US1460534A

US1460534A - Monorail transportation system

Info

Publication number: US1460534A
Application number: US574947A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick R Cornwall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-07-14
Filing date: 1922-07-14
Publication date: 1923-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 1940-07-03

Description

July 3, 1923.

- F. R. CORNWALL MONORAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed July 14, 1922 5 Sheebs-Sheet 1 July 3, 1923.

F. R. CORNWALL MONORAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed July 14, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 n&\

July 3, 1923.

F. R. CORNWALL MONORAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM sets-Sheet 5 Filed July 14 Ei B Patented July 3, 1923.

FREDERICK a. CORNWALL, on sat LOUIS, ivrissoonr.

nononnrr rnnnsronrn'rron s'Ys'rmvL I Application fiIed J'uly 14, 1922. seriainofsmem;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK R. CORN4 wALL,'a citizen of the United States, residing at St. L0uis,l/lisso1 iri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement 111 Monorail Transportation Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to ma'keand use the same reference being had to the-accompanying drawings, forming part of this application.

invention relates to monorail transportation systems of the general type de scribed in my copending application Serial Number 537,329, filed February 17, 1922, and consiSts-inrail suspending means and carrier construction especially adapted for freighttransportation, including the shipment of logs, lumber, and unit containers of less than a carloacl' v One'object of my invention 18 to reduce the cost of such a system so that it maybe installed'under conditions where the extent of the length of its use would not justify the investment necessary for more complicated trackw'ay and. equipmentdescribed in the abovementioned application. I

' Atnother'objeot of tiny invention is to'pro vide a system which maybe erected andhandled by unskilled labor and inplaces where the usual monorail Qc'onstuctionor surface line would be very expensive and perhaps impractical;

Another object of my inventionis to pro:

yide equipment for transporting freight wherein each carrier is adapted tosupport one or more units or containers each of which forms a complete shipment vinde pen'dently of the other containers 'which may be mounted on the carrierfi This adapts my present system to form a link in a transportationiroute in which ladin'g containers are transported by truck,"'railway cars; barge, etc.,'without handling the lading at each transfer. v

"Another object of my invention is to provide a truck and carrier construction which will be simple .and'rugged and at the same time possess the flexibility necessary to pre vent unduedeterioration of the trackway and the supporting means-for the latter.

*In the accompanying drawings which ilplained'. J

lustr at'e a tion,

Figure 1, illustrates a typicalinstallation of my invention in a district where the sys selected embodimentof my inventern is bein'gus'edfor transporting logs froma lumber camp to arailroad, wharfror other 7 shipplngipoint.

' Figure 2 is an. elevation of al portionof the trackway and its supporting elements and of a carrier mounted thereon, the latter being illustrated in a manner which discloses various means of therefrom. v Figure 3 is a cross'sec-tion of a trackway andcarrier. 3 I I Figure 4 is a detail of one ofthe lading supporting elements mounted upon the Can r1er.

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively side and top view s'of the carrier two-wheel truck.

Figures 7,8 and 9 illustrate details of the truck construction [andwill b e referred to later. f i The track rail 1 instead; of beingrigidly supporting the load supported by steel towers is preferably sus- I pended from an overhea d'fcable 2 extending longitudinally of ther'ail and supported in turn at intervalsby"transverse cables 3 which [are secured'ito; suitable supports.

spaced at varying distances from each other and the track. These: supports'mayalso vary in height and. in construction. In Figure 1 these supports areshown as trees wh1ch, of course, are 1n thelr original locatio'nand obviously varyin spacingfandsize. Where the supports must be erected this conv struction permits the accommodation ofrva riationsin'the-surfacecontour. In some in,

stances the utilization 'of' pre-existing build: 'ings' or other structures is possible.

Rail 1 is piyotally suspended from-cable 2 by a plurality of'vertical'chains,'1'o'cls or ,t

cables each provided with afbracket 5, channel-likein its contour, with its flanges disposed laterally or horizontallythe end of one flange being'secured'to a cable 4 and the endof the other flange rigidly connected-to vertical portions positionedupon thesame side of'rail 1 for the reason hereinafter eittrack 1. Allof these brackets have their of the member may be varied so as to equalize the tension upon the member and provide an equal distribution of the rail sup porting strains along cable 2.

The track is best illustrated in Figure and consists preferably of a beam section which sustains the load and a rail section 7 which receives the tires of the truck wheels 8. This track is similar to the one shown in above-mentioned application, is old in the art and forms no part of my present in vention.

l l hile the car trucks may be of any desired type, a convenient two-wheel construction, is of the two-wheel type, detailed in Figures 5 and 6, and besides the wheels comprise two wheel pieces 9 and 10 and -coiled springs 11 compressed between the wheel pieces to form a yielding load sup porting structure. Each wheel piece is journaled at one end upon its respective wheel, as illustrated in Figure 9, and extends diagonally upwardly and toward the other wheel until it crosses the other wheel piece, from whence itevtends horizontally toward the. other wheel. These wheel pieces are arranged in pairs and the pair 10 journaled on one wheel are spaced 'trom each other agreater distance than the pair 9 journaled on the other wheel so that when the pieces cross each other. the outer surfaces of the latter pair are adjacent to the innersurfaces of the former pair. Where the wheel pieces cross each other they are pivotally connected by a pin 12 and where the horizontal portion of one 'wheel piece opposes the diagonal portion of the other wheel piece, suitable spring seats 13 are provided. By this construction any depression orelevation in the rail or anything else which would cause a disturbance in the strain upon one of the wheel journals is immediately equalized by the compression of one spring 11 and the eX- pansion of the other. 7

The carrier in the present embodiment consists of a structural I-beam 1% which is supported from each of the trucks by a channel-like bracket 15, the upper end 01" which extends up that side of the wheel pieces which is opposite from the side upon which rail supporting brackets 5 are located. The upper -flange or" bracket 15 extends across wheel pieces 9 and 10 and is flanged downwardly on the opposite side far enough to receive pin 12 which also extends through the body of the bracket and is thereby placed in double shear. The pin 12 and bracket 15 form a pivotal mounting for the carrier 14:, enabling it to swing longitudinally of the track and thus relieve the latter and the trucks from excessive strains which would result from a rigid support of the carrier.

The lower portion of bracket 15 extends laterally and upwardly corresponding to the extension of the upper portion of the bracket and the carrier 14 is provided with a ball and socket bearing 16 in this flange ot' the bracket so that pivotal movements in a longitudinal plane of the bracket upon the truck and pivotal movements of the carrier in transverse plane upon the bracket 15 are readily accommodated.

Slidably mounted upon carrier 14, but provided with fastening means, is a series of hangers 17 each here shown as provided with a hook 18 adapted to engage an eye 19 ot a suspended container 20, a link of a log chain 21, or any other load supporting means. hese hooks 18 are preferably pivoted to hangers 17 so as to further rev here the whole system from strain, and it will be noted that the load is pivotally sus pended 'lromhooks 18, thus being further conducive to the same end.

Gontainers 20 are cubical cases suitably reinforced by structural elements 22 and provided with doors, hoppers, or other load receiving and discharging elements according to the class of merchanise for which they are intended. Each of these containers may be mounted upon a carrier independent ot the other and be unshipped at any point, thus providing tor uninterrupted travel of the carrier and the eliminationot repeated handling of themerchandise.

Where two or more containers are supported upon one carrier, it is necessaryto prevent their swinging against each other and therefore each container is provided with a. link 23 mountedlon one edge and a linkengaging element 2& mounted on its opposite edge, link 23 and element 24 on adjacent containers serving to bracethem from each other as shownin Figure .2.

It will be understood thatthe containers 20 may be made in various sizes for different classes'of merchandise. 'Obviously, a container. intended to carry bulky goods, such furniture ormachinery, would neeessarily be larger and probably of a. differ:- ent construction than that required for grain or ore. I 7

Some containers might require a plurality of brackets 17. Some merchandise could be suspended from the carrier withoutany con; tainer. The logs are only one form, of such merchandise. Hencethe adjustability of brackets 17 along carrier 14 isa mate-rial advantage.

Each carrier is provided with suitable coupling elements 26 whereby a plurality of carriers may be coupled together just as the cars of a train, and it will be understood that a locomotive truck will usually'be provided for motive power, although, under certain limited conditions, the system may be operated as a gravity monorail. the.carriers being returned to their loading point by a cable or similar arrangement.

Various modifications in. the details of construction of my invention will suggest themselves and I contemplate all such as are.

of each Wheel piece on the other wheel piece,

and a load carrying member suspended from the point of interengagement of said wheel.

pieces.

2. In a monorail carrier, spaced trucks each comprising tandem wheels, individual wheel pieces journaled at their ends on said wheels, crossing each other andhaving a pivotal interengagement at their crossing point, and provided with a load carrying member pivotally suspended from the point of their interengagement. and a rigid frame carried by said members.

3. In a monorail carrier, a truck comprismg tandem Wheels, indlvidual palrsof wheel pieces each pair journaled at one end on one of said wheels, the members of one pair being spaced further from each other than the members of the other .pair,- said pairs crossing each other and having a pivotal interengagement at their crossing point, e

the vertically aligned portions ofsaid pieces 1 having opposed spring seats, springs compressed between said seats, and a load carrying element suspended from .the pivotal interengagement of said wheel pieces.

4. A monorail truck whose wheels are flexibly connected'for independent movement and a suspended load, the point of reaction ofsaid load being located within the zone of the wheel base.

5., A monorail truck whose wheels are flexibly connected for independent a'rcuate movement, and a suspended load, the point of reaction of said load being located within the zone of the wheelbase.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signaturethis fifth day of July,'1922.

- FREDERICK CORNWALL...