US1094026A - Turn-table. - Google Patents

Description

J. J. SIMMONDS.

TURN TABLE.

VAPPLICATION FILED 00T.22, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

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INVENTORI WlTNESSES: Z7. Q /aa M ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH co.,\vAsmNa'roN, D. c.

J. J. SIMMONDS.

TURN TABLE.

APPLIOATION FILED 0OT.22, 1913. 1,094,026, Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WlTNESSEZZ INVENTRZ ,777. a. 1

ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0..wAsHlNGToN. D. c.

UNITED STATES JOHN J". SIMMONDS, OF IOLA, KANSAS, ASSIG-NOR T0 COMPANY, OF IOLA,

THE SIMMON DS ENGINEERING KANSAS, A CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

TURN -TABLE Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 22, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914. Serial N o. 796,581.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN J. SIMMoNDs, a citizen of the United States, residing at and whose post-oflice address is Iola, county of Allen, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Turn- Tables; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in turn-tables of the kind employed, principally in mining and metallurgical operations, for the transfer of small four-wheeled cars or lorries from one to the other of intersecting tracks. It is designed particularly for the purpose of avoiding the frequent mishaps that occur, in ordinary practice, in the transfer of cars or lorries of this type and which sometimes result in the overturning of the cars, damage to the cars themselves, transfer table and the trackway, and injury to the workmen.

To this end, the invention contemplates such a construction and arrangement of the turn table and its accessories that many of the accidents which are due to carelessness and inattention on the part of the workmen intrusted with the handling and transfer of the cars are made impossible.

The invention likewise provides a construction of turn table well adapted to withstand the requirements of severe service, and simple and economical in point of manufacture and facility of repair.

The main characteristic feature of the invention, as will hereinafter more fully appear, consists in providing a latch normally' locking the rotary platform of the turntable, so that its track grooves will be in transmitting alinement respectively with the rails of the intersecting tracks, saidy latch being connected with an arrester pin in such relationship to a corresponding arrester plate carried by the several mine cars or lorries, that when a car is centered upon the rotary platform, and the latch is tripped, the platform may be shifted into the position which will bring the traction wheels of the car into alinement with the rails of the intersecting track to which it is to be transferred, and will be held in place upon the movable platform by the arrester pin during the shifting operation until the transfer position has been reached, whereupon it will be automatically released at the same time that the latch again comes into action.

A structure embodying my invention, in its preferred form, is illustrated in the ac- `companying drawings, wherein* Figure l repres-ents a top plan view of the turn-table, with its trackways 1n position of tracks which 1t serves,- Fig. 2 represents a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 represents a central vertical section thereof, and likewise shows the rotatory platform unlatched and ready to be shifted and a car arrested in place thereon; Fig. 4 represents a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, with the automatic latch normally locking the platform, so that its trackway will be in transmitting alinement with the intersecting rail lines and so that the car on the platform will be release Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, A, B, indicate respectively the intersecting track rails of the mine car or lorry tracks at whose inter1` section the transfer turn-table constituting the invention is located. a indicates the rotatory platform, consisting preferably of a single casting having a central hub o and provided with intersecting grooves constituting trackways c, o and d, cl. The rotatory platform a; is located within the outlying rim portion of the turntable frame, said rim portion consisting of the wings e and brackets K. The main body portion f, of the frame is provided with a cylindrical projection f within which engages, to turn freely, the central hub b of the platform. The underside of the platform a is provided with a circular groove g corresponding in position to a similar circular groove it of the main body portion of the frame, the said rooves serving as a runway for a series of alls, e. constituting a ball-bearing.

The wings e of the turn-table frame support the brackets K of lower level bolted thereto, and upon the brackets are mounted respectively the proximate ends of the A track rails A, B, so as to bring theflanges of the earwheels in alinement with the track grooves of the rotatory platform when the latterl is locked in position by the latch. The brackets also strengthen the frame at its corners which receive the first impact of the traction wheels of the mine ears or lorries.

To the underside of the main body portion f of the frame is bolted a bracket Z having a cross-pin m which serves as the fulerum of a rocking link a. One end of this link is connected by a pin and lost-motion slot with a latch pin 29, which is guided in a boss p of the frame. The other end of the link n is connected by a pin and lost-motion slot with an arrester pin o' which passes freely through the central projection b of the rotatory platform.

Upon reference to Fig. 3, it will be noted that when the arrester pin r is in its upper position of adjustment, it engages the aperture s of an arrester plate t carried by the mine ear or lorry, and, at the same time, the latch pin p is in its lowermost position, and out of engagement with any of the recesses o which are spaced at 90 (or such angle as the tracks may cross) apart on the under surface of the rotatory platform. Consequently, the platform, in this adjustment of the latch is unlocked and may be shifted by the operator, without danger of releasing the car until the traveling platform is brought to a position at right angles (or such angle as the tracks may cross) to its original position. In the meantime, the arrester pin r is held in its upper and arrested position by reason of the fact that the latch pin p cannot rise, it being prevented from so doing by the impediment offered by the flat under portion of the platform. Finally, however, when the platform has shifted 90O (or such angle as the tracks may cross) from its 4original position, the latch pin 79 comes opposite the next recess i) of the series; whereupon, by reason of the countervailing weight of the arrester pin i, the latch pin p rises into the recess e and locks the platform in that position, at the same time permitting the arrester pin r to drop out of engagement with the slot s of the arrester'plate t carried by the mine car or lorry. This adjustment is represented in Figs. 2 and 4, which shows the automatic latch as locking the rotatory platform in place and automatically releasing the mine car or lorry; so that the released car may new be pushed on to the intersecting track.

It will be noted as characteristic of the construction that the eountervailing weight of the arrester pin r tends constantly to lift the latch pin p into the locking position, and that the latch pin, accordingly, will lock the rotatory platform in place whenever the latch pin comes opposite any one of the recesses 'u spaced at 900 (or such angle as the tracks may cross) apart. The normal position of the automat-ic latch, that is to say, the position which it assumes when the turn-table out of service is, therefore, indicated in Figs. 2 and l. In this position, the rotatory platform is securely held against any accidental rotary shifting movement, and, consequently, the track grooves of the platform are locked in alinement with the rails of the intersecting tracks, so that continuity of the track supports for the cars or lorries is assured for both of the intersecting tracks and across the rotatory platform. So also, the arrester pin 1 is below the level of the arrester plates of the mine cars and offers no impediment to their movement across the rotatory platform.

Then it is desired to transfer a ear or lorry, from one track to the other, the ear is stopped by the operator upon the rotary platform, as indicated in Fig. l, and is brought to a central position thereon, that is to say, so that the slet s of the arrester plate t shall be directly above the upper end of the arrester pin r. It is impossible, however, for the operator to shift the rotatory platform at all until the latch pin p has been dis-engaged by him from the recess v in which it is normally held by the countervailing weight of the arrester pin r. ecordingly, to unlock the latch pin p from the recess e the operation by some suitable mechanism raises the pin r thereby releasing the latch pin p. The operator then proceeds to shift the rotatory platform, until the latch pin 7) comes opposite the next recess o of the series, whereupon the latch pin 79 rises into said recess and again locks the rotatory platform in place,-this time with the traetion wheels of the ear in alinement with the rails of the intersecting track. During this shifting motion, the car is held arrested in its central position on the platform, for the reason that the latch pin cannot rise until it comes opposite the recess lu, and, consequently, there is no possibility of the car moving off the platform during the shifting operation nor until the platform is securely locked in its transfer position.

Any suitable means may be employed for releasing the latch pin p and for raising the arrester pin r into engagement with the arrester plate. I have illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, a simple device for this purpose, consisting of a small chain or cord w which may pass around a series of sheaves .fr and terminate in a hand-grasp v/ located in proximity to the turn-table; so that when the latch pin 77 is to be released and the arrester pin r raised, this may be effected by pulling upon the hand-grasp g/ and holding the hand-grasp momentarily until the rotatory platform has been shifted slightly from its normal position, whereupon the handgrasp may be released.

It will be noted that the two main elcwheels of the mine pivoted lever,

ments of the turn-table, to wit,-the rotatory platform a and the outlying wings e with the foundation plate f are, in the embodiment of the invention, shown in the drawings, made up of two castings, of simple and economical design for the purposes intended. The bracket plat-es K in this con? struction, have bolted to the frame casting, they may be readily replaced if broken or damaged, and because of the positive relationship existing` between them and the said casting, this serving, not only to form a solid bed-plate for the ends of the track rails, but to accurately position said track rail ends in alinement with the track grooves of the turn-table.

Referring further to the advantages incident to the use of the invention, it may be said that perhaps its greatest gain is in the time saved in the operation of the cars, it being found in practice that whereas, in the usual operation with the customary turne table, it was not infrequent that as many as a dozen cars would be thrown from the track or their loads dumped at the intersections of the two lines of rails, the safeguards incident to the construct-ion and operation of the present invention are such as to have eliminated these mishaps and the very serious losses of time attending upon them.

lVhat I claim is 1. A transfer turn-table trackvvays, said turn-table transfer platform and releasably locking the platform in normal car receiving position, and a car arrester stop operatively connected with the latch and tending' to restore the latch to a locking position after the latch has been tripped; substantially as described.

2. A transfer-turntable for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform and provided with a combined platform latch and car-arrester stop, consisting of a pivoted lever, carrying at one end a latch pin for the rotary platform, and carrying at the other end an arrester pin for the cars; substantiallyv as described.

3. A transfer turn-table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform and provided with a combined platform latch and car-arrester stop, consisting of a pivoted lever, carrying at one end a latch pin for the rotary platform, and carrying at the other end an arrester pin for the cars, the lever being in unstable equilibrium so that the weight of the arm carrying the arrester pin will over-balance the weight of the arm carrying the latch pin; substantially as described.

t. A transfer turn-table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform provided with a combined platform latch and car-arrester stop, consisting of a carrying at one end a latch for intersecting having a rotary provided with a latch the advantage that, being pin adapted to engage with latch-receiving recesses in the platform, and carrying at its other end an arrester-pin passing through the center of rotation of the platform; substant-ially as described.

5. A transfer turn-table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform provided with a combined platform latch and car-arrester stop, consisting of a pivoted lever, carrying at one end a latch pin adapted to engage with latch-receiving recesses in the platform, and carrying at its other end an arrester-pin passing through the center of rotation of the platform, the pivoted lever being in unstable equilibrium with the over-balance on the side of the arrester-pin; substantially as described.

6. A transfer turn -table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform provided with a combined platform latch and car-arrester stop, consisting of a pivoted lever, carrying at one end a latch pin adapted to engage with latch-receiving recesses in the platform, and carrying at its other end an arrester-pin passing through the center of rotation of the platform, the pivoted lever being in unstable equilibrium with the over-balance of the side of the arrester-pin, and means for tripping the latch and simultaneously shifting the arrester-pin from the inoperative to the operative position; substantially as described.

7. A transfer turn-table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform provided on its under-surface with a plurality of latch-receiving recesses, corresponoling to normal car-receiving positions of the platform, a latch coperating with said several recesses to releasably lock the platform in place, a car-arrester stop passing axially through the rotary platform and operatively connected with the latch, and means for tripping the latch and for moving the arrester-stop into operative position; substantially as described.

8. A transfer turn -table for intersecting trackways, having a rotary transfer platform provided on its under-surface with a plurality of latch-receiving recesses, corresponding to normal car-receiving positions of the platform, a latch coperating with said several recesses to releasably lock the platform in place, and a car-arrester stop connected with the latch by a lever overbalanced on the side of the arrester-stop so as to normally tend to return the latch to a locking position, the structure being provided with an abutment preventing such return until the locking position is reached; substantially as described.

9. A transfer turn-table for intersecting track rails, having a rotary transfer platform, and having a frame within and upon which the platform is supported, said frame consisting of a casting provided with removable corner brackets serving as bedkporting brackets removably bolted thereto; 1o

plates for the end of the track rails; subsubstantially as described.

stantially as described. In testimony Whereoi1 I affix my signature,

10. In a turn-table for intersecting track in presence of two Witnesses.

rails, a frame for the transfer platform,

said rame comprising a central main body JOHN J' SMMONDS' portion eircularly recessed for the reception NWitnesses:

of the platform, and having outlying Wings, BAXTER D. MCCLAIN,

said wings being provided with ral-sup- C. W. BoULsoN.

Y Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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