US1386282A - Aerial ropeway on the single-rope system and the like - Google Patents

Description

H. F. H. SHIELDS. AERIAL ROPEWAY ON THE SINGLE R OPE SYSTEM AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION min FEB.28, 1921.

1,386,282. Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

H. F.. H. SHIELDS.

AERIAL ROPEWAY ON THE SINGLE ROPE SYSTEM AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.28. 192i.

1,386,282. Patented Aug. 2,1921;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- gravity.

UNITED STATES IIEBDEET' ,FREDERICK HENRY SHIELDS, oEwEL INo, ENGLAND, AssIGNon or oNE- PATENT OFFICE.

HALF TO THE BRITISH EOPEWAY ENGINE RI G COMPANY; LIMITED, 01 LON ON;

ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY.

AERIAL' ROPEWAY 'oN THE'sINGL -RQP SYSTEM-AND THEIJKE.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it'known that I, HERBERT HENRY SHIELDS, a-subject of the. King of England, residing at WVelling, 1n the county I of Kent, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Ropewayson the Single-Rope System, and the like, of which the following is a speclfication. I

This invention relates mainly to aerial ropeways on the single-rope system, and particularly to boxheads or carriersfor use thereon. It is also applicable to rope-driven runways.

In aerial ropeways on the; double-rope system the usual grip for attachment to the usual hauling rope for haulingthe load along the ropeway; has heretofore been used for haulin the load along shunt rails at stations. O ne such grip known. as the overtype lever grip comprised two jaws, whereof one "was fixed on the boxhead and. arranged to be opened and closed by. means of actuating rails provided at the stations.

tom the main hauling rope is not available for hauling theiboxheads along the shunt rails at stations, and it hasbeen customary heretofore to pushethelloads by hand along the shunt rails or to use a chain drive which, however, had the defect that it could be used only along straight'lines'and not around curves. v

ThlS invention has forits' main ob ect to 'applythe advantages of mechanical traction of the load on the shunt rails at stations to aerial ropeways on the single-rope system.

Another object is to provide. an improved construction of boXheads for the single-rope system of aerial ropeways and a simpler form of carriage for rope-driven runways such that they can be automatically attached to an endless movingyropeand be maintained in attachment'therewith under the action of According to this invention there is provided in an aerial ropeway on the singlerope system or a rope-driven runway comprising a. traveling boxhead, the combination with a shunt rail, of a shunt traction :rope which is also operated on the singlerope system and is supported in line, or approximately in line, with the shunt rail,

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Figs. 8 and9,are end elevations of a boxhead having anotherform of overtype grip and gripping means on the boxhead operated contact with the shunt rail for grlppln'g theboxhead to the traction rope.

Accordingto another feature of the invention, the said gripping means comprise .a movable jaw-and a load-carrying wheel that is operatively connectedtherewith and 1s arranged to run on the shunt rail, so that whenithe boxhead arrives at a station the gripping. means is automatically closed upon the traction rope and thereupon maintained in attachment therewith under the action of gravity while the bogzhead travels along the shunt rail.

g Patented Aug. 2, 1921:. Application filed February 28, 1921. Serial No. 448,463. I

The aforesaid load-carrying wheel is prefv .erably carried directly by the movable jaw for the purpose of diminishing the cost' of manufacture. r Qther features. of the invention will be .desciflbedhereinafter and pointed out in th claims The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompany- 'ing drawing wherein: In aerial ropeways on the single-rope sys- Figure l is an endv elevation showing one form of improved boiihead aocordingtothe Figst and 5 are end elevations of a boX- I head provided with a lateral downwardly directed auxiliary gripping device, showing the same open and closed respectively;

F igs. (Sand/7 are end elevations showing a boxhead having a modified overtype grlp in its open and closed positions respectively,

shown in its open and closed position, re-

spectively.

lieferri-ng first to Figs. 1 to 3,-a boxhead Act a construction as usually employed in an aerial ropeway on the-single-rope system and having the usual offset wheels B for running on the usual-shunt rails, whereof one; is indicated at C, hasin addition .to the. A

usual main grips-D for; the main ropeway cable E, additional gripping means designated generally by the letter]? for gripping an" auxiliary traction rope G at a station. This additional gripping means is a lever grip oftheovertype comprising a-fixed jaw F mountedon the frame of the boxhead, anda movablejaw F pivoted on the fixed jawf If desired, the .jaw F may, however, .be pivoted onthe said frame. The movable jaw has an arm bent in the form of a bell-crank lever, whereof the longer, arm F extends outward transversely of the boxhead on the opposite side from "the hanger H of the bucket, and the shorter arm F extendsdownward to about the level of the upper end of the bucket-hanger; Pivotally mounted on the lower end of the shorter arm F whihjas shown'in Fig. '3, spreads out lengthwise of the boxhead to beyond the 1 axes of thewheelsfflB, are two additional shunt-rail wheels J which, when "tl 1e gripping'devi'ce F is open, aretilted at an angle to the vertical as shown in Fig-{1, but are vertical or approximately so whenthe' gripping device'is closed, as shown in'Fig. 2. The wheels J and thewheels B'are preferably at equal distances apart as shown, but if desired the wheels J may be farther apart or closer-together than a'rethe wheels B.

Also, only onewheel J maybe provided, but

in this case it will be situated in the-middle of the boxhead. c i

A station inan aerial ropeway on the single rope system at which above described additional rope-gripping device is to be used for mechanically hauling the boxheads position that it is automatically gripped by the'auxiliary gripping deviceF on the boxheadwhen the shunt-rail wheels-J run on to the-shunt rail K which thus operates to close the movable jaw F On the main clips D being detached from the mainhauling rope E, the whole of the load will be supported by the additional shunt-rail wheels J and will operate to keep the described overtype lever grip F, closed on the=traction rope G.

Should it :be desired any time to re lease thetraction rope G while the boxhead isbeing hauled along thestation shunt-rail K, the normal running wheels B will be taken by "a shunt-rail such as Q-whereupon thewheels J will become unsupportedand fall away, thus opening the auxiliary grip F.

instead 0f to swing about 'a pivot.

clearly shown, the member in which the' In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, an arm F that extends horizontally outwardly from the boxhead A away from the hanger H atfright-angles to its direction of travel has a downwardly-directed'jaw F formed on its outer end, and a downwardlydirected movable jaw F 'is pivoted on the fixed jaw and has an angular arm F that carries the shunt-rail wheels J. "It will'be' appreciated that when these wheels run on the shunt-rail K provided for them, the

lever grip F, F can grip an auxiliary tractionrope arranged at the station in line or approximately in line with the rail K. Instead of the operative arm F of the movable jaw being directed away from the bucket-hanger as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, it

may be directed toward the same as in the modified constructionshown inFigs. 6 and 7. In this arrangement no additional wheels suchas J are provided,"but theusual runningwheels B are carried on the-armF rail (1 is used for actuating the auxiliary grip, the operatlon being otherwise the same as' described above with reference to Figs. 1120's."

'Figsj8 and similar to that shown in Figs. 6 and 7 ,but in which the wheelsBthat actuate the movable jaw "F arearranged to move vertically As wheels B are journaled is pivotally con- "nected at M to a short'arm-zF integral with the movable jaw F and carries a-pin N I *that is movable up and down in a vertical slot A provided in the side of the frame of the boxhead. j 7 It Wlllbf} appreciated that the provision of an aux liary traction rope running 'on the single'rope system I at a station a'nd arranged to be gripped by an auxiliary gripping device'provided on the boxheads results in the advantage of mechanical haulage ofthe-double-rope system of aerial ropeways being applied at stations to ropeways on the single-rope system. As indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2, sheaves L can be ar ranged in various positions for guiding the auxiliary traction ropeG as required.

lVhen the invention is applied to a rope- ;driven runway, wherein a moving rope is used for hauling carriers along atrack in the form of a rail, the described load-carryhaving the movable jaw, and the usual shunt 9 show another modification ing auxiliary grip maybe thesole grip on the carrier, and the rope usually provided foroperating such runways will constitute. the tractlon rope Gr operated on the single rope system. It is to be understood; therefore that the term shunt-rail and shunt or auxiliary traction rope used in this specification and in the claims include, re-

spectively, the moving rope of a runway, and the track of a runway.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, auxiliary grips of forms other than that described may be employed, such as a screw'grip, or a grip of the inclined plane type. These grips are of known types in ropeways on the double-rope system and a person versed in the art will be readily able to adapt them to a boxhead to be operated in a manner analogous to that described above with reference to a grip; of the lever type. Whatever type of grip is employed; however, it is essential that the movable jaw shall be operated under the action of a part, or the whole, of the load when the boxhead carrying the load is to be attached by means of the grip to an auxiliary traction rope at a station, and that the said attachment shall be maintained under the action of the load.

WVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combination of a rail, a boxhead supported by and arranged to travel along the same, a traction rope operated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relation to said rail, and gripping means on the boxhead operated by contact with said rail and arranged to grip said rope.

2. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combination of a shunt-rail, a boxhead supported thereon, a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relation to said rail, and gripping means on the boxhead operated by contact with said rail and arranged to grip said rope.

3. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combination with a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relation to the rail, a boxhead having agrip comprising a fixed jaw and a movable jaw arranged to grip said rope, and a loadcarrying wheel operatively connected with the movable jaw and arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

4. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combination with a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relation to the rail, a boxhead having a lever-grip arranged to grip said rope, said grip comprising a jaw fixed on the boxhead,

and a movable jaw pivoted on the boxhead,

which movable jaw has a bent arm directed at right-angles to the direction of travel of the boxhead, and a load-carrying wheel j ournaled in said bent arm and arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

5. In a monocable or single-rope transpon tation plant, the combination'with a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relation to the rail, '9. boxhead having a bucket-hanger pivotally mounted in and depending at one side from the boxhead, said boxhead having a lever-grip arranged to grip said rope, said grip comprising a jaw fixed on the boxhead, and a movable jaw pivoted on the boxhead, which movable jaw has a bent arm directed at rightangles to the direction and travel of the boxhead toward said hanger, and a wheel for supporting the boxhead and its load journaled in said bent arm, said wheel being situated in a vertical plane between 'a depending portion of the hanger and the adjacent side of the boxhead and being arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

6. The combination, with a boxhead for use in a transportation plant operated on the single-rope system, which boxhead has a grip situated in its central longitudinal plane for attachment to the rope, of an auxiliary grip for attachment to a shunt-rope also operating on the single-rope system, which auxiliary grip comprises a jaw fixed on the boxhead, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on the boxhead and having an arm directed at right-angles to the direction of travel of the boxhead, and a wheel for supporting the boxhead on a shunt-rail, which wheel is operatively connected with said arm.

7. The combination, with a boxhead for use in a transportation plant operated on the single-rope system, which boxhead has a pivotally mounted bucket-hanger depending at one side therefrom, and a grip situated in its central longitudinal plane for attachment to the supporting rope, of an auxiliary grip for attachment to, a shunt traction-rope also operating on the single-rope system, which auxiliary grip comprises a jaw fixed on the boxhead, and a movable jaw pivotally' mounted on the boxhead and having an arm directed at right-angles to the direction of travel of the boxhead toward said hanger,

which arm has at its outer end a down-

Images