Improved Means of Transferring Barges and other Vessels from one Level to another.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1896
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Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 14th Aug., 1897--Accepted, 19th Nov., 1997
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Transferring Barges and other Vessels from one
Level to another.
We, BARNABAS JAMES THOMAS and JOSEPH JEX TAYLOR, both of 1, Victoria
Street, Westminster, Civil Engineers; and GORDON CALE THOMAS of Marsworth,
in the County of Bucks, Civil Engineer; do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of an improvement on the Invention relating to lifts
for transferring barges and other vessels from one level to another on canals and
other water-ways which forms the subject of a previous application for Letters
Patent dated the 22nd day of April 1896, No. 8504.
The present improvement has for its object to compensate for the disturbance
of the balance between the upgoing and downgoing lifts which occurs by the
immersion of the latter in the water at the foot of the incline, and the improve-
ment consists in gradually diminishing the gradient at the upper end of the incline
so as to avoid the great increase of haulage power which would otherwise be
required to raise the ascending lift from about the moment when the descending
dock begins to enter the water.
This gradual variation of the gradient is effected without disturbing the hori-
zontality of the lift dock by providing at least at the upper part of the incline
two or more sets of rails for each carriage supporting the dock, the said duplicate
sets of rails being in different alignments and gradually assuming different levels,
the wheels of each carriage being adapted to travel thereon so that on the
diminished gradient the leading wheels will travel on rails at a different level
from those on which the trailing wheels travel, the duplication of the rails and
their difference of level being variously arranged according to circumstances.
Dated this 14th day of November 1896.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Transferring Barges and other Vessels from one
Level to another:
We, BARNABAS JAMES THOMAS and JOSEPH JEX TAYLOR both of 1, Victoria'
Street, Westminster, Civil Engineers; and GORDON CALE THOMAS of Marsworth,
in the County of Bucks, Civil Engineer; do hereby declare the nature of this

page_text: 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 consists of an improvement on the balanced inclined lifts for
transferring water-borne vessels from one water level to another which formed
the subject of previous Letters Patent dated the 22nd day of April 1896 No. 8504.
The present improvement has for its object to compensate for the disturbance
of the balance between the ascending and descending lifts consequent on the
immersion of the descending lift in the lower pond, and the improvement consists
in gradually diminishing the gradient at the upper end of the incline so as to
avoid the necessity of providing for the great variation of the haulage power
which would otherwise be necessary in order to overcome the unbalanced weight
of the ascending lift when the descending lift is immersed in water.
In order that the lift dock shall preserve its horizontality (.e. shall preserve
its normal position relatively to the surface plane of the contained water) whilst
travelling on the part of the incline of which the gradient is gradually varied as
above mentioned, each of the carriages upon which the dock is supported is
provided at the side towards the top of the incline with duplicate sets of wheels
the wheels of the two sets being in different vertical planes and at the upper part
of the incline different sets of rails are provided for each set of wheels the said
duplicate sets of rails gradually deviating to equal extents from the normal plane
of the incline 'the deviation of the two sets of rails. being however at such
different points in the length of the incline that the parts of the incline on which
the leading and trailing wheels of the carriage may be situated at the same
moment during any part of their travel will always be of equal gradient and at
equal degrees of deviation from the normal gradient. This is accomplished by
the provision of duplicate sets of rails and wheels as above described so that when
the leading wheels of the lift in ascending reach the point of deviation of gradient
for the trailing wheels the second set of leading wheels will enter and travel
upon the duplicate set of rails whilst the first set of leading wheels quit the rails
on which they were travelling and on which the trailing wheels continue to
travel. The same description is conversely applicable to the lift in descending.
The profile of the upper part of the incline of gradually varying gradient is
therefore a pair of similar curves for the two sets of rails and this curve of equi-
librium and the extent of deviation from the normal gradient are ascertained by
a calculation of the diminution of the hauling effort of the descending lift from
its point of contact with the water to the point of complete immersion in the
bottom pond taking into account the gradient of the incline, the weight, and
specific gravity of the lift and its contents, the friction, and all other of the
varying circumstances of each particular case. In the example illustrated the
normal gradient of the incline is assumed to be 1 in 4, and the weight of
the lift 67 tons and the water contained in the tank 143 tons or 210 tons in all.
As the hauling effort of the tank diminishes proportionally to the difference of its
weight out of and in water and as the hauling effort of the contained water
diminishes to zero at complete immersion it will be easy to calculate or ascertain
by graphic construction, the elements of a curve for the rails which will diminish
the gradient at the upper part of the incline and consequently the height through
which the ascending lift is raised in a given length of travel to correspond to the
gradually diminishing hauling effort of the descending lift so as to preserve the
desired equilibrium at all points of immersion.
It will be obvious that as the total height of lift will be less with the variable
gradient than if the normal grade were preserved throughout, the part of the
incline of normal grade must be made so much longer to compensate for the
diminution of height of lift consequent on the diminished gradient at the upper
end.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of
this Specification, which shew in Figure 1 a profile elevation of the upper
part of the incline shewing in full lines the ascending lift at the

page_text: It is
point of entry upon the portion of diminishing gradient, and in dotted
lines the lift at its highest position in line with the gate of the head bay.
Figure 2 is a lower side elevation of part of the lift and of one of the carriages
on which it is supported. Figure 3 is an elevation in section on line 3-3
(Figure 1) looking towards the top of the incline shewing the lift as supported
by the second set of leading wheels the first set having gone out of action.
A is the dock in which the vessel to be transporte is water-borne.
supported on any number of similar carriages each provided with, say, a pair of
wheels B in axial alignment at the side towards the bottom of the incline and
with two pairs of wheels C C and C₁ C¹ also in axial alignment at the side towards
the top of the incline. The inner pair of wheels C C are adapted to run upon the
same rails D as do the wheels B so long as those rails remain at the normal
gradient indicated by the dot-and-dash line. From the point of deviation d
of the rails 1) from the normal gradient those rails are continued but at a
gradually diminishing gradient, as shewn at D', for the wheels B to travel on,
as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 1, whilst from the same point d the second
or outer pair of wheels C¹ travel upon a second set of rails E which continue at
the normal gradient to a point e (whose distance from d is equal to the length
of the wheel base) where these rails alo deviate gradually from the normal
gradient the deviation shewn at E¹ being similar in every respect to that shewn
at D. In the position shewn in Figure 1 the wheels B are at the point of
deviation d and as shewn in Figure 3 the wheels C have quitted the rails D' whilst
the wheels Care at the point of deviation c.
The general operation of the lift is the same as that described in the previous
Patent above cited and need not be again explained, the present Invention relating
solely to the compensation for the loss of hauling effort of the descending lift
during immersion in the bottom pond.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
In the balanced inclined lifts for transferring water-borne vessels from one level
to another such as herein referred to, the incline constructed of a gradually
diminishing gradient towards the upper end for the purpose of compensating for
loss of haulage effort of the descending lift by immersion in the lower pond, in
combination with means substantially as described whereby notwithstanding the
variation of gradient the normal horizontality of the lift travelling thereon is
maintained as specified.
Tad this 14th don of
1907
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.