Improvements in Elevators or Lifts.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1888.
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1889-Accepted, 24th Aug, 1889
drawings in winch
This
is a vertical elevation showing the well of an elevator, and the elevatin
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elevators or Lifts.
communication from abroad by OTIS BROTHERS AND COMPANY, a corporation
organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, of New York, in
the United States of America, Manufacturers.
I PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows
These improvements relate to that class of elevator apparatus in which a cage is
caused to rise and fall within a well through the action of an operating engine the
nature of which apparatus will be understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings in which
Figure 1 is a vertical elevation showing the well of an elevator, and the elevating
apparatus including the engine.
Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of part of the cage or platform.
Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of the governor apparatus and clamp.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the engine.
Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional elevation of the engine.
Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section through the cylinders and steam chest of the
engine.
Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional plan of Fig. 9.
Fig. 11 is a face view of the valve plate and ports.
Fig. 12 a detached longitudinal section of part of the automatic stopping device.
Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the engine.
Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the engine.
Fig. 15 an elevation of part of the well, cage, governor apparatus and safety
appliances.
Fig. 16 a sido elevation of the cage and part shown in Fig. 15.
Figs. 17 and 18 are details of the safety appliances.
Fig. 19 is a perspective view of an elevator platform and guides showing a
modification of the safety appliances.
Referring to said drawings it is to be understood that A represents the elevator
shaft, the car which may be a simple platform of suitable form for carrying freight,
as shown in Fig. 1, or may be of suitable form for carrying passengers, as shown
in other Figs.; C the hoisting cable which is attached to the car and passes over a
pulley 10 at the top of the shaft and is wound upon a drum D; and E is a motor
for operating the drum D to wind and unwind the cable and thus raise and lower
the car.
The motor E for operating the drum D consists of two vertical steam cylinders a, b,
Fig. 7, having pistons the rods of which are connected to a common crank shaft 12,
the cranks for the two piston rods being set at an angle of about ninety degrees to each
other so as to prevent the two cranks being upon either of the dead-points at the same
time. The crank-shaft 12 is provided with a gear which engages with a gear 14
Fig. 8, mounted upon a counter-shaft 15 having a gear 16 which engages with an
By this means
internal gear 17 formed around the periphery of the drum D.
inotion is communicated from the crank-shaft 12 of the engines to the drum D so as
to wind or unwind the cable and according as the drum is revolved in one direction
or the other, to raise or lower the car.
The admission and exhaust of the steam to and from the cylinders a b is controlled
by a pair of valves c, d, Fig. 9, each of which is composed of two pistons 8, 9, which

page_text: valve chests having ports 5 through which the steam is admitted
to and exhausted from the cylinders, and ports 6, 7, through which the steam is
admitted to and exhausted from the chests. The ports 7 communicate with the valve
chests above and below the pistons S, 9, while the ports 6 communicate with the
valve chests between the pistons. The ports 6 of the two chests, and also the ports 7
of the two chests, unite and open into a main valve chest f into which the live steam
for operating the engines is admitted through an induction port 18 and from which
the steam after performing its work in the cylinders a, b, is exhausted through a main
exhaust port 19, which opens into the valve chest between the ports 6, 7. The
poris 6, 7 and 19, are controlled by the reversing valve g, Figs. S and 10, which is
located in the valve chest and is operated through a valve rod 20 which is connected
by an arm 21 with a rock shaft 22 having an arm 23. To the arm 23 is connected a
rod 24 having a rack 25 which is engaged by a pinion 26 upon a shaft 27 having
a pulley 28 Fig. 1 around which passes a hand rope which also passes around
suitable pulleys and through or adjacent to the car B in position to be manipulated
by the conductor upon the car. The rock shaft 22 is also provided with a weighted
arın 29 which serves to counterbalance the weight of the valve, the arm 23 and the
parts connected thereto, so as to render the movement of the valve more easy.
The operation of the elevator and its motor as thus far described is as follows:-
In order to cause the car to ascend the conductor will operate the rope h and
shaft 27 so as to move the rod 24. downward and rock the shaft. 22, so as to depress
the controlling or reversing valve in the same direction and thus bring the port 7
into communication with the valve chest and the port 6 into communication with
the port 19. The live steam-will then enter through the ports 7, 5, and act upon the
pistons of the cylinders a, b, so as to revolve the drum D to wind up the cable C and
raise the car, the exhaust steam at the same time passing out through the ports 5, 5,
6, 6, to the exhaust port 19.
To bring the car to rest at any point the conductor will operate the hand rope / so
as to move the reversing valve to the mid-position indicated in Fig. 8, and thereby
close the ports 6, 7, and prevent the induction and exhaust of steam to and from the
cylinders
b.
To cause the car to descend the conductor will operate the rope so as to raise the
reversing valve g and bring the port 6 into communication with the valve chest / and
the port 7 into communication with the port 19. The live steam will then enter
through the ports 6, 6, 5, 5, so as to act upon the pistons of the cylinders a, b in the
reverse direction and revolve the drum D so as to unwind the cable and permit the
car to descend, the exhaust steam at the same time passing out through the ports 5, 5,
7, 7, to the exhaust port 19.
When the reversing valve g has been moved to its mid-position, as shown in Fig. 8,
and as just described, so as to shut off the admission of steam to the cylinders a, b, and
thus stop the engine and arrest the car in its ascent or descent, there will be nothing
to sustain the car in the position in which it is stopped except the pressure of the
steam confined in the cylinders which pressure will be gradually reduced by leakage
and condensation and the car will gradually move downward from the position at
which it was arrested. To prevent this it is desirable that some means should be pro-
vided for holding the car positively in any position in which it is stopped. For this
purpose the main crank-shaft 12 is provided with a pulley 30, Fig. 8, around which
passes a band brake 31 one end of which is secured to the framework of the engine,
as indicated at 3, while the other end is connected to the short arm of a lever 33
which is fulcrumed upon the framework, as indicated at 34, and has its longer arm
provided with a weight 35 the tendency of which is to constantly rock the lever so as
to apply the brake to the pulley 30 with sufficient force to lock the crank-shaft and
prevent the drum from being turned by the weight of the car.
nected by a flexible strap 36 with a short arm 37 extending from the shaft 27 Figs. 7,
The lever, 33 is con-
8 and 13. The arm 37 is so positioned that when the shaft 27 has been moved so as
to bring the reversing valve 9 to its mid-position it will allow the strap 36 to become

page_text: slack and the weight 35 to apply the brake 31 to the pulley 30. By this means
whenever the valve g is brought to its mid-position to arrest the car the brake is
at the same time automatically applied to the pulley 30 so as to hold the car in
whatever position it is arrested in. Whenever the shaft 27 is turned so as to move
the valve either up or down from its mid position so as to start the car, the strap 36
will be wound on the shaft so as to raise the lever 33 and remove the break from
the pulley 30 and so as to permit the crank shaft to be turned by the engine to
move the car. The brake mechanism thus organized performs another important
function in that it operates to arrest the momentum of the engine and thus cause
the car to come to rest quickly whenever the reversing valve is moved to its mid-
position.
While reference has been made to certain forms of valves, brake, and actuating
devices, other forms may be used with like effects.
In elevators of this class it is important that means should be provided by which
in case the conductor is careless or unskilful the car will be automatically stopped
just before reaching the limit of its up or down movement so as to be prevented
from being brought into violent contact with the framework at the top or bottom
of the shaft. For this purpose the shaft 38 of the drum D. is provided with a
gear 39 Fig. 8 which engages with a gear 40 mounted upon a shaft 41 Fig. 7
which is in line with the shaft 27 with its end adjacent thereto. The shaft 41 is
provided with two fixed heads 42, 43, Fig. 12 arranged a short distance apart
and provided upon their adjacent faces with one or more recesses 4. The portion
of the shaft 41 between the heads 42, 43, is threaded and is provided with a
nut 44 having a projection 3 which enters a groove 5. formed in the side of a
barrel 45 which encloses the heads 42, 43 and is keyed fast to the end of the
shaft 27. The nut 44 is provided upon its opposite faces with projections 2
corresponding to the recesses 4 in the faces of the heads 42, 43. The operation of
this automatic stop mechanism is as follows:-As the drum D is revolved to raise
or lower the car the motion of the drum will be communicated through the
gears 39, 40, to the shaft 41 thereby revolving said shaft and causing the nut 44
(which is prevented from revolving with the shaft by means of the projection 3
which enters the groove 5 in the stationary barrel 45.) to move along the shaft
toward one or the other of the heads 42, 43, the direction of the movement of the
nut depending upon the direction of the movement of the car. The heads 42, 43,
are placed at such a distance from each other that just before the car arrives at the
limit of its up and down movement the nut 44 will arrive in close proximity to
the head toward which it is moving so that the projection 2 upon that side of the
nut will enter the recess 4 in the face of the head and as soon as this takes place
the barrel 45 will be clutched to the shaft 41 so that the farther movement of the
shaft 41 will be communicated through the barrel to the shaft 27 and thus operate
the pinion 26 and rod 25 and move the reversing valve g to its mid-position, and at
the same time apply the brake to the pulley 30, so as to stop the car, and this will
take place, whichever way the car is moving, before it arrives at the extreme limit of
its movement in that direction.
In addition to the means for stopping and retaining the elevator car in any desired
position and for starting it in either direction from any position in which it is stopped,
and for automatically stopping it before it reaches the limit of its up and down move-
ments as has already been described, it is important to provide means by which the
car will be arrested or retarded in case it attains an undue speed in its descent, as by
the breaking of the hoisting cable or of some part of the motor, or in case the speed of
the motor becomes unduly accelerated or for any reason gets beyond the control of the
conductor. This is important in all classes of elevators no matter what the style of
motor employed may be, but it is particularly important where the raising and
lowering of the car is effected by the winding and unwinding of the cable, as in such
case particular skill and care is required on the part of the conductor in order to
properly regulate the movement of the reversing valve to conform to the load which

page_text: may be in the car at any particular time. For this purpose the elevator is provided
with one or more ropes, cables, belts or chains in, Figures 1 to 6, connected directly
or indirectly to the car so as to travel with the latter. The cable or cables m may be
wound upon drums above and below, or may be passed over a pulley or pulleys above
and support a counterweight or weights at its or their opposite ends, or, as is prefer-
able, the cable or cables may be endless and pass completely around upper and lower
pulleys 46, as shown in Figure 1. Each cable at some point of its course passes
between the jaws of a gripping or friction device or a brake which may be constructed
in any suitable manner so as to grasp or bear frictionally upon the cable or upon the
pulley over which it passes, and in connection with the clamp or brake, there is
employed a self-acting governor of any suitable construction, and operated in any
suitable manner, to apply the clamp or brake and arrest or retard the movement of
the cable whenever the car acquires from any cause an undue speed. The apparatus
for automatically clamping the cable which has been found most effective in practice
consists of two geared eccentrics 47 between which the cable passes and the shaft of
one of which is provided with a crank 48 which is connected by a rod 49 to the
operating lever 50 of an ordinary ball governor F. This governor is driven by
gears 51 from the shaft of the upper cable pulley 46 so that when the car acquires any
undue speed it will operate to raise the lever 50 and cause the eccentrics to clamp the
cable and arrest or retard its movement and this is made the means of applying the
safety devices carried by the car. Located upon the car, and operated by the cable m
when the latter is retarded or arrested, is a clamping or stop mechanism of any suit-
able form which when thrown into operation by the arrested cable acts to retard or
arrest the downward movement of the car. This clamping or stop mechanism may
consist of a clamp or clamps which act to grasp or bear upon the sides of the elevator
shaft or upon the guides upon which the car noves up and down and which will act
to retard the car or arrest it gradually by frictional contact with the sides of the shaft
or the guides, or it may consist of a positive locking mechanism which when thrown
into operation will act-to arrest the car positively and abruptly.
the car.
One form of mechanism suitable. for the purpose is illustrated in Figures 1 and 6.
In this mechanism the sides of the elevator shaft are provided with vertical racks or
ratchets 52 which are arranged to be engaged by pawls or detents 53 carried upon
These detents may be combined with various appliances whereby they may
be thrown out when the car exceeds its normal speed. For example, they may, as
shown in the present case, be connected to two bell crank levers 54 which are
connected to each other so as to operate in unison, one of said levers being connected
by a rod 55 with a third bell crank lever 56 fulcrumed at the side of the car and
having one of its arms provided with an opening through which passes the cable m.
Knots or stops 57 on the cable, above and below the arm of the lever, serve as
bearings for the latter, should the motion of the cable be arrested, thereby rocking
the lever 56 and operating the detents so as to cause them to move outward and
engage with the ratchets 52 and arrest the car. A spring 58 is preferably interposed
between the lower stop 57 and the arm of the lever 56 which will have the effect of
preventing an undue strain upon the cable or its attachments by the descent of the car
after the cable is gripped but before the detents operate to arrest the car.
modes of forming a slightly yielding connection between the cable and the devices
upon the car will be obvious, as for example, providing the lever 56 with an elastic
arm. By this means whenever the car attains an undue speed in its descent, either by
the breaking of the hoisting cable or from any derangement of the machinery or
carelessness upon the part of the conductor in failing to properly manipulate the
reversing valve, it is automatically arrested. When the car has been thus arrested
all that is necessary to restore the arresting devices to their normal position is to
reverse the valve g so as to cause the car to ascend. The upward movement of the car
will cause the lever 56 to be rocked in the opposite direction so as to retract the pawls
and the reverse movement of the cable m together with the weight of the parts of the
governor, will at once restore the eccentrics 47 to their normal position so as to
Other

page_text: release the cable. If the arresting devices carried by the car are so constructed as to
arrest or retard the car by clamping the guides at the sides of the elevator shaft, the
retarding of the car will operate to retard the cable m to a like degree and in that case
the weight of the governor will in itself act to release the cable and thus restore the
clamps to their normal position as soon as the car is retarded or arrested. The same
effect can of course be produced by slight modification of the apparatus when the
car is ascending but such a result will not usually be necessary.
By employing the cable or cables m connected to the car to travel therewith and
the governor and devices for clutching the cable substantially as described, but
without any retarding or arresting devices carried upon the car the gripping of the
cable or cables will afford a substantial support for the car should the hoisting cable
break, and this will be particularly the case if two or more cables m are employed
and so combined with the governor that both will be simultaneously gripped by the
action of the governor.
The safety appliances which have just been described although especially desirable
in elevators in which the raising and lowering of the car is effected by means of a
drum and motor as described, are not, as will readily be understood, limited in their
application to an elevator which is operated in this manner but may be applied equally
well to all classes of elevators no matter what the style of hoisting mechanism
employed may be.
Another form in which the safety device may be applied is illustrated in
Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18, in which the cable in operates upon a lever 70 pivoted to
the side of a cross beam beneath the car, and bearing upon an arm 71 extending from
a shaft 72 rocking in bearings below the car.
The cross bar 73 below the platform of the car is notched at each end to receive the
vertical guides 52 which instead of having teeth as before described are plain, and
between the inclined side of each notch and the adjacent side face of each guide 52,
intervenes a wedge 74, which has an inclined side corresponding to the inclined face
of the notch, and a lip at the upper end, which keeps it from falling below the
position, shown in Figure 17.
The parts are so arranged that when the car is moving at a normal speed and the
wedges are in their lowest position, they will have no frictional bearing against
the guides 52, but when the speed of the car becomes excessive from any cause the
wedges are raised so as to wedge between the sides of the guides and the inclined
faces of the bar 73 creating such a frictional resistance to the descent of the car as
will speedily arrest its movement. After the movement is thus arrested a slight
upward movement will unclamp the wedges which will then fall to their lower
position and the car will rise and fall as before until the speed again becomes
excessive.
Different means may be employed for raising the wedges at each side off the car
when the suspensories break or when the speed becomes excessive.
The flexible suspensories or cables e, as shown in Figures 15 to 19 are four in
number and are guided by rollers at t, t, so that two cables extend downward on each
side of the car and are connected at their lower ends to the opposite end of a rock
lever 75, having a projection 78, (shown in the form of the arm of a lever in the con-
struction hereinafter described in reference to Figure 19), which projection serves as
a rest for a pointed arm 81 at the adjacent end of the shaft 72, the said arın extending
below the wedge. Another projection 92 extends over the other end of i, the
arm $1.
The levers 75 are held in horizontal position by the equal strain of the cables
connected to the opposite ends, but should either cable break the strain will come
upon one end of the lever 75, tilt the latter and bring one of the projections 78 or 92
against the arm 81 raising it until its end bites into the opposite guide thereby
arresting the further descent of the eage. In order to check the speed of the cage
before the arms 81 are jammed against or into the guides 52 the wedges 74 are
arranged directly above said arms so as to be lifted by the arms 81 and thus wedged
between the cross bar 73, and the guides with such force as to bite the guides

page_text: nrmly creating sufficient friction to arrest in many cases the further downward
movement.
Should the speed of the cage become excessive without any breaking of the cables
the traveling safety cable m will be arrested as before described and the lever 70,
Figure 16, will be caused to bear on the arm 71, of the shaft 72, rocking the latter
lifting the arms 81, raising the wedges and arresting the cage first by the friction
of the wedges and then by the biting of the arms 81 into the guides 52 as just
described.
In Figure 19 there are but two cables e, e¹, each connected at the lower end with
an eye bolt 77, extending loosely through the cross bar 73, the eye at the lower end
of the bolt receiving the projection or arm 78 of a bell crank lever Z. The pendant
arins 79 of the bell crank levers are connected by a rod 80 and over each projection 78
extends the aforesaid arm 81 connected to the cross shaft 82.
So long as the strain upon both. portions e, e' of the cable C is equal the parts will
remain in position shown in Figure 16, but if either portion of the cable should break,
as for instance the portion e', there will be no upward strain or draft upon the
projection 78 of the lever Z to which such portion was connected, and all the strain
would come upon the projection 78 of the opposite lever Z, which would be suddenly
turned in the direction of the arrow Figure 19, and the projection 78 would contact
with the overhanging arm 81, raising the latter, rocking the shaft 82 and thus bring
both arms 81 forcibly against the loose wedges 74 and thrusting their ends against the
sides of the guides.
Dated this 26th day of September 1888.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elevators or Lifts.
A communication from abroad by OTIS BROTHERS AND COMPANY, a corporation
organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, of New York,
in the United States of America, Manufacturers.
I PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
These improvements relate to that class of elevator apparatus in which a cage is
caused to rise and fall within a well through the action of an operating engine the
nature of which apparatus will be understood by reference to the drawings filed with
the Provisional Specification in which
Figure 1 is a vertical elevation showing the well of an elevator, and the elevating
apparatus including the engine.
Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of part of the cage or platform.
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of the governor apparatus and clamp.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the engine.
Figure 8 is a transverse sectional elevation of the engine.
Figure 9 is an enlarged vertical section through the cylinders and steam chest of
the engine.
Figure 10 is a transverse sectional plan of Figure 9.
Figure 11 is a face view of the valve plate and ports.
Figure 12 a detached longitudinal section of part of the automatic stopping
device.
Figure 13 is a side elevation of the engine.
Figure 14 is a perspective view of the engine.
Figure 15 an elevation of part of the well, cage, governor apparatus and safety
appliances:
Figure 16 a side elevation of the cage and part shown in Figure 15.

page_text: Figures 17 and 18 are details of the safety appliances.
Figure 19 is a perspective view of an elevator platform and guides showing a
modification of the safety appliances.
'
Referring to said drawings it is to be understood that A represents the elevator
shaft ;
B the car which may be a simple platform of suitable form for carrying
freight, as shown in Fig. 1, or may be of suitable form for carrying passengers, as
shown in other Figs. ; C the hoisting cable which is attached to the car and passes
over a pulley 10 at the top of the shaft and is wound upon a drum D; and E is
a motor for operating the drum D to wind and unwind the cable and thus raise and
lower the car.
The motor E for operating the drum D consists of two vertical steam cylinders a, b,
Fig. 7, having pistons the rods of which are connected to a common crank-shaft 12,
the cranks for the two piston rods being set at an angle of about ninety degrees to
each other so as to prevent the two cranks being upon either of the dead-points at
the same time. The crank-shaft 12 is provided with a gear which engages with a
gear 14, Fig. 8, mounted upon a counter-shaft 15 having a gear 16 which engages
with an internal gear 17 formed around the periphery of the drum D. By this
means motion is communicated from the crank-shaft 12 of the engines to the
drum D so as to wind or unwind the cable and according as the drum is revolved
in one direction or the other, to raise or lower the car.
The admission and exhaust of the steam to and from the cylinders a, b, is controlled
by a pair of valves c, d, Fig. 9, each of which is composed of two pistons 8, 9,
which work in cylindrical valve chests having ports 5 through which the steam is
admitted to and exhausted from the cylinders, and ports 6, 7, through which the
steam is admitted to and exhausted from the chests. The ports 7 communicate with
the valve chests above and below the pistons 8, 9, while the ports 6 communicate
with the valve chests between the pistons. The ports 6 of the two chests, and also
the ports 7 of the two chests, unite and open into a main valve chest f into which the
live steam for operating the engines is admitted through an induction port 18 and
from which the steam after performing its work in the cylinders a, b, is exhausted
through a main exhaust port 19 which opens into the valve chest between the
ports 6, 7. The ports 6, 7 and 19 are controlled by the reversing valve g, Figs. 8
and 10, which is located in the valve chest and is operated through a valve rod 20
which is connected by an arm 21 with a rock shaft 22 having an arm 23. To the
arm 23 is connected a rod 24 having a rack 23 which is engaged by a pinion 26
upon a shaft 27 having a pulley 28, Fig. 1, around which passes a hand rope / which
also passes around suitable pulleys k and through or adjacent to the car B in position
to be manipulated by the conductor upon the car. The rock shaft 22 is also provided
with a weighted arm 29 which serves to counter-balance the weight of the valve, the
arm 23 and the parts connected thereto, so as to render the movement of the valve
more easy.
The operation of the elevator and its motor as thus far described is as follows:-
In order to cause the car to ascend the conductor will operate the rope and
shaft 27 so as to move the rod 24 downward and rock the shaft 22, so as to depress
the controlling or reversing valve g in the same direction and thus bring the port 7
into communication with the valve chest fand the port 6 into communication with
the port 19. The live steam will then enter through the ports 7, 5, and act upon the
pistons of the cylinders a, b, so as to revolve the drum D to wind up the cable C
and raise the car, the exhaust steam at the same time passing out through the
ports 5, 5, 6, 6, to the exhaust port 19.
To bring the car to rest at any point the conductor will operate the band rope h
so as to move the reversing valve to the mid-position indicated in Fig. 8, and
thereby close the ports 6, 7, and prevent the induction and exhaust of steam to
and from the cylinders a, b.
To cause the car to descend the conductor will operate the rope so as to
raise the reversing valve g and bring the port 6 into communication with the

page_text: valve chest and the port 7 into communication with the port 19. The live
steam will then enter through the ports 6, 6, 5, 5, so as to act upon the
pistons of the cylinders a, b, in. the reverse direction and revolve the drum D
so as to unwind the cable and permit the car to descend, the exhaust steam at
the same time passing out through the ports 5, 5, 7, 7, to the exhaust port 19.
When the reversing valve has been moved to its mid-position, as shown in
Fig. 8, and as just described, so as to shut off the admission of steam, to the
cylinders a, b, and thus stop the engine and arrest the car in its ascent or descent,
there will be nothing to sustain the car in the position in which it is stopped
except the pressure of the steam confined in the cylinders which pressure will be 1
gradually reduced by leakage and condensation and the car will gradually move
downward from the position at which it was arrested. To prevent this it is desirable
that some means should be provided for holding the car positively in any position
in which it is stopped. For this purpose the main crank-shaft 12 is provided with
a pulley 30, Fig. 8, around which passes a band-brake 31 one end of which is
secured to the framework of the engine, as indicated at 32, while the other end
is connected to the short arm of a lever 33 which is fulcrumed upon the frame-
work, as indicated at 34, and has its longer arm provided with a weight 35 the
tendency of which is to constantly rock the lever so as to apply the brake to the
pulley 30 with sufficient force to lock the crank-shaft and prevent the drum from
The lever 33 is connected by a flexible
being turned by the weight of the car.
strap 36 with a short arm 37 extending from the shaft 27, Figs. 7, 8 and 13. The
arm 37 is so positioned that when the shaft 27 has been moved so as to bring the
reversing valve g to its mid-position it will allow the strap 36 to become slack and
the weight 35 to apply the brake 31 to the pulley 30. By this means whenever
the valve g is brought to its mid-position to arrest the car the brake is at the same
time automatically applied to the pulley 30 so as to hold the car in whatever
Whenever the shaft 27 is turned so as to move the valve g
position it is arrested in.
either up or down from its mid-position so as to start the car, the strap 36 will be
wound on the shaft so as to raise the lever 33 and remove the brake from the
pulley 30 and so as to permit the crank shaft to be turned by the engine to move the
car.
The brake mechanism thus organised performs another important function in
that it operates to arrest the momentum of the engine and thus cause the car to
come to rest quickly whenever the reversing valve is moved to its mid-position.
While reference has been made to certain forms of valves, brake, and actuating
devices, other forms may be used with like effects.
In elevators of this class it is important that means should be provided by which
in case the conductor is careless or unskillful the car will be automatically stopped
just before reaching the limit of its up or down movement so as to be prevented!
from being brought into violent contact with the framework at the top or bottom of
the shaft. For this purpose the shaft 38 of the drum D is provided with a gear 39,
Fig. 8, which engages with a gear 40 mounted upon a shaft 41, Fig. 7, which is in
line with the shaft 27 with its end adjacent thereto. The shaft 41 is provided with
two fixed heads 42, 43, Fig. 12, arranged a short distance apart and provided upon
The portion of the shaft 41
their adjacent faces with one or more recesses 4.
between the heads 42, 43, is threaded and is provided with a nut 44 having a
projection 3 which enters a groove 5, formed in the side of a barrel 45 which encloses
the heads 42, 43, and is keyed fast to the end of the shaft 27. The nut 44 i
provided upon its opposite faces with projections 2 corresponding to the recesses
in the faces of the heads 42, 43. The operation of this automatic stop mechanism i
as follows: As the drum D is revolved to raise or lower the car the motion of th
drum will be communicated through the gears 39, 40, to the shaft 41 thereb
revolving said shaft and causing the nut 44, (which is prevented from revolving wit
the shaft by means of the projection 3 which enters the groove in the stationar
barrel 45,) to move along the shaft toward one or the other of the heads 42, 43, th
direction of the movement of the nut depending upon the direction of the movemen

page_text: of the car.
The heads 42, 43 are placed at such a distance from each other that just
before the car arrives at the limit of its up and down movement the nut 44 will
arrive in close proximity to the head toward which it is moving so that the projec-
tion 2 upon that side of the nut will enter the recess 4 in the face of the head and
as soon as this takes place the barrel 45 will be clutched to the shaft 41 so that the
farther movement of the shaft 41 will be communicated through the barrel to the
shaft 27 and thus operate the pinion 26 and rod 25 and move the reversing valve g to
its mid-position, and at the saine time apply the brake to the pulley 30 so as to stop
the car, and this will take place, whichever way the car is moving, before it arrives
at the extreme limit of its movement in that direction.
In addition to the means for stopping and retaining the elevator car in any desired
position and for starting it in either direction from any position in which it is stopped,
and for automatically stopping it before it reaches the limit of its up and down
movements as has already been described, it is important to provide means by which
the car will be arrested or retarded in case it attains an undue speed in its descent, as
by the breaking of the hoisting cable or of some part of the motor, or in case the
speed of the motor becomes unduly accelerated or for any reason gets beyond the
control of the conductor. This is important in all classes of elevators no matter what
the style of motor employed may be, but it is particularly important where the raising
and lowering of the car is effected by the winding and unwinding of the cable, as in
such case particular skill and care is required on the part of the conductor in order
to properly regulate the movement of the reversing valve to conform to the load which
may be in the car at any particular time. For this purpose the elevator is provided
with one or more ropes, cables, belts or chains m, Figs. 1 to 6, connected directly or
indirectly to the car so as to travel with the latter. The cable or cables m may be
wound upon drums above and below, or may be passed over a pulley or pulleys abovo
and support a counter-weight or weights at its or their opposite ends, or, as is
preferable, the cable or cables may be endless and pass completely around upper and
lower pulleys 46, as shown in Fig 1. Each cable at some point of its course passes
between the jaws of a gripping or friction device or a brake which may be constructed
in any suitable manner so as to grasp or bear frictionally upon the cable or upon the
pulley over which it passes, and in connection with the clamp or brake, there is
employed a self-acting governor of any suitable construction, and operated in any
suitable manner, to apply the clamp or brake and arrest or retard the movement of
the cable whenever the car acquires from any cause an undue speed. The apparatus
for automatically clamping the cable which has been found most effective in practice
consists of two geared eccentrics 47 between which the cable passes and the shaft of one
of which is provided with a crank 48 which is connected by a rod 49 to the operating
lever 50 of an ordinary ball governor F. This governor is driven by gears 51 from
the shaft of the upper cable pulley 46 so that when the car acquires any undue
speed it will operate to raise the lever 50 and cause the eccentrics to clamp the cable
and arrest or retard its movement and this is made the means of applying the safety
devices carried by the car. Located upon the car, and operated by the cable m when
the latter is retarded or arrested, is a clamping or stop mechanism of any suitable form
which when thrown into operation by the arrested cable acts to retard or arrest the
downward movement of the car. This clamping or stop mechanism may consist of a
clamp or clamps which act to grasp or bear upon the sides of the elevator shaft or
upon the guides upon which the car,moves up and down and which will act to retard
the car or arrest it gradually by frictional contact with the sides of the shaft or the
guides, or it may consist of a positive locking mechanism which when thrown into
operation will act to arrest the car positively and abruptly. One form of mechanism
suitable for the purpose is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6. In this mechanism the
sides of the elevator shaft are provided with vertical racks or ratchets 52 which are
arranged to be engaged by pawls or detents 53 carried upon the car. These detents
may be combined with various appliances whereby they may be thrown out when the
car exceeds its normal speed. For example, they may, as shown in the present case,
be connected to two bell crank levers 54 which are connected to each other so as to

page_text: operate in unison, one of said levers being connected by a rod 55, with a third bell
crank lever 56 fulerumed at the side of the car and having one of its arms provided
with an opening through which passes the cable m. Knots or stops 57 on the cable,
above and below the arm of the lever, serve as hearings for the latter, should the
motion of the cable be arrested, thereby rocking the lever 56 and operating the
detents so as to cause them to move outward and engage with the ratchets 52 and
arrest the car. A spring 58 is preferably interposed between the lower stop 57 and the
arin of the lever 56 which will have the effect of preventing an undue strain upon the
cable or its attachments by the descent of the car after the cable is gripped but before
the detents operate to arrest the car. Other modes of forming a slightly yielding con-
nection between the cable and the devices upon the car will be obvious, as for example
providing the lever 56 with an elastic arm. By this means whenever the car attains
an undue speed in its descent, either by the breaking of the hoisting cable or from
any derangement of the machinery or carelessness upon the part of the conductor in
failing to properly manipulate the reversing valve, it is automatically arrested.
When the car has been thus arrested all that is necessary to restore the arresting
devices to their normal position is to reverse the valve g so as to cause the car to
ascend. The upward movement of the car will cause the lever 56 to be rocked in the
opposite direction so as to retract the pawls and the reverse movement of the cable m,
together with the weight of the parts of the governor, will at once restore the
eccentrics 47 to their normal position so as to release the cable. If the arresting
devices carried by the car are so constructed as to arrest or retard the car by
clamping the guides at the sides of the elevator shaft, the retarding of the car will
operate to retard the cable m to a like degree and in that case the weight of the
governor will in itself act to release the cable and thus restore the clamps to their
normal position as soon as the car is retarded or arrested. The same effect can of
course be produced by a slight modification of the apparatus when the car is ascending
but such a result will not usually be necessary.
By employing the cable or cables m connected to the car to travel therewith and
the governor and devices for clutching the cable substantially as described, but
without any retarding or arresting devices carried upon the car the gripping of the
cable or cables will afford a substantial support for the car should the hoisting cable
break, and this will be particularly the case if two or more cables m are employed
and so combined with the governor that both will be simultaneously gripped by the
action of the governor.
The safety appliances which have just been described although especially desirable
in elevators in which the raising and lowering of the car is effected by means of a
drum and motor as described, are not, as will readily be understood, limited in their
application to an elevator which is operated in this manner but may be applied equally
well to all classes of elevators no matter what the style of hoisting mechanism
employed may be.
Another form in which the safety device may be applied is illustrated in
Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 in which the cable m operates upon a lever 70 pivoted to the
side of a cross beam beneath the car, and bearing upon an arm 71 extending from a
shaft 72 rocking in bearings below the car.
The cross bar 73 below the platform of the car is notched at each end to receive the
vertical guides 52 which instead of having teeth as before described are plain, and
between the inclined side of each notch and the adjacent side face of each guide 52,
intervenes a wedge 74; which has an inclined side corresponding to the inclined face
of the notch, and a lip at the upper end, which keeps it from falling below the position
shown in Fig. 17.
J
The parts are so arranged that when the car is moving at a normal speed and the
wedges are in their lowest position, they will have no frictional bearing against
the guides 52, but when the speed of the car becomes excessive from any cause the
wedges are raised so as to wedge between the sides of the guides and the inclined
faces of the bar 73 creating such a frictional resistance to the descent of the car as
will speedily arrest its movement. After the movement is thus arrested a slight

page_text: upward movement will unclamp the wedges which will then fall to their lower
position and the car will rise and fall as before until the speed again becomes
excessive.
Different means may be employed for raising the wedges at each side of the car
when the suspensories break or when the speed becomes excessive.
The flexible suspensories or cables e, as shown in Figs. 15 to 19, are four in number
and are guided by rollers at t, t, so that two cables extend downward on each side
of the car and are connected at their lower ends to the opposite end of a rock
lever 75, having a projection 78, (shown in the form of the arm of a lever in the
construction hereinafter described in reference to Fig. 19), which projection serves as
a rest for a pointed arm 81 at the adjacent end of the shaft 72, the said arm extending
below the wedge. Another projection 92 extends over the other end of the
arm 81.
The levers 75 are held in horizontal position by the equal strain of the cables
connected to the opposite ends, but should either cable break the strain will come
upon one end of the lever 75, tilt the latter and bring one of the projections 78 or
92 against the arm 81 raising it until its end bites into the opposite guide thereby
arresting the further descent of the cage. In order to check the speed of the cage
before the arms 81 are jammed against or into the guides 52 the wedges 74 are
arranged directly above said arms so as to be lifted by the arms 81, and thus wedged
between the cross bar 73, and the guides with such force as to bite the guides
firmly creating sufficient friction to arrest in many cases the further downward
movement.
Should the speed of the cage become excessive without any breaking of the cables
the travelling safety cable m will be arrested as before described and the lover 70,
Fig. 16, will be caused to bear on the arm 71, of the shaft 72, rocking the latter
lifting the arms 81, raising the wedges and arresting the cage first by the friction of
the wedges and then by the biting of the armus 81 into the guides 52 as just
described.
In Fig. 19 there are but two cables e, e¹, each connected at the lower end with an
eye bolt 77, extending loosely through the cross bar 73, the eye at the lower end of the
bolt receiving the projection or arm 78 of a bell crank lever Z. The pendant arms 79
of the hell crank levers are connected by a rod 80 and over each projection 78
extends the aforesaid arm 81 connected to the cross shaft 82.
So long as the strain upon both portions e, e¹, of the cable C is equal the parts
will remain in position shown in Fig. 16, but if either portion of the cable should
break, as for instance the portion e¹, there will be no upward strain or draft upon the
projection 78 of the lever Z to which such portion was connected, and all the strain
would come upon the projection 78 of the opposite lever Z, which would be suddenly
turned in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 19, and the projection 78 would contact
with the overhanging arm 81, raising the latter, rocking the shaft 82 and thus bring
both arms 81 forcibly against the loose wedges 74 and thrusting their ends against
the sides of the guides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
5 tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The within described improvement in elevators consisting of a cage moving
vertically in a well, and an operating engine therefor provided with valves and ports
substantially as described, and a connection between the cage and the controlling valve
of the engine, substantially as set forth.
2. The elevator engine provided with cylinders, pistons connected with the crank
shaft, and with ports and passages with a slide valve and reversing or controlling
valve, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with the cage and operating engine and controlling valve
thereof, of a brake and connections between the brake and valve and the cage,
substantially as set forth.

page_text: 4. The combination with the cage operating engine and its controlling valve, of a
travelling nut and means for operating the valve therefrom as it reaches the limit of
its movement in either direction, and a screw supporting said nut and driven from a
pulley operated by the engine, all being constructed to operate substantially as set
forth.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.