IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS Am MIXES PRON OVERWINDING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Norton Evans, of Chapel Yard, North
Street, Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Commission Agent,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS
Am MIXES PRON OVERWINDING"
Sealed the 15th November 1859, and dated the 18th May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Norton Evans
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th May 1859.
I, SAMUEL NORTON EVANS, of Chapel Yard, North Street, Wolverhampton,
in the County of Stafford, Commission Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS AT
MINES FROM OVERWINDING," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of certain novel mechanism, constructed and
operating in the following manner, for the purpose of preventing accidents at
mines from overwinding, that is to say, to the rope employed for hauling up
the skip, I affix a piece of metal or catch, having a slot formed across the
same to receive the ends of two bolts, said bolts being connected to and with
other mechanism of the following construction:-I so form a casting or
shell as that the upper part thereof has a deep hole therein of the same
diameter as the aforesaid catch piece, to which the hauling-up rope is affixed.
Near the lower part of this said hole two slots are formed opposite to each
other corresponding with the slot in the catch piece; there are also two other
slots formed in the outer shell of the casting opposite to each of the former
slots. Each pair of slots support and guide bolts, which are operated upon by
bell-crank levers and springs; one end of each of the aforesaid bell-crank
levers takes into a fork-shaped recess formed at the under part of said bolts,

page_text: and the other ends of said levers project considerably beyond the outside of
the outer shell of the aforesaid casting, when the bolts are pushed outwards,
and the casting is unlocked from the hauling-up rope. The skip is connected
by a rope to the bottom of the casting. There is a stout ring fixed horizon-
tally immediately below the pulley, over which the hauling-up rope passes, so
that in the act of winding or hauling up the skip, the projecting parts of the
bell-crank levers coming into contact with the edge of the fixed ring, will be
depressed thereby, and the shorter arms of the said levers will draw the bolts
out of the catch piece, and by so doing disconnect the winding or hauling-up
rope from the skip, which will be supported and suspended by the outer ends
of the bolts resting upon the upper edge of the before-mentioned fixed ring,
and in this manner and by these means accidents arising from overwinding at
mines may be effectually prevented.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Norton Evans in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
NORTON EVANS, of Chapel Yard, North Street, Wolverhampton, in the
County of Stafford, Commission Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Norton Evans, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel
Norton Evans, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Samuel Norton Evans, 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 "IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS AT MINES FROM OVER-
WINDING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Norton
Evans, 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 Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great

page_text: 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 Samuel Norton Evans, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of certain novel mechanism, constructed and
operating in the following manner, for the purpose of preventing accidents at
mines from overwinding, that is to say, to the rope employed for hauling up
the skip, I affix a piece of metal or catch, having a slot formed across the
same to receive the ends of two bolts, said bolts being connected to and with
other mechanism of the following construction:-I so form a casing or shell
as that the upper part thereof has a deep hole therein of the same diameter as
the aforesaid catch piece, to which the hauling-up rope is affixed. Near the
lower part of this said hole two slots are formed opposite to each other
corresponding with the slot in the catch piece. There are also two other slots
formed in the outer shell of the casing; opposite to each of the former slots
each pair of slots support and guide bolts which are operated upon by bell-
crank levers, one end of each of the aforesaid bell-crank levers takes into a
forked-shaped recess formed at the under part of said bolts, and the other ends
of said levers project horizontally considerably beyond the outside of the outer
shell of the aforesaid casing, and when this is the case the bolts are pushed
inwards, and thus lock the casing to the hauling-up rope. The skip is con-
nected by a rope to the bottom of the casing.
There is a stout ring fixed horizontally immediately below the pulley, as
exhibited at Figure 1, over which the hauling-up rope passes, so that in
act of winding or hauling up the skip, the projecting parts of the bell-crank
levers coming into contact with the edge of the fixed ring, will be depressed
thereby, and the shorter arms of the said levers will draw the bolts out of the
catch piece, and by so doing disconnect the winding or hauling-up rope from
the skip, which will be supported by the outer ends of the bolts resting upon
the upper edge of the before-mentioned fixed ring, and in this manner and
by these means accidents arising from overwinding at mines may be effectually
prevented.
In order to explain this Invention as completely as possible, I now proceed
to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings bere-
unto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively, as follows:-

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion or the framework of a winding
engine for mines and pits, shewing my improvements adapted thereto; Figure 2
is an elevation of the before-mentioned locking apparatus, to one end of which
the skip is to be attached, and to the other end the winding rope; Figure 3
shews the position of the mechanism of the said locking apparatus when the
skip has been raised sufficiently high, and the winding up continued so as to
produce overwinding. The plate which encloses the mechanism of the aforesaid
locking apparatus is supposed to be removed at Figures 2 and 3. Figure 4
is a plan view of a ring, the use of which is herein-after fully described;
Figure 5 is an edge view of Figures 2 and 3; Figure 6 is a detached portion
herein-after referred to. At each of the foregoing Figurs I employ similar
letters of reference to denote corresponding parts in so far as such parts
appear or can be seen at each of such said Figures respectively.
A, A, is a portion of a framing of wood to be placed at the mouth of a mine
or pit; B, a pulley over which the winding rope C passes to the winding
engine, which may be of the ordinary kind; D, a staple to which the rope C is
to be securely fixed, said staple being connected to the locking apparatus
exhibited at Figures 2 and 3, the construction of said apparatus being as
follows: E is a metal case; F, F, sliding bolts; G, G, levers for actuating
the bolts F, F; I, a locking plate, of which there are two, one being repre-
sented by dotted lines at Figures 2 and 3, to expose to view the mechanism
behind same; K, a recess to receive the staple D, said staple having a hole
formed through it as at d, Figure 6, to receive the inner ends of the bolts F, F;
L, L, are slides to keep out dirt. The operations of this mechanism are as
follows: Suppose the locking apparatus to be in the position exhibited at
Figure 1, and the rope to be connected thereto by the staple D, as at
Figure 1, and the skip also connected thereto; suppose, also, the skip in the
act of being raised or wound up, and that due attention has not been paid to
stop the winding-up motion when the skip has been raised sufficiently high
from the mouth of the mine or pit, the effect will be as follows:-The pro-
jecting ends g of the levers G, G, coming into contact with the ring M, will
be depressed thereby; this movement will depress the ends n of the levers N,
and lift the opposite end of said levers, and also the locking plates I, until
they come free of the stops i, after which the tail pieces h of the levers G, G,
acting against the semicircular part of the bolts F, F, will pull such said
bolts back into the position exhibited at Figure 2, thereby disengaging the
staple D and the winding rope from the aforesaid locking apparatus, thus

page_text: leaving the skip suspended from the ring M by the outer ends of the bolts F, F,
resting thereon, as at Figure 3. The part 1 of the levers G having now dis-
engaged the ends n of the levers N, the locking plates I will now descend by
the action of the springs on the pins 3, fixed therein, and lock the bolts F, F,
in the position represented at Figure 2; a reverse movement of the levers G, G,
(which may be effected by hand,) will disengage the bolts F, F, from the
ring M. The locking apparatus may now be lowered, and the staple D be
again connected thereto as before, and in this manner and by these means
accidents at mines and pits arising from overwinding may be avoided in a
simple and efficient manner; and I would here remark, that an important
feature in the above-described locking apparatus consists in both of the levers
G, G, being required to be acted upon at the same time for effecting the
unlocking of the bolts and staple F and D.
In order to ensure the proper action of the aforesaid locking apparatus as
it comes into contact with the ring M, I propose to make the part 2 of the
locking plate I inclined as at Figure 2, so that in the event of the framing A
giving way or sinking, by which the ring M would not be horizontal, and
would therefore only act on one of the levers G, G, and thus fail to detach
the rope by making the part 2 inclined, as above stated, less action of the
levers G, G, is required to release the locking plate I, and thus the drawing
back of both of the bolts is ensured, notwithstanding the ring M is not in a
horizontal position.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention of "Improved Mechanism for Preventing Accidents at Mines from
Overwinding," together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I hereby
declare my Invention to consist in, and I claim, the mechanical arrangements
above particularly described, set forth, and represented by the illustrative
Drawing hereunto annexed, for the purpose of preventing accidents at mines
from overwinding, as constituting improved mechanism for that purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Norton Evans, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred, and fifty-nine.
SAMUEL NORTON EVANS. (L.S.)