GB682243A - Rope railways - Google Patents

Abstract

682,243. Overhead-travelling hoists; rope railways. BATEMAN, N. S. Aug. 4, 1949. No. 20283/49. Classes 78 (iv) and 104 (ii). The carriage of a rope railway of the type in which the manipulatiun of a load handling device suspended from a carriage running on a cable between head and tail towers, and the traversing of the carriage, are controlled through endless transmission and conveying cables respectively, from motors located at the head tower, comprises a truck unit adapted to ride a track cable and consisting of a plurality of twowheeled trucks, frame structures uniting the trucks in endwise aligned pairs and suspended from the respective pairs, each truck having a pivotal connection with its structure whereby the trucks may rock individually in the plane of the track cable, and a beam member having a single point pivotal connection with each of said frame structures, and includes a hanger unit pivotally suspended from said beam member, and a load drum and sheave mounted on said hanger unit. The carriage of the rope railways illustrated comprises four two-wheeled bogie units 3, 4, 5, 6 the side plates 7 of which are pivoted at 9 to beams 10, 11 which are pivoted in turn at 12 to a main beam 13, 14. The truck unit D carries sheaves 28 to 33 which transmit power from lines 53, 61 to drums 41, 42 for operating lifting and other means on the unit. The line 53 passes around the sheaves 30, 29, 28 the first two of which are free on their shafts 36, 35 while the last is fast on its shaft 34 which carries at each end a sprocket (not shown) connected through a chain 47a to drive a sprocket 45 fast on the same shaft the drum 42. Each sheave is provided on its flanges with teeth by means of which the sheaves 30, 29 assist in driving the sheave 28. Similarly the line 61 passes around the sheaves 33, 32, 31 connected by gear teeth 38, the sheaves 33, 31 being free on their shafts 36, 39 while the sheave 32 is fast on its shaft 35 winch is connected by chain and sprocket gearing to drive the drum 41. The drum 41 operates a rope 46 which is dead-ended at 51 to the frame of the hanger unit D and passes under a pulley 50 on a grab bucket 49 which it serves to raise and lower. The rope 48 operated by the drum 42 is dead-ended on the of the hangar unit at 52 and operates the opening and closing mechanisms of the grab. The lines 53, 61, and the line 24 by which the carriage is moved along its track A, are endless. the return run of the line 34 heing engaged by a pulley 23 on the truck unit C to provide an upward force on the carriage reducing the sag. In alternative constructions the two trains of sheaves 28, 29, 30 and 31, 32, 33 are replaced by a single train operated by a single line and driving drums such as 41, 42 on which are wound opposite ends of a single rope supporting a fall block in its bight. Another construction provides only a single load drum which may be mounted centrally on the hanger unit.