US1746354A - Locomotive tender - Google Patents

Description

Feb; 11, 1930. 11. H. ICHTER LOCOMOTIVE TENDER File Oct. 25; 1928 sheets-sheet 1 m. R 0 m1 mH n n a k QN/ 3 Y 7 B Q 3 N A TTORNE Y Feb.'l 1, I930. J. H. ICHTER 1,746,354

" LOCOMOTIVE TENDER Filed Oct. 25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR John If. [elite/ fMW ATTORNEY Feb. 11, I930. J H ICHTER 1,746,354

LOCOMOTIVE TENDER Filed Oct. 25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR nib/7J2 1i. [allies/ A TTORNE Y Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN H. ICH'IER, OF ASHLEY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANDARD STOKER COMPANY, INCORPORATED, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LocoMo'TIvE TENDER Application filed October 25, 1928. Serial No. 314,955.

This invention relates to locomotive tend ers of locomotives equipped with mechanical stoking apparatus including a conveyor system a portion of which is disposed beneath the coal bin of the tender.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved coal bin structure for such tenders whereby its fuel carrying capacity is increased, and at the same time, access may be had to the conveyor system for removing foreign material that may become lodged therein.-

In locomotive tenders of this character, the stoking conveyor system usually comprises an open mouthed trough disposed on the tender-beneath the floor of the coal bin, which floor is composed of shiftable slide plates above the trough portion of the conveyor and which may be shifted to create an opening through which the coal will fall by gravity, assisted by the vibration of the tender, into the trough where it is carried forward by a helicoid screw to a delivery or distributing portion-of the conveyor system on the locomotive, not shown. The forward end of the trough terminates in a restricted opening adjacent to the forward end of the tender to form a tubular conduit for transferring the fuel to the locomotive. Just rearward of this restricted portion of the conduit is disposed a coal crushing member, mounted in the forward end of the trough to cooperate with the helicoid screw in reducing the lumps of coal to suitable size for conveyance to the locomotive.

It is diflicult to prevent foreign material such as tramp iron, rock, wood and other substances from being mixed with the coal that is placed in the coal bin and it is fre quently found that'foreign objects are embedded in the larger lumps of coal. Much of this foreign material is fed through the conveyor system but quite often some foreign substance will become wedged or jammed in the conveyor system, usually at the point of the crushing member, interrupting the operation of,the conveyor, and for this reason it is necessary that the coal bin should be so constructed that provision is made for removing the obstructing foreign bodies. To

this end it has been past practice to place the forward wall of the coal bin which is usually in the form of a hinged, inwardly swinging door, commonly known as a coal gate, rearward of the fuel conveyor crusher a suitable distance to allow the operator to have access to the crusher and the conveyor system at the restricted point without it being necessary .for him to shovel away the fuel above the crusher which it is necessary to do on those installations where the coal gate has been placed forward of the conveyor crusher.

The tendency of the railroads of our present day, is to operate their trains at rapid rates of speed between terminals and with a minimum number of stops for replenishing the supply of coal, it is therefore both im-' portant and essential that the coal bins be so formed as to carry the maximum capacity possible and to make'provision for easily and quickly removing any foreign material from the stoker conveyor system.

This invention, as will appear from the fol lowing detailed description read in connection with the accompanying drawings, provides a coal bin construction which while increasing the capacity of the bin and providing for access to the stoker conveyor also provides a desirable arrangement for hand firing of coal when necessary.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a portion of a locomotive tender;

Fig. 2 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 1 with some portions broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 viewed in the direction of the fall into an open mouthed trough 15 of the stoker conveying system. Plates 13 are slidable in a channel like groove or guide-ways 16, as best shown in Figure 3, formed at each side of the plates disposed lengthwise of the bin below the floor 12 and separated therefrom by the filler blocks 18, 18, which blocks prevent side motion of the slide plates.

The open mouthed trough 15 is usually mounted in a substantially horizontal position on the tender frame and centrally thereof below the slide plates 13 of the coal bin floor. There is rotatably mounted within this trough a helicoid screw 19 for conveying the coal through the trough and advancing it forward to a distributing device on the locomotive, not shown. The helicoid screw is adapted to be driven from its rear end portion through suitable gearing connected with any desired type of motor for imparting forward or reverse rotation to the screw, the motor and gearing not being shown, as the arrangement is well known in thi' s art.

The forward end of the trough 15 terminates in a restricted opening 20 adjacent to the front end of the tender, which opening communicates with a tubular conduit 210 of the conveying system for receiving the fuel from the trough portion and conveying it forward to the locomotive. Disposed in the trough 15 above the restricted opening 20 is a crusher member 21 which cooperates with the helicoid screw 19 for the purpose of breaking down the larger lumps of fuel to suitable size for conveyance to the locomotive firebox.

The construction so far described is old, but from this description it is apparent that the foreign objects which find their way into the trough 15 may become wedged therein at the restricted point of the conveyor system, especially at the crushing zone, thus interrupting the continuous delivery of the coal to the locomotive and it is, therefore, essential that provision be made for entrance into the conveyor system for the purpose of removing such material. The present invention provides a very desirable and advantageous arrangement for this purpose and it also provides for increasing the capacity of the coal bin, the new and novel construction being hereinafter described.

The coal bin is generally provided at its forward end with a coal gate, in this instance,

a coal gate of improved construction, the gate comprising upper and lower inwardly swinging portions 22 and 23. each of which is formed by two sections 22*, 22 and 23, 23 respectively, each section being pivoted at its outer edge to the vertical wall or bulkhead of the tender. The sections of the gate meet substantially at the center line of the tender.

The lower portion 23 of the coal gate is pivotally mounted to the bulkhead 24 at a point rearward of the coal crusher 21 of the conveyor system and the upper portion 22 of the coal gate is disposed above and for ward of the lower gate 23 and is pivoted to the bulkhead 24 at a point at or near the front wall of the bulkhead. There is piv otally attached to the upper gate sections 22, 22", downwardly and rearwardly inclined plate portions 22 and 22, said plate portions forming a continuation of the upper sections and connecting the lower and upper portions of the gate to form a closure at the front end of the fuel bin. The sections of the coal gate may be held in closed position by any suitable lock such as the bar 25 and any form of stop, not shown, may be used to prevent the gates from swinging outwardly.

This arrangement of the coal gate forms an alcove between the bulkheads 24 and directly above the crushing zone of the conveyor trough 15, thus providing for access to the conveying system at this point through an improved and novel slide plate formation. The forward slide plate 26 when moved forward to the position shown in the drawings, forms a cover over the fuel crushing portion of the trough 15, forward of the lower coal gate 23. The rearward part 27 of the slide plate 26 is hinged to the main portion of the plate as at 28; and the floor 12 of the fuel bin at its inner edge where it formsa top of the channel 16, is cut away at 29, as best shown in Figure 1, directly forward of the lower coal gate to permit the section 27 to be raised up and thereby providing an opening into the trough 15 at a point adjacent to the crusher 21 and forward of the lower coal gate.

Thus, when the coal bin is completely filled with coal the first slide plate 26 may be pulled forward to the position shown in the drawings to form the opening 16 through which the coal will fall into the trough 15 and be conveyed forward by the screw 19, and the larger lumps broken down by the crusher 21. If foreign material becomes wedged within the fuel crushing zone when the bin is completely filled with coal, the fireman may be raising the hinged section 27 of the slide plate have easy access to the fuel crusher- Without it being necessary to shovel away any coal from the bin. To assist in locating and removing the foreign body, the helicoid screw 19 may be rotated in a reverse direction to move the coal from the crushing zone rearward in the trough portion of the conveyor to clear away the coal at this point andpermit ready observation of any foreign substance that may have been wedged therein.

If it is desired to hand fire the coal, the auxiliary doors 3%) of the lower coal gate may be raised to aliow the coal from the bin 11 to roll forward through the triangular shaped opening 31 of the lower gate on to the rearward hinged part 27 of the first slide plate 26, which plate while serving to form a cover over the coal crusher to prevent the fireman from stepping into the conveyor and providing access to the coal crusher, also serves as a shovelling floor from which the fuel may behand fired to the locomotive.

From the construction shown on the drawings and the foregoing description of the same, those familiar with locomotives will readily recognize that this invention provides a coal bin compartment so constructed as to increase the capacity of the bin over prior constructions and also provides for access to the crushing zone of the stoker conveying system. It will also appear that the novel form of coal gate may be used with tenders not provided with a conveyor system and from which the coal is hand fired to the firebox or boiler. The coal gate construction would increase the ca acity of the coal bin and the alcove formed etween the bulkheads would provide an advantageous coal supply chamber.

I claim:

1. In combination with a coal bin, a conveyor conduit disposed beneath .the coal bin and having a coal crusher associated therewith, and a coal gate for said bin, comprising lower and upper swinging sections, the lower section mounted rearward of said coal crusher and the upper section mounted above and forward of said lower section.

2. In combination with a coal bin, a floor for said coal bin apertured at its central portion, a plurality of slide plates mounted for longitudinal movement below said aperture and adapted to provide a shiftable opening in the coal bin floor, a conveyor trough disposed beneath the slide plates and having a coal crusher mounted therein at its forward end, the forward plate of said slide plates having a hinged rearward section, said hinged section being located above said coal crusher when said plate is in its foremost position, and a coal gate for said bin comprising upper and lower portions, the lower portion pivotally mounted to swing inwardly rearward of the rearward hinged section of the slide plate when in the aforesaid position and the upper portion of the gate pivotally' mounted forward of its lower portion.

3. In combination with a' coal bin, a con veyor conduit disposed beneath the coal bin and having a coal crushermounted therein adjacent its forward end, a plurality of slide plates in the floor of said coal bin above said conveyor, said plates longitudinally movable to provide an opening between the coal bin and-said conveyor conduit, a coal gate for said fuel bin comprising upper and lower sections, said sections offset to form an'alc'ove above thecrushing zone of said conveyor con- .duit, and one of said slide plates normally moved to provide an opening between the coal bin and said conveyor conduit, a coal gate for said fuel bin at or forward of said opening, and the forward slideplate having a hinged rearward portion forward of the coal gate for providin access to said coal crusher.

5. In com ination with a coal bin, a conveyor conduit disposed beneath the coal bin and having a coal crusher mounted therein adjacent its forward end, a plurality of slide plates centrally of the floor of said coal bin and disposed above said conveyor conduit, a coal gate for said fuel bin comprising upper and lower gates, the upper gate comprising four-quartered sections and the lower gate composed of two substantially vertical sections mounted rearward of the coal crusher of the conveyor conduit, and said slide plates movably mounted to form a shiftable opening rearward of said lower gate. r

6. In combination with a coal bin, a conveyor conduit disposed beneath the coal bin and having a coal crusher mounted therein adjacent its forward end, a coal gate for said coal bin comprising an upper and a lower gate, the lower gate pivotally mounted rearward of said coal crusher and the upper gate comprising substantially vertical upper portions pivotally mounted forward of the lower gate and including downwardly and rearwardly inclined sections hinged to said upper portions to form a closure with the lower gate.

7. In combination with a coal bin, a conveyor conduit disposed beneath the coal bin and having a'coal crusher mounted therein at its forward end, a floor for said coal bin provided with guide-ways-at its central por tion, a plurality of slide plates mounted for longitudinal movement in said guide-ways,

the forward plate of said slide plates including a rearward hinged portion, said hinged I 1 portion disposed above said coal crusher when in forward position, a coal gate for said bin the lower portion thereof being rearward of the coal crusher and of the rearward hinged portion of the first slide plate when said plate is in its foremost position; and

the upper wall of said guide-ways cut away per and lower portions oifset to form an alcove above the coal bin floor and between the bulkheads.

9. In combination with a coal bin, a conveyer conduit disposed beneath the coal bin and having a coal crusher associated therewith, and a coal gate for said bin, the lower portion of said gate being rearward of said coal crusher, and the upper portion of said gate being above and forward of said lower portion.

10. A locomotive tender formed with a coal bin having a coal gate forming a closure at its forward end between the bulkheads of said tender, the lower portion of said gate ofiset rearwardly from its upper portion to form an alcove above the coal bin floor and between the bulkheads.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN H. ICHTER.

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