AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE OVER-WINDING OF SKIPS IN THE SHAFTS OF MINES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Turton Siddons, of Hill Top, West
Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Charcoal Manufacturer, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE OVER-
23
Sealed the 29th July 1873, and dated the 11th February 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Turton Siddons
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 11th February 1873.
I, WILLIAM TURTON SIDDONS, of Hill Top, West Bromwich, in the
County of Stafford, Charcoal Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING
THE OVERWINDING OF SKIPS IN THE SHAFTS OF MINES," to be as follows, that
is to say :-
My Invention consists in the construction of an improved self-acting
apparatus connected to and worked by the engine employed for raising
skips in the shafts of mines, whereby when the skip reaches the point

page_text: to which it is to be raised steam is automatically shut off from the
engine and the brake applied, thus preventing the overwinding of the
skip.
To carry out this Invention I fix at the end of a small shaft (worked
from the end of the fly wheel shaft of the engine) a bevil wheel gearing
with a bevil wheel on the end of a vertical screw at the side of the
indicator, and turning in bearings upon a suitably fixed supporting plate.
On the said screw is a nut carrying a finger pointing on the indicator.
Near the upper end of the screw is the end of a rod connected to the
handle of the sluice valve of the engine, and by the side of the said rod
is a small arm or finger connected to a vertical spring catch taking on
to another catch at the end of a horizontal rod jointed at its outer end to
the top of a vertical rod carrrying a weight at its lower end. To this
weighted rod is jointed the end of a horizontal rod working on a pivot,
and the other end of which rod is suitably connected to the brake of the
fly wheel of the engine. The finger on the said spring catch is con-
nected by a short link to the upper end of a rod carrying a finger at its
lower end. Underneath the rod of the brake is a lever working on a
centre on a suitably placed bracket. This lever serves to put the
apparatus in gear, as herein-after described.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The double screw being
turned by means of the bevil wheels worked from the shaft of the engine,
the nut on the same is raised, and when nearly at the top of the screw
will come against and move the rod connected to the handle of the
sluice valve, and the steam will be shut off (if required before reaching
the finger), the nut still rising will then come against the herein-before
described finger and move, and thereby disengage the spring catch from
the catch at the end of the horizontal rod. The catch being thus
released the weighted rod will fall, moving the rod of the brake on its
centre, and bringing the brake against the fly wheel, and thereby stop
the engine.
On the engine being reversed the brake is removed from the fly wheel
by raising the weighted rod by means of the herein-before described
lever placed under the brake lever, and the vertical screw revolving in
the opposite direction to that herein-before described the nut on same
will move downwards, and the spring catch engages on to the catch at
the end of the horizontal rod. When the nut reaches the lower end of

page_text: the screw it comes against the finger at the lower end of the rod con-
nected to the spring catch, and steam is again shut off, the skip having
reached the bottom of the shaft of the mine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Turton Siddons in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TURTON SIDDONS, of Hill Top, West Bromwich, in the County of
Stafford, Charcoal Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Turton Siddons, Her special
licence that I, the said William Turton Siddons, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Turton Siddons,
my executors, administrators, and 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 "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE OVERWINDING OF SKIPS IN THE SHAFTS OF
MINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Turton Siddons, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 I, the said William Turton Siddons, 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 following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto

page_text: annexed and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
say :-
GU
My Invention consists in the construction of an improved self-acting
apparatus connected to and worked by the engine employed for raising
skips in the shafts of mines, whereby when the skip reaches the point
to which it is to be raised steam is automatically shut off from the
engine, and the brake applied, thus preventing the overwinding of the
skip.
To carry out this Invention I fix at the end of a small shaft (worked
from the end of the fly wheel shaft of the engine) a bevil wheel gearing
with a bevil wheel on the end of a vertical screw at the side of the
indicator, and turning in bearings upon a suitably fixed supporting plate.
On the said screw is a nut carrying a finger pointing on the indicator.
Near the top of the screw is a small arm or finger connected to a vertical
spring catch taking on to another catch at the end of a horizontal rod
jointed at its outer end to the top of a vertical rod carrying a weight at
its lower end. To this weighted rod is jointed the end of a horizontal
rod working on a pivot, and the other end of which rod is suitably con-
nected to the brake of the fly wheel of the engine. The finger on the
said spring catch is connected by a short link to the upper end of a rod
carrying a finger at its lower end. Underneath the rod of the brake is
a lever working on a centre on a suitably placed bracket. This lever
serves to put the apparatus in gear, as herein-after described.
To the horizontal rod of the top of the apparatus is jointed a vertical
rod connected to the handle of the sluice valve of the engine.
To make my Invention better understood I will now proceed to
describe the same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a side
elevation of my improved apparatus. Similar letters in all the Figures
represent similar parts.
a is the small shaft worked by the bevil wheels b, c, from the end of the
fly wheel shaft d of the engine. On the other end of the shaft a is another
bevil wheel e gearing into the bevil wheel ƒ on the end of the vertical
screw g working in bearings g', g³, on the supporting plate h; i is the
indicator marked with divisions corresponding to the depth of the shaft
or pit; j, nut with finger; / is the arm or finger connected to the

page_text: vertical catch 1, which catch takes on to the catch m on the end of the
horizontal rod n. This rod n moves on a centre at n¹, and is jointed at
n² to the vertical rod o; p is the weight at the lower end of the rod o;
q is the brake rod jointed at one end to the rod o, and at the other end
to the braker of the fly wheel. This brake rod 2 works on a centre at
s; t is the link connecting the finger k to the wrought-iron vertical
rod u carrying the finger at its lower end; w is the lever underneath
the brake rod q, to which it is connected by the link or rod x; y, centre
of the lever w; w¹, handle with stud for putting catch 7 out of gear when
the engine is running without working the skip; z, treadle at the other
end of the lever w; z¹ is the rod connected at top to the rod n, and at
bottom to the sluice valve zº.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The screw g being turned
by the bevil wheels e, f, from the shaft a the nut j will be raised, and
when nearly at the top of the screw will come against the arm or
finger k, and move it, and thereby the catch 1, which will thus be dis-
engaged from the catch m and the rod n, will be moved on its centre n¹
by the action of the weight p at the end of the rod o. The rod n in
moving will raise the vertical rod ¹ connected to the handle of the
sluice valvez, by which motion steam will be cut off from the engine.
The rod o in its downward motion moves the brake rod q on its centre 8,
and thereby brings the braker against the fly wheel, so as to stop the
engine. It will be understood that the parts are adjusted so that the
rod z will act on the sluice valve, and cut off the steam before the
brake is brought into action to prevent shock to the engine.
2"
To put the apparatus again in gear, the brake is moved from the fly
wheel by pressing down the treadle z, which moves the brake rod q,
weighted rod o, and horizontal rod n back into their normal positions shewn
in the Drawing, the catch 7 taking on to the catch m by the action of the
spiral spring at the end of the rod u. The rod n in moving also moves
the rod z¹ downwards, and steam is turned on (the engine in the meantime
being reversed). The screw g will therefore be turned in the opposite
direction to that herein-before described, and the nut j will move down-
wards until it reaches the lower end of the screw 9, when it will come
against and move the finger v connected, as herein-before described, by
the rod u and link to the catch 7, so as to disengage the said catch
from the catch m, and steam will be again shut off and the brake
applied in a similar manner to that herein-before described,

page_text: Having thus described my Invention, and the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein
laid down and shewn in the Drawing, as the same may be varied without
departing from the principle of my Invention; but what I claim is, the
general arrangement and construction of the improved self-acting
apparatus for preventing the overwinding of skips in the shafts of
mines, as herein-before described and represented in the accompanying
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Turton Siddons, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
WILLIAM TURTON SIDDONS. (L.S.)
Witness,
F. W. TOPHAM,
Solicitor,
West Bromwich.