AN IMPROVED METHOD OF LIFTING WEIGHTS
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, THOMAS
REVIS, late of Kennington Street, Walworth, in the County of Surrey, but
now of Devonshire Street, Hoxton, in the County of Middlesex, Watch Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King Georgo the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of July, in the ninth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Revis, His special licence that I, the said Thomas Revis, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Revis, my exc-
cutors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED
METHOD OF LIFTING WEIGHTS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Revis, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be enrolled in lis said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
with six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Revis, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist
in a machine for raising weights by means of a lever movement, which is
applied to produce a continuous or nearly continuous rotary motion; and in
further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Thomas Revis, do hereby
describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed by the
following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing annexed and
to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a plan of my said machine. A is a drum or cylinder, on which
the rope or chain that holds the weight to be raised is wound by the action
of the machine when put in motion. B is the rope or chain alluded to, C, D,
are two cog wheels working into each other and fixed on the revolving axes E
and F. The axis F bas a lateral motion in order to allow of the wheels C, D,
being thrown out of gear when required by the lever G, which acts on a rim
or boss formed on the axis F for that purpose. At the ends of the axes E, F,
opposite to the cog wheels C, D, are two other cog wheels I and J, which are
not fixed on their respective axes, but turn loosely on them, and which I
therefore call the loose cog wheels. These wheels I and J do not gear into
each other, but are geared into from above by the cog wheel H, which is
fixed on one end of the axis of the drum, and which therefore acts upon the
two loose cog wheels at all times when the axis F is in gear. K, L, are two
ratchet wheels fixed on to the axes E and F outside of the loose cog wheels.
The loose cog wheels carry the ratchets which fall into these ratchet wheels, but
as these parts are much more clearly shown in the subsequent Figures, I shall not
describe them more particularly at present. M is the spindle of the drum shaft,
for setting and lowering by the machine when the axis F is thrown out of gear.
N is the spindle of the axis P, and O is a lever with a bob or balance
weight P, by which lever the machine is worked, as will be hereafter described.
The parts marked Q are the framework, and S is a break wheel, and it will be
well here to state that similar letters are used to denote similar parts in all the
Figures. Figure 2 is a side view of my said machine, C, D, being the two
fast cog wheels gearing into each other as before described. Figure 3 is a
view of the other side of my said machine, showing the ratchets and ratchet
wheels more distinctly than in Figure 1. The parts marked t are the ratchets,
K, L, being the ratchet wheels. Il is the upper wheel fixed to the shaft of
the drum which gears into I and J, while it will be observed that I and J do
not gear into each other. S is a break wheel, and V is a friction band passing

page_text: over it and acted upon by the lever handle W for the purpose of regulating the
descent of the weight when the axis F is thrown out of gear for that purpose.
O is the lever by which the machine is to be worked, and is to be moved up and
down from Y to Z. The effect produced by this up and down or alternate
motion of the lever will be as follows:-If the lever which is now shewn in its
clevated position be depressed from Y to Z, it will turn the axis F, and the
fast cog wheel C which is upon it. This cog wheel C will turn the fast cog
wheel D, and the fast cog wheel D of course communicates its motion to the
axis E, on which it is fixed, and this axis turning carries round the ratchet
wheel K, which, by means of the ratchets marked t, t, t, t, drags the loose cog
wheel I round with it, while the loose cog wheel I being geared into the
wheel of course forces that round, and thus winds up the rope or chain on
the drum A. During this operation the loose cog wheel J is dragged round
by the wheel H in a direction contrary to the resisting action of the ratchets
attached to it, and which ratchets therefore offer no opposition to its motion.
On the return or up stroke of the lever O, the loose cog wheel J being held
by its ratchets communicates the motion of the axis F immediately to the
drum A, while the loose cog wheel I in its turn being freed from the resistance
of its ratchets is carried round loosely on the axis E by the action of the
wheel H, into which it is geared; and thus it will be seen that a continuous
rotary motion, or nearly so, is given in one uniform direction to the
drum A; the only exception to the continuity of the motion being the
moment of pause or rest, when the down stroke of the lever O changes
for the up stroke and vice versa. When a weight has been raised by the
aforesaid action of the lever O, and it is required to lower the same, the
axis F should be thrown out of gear and a common crank handle slipped on to
the spindle M, when, by the assistance of the small lever W acting upon the
friction band over the break wheel S, the weight may be easily and safely
lowered to any required distance. Figure 4 is a view of the wheel II, and the
loose cog wheels I and J, shown separately, in order that the framework may
not confuse the observer; and Figure 5 is a front view of one of the loose cog
wheels, the better to show the springs marked X, which are fixed on the back
of the ratchets, and act upon the inner part of the rim of the loose cog wheels.
Now whereas many attempts have been made to obtain such a continuous
rotary motion as aforesaid from a lever movement for the purpose of raising
weights, but whereas the particular arrangement of machinery for that purpose
herein-before described I believe to be intirely new, and never before to have
been used in that part of His said Maje-ty's United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, Ilis said Dominion of Wales, or Town of

page_text: Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do therefore hereby claim as my Invention the machine
or arrangement of machinery herein-before described for the purpose aforesaid,
and declare this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily
believe this my said Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without
reserve or disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent contained. Wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive
right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Revis, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.