US1746882A

US1746882A - Crane

Info

Publication number: US1746882A
Application number: US196124A
Authority: US
Inventors: Earl T Bennington
Original assignee: Cleveland Crane and Engineering Co
Current assignee: Cleveland Crane and Engineering Co
Priority date: 1927-06-02
Filing date: 1927-06-02
Publication date: 1930-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 1947-02-11

Description

CRANE Original Filed June 2. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l,

61H0: mais,

E. T. BENNINGTON CRANE Feb. 11, 1930.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 2. 1927 7 la 2 l m la@ Q E rell n Illu.. It

all /I @not nac 5 A Patented Feb. l1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EARL T. IBENNINGTON, Ol CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'T0 THE CLEVELAND CRANE ENGINEERING COMPANY, F WICXLIIB'FE, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO CRANE Application led Inno 2, 1927, Serial No. 196,124. Renewed January 7, 1929.

This invention relates to cranes of the bridge type and has for its object to provide a traveling bridge of wide span which is of relatively light construction and which is adapted to be supported upon ordinary monorail tracks.

A further object is to provide a wide span bridge crane in which the bridge is so mounted that a minimum of frictional resistance is offered to its travel along its supporting runway and in which the bridge is adapted to be moved along its run-way manually by pushing against th'e bridge at any point along the length thereof so that a man on the ground, by pushing on a part of the hoist trolley or on loads suspended from the'trolley, may move the bridge along its run-way or the tro ley alon the bridge, and walk with the load in any esired direction and to any point within the area covered b the crane.

With the above and ot er objects in view, the invention may be said to comprise a structure as illustrated in the accompanying drawingshereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

Reference should be had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this "specification in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section through the supporting run-way showing the bridge and hoist trolley in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the bridge taken on the line indicated at 2-2 in Fig l; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating on an exaggerated scale the lateral iexure of the supporting rails when the bridge is being propelled along its run-way by pressure applied toene end thereof.y

As illustrated in the accompan ing drawing the crane run-way is compos of a series of parallel monorail tracks 1, each composed of road rails T-shaped in cross section and provided with oppositely extending lian es upon which the supporting wheels run. he monorail tracks 1 are flexibly suspended at intervals along their len th to permit lateral liexure, the suspension evices consisting of iexible hinges 2 attached to the lower ends of rods 3 which have ball heads 4 seated in socket supports 5 attached to a suitable overhead sup ort such as the overhead beams or girders ot a building. Suspension rods 3 are adapted to swing in an direction permitting portions of the monorall tracks to be deflected laterally during travel of the bridge along the run-way.

As shown herein, the bridge consists of a girder 6 extending transversely beneath the supporting tracks l, the girder 6 consisting of an upper T-shaped section of structural steel and a lower section 8 in the form of a standard monorail which has its web welded to the web of the upper section 7. In order to lighten the girder, portions of the web of the upper section 7 are cut away, as indicated at l9 in Fig. 1, and the webs joining the section 7 to the rail 8 are made in the spaces between the cut-away portions 9. For supporting the girder 6 upon the monorail tracks 1 cross bars 10 are rigidly attached to the top of the girder at points along the length thereof corresponding to the positions of the supporting tracks and the portions of these bars extendingacross the top of the girder have spaced side members 1l which are adapted to receive th supporting rails 1 between them Aso that the girder may travel beneath vthe supporting tracks with its top immediately beneath the bottoms of the supporting rails. Cross bars 10 project on opposite sides of the girder 6 and are provided with downwardly oiset end portions l2 on which are swiveled load bars 13 which are connected to the ends of the cross bars 10 by means of vertical and

horizontal pivots

14 and 15. Wheel carrying frames 16 are connected by swivels 17 to the opposite endsof the load bars 13 and carry wheels 18 which travel upon opposite flanges of the supporting tracks 1.

Mounted to travel upon the monorail section 8 of the girder there is a hoist trolley 19-which has wheels 20 traveling upon the opposite flanges of the rail 8, the trolley being rovided with the usual hoist drum and motor y means of which a hoist cable 21 ma be wound or unwound to raise or lower; a oad .suspended therefrom. Current may be su plied to the hoist motor from conductor rai s 23 extending along one of the supporting rails 1 through current collectors 24 carried b one 'of the steel frames from which the bri ge is of a given capacity. The flexible suspensionc of the supporting tracks is an important feature of the present invention since it permits the bridge to be readily moved along the run-wa by pressure applied at any point along t e length of the ridge. This enables a man on the ground, b pushing on the rigid handle 28 of the tro ley or upon a load sus ended by the hoistcable 21, to move the bri ge alon its run-way regardless of the position of t e trolley on the bridge. As diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3, the ridge, at the end to which ressure is applied, has a tendency to run a ead of the oposite end on the run-wa and this would orinarily create such a Jfrlctional resistance to movement that it wouldbe impossible, with a bridge of lon span, tor a man on the ground to propel the ridge along its run-way.

With cranes constructed in accordance with the present invention, it has been found that very little ressure is required even at the end of the bridge to propel the bridge along its run-way. The exi le suspension of the su porting tracks 1 permits the end of the bri ge, to which pressure is ap lied, to run slightly ahead of the opposite en and by reason of the fact that the cross .bars 10 are rigidly connected to the girder, movement of one end ofthe girder ahead of the other will cause a lateral movement of the tracks, as illustrated in Fig. 3. This bending is in reality very slight, the showing in Fig. 3 being exaggerated for the purposes of illustration. The tracks when laterally moved tend to return to their normal straight position and exert pressure through the cross bars 10, tending to restore the girder to a position at right angles to the tracks and to swing the lagging end forwardly to a position even with the end which is bein ushed. The swivel c mounting of the w ee carrying members is important since it allows the wheels to follow without binding any lateral movements of the track roduced by one end of the girder runnin a ead of the other. Whenever pressure app ied to the end of the girder is momentarily released, the tracks return to their straight position and the lagging end of the girder is swung forward until the girder is a ain atright angles to the supporting tracks. Te iiexibly suspended supporting tracks cooperate with the swiveled supporting wheels and rigid wheel carrying cross bars of the girder to permit the girder to be moved alon 1ts supporting run-way with a minimum o frictional resistance-to such movement. An operator on the round, by simply ushin against the han le 28 or against t e lo carried b the hoist cable 21, may move the trolley a on the track 8 of the bridge or may move t e bridge bodily along its runway and by the combination of these movements can cause the load to travel in any direction desired and vto any point within the area covered by the crane.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A bridge crane having a series of three or more parallel supportmg tracks each flexibly suspended at intervals along its length so as to be capable of limited lateral movement, a trolley supporting bridge member extending transversely of said tracks, and means -for supporting said bridge member from said trac s comprising members rojecting laterally to opposite sides of the bridge member and rigidly secured thereto, members or more parallel supporting tracks each iiexibly suspended at lntervals along its length so as to be capable of limited lateral movement, a bridge mounted to travel on said tracks and com rising a girder extendin transversely of tlie tracks and provided witg oppositely extendinfflanges forming a trolley track, cross members rlgidly connected to the girder and extending across the top thereof adjacent the supporting tracks, members swiveled upon opposite ends of each of the cross members and wheels carried by said swiveled members adapted to travel on the supporting tracks.

3. A bridge crane having a series .of three or more parallel supporting tracks each iiexibly suspended at intervals along its length so as to be capable of limited lateral movement, a bridge extending transversely of said tracks, and means :for supporting said bridge so that the same may travel along the tracks,

said means comprising a plurali of members rigidly connected to said bri ge and extending on opposite sides thereof in substan-A tially the same direction as the tracks, two of said members bein located adjacent opposite ends of the bri ge and the remaining of said members being arranged intermediate the first two members, and wheels associated with said members adapted to travel on said tracks.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aix my signature.

EARL T. BENNINGTON.