US1204815A - Elevator-lock. - Google Patents

Description

C. PARENT.

ELEVATOR LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28. .1916" 5 m c a. y m w m W i W M F M W h H W m m W W T'l m \fl ,l. L w, w I 7 4 fl w J 6 E 1 1155 I: u w w 5; 4 mm; H. MW 5 I. m 7 4 M 6 C. PARENT.

ELEVATOR LOCK. APPLICATION FILED MAR..28| l9l6.

1,204,815. Patented Nov. 14; 1916.

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CHARLES PARENT, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATOR-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Application filed March 28, 1916. Serial No. 87,342. p

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES PARENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Medford, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Elevator-Locks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to elevator locks and especially to looks such as are employed in freight elevators or passenger elevators which are used partially for freight in which means are employed to lock the elevator after it has stopped so that it can not be moved either accidentally or by any person on another floor but can be unlocked only by a person in the elevator.

.The invention will be fully understood and clearly defined when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a device embodying the invention attached to the shipper cable and showing the device locked between two stop buttons on the cable. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device in its locked position of F ig. l, the cable being omitted. Fig. 3 is a. vertical sectional view of the device when the jaws are open. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the device when the jaws are open. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the jaws andtheir link connections. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the operating lever. Fig. 7 is a view broken away showing the pivot connection between the two jaws and the spring which closes the jaws. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the jaw closing spring. Fig. 9 is a view partly broken away showing the supplemental looking device for holding the jaws closed in the event that the spring becomes weakened or broken.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents the ordinary shipper cable which is provided with two stop buttons 2, 3 spaced a short distance apart from each other, there being a pair of these buttons for each floor of the building served by the elevator and I between which the jaws of the lock are to be closed to stop the elevator at the proper point to serve the floor.

The body A of the device is formed with a central aperture 1 of 'suflioient diameter to allow the cable to pass loosely through it. For convenience in assembling the parts the said'body is preferably formed with one portion pivotally connected with the other portion so that the two members may be spread open to permit the assembling of the jaws within the body. In the drawings what may be termed the fixed member of the body is represented by 5 and the swinging member by 6. The two members 5, 6 are pivotally connected together by a pin 7 the said swinging member being formed with two ears 8, 8 at the pivot end, and the fixed member being formed with two cars 9, 9 the ears 8, 8 overlapping the ears 9, 9 and being perforated to receive the pivot pin 7 The swinging end of the member 6 is formed with a tongue 10 whichengages the side of the fixed member 5 and is fastened in its closed position by the head 11 of a screw which is screwed into the neck 12 of the fixed member 5.

The jaws 13, 1a are formed respectively with cars 15, 16 at one end thereof which are superposed one upon the other and are formed respectively with the apertures 17, 18 for the passage of the pivot pin. When said jaws are assembled said ears are superposed upon each other -so as to bring the apertures 17, 18 in alinement with each other, and while in this position, they are inserted between the ears 9, 9 of the fixed member 5 of the body, said ears 9, 9 being spaced apart from each other sufliciently to permit the insertion of the ears of the jaws in this manner. The apertures 17, 18 of the ears of the jaws will be in alinement with the apertures in the ears of the members 5, 6 of the body, and the pivot pin 7 will pass through the ears of the jaws as well as the ears of the members 5, 6 of the body. The jaws swing on said pivot 7 in opening and closing.

A coil spring 19 is placed between the two cars 15, 16 surrounding the pivot pin and is secured at its opposite ends respectively to said cars 15, 16 in such manner that when the jaws are opened the said spring will be put under tension and will tend to close the jaws when the jaws are permitted to be closed. Preferably means are provided whereby the tension of the spring may be varied, and as the spring becomes weakened it may be further coiled up 11c to increase its tension. To this end the car 15 is formed with a perforation 20 and the p ear 16 is formed with a series of perforations 21 spaced apart from e-achfother. One end of the spring is bent to form afinger which engages with the perforation 20 in the ear 15 and the other end of the spring is formed with a. finger 23 which is adapted to be engaged within one of the perforations which engages with a segmental shaped notch 28in block 29. The swinging end of the aw is formed with a segmental shaped notch 30 which is engaged by a segmental shaped headf31 of a link 32, the other end of said link 32 being formed with a segmental head 33 which engages with a segmental notch 34 in the block 29. Said block 29 is formed with a vertical key slot 35which is engaged bythe toe 36 of a lever 37 formed with a perforation 38 through which passes apin 39 by which said lever is pivoted between the ears or bearings 40 rising from the neck 12 of the body Said lever is provided with a handle 41 by which it is turned on its pivot thereby moving the said block 29 in one direction or the other according to the movement of the lever. lVhenthe lever is inthe position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the said block will be in a position to spread the links 26, 32. thus spreading open the jaws 13, 1%. When the said lever 37 is, moved into the position shown in Fig. 1, the said block 29 will be moved farthest away from the aperture through the body and the said links will be brought into their position most, nearly parallel to each other as shown in Fig. 2, thus drawing the said jaws toward each other and making the opening between the jawsof somewhat oval shape as shown in Fig. 2, the short diameter of the opening being considerably less than thediameter of I the aperture 4 through the body.

The level- 37 is formed with a heel, mak ing a tooth or latch 42 where it joins the toe 36, and when said lever is turned into the position shown in Fig. 3, with the jaws spread open, the said tooth 42 rides up out of the slot 35 in the block 29 and then the spring tension on the jaws 13, 14: due to the spring 19 causes the jaws to snap back slightly thereby moving the links 26, 32 and the block 29, and bringing the edge 43 of the slot under the tooth 42. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the slot 35 is sufficiently large to allow for such movement, while the toe of the lever 36 extends down into the slot 35 and against the forward end thereof. Thus although the spring 19 is put under tension by the spreading open of the jaws, and the tendency of said spring is to close the jaws and to bring the links 26 and 32 into more nearly parallel relation to each other, the said lever 37 prevents the backward movement of the block 29 and thus locks the jaws against the closing movement. The stronger the tension on the spring 19, so much the more is the resistance of the lever 37 to the locking or closing movement of the jaws' The lower face of the tooth -1t2 is inclined or beveled slightly upward to form a sort of cam surface where it engages with the edge 43 of the slot, and this, together with the yielding of the tension on the jaws, allows the operator to easily move the lever 37 from the inclined position shown in Fig. 3, over past the vertical into the inclined position shown in Fig. 1. As soon as the tooth d2 of the lever is released from the shoulder d3 of the block at the end of the slot, by the turning of said lever, the slot in the block being sutiiciently elongated to admit both the toe 36 and the shoulder 4:1 of the lever within the slot, said jaws are free to respond to the pull of the spring and to close into the position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The rear extension 1st of the neck 12 of the body is connected with a plug 45 by which the body is connected with a suitable standard 46 which is shown in Fig. 1 as be ing broken away. Said standard 4:6 rises from a base which is secured to the elevator floor in well known manner, it not being deemed necessary to show it in the drawings.

As heretofore constructed, so far as known to me, it has been customary to form the rear extension of the body which is to be connected with the standard, with a tapped out lug integral with the body, which is screwed into the tubular standard with which it is connected. In that form of construction the body has to be turned around to screw the lug into the standard until it is screwed in tight, and in so doing the body may not be left in position so that the aperture is in alinement with the cable which is to pass through the body. It may be left nearly a whole turnbeyond proper alinement, and in order to bring it back into alinement it has I to be turned back through nearly a whole turn, thus leaving a loose connectlon between the body and the standard.

One feature of my invention relates to means whereby a more accurate adjustment may be obtained without loosening the connection with the standard. Forthis purpose, instead of having the plug 415 made integral with the extension 4:4: of the body, I form the plug 45 as a separate member having an upwardly extending stem 60 ofpolygonal contour, being shown in the drawings as hexagonal, and I form the extension 44 with a hexagonal-sided opening 47 corresponding with the hexagonal form of the stem 60, so that the said stem may be fitted into the said opening 47 in as many difierent positions on its axis as there are faces on the stem. For instance, with the hexagonalsided stem and aperture 47, the stem may be adjusted in any one of six positions, so that if when the plug is screwed up fairly tight in the standard 46 the hole 4 in the body is not quite in alinement with the cable, the body may be removed and the plug given a slight additional turn to bring it into proper position. It can thus be adjusted so that when first tested it will not be at the most over 60 out of alinement and it will not be necessary to then turn the plug over 60 and possibly less. As the screw is fairly tight for practical purposes anywhere within a range of 60 this construction afifords suflicient adjustment. By making the plug octagonal instead of hexagonal, the adjustment may be more accurate still. The plug is secured within the extension holder 44 by means of a screw bolt 48 which is screwed into a tapped out hole in the plug, said screw bolt being formed with a head 49 which clamps down upon a washer 50, thus holding the plug securely and rigidly to the holder.

The operation of the device is as follows Assuming that the elevator is at rest on the level of one of the floors and is looked as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the two jaws 13, 14 being closed so as to contract the aperture 51 between them. The upper button or. stop 2 of each pair is formed with a tapered portion52 at the upper end, and the lower button or stop 3 of each pair is formed with a tapered lower end 53. When the jaws are closed the aperture 51 is too small for either the lower end of the upper stop 2 or the upper end of the lower stop 3 to enter the aperture, and therefore the elevator is securely locked until the jaws are opened. The spring 19 normally holds the jaws closed. hen the operator desires to raise the elevator, before he pulls the shipper ca-- ble he will open the jaws by turning the lever 37 from the forward position shown in Fig. 1 to the rear, that is, over to the left as viewed in the drawings into the position shown in Fig. 3. As soon as it has been turned far enough to release the latch-or tooth 42 from the shoulder 43 at the edge of the slot 35, the spring 19 which tends to close the jaws is prevented from so doing because the tooth 42 will engage the shoul-' ticular floor, as, for instance, the third floor, starting from the bottom he will leave the jaws in the open position until after he has passed the second floor; he will then throw the lever 37 forward, that is, to the right as viewed in Fig. 3 so as to close the jaws which are held yieldingly closed by the spring 19.

When the elevator has reached a point just below the third floor so that the tapered lower end 53 of the button 3 enters the contracted aperture between'the-jaws, the tapered form of the button will act as a cam or a wedge to spread the jaws apart against the tension of the spring 19 sufliciently to allow the jaws to ride past the upper end of the lower button 3 but will not spread them sufiiciently to throw the lever 37 far enough over for the latch 42 to engage the shoulder -43 to lock the jaws open. As soon as the jaws have risen above the upper end of the b5 lower button 3, the spring will snap the jaws together again, before the jaws reach the upper button 2, and because of the fact that the lower end of the upper button 2 is blunt,

it will form a stop which will prevent the jaws from being spread open again when they strike the lower end of the button 2. Likewise the elevator can not descend, because the blunt end of the lower button cannot spread the jaws. The elevator will thus remain locked until such time as the operator sees lit to open the jaws by throwing the lever, and he can, therefore, with entire safety leave the elevator until such timeas he desires to return.

Whenever the operator desires to move the car up to the next floor or to descend, he can throw open the jaws by moving the lever 37 by hand. If in the descent he desires to stop at any floor before he reaches bottom, he will close the jaws by means of the lever 37 before he reaches the fioor at which he desires to stop and the tapered upper end 52 of the upper button 2 will spread open the jaws sufliciently to allow the jaws to pass over the said button, then they will snap together again before the jaws engage the lower button 3, and thus stop the elevator at the desired floor.

If for any reason the spring becomes broken or too weak to be effective, then when the jaws are open to allow the elevator to rise or descend, and if they'are then closed by means of the lever, just before the elevator reaches the floor at which it is de cided to stop, the tapered lower end of the button 3 will spread open the jaws as al ready described, but owing to the inefliciency of the spring the jaws will not be automatically closed after they pass the lower button, so that instead of stopping at the floor intended the elevator will continue rising unless the operator quickly throws the lever by hand while the jaws are between the two buttons 2, 3. But even if thus stopped,

yet owing to the inefficiency of the spring the jaws may become accidentally thrown open. I have therefore provided means whereby when the aws are thus closed they may be positively locked closed independently of the spring. On the back side of the lever 37 I have provided a turn button 54 pivoted thereto by a pin 55, said button being elongated, its width in one direction being less than the width of the slot 56 between the ears 40 in which'the lever 37 is pivoted, but of greater length in the other direction than the width of said slot. Under normal conditions the said button will be turned intoposition so that it lies lengthwise along the back of the lever 23?, so as not to interfere with the opening and closing movement of said lever. hen, however, the spring is out of commission, as previously mentioned, and it is desired to positively look the jaws against the opening movement, the button should be turned so as to extend crosswise of the lever as shown in Fig. 9, in which position the button will span the slot and the ends of said button will bear against the back of'both ears i0 and thus prevent the lever from being thrown from the position of Fig. 3 into the position of Fig. 1. When the operator desires to start the car, he will have to turn the button 5a to bring it longitudinally of the lever 37, so it can move into the slot and then the lever may be turned to open the jaws. lever by hand in order to close the jaws, whenever he desires to lock the elevatoragain. \Vhile the automatic operation is preferable, yet the button affords a safety device for use whenever the spring gets out of commission.

While 1 have described the use of a turn button, I do not limit myself to the use of that kind of a fastening; Any suitable fastening which may be set at will to lock the jaws closed may be employed, and I regard such as being within the scope of my inven tion.

hat I claim is:

1. An elevator lock comprising abody having an aperture for the passage of a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted thereon, two aws mounted within said body movable toward and from each other, a lever and connections for moving said aws to form an opening between them for the passage of the stop buttons and for moving said jaws toward each other to contract the opening sufiiciently to prevent passing of the buttons therethrough, a mount having two bearing portions between and to which said lever is pivoted, and a movable bar which is manually operable to prevent the lever from being moved to open the jaws.

2. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for the passage of a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted on said He will have to throw the cable, two aws mounted within said body movable toward and from each other, means for moving said jaws apart from each other to form an opening between them for the passage of a shipper cable and stop buttons, a spring for normally moving said jaws toward each other to contract the opening sufiiciently to prevent passing of thebuttons therethrough and which normally yields to spreading pressure to permit pas sage of one of the buttons and which normally snaps the jaws together again after the passage of one button, a lever and connections by which said lever may open said aws, a mount within which said lever is pivoted, latch mechanism which, when said lever is moved to open the jaws beyond a predetermined point, will automatically engage said lever to retain it in a position to hold the jaws fully open, and means connected with the mount for the lever which, when the aws are closed, may be manually operated at will to bar said lever against being moved in a direction to open the jaws.

3. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-through for the passage of a shipper cable, two jaws mounted on said body and pivotally connected together at one end, said j awsbeing movable on said pivot to move the other ends of said jaws toward and from each other, a pivot passing through the pivot ends of both of said jaws, a coil spring surrounding said pivot between the said jaws, one end of said spring being secured to one of the jaws and the other end of the spring being secured to the other of said jaws, and means whereby the point of connection of the sol-ing with one of said jaws may be varied to change the tension of the spring.

a. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for the passage of a shipper cable provided with stop buttons,

two jaws mounted within said body movable toward and from each other, a lever, and connections for spreading said jaws to form a passage between them of suflicient diameter for the passage of a shipper cable and buttons thereon and for moving said jaws toward each other to contract the opening between them sufficiently to prevent the movement of the buttons through the jaws, a mount having upright portions between which said lever is pivoted and a movable bar controlled by the operator and adapted to be moved crosswise of the path in which the lever moves to bar said lever against movement to open the jaws.

5. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-through of suiiicient diameter to permit the passage of a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted thereon, a pair of are shaped jaws pivotally connected together at one end within said body, said jaws being movable on said pivot in opposite directions so as to vary the size of the opening between them, said jaws when closed most nearly together forming an aperture of sufiicient diameter to permit the passage of the cable but too small to permit the passage of the buttons on the cable, two links having one end of each piyot-ally connected respectively with the swinging ends of said jaws, a slidable block pivotally connected with the other ends of said links, means for moving said block in a direction toward and away from the aperture between said jaws in such manner that when the block moves toward the aperture it spreads said links at a greater angle to each other and thereby spreads the jaws, and when said block moves in a reverse direction it draws said links more nearly parallel to each other, contracting the opening between them, said block being formed with a slot, the means for moving said block consisting of a lever pivotally mounted and having a toe which extends down into said slot, said lever being movable on its pivot in such manner that when it is moved in one direction it spreads open the jaws and when it is moved in the other direction it closes the jaws, and being formed with a latch which, when the lever has moved sufficiently to spread the jaws fully open, engages with the edge of said slot in the block and locks the jaws in the open position.

6. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-through of sufficient diameter to permit the passage of a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted thereon, a pair of are shaped jaws pivotally connected together at one end within said body, said jaws being movable on said pivot in opposite directions so as to vary the size of the opening between them, said jaws when closed most nearly together forming an aperture of sufficientdiameter to permit the passage of the cable but too small to permit the passage of the buttons on the cable, two links having one end of each pivotally connected respectively with the swinging ends of said jaws, a slidable block pivotally connected with the other ends of said links, means for moving said block in a direction toward and away from the aperture between said jaws in such manner that when the block moves toward the aperture it spreads said links at a greater angle to each other and thereby spreads the jaws, and when said block moves in a reverse direction it draws said links more nearly parallel to each other and thereby draws the swinging ends of the jaws toward each other, contracting the opening between them, said block being formed with a slot, the means for moving said block consisting of a lever having a toe which extends down into said slot, two bearings spaced apart from each other between which said lever extends and in which it is pivoted said lever being movable on its pivot in such manner that when it is moved in one direction it spreads open the jaws and when it is moved in the other direction it closes the jaws, said lever being formed with a latch which, when the lever has moved sufficiently to spread the jaws fully open, engages with the edge of said slot in the block and locks the jaws in the open position, and lock which may be adjusted to prevent the said lever being turned in a direction to open. the jaws independently of the spring, and which may be adjusted also in such position as to not interfere with the movement of the said lever.

7. A11 elevator lock comprising a body having there-through an aperture for the passage of a shipper cable, jaws mounted within said body, having an opening between them for the passage of the cable, said body being formed with an extension portion having a polygonal shaped aperture there-through, a plug threaded to engage with a standard mounted on the elevator, said plug having a polygonal shaped end which fits into the said polygonal opening in said extension of the body said body being adjustable on its axis in as many different positions as there are sides of the polygon.

S. An elevator lock comprising a body having jaws mounted therein, said body being formed with an extension portion having a polygonal shaped aperture therethrough, a plug threaded to engage with a standard mounted on the elevator, said plug having a polygonal stem which fits into the polygonal opening in said extension of the body said body being adjustable on its axis in as many different positions as there are sides of the polygon, and means for securing said plug in its adjusted position in said extension member.

9. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for passage of a shipper cable, two jaws mounted therein movable toward and from each other to vary the size of the opening between them, said cable passing through the opening between the jaws and through said aperture in the body, a pivoted lever, intermediate connections whereby the movement of said lever on its pivot, in one direction spreads said jaws to enlarge the opening between them and whereby the movement of said lever in the other direction draws the jaws toward each other to contract the opening between them, and movable means connected with the mount for the lever which when the aws are closed may be manually operated at will to bar said lever against being moved in a direction to open the jaws.

10. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for passage of a shipper cable, two jaws mounted therein movable toward and from each other to vary the size of the opening between them, said cable passing through saidaperture in the body and through the opening between the jaws, said body being formed with a vertical slot to receive a lever for actuating said jaws, and being formed with lugs to serve as bearings for said lever, a lever pivoted between said lugs and projecting down into said slot, a movable member connected with said jaws and with which the lower edge of said 1ever engages to actuate said jaws whereby the movement of said lever on its pivot spreads said jaws to enlarge the opening between them and wherebythe movement of saidlever in the opposite direction draws the jaws toward each other to contract the.

be turned to extend transversely of the .rear face of the lugs between which the lever is journaled and lock said lever against movement to open the jaws and which may be manually turned at the will of the operator to disengage it from the lugs and permit the lever to be turned to open the aws. In testimony. whereof I aiiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES PARENT. lVitnesses:

WILLIAM. A. COPE AND, vAnion H.v MORRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

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