and also through the bevel pinion and
large bevel wheel to the hoisting barrel. On coupling the other pinion in
like manner a reverse or lowering motion is obtained: The last-named pinion
shaft is extended towards the end of the girder into a stationary break box fixed
thereon, to which is applied the speed governor, described in the Specification

page_text: of my said Patent, No. 30935, with this modification that the governor
weights by preference revolve horizontally, deriving their motion from a light
bevel wheel upon the said pinion shaft; the action of the governor weights act
by suitable levers upon the stationary brake box and arrest any excess of speed.
The break box or governor break is also acted upon by a lever lifted by the
sliding bar before referred to, which also actuates the two coupling brakes of
the two pinion shafts, that is to say, the sliding bar extends the whole length
of the girder and is in contact with the ends of all the bell-cranked levers of
both coupling brakes as well as the lever of the governor break, and lifts or
drops them by suitably arranged projections or inclines on the said bar;
the projections upon the sliding bar may be adjustable so that the hoisting,
lowering, and the "stop" motions may follow each other in a convenient.
manner; the stop motion is obtained by pressure upon the stationary break
box; the sliding motion of the sliding bar may be effected by a toothed rack
attached thereto and gearing with the pinion of a' sprocket wheel. By
suitable springs or weights the sliding bar may be made to bring into operation
the stop action whenever the hoist is left to itself. In this first-described
mode of applying and withdrawing pressure for actuating the coupling break
the shaft acted upon may be hollow and the pressure transmitted to or from
the coupling by a pushing rod or rods therein acting against keys or cotters-
passed through the bosses' of the spring box and through suitable slots on the
shaft.
According to another mode of working the coupling break, which is especially
adopted to the compressors of gun carriages, a longitudinal inclined rib or rail'
is raised upon the inner side of the carriage slide, or which rail bears tie
vibrating end of a forked lever attached to the carriage; as the carriage runs
back under recoil this lever presses more or less upon the coupling break or
compressor by traversing the inclined rib, giving a gradually increasing
resistance according to the inclination or slope of the said rib or rail.
According to another modification suitable for controlling the motion of a
shaft I place upon the shaft to be controlled the coupling break box formed with
ratchet teeth on its outer periphery engaging with a pall upon a fixed stud or
pin, so that the coupling break can only turn one way. The shaft is screwed
at one end, and a hand wheel traversing thereon is similarly screwed with the
thread in such a direction (either right or left hand) that when the hand
wheel is held stationary the motion of the shaft to be arrested shall pull the
screwed boss of the hand wheel inwards upon the coupling break until such
notion is stopped. Upon moving the hand wheel in a direction to unscrew
it the pressure, upon the coupling is removed, and the previously arrested

page_text: force or strain upon the shaft again operates through the screwed part and'
restores the coupling pressure and brings itself to rest by the action of the
friction discs and stationary pall.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Thomas Aldridge
Weston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ALDRIDGE WESTON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me; the said
Thomas Aldridge Weston, Her special license, that I, the said Thomas-
Aldridge Weston; my executors; administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Aldridge Weston, my 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 FRICTION COUPLING BREAKS APPLICABLE TO HOISTING APPARATUS
AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Aldridge Weston,-my exécutors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manuer 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. And whereas by an Order under the hand and seal of the
Lord High Chancellor, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, it was ordered that the said Thomas
Aldridge Weston-should-be-allowed-further-time-for-the-filing_of_the_said
Specification. such further time being fourteen days from the date of the said
Order..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Aldridge Weston, do hereby
declare 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

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to certain new and improved methods of
operating the friction coupling brake, for which Letters Patent were granted-
to me on the Twenty-ninth of June, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
three, No. 263, and on the Second December, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-five, No. 3093, and is applicable wholly or partially to hoisting machinery
and other purposes, as herein-after described, and consists of certain peculiar
arrangements for applying and withdrawing the pressure requisite for operating
the coupling brake, such coupling brake consisting essentially of two series' of
discs arranged alternately with each other upon a shaft, as described in the
Specification of my said Patent, No. 263/63.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I 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
Jetters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding'
Figures.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a power hoist with my improve-
ments applied thereto; Figures 2 and 3 are end elevations of the same.
I place upon 'the shaft A, Figure 1, carrying my said coupling brake B a
short hollow cylinder C, having a central boss D capable of turning freely on
the shaft A; the lid or cover E of this cylinder is also provided with a central
boss F so as to turn freely upon the shaft A with the cylinder C, and it is
forced outwards from the said cylinder by springs G coutained therein; the
central boss of the lid or cover is extended along the shaft and made to press
by the intervention of the keys F¹ upon the discs H of my said coupling
brake B when required to effect the coupling action of the discs. When the
springs exert their force upon the coupling brake the spring box C may revolve
with the shaft; but when the coupling pressure is withdrawn by the spring
box and its cover being mutually compressed together the spring box is brought-
to rest with and by the parts employed to compress it, which I will now
describe. Upon each side of the spring box is a forked bell-crank lever. I by
which the spring box C may be compressed or released as the arms K of the
bell-crank levers are elevated or depresed by the longitudinal motion of a sliding
bar L, which is provided with inclines M for that purpose. N is a casting or
girder carrying by a suitable bearing one end of the barrel shaft O of the
hoist, the other end of the shaft being also suitably supported. On the
shaft O a bevel wheel P is placed next the girder N; upon each side of the
bevel wheel P, and gearing therewith is. a bevel pinion Q, Q', with shafts

page_text: A, A¹, lying parallel to the girder N, suitable bearings being formed for the
same. To each coupling brake B is attached a pinion R, one of which is
shewn in my Drawings, which pinions gear into corresponding spur. wheels
fixed upon one common driving shaft for the purpose of effecting the hoisting
and lowering motions accordingly as one or other of the said pinions is
coupled with its shaft A or A¹ The pinion shaft A¹ is extended towards one
end of the girder into a stationary brake box S fixed to the girder N, and to
which is applied the speed governor T, described in the Specification of my
said Patent, No. 3093/65, with this modification, that the governor weights T",
by preference revolve, horizontally, deriving their motion 'from light bevel
wheels U upon the shafts A', U¹. The governor weights act by the levers V
upon the stationary, brake box S, and arrest any excess of speed in the act of
lowering; the governor brake S is also acted upon by a lever K¹ to arrest the
lowering motion at any point. The sliding bar L extends the whole length
of the girder, and is in contact with the arms K of all the bell-crank levers of
the coupling brakes as well as the lever K' of the governor brake, and lifts
or drops them by suitably arranged projections on inclines M on the said
bar; the projection M upon the sliding bar may be adjustable so that the
hoisting, lowering, and the "stop" motions may follow each other in a-con-
venient manner. The stop motion is obtained by pressure upon the stationary
brake box effected by the incline M and lever K. The sliding motion of the
bar I may be effected by a toothed rack W attached thereto and gearing with
the pinion X carried on the spindle Y of a sprocket wheel, not shown in my
Drawing. The hoist is operated by the parts previously described, to which
motion is conveniently imparted for the purpose by means of an endless rope
and sprocket wheel attached to and carried by the pinion shaft X.
upou
the
Figure 4 represents a side view of a hoist showing a modification of my
last-described improvements applied thereto. A is a hollow shaft carrying a
coupling B. and a pinion gearing into the bevel wheel P to transmit a
hoisting motion to the hoisting barrel by the action of the spring G
coupling B, the wheel R, of which is geared to a wheel upon the driving
shaft, as herein-before described with reference. to Figure 1; this coupling
pressure is removed in lowering by the cam a (shewn in detail, Figure 5,).
acting upon the rod band levers through the pushing-rod-d-within-the-
hollow shaft. A, the rod d forcing backwards the disc e of the coupling and
relieving the latter from the pressure of the spring when the shaft A may
turn in the contrary direction in which it is carried by the descending load.
The lowering motion is suitably retarded by the governor T exerting its force
upon the brake S through the intervention of the levers V, crank f, and

page_text: pushing rod g which forces inwards the disc el upon the discs of the brake S:
Upon the shaft A¹ is fixed a bevel wheel k, which by the pinion 1 transmits
motion to the governor T and to the brake drum S by the pinion also
gearing with the wheel cast on the drum S; by this means the drum S and
the discs connected thereto are rotated in a reverse direction to the other
series of discs carried upon the shaft A', which contrary motion in the discs
adds to their brake action. To stop the hoist wholly the cam a has a suitable"
projection to act upon the rod b', lever U; and pushing rod g; the hoist is
thus conveniently operated by the sprocket wheel h and rope i carried by the
shaft Y, upon which is fixed the cam a.
:
Figure 6 a plan of the slide of a gun carriage to which my Invention is
applied; Figure 7 is a transverse section of the same, together with that of
the gun carriage thereon. A-is the framework of the slide, one side of which
has an inclined rib or rail a; B-is a rack secured to the frame A, into which
rack the compressor or disc brake C gears by spur teeth formed on its outside;
D is a shaft carrying the brake C, and is supported in the sides E of the gun
carriage; this shaft D may be locked to or released from the sides E of the
carriage, by any suitable means. F is a forked lever, the forks, embracing the
shaft D and vibrating between lugs G upon, the carriage side; the tail H of
this lever bears upon and traverses the inclined edge of the rib or rail a. As
the carriage is driven by the recoil of the gun backward along the slide the
lever E is gradually carried inwards against the brake or compressor C as the
tail traverses the inclined rib or rail a; during this backward motion of
the carriage the shaft D is locked to the carriage sides E; the brake discs
thereon are, therefore stationary, whilst the discs attached to the drum C
receive motion from the rack B. As the pressure is thus gradually increased
upon the brake C an increasing resistance is thereby afforded to the recoil of
the gun carriage.
Figure 8 represents my Invention as applied for controlling the lowering
motion of an ordinary crane. A is the framing of the crane supporting the
shaft B; C is a pinion keyed thereon and gearing into the spur wheel of the
winding barrel; D is the brake box having a ratchet wheel E formed thereon
on which the pall Facts; G is a hand wheel screwed to fit the screw H formed
on the shaft B for the purpose of coupling the discs of the brake D; the
pinion C turns in the direction shown by the arrow when lowering. Lowering.
is effected by unscrewing the hand wheel upon the screw thread E of the
shaft B, which is again restored to its original position and again coupled with
the brake box D by the lowering motion of the shaft..
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my

page_text: said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
First, the construction of a power hoist by combining upon a single girder
two or more friction couplings in combination with a governor brake, sub-
stantially as berein described and illustrated.
Second, the employment of a friction brake in combination with an inclined
rib or rail and a vibrating lever traversing thereon for the obtainment of
a gradually increasing resistance in order to arrest the recoil of a gun
carriage.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Aldridge Weston, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of December
. One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
THOS. A. WESTON. (L.S.)