US1450313A - Car unloader - Google Patents

Description

Apr. 3, 1923;

E. O. TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER Filed Dec. 13, 1919 7 sheets-sheet l m MN A NN 7 Q Q 0 N H r. mm R M x 4 a a o a o o w o N 2 wk m m ma 0 W W z WITNESSES Apr. 3, 1923.

E. o. TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER Filed Dec. 15, 1919 7 sheets-sheet 2- //v l/E/V TOR Z fly arm, B at/(4 WI M QN A TTORNEYS Ednwd 0 7k I? itir. v .1 11 o O a ll \.vlr 0 0 f... u o o o v o 0 v 1 l.

Apr. 3, 1923.

r s sl ii iia Filed Dec. 15, 1919 E. O TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER '7 sheets-shee 5 INVENTOR dmrd 0. 722 fia r/g ATTORNEYS Apr, 3, 1923. 1,450,313

E. O. TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER Filed Dec. 13, 1919 7. sheets-sheet 4 WITNESSES IN|/ ENTOR Z'd wa rd 0. Tel 1. ojerrg A TTORNEYS MMMzt Apr. 3

' E. O. TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER Filed Dec. 15, l9l9 '7 sheets-sheet 5 Ed WA 9d 0. flihgeaao,

A rrolmys E. o. TALlAFE RRO CAR UNLOADER Filed Dec. 13, 1919- 7 sheets-sheet 6 l/V I/E/V TOR 5d, wa rd 0, 73;. 1 2 2% A TTORNEYS Apr. 3, 1923.

E. O. TALIAFERRO CAR UNLOADER v7 sheets-sheet 7 Filed Dec. 15, 1919 YHHHHIIIIHII EIlllllllllllllllllHllHll 4%W llll f flwt Ill; illllllllllllillllllllllllllllllliIllllll WITNESSES A TTOR/VEYS Patented Apr. 3, 1923. i

EDWARD OVERALL TALmrnnno, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR UNLOADER.

. Application filed December 13, 1919. Serial No. 344,570;

T all whom it may concern 7 Be it known that I, EDWARD O. TALIe FERRO, a citizen of the United States, and a,

resident QfPhiladeIphia, in the county: of Philadelphia" and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefnl Improvements in Car Unloaders, of which the following is a specification. 1 My invention relates to improvements n car unloaders,. and it consists in the con structions, combinations and arrangement herein described and claimed.

The foremost object of my invention is to provide an improved unloader for remov ing such materials as coal, sand, gravel,

crushed stone, slag and thelike, from railroad cars or other vehicles, and to either a discharge the unloaded materialat a fixed point, or at various points along the length of the vehicle which is being unloaded.

A further object of the inventiton is to provide a car' unloader, including gantree, on which the unloading mechanism is operatively'mounted, which is capable of being either fixed in relation to a car, which is made to move beneath the ga-ntree, or movable with respect to the car which in that case is fixed. 7

A further object of the inventionv is to provide unloading mechanism for cars, which operates slowly down the length or the car, and removing such material, in a swath of a width equal to that of the standard car. I v j A further object of the. invention is to provide a car unloader, which includes a material elevator with adjusting means for fixing it at various. positions in respect to the car. I,

Other-objects and-advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing the improved unloader in operative relationto a car which is bei'ng unloaded,

Figure 2 is a detail side elevation of the unloader, 3 I Figure 3 is a plan view o f theunloader, Figure 4 is. a front elevation, the car which is being funloaded being shown in section,

F igure, 5

is a detail perspective view of the elevator mechanism; showing thefixed elevator guides and the elevator frame mov able therein,

Figure. 6 is' a detailcross section taken I substantially on the line 6 6 of lfigureo, I

Figure 7 is a detail perspectiveviewof the fixed elevator drive gear and its movable shaft, I I i Figure 8 is a detail section of the sta- 3 o veyordrivepinion and its slicL able shaft, and w Figure 9 isa, detail view of hem-ha;

ing drumv clutch mechanism.

In carrying out my invention I provide a gantree G which is either fixed 'or movable i with respect to the car (lg-which-is tobe unloaded, the gantree carryingdrive mechanism M by means of which. the conveyor A and elevator E are I simultaneously operated. .The elevator E worksinto material to be unloaded, discharging that material;

on the lateral conveyor A bywhich in turn the materialis dumped intoa suitable receptacle, and the elevator being substantially equal in width to the width of-the car'C, I

practically'removesall of the materialas the unloading operation progresses.)

E ther the car. or gantree are made to move, one in respect to the other, and in the former case, which is preferable, cables 1,2

are attached at 3 to the car C and runcover.

drums 4', 5 on the gantree G. .These drums are operated either fast-or slow and cause the car C to move beneath. the gantree, or in other-words, the material to be unloaded is continuously moved up against the elevae tor E which promptly disposes thereof.

This gives a general idea of thejinven tion, but in order that the construction may gantree, which consists of a frame. 6 of suit- .100 7, with wheels 8 which run on rails; 9 disable sizev and design, is mounted on'trucks posed a suitabledistanceoutside 01E the ordinary railroad track rails 10. By this a-rrangement, either the gantreeunay be made to move over the car C, or the car C made to move beneath the gantree, depending on be more clearly understood,- the following the manner in which it is desired to have the material discharged.

In the present instance, it is desired to have thezcar Gmove in respect to the gantree,- and to further this purpose, the wheels 8 are suitably blocked at 11, so that the gantree cannot ;move. Diago-nally-opposite ones of the gantree wheels 8, that is to say,

those wheels diagonally farthest from each other, are provided with bevel gears 12, (as can be seen in Fig.3 for example) with which pinions 13 on drive shafts 14c, engage.

These sha'fts are' su'itably supported in hearings-I5, and at the opposite ends carry pinions 16 which are driven bybevel gears I'Fforming part ofthemechanism M. FiXe d in any suitable manner to the gantree G, are the guides 18 of ,theelevator E. These guides are -'tlisposed at a slight inclination, and while firmly mounted on the gantree, are also additionally braced by means of the guys 19, which reach 7 from the uppermost caps 20 to various parts of the frame. It

is' 'w'e'llto now consider the construction of the elevator E. is can bereadily seen, the guides 18 consist of parallel members on which "the' u shaped channels 21 of the elevator carriageQQ -ride. "This carriage may 5 beofjanysuitable shape and design, the only the car Cfor effectively unloading the car.

The weight'of'the load on the upper side of the belt 24 is supported by supporting rolls 25,;which are journalled at '26 on the frame. The belt 24 runs over top and bottom rolls'27, whichare journalled in bearings 2Son other parts of themovable frame. This-whole structure moves as one, a cable 29 supporting'the movable elevator at all times.

' This cable runs over a pulley 30 and winds around the elevator drum- 31- which is a part of the mechanism M. The other end of the cable :29 is divided-at 32, the respective portions running over guide pulleys 33 on the cap 20, then down over'the hoisting pulleys 34, suitably carried by the frame 22, back over guide pulleys35 on eachcap "20, being finally secured at 36 to the respecas may be desired. In beginning the operation, the elevator frame is slowly lowered so that the buckets 23'ca-n dig their wayinto the material, close to-the bottom of the car. It is not until such position is reached that the mechanism is made to operate so as to pull the car C forwardly.

But when the mechanism is thus operated to pull the car C forwardly, it follows that the material is slowly advanced toward the moving conveyor "bucket .23,- and since the elevator E is of substantially the same width as the car .0 a practically complete removal of the r -material --results.

The elevator is driven by a shaft 37 with a'tbevel gear 38 fixed at the top and a bevel gear 39 relatively stationarily mounted in a bracket 40 on the .elevator guide frame.

The lowermost gear 39 includes a hub 41, to the bottom of which a plate 42 is-secured, forthe purpose of-holding the gear in place on the bracket 40.

This gear has asp'line 43 which occupies the groovert, extending the full length of the elevator shaft 37, for the purpose of permittin the shaft 37-to slide through the hub of the gear 39 but still maintain the driving connection offered by'the spline 43 in the 'groove lt. The upper-gear 38 is in fixedrelationship to the gear45, on one-end of the upper roll shaft, a bra'cket tG providing the-support for the gear 38 as well as the journal for the upper end of the elevator shaft '37.

Meshing with the gear 39 is the bevel pinion 47 ona "counters'haft 48, on the other end of which there is asprocket 49 with a chain 50 leading to thesprocket 51 on a sec- 0nd countershaft 52 on-the gantree frame platform. This second countershaft 52 has a spur pini0n'53 which meshes with agear 54, the various connections just described being the means whereby the elevator--E is=operated. It can be easily understoodthat the elevator itself can be adjusted up and down to suit'various conditions. the driving connections always being maintained by virtue of the-spline and groove connections 43, 44 already described.

The transverse conveyor A is the next in the order of consideration. The material elevated from the car C by the buckets 23 on the belt 24, is dumped onto the conveyor A, by means of whichthematerial is transported to one side of'the gantree G and dumped into a waiting receptacle. This operation follows when the gantree G is stationary and the car C is moved in respect thereto. But in case the car C is madestationaryand the gantree G is moved in respect to the car,

belt being supportedrby'a'plurality ofrollers 1 57. All 'of' the rollers -mentioned are 1Sllltably journalled in bearings 58 on the conveyor frame 59. A sprocket chain 60, running over the sprocket 61, on the shaft 62, of the outermost roller 56, drives the conveyor A from the sprocket 63 on a countershaft 64, which is journalled in bearings 65.

A bevel pinion 66 on the extremity of the shaft 64, meshes with a bevel gear 67 on the main counter drive shaft 68 of the mechanism M. This gear is fixed on'the shaft 68 so that the conveyor A moves continuously with the elevator E. That is to say,.they both move together so as to dispose of the material, but in case it be desired to stop them both, a clutch 69 on the shaft 68 is made use of. This clutch is best described in connection with the actuating mechanism M which is under control of an operator who may stand on the platform 7 0 on top of the gantree G. It is to be observed that the clutch 69 is to be moved into engagement with a corresponding clutch element 71 of the drive gear 72 on the shaft 68, which is continuously driven by a driver 73 on the main shaft 74 which is operated by the motor 75 through intermeshing gears 76.

Numerous clutches for various purposes to be explained, are made use of in the mechanism M, but in most instances, the actuating levers or handles are omitted for the purpose of clearness. By reason of the fact that there is a special arrangement for moving the clutches of the pulling drums 4, 5, separate illustration of the handles and connections thereof, is made in detail in Figure 9.

A movable clutch 77, on the-main shaft 7 4,.

controls the operation of the shaft 78, on

the outermost ends of which are the bevel.

gears 17 which propel the gantree on the rails 9. This clutch 77 cooperates with the clutch element of the loose gear 79 onthe shaft 74, which in turn meshes with the gear 80 on the shaft 78. A suitable reversing mechanism may be embodied in the gear connections, if found necessary, so that thegantree G may be propelled either backward orforward on the rails Consider now the means for moving the car C in respect to the gantree. As already described above, the pulling cables 1, 2 are wound around the pulling drums 4, 5. These drums can be rotated at either high or low speed bv clutching in either the sets.

have pivoted levers 91, 92 which respectively connect with operating levers 93. 94 through links 95, 96. These connections are arranged in such a way that when the respective levers are moved in one direction, as indicated for example by the arrow, the clutches are moved in, and if the same lever is moved in the opposite direction, the clutches are moved out.

The operation may now be easily followed, and it is thought in view of the above, only a brief rsum will be required in order to g I which at one end are fastened to the car C at 3 and at the other, to the pulling drums 4. y

iThe first thing the operator does is to let the movable elevator carriage 22 down so that the buckets 23 begin to operate on the On the contrary, the car C which is material in the car 0. He does this by gradually clutching in the elevator drum 31,

loose on the main shaft 74, and provided with friction clutch mechanism 97. This mechanism also includes the brake drum and band mechanism 98 by means of which the drum 31 is held at various positions, as of. course is necessary to support the movableelevator frame 22 in its various adjustments.

During the initial act of lowering the elevator carriage 22 into the material, the elevator and conveyor belts 24, 25 are of course moving to dispose of the material that is being elevated. The bottom of the car C will presently'bereached, and when thus reached, the-operator grasps the handle 93, for example, throws it over toward the left,

as indicated by the arrow in Figure 9, so

that the slow clutches 87, 88 are thrown into mesh with the slow sets of gears 83, 84. The car C is now slowly pulled beneath the gentree G, the material in the car being advanced to the moving elevator E, which disposes of the materal as already fully set out.

Should it be desired to move the gantree in respect to the car, it becomes necessary to block up the car on its rails, remove the blocks from beneath the wheels 8 of the gantree, but secure the pulling cables 1,2 in the same places 3 on the car. the drums 4, 5 are started in revolution, the gantree will naturally pull itself over the car performing the same unloading functions as described above.

When itis desired to propel the gantree to other positions, the clutch 77 onthe main shaft 74 is thrown in, so that the countershaft 78 and the shafts 14 are made to operate, and thereby to propel the gantree.

lVhile the construction and arrangement Now whenof the improved unloading mechanism as herein described and claimed, isthat of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim 1. In a car unloader, fixed guides, an elevator on the guides, means for extensibly adjusting the elevator along the guides, and driving means for the elevator, including a member stationary on the guides and a cooperating member carried by the elevator maintaining a permanent driving connection.

2.1L car unloa-der, including a frame with fixed guides and a stationary drive gear, driving means with connections to the gear, and an elevator extensible in respect to the guides, with a permanently operative driving connection, including a shaft slidable in said gear, with spline and groove connections.

3. A car unloader, Comprising fixed guides beneath which loaded car is moved, operating mechanism, an elevator carried by the guides, means actuated by the mechanism enabling extension of the elevator on the guides into the load, operatively associated means for continuously driving the elevator from said mechanism during extension, and means actuated by said mechanism for gradually advancing the car toward the elevator after the bottom of the car is reached.

4. A car unloader, comprising fixed guides beneath which a loaded car is moved,

operating mechanism, an elevator carried by the guides, means actuated by the mechanism enabling extension of the elevator on the guides into the load, operatively associated means for continuously driving the elevator from said mechanism during extension, means actuated by said mechanism for gradually advancing the car toward the elevator atter the bottom of the car is reached. and means embodied in said advancing means for moving the car at different speeds.

5. ii car unloader comprising guides, an elevator on the guides, means to adjust the ele ator to various degrees of extension along the guides, operating mechanism for the unloader having a driving connection to the elevator, means For driving the elevator operated by said driving connection, said means including a member stationary on the guides and a cooperating member carried by the elevator and in driving connection with the stationary member, means for receiving and disposing of the discharge of the elevator, means ,by which it isgaotuated from said mechanism, and means also operated from said mechanismdfor advancing a car over which the unloader is disposed in respect to the elevator.

6. A car unloader comprising a gantree, an elevator carried by the gantree comprising an arrangement of guides suitably fixed thereupon, movable means including channels slidable upon the guides, top and bottom rolls journalled on the movable-means, an endless belt with buckets running over said rolls, means carried bythe fixed guides and having connections to the movable means to effect various adjustments thereof in respect to the fixed guides, and means carried by the fixedguides arranged to'continuously 'drive the rolls even during adjustments or the movable means.

7. A. ar unloader comprising a gantree, an elevator carried by the gantree comprising an arrangement otguides suitably fixedthereupon, movable means including channels slidable upon the guides, top and bottom rolls journalled on the movable --means, an endless belt with buckets running over and having connections to the movable means to effect various adjustments thereot in respect to the fixed guides, means carried by the fixed guides arranged to continuously drive the rolls even during adjustments of the movable means, and driving mechanism including means to operate sa d roll-driving means and other means to move a car to be unloaded under the gantree during the operation of the elevator.

8. A car unloader comprising a wheeled gtill'tle, an elevator carried by the gantree comprising an arrangement of guides suitably fixed thereupon, movable means including channels slidable upon the guides, top and bottom rolls journalled on the movable means, an endless belt with buckets running over said rolls, means carried by the fixed guides and having connections to the movable means to effect various adjustments thereof in respect to the fixed guides, means carried by the fixed guides arranged to continuously drive the rolls even during adjustment of the movable means, drivable means in connection with certain wheels of the gantree, and common driving mechanism for furnishing power to both said drivable means and to said roll-driving means.

EDWARD OVERALL TALEAFERRO l rolls, means carried by the fixed guides

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