US739078A - Elevator safety device. - Google Patents

Description

No. 73 9j 078. I PATENTBD SEPT. 15,1903.

1 G HAIL.

ELEVATOR SAFETY DEVIGE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 wiesses 5 akoP m m: Nana's PETERS co Puma-Luke WASHINGTON, In:v

1N0. 739,078.- I PATBNTED SEPT. 16, 1-903.

" G. HAIL.

ELEVATOR SAFETY'DEVIGE. APPLIOATION, FILED NOV. 13, 1902.

rue-"hams PETERS bof. PHOTD-UTHQ. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES Patented. September 15,1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELEVATOR SAFETY DEVlCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,078, dated September 15, 1903.

Application filed November 13, 190% Serial No. 131,096- (No model-Y T aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE HAIL, of- Provi-v deuce, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new ver, so that when the door is opened the valve and its lever cannot be operated and which at the same time will not lock the valve-lever in open position in case a door is opened when the elevator-car is in motion.

The invention has further forits object to provide means for withdrawing the look from engagement with the lever in case the looking mechanism should be actuated by the opening of a door when the car is at rest at a point remote therefrom. It is possible with many of the existing forms of door-locked controllers to have the car locked against movement either at a landing or at a point between two landings by the opening of a dooreither above or below the car.

According to this invention mechanism is provided for temporarily rendering the looking mechanism inoperative to permit the car to proceed to the landing where the door is opened, so that the operator may close the said open door. This freeing mechanism is of great benefit to elevator-repairers and janitors by enabling them to move the car from the car itself or from the landing, as they desire, while working upon or around the'car regardless as to whether the doors are open or closed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l represents more or less conventionally an elevator shaft or hatchway, an elevator-car, the valvelever, and the mechanism by which the lever is locked when oneof the landing-doors is open. Fig. 2 represents one form of lock which maybe employed to engage the valvelever. Fig. 3 represents the same contrivance ..with the bell-crank lever shifted, so as to to the hoisting mechanism. Fig. 5 represents another form of the locking devicein which the bolt is provided with a locking member or bow. Fig. 6 represents in perspective view a form of locking-bow which may be secured to the valve-lever. Fig. 7' represents more or less diagram matically another embodi ment of the invention. Fig. 8 represents in perspective view the valve-lever, the controllerline attached thereto, and one form of bow secured to said lever.

On the drawings, referring more particularly to Fig. 1, a a indicate the landing-doors, which are normally closed, and Z) the elevator-car. v

0 indicates the controller or rope, which may be actuated by the attendant on the car. This rope or line may be either grasped by the hand ofv the operator or else it may be shifted by means of a wheel or lever, the drawings illustratinga lever for accomplishing this purpose.

Adjacent each door is an electric switch d, arranged in a safety-circuit 6, said circuit including a source of supply, as a generator,

(indicated ate',) and an electromagnetf. The .line 0 is connected by any suitable means with the lever g of the ordinary valve mechanism, (indicated as a Whole at h.) By raising or lowering the line the valve-lever g may be shifted to cause the admission of fluid into thehoisting mechanism or to cut off the supply therefrom in the well-known way. The locking mechanism includesa memberdwhich for convenience ofnomenclature may be termed a bolt, although by that term there jj on a supporting-plate 7c, said-supportingplate likewise supporting the maguetf. The said magnetf is of the solenoid type, and its plunger f is connected by a linkf with a lateral arm m of the T-shaped lever m. The other lateral arm m of the said lever is provided with a weight m which serves to partially-balance the weight of the plungerf, the plunger being of sufficient weight, howover, to swing said lever about its centerfof t', t", projecting from the bolt 1'. The lever m is fulcrumed upon a stud m projecting from the plate 70, said parts being constructed and arranged whereby when the plunger f is moved upward the three-armed lever m is moved to thefull-line position in Fig. 1, so as to retract the bolt or lock t'. \Vhen the plunger drops, however, the lever drops to the dottedline position, so as to project the bolt, as shown in Fig. 2. For convenience the operative means between the doors and the lever m is illustrated as comprising a normally closed safety-circuit with switches whereby when one of the doors is open the solenoid is deenergized to permit the plunger to drop and effect the projection of the bolt i; but it will be understood that any equivalent means may be employed in lieu thereof, the invention not relating to the particular operative means between the door and the lock, but to the locking mechanism coacting therewith.

The boltt' is arranged substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the lever g, and one of the parts (either bolt or lever) is provided with a locking member or how, with which the other is adapted to be engaged. In Fig. 1 the locking member orbow is illustrated as being secured to the lever 9, whereas in Fig. 5 the said member is shown as mounted upon the bolt 2'. This member consists of an elongated strip n, bent at its ends, as at a, and having opposing shoulders 12 01 to form a notch or space a between them. These shoulders may be formed directly on the strip 17., as shown in Fig. 8, or else they may be formed separately and secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 6, in which case they are adjustable longitudinally of the bow to compensate for variations in the play of the lever due to one cause or another. The projection which forms each shoulder is provided with a convex'edge at, which forms to all intents and purposes a continuation of the curved surface of the bent end 11'.

Where the locking member or how is attached to the valve-lever g, as shown in Fig. l, the notch or space n between the shoulders n is of suflicient width to receive the end of the bolt t1 and at the same time to permit the slight relative movement of the lever g for allowing a certain requisite loose or idle movement of the valve when itis in neutral position. \Vhere the bow is mounted upon the end of the bolt i, the leverg is provided with a relativelysmall projection g to enter the notch or space if. From this description it will be seen that with either arrangement the projection of the bolt 2' by the accidental or malicious opening of the door when the car is running will not prevent the free movement of the lever g, for the curved ends of the bow (whether carried by the bow and engaged by the lever, or vice versa) when the lever g is swung upon its fulcrum will force the bolt '2' gradually backward until the projection g or the end of the bolt 1' registers .shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. .door be opened while the car is running, it "will not prevent the free movement of the valve-lever to neutral position, inasmuch as with the recess, socket, or notch n of the bow, whereupon the bolt will snap forward and the valve-lever will be held against further actuation until. the open door is closed and the bolt withdrawn.

As has been stated, the operative means between the doors and the bolt in Fig. 1 includes a normally closed electric circuit; but should it be desired to employ the bolt in connection with a normally open circuit it may be done by shifting the fulcrum or stud of the three-armed lever m to an aperture in the plate It, as shown in Fig. 3, said plate being provided with the apertures 70 k for the fulcrum or stud m. For the same purpose the bolt 1' is provided with two pairs of pins 1" to receive the end of the arm at, according to the location of the lever. To limit the movement of the bolt, it is provided with suitable stops, as at 71 to engage the guidesj. In lieu of supporting the bolt 21 in the guides j it may be supported upon the swinging links 0 o, as shown in Fig. 5, in

which event the gnidesj merely serve to prevent the dislocation of the bolt.

Ordinarily while the car is running the doors are all closed and the locking-bolt is retracted and :ontof the path of movement of the valve-lever. \Vhen a door is open, however, the locking-bolt is operated by the operative means between the doors and said bolt, and the latter is thrown forward to locking position, as Should a the bolt will be forced backwardly by the bow, as previously stated, until the bolt and the lever are engaged by the shoulders'nh It may be stated that if the lever g is to the left of the bolt t' in Fig. 1 a normally open circuit could be used or the lever m could be shifted to the position shown in Fig. 3, so as to retain the normally closed safety-circuit.

In'Fig. 7 an embodiment is illustrated'in which the operative means between the doors and the bolts is of a mechanical nature. In this instance the bolt 2' is adapted to be actuated by the lever m, one arm of which is equipped with the weightin Thislast-mentioned arm is indicated at m, and it is connected by a rod or wire m with a threearmed lever r. The last-mentioned lever is provided with an arm 1", carrying an adjustable weight 0' an arm W, to which the rod or wire m is connected, and a third arm 0, which plays between stops r formed on a plate carrying the fulcrum 1' for the said le-' ver 'r.

In lieu of the door-actuated switches (illustrated in Fig. 1) bell-cranks s are mounted to be engaged by each door when the latter is in closed position. Upon the door being opened a spring .9 swings the lever about its fulcrum s and the lever is so connected by a chain or other flexible connection 3 with In addition to the features thus far described there is provided mechanism for temporarily efiecting the withdrawal of the bolt to inoperative position, even though one of the doors be open.

In Fig. 1 a shunt-circuit e is provided and is arranged in multiple with that portion of the safety-circuit which includes the switches d. The said shunt-circuit e includes a stationary contact a and a movable contact or .switch lever 6 which is provided with a weight by which it is held open, as shown. A line 25 extends from the top to the bottom of the well and passes through the car or outside close to the door-opening, so as to be in position to be grasped by the attendant. The upper endof the line may be attached to a suitable support at the top of theshaft or well, and its lower end is connected to the switch-lever 6*, so that by drawing upward on the line the lever 6 may be caused to engage a stationary contact a so as to close the circuit through the solenoid f, even though .in Fig. 7. In this case the line 23, which extends from the top to the bottom of the elevator-well, passes around a pulley t at the bottom of thewell and is connected with the end of the bolt 1'. If the bolt should be in engagement with the lever and a door be opened above or below the car, the attendant may draw upward on the line i, so as to retract the bolt '5 and permit him to swing the valve-lever by means of the controller.

I do not herein claim the mechanical lockfreeing mechanism per se, as it forms the subject-matter of a divisional application, Serial No. 162,985, filed June 25, 1903.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is- 1. A safety appliance for elevators, comprising a door, a motor-controlling mechanism, a lever pivoted to said motor-controlling mechanism, a locking member attached to said pivoted lever and extending substan; tially perpendicularly to the median line of said pivoted lever, said locking member having on its exposed face stops with inclined outer surfaces, a second locking member movable substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of said pivoted lever, and operative means between said door and said second locking member whereby when said door is opened the last-mentioned locking member is actuated to engage said first-mentioned member.

2. A safety appliance for elevators comprising the combination with a door, anda motor-controlling mechanism, of the following instr u mentalities-to wit, a lever pivoted to said motor-controlling mechanism, a bolt movable at right angles to the plane of movement of said lever, and a locking member on one of said instrumentalities and having a recess to receive the other instrumentality, said locking member extending in lines transverse to the median line of the bolt andhaving.

stops with inclined outer surfaces, said stops. being separated to form said recess substantially as described.

3. A safety appliance for elevators com: prising a motor-controller, a car movable relatively thereto, a locking instrumentality adapted to move into engagement with said motor-con troller, an electromagnet, an armature therefor, a counterbalancing means connected with and acting in the same direction as the armature for counterbalancing the said armature and reducing the power required to operate saidlocking instrumentality, doorcontrolled switches, and an electric circuit including said switches and said electromagnet,

4:. A safety appliance for elevators comprising a door, a motor-controlling mechanism, a lever pivoted to said motor-controlling mechanism and located at the bottom of the well, a locking instrumentality movable toward and from the plane of movement of said lever, and a bow mounted upon said lever and extending in the direction of its lines of movement beyond its sides, said bow having on its exposed face stops with inclined outer surfaces, said stops being separated to form arrecess for the reception of said locking instrumentality.

5. A safety appliance for elevators comprising a car, a controller, a lock therefor, one or more doors, a safety-circuitincluding one or more door-actuated switches and an electromagnet for the lock, asupplemental switcha supplemental switch located in the well, and

means operable from the car for moving the circuit and operable from the car for moving said supplemental switch. said supplemental switch. 1 n

7. A safety appliance for elevators com- In testimony whereof I have aifixed mysigprising a car, a controller, a lock therefor, a nature in presence of two witnesses.

door, a safety-circuit including a door-actu- GEORGE HAIL.

ated switch and an electromagnet for the lock, Witnesses:

a supplemental switchlocated in the well, and HENRY A. GREENE,

means in the Well independent of said safety- AUGUSTA ALLEN.

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