US1345439A - Drag-car - Google Patents

Description

R. HAMmoN AND E. J. REIMEL.

DRAG CAR. APPUcArIoN FILED MAYzQ. 1919.

Patented July 6, 1920.

2 SHEETS -SHEET l.

.lltrlll:

R. HAMILTUN AND 5.1. REIMEI..

DRAG CAR.

APPUcATmN ruin Muze, 1919.

1,345,439. Patented July 6, 1920.

2 sHErs-sHEr 2.

INVENTURS bd 41mm ATTUR/VEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DRAG-CAR.

Application led May 29, 1919.

To all whomy it may concern:

Be it known that we, Ronnn'r HAMILTON and ELMER J. REIMEL, citizens of the United States, residing in Birmingham, county of Jefferson, and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drag-Cars, of which the following is a specification. i

Our invention relates to improved means for moving empty work cars from the entry of a` mine into the work rooms thereof and for subsequently hauling the loaded cars out of the workrooms and along the entry of' the mine. Heretofore these work ca rs have been drawn by a nulle and in thin veins of low coal it was necessary to shoot down a considerable portion ofthe roof in order to permit the mule to enter." This practice was objectionable due to the time consumed a nd the expense involved. In some instances where low coal is encountered manual labor is utilized for moving the work cars which is a costly and inefficient way of doing the work. In thin seams of coal when the work cars have to be pushed in and out of the room by mules or by hand; if the length of the room is greater than 250 feet, the expense involved in operating the work cars` runs the cost of the mining to a higher figure than would be the case if new entries were driven and short rooms turned oft' of them.

Our invention reduces this labor cost and by its utilization, rooms of great length can be used thereby reducing the number of entries required which results in great saving in the cost of construction and in the operating expenses of a mine.

(lne of the objects of the invention is to eliminate the man power required in handling ears. Another object is to increase the daily output of coal delivered by each miner. A further object is to provide a car capable of moving the work ears within the workinor room ofthe mine and hauling them along the mine entry. Another object is to provide a drag car having reels and driving mec ianism mounted thereon in such a way as to enable the center of gravity of the car to be kept at a low point to prevent thc over turning of the drag car when pulling a heavy load. A\nother object is to combine the various elements herein described so as to effectively perform their various functions. Other objects will be apparent from Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1920. serial No, 3o0.54s.

`the following description when read in conchain drive for transmitting power from a common motor to the two drag wheels shown in the above figures:

Fig. i is a diagranunatic horizontal scction showing the mine entry and working room and illustrating the operation of the doubhl reel drag ear;

lfig. 5 is a side elevation of a single reel car embodying our invention parts heilig slywn in section on the line of Fig. l:

Fig. (i is a plan view thereof;

Fig. i' is a detail section on the line of Fig. ti;

Fig. 8 is a detail of a coupling pin eniploycd for establishing a driving connection between the drag reel and its driving worin gear;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section showing diagramlnatically the single reel drag car in operation.

(lur improved drag car comprises a traine supported on wheelsv l and C. the wheels B being loosely mounted on the axles Il. and the wheels (l being fixedly secured to their axles C. The truck fraaie supports a motor l) on one end of the armature sha t't of which is secured a .sprocket ll and to thc other end of which is secured a driving pinion l)'. Drag reels E and F are mounted for free rotation on vertical spindlesl .l and l each of which is driven by a worin (fear similar to that illustrated at .l2 in Fig. r. The spindles .l and .lare supported at their upper ends in brackets J" and at their lower ends in bosses J4 formed in the gear casing J5.

Bearings L and N are provided to reduce the friction duc to the weight of thc reels and the thrust` of the worin gears. The gea r case Ji is adapted to contain oil or grcasc for lubrication of the parts and a cover plattA .v serves to prevent splashing out of tlnI lubricant and to exclude foreign matter from the interior of said casing.

The worm gears -l2 arc cach driacn by a worm l1 secured to a shaft li' on thc ontcr end of which is secured a sprocket lf'. chain (i passes over thc .sprocket ll and around the sprockets lig-lf for drivingr the wormal lf-li and consequently theI reels ll and l". .\n idler eprocket K is. provided to secure a good are ot' contact between the chain and the sprocketn` and to adjust the tension ot' thin chain. The reels ll and l" are each provided with a plurality olf aperture Q and the worin gear .l'' is provided with an aperture Il. \\'hen the apertures Q and ll are in line a coupling piu l may he inserted to etlect a driving engagement het ween either of the drag reels and its correaponding worm gear J2.

a thu# constructed it will be seen that the motor l) is capable 'of independently driving either of the. drag reels E and F according to which one the coupling pin l. is inserted in. This arrangement permits an oi'ierator to use. one of the drag reels for winding up cable and the other for paying oli' eahle in a manner to he described here inafter.

For cont rolling the propelling ot the truck a eonntershal't L mounted in suitable bearinge` secured to the truck is provided. Un one end otl thisl shaft a Sprocket o is tixedlv secured and on the other end a gear n provided with a clutch face a' and meshing with the gear 1)' is loosely mounted. A, clutch member l is splined to the counter i#hatt and is adapted to be. moved by a coutrol lever e into engagement with the clutch member e ecured to the gear fr. A sprocket chain c connects the sprocket 7" with a sprocket t" 4Secured to the :shaft f" whereby power is transmitted from the counter-shaft /1 to the driving axle C.

A controller f carried hy the traine A serves to govern the starting and topping ot the motor l) as well as to control the Apeed thereof. rl`he current for the motor l) is vsupplied iu any uitable manner. for example. h v lin-ans: of au overhead trolley wire /f indicated in Fig. Q, and a trolley pole L supported on an upright /12 Ieeured to crossheamS servee to convey the current from the feed wire in a well known manner. the current returning hy way of the wheels through the t `acks.

ln operation when it is deSirf-.d to remove coal or other ore from one of the. workrooms ol' a niioe the drag car is driven along the tracks` 'l` ot' the mine entry V in some in tanee towing with it a number olI work cany which are not provided with any sell'- propelling means. hranch track ll" is connected hy :ie-:ius ol' a suitable spur with the. workrooni :ind providee means` for guiding the work car within the workroonr illustrate.` the operation ot' the Single reel drag ear shown in Figs. 5 and G which is adapted for pulling a loaded oar out ol the, workroom.

lel'erring first to Fig. 4 the dragr car pulls au empty work ear up to position` indicated at u where the trip rider or operator securea it in any suitable. manner, for example hy means ol' a short length of cable. u to a eahle er which passes around a guide sheave .1' seeured in place on a stake or other suitable means within the workroom and niar the workingfaee. One free end .ai of this cable w is fastened to the free end of the eahle wound on the reel F and the other end g/ of the fable 'te is fastened to the end of the cable carried by the reel IC.

ln order to draw the work car u into the workroom and up to the face of the work, the operator removes the coupling pin l 'from the reel F and inserts a coupling pin in the reel E to effect a driving engagement between said reel and its corresponding worm gear J2. The motor is then Started te. drive the worm gearing which clearly will rotate the reel 1*; and thereby wind up the cable le and cause the movement of the cable in the direct-ion indicated by the arrow .r and cause the work car U to be hauled up to the position indicated at `e. After the empty car has been moved up to the posi tion `shown at fr the operator on the drag car will stop the motor and remove the coupling pin from the reel E and insert it in the reel F and the workman in the room will disconnect the empty ear from the cable 'te and will connect a loaded car a therewith by means, for example, of a short cable a and will then signal the operator on, the drag ear who will again start the. motor which'will cause the reel E to withdraw the loaded work caras.. This will bring the free ends` 1/ and s of the cable e to the position shown in the drawing where they may he disconnected from the cables carried hy the reels E and F and they will therefore he` in position for subsequent operation similar to that described and the loaded car may be, connected to one of the cables on either the. reels E and F and be towed along a mine 'entry V to a dumping station or any other desired location.

Then a single reel drag car is used as illustrated in Fig. El the drag ear is driven up to the throat of theworking room and the trip rider removes the pin l from the reel E and takes hold of the tree end ol" the cable wound thereon and connectel it to the empty car nl which ie; then in the position` shown in dotted lines` and shovea the ca" along the hraneh track T to the positlon `diown at a. A\l`ter the car is loaded tlnI coupling pin l is put in place and on `ignal troni the workman within the rooiu the opY crator on the drag car darn` the inotor to eallse thiI rotation of the dl'ag reel tllel'elrv hauling the loaded ear ont illto the nlille el|tr v.

'l`he operator on thil drag ear eall tllell tllrow the eluteh f/ into engagement with the ehlteh nlenlller o earried h v the gear l and the drag ear will tllell he driven along with the loaded work ear ill tow,

l"roln the ahove it will he .seen that our invention provides all ilnproved nleans for handling the work ears ill a lnine whel'ehv greater speed is attained and ('ollsillerallle lnanllal lahor with its attendant expense is eliminated. llv using a worm gear drive t'or the drag reels we are enahled to eonstrllet a ear requiring veri' little head roonl and also one having a low renter of gravit)v and therefore lessl liahle to tip over when hauling a heavily laden wol'k ear. Th-l worlu drive also affords a safety l'eatnre oi' no little inlportanee heeanse in the event of the lmotor failing for any unforseen reason while a ear is lleing drawn llp all ilu-lined traek` the saine would not he ahle to ran wild` ther worln gear not heilig ahle to drive the worm and therein' preventing aeeident and loss of propertlv.

Though we have deserihed with great partieularitv the details and construction of the embodiments of the invention herein shown, yet it is not to he understood therefrom that we are limited thereto as ehanges in eonstruetion and snhstitlltion of equivalents ma;v he made h v those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

ll'hat we elailn is:

l` In a nline a longitudinal entry, a lateral working roolll eonnnllnieating therewith, a drag ear movahle along `said entry` work ears adapted to he loaded in said milling room, a guide sheave alld eahle in said room adapted to he eonneeted with said work ears, and lneans carried hy said drag ear and eo-aeting with said guide sheave and cable to move the work ears into and ont oll said nlinillg roolll.

3. lll a nline a longitudinal entrlv, a lateral working roonl eollllnnnieating therewith` :l drag ear nlovahle along said entry. work ears adapted to he loaded ill said nlilling room, a guide .sheave and Vahle in said roonl adapted to he eonneeted with said work ears, a nlotor l'ol' propelling said drag ear, drag reels earried hy said ear alld arranged to he driven h v `said nlotor, lneans l'or establishing alld disengaging the driving von neetion hetween said motor and -said drag reels. wherelnv said reels eoaet with said sheave andrahle to alternatelv lnove said work ears into and ont olV said lnine roonl.

Jl. dragl ear eonlprising a trnek having a drag reel nlounted thereon. wornl gearing for driving said drag reel, a easing t'or ill elosing `said wol'ln gearillg and holding a lnhrir'ant therefor, a lnotor t'or driving said worin gearing alld propelling the trui-k and a renlovahle pill l'or estalllishing a driving c-ollnetftion between said drag reel alld sai/l worm gearing.

4. A drag ear eolnprising a truek having a drag reel freely nlounted on a shat't. a worm gear seellred to Said shaft, a worin t'or driving said gear, a nlotor operativelxv eon neeted with said worin and means for engag ing and disengaging the drag reel and the worm gear.

5. A drag ear eolnprising a truek having a drag reel freely lnonllted on a vertieal shaft. a worin gear seenred to said shalt, a worm for driving said gear. a nlotor whose shaft extends erosswise of said trllek op e ativelyY eonneeted with said worin and means t',or engaging and disengaging the drag reel and the wornl gear.

ln witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names.

ROBERT IVIAMILTUN. ELMER J. REIMEL,

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