US314167A - curtiss - Google Patents

Description

(NoModel') R M CURTISS eats-'Sheet 1.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY DEVICE EUR ELEVTATOR'S.

III mi linnn-lll.'

Patented Mar. 1'7, 1885.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. CURTISS, OF BROOKLYN, lNEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY DEVICE `FOR E-LEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,167, dated March 1'7, 1835.

Application filed Julyjll, 1884. (No model.)

To ZZ whom, it may concern,

Be it.known that I, ROBERT llLCUnTIss, of Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certai nnew and useful Improvements in Electrical Safety Devices for Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

My present.invention'aims to control the movements of the car and hoisting-engine by the agency of electricity governed by the operator in the car, and also automatically by the movements of the car itself, and it is partly related to those systems shown in my former Patents Nos. 216.024 and 266,107, and in my pending application No. 118,294. My former inventions, however, chiefly concerned safety devices involving an electriccircuit which traversed' the cable, car, and hoisting machinery, so that in case of breakage of any part safety devices were released,. by the action of magnets to ,stop and sustain the car. In the latterapplicatiou the collision of any object with guard-bars on the shaft or car -by thel car.

would automatically break an electric circuit,-

andcause magnets to release a stop-valve or other 'stopping devices, to stop the engine and car and thus prevent the object being crushed Besides this automalic means forstopping the our, a manual switch was placedin the car, whereby the circuit could be broken manuallyat anytime to stop .thecar wheredcsired, in case of accident. '1

In my' former inventions it was assumed that the ordinary check-rope and mechanical devices for working the engine-valves from` the car were employed; but in my present -case I employ electro-n'iagnets or their equivalents toractuate the engine-valves to` cause thecar to ascend, descend, 6r stop, which magnet. is included in an'electric circuit which is extended to the car and controlledby a switch -in the carthus enabling the movements of thecar and engine to be controlled quickly and with 4`great case by the operator in the car, and obviating thejobjections which apply to the check-1ope heretofore used.

lnmy former inventions no provision was made for automatically limiting` the movement of thecar and hoisting-engine at each end ofl thetravel in case the. check-rope broke-jor the stopping and'starting valves ofthe enginebecame unmanageable. This is a contingency existing elevators, particularly those of the hydraulic kind, in which case the 'piston would tendto move out of the end of the cylinder and force the cur beyond the top beams ofthe shaft, thus` causing a general wreck, which many elevators in present use have no pro-4 vision at all'to guard against. In my pi esent invention, however, I guard against this very probable and serious form of .accident in a very simple and effective way by providing a special stop or safety valve or its equivalent on the hoisting-engine,\vhich is controlled by an electro-magnet or its equivalentV in an electric circuit which is completed through contacts at the top and bottoni of the car or at the top 'and bottom of the shaft, and a proj ection is arranged iuthe path of the car when near the end of the top or bottom 'of the shaft, so that in case the 'car should ever move beyond its normal limit of travel it will strike said projections, 'thereby operate thev contacts, and cause the magnet to actuate the stopvalve,

'and thus, automatically stop the engine and prevent the car from being moved'too far in. the shaft. Instead of these contacts and prolj ections.beingon the shaft or car theymay be -therewith, as hereinafter fully set forth 'and claimed. A

In the drawings annexed, Figure l presents an elevation of a hydraulic elevating'ap-- parat-us provided with 'myimprovements Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragment-ary sectional plan of the engine-cylinder and its electricv valveoperating mechanism. Fig. 3 is vau enlarged sectional elevation of-,one -of the contacts w-liichidetermine the automatic limit of thecars movement.- Fig; 4 illustratesa mod i` iication of -theelectric valveoperatingimech--' anisrm Fgs' au d 6 illustrate different'fornis of magnets -used to 'control'.jthe Vsafety stopvalVes-i Fig. v7 giveslanelevation` of ahy#V -I OO .dranli'c hoistingappal'atillS5 similar to that- 4 kind (shown best catches on the car.

.driven by belts from lo in Fig. l, but with some tnoditications and additional features not shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 8 illustrates a detail of Fig. T-viz., the safety- Figs. 9 and 10 show a different forni oi" safety stop-,valve,with different forms of magnets for controlling them.

Fig. l1 illustrates the safety stop-magnet apend of the cylinder and connects to the crosshead g, which carries the movable sheavesj, and isalso provided with the'guide-rollers lg, which roll on the gniderods g2. The y lxed at one end near the closed end ofthe cylinder, as seen in Fig. l, thence passes in loops over the fixed sheaves j and inet-.able sheaves f', and connects at the opposite end tothe car F in the usual manner, as illustrated in the drawings. Water is adinitted behind the pistonl from ancelevvated tank through the pipe a, which is provided with the main stopping and starting valve B. whichis ofthe usual double-acting` balanced in Fig. 2)-that is, the cylinder of the valve is provided with two pistons, b b', joined by a rod, c. The stand-pipe a always opens between the pistons b b', and

thus renders the valve understood. I

In Fig. 2 d indicates the inlet port or pipe leading from the valve'to the closed end ofthe balanced, as will be engine-cylinder A, ande indicates the outlet 4or exhaust port leading` linstead of employing a from the car to operatethe main -valve B in.

from the valve tothe lower tank, into which the spent water is exhausted when the `car descends. When the valve is set as shown 4in Fig. 2,- water is .ad-`

mitted from the elevated tank -to the enginef ylinder, and thus propels the piston forward to raiselliecar,whilcif the valve is shifted outward,so thatthepistonbpasses beyond'the pipe d, the water will be shut off from the tank and the pipe d made to communicate with the eX- hanst-pipe e, thus allowing the water to escape from the cylinder, and thus permitting the piston to retreat and the car to descend. l/Vhen the valve is So moved that the piston just covers the inlet port or piped, the piston and, car will he stopped at any position desired. It will hence be seen that the general arrangement of the cylinder, piston, valve, dre.L with the cable and car is ofthe ordinary character and forms no part of my improvement. It may now be observed, however, that check-rope extending the usual mechanical manner, as heretofore, 'I operate the'valve by electro-magnets th rough an electric circuit extended to the car, and by referring to Fig. il, in connection with Figs.

' 2 and 4, this electric-valve mechanism will be readilyunderstood.

lick indicatetwo powerful solenoids placed .by wire 4 with battery m.

'battery,thus energizing vlever i, as seen in Fig. A2, so as in line -with each other, with their cores or core k2 connected topa valve-leven@ of asmall' steam, air, or water engine, 1, whose piston l' connects to the valve-'rod c of the main valve B. The motion of the cores and the valveleveri' is limited by stops il, and it will be seen that when the core isvattracted into one solenoid' itwill be retracted froni the other and the valve-lever will he moved over against one stop, soas to admit pressure onto one or the other sidcofthe piston Z, and thus shift the valve-pistons b b', so as to cause the car to ascend or-descend, as will be readily comprehended.`

Referring to Fig. l, it will be seen that'the Solenoids-k k' are connected by wires with a battery, m, and that wires 2 3 extcnd from the battery and solenoids to a pendezit-loop of cable, n, one end of which is fastened at the iniddle of the, sha'l't. while the other end connects to the cur, so that the cable hangs pendent from the car and is free to move therewith as the carascends or descends.. y The wire2of the cable n extends from one p'ole ofthe batterym andconnects to the switch o in the ear, which switch has two seats', o 02.'- Thewire 3 extends front seat of to one endef the solenoid 7c, while the other end of the solenoid connects The other seat, o2, is connected .by wire 5 withpne end of the other solenoid, k', the opposite end of which connects by ,wire 6 with battery m.' It will therefore be seen that if the switch o is placed IOO in its'inid-position, as shown in Fig. l, both circuits from. the battery m will 4be open and bothsoleiioids inactive, and hence the core k2 will lie neutral between the solenoids and tend to assume a mid-position, to which it'will be constantly drawn by apendent Weight,p, which is attached to a chain, p', whichpasses between rollers p2, fixed midway between the solenoids,

and connects to the middle ofthe'core, asshown in Fig. Lalso in Figs.2 and 4.v When theA core is, therefore; held( yin the` mid-position shown in Figs. l and 4, the valve-lever z', as well as the motor-piston Z ofthe waiter-valve pistons b b', will'all be in their mid-positions,

.and the iiow of water to or from. the elevator- A will be shut oit, and hence the elecylinder vator-piston and car will be at rest. l If,however, the switch o be moved over on the seat o', the current will now flow from battery m, by wire'2 to switch o, seat o', and wire 3 to solenoid k. and thence return by wire 4 to theV l the soiencid t, which will attract the corals2 and move the valvenre-on the side ot' the piston l', so as to move to admit press.

IIO

saidv piston, with the valve pistons b Zt', to the right, and thns admit water-pressure in the elevator-cylinder to lift the car. lf, now, the switch be moved back to its'mid-position, the circuit will be broken with solenoid k and the parts will assume the rnidposition already described, and the water-valve will hence be closed andthe ear stopped atA anyiiiiesired point in. the asceut.- Il', on the contrary, the

, in similar electric mechanism.

seen that by this systemv of working the main' switch-be moved over on the seat o?, then the -current will flow from battery m, by wire 2, switch o, seat o2,- and. wire 5 to solenoid 7r,- and thence by wire G to battery mi, thus energizing the solenoid lr', which will movel the core k2 and valve-levert' to thel left, and thus cause the positions ot' pistons Z' and Z 2) to be re` that the solenoids may be wound in parallel sections or multi ple arc, all the sections connecting'at one en d to avcommon return-wire to the battery m, while each section connects at the opposite end to a distinctswitch-seat, on which vthe switch o may be turned succes sively to throw more or less of the sections into circuit, and thus admit the current gradually Ato the solenoids and'enable the force of -the same to bia-regulated as may be required,which method is well known to nofurth'er illustration.

-I'n Fig'. 2 I show the piston of va dash-pony', connected to the valve-lever i, to retard the action of the solenoids and prevent too-sudden or jerky motions, as commonly employed It will'now be electricians and needs starting and stopping valve of the elevator by-nagnets controlled by a circuit from the car rot only `can the v alvc be made to act very promptly, but the operator in the car is relieved from tlieserious exertion required to operate t-he usual check-rope and its, mechan- V .ical adjuncts, and requires only to movea' light switch inl the car, which is of course done with great ease. and quickness, and will enable the car to he stopped and started much more quickly, and'will obviate t-he use of the eidless check.-i'ope and the cumber- -some'adjuncts of 'the usual mechanical valve mechanism, and thus ,accomplish a greatiimproveinent in the operation ofelevators. v It will now be readily understood that, in casethe main valve B should become at any time dcl ranged or unmauagcable, so as to fail to close when thecar or pistou reached their normal limitsot' movement, the piston would "tend to move out of-thc end ot' the cylinder and force the car up against the top` beams `of the shaft, or out through thev root' or" the 'building, and thus cause an ent-ire wreck of the apparatus,v this being, in fact, a form of accident to which elevators are quite liabltyand which occurs usually by the breakage of the checkrope, or other deran gement ot' the valve mechanism. In order, therefore, to prevent'tnis form of accident, I employ, in addition to the main'valve"B,a safetystop-valve, C, which I lintroduce in the pipe d, .between the main current is sent through the coils valve B and the cnginc-e\ylinder A, as shown both 2n Figs. 1 and 7; and I also prefer to introducc a second safety stop-valve, D, in thestand-pipe a, between the main valve B and the elevated tank, as shown in Fig. l. .Th ese valves C and D may be of theordinary slidinggate kind, as indicated in Figs. land 7, or ofthe double-seat balancedkind shown in Figs. 9 and 10, both forms of valves being well known, and

suliiciently'illustrated in the drawings as to requirc no further description. -Now, both ofthe stop-valves C D are normally held open by the agency of electro-magnets F G, so that they do not affect the passage of water to or from the cylinder, and hence do not interfere with the Vaction of the main valve B in controlling the movements of the ear. The stems of the valves F G connect to weighted valveoperat ing levers rr', which are engaged and held up by the armature detent-leverss s', thus holding the valves open. The magnets F G are placed in electric 'circuits which are completed through contactsH I-I- at the top andbottom of the shaft, and also through contacts K K at euch end of the cross-head guides so that if at any time the cross-head or the car moves beyond their normal limits one or other of the cont-acts will be operated and the magnets F. or G; energized to move their armatures, and thus cause the detent-s s or s to release one ot' theweighted levers, which will at once fall and close its valve, thus stopping the further movement of the piston or car, and thus etfectu-ally preventing any accident or wreck of the apparatus; The magnet F is represented as apolarized electro-magnet, and the magnet Gas a 'com mon electro-magnet, both, however, being placed in -an open circuit with the. battery I. The body ofthe 'magnetl as shown best in Fig. 5, is of course a permanent magnet with a softyiron varmature wound with -a coil, which is the only part of the magnet in' circuit, as seen in Fig. .1, the said coiled ar-` mature being connected with the detenta-lever s... The armature-jot the magnet .F is hence held normally attractcdlbyl the, permanent magnetism, and 'th-u1s holds the datent-'lever engagedwith the lraised valve-lever r,- but as soon as' an electric current is-sent through the armaturecoil of the-magnet the attraction ot' 'the'permanent magnet is neutralized and the armature' falls otl, thus moving the detent and "allowingfthe lever rto fall and close the valve -D. V`The magnet G being a common electromagnet, its armature, whichis part ofthe detent s', is normally retracted, and hence holds the` detent engaged with the raised valve'l ever r" in saidretracted position;` hut as soon as a of themagnet-it attracts its armature .and thus releases the weighted valve-lever a-ndallows the valve to close. y'

Fig.'6 shows how the magnet I1"4 may be modified. by having the coilson the poles of the permanent magnet instead ofen thefsoft- I IOO iron armature, as will be'readily understood.

Referring t'o Fig. 3, the vconstruction ofthe contacts II H' at the' top and bottom of the shaft will be readily understood.

50 represents a sliding rod mounted in eyebraekets on the side of the shaft, and having one end projecting out at right angles in the path of the car, so that when the car moves be- .ycnd its norial limit it will collide with and move th/e bent rod. This rod is connected by the spring 5l with the contact-bolt 52, which 1o projects through the top of a non-conducting dnst-proofbox,53, fixed on the side of the shaft, 'and which incloscs the contactinghead 5i of the bolt, and also incloses two contact-tongues, 55, which project from binding-posts on the I5 top of the box and approach the tapering contact-head 54. The circuit-wires con nett to the binding-posts on the top of the box, arid hence when the bolt. is moved outward its head 54 will pass between the tongues 55, and thus" 2o close the circuit. A stop-collar, 56on the bolt limits the outward movement ofthe bolt, and a spring, 57, tendsconstant'ly to retract vthe bolt, and thus keep the contact open, as shown in Fig. y

'Referring to Fig. l, it will be understood that the contacts H H are placed 'at the top and bot-tom of the'shaft at points a little beyond the normal travel of the car, so 'that hence if at any timle the car travels up beyond 3o the normal limit it will strike the bent .rod of 1 Athe upper contact, H, and thus raise the same and close the'contact, which will at once close the circuit from the battery I on the upper magnet, F, and the current will therefore take the following course: From battery I, by Wire.

20, to armature-coil of InagnetF, thence by wire 21-to. contact H, and from contact H, by wire 22, back, to. opposite side of battery. Hence this closure of thecircuit will atonce 40, throw off the armature-detent sand release the weighted lever r, which will fall and close the stop-valve D, and thus shut off the How of waterfrom the tank tothe cylinder, and thereby stop the further riseot' the car. i The elasticity of spring 57 willallow the rod to' move a short distance with the car after the contact is closed,

and before the movement of the car is checked r by the closing oft-he valves, as will be under; stood. If, on the other hand, the car moves 5o beyond its limit in descending', it will strike the lower contact, H', and therefore close it,

as before described, and cause the current to' new to the lower' magnet,K G, and therefore close the lower valve, 0, and thus prevent the further exhaust of the water, and therefore stop the descentoffthe car. When the contact H is thus closed, the course of the current will-be as follows: From the battery I,by wire 2 3, to

contact II', thence. by w-re 2i to magnet G,

6o and' returning by wires 13 and l0 to opposite side of battery.

The contacts K K at the 'ends of the crosshead guides consist, as shown in Fig. 1, of

. simple spring-tongues separated from a metal base-plate, the tongues 4being placed in the path of the .guide roller g at points a little bcyond the. normal limits of the travel ofthe cross-head. Hence if the cross-head moves out beyond its normal limit it will close the Outer contact, K, and the current will now flow from the battery I by wire 20 to magnet F, and

thence by wire 28 to contact K, and from conwire 27 to opposite side of battery, thereby energizing magnet G and causing the lower stop-valve, C, to become released and closed,

thus preventing the further retreat of the pis-- ton and descent of the car.'A It will therefore be seen that/the upper stop-valve,`D, stops the motion of the car going up, while the lowerstop-valve, C, stops the motion going down, and that the magnets of these valves are placed in two circuits, one of which is controlled by the contacts in the shaft operated by the car, and the other of which is controlled by contacts on the piston-guides. operated by the cross-head. If desired, however, but one valve maybe used to stop the motion in both directions, as show-n in Fig. 7, and hereinafter described, and but one set of circuits and contactsy may be used-cither those on the shaft or those on the engine-but the use of both'is considered safest, as one acts as a check on the other.

Referring to Fig. l, it will be readily seen that the'safety guard-bars described in my pending application No. 118,294! may be introduced in the circuit of the magnets FG, -so that should any person collide with the guardbars in attempting to enter or leave the moving car the movement of the colliding bar will IOO IIO

close the circuits on the magnet F or G, and

thus close the appropriate stop valve and stop the motion of thecar before the person can be crushed. To illustrate this application I have shown a yielding .guard-bar, t t', at the top and bottom of the car, connected to one member of normally-open contactsu u' on the car.v These contacts are placed in the circuits of the magnets F G, but by a different course from that already described. therefore beseen that, if any obstructions lie in the way of the car in going up or down, collision will be made with the bar t or L', and the contact u' or u thus closed, and the magnet F or G thus thrown into circuitto close either valve C or D to stop the movement of the car before any damage can be done by such collision,on theprinciple claimed in my aforesaid pending application. 5 It will be further seen, however, that, if a projection, 'v o', be

placed 4in the' shaft in the path of the guardbars t t, but at points beyond the normal travel of the car, the contacts H H and their wires may be dispensed with, as the con It will v'tacts u' u', with the barst ff and projections vo', .will lserve the same purpose.

if the car rises `beyond the normal limit, the

For example,

har t Awill collide with 'theproiection o and thus close contacta, and the current will then low as follows; From battery I, by wire 7, t0

'.the fixed end ol' the cable, thence through the 'mass of the cable, or through a special wire `therein, to thctop o'f the carni-'here wire 7 continues and connects to wire 1S and contact u, `and from contact u hy wires 1'9 and 9 to inagnet F, thence by 'wire 10 to oppositcside ot battery. Hence the magnet F will be energized and lclose the valve D to stop the further riseot the car. If, on the other' hand, the lower contact. u', is closed, the current will then ow to the lower magnet, G, and stop the valve D `to prevent the further descent of. the car. in which -cnse the course of the cnr' rent will beas follows: From the battery I through cable h by wire 7, as before, thence to contact u', and from contact u' by wire 12 to magnet G, returning by wires 13 and 10 to opposite side of battei y.

Besides the different means just described for automatically closingr the stop-valves OD,

' 'I also prefer toprovidetl'ie car-with push-buttons 8 and-11, and with a switch. fw, whereby the circuits on the magnets of either or both valves may be closed manually to stop the car intentionally at any point, should some emergency require it.A The push-button v8 is connected between `the wires 7 and 9, and it will therefore he seen that when the but- -ton is closed the current will dow from battery I, by wire, through push-button to wire 9, to magnet F, and from thence by wire 10. to battery I, and hence the valve ID will be closed to stop the up motion of the car,.as before described. The push-button 11 is connected' between the w-ires 7 and 12, and

when the button is closed current will owas before, through wire 7, through push-button to wire 12, thence to magnet G, and froinmagnet by wires 24, 25, and 23 to' opposite side of battery I. Consequently magnet G will be energized and the valve C will be closed tosto'p the down motion of the'car. The switch w has one end connected:to wire 9, and has twoseats,` 1-1 and 15, connected, respectively, to 'wire 7 and 12, consequently if lthe switch is moved onto the seats 14 and V15 the circuit will be closed with both magnets, as will be Jreadily seen bytra'cing the connections, and

hence both stop-valves will be closed instantly and the car restrained from motionv up or Y down.

The advantage of having distinct valves C and D to control the u p nnddown movements,

and distinct push-buttons 11 8 to govern the magnets thereof, is that, in case an obstruction or accident -is met with during the travel of the car in one direction, the car can be in- I l stantlystopped in that direction and then allowed to move inthe opposite directionby shifting the mainwalve B, and when the car is moved opposite thenext door it can be there being held bythe armature-detent s.

valve 'e' has also a weighted valve-lever, e, which is normally' raised and held by the letip of the leverr'.`

of the car.

Referring to Fig. 2. it will .be understood that the small engine l, for working' the main valve B, may he supplied,with'steam, compressed air," or water under pressure from tne pipe a, or other moti ve fluid. In Fig. 1, however, I show an air-compressing device operated by the movement ot' the main cross-head to supply the vulve-engine l. In this device w represents an air-pump with a gravitating `piston connected with an elbow-lever, one

arm of which lies in thepath of the cross-head g when near the end ot its stroke, sothat at each' return movement of the cross-head the pump is operatedv to compress air into the reservoir y, from which the valve-engine Z is Referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that the back contact, K, on thec'ross-head guides is the same as shown in Fig. 1; but the front contact, K', is of thc character shown in Fig:

2, except tliat'the contact-bolt` is connected` with a lever, z, the tip otwhich lies in the path Vof a projection on the cross-head when at the end of its outer movement.. In this Fig.` 7 it will be also seen that the stop-valve C is placed between the main valve I1 and the cylinder A, .and consequently when it is closed it will prevent the movement ot 'the ca-r in either direction. This valve Q is in this'case' presumed to he of .the sliding-gatekind,w.hich

,usually require considerable force to 'operate them, and for this reason .I have shown the stemofthe valve connected not only to'the weighted valve-lever r', as before, but also to a ram-piston, c', in a water-cylinder, d,.which connects t'o thestand-pi-pe a through a valve, e.4 Normally, of course, the valve e' is closed; the valve C is opened, and the piston c and weighted lever rare raised, the latter p'ajis vere, which is engaged by a shoulder on the The magnet G, which corresponds to the magnet G in Fig. 1, is in circuit 'with the contacts at top and bottom of the shaft' and on the cross-head guides, and hence when any of said contacts are closed the magnet G will attract the detcnt s', and thus release the weighted lever c? and allow the same to fall, thus opening t-he valve e' and admitting the water-pressureon the piston c', which will forcibly close the valve O and stop the motion ofthe car in both directions.V NVhen the valveC is thus-closed, the descent of the YOO IIO

l lever r will close the contacts r2, and thus close au electric-bell circuit, q q,and ring a bell, q', to give-notice to the'engineerI that someaccident has occurred to stop the apparatus. The course ot the current to the magnet G when the different contacts are closed maybe readily traced-by referring to Fig. 7. Thus when the upper shaftcontact, H, is closed, the current will iiow from batteryI by wire 36 to contact H, and by wire 37 to magnet G, and thence return by wire 33 to battery. If contact H is closed, the current will ilow from battery I by wire 34. to contact H', thence by wire 35 to magnet G, and return by wire 33, as before. When Contact K-is closed, the currentows out of battery by wire 3S to Ycontact', thence by wire 3.) to magnet G, and

returns by wire 33. It' contact K is closed, current flowsthereto by wire 40theuce by wire 41 to magnetA G, and returns by wire 33.

In addition to the aforesaid ci rcuit-s with magnet G, I also prefer to carry a wire, 30, from the battery I to the fixed end of the ca ble h, and from the car end of the cable I extend a'wire, 3i, toa push-button, 11, in the car E, and from the'push-button I carrya pendent looped wire or cable, 32,' tothemaguet G and complete the circuit through wire 33 to bat` Vtery, this circuit being normally openat the push-button'll. n 11, however, it will be seen that tlie'operator in the car can instantly close the circuit on;

magnet G, and thus close the stop-valve C to stop the car at any point, should some emergeucy require it, asbefore'described.

ln Fig. 7 I also show the car provided withl lsafo'ety-catches',6() 61, which are normally held out o f engagement with the guides, but which maybe released to engage tlieguides 'and thus4 stop the car when' required. Thesecatches. consist ot' aspriug-bar, 60, on'the ends of which are pivoted doubly-toothed cam-shoes 61, as best shown in Fig. 8, which shoes will engage the guides in a Wedging manner-'1n either direction, when released, against thesame. The; toggle-spring is, however, normally'bent up.

so as to withdraw the shoes 61 from vthe guides, and are 'thus held by a chain or band, 62, wound around a drum, 63, on which a brakeband, 64, is tightened` -by a lever, 66, to hold saidspring up'. Thisbrakelever is engaged by the detent-lever 65, which covers a coiled armature, which is attracted by the permanent or polarized magnetV N, thereby holding the safety-catches out of engagement during the continuation of said attraction. also provide Vfthe car with a governor, R, which is driven by themovement of the car in any suitable way#- for example, from a friction-wheeh vrI', which rolls on the, guides and is'suitably geared to the l governor, as illustrated. The movable collar of the governoryis conuected to a contactlever, S,- which' is connected byl wire 70 with the wire 31, I-or vwith the cable, as shown. A.

eontact-seat. 7l, below the. tip of the levers,- is Yconnected with one end of the armature coil-omaguet N,while the other end of the By closing the pushvbutton.

coil connects by wire 72 with wire 32. It will .thereforebe now seen' that in casethe ear at any time acquires an abnormal or dangerous speed iu moving up or down the action of the governor will move the lever Sand close con tact 71, and t-hus close circuit on magnet N, which will at once release its armature and thus allow the brakelever 66 to fall and thus release the safety-catches 60 and stop the car in the guides. cuit will also be closed on the magnet G and the stop-valve C closed to stop the movement of the engine siinultaneouslypwith the car.I

" car acquires an abnormal speed at any time,

as will be understood.

Referring to F ig 9,it will be seen that I have shown the magnet F attached directly to the top ot' the stem of -t.hestop-valve D'. `When vthe stem-'is raised to open the va1vc',the magnet will adhere to a ii-xed sott-iron armature, (shown 'above the 1naguet,) and thus hold the valve open; but, as soon a's'a current is sent through the coils ot' the magnet, the attraction of the magnet will beneutralized and the mag net will fall and thus close the valve, as shown i.u.Fig. 9. Hence this form of valve and mag- `net. may be substituted for that shown' at F D in Fig. 1. I y y In Fig. 10 the stem ofthe valve() is shown connected to awel lited lever, r as in Fi 1- g 1 g s but this .lever is arranged to be attracted di,- rect-ly by the polarized magnet G,soA as to normally hold the lever .raised and the valve open by permanent magnetism.' reutis sent through the mag'uetcoil, however,

its permanent magnetism will be neutralizedl audthelever will fall and close the valve, as shown.

l"In Figs. l and 7 I have shown my automatic electric stopping mechanism for limiting the At the saine instant the cir- IXO When a curmovement of the-car applied to a hydraulic Y elevator, in which' the electro magnet acts to close a valve to shut oli" thejlow ofthe motive fluid to the engine; but the invention mayot course 'beu applied without any substantial change to elevators propelled by any otherA form of motor or byany'other mechanical means. y -l In Fig. 11 I have shown the stop mechanism applied to'hoisting machinery driven by belts. In this case P indicates the windingdrunn of the elevator or ihoist, and U the worm-shaft which revolves thedrum, this Vshaft being provided with the t'ast pulley 8,0

and the loose'pulleys 8l 82. I

S3is a-driviug-belt having motion in oneI direction, and 84 a belt having motion in l.the

opposite direction, whilcS and 86 represent the belt-shippers thereof. These belt-shippers are presumed to 'be connected in theusual manner (not shown) with l'the .cheek-rope eX- Atending to the car, so that, by properly operating said check-rope, the shippers may be so set 'as to throw either belt onto the fast pulleyl 80, and thus raise or lower-the car, or throw Aboth belts offthe fast pulley onto the loose ones to stop the movement of the car'. Each shipper is, however, also connected by chains 87 S8 to a lever, 89, which is engaged bya weighted elbow-lever, 90,whih is in .turn en gaged and held up bythe armature deten't;

lever s, which is'held attracted by the stopmagnet F with the same effect, as shownat F s in Figi. The armatnre'coil of thismag-k `net` F is ot' course placed in -circuit with the contacts H H on theshal`t,as is sufficiently indicated by dotted lines connecting Figs. I and 1l. i 87 S8, betwcenthe shipper and the lever 89,

will allow the shippers ,to be moved back close a stop-valve or stopping device through the agency of a magnet and electric circuit and .forth by t.he.check-rope.mechanism to control the movements of the car without af fecting the position ofthe levers 89 90 or the detent s. I?, however, the car moves too far in the shaft and thus closes one of the contacts H H', the circuit will be closed on mag net F, and the armature-detent s will at once tall and release the weighted lever 90, which in falling will move the lever 89, as shown by dotted lines, and thus pull on whichever chain happens to be tant and thereby move the corresponding shipper and thus remove whichever belt happerzs to be on the fast pulley back onto the loose pulley, and thereby stop themovement ofthe car, as' will be readily comprchended It will be understood that any equivalent eleetricimotor .devices might be used in placeof the electro-magnets shown-.

without consuming current, and when the cir-'- cuitis closed they have the advantage of releasing their armat-res very quickly, which' is a great advantage in the'stopping mechanism shown 5 but of course a' closed circuit with normally-closed contacts and normallyenergized magnets might be used, if desired.-

It will be seen that the governor R and its adjuncts, as shown in Fig. 7, may be driven by the movement of the engineaswell -as-by the'movement of the car, and it will be observed that the employment of a governor' to 1t will now be seenthat the chains forms one ot the novel features of my invention.

It will "he readily seen that the stoppingkcontacts H K 'on the shaft or engine mayv also be in circuit with the magnet N ot' the satetyr catches on the car, so that when said contacts are closed by the movement of car or engine beyond the normal limits the safety-catches 'on the car will he released to stop the sau'ie. It will be also observed that a third solenoid may besubstituted for the weight p, arranged to pull vthe core k2 and vali-clever 't' into the mid'positi'on, when theswitch o is-placed in the mid-position.l

Vhat I claim isn 'I 'The combination, with an clevatorcar and mechanism for stopping the'saine, of a .magnet operatively connected with .the stopL4 'ping mechanism and arranged -to normally hold the same inactive. and an electric circuit connected with said magnet, provided with'a contact or cont-acts arranged relatively.

to the terminal movements ot' the. hoisting apparatus, substantially as herein described, whereby the terminal movement of the apparatus beyond the normal limits operates said contact and causes the magnet to release the stopping mechanism to stop further n1ovement. i

2; The combination, with .an elevatorar and its hoisting` engine'or machinery, of a valve or equivalent stopping device for stopping the motion of the engine, a magnet arranged to normally hold said stopping device inactive, an electric circuit connected with said magnet and provided with a contact-'or contacts Vso arranged relatively to the termi-` nal movements of the elevating apparatus that in case the car or' engine moves beyond its nor ial limitssaid'contaets are operated and the. nagnet' actuated to release the stopping device to stp further movement. i

3. The combination, with an elevator-car and its hoisting-engine, of a valve or stopping device for stopping said engine, with a magnet operatively connected with the valve or `stopping device and arranged to normally hold .it inactive, with one or more electric con?` tacts on the shaft in the path of the'car when `nea-r the end of its movement, and an electric circuit between said contacts and magnet, whereby the movement of the car beyond its normal limits operates said contacts and thus actuates the magnet to release the stopping device to stop the car, substantially as herein set frth.- l

f 4. The combination, with an elevatorcar and its hoisting-engine, of a valve, C, con trolling the down motion of car, and valve D to control the up ,motion of the car, with magnets F G, arranged to hold said valves open,

` with electric circuits extending to the car from said magnets, and means for controlling the circuit of either magnet independently inthe oar, substantially as set forth.

.5. The combination, with an elevator ear and its hoisting-engine, ot' a valve or its equiv.-

I.IO

to the ear, and means for alent, controlling the stopping and starting of' the engine, with a magnet or magnets arranged to control the shifting of said valve, an electric circuit extended from said magnet breaking and elos ing said circuit in the ear, substantially as herein set forth..

(i. The combination, with an elevator-car and its hoisting-engine, of a valve to control movements ci the engine and ear, and a.

ping device to stopie engine, and agovernor` responding to increases of speed in the movement of the ear or engine, with an elect-rie contact operatively connected Witha movable part of the governor, a magnet operatively connect-ed with the stopping device, and an electric circuit between said magnet and con tact, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

8. The combination, with an elevating apparatus and with a stopping device or devices for stopping the motion of the saine, of a po- 'larized electro-magnet arranged to hold the stopping device normally inactive by the attraction of permanent magnetism, with a nor mally-open electric circuit connected with the 'coil of said magnet` and means, substantialiy such as set forth, for closing said circuit in emergencies, and thus nentralizing'the magnet and releasing the stopping device.

9. The combination, with an elevator-engine, and with the main stopping and starting valve thereof'. of a small tinid motor or engine for actuating said valve, and a finiti pump. for supplying said engine, having iis piston conneetedvto an actuating device ae ranged in the path of a movable part of the elevator engine, and operated therebyfsnb'- stantiaily as herein shown and described.

, RGBERT M. CURTISS.

Witnesses CEAS; M. HIGGINS, JNO. E; GAvrNj

Images