Improvements in Brake Gear for Lifts, Cranes, and other similar Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Mar., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 5th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brake Gear for Lifts, Cranes, and other similar
Machines.
We, WILLIAM ARTHUR KER, of 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, and EDWARD WILLIAM ANDERSON, a Director
of Easton Anderson and Goolden, Limited of the same address, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows :→
'
This invention relates to brake gear for lifts, cranes, and other similar machines
and has for its object the arrangement and construction of such brake gear in u
simple manner so that it can be operated from a number of places, for example, so
that the brake can be released from a different position or locality from that at
which it was applied, as on the different floors of a building in which the crane or
lift is situated.
"
4:
Our invention consists of a rotary device operated through the medium of a rope
or its equivalent, adapted to relieve the pressure on the brake block when the brake"
is to be released and to allow the pressure to be upon the brake block, when the
brake is to be applied in the manner hereinafter more fully described.
To carry our invention into effect in one way which we will describe as an
example, we employ a rope secured to a wheel, the said rope passing the various
points from which it is desired to operate the brake. Attached to this said wheel'.
is a pin eccentric to the axis of the wheel to which is jointed a connecting rod or
link attached to the brake lever arranged preferably below the said wheel. The
connecting rod or link is so adjusted that when the pin is at or about its lowest
position, the link or connecting rod does not take the weight of the brake lever,
and the brakelis consequently applied.
When it is desired to release the brake, the rope is pulled, causing the wheel'
to rotate, and the pin to be moved to its highest position, viz. the top dead
centre, and by means of the connecting rod or links to raise the brake lever and
release the brake.
We prefer to allow the pin to travel rather beyond the dead centre and to come
in contact with a stop, so as to retain the brake in its off position, without the
necessity of holding the rope, the pull of the connecting rod or link on the pin
due to the weight on the brake lever tending to maintain the pin against the stop.
A further stop is arranged to prevent the pin from travelling beyond its lowest
position when the wheel is turned in the opposite direction.
The rope is brought down on both sides of the wheel and may be endless, being
taken round a riding pulley at its lower end, so as to keep it taut.
When the pin is taking the weight of the brake lever and it is desired to apply
the brake, the rope on the opposite side of the pulley to that used to apply the
brake, is pulled, which causing the wheel to rotate in the opposite direction
moves the pin to its lowest position against the stop, and allows the brake lever
freedom to act.
It is obvious that in place of the wheel, a lever or levers may be employed,
and that a cam or eccentric or similar device may be substituted for the pin to
5

page_text: obtain the same effect, also that the rope may be substituted by a rod or rods,
without departing from the essence of our invention.
Dated this 5th day of March 1895.
FELL & WILDING,
1 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Brake Gear for Lifts, Cranes, and other similar
Machines.
We, WILLIAM ARTHUR KER, of 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, and EDWARD WILLIAM ANDERSON, a Director
of Easton Anderson & Goolden Limited of the same address, 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:-
This invention relates to brake gear for lifts, cranes, and other similar machines
and has for its object the arrangement and construction of such brake gear in a
simple manner so that it can be operated from a number of places; for example,
so that the brake can be released from a different position or locality from that at
which it was applied, as on different floors of a building in which the crane or lift
is situated.
j
Our invention consists of a rotary device operated through the medium of a
rope or its equivalent, adapted to relieve the pressure on the brake block, when
the brake is to be released to allow the lift to be operated and to allow the
pressure to be exerted upon the brake block when the brake is to be applied
to retard and stop the movement of the lift in the manner hereinafter more fully
described..
In order that our invention may be the better understood we will now proceed to
describe the same in relation to the accompanying drawings hereunto annexed.
reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters refer
to like parts in the various figures...
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lift gear fitted with our control gear..
Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of the control gear..
To carry our invention into effect as shown in Fig. 1 and 2 we employ a rope A
secured to and coiled round a wheel B. This rope A may be endless and is taken
both sides of the wheel and led past the various stations or positions from which it
is desired to operate the gear. It is taken over riding pulleys C where necessary
one or more of which may be adapted to keep the rope taut, or equivalently the
rope may not be endless but arranged with its end hanging down, to which weights
may be attached to keep the rope strained. Attached to the wheel B is a pin D.
arranged eccentrio to the axis of the wheel B, to which is attached a connecting.
rod E. The other end of the connecting rod E is attached to the lever F of the
brake G controlling the movement of the wheel Hover which the cage rope I
passes. It will be seen that the connecting rod. E is provided with a slot J at its
upper end where it engages the pin D, and is so arranged that when the pin D
is at or about its lowest position, the link or rod E does not take the weight of
the brake lever F, and the brake is consequently applied by the weight K.
When
it is desired to release the brake, the rope A is pulled in such a direction as to
cause the wheel to rotate and move the pin to its highest position, viz.-at or
about the top dead centre, and by means of the connecting rod E to raise the brake
lever and release the brake.
We prefer to allow the pin D to travel rather beyond the dead centre and to
be restrained by a stop mounted on the wheel B which is adapted to engage with

page_text: the bracket M which carries the wheel B, so as to retain the brake in its off
position, without the necessity of the rope A being held, the pull of the connecting
rod E on the pin D due to the weight K on the brake lever tending to maintain
the stop L against the bracket M. Another similar stop O is arranged on the
wheel B to prevent the pin D from travelling beyond the lowest position when the
wheel B is moved in the opposite direction as shown in Figure 1, in which case
the brake is applied. When it is desired to release the brake, the rope is pulled
causing the wheel B to rotate so as to move the pin D to its upper position until
stopped by the stop L, lifting the brake lever and thus releasing the lift, or cage.
It is obvious that in place of the wheel B, a lever or levers may be employed, and
that a cam or eccentric or similar device may be substituted for the pin D to obtain
the same effect, also that the rope may be substituted by a rod or rods without
departing from the essence of our invention.
As an illustration we show a modification in Figure 3 in which the wheel B is
substituted by a lever P carrying the pin D and in place of the rope A a rod R is
adapted to operate the lever P. A counter balance weight S is arranged on the
lever P to counter balance the rod R.
The operation of the device is the same as hereinbefore described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
olaim is :-
1st. A control device for operating the brakes of lifts, cranes and the like,
consisting of a lever or wheel carrying a pin eccentric to the axis of the lever or
wheel, a connecting rod connecting the said eccentric pin and the brake lever,
means for rotating the wheel or lever about its axis so as to lift the brake
lever when the pin is in the upper position and when in the lower position the
brake lever is free to act, and stops to restrain the movement of the pin substantially
as described.
2nd. The arrangement and construction of a brake control gear for lifts, oranes,
and the like substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
- Dated this 5th day of December 1895.
FELL & WILDING,
1 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicants.