Safety Hand Rail for Colliery and other Cages.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 30th May, 1893-Accepted, 1st July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Safety Hand Rail for Colliery and other Cages.
I, GEORGE HENRY RULE, of No. 97, High Street, Pentre, in the County of
Glamorgan, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to safety devices adapted to prevent miners and others
travelling up or down the shafts of mines and the like, falling out of the cage or
being thrown against the sides of the shaft.
Up to the present time, it has been the practice to make and use colliery cages
with open sides, the object being to provide for the passage in and out of the
trams. The object of my invention is to provide removable safety hand rails at
proper heights for both men and boys.
In carrying the invention into effect, I provide a rectangular or U shaped loop,
and pivot it to the frame of the cage. This loop is swung from one to the other
of its terminal positions upon its pivots, which are near the ends of its arms. Any
suitable device may be used for this purpose. I prefer a lever adapted to engage
with the arm by a stud and slot connection. The fulcra of the loop arms and of
the lever are relatively positioned so that the motion of the latter, in either
direction, will rock the loop from one of its terminal positions into the other. Any
suitable link-and-lever or other gear may be adopted for the purpose of operating
the lever. Provision is made for locking the loops in a terminal position by means
of a slot at an angle with the one above mentioned and communicating therewith,
into which slot the stud slips at the moment the loop reaches either of its terminal
positions.
A counterpoise may be added to balance the loop.
There may be two loops one at a lower level than the other, and both operated
through one and the same gear, so as to safe-guard boys.
The fulcra and locking devices are preferably encased in some convenient way.
Dated this 28th day of September 1892.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Safety Hand Rail for Colliery and other Cages.
I, GEORGE HENRY RULE, of No. 97, High Street, Pentre, in the County of
Glamorgan, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to safety devices adapted to prevent miners and others
travelling up or down the shafts of mines and the like, falling out of the cage or
being thrown against the sides of the shaft.
Up to the present time, it has been the practice to make and use colliery cages
with open sides, the object being to provide for the passage in and out of the trams.
The object of my invention is to provide removable safety hand rails at proper
heights for both men and boys.
In carrying the invention into effect, I provide a rectangular or U shaped loop,
and pivot it to the frame of the cage. This loop is swung from one to the other
of its terminal positions upon its pivots, which are near the ends of its arms. Any

page_text: suitable device may be used for this purpose. I prefer a lever adapted to engage
with the arm by a stud and slot connection. The fulcra of the loop arms and of
the lever are relatively positioned so that the motion of the latter in either
direction will rock the loop from one of its terminal positions to the other. Any
suitable link-and-lever or other gear may be adapted for the purpose of operating
the lever. Provision is made for locking the loops in a terminal position by
means of a slot at an angle with the one above mentioned and communicating
therewith, into which slot the stud slips at the moment the loop reaches either of
its terminal positions.
A counterpoise may be added to balance the loop.
There may be two loops, one at a lower level than the other and both operated
through one and the same gear, so as to safe-guard boys.
The fulcra and locking devices are preferably encased in some convenient way.
In order that my invention and the means by which it is to be carried into
practical effect may be thoroughly understood, I will now describe it and them in
detail, referring in so doing to the accompanying figures which are to be taken as
part of this Specification and read therewith.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the use of double safety rails.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a single safety rail within the locking device.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a single safety rail with the locking device.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of double safety rails with the locking device.
a is a bar fixed at a suitable height across each closed side of the cage. The
two bars are at the same height above the floor of the cage. Their function is to
provide pivots for the safety rails and provided that they do this, the bars in
question may be of any convenient shape.
b, bare the two safety rails, one for each of the open sides of the cage. Each
rail is an U shaped loop in plan, and both are pivotted through their arms upon or
to the respective rails a, a above described with their closed sides next to and across
the respective open side of the cage. The two loops are of the same size and their
pivots are at the same height from the bottom of the cage but nearer to the ends
of the arms than to the closed sides, in order that a comparatively short vertical
motion of the said ends shall suffice to move the safety rails from one of their
terminal positions to the other. The full lines of the figures shew the rails in the
operative position and the dotted lines shew them as swung out of it into the
other of them the one which they occupy when the men want to leave or enter
the cage.
Provision is make for making one safety rail move with its fellow, and only
then, by any suitable device. I prefer the one illustrated. It consists of a
longitudinal slot c in the end of one arm and a stud d upon the end of the opposite
and adjacent arm, the said stud being adapted, in respect of size and shape, to
engage and move in the said slot. e is a counterpoise. It is hung from one end
of one or of both arms and serves to counterbalance the weight of the safety rails.
Any suitable lever or link-and-lever mechanism may be used for the purpose of
moving the two rails simultaneously from either side of the cage. Such a one is
illustrated in conjunction with the locking mechanism above referred to.
f, fare two draw bars each presenting its handle at the opposite sides of the
cage. g is a lever having its fulcrum upon a stud g' projecting inwardly from one
side of the cage
The lower end of the lever has the end of the draw bar f
opposite to the handle thereof and pivottally connected to it, while the draw
bar is pivottally connected at a point near its handle to the opposite end of the
Baid lever.
is a T shaped lever and h' a link by means of which the motion of the draw
bar is communicated to the safety rails. The lever his pivotted by one arm to
one safety rail arm, the link to the other of them. Further, the opposite end of
the lever is pivotted to the inner end of the draw bar f' and its third end to the
free end of the link h¹. i is a locking slot. It is a continuation of the slot cat a
right angle with it in the direction of the pivot of the opposite safety rail-arm.

page_text: The safety rails are unlocked and swung up out of their operative position in the
following way. Either of the draw bars f, f' is pulled, with the result that the
lever his rocked on the pivot which connects it to the link h¹. This pushes
the stud d up the slot i and then pulls it down the slot c, the link h¹ swinging
accordingly, till the rails are up. The safety rails above described are designed for
the protection of adult occupants of the cage and are fixed at a proper height
accordingly. My invention provides for the safety of boys in the same way, the
only difference between the two mechanisms being one of relative position. ¹¹are
a second pair of safety rails. They have their respective pivots in or upon down-
ward extensions a¹ of the bars a and nearly vertically under those of the safety
rails 6. They receive their motion from the safety rails b, 6 through links b² 6*
pivotted to their ends and to the said rails respectively above the latter.
j is an encasing or covering plate provided for the purpose of boxing up the
arms of the safety rails and their actuating mechanisms."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. The herein before described combination with the open side of a cage, of a
safety rail pivotted upon both the closed sides thereof.
2. The hereinbefore described combination with the open side of a cage, of a
safety rail pivotted upon both the closed sides thereof and mechanism for moving
the same from one terminal position to the other.
3. The hereinbefore described combination with each open side of a cage, of a
safety rail pivotted upon each of the closed sides thereof and mechanism for locking
them within operative position and for simultaneously moving them from one
terminal position to the other.
4. The herein before combination with the open side of a cage, of two safety
rails pivotted upon each of the closed sides thereof at heights respectively
apportioned to the heights of the adult and juvenile occupants of the cage, and
mechanism for simultaneously, moving the said rails from one terminal position to
the other.
5. The hereinbefore described combination with each open side of a cage, of two
safety rails pivotted upon each of the closed sides thereof at heights respectively
apportioned to the heights of the adult and juvenile occupants of the cage,
mechanism for simultaneously moving the said rails from one terminal position to
the other and mechanism for locking them therein.
201 1 M 1002
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.