GB641874A - Improvements in and relating to overhead travelling cranes - Google Patents

Abstract

641,874. Elevated railways; traversers. WEIGNER, O. Sept. 21, 1948, No. 24644. [Classes 104 (ii) and 104 (iii)] The traversible runway 8 of an overhead travelling crane arranged to be brought into end-to-end alignment with one or more fixed runways 6, or the runway of a similar crane, is adapted to be locked in position by an interlock comprising a rack bar 5 which is mounted in guides 7 near the end of the fixed runway 6 and engaged by a toothed wheel or sector 3 which projects it into engagement with a locking- plate 9 at the end of the movable runway 8. Rotation of the toothed wheel 3 may be effected by pulling on chains 4a, 4b attached to the ends of a double-armed lever 1a secured to the wheel shaft 2, or a solenoid or other means may be used. In its movement the rack bar 5 engages a pinion 10 mounted on the runway 8 and thereby swings a stop-lever 11 out of the path of the load-carrying trolley 13. A similar stop - lever 15 associated with the runway 6 is moved out of the way by a pinion 14 driven by the pinion 3. The rotation of the pinion 10 on the movable runway 8 also swings a lever 20 which opens a limit switch 19 in the circuit of the motor driving the runway, which is thus rendered inoperative by the interlocking of the two runways. A stop is also provided to prevent the rack bar 5 from being projected into the locking position when the runway upon which it is mounted is not aligned with another runway for the transference of a trolley; this stop comprises a sector plate 39, Fig. 5, pivoted at its radial centre 40 and suspended with its plane in the path of the rack bar 5 until pushed out of the way by lateral contact with a runway 8 moving into alignment. Fig. 4 shows a pair of similar traversible runways 29, 30 which run on parallel tracks in a building provided with vertical roof-supporting columns 31, one runway, e.g. 30, being provided with a hinged extremity 32 which can be swung upwardly, as shown, to avoid the columns during traversing, and lowered to bridge the gap between the runways. A counterweight 34 balances the hinged portion, which is operated by pulling on a chain 36 passing around a quadrant 37. Conductors.-When the runways carry motordriven trolleys 13 fed from bus-bars thereon, the bus-bars of aligned runways may be coupled automatically, simultaneously with the mechanical interlocking by the rack-bar 5. A socket 21 fixed in the end of runway 8 and connected to a bus-bar 22 receives a plug 23 which is slidable in horizontal guides 27 in the fixed runway 6 and connected to a bus-bar 24 by a flexible lead, the insertion and withdrawal of the plug being effected by an arcuate slotted link 26 connected to the plug at one end. The slot receives a pin 28 at the end of an arm 25 secured to the shaft 2 of the pinion 3 which is rotated to operate the interlocking rack-bar 5.