Improvements in Safety Appliances for Pit Cages, Hoists, Inclined Planes, and the like.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Nov., 1892-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Appliances for Pit Cages, Hoists, Inclined
Planes, and the like.
66
We ANDREW CASELEY of North Gate Villa, Wath, in the County of York,
Colliery Overman and JOHN ISAAC SIDDALL of 23 Cemetery Road, Wath, Coal
Miner, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN SAFETY APPLIANCES FOR PIT CAGES, HOISTS, INCLINED PLANES AND
THE LIKE," to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to prevent accidents arising through pit cages or
hoists being precipitated to the bottom of their shafts by the breakage or failure of
the ropes, chains or other parts of the hoisting or winding gear.
We attain these objects in the following manner and as the principle of our
invention is the same in all hoisting apparatus where guides or conductors are
employed, a description of it as applied to a cage in the shaft of a colliery will
suffice.
To such a cage or to an independent or super framework above the cage, we
attach our safety apparatus and appliances, which consists of an arrangement of
mechanism actuated by a spring or springs, by means of which four screws can, on
the failure of the rope or other part of the winding gear, be instantly brought into
contact with the conductors in such a manner as to create sufficient friction to
arrest the fall of the cage and to hold it suspended to the conductors and the
following is an outline description of the same.
To the independent or super framework referred to, or to the framework of the
cage itself, we place and secure transversely in a central position a shaft, on this
shaft we place a drum containing a powerful helical spring which is secured to the
shaft, round this drum we take a few turns of the end of the winding rope which
has at some distance from the end been previously secured by slings to the cage or
super framing in the ordinary way, or in some cases, a separate rope or attachment
may be employed for connecting the end of the winding rope with the spring drum,
in either case the rope or ropes will be so arranged that when the cage is at the
bottom of the shaft and the ropes and slings relieved from its weight become slack,
the spring would by uncoiling wind the connecting rope round the drum.
When the signal is given to wind and before the slack of the rope is taken up
sufficiently to bring the slings into tension to bear the weight of the cage, the
winding or connecting rope will be unwound off the drum, causing the spring to be
wound up as far as the slack of the slings will allow, so that the only strain put on
the rope connected to the drum would be that due to the resistance of the spring
and friction of the apparatus.
From the last named drum or from a separate drum, pulley or wheel attached to the
drum, we drive two other drums, pulleys or wheels attached to two other shafts or
sleeves, one on each side of the centre or drum shaft, the shafts or sleeves last
are so placed as to actuate four screws, two of which would be left handed and two
of which would be right-handed each of which would pass through a suitably formed
nut fixed in the frame of the cage or super frame opposite or nearly opposite the
conductors, the outer ends of the four screws being placed so that when turned by
the appliances herein described, (as a result of the unwinding or recoil of the
spring.) they would come in contact with the conductors or with clips or breaks or
other suitable appliances bearing on the same.
The action of the apparatus and appliances herein described will be as follows; when
the winding rope and the slings are taut the spring in the drum will be wound up a
sufficient distance to give power by its reaction or recoil, to drive the apparatus

page_text: and by this act of winding up, motion is communicated by means of the drums,
pulleys or wheels and shafts or sleeves to the four screws which are turned inwards
so as to remove all friction from the conductors but in the event of the breakage or
failure of the ropes, chains, or other parts of the hoisting or winding gear, the
spring would be immediately released and by its recoil would communicate motion
to the apparatus in the opposite direction to that last described, the four screws
would be simultaneously turned and brought in contact with the conductors either
directly or by means of clips, breaks or other suitable medium in such a manner as
to create sufficient friction to arrest the fall of the cage and hold it suspended to
the conductors.
Dated this and day of th………. 1000
R. HEBER RADFORD,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Appliances for Pit Cages, Hoists, Inclined
Planes, and the like.
We ANDREW CASELEY of North Gate Villa, Wath, in the County of York,
Colliery Overman and JOHN ISAAC SIDDALL of 23 Cemetery Road, Wath, Coal
Miner, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SAFETY APPLIANCES FOR PIT CAGES, HOISTS, INCLINED PLANES AND THE
LIKE" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of our invention is to prevent accidents arising through pit cages or
hoists being precipitated to the bottom of their shafts by the breakage or failure of
the ropes, chains or other parts of the hoisting or winding gear.
We attain this object in the following manner and as the principle of our inven-
tion is the same in all hoisting apparatus where guides or conductors are employed,
a description of it as applied to a cage in the shaft of a colliery will suffice.
To such a cage or to an independent or super framework above the cage, we
attach our safety apparatus and appliances which consists of an arrangement of
mechanism actuated by a spring or springs, by means of which four screws can, on
the failure of the rope or other part of the winding gear, be instantly brought into
contact with the conductors in such a manner as to create sufficient friction to arrest
the fall of the cage and to hold it suspended to the conductors and the following is
an outline description of the same.
To the independent or super framework referred to, or to the framework of the
cage itself we place and secure transversely in a central position a shaft, on this
shaft we place a drum containing a powerful helical spring which is secured to the
shaft, round this drum we take a few turns of the end of the winding rope which
has at some distance from the end been previously secured by slings to the cage or
super framing in the ordinary way, or in some cases a separate rope or attachment
may be employed for connecting the end of the winding rope with the spring drum,
in either case the rope or ropes will be so arranged that when the cage is at the
bottom of the shaft and the ropes and slings relieved from its weight become slack,
the spring would by uncoiling wind the connecting rope round the drum.
When the signal is given to wind and before the slack of the rope is taken up
sufficiently to bring the slings into tension to bear the weight of the cage, the
winding or connecting rope will be unwound off the drum, causing the spring to be
wound up as far as the slack of the slings will allow, so that the only strain put on
the rope connected to the drum would be that due to the resistance of the spring
and friction of the apparatus.
From the last named drum or from separate drums, pulleys, wheels, levers, cranks
or their equivalents attached to the drum shaft we drive other drums, pulleys, wheels,
levers, cranks or their equivalents attached to other shafts or sleeves on each side

page_text: of the centre or drum shaft, the shafts or sleeves last referred to are so placed as
to actuate four screws, two of which would be left handed and two of which would
be right-handed, each of which would pass through a suitably formed nut fixed in
the frame of the cage or super frame opposite or nearly opposite the conductors,
the outer ends of the four screws being placed so that when turned by the appliances
herein described, (as a result of the unwinding or recoil of the spring,) they would
come in contact with the conductors or with clips or breaks or other suitable
appliances bearing on the same.
The action of the apparatus and appliances herein described will be as follows :—
when the winding rope and the slings are taut the spring in the drum will be
wound up a sufficient distance to give power by its reaction or recoil, to drive the
apparatus and by this act of winding up, motion is communicated by incans of the
drums, pulleys, wheels, levers, cranks or their equivalents and shafts or sleeves to
the four screws which are turned inwards so as to remove all friction from the
conductors but in the event of the breakage or failure of the ropes, chains, or other
parts of the hoisting or winding gear, the spring would be immediately released and
by its recoil would communicate motion to the apparatus in the opposite direction
to that last described, the four screws would be simultaneously turned and brought
in contact with the conductors either directly or by means of clips, breaks, or other
suitable medium in such a manner as to create sufficient friction to arrest the fall of
the cage and hold it suspended to the conductors.
In some cases we arrange the four screws in such a manner that when they are
brought into action to arrest the fall of the cage, they are forced into contact with
the conductors so that the side of each screw bears or presses against the side of the
conductor and the friction caused by the descent of the cage causes the screws to be
turned further out thereby gradually though rapidly increasing the grip or friction
on the conductors until the descent of the cage is stopped.
The nature of our invention will be better understood on reference to the accom-
panying sheet of drawings in which,
Fig. 1. is a side elevation of the cage and appliances,
Fig. 2. an end view, and
Fig. 3. a plan of the same.
The same letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
a. is the
cage.
b. is the independent or super framework for carrying the safety appliances.
c. is a helical spring.
e. e. e. e. are the conductors.
f. is the spring or drum shaft.
g.
is the
rope drum.
h. is the winding or connecting rope.
i. i. i. i. are the slings by which the cage is suspended.
j.j. are separate cranks, or we sometimes employ their equivalents, such as drums,
pulleys, wheels or levers, (with drums or pulleys we employ belts, bands, or ropes,
with wheels either ordinary spur gear or pitch chain and with levers or cranks,
connecting rods as shewn in the drawing).
k. k. k. k. are the crank shafts with or without sleeves which actuate the four
screws.
1. 1. 1. 1. being the cranks or their equivalents which are actuated by the first
motion cranks j. j.
m. m. are the connecting rods or their equivalents as already described.
n. n. are the two right handed screws.
o. o. are the two left handed screws.
p. p. p. p. are the nuts or bearings through which the screws work.
9. 9. q. q. are the clips or guides for the conductors which in some cases we form
in such a manner as to be tightened on to the conductors by the action of the screws
so as to act as breaks.

page_text: 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
claim is
(1) In safety appliances for pit cages, hoists, inclined planes and the like the
combination and arrangement of parts and appliances comprising the mechanism
automatically adjusted and held ready for use by the action and tension of the
winding or connecting rope in suspending and raising the cage which mechanism is
automatically brought into operation on breakage or failure of the winding or
connecting rope, chains or other parts of the winding or hoisting gear in the manner
and for the purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1892.
R. HEBER RADFORD,
Agent for the Applicants.