US1176807A - Cable-carrier apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

G. A. AMSDEN.

CABLE CARRIER APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1914.

1 1 76,807. Patnted Mar. 28, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLMgoaRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

G, A. AMSDEN.

CABLE CARRIER APPARATUS.

APPLICATlON men FEB. 5. 1914.

1,176,807. 7 Patented Mar. 28,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THE COLUMBIA PLAIIIOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

G. A. AMSDEN.

CABLE CARRIER APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1914.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ml: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

in STAT s anion.

GEORGE A. AMSDEN, OF LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMSON COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

' CABLE-CARRIER APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

Application filed February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,707.

Littleton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cable- Carrier Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

objects the improvement of the last mentioned apparatus, first by materially reduc- 7 ing the noise of the operation thereof and second by the simplification of parts of said apparatus.

I have further aimed to provide a novel.

switch the principles of which are broadly newcertainly in so far as the cable carrier art is concerned.

1 These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel of elements whereby said objects are attained will be particularly set forth in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which forina part hereof and in which like reference characters desip'nate ,like parts throughout the several views, I have exemplified certain preferred I constructions; but as I am aware of vari- .ous changes and modifications which may be made herein without departing from the spirit of my invention, I desire to be limited only by the scope of said claims, broadly considered in the light ofmy disclosure.

' Referring to the drawings Figure 1. is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a cable carrier drop-station embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of said drop-station; a further portion of the track being broken out and the. view correspondingly shortened'fo-r convenience of illustration. Fig. 3 isa detail view of the grip opening and closing cams at thedespatching point in said station. Fig. 41 is a rear elevation of the upper part'of said station. Fig. 1 5 is a plan View of the same. .55

detail section taken on line VIT YI QfFig.

Fig. 6 is a,

4L drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 7 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, of a modification. Fig. 8

is a detail section taken online VIII-VIII of 1g. 7. Fig. 9 is a similar sectiontaken on line IX-IX of Fig. 7, Fig. 10 is a detail section taken on line XX of Fig. 7

and Fig. 11 is a sectionitaken on line XIXI of Fig. 10. This invention relates to cable carrier ap- Thefidetailed description of the station as a whole need bebut brief as it is in many respects similar to that described in said j01nt application; but the features which concern the improved switch or bridge will be considered more fully since the gist of the present invention resides therein and in the co-mbmation of such elements with certain other elements of the system as pointed out in the appended claims.

The main-tracks are both preferably so disposed as to convey the carrier with its grip point down; the outging track 1 constituting the delivery track to'the way stations of which there may be a number, while the incoming track 2, constitute the receiving track for said way stations.

Preferably, but not necessarily, a single endless cable 3, traveling in the directions indicated by arrows, constitutes the means for elevating carriers from the way station .01 stations to the main-receiving track 2,

and for thereafter propelling said carriers along sa1d receiving track past the subsequently encountered Way stations, while sa1d carriers are on route to, for example, the

cashiers desk. 1

The cable at the station shown is preferably looped down and passes around idlers or pulleys 4, 5 and 6, suitably journaled in brackets or other supports. -Carriers propelled along track 1 which are intended to be delivered at the station shown are selectively removed from said track in a known manner by a switch 7 and pass down an independent drop track 8 tothe station.

Carriers to be despatched from the station are inserted at 9, from the left as viewed carriers traversing these curved rails are preferably cable propelled while so doing.

If the grip of such a carrier be closed at ,the time ofits. insertiomas said carrier is desired, since portions 14 may be quite short,

tracks are constructed is preferably steel, the portions 2 and the uprights 14 are reraised by hand to engage it with the elevating section of cable, said grip will be swung open by cam 11. Immediately thereafter cam 12 closes the grip directly on this section of cable, and the carrier moves up toward the switch, broadly designated 13. The latter comprises parallel sections 2 which are, in the present case, actually portions of track 2; and vertical portions 14: which are respectively connected to the portions 2 by brackets 15.

The sections 1 1 and brackets 15 support the free ends 16 of track parts 2. In Fig. 6, however, one "of the portions 2 hasbeen broken away to show the construction thereben eath. Each end 16 is beveled or 'cut away on its under side to conform it to the curved upper portion of the corresponding rail of track 10, and the latter terminates at 17 each rail thereof being beveled off horizonta-l-ly to permit of the passage of the track engaging fianges 18 of through carriers between said ends 17 and the correspondingly beveled ends 19 of the rails of track 2 at this point; y

The respective ends 17 and 19 are held firmly in fixed relationship to each other by an extended ear or lug 20 of a bracket 20 which also carries idler 6. The upright portions 1% are preferably mounted in sockets 21, carried by the trabk bracket 22, and are inclined inwardly and bent forwardly as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, so that their free ends extend inside of the gage of track 2 by about the width of a rail, on each side. If

in order to impart suflicient flexibility thereto, said portions may be cut away oi flattened as at 23 (see Fig. 2); and since the material of which the rails of all of the silient and hence adn'iir'ably adapted to act as springs.

.The track 2 is preferably dipped as at 24 teenable through carriers to be reengagedwith the cable at this point in the manner hereinafter described; and the upper track .1 iscut away and aperturedor spread at 25., in a known manner, to enable the carriers to be removed therefrom by the selective switch.

All through carriers or those intended to pass by or over the station via track 2 are disengaged from the cable by a cam 26 and hence traverse section 2' by momentum, ridoff of the ends 16 thereof onto the rails of track 2 beyond the gap between sections 2 and 14 and dipping down at 24 so that their grips maybe re gaged with the cable a cam 27.

A movable cam or grip releasin device 28 is pivoted to bracket 29 and is actuated by a lever 80, mounted on its spindle 81.

never 30 is raised and lowered by a WVhen a carrier en route up track 10 would collide with a through carrier at the switch, the cam or trip 28 will have been swung inwardly toward the cable from a position where it would normally'clear the pivoted element of the grip of the ascending carrier to one where it will open said grip. The carrier on track will then drop back until its said grip element engages agrip closing cam 39 which rec'ngages the carrier w'ith the cable to againelevate it toward the switch If by this time no carrier is in contact with rod or member 38, the so r'e-despatched carrier will clear cam 28 and will be delivered to track 2, its flange 4'0 of-fibertr the'like,

provided in carriers of this description, wip-- ing against the switch supports 14 and as the in-bent portions 'of the latter are encountered these supports are pressed apart which spreads the track sections 2"; and so permits the carrier to rideup quite noiselessly there between on to track 2. Of course said car- 7 rier thereafter passes cam 27 but its grip is already in engagement with the cable 'so' that it need not actually quite touch said cam and hence its passage past this point is again almost noiseless.

The engagement of the fiber flange with the spreading supports 14 is also practically noiseless owing to the fact. that metal is not striking against metal and further owing to the very gradual inward slope of supports 14; at this point. p of the carrier into the'switch fmay' be properly said to wedge the section 2 thereof quite gradually andsmoothly apart; and after the emplacement of the carrier on track 2, the resiliencyv oft he parts 2 and'lt returns them to 7 their normal position in suchmanner that no stop needb'e provided since the parts have a bias, of themselves, to move into their normal and predetermined positions. Hence as the stoppage of'a carrier being despatched, by the movement .of

cam 28 into its path asthe result of the disposition of a passing through-carrier upon a particular short length of track 2, occurs normally but comparatively seldom in the operation of the system in a store, practi- In fact theentrance cally the only'appreciable'noise of the apparat'us is that occasioned by the opening and closing of the'grips of the through carriers as they pass each station, and this noise is but slightzbeing but a slight click.

A Even when a carrier on track 10'is forced, "to drop and reengage the cable such noise ,common use, of the type described in my is not objectionable and as stated above norwhile at the same time the switch construction. is simplified and the apparatus rendered more attractive in appearance;

There only remains to be described the modification of the switch embodied in the apparatus shown in Figs. 7, 8, etc. Herein, instead of integrally connecting the switch parts 2 to the track 2, separate elements 41 are provided which are each pivoted at 42 to sections of said track 2. As in the former case, supports 43 are connected by brackets 15 to switch parts 41'; but saidsupports are pivotally connected at 44 to the bracket 22 so that there is no inherent tendency for the sections 41 to normally dispose themselves in position to properly guide a through carrier past the station. Instead the switch parts 41 have connected thereto lugs 45 which move therewith as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 10; the inner ends of these lugs being adapted to abut against stops 46, of rubber or the like which project out from anextension 47' at the lower end of the track bracket 47. Each lug 45 has an ear '45 which is apertured'for the reception of an end of a coiled spring 48 which tends to hold said lugs against their stops 46. The action of the switch, in so far as the passage of a carrier therethrough or thereover is concerned, is obviously substantially the same as in the preceding case. The previously described construction is to be'preferred however, not alone on account of its simplicity but further on account of its dependability as demonstrated in practice.

a The carriers may be of any desired con- StIllCtlOll but I prefer to. use those, now in Letters Patent No. 960,617, dated June 7, 1910, wherein the grip of the carrier comprises a fixed and a pivotally mounted jaw adapted for engagement with the several grip opening or closingtrips or cams hereinbefore referred to. a

In conclusion I may state that in the claims appended hereto I have used the term spread in the sense in which this term is usually applied to rails of any description, and that where reference is made to a companion rail such rail is one which'extends in substantial, but not necessarily actual,

parallelism with the rail to be spread or 'moved away therefrom. Further. I desire to direct attentionto the fact that the switch supports 14 act as auxiliary guides, supplementlng theauxiliarv track leading up from the ...stat qn,. to steady. the, delivery of can riers-from the latter to the main track 2. The tracks 1, 2 and 10 are of course preferably all of substantially the same gage, and the carrier traversing any one of said tracks does so in actual engagement therewith, the carrier moving endwise along or on the track 10 in the same manner that it rides along the tracks 1 or 2.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

' 1. Cable carrier apparatus comprising two substantially tangentially disposed tracks of approximately the same gage, a carrier to ride end foremost directly on and successively upon said tracks, means for propelling said carrier along one at least of said tracks, one of said tracks having a portion of a rail thereof adapted to be spread away from a companion rail thereof to ad mit of the emplacement of a carrier upon said last mentioned track, and means for spreading said portion for the purpose aforesaid as said carrier, when about to be delivered from one to the other of said tracks, approaches the point of tangency.

2. Cable carrier apparatus comprising a drop-station, a track extending past said drop-station and having a section thereof adapted to guide carriers thereover onto an adjoining'section, said sections being discontinuous, means at said drop-station for elevating a carrier to said track and for moving apart portions of the rails thereof in a substantially horizontal plane to permit of the emplacement of said carrier upon said adjoining section, and means for preventing said spreading apart of said rails when a through carrier, en route past said station, would engage said portions when in their spread condition.

3. Cable carrier apparatus comprising a drop-station, a track extending past said drop-station and having a section thereof adapted to guide carriers thereover onto an adjoining section, said sections being dis: continuous, means at said drop-station for elevating a carrier to said track and forpropelled thereby.

4. Cable carrier apparatus comprising a drop-station, a track extending past saiddrop-station and havlng a section thereof adapted to guide carriers thereover onto an adjoining section, said sections being discontinuous, means at said drop-station for e1e .a ing a carrier. to said track andfor moving apart portions of, the rails thereof in a substantially horizontal plane toperm-it ofv the emplacement ofsaid carrier upon said ad oining, sect1on, means for preventing said spreading apart of said rails when a to said track and for movingapart portions of the rails thereof in a'substantially hori- 7 zontalplane to permit of the emplacement of said carrier upon said adjoining section, said means including an auxiliary tracker:- tendingup to said main track and, curved around at its upper end substantially into tangenoy with theline of saidmain, track: to deliver carriers to said main track end foremost. 7

6. Cable carrier apparatuscomprisinga drop-station, a main track having a section thereof adapted to guide carriers thereo-ver part said station, and means at said dropstation for guidedly elevating a carrier to said track and for moving a portion. of; a rail thereof away from a companion. rail topermit of the emplacement of said carrier upon said main track, said means including a curved guide along Whichfsaid carriers travel end foremost, the line of curvature of said guide at its upper-end being substantially tangent to the line of the main track at such point.

7'.v Cable carrier apparatus comprising" a drop-station, a main trackhaving a, section thereof adapted to guide carriers past said stat on, a second track section hav ng an end thereof curved around to delivercarriersend foremost from said drop-station to said main track, said first mentioned section having a yieldingly mounted rail thereof adapted to be spread away from a companion. rail at a determined point in saidmain track by the passage of a carrier over said second sections, means to propel carriers along one at least of said sections, and means operatively connected to said yieldingly mounted rail to spread the same as said carrier traversing said second section approaches said first rail section.

V V 8. Cable carrier apparatus comprisinga drop-station, a main track having a section thereof adapted to guide carriers past said station, a track section of substant ally the same. gasses, said task. ha in -meansito. deliver carriersendwise. from said drop-station tonsaid, main track, said first mentioned section. having, a, rails thereof y-ieldin-gly supported laterally, for apart of its lengthnto, adapt it to-besprea'd away; from a companion: rail at a determinedpoint in a said main, track, and means to propel acarrieralongv at least one of said sections and to: spreadsaid rail inmanneriaforesaid.

9. Cable carrier ,.apparatus; comprising. a a drop-station, a. main trackhaving a section thereof adapted to guide. carriers past said station, an auxiliary 'tracksection todeliver carriersfrom said drop-station, to, said main track, said auxiliary track sectionhavin-gg the upper end thereof curved around-to. deliver carriers traversing the same ,endwise' to. said main track, oneoi saidsections having a rail thereof adapted: to be moved glaterally- Withrespecttoa companion rail taper- ;:g mit-the passage of, a carrier past a.-determined pom-tin one of said tracks, a yielding support. for said movable rail permittingit tomove in manner aforesaid, and means 'to propel. said carrier pest ai l' detGITmiii dQQJO point.

105.; Cablacarrier apparatus comprisinga station, a maintr'ack adapted t0 Comeycairiers past said station, a track to deliver carriers to said main track hro ghand' b 1'95 tween the rail'sof said-main track; means for propelling a carrier along said-second track to said maintrack, auxiliary, guides v id i t ovably mounted'rigid iaee t he Poin o de very at h e ond mentioned track to said, main track.

12, Cable carrier apparatus comprising a 1115 station, amaint gaclr adapted to conveycarriers past said station, guiding means to deliver carriers to said mainirack through and between the" rails of said: main track,

means, for. propelling a carrieralongsaid gu ding, means, and movably mountedfopen a-tive connections between a part ,of said main track and apart of said guiding" meansa 1 7' 1 3-. Gablecarrier apparatus comprising a drop-station, a track extending past said dropsstationand having a section thereof adapted to guide, carriers thereover on to an ad -m ng-section, meansfat' sald drop-staziaQfl 9 elswatinga arriento. said track and for moving apart portions of the rails thereof to permit of the emplacement of said carrier upon said adjoining section, and sans for preventing said spreading apart of said rails when a through carrier en route past said station would engage said portions when in their spread condition.

14. Cable carrier apparatus comprising a drop-station, a track extending past said drop-station and having a section thereof adapted to guide carriers thereover on to an adjoining section, means at said dropstation for elevating a carrier to said track and for moving at least one of the rails thereof relatively with respect to a companion rail to permit of the emplacement of said carrierv upon said adjoining section, and means for preventing said movement of said rail with respect to its companion rail when a through carrier, en route past said station, would engage the so moved rail when in its displaced position.

15. Cable carrier apparatus comprising two substantially tangentially disposed tracks of approximately the same gage, a carrier to ride end foremost directly on and successively along said tracks, means for propelling said carrier along one at least of said tracks, one of said tracks having a laterally movable portion of a rail thereof adapted to be spread away from a com panion rail thereof by the passage of a carrier end foremost past a part of the path of travel of said last mentioned carrier.

16. Cable carrier apparatus comprising two substantially tangentially disposed tracks of approximately the same gage, a carrier to ride end foremost directly on and successively along said tracks, an endless cable for propelling said carrier along one at least of said tracks, one of said tracks having a laterally movable portion of a rail thereof adapted to be spread away froma companion rail thereof by the passage of a carrier end foremost past a part of the path of travel of said last mentioned carrier and while the latter is directly in engagement with said cable. I

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. AMSDEN. Witnesses:

ELEANOR C. POEHLMAN, HOWARD A. CHERRY.

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

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