US1379870A - Gravity-car control for mine-hoists - Google Patents

Description

v D. F. LEPLEY. GRAVITY CAR CONTROL FOR MINE Holss.'

APPLICATION FILED MN. 22, 1921.

` Patented May 31, 1921.

2 sums-SHEET 1.

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INEM RN lm D. F. LEPLEY, GRAVITY CAR CONTROL FOR MINE HOISTS,

.APPLICATION FvILED JAN. 22. 1921.

2 SHEElS-SHEET 2.

Y DANIEL n LEPLEY, or coN'NELLsviLL'n, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAVITY-can coNfrieoi. ron i/iiNEriois'is.

Application inea January 22, 192i. seriainuaaazoe 4 To all 'wim/m it may concern.'

Be it kno-wn that l, DANIEL F.' LEPLEY, a citizen 'of the United States, residingfat Coimellsville, in the county of Fayette andA State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Gravity-Car Control for Mine- Hoists, of which the following is a specilication. A

This invention relates to apparatus 'for supplying mine cars to the cages of a mine" hoist and constitutes a continuation in part of an application filed by me on January 29, 1920Serial No. 354,847:

One of the objects of the invention is to combine with a caOing rapparatus of "the general type shown, for` exainplepin Patent No. 1,233,070 issued to me onduly 10, 1917, an arrangement of tracks and Crossovers `so constructed that asl cars are successively` uncoupled from a trip standing on one of the tracks, they can be directed successively to either of two caging mechanisms, Vthe grades of the tracks being designed to give the cars the proper moment-uni at different point-s during their approach to the caging mechanism and during their travelV from said mechanism to the waiting cage.

A further object is to provide a gravity car controlled system which will hol'dithe cars under vabsolute control without the use of brake mechanism other than the ordinary stop doors of the eager. n

' A still further object is to provide a cager in which a car Vis stopped on arising grade but is-started on a descending grade thereby to insure a quick getaway 'from the eager to the waiting cage. j

With the foregoing and other objects in View `which will appear as the description proceeds, theinvention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter de-y scribed and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit Vof the invention.

in the accompanying drawings Athe preferred form of the invention has been shown.

ln said' drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view showing in dia'- gram the gravity controlled system comerally at y5 Vand V6.

bine'd with a pair of cagesand a Vertical mine hoist. l v

Fiom in side'elevation.

of the cages forming a ratus. v i

Referring to the figures' by'characters of reference 1 and 2 designatea pair of cages.

2 is a diagram showing the control F ig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation `of one part of the'appa#y adapted to work in opposite directions ;re-.

spectively within the shaftcof ,a mine.`

Arranged on the'iioor ofthe mine next toeach hoist compartment and-'atthe receiving or loaded car side is a eager. through l each of which extends one ofi a pair .of tracks indicated at 3 and 4. The c agers .are of like construction and are indicated genbottom thereof, with bearings 8 in which is journaled'the main v shaft 9'of the eager.r`

horns 12 pivoted, Yas at V13, between angleA structure 7 and' rails 14 .mounted on. the longitudinal yokes 15 securedvv tothe outer sides of the rails. .'.EachfoIf-the horns has a As shown in F ig. 3 each cagercomprises a supporting structure 7' provided, adjacent-its center, and at the L counterbalancing weightlextending from the pivot endthereof and vnormally inclined downwardly as shown in Fig. 3. i

A compression spring 17 is Vinterposed between the intermediate pivot 1 8 of the toggle and one end of thestructure 7, and pivotally connected to the pivotk 18 Vis a rod 19 attached tothe depending arm of the bell crank 2O fulcrumed in a bear-ing 2l.. The

other arm of this bell crank extends forf wardly beyond the structure 7. and has an operating dog 22 pivoted thereon. A rod 23 connects this dogto an arm 24 depending from a transverse shaft 25 carried by the upper pofrtionV of the structure 7. weighted -arm 26 is extended in one direction from said shaft and a tripping treadle 27 extends in the opposite .direction from the shaft and close `to the outer side of one of the rails 14 so as to be held bythe weighted `arm 26 normally in theV path of the wheels of a car meunted on the rails 14.

The dogs 22 onthe two cagers normally 2, respectively, so that when either oi the cages is brought to its loading stage, it will come against the upper end oi the dog22 thereunder and thrust it downwardl1 thereby causing the dog to operate the bell crank 2G and thrust through the rod 19 against the toggles. rl`hus the springs 1"( will be placed under compression and the horns 12 lowered to release the car restrained thereby. As soon as the cage leaves the loading stage the springs 17 will return all their parts to their initial positions, restoring the horns l2 to their holding positions as shown in' 3 where they will be. securely held by the toggles, it being obvious, by referring to 3, that wien the toggles are in supporting positions, their middle pivots 18 are past the dead centers and the toggles thus torni rigid supports for the horns.

lt will be noted that the rails 14 are not straight from end to end. lnstead they are inclined from above the pivots 13 and downwardly toward the delivery end 0i the eager at approximately a tive per cent. grade while those portions oi the rails extending from above the pivots 13 to the other end ot the cager are approximately level. `'Che upper faces ot the horns are so shaped that when the horns are in their raised 0r normal position, they will provide continuations or' the level top taces of the rails and then curve upwardly to form top extensions 12. The inclined portions of the rails lei have been indicated at 28 while the level portions have been indicated at 29.

ln practice it has been found desirable to have each eager extend about ten feet from the mine shaft. For a distance oi about thirteen Jfeet back from the caging apparatus each oi the tracks S and i is preterably constructed at a one and one-half per cent. grade, as indicated at 3G. For approximately six feet back of this grade each track is preferably constructed at about a three per cent. grade, as shown at 31. A short stretch of track, about "r'our feet, is then provided at approximately a one per cent. grade, as shown at 32 and then for a distance of approximately twenty-tive ieet the tracks are constructed at about a one and one-halt1 per cent. grade as shown at 33. .lt is at this point that Crossovers 3e are pre vided, the same being constructed with l 36 adapted to be operated switches 35 anc by hand and whereby cars can be directed from either track onto the other track. For approximately ten feet beyond the one and one-halt per cent. grade 33 the tracks are constructed with a three per cent. grade, as shown at 37, this grade merging into a two per cent. grade extending through approxi* mately one hundred twenty-five feet as indicated at 38. From there back the tracks can be of any grade suicient to allow the trips of cars properly to gravitate although it h as been found desirable to have this grade not to exceed one and one-halt per cent.

l/Vhen a trip o' cars approaches the shalt on either of the tracks 3 or e it is stopped at the switch 35 or 36 and the first car is uncoupled and permitted to gravitate onto the cager 5 where it will be brought to a stop with its iront wheels resting on the horns and above and out of contact with the in clined portions 28 of the rails lil. The switch 35 is then thrown and the second car o'f the trip uncoupled and directed along the crossover 34 onto the other track where it is brought to position on the eager. rlhe cars of the trip-are thus distributed back and forth 'from one track to the other so as to stand uncoupled but in contact in two groups or series, the iirst car of each group or series standing on one or the cagers with its front wheels held elevated by the horns 12;

As soon as the weight oic a descending cage has actuated one or' the dogs 22 so as to shift the toggles and abrutly lower the horns 12 six operations take place in rapid succession as follows:

First, the two iront wheels o1 car n andL which are supported in elevated 'position by the horns 12, drop down to the live per cent. inclined portion 28 of the track.

Second7 the weight or the car with its two front wheels resting` on the horns, acts to force them down instantly and compress the spring 17 so as to relieve the other nieclr anism of this work.

Third, the sudden lowering of the iront end or car c to the live per cent. grade gives it a forward impulse and a quick start hefore the cage has quite landed on the shaft bottoni. rllhis forward impulse will impart sufficient forward movement to the car a to cause it to bump the empty car e oria of the cage so that the car L can take its place. Consequently the caging time can be reduced to three or 'tour seconds in this way.

Fourth, after the car a has moved oil o? the eager far enough iter the rear wheels to clear the limits oit 'the horns 12, the wkheels pass over yamil bear down on tres 24.

" his acts to release the spring 1i", which was held under compression, to huir-k turn the toggle to its vertical or lozlriuiz position so that the horns will thus be elevated and secured position for engagement by the next car.

' l gfth, immediately atteicar a l "s been released from the cager car c which is mounted on the three per cent. grade, will move along said grate and push the car FZ ahead of it over the one and one-half per cent. grade 30, onto and over the level portion of the eager track indicated at 29, and onto the curved portions of the horns which time the "front wheels of the car will be supported approximately one inch yeo above the five per cent. incline 28 thereunder. At this time car c will pass onto and over the one and one-half per cent. grade while both cars b and @will lose headwayto such an extent that Y they will practically come to an easy stopwithout shock or jar when the front wheels of ,theV rstV car b move upwardly onto the curved portions of the horns.

Sixth, immediately upon the landing of the cage and release of the car a from the eager, a loaded car which has been held at the front end of a trip on the three per cent. grade indicated at 37, is released by an attendant. This car starts quickly and drifts down over the crossover track section or else straight forward, along the approximate one and one-half per cent. grade indicated at 83 and comes against the car c, as indicated at ZZ whereby the cars are held pressed forwardly with the front wheels of the front car pressed upwardly on the inclined portions of the horns l2 where they are held by the pressure of the cars.

Obviously both sides of the apparatus are operated in a similar manner, those cars distributed along the track 3 toward the eager 5 being arranged and operating similarly to the cars on the track 4f and eager t5.

lt has been found in practice that with two cager equipments. such as shown and the proper arrangement of grades, three or four cars can be caged and hoisted per minute with two men on the loading side of the track.

It is to be understood that the grades shown are only approximate and that the length of the various track sect-ions Vand the percentages of their grades will depend on conditions such as length, weight, and running gear of the cars in use, etc.

This system will permit a man located at the grade section 37 to handle an entire trip of cars by gravity, stopping and uncoupling them at that point and directing the single cars down to the cages.

What is claimed is 1 l. The combination with separate oppositely movable hoist cages, of a caging section adjacent the path of each cage and including a track having one end portion level and the remaining portion which is nearest the path of the cage being inclined downwardly toward the delivery end thereof, stop dogs on said caging section for holding the front wheels of a car elevated above the horizontal and overhanging the inclined rails of the track, said dogs being movable to drop the front wheels of the car onto the inclined trackY and thereby impart an labrupt initial impulse to the forward movement of the carfrom the caging section and onto the cage platform. Y

2. The combination with separate oppositely movable hoistcages, of tracks leading to the shafts of the respective cages, means whereby uncoupled cars can be distributed from either tra-ck to vboth tracks, a caging section included in each track and close to eachcage shaft, each Icaging section including a level track sectionV and a section vinclined downwardly toward the lcage shaft, stop Vdogs forming a partv of each caging section and.r constituting means for holding the front wheelsv of a car elevated above the horizontal and -overthe inclined portion of the cagingsection, the said tracks having variable grades for causing cars to gravitate to the respective cagingl sections, a car on one grade constituting means for holdingy another car in tilted position onthe stop dogs.

separate oppositely movable cages, of parallel tracks leading to the shafts, caging sections supplied by the tracks and v each including a level portion, a portion inclined downwardly toward the shaft, and dogs extending above and beyond the level portion, `Crossovers connecting the two tracks, each track having a down grade of approximately three per cent. leadingto the crossover section of the tracks which is approximately at a one and one-half per cent. grade and leads successively to approximately a one and one-half per cent. grade, a three Vper cent. grade, a one and one-,half per cent.

grade and thence tothe level portions ofthe caging sections, said tracks constituting means for V'distributing loaded cars from either track to `both tracks, thereby to line up the cars along the two tracks 'with one car on each track held with its forward end elevated above the fivel per cent. gradev by the elevated dogs, said carA being forced to elevated position yby the pressure there- 3. rlhe combination with hoist shafts and against of one of the following cars located n on a three per cent. grade.

4. The combination with a caging section having a level track portion, a downwardly inclined track portion and stop dogs for holding the' front wheels of a car elevated above the level portion of the track and over the inclined portion thereof, of a track leading to the caging section and having meetingv portions of different percentages of grades whereby a loaded car move at a moderate speed, come almost to a stop, move'onto a grade of suiiicient per cent.l to start the car forward again bygravity, thence onto a reduced grade tomove the car at a moderate speed to the level-portion of the caging section.

In caging apparatus the combination with a track having one end portion inclined downwardly toward the delivery end there-- will start fby gravity,

of, stop dogs having their free end portions v V upturned and having straight wheel supporting sni'faces normally suppoted llieve the inclined end portion et" the track, means for Suppoiting the dogs in elevated position to hold the trent Wheels of :L een above and ont et Contact with the inclined end portion of the track, and means foi1 ieleasingg' the clogs to drop the font Wheels of the cal onto the inclined portion of the track tlieeby to impart an abrupt initial impulse to the 'for- Wnrcl'inovernent of the can from the appi# 10 zttns.

ln testiineny that l claim the oregoing es my Own, l have hereto affixed my Signature in the pieeence o two Witnesses.

DANEL l?. LEPLEY.

Witnesses W. H. SOISSON, BARNETTE BURKHARDT.

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