US1745042A - Portable stack lifter or crane - Google Patents

Description

- Jan. 28, 1930. 'R. T. ROMINE I PORTABLE STACK LIFTER OR CRANE Original Filed March 11. .1926 2 Sheets-She's:

R. T. ROMINE 1,745,042

PORTABLE STACK LIFTER OR CRANE Jan. 28, 1930.

Original Filed March 11. 1926 2 Sheets-Shae; 2v

- R N N T E R .E MX T by mw w wwxg AT El RN E yg Patented .lam 28,1930

- UNITED, STATES.

nonnnr T. nomnn, or nnrnorr, MICHIGAN- ronTAB E STACK nrrznnn on (menu Original application filed March 11, 1926, Se1'ia1No. 9a,s71.' Patent No. 1,615,812,-dated January 25, 1927.

Divided and this application filed April 27, 1326. Serial No. 104,910. l

f This invention relates to an, apparatus forhandling in units heavy loads 'or bundles of material such, for instance, as sheet metal, andmore' particularly to an apparatus for loading-and unloading metal or other material in freight cars.

y An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whereby, for instance, a stack-of.

, metal orsheet steel may-be hauled bodily as iofi' n t into the car, and ,whereby the stack or bundlemay be deposited on the car fioor,-the apparatus also being adapted for picking up or hoisting the bundle and haulingit out of the car when unloading the latter at its destination.

A further object of the invention is to provide aportable stack lifter or crane constructed to. be wheeled-into position to straddle a bundle, and having meohanism for picking up the bundle from the floor or ground, or for removing thebundle'from a load carrying platformand depositing it on the floor.

Another object of the invention is to providea portable stack lifter or crane having- Wheels for enabling it to be wheeled into and out of a car, and in'which the-wheels are adapted to yield when a predetermined load 4 is lifted by the crane'whereby the Weight of V theload will be sustained by-independent supporting legs or supports preferably hav- 1 ing a greater bearing surface than the wheels.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and claims,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification,

wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustratingthe apparatus and showing the manner of hand- 40 ling loads in the car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing theportable stack lifter or crane. 1

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the construe tion shown in Fig. '2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the crane shown in Fig. 2.

Before explaining indetail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, I desire to have it understood that the invention-is not limited to the details f 9011'- struct-iori and arrangement of parts which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the-invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which Iemploy is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. v c This application is a division of my Letters7'Patent No. 1,615,812 issued January 25, 192

Heretofore great difiiculty andexpensehave been involved in the handling of bulky or heavy stock,"such as sheet steel, and in shipping the material. In the case-of sheet steel, such as used for the building of automobile bodies, it has been necessary to oil the metal sheets to permit ready handling as Well as to protect themagainst scratching. In all load ing and unloading operations it was heretofore neces'saryto handle each sheet separate- 1y. The metal was hauled by hand in rela-. 7 .tively small units, and each sheet unloaded in 1 thecar by hand. The sheets were handled by sliding one sheet 'on'another and despite the fact that the surfaces of the sheets Were oiled, an appreciable proportion of the sheets werescratched, rendering them defective and resulting in considerable loss. On account- 'of the necessity of handling each sheet, considerable labor expense was involvedin loading and unloading a car having for instance a load capacity of forty tons.

The present invention enables relatively heavy loads, such asloads weighing tentons, to be readily handled'without necessitating thebreaking up of the bundles and separate 35' handling thereof by workmen. For instance,

. the present invention enables a stack or pile Y of sheets when delivered from the conveyors at the steel rolling mills to be secured together and clamped as a unit in'a rack apparatus,

such as described in my above mentioned patent, and the entire bundle which usually approximates ten tons, to be transported as 1 a unit and deposited bodily on the floor of the.

car-.- By virtue of the invention the saving in labor handling, in addition to other advantages, is very great. For example, in one large automobile company it heretofore took two men approximately ten and one-half hours to load or unload by hand a car load of making up the bundle.

.e'nt invention is utilized the samenumber of men can accomplish the same work in less than twenty minutes.

Thus the present invention, when'ntilized in the loading or unloading of sheet steel in freig'htcars, the metal -sheets eliminates the handling of separately, thereby .saving considerable labor expense. Thus in the case of sheet metal for instance, the sheets may be delivered to the car in bundles weighing approximately ten tons, and after the car has'reached its destination the bundles may be bodily removed without any individual handling of the sheets or constituent pieces By handling metal sheets in heavyor bulky bundles, in accordance with my invention, it has been possible to eliminate thenecessity of. oiling the sheets, as Well as eliminating the separate handling at any time of the individual sheets and eliminating'the damage previously done to the freight cars. This has resulted in an enormous saving. Further advantages resulting therefrom reside 1n eliminating the expense ofburning off the oil from the sheets and washing the sheets before enamelling, andthe reduction to a minimum of the number of scratched or defective sheets.

The apparatus of the present invention has been illustrated in connection with the handling of sheet metal in stacks and bundles, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular type of stock which may be handled in accordance with the invention. The sheets delivered on the conveyors at the steel mill are piled in a stack on a pallet or platform R, and thereafter the truck platform L is propelled into position to pick u the pallet or 'platformlt and bundle. hence the truck may be run or propelled with its load directly into the freight car. When the load S is thus brought into the car,'i t,is then bodily removed from the truck platform ancl'depositcd in position in the car for shipment.

Referring to the drawings, a portable stack lifter or crane is shown for bodily re- .moving the bundle or stack S from the pallet or platform R, to permit the truck T.ivith the pallet remaining thereon to be run out from beneath the bundle,-and thereafter depositing it on the floor of the car.

The portable stack lifter or crane U is constructed of a height to permit it to be propelled through the door into the car and also to straddle the load and the apparatus Which is used to place the bundle in the car.

The crane U is at the same time constructed to lift bodily bundles or units of metal preferably of at least ten tons in weight. The framework of the stack lifter comprises in the present instance two parallel pairs of U- shaped angle iron bars 140 and 141. In the present instance, each of these angle bars is bent into U-shape,

on is run out from the stack.

thereby providing spaced side frames or supports securely connected together at the tops thereof. Each of the 'members 140 and 141 extends downwardly into position to form leg supports, and the ad acent pairs are connected together by channels 142 and 143 forming supporting feet for the rack. The frames 140 and 141 are rigidly secured together by means of bars 144, 145 and 146, thereby providing a rigid and strong frame structure. Carried by the side bars 146 is a suitable platform or framework 146 at the upper portion of the structure, and mounted on this platform is an electric motor 147, driven from any suitable source of power, such as from the battery of the truck T. A sprocket 148 is mounted on the armature shaft 149 of the motor and this sprocket is connected by means of a chain 150 to a sprocket 151 on the shaft 152 of a spur gear reducer 153. Thence the power is transmitted to the driven shaft 156 by means of meshing spur gears 154 and 155.-

At the opposite ends of the driven shaft 156'are mounted drums 157 and 158. A pair of lifting cables 159 are adapted to be wound .andunwound on the drum 157 these cables,

as shown, extending in.opposite directions overidlers 160, and thence extending vertically at opposite sides of the frame. Each cable 159 at its lower end is connected to one end of a lengthwise extending lifting bar 161. In likemanner thedrum 158 is adapted to wind and unwind lifting cables 163 extending overidlers 160, and connected at the lower ends thereof to the opposite ends of'the lifting bars 161 and 162. each bar 161- and 162 are a pair of adjustable links 164 carrying hooks 165. These links may be adjusted into various positions along the bars 161 and 162 in the notches 166, thereby permitting the books 165 to be properly spaced in order to look into the bundle to be lifted.

Asshown in Fig. 1, the bundle S may be osely mounted on.

run into position on the truck platform L between the side frames 140 of the crane U, and beneath platform 146. Thereupon the hooks-165 are hooked into the links or eyes 30 of the tying elements for the bundle, and upon operating the switch of the motor 147 the bundle S may be lifted sufficiently to clear the pallet R, or the bundle may be supported to permit the truck platform L to be lowered, thereby clearing the bottom of the bundle. Thereupon the truck T with the pallet therebeneath the rack U, into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. By reversing the motor 147 the bundle S shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, maybe lowered in position upon the floor of the car. After the bundle has been deposited on the floor of the car, the rack U may be wheeled'away from Referring to F 2, the crane U is protroduction of the vided with supporting wheels 169 carried by'b'rackets 168 secured to a slide bar-167; This bar is in the form of a channel which is slotted to freely embrace the posts or'bars 140 and 141. Atthe forward end of the crane steering'wheels 171 are mounted on swivel arms 17 0 supported by the spaced slide bars 167. The wheels or casters 169 and 171 are mounted in front of the legs andarelocated within the width of the stack lifter into narrow aisle spaces at opposite sides of the pack or bundle on the" car floor. On their upper faces each bar 167 is provided with vertically ex tending plungers 172, which slide freely through holes in the fixed bar 144 of the frame. Surrounding these plungers are compression springs 17 3. These springs are of suificient strength to support the stack lifter U upon the wheels 169 and 171 without the load. When a loadof predetermined weight is suspended from the bars 161 and 162 the springsl73 will be compressed, causing the 1 bars 167 to yield verticallyand the stack lifter to be supported on the feet 142 and 143, thereby taking the Weight of the t-ruckand load off the wheels and providing a greater hearing surface by virtue of the feet 142 and143. As soon as the load has been released in the car, the stack lifter will be automatically supand may then be readily propelled out of position over the bundle.-

In my (o-pending application I have il-' lustrated a preferred manner of loading a freight car of forty ton capacity in which the material is delivered to the car in four units of approximately ten tons each. In this instance two bundles are placed at each end of the car, and each bundle is sufficiently spaced from the side wall of the car to per- U' to be wheeled into position so as to straddle the bundle on the car floor. The vertical side frames of between the bundle and the side wall of the tween the supports,

car. To unload the car the hooks 165 car ried by the lifting cables of the stack lifter elevating mechanism are hooked into eye links 30. Thereupon the bundle ofmetal is hoisted vertically between the side frames to a height permitting the truck .platform to be moved into position Thereupon the bundle is deposited upon the truck platform and hauled bodily out of the freight car.

What I claim is:

1. A portable. stack spaced vertical supports adapted to straddle a load, an upper framework connecting the supports and adapted to carry a hoisting mechanism for lifting or lowering a load be a wheel carrying frame slida'ble vertically on each support, and springs engaging-said frames to permit the legs to facilitate ini the stacklifter'are sufficiently narrow in construction 45' beneath the bundle.

lifter comprising:

frames to yield under load and cause the load to be directly sustained by said supports.

2. In a portable stack lifter or crane, an arched. frame adapted to carry nism at the upper part thereof and comprlsing depending pairs of legs spaced to strad dle a load, a slide mounted on each pair of. legs, springs engaging said slides, 'carried by the slides.

3. In a portable stack lifter or'crane, an arched frame adapted to carry hoist mechanism at the upper part thereof, and compris-.- ing depending pairs of legs spaced'to straddle a load, a vertically each pair of legs, a bar secured to each pair of legs above said slide bar, springs interposed .slidable bar' carried by hoist mechaand wheels between said-bars and wheels carried by the slide bars.

arched frame adapted to carry hoist mechanism at the upper part thereof, and comprising depending pairs of legs spaced to straddle a load, a vertically slidable bar carried by each pair of legs a bar secured to each pair of legs above said-s'lide'bar, springs inter posed between said bars, Wheels carried by the slide bars, and mounted one in advance of each leg and substantially in the width of the legs.

5. In a portable stack lifter or-crane, an arched frame adapted to carry hoist mechanism at the upper part thereof, and comprising depending pairs of legs transversely spaced to provide a crane bay, a longitudinal slide bar embracing each pair of legs and slidable vertically thereon, a longitudinal tween -the bars and caster wheels mounted beneath the slide bars,

6. In a portable stack lifter, an arched frame adapted to carry hoist mechanism at the top part thereof and comprising spaced pairs of legs, a vertically yielding horizontal frame'bar connecting each pair of legs, a pair of caster wheels positioned in advance of the legs of each pair and disposed in the plane for supporting said wheels bars and permitting certain and spring means for thereof, devices from said frame of said wheels to turn,

causing said-frame bar and the wheels to yield under load.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ROBERT T. BOMINE.

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