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The Otis elevator brake was built to suspend the car safely in the shaft if an elevator cable snapped. Otis started experimenting on how to make the brake by placing a wagon spring above the hoist platform. Then, he attached a ratchet bar to the guide rails on the sides of the hoistway. The lifting rope was next fastened to the wagon spring so that the weight of the hoist platform held just enough tension on the spring to keep it from touching the ratchet bars. However, if the cable snapped, the tension would be released from the spring. It would then immediately engage the ratchets, preventing the platform from falling.
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