Improved Means for Shifting Belts and the like from their Pulleys and Replacing the same.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 5th May, 1893-Accepted, 10th June, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Shifting Belts and the like from their Pulleys
and Replacing the same.
We JULES FOREST and HENRI PORET both of 33 Rue du Temple Calais
France Engineers do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention is designed so as to provide a simple and effective means of
displacing or replacing the belts of machinery or parts thereof from or on their
respective pulleys whilst such are in motion and our apparatus consists mainly of a
drum or cylinder on which is an arm or arms of peculiar shape preferably inclined
at an angle of about 45°.
The cylinder or drum surrounds the shaft on which the pulley is mounted without
touching it, and is suspended or supported by means of collars or the like from a
bracket or equivalent device the whole apparatus being completely isolated from
the machinery.
By means of a cord passing around the cylinder or drum and stretched by a
counterweight rotary motion may be given to the said cylinder or drum concentric
with the shaft when the arm or one of the arms seizes the belt (now hanging loose)
engages itself between it and the pulley and when the cylinder has made a
revolution the belt will have slid along the inclined branch of the arm and taken
its place on the pulley.
The belt is thrown off by a simple sliding arrangement the moveable stem of
which terminates in a bobbin and by pulling a cord is made to advance until the
pressure of the bobbin upon the edge of the belt has pushed the latter froin the
pulley.
For small machinery a simpler form of shifter on a similar principle may be used
wherein the placing and displacing arms are fixed on the cylinder or drum and
follow its movement the displacing arm moving in advance of the replacing one.
To replace the belt the apparatus is given a complete revolution in the direction
of the rotation of the pulley the cord being pulled by one hand whilst the other
hand assists the opposite part of the cord to correctly follow the sway of the drum,
the first arm avoids the belt which is seized by the second or replacing arm and
deposited on the pulley; care should be taken to arrest the progress of the drum
somewhat before the completion of the revolution by pulling at both sides of the
cord and so forming a brake. To displace the belt the drum is again set in motion
as before but the drum must be only rotated one quarter of a revolution and the
cord should be pulled hard so that as soon as the displacing arm has driven the belt
from the pulley its movement may be suddenly arrested and it caused to go
backwards so as to be again in position without completing its revolution.
For heavy and high tensioned belts the cord may be replaced by friction or other
gearing actuated by the machinery itself.
Dated this 24th day of June 1891.
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Shifting Belts and the like from their Pulleys
and Replacing the same.
We JULES FOREST and HENRI PORET 33 Rue du Temple Calais France
Engineers 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:-
Our invention is designed to provide a simple and effective means of displacing
or replacing the belts of machinery or parts thereof from or on their respective
pulleys whilst such is in motion and our apparatus consists mainly of a drum or
cylinder on which is an arm or arms of peculiar shape as hereafter described.
The drum or cylinder surrounds the shaft on which the pulley is mounted but
does not touch it and is suspended or supported by means of collars or the like on a
bracket or equivalent device the whole apparatus being completely isolated from
the machinery.
By means of a cord passing around the drum or cylinder and stretched by a
counterweight rotary motion may be given to said cylinder concentric with the shaft
when the arm or one of the arms seizes the belt (now hanging loose) engages itself
between it and the pulley and when the cylinder has made a revolution the belt
will have slid along the inclined branch of the arm and taken up a position on the
pulley..
The belt may be thrown off its pulley by the side pressure of a bobbin or roller
on a spindle fixed in a sliding stem operated by a cord and pulley and returning by
the action of a spring.
In order to more fully explain our invention we have caused to be attached to
this Specification a sheet of drawings to the figures and letters of reference on
which we shall now refer.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation our improved means for displacing and
replacing belts from or on their pulleys and
Figure 2 shows an end view of same.
Figures 3, and 5 show a modified form adapted for light machinery, Fig. 4 being
common to both forms.
The same letters of reference in the figures indicate the same or corresponding
parts of our apparatus.
A represents the shaft and B the driving pulley mounted thereon. C is the drum
or cylinder which loosely surrounds the shaft and is mounted in bearings or collars D
on brackets E attached by bolts to a plate F which is secured to the vertical
standard G which may be rigidly suspended from a girder or beam above the
pulley.
When the belt is off the pulley it rests upon rollers or bobbins H carried in
arms I mounted on projections J integral with the drum C or in place of the arms 1
a second drum or cylinder may be used having flanges wide enough to allow
rollers H to be mounted therein but always rigidly connected with the drum C so
as to revolve therewith. The arms I nearest to the pulley B may be slightly bent
or bevelled to allow of the belt slipping freely off the pulley on to the rollers H
and one of the said arms is extended nearly to the rim of the pulley as shown by K
Figure 2 and is slotted to admit of an inclined arm L for replacing the belt on the
pulley being adjustably bolted thereto a portion of said arm being continued for a
short distance over the rim of the pulley as shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 4.
The drum C is caused to revolve when required by pulling a cord M running
over a pulley N attached to the lower end of standard G passing around the
drum C and continuing upwardly over pulleys N' N2 and balanced by a weight O.
The portion of our apparatus which relates to the displacing or throwing off of
the belt from the pulley consists of a bar P capable of sliding in bearings QQ

page_text: ixed on a bracket secured to standard G and having mounted thereon a bobbin or
coller R or like device. To a projection S on the bar P is secured a cord T
passing horizontally and then downwardly over pulley U. A tension spring V
attached to the opposite end of bar P and stationary piece W allows the bobbin R
to return to its normal position after having caused the belt to leave the pulley.
The action of our apparatus is as follows reference being made to Figures 1, 2,
and 4.
When it is desired to displace the belt from the pulley the cord T is pulled
which causes the roller or bobbin R to bear against the side of the belt until the
same leaves the pulley the bobbin returning to its place when the cord is released
by action of spring V. The belt will now have fallen upon one or more of the
rollers H where it will soon come to rest.
When the belt is to be replaced upon the pulley the cord M should be pulled
when the drum C will cause the arm L to rotate and sieze the belt, engage itself
between it and the pulley and after a complete revolution the belt will have slid
along the inclined portion of the arm L and become established on the pulley B.
For small machinery we prefer to use a simpler form of belt shifter consisting
of a arm leaning over the pulley in an opposite direction to arm L and mounted
so as to revolve therewith by the drum C being rotated as before but both ends of
the cord being provided with handles the two arms being fixed at an angle of 45°
to 60° or thereabouts and the displacing arm moving in advance of the replacing
one.
To replace the belt the apparatus is given a complete revolution in the direction
of the pulley (shown by arrow in Fig. 5) the cord being pulled by one hand whilst
the other hand assists the opposite part of the cord to correctly follow the sway of
the drum C, the first arm 1 avoids the belt which is siezed by the second or
replacing arm L and deposited on the pulley.
Care should be taken to arrest the progress of the drum somewhat before the
completion of the revolution by pulling at both sides of the cord and so forming a
brake.
To displace the belt the drum C is again set in motion as before but the drum
must only be rotated for about one quarter of a revolution and both ends of the
cord should be pulled hard so that as soon as the displacing arm has driven the
belt from the pulley it may be suddenly arrested in its movement and caused to go
backward so as to be again in position without completing its revolution,
For heavy and high tensioned belts we may cause the cord or cords to be
replaced by friction or other gearing actuated by the machinery itself without
departing from the spirit of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. For replacing belts or ropes on their pulleys the employment of an inclined arm
such as L actuated by means of a cord passed over and around a drum concentric
with but separate from the driving shaft substantially as hereinbefore described and
5 as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. For displacing belts from their pulleys the employment of a spring controlled
rod capable of sliding in bearings when actuated by a cord or the like and having
mounted thereon a bobbin or equivalent which by bearing against the belt or rope
will cause the same to leave the pulley substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated by Figures 1 & 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination of the displacing and replacing devices for use with belt
pulleys or the like substantially as described and illustrated by Figures 1 & 2 of
the accompanying drawings.
4. For use with belt pulleys and the like a displacing arm such as 1, Figure 3,
5 substantially as and for the purposes described.
5. The modified arrangement for displacing and replacing belts on their pulleys

page_text: consisting of a replacing arm such as L combined with a displacing arm such as
so arranged as to rotate with the driving pulley when operated by a cord or the
like substantially as described with reference to Figures 3, 4, and 5 of the
accompanying drawings.
6. The several arrangements for displacing and replacing belts or the like on 5
their pulleys substantially as herein before described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 3rd day of May 1802
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
17 & 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.