GB2336348A

GB2336348A - Winch rope guide

Info

Publication number: GB2336348A
Application number: GB9908630A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Udo Gersemsky; Alfred Faenger; Carmen Geissmann
Original assignee: Mannesmann AG
Current assignee: Vodafone GmbH
Priority date: 1998-04-17
Filing date: 1999-04-15
Publication date: 1999-10-20
Also published as: FR2777556A1; ITMI990780A1; DE19817933A1; GB9908630D0; IT1312182B1

Abstract

A rope guide for a winch, in particular a hoist, with a winch drum (1) which comprises two rope grooves (2) (only one shown) running in opposite directions and is rotatably mounted in a frame. The guide comprises guide elements (3) which can travel on at least one rail parallel to the winch drum and align at least one pair of rope lines (4) in relation to the associated rope groove. The guide elements (3) are connected together in opposite directions via coupling means and are actuated by the rope lines (4), which can be wound up and unwound. In order to provide a winch rope guide which has no external actuator, a driver (7), which can be displaced parallel to the rotational shaft (9) of the winch drum (1) and is actuated by the winch drum (1), is provided for at least at one guide element (3). The driver (7) automatically converts the rotational movement of the winch drum (1) into a longitudinal movement, which is synchronous with the rotational movement, of the guide element (3) when the tensile force on the rope lines (4) falls below a predetermined value. Preferably, the driver is a roller 8 which either operates between two rope turns (as shown) or in two adjacent grooves (Fig 3).

Description

Rope guide 2336348 The invention relates to a rope guide for a winch, in

particular a hoist.

DE 42 41 655 Cl discloses a rope guide for a hoist in which a winch drum, which is rotatably mounted in a frame, is provided with two rope grooves running in opposite directions. A guide element is provided for each rope groove to align the individual rope lines in relation to the associated rope groove, which element can travel on a rail parallel to the rotational shaft of the winch drum. The guide elements are connected together in opposite directions via coupling means and are actuated by the rope lines, which can be wound up and unwound.

The disadvantage of the known rope guide lies in the fact that the rope lines may not be satisfactorily guided in the absence of a load or when the load is very small.

It is an object of the invention to provide a winch rope guide which has no actuator and which guarantees satisfactory rope line guidance even without a load.

The invention provides a rope guide for a winch with a winch drum which has at least two rope grooves running in opposite directions and is rotatably mounted in a fra me, the rope guide comprising guide elements for aligning at least one part of rope lines each in relation to an associated one of the rope grooves, the guide elements being activated by the rope lines, at least one rail along which the guide elements can travel parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum, coupling means for connecting the guide elements together and a driver for at least one guide element which is displaceable parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum and actuated by the winch drum, the driver automatically converting the 1 rotational movement of the winch drum into a longitudinal movement, which is synchronous with the rotational movement, of the guide element when the tensile force on the rope line falls below a predetermined value.

In this arrangement, a driver which can be displaced parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum and is actuated by the winch drum is provided for at least one guide element, which driver automatically converts the rotational movement of the winch drum into a longitudinal movement, which is synchronous with the rotational movement, of the guide element when the tensile force on the rope line falls below a predetermined value. As a result, the guide element, which is displaced by active load forces, is also displaced in the absence of a load and under small loads and therefore when the rope lines are relatively slack. In these cases the driver automatically takes over the function of actuating the guide element, i.e. the driver always becomes active when the guide element fails to be or is inadequately actuated by the rope lines in the absence of load forces or when these are too small.

The arrangement becomes relatively simple if a projectionlike gripping element is provided for the driver.

Further simplicity is achieved if the gripping element engages in a recess formed between directly adjacent rope turns at least at one point. The driver is in this case disposed at the winc.h drum such that it engages in the recesses formed between directly adjacent rope turns in the region in which these already exist.

A stable guide is achieved if a web between directly adjacent rope groove turns engages in a recess in the driver which extends transversely to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

2 The friction losses will be small if the driver is formed as a driving roller which is rotatably mounted parallel.to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

The driving roller advantageously only becomes active when a predetermined deviation from a desired position is exceeded. It is therefore proposed that the driving roller be mounted such that it can be displaced within a predetermined region parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

The recess is advantageously a radial slot, which is open outwards, formed in the driving roller.

An inexpensive solution lies in disposing the driver firmly on the guide element.

According to another solution, the driver is supported on a separate longitudinal member such that it can be displaced longitudinally within a predetermined region. This means that the driver does not become active until it reaches one of the two limit positions defined by the displacement region.

The driver can be more easily coupled to the guide element when supported on a longitudinal member by engaging loosely in a recess in the guide element.

A low-wear construction is produced if the driving roller bears against the winch drum under the action of spring force. This arrangement Also prevents the driver from being destroyed or damaged under large forces.

The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a guide element with driver, the gripping 3 element of which engages between directly adjacent rope turns (if the load is sufficiently large), Figure 2 shows a driver according to Figure 1 in the case of a small load, Figure 3 shows a driver in whose driving roller a radial recess is formed, in which recess the web of the rope groove turns engages, Figure 4 shows a driver according to Figure 3 when the load is too small, Figure 5 shows a longitudinally displaceable driver supported on an additional longitudinal member and Figure 6 shows a driver according to Figure 5 when the load is small.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a part of a rope guide for a hoist with a winch drum 1, on both sides of which - related to the centre of the winch drum 1 - a respective rope groove 2 is formed, the two rope grooves 2 extending in opposite directions (not shown). The winch drum 1 is rotatably mounted in a frame, which is not shown. A guide element 3 can be displaced parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum 1 on a rail, which is likewise not shown. A rope line 4, which is guided downwards and on which a load acts, can be seen in Figure 1. The rope line 4 is guided by two guide rollers 5, which are rotatably mounted in parallel side by side at the guide element 3. Here the axes of the two guide rollers 5 are directed transversely to the rotational axis of the winch drum 1. The guide rollers 5 are provided with concave guide surfaces 6 and, because of the opposite arrangement, guide the rope line 4 in an almost positive manner. If the rope line 4 moves in a parallel direction when being wound up or unwound, the guide element 3 moves accordingly under a sufficiently large load, as the guide element 3 is actuated by the rope line 4. Given sufficiently large loads, the guide element 3 thus ensures that the rope 4 is always aligned in relation to the associated rope groove 2. The 4 two guide elements 3 of the rope guide are connected together in opposite directions via coupling means, which are not shown.

Also shown in Figure 1 is a driver 7, which is secured by its lower end to the guide element 3. A freely rotatable driving roller 8 is mounted in a freely rotatable manner on a axis 9 at the upper end of the driver. The shaf t 9 is directed parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum 1. The driving roller 8 can additionally be displaced within a predetermined region on this rotational shaft 9. Figure 1 shows the driving roller 8 in relation to the rotational shaft 9 in its central position. The driving roller 8 tapers radially outwards until a web 11 remains. The taper 10 provides a gipping element 10a which engages at the upper side in a recess 12, which is formed between directly adjacent rope turns.

This is of course just one configuration. It is equally possible to provide other projection-like gripping elements which engage directly in the rope groove 2.

Figure 2 shows the arrangement according to Figure 1 with small load forces. In this case the guide element 3 is no longer driven by the rope line 4. Figure 2 shows the driving roller 8 already bearing against the right-hand stop of the shaf t 9. Instead of being driven by the rope line 4, the guide element 3 is in this case driven by the driving roller 8. The driving roller 8 is driven when the winch drum 1 rotates through the engagement in the recess 12 and therefore converts the rotational movement of the winch drum 1 into a longitudinal movement, which is synchronous with the rotational movement, of the guide element 3. The driving roller 8 is consequently actuated by the winch drum 1, with a displacement parallel to the rotational shaft of the winch drum 1 taking place.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation corresponding to that of Figure 1. The driver 7 is in this case disposed.on the side of the rope line 4 which has no rope turns. The driving roller 8 is provided at its circumference with a radial slot 13, which is open outwards. A web 14, which is formed between directly adjacent rope groove turns, engages in this slot 13 at the upper side. As shown by Figure 3, the slot 13 extends transversely to the rotational axis of the winch drum 1. The driver 7 is again firmly secured to the guide element 3.

Figure 4 shows the arrangement according to Figure 3 with a relatively slack rope line 4. Here too the driving roller bears against its righthand stop on the shaft 9. The driver 7 and thus the guide element 3 are in this case driven by the web 14 when the winch drum 1 rotates about its longitudinal axis.

Figure 5 shows a similar rope guide to Figure 3. However in Figure 5 embodiment the driver 7 is supported on a longitudinal member 15 such that it can be displaced longitudinally instead of being secured to the guide element 3. The driving roller 8 is disposed above the longitudinal member 15, while below the latter the driver 7 engages in a recess 16 in the guide element 3. In this construction the torques are effectively eliminated upon actuation of the driver 7 through the longitudinal member 15. The driving roller 8 is again rotatably mounted such that it can be displaced within a predetermined region on the shaft 9.

Figure 6 corresponds to Figure 5, but with a slack rope line 4. The driving roller 8 lies against its left-hand stop and the guide element 3 is driven through the displacement of the driving roller 8, which is driven by the winch drum 1 via the web 14.

6 The driving roller 8 bears against the winch drum 1 under the action of spring force in order to protect the construction. The shaft 9 is springmounted at one end for this purpose.

7

Claims

1. A rope guide for a winch with a winch drum which has at least two rope grooves running in opposite directions and is rotatably mounted in a frame, the rope guide comprising guide elements for aligning at least one part of rope lines each in relation to an associated one of the rope grooves, the guide elements being activated by the rope lines, at least one rail along which the guide elements can travel parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum, coupling means for connecting the guide elements together and a driver for at least one guide element which is displaceable parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum and actuated by the winch drum, the driver automatically converting the rotational movement of the winch drum into a longitudinal movement, which is synchronous with the rotational movement, of the guide element when the tensile force on the rope line falls below a predetermined value.

2. A rope guide as claimed in claim 1 wherein a projection-like gripping element is disposed at the driver which engages with the rope groove at least at one point.

3. A rope guide as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gripping element engages with a recess formed between directly adjacent rope turns at least at one point.

4. A rope guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver includes a recess extending transversely to the rotational axis of the winch drum for engagement by a web formed between directly adjacent turns of the rope groove.

5. A rope guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the driver comprises a driving roller which is rotatable about an axis parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

8

6. A rope guide as claimed in claim 5, wherein the driving roller is displaceable within a predetermined distance parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

7. A rope guide as claimed in either Claim 5 or Claim 6 as dependant on Claim 4 wherein the recess is a radial slot formed in the driving roller.

8. A rope guide as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 7 wherein the driving roller is spring biased against the winch drum

9. A rope guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the driver is disposed on the guide element.

10. A rope guide as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the driver is supported on a longitudinal member separate from the guide element such that it can be displaced longitudinally within a predetermined region.

11. A rope guide as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the driver engages in a recess in the guide element such that there is play therebetween.

12. A rope guide substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A rope guide for a winch with a winch drum which has at least two rope grooves running in opposite directions and is rotatably mounted in a frame, the rope guide comprising guide elements for aligning at least one part of rope lines each in relation to an associated one of the rope grooves, the guide elements being activated by the rope lines, at least one rail along which the guide elements can travel parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum, coupling means for connecting the guide elements together and a driver for at least one guide element which is displaceable parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum between two stops and is actuated by the winch drum, wherein when the force on the rope lines is insufficient to drive the guide element, the driver comes to rest on one of the stops and drives the guide element by converting the rotational movement of the winch drum into longitudinal movement of the guide element which is synchronous with the rotational movement.

3. A rope guide as claimed in claim 2, wherein th gripping element engages with a recess formed between directly adjacent rope turns at least at one point.

4. A rope guide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver includes a recess extending transversely to the rotational axis of the.winch drum for engagement by a web formed between directly adjacent turns of the rope groove.

to.

6. A rope guide as claimed in claim 5, wherein the driving roller is displaceable wil thin a predetermined distance parallel to the rotational axis of the winch drum.

8. A rope guide as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 7 wherein the driving roller is spring biased against the winch drum 9. A rope guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the driver is disposed on the guide element.