US1953957A - Lifting cradle for demountable automobile bodies - Google Patents

Description

April 10, 1934. FlTcH 1,953,957

LIFTING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed Oct. .24; 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A 27 FIG. 1 27 [0 I 20 O 59 Z 40 7 H7 l5 f 5 b 4 4 j r-| i X 17 50 b b I Q I I I gwuc/wbob v I mam. a 7% April 10, 1934. B FITCH i 1,953,957

LIF'IING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTAB LE AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed on. 24, 1932 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v awe/MM FIG. 5 v m 459 m VQZW Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIFTING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODIES Application October 24, 1932, Serial No. 639,282

15 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for connecting a suitable hoisting mechanism to a demountable automobile body, which may be loaded with package freight. The invention is in the nature of a rectangular cradle having four depending members adapted to engage four hooks at the edges of a demountable body, there being means for attaching a hoist to the cradle.

The demountable truck bodies in existence vary in width and in length. The hooks on the side of the body may be readily placed at a standard distance from each other, notwithstanding variation in the length of the body, but a difficulty arises on account of different widths of the body.

While the variation in width is ordinarily not great, it is sufficient to prevent the use with different types of bodies of a cradle having the ordinary depending shackles. It is not feasible to remedy the difficulty by extending the hooks of a comparatively wide body over the body roof thereof to meet a narrower cradle, or to spread outwardly the hooks of a narrower body to coact with a wider body, as this would introduce strains, since the hooks tend to bend into vertical planes when the body is lifted. Moreover, the engaging members of the lifting device, if positioned to engage inwardly bent hooks would be likely to injure the roof of the body, while outstanding hooks on narrower bodies would be likely to encounter obstructions in the handling or transportation of the body.

The present invention is concerned with a cradle adapted to take equally well bodies of such different widths. To this end I provide a rectangular frame having depending multiple shackles, an ou'terloop of which may coact with the hook of a wide body and an inner loop with the hook of a materially narrower body.

In order to prevent the inner portion of the shackle, designed for the narrower body, from interfering with the roof of the wider body, I construct such inner portion so that its lower end is materially higher than the outer portion.

I also provide suitable guiding means carried 45 by the cradle to center the cradle automatically, both longitudinally and laterally, as it is lowered, so that that portion of the shackles intended for a particular body to be engaged will come into juxtaposition with the hooks of such body.

My invention comprises means for carrying out the above features or some of them, as hereinafter more fully explained and definitely set out in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is an end elevation of my improved cradle, this view showing also a,

demountable body engaged by the cradle and just deposited or about to be lifted; Fig. 2 is a plan of one of the corner portions of the cradle; Fig. 3 is an end view of the portion of the cradle adiacent one of the shackles; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section through the transverse member of the cradle, as indicated by the line 4-4 on Fig. 2; Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of guiding means, being an end view similar to Fig. 3.

My cradle is composed of parallel side bars and two parallel end bars 11, secured together, as by welding, and a suitable platform 12 secured to both the side bars and the end bars and serving to brace them. In the embodiment shown, the end bars 11 are set back some distance from the ends of the side bars 10, as shown in Fig. 2.

To attach the load lifting devices to the cradle frame described, I have provided at each corner an upwardly extending eye 20, made by a U bolt, the legs of which pass downwardly through the side bars and end bars and below these bars receive suitable nuts 21, Figs. 3 and 4. In each of the four eyes 20, I have shown an articulated hog rod comprising a lower member having at its lower end an eye looping through the frame eye 20, and at its upper end an eye engaging the member 26. Two of the latter members 26 having upper eyes engaging a ring 27, and the two rings 27 are adapted to be mounted on a single hook A of a hoist mechanism, indicated in Fig. l.

Projecting from the end bars 11, in a position parallel to the side bars 10, are rigid blocks 14, the same being connected to both the side and end bars by gussets 15. Mounted in the projecting portion of the end bar and in the horizontal block 14 is a cross bolt 30, on which is mounted a double shackle 31, shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. This shackle has an outer arm 32 extending onto the outside of the side bar and an inner arm 33 extending onto the inner side of the block 14, and an intermediate arm 34, which lies between the side bar and block. The two arms 32 and 34 suspend a loop portion 35 at one elevation, while the arms 34 and 33 suspend a loop portion 36 at a higher elevation, as shown in Figs. 3 or 5.

It results from the construction described that the rectangular cradle frame carries adjacent its corners four double shackles, the outer loops of which are adapted to coact with hooks on the sides of a comparatively wide body, while the inner loops are adapted to coact with loops on a narrower body. This is illustrated in Fig. l, where the body B has hooks b, which the loop 35 may engage, while the narrower body indicated T body, and hence, one or the other by the broken lines B1, has hooks b1 which may be engaged by the shackles 36.

It will be observed from Figs. 1, 2 and 5 that the inner shackle 36 is a considerable distance above the outer shackle 35, so that there is no danger of the inner shackle fouling the roof of the body when the outer shackle is being engaged. The position of the parts shown in Fig. 1 is approximately the lowermost position of the cradle, and shows the inner shackle well above the protecting strip b2, which runs along the roof of the body B. This lowermost position of the shackle is determined by suitable guiding and limiting means on the cradle which will now be described.

I provide suitable guiding members on the cradle which engage the tops of the body hooks, as well as the backs of such hooks for a short distance, to limit the downward movement of the cradle and also position it longitudinally. Such guides are illustrated at 40 and in Figs. 3' and 5 and each have the downwardly facing concave seat 41 to engage the top of the hook and the abutment 42 to engage the back of the hook. There are two of these blocks at each corner, one for the wide body and the other for the narrow body. The block for the wide body is preferably secured by welding directly to the underside of the longitudinal bar 10, while the guide for the narrower body is preferably an integral portion of the block 14.

I prefer to provide a lateral guide to bring the cradle into accurate position with reference to the width of the body, as it is lowered. This lateral guide may take the form of a member located between the two longitudinal guides 40 and 45, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or two members on the distant sides of the two blocks 40 and 45, as shown in Fig. 5. In the former case, the member 50 preferably comprises a pair of plates tapered inwardly at their lower end to an intermediate edge, so that the outer side of the member may engage the inner side of the hook on the wider body, and the inner side of the member may engage the outer side of the hook on the narrower body. This laterally positions the cradle as it is lowered.

In the construction of Fig. 5, the outwardly flaring projection 56 on the, lower end of the outer plate 55 is adapted to engage the outer side of the hook of the wider body, and the inwardly flaring projection 57 on the inner plate 55 may engage the inner side of the hook on the narrower body.

It will be seen that whichever form of guiding construction is employed, as soon as the cradle is lowered it is automatically brought into position both longitudinally and laterally, irrespective of whether the body is a wide body or a narrow of the loops of the double shackles stand opposite the mouths of the body hooks in a position to enter such books.

Any suitable means may be employed for opcrating the four shackles as a unit; the shackles may either automatically come into the hooks and thereafter be swung out of the hooks when the body is to be deposited, or the shackles may have an automatic tendency to move out of the hooksand be manually swung into the hooks when the body is to be engaged. In the drawings, I have illustrated the former construction, where the outer arm 32 of the double shackle extends about its pivot and then turns longitudinal1yat'38 where it is provided with a counterweight 39. The counter-weighted arms at each end of the cradle extend away from the cradle and thus tend to swing the shackles inwardly toward the body hooks. As the body hooks ordinarily face outwardly, or toward the ends of the body, it will be seen that as the cradle is lowered the shackles bear against the hook and are cammed to diagonal position as the cradle is lowered, the counter-weights being raised until the shackle clears the point of the hook, when the counter-weight returns it to vertical position, which brings it within the mouth of the hook.

To swing the counter-weighted shackles described out of the hooks, any suitable mechanism connected to the four shackles may be employed. I have illustrated in Fig. 2, a link 60 connected to the shackle arm 38 above the pivot thereof. Similar links may lead from the other shackles and they may be all connected to suitable operating mechanism so that the four shackles may be swung as a unit against the tendency of the counterweights, in other words, to spread the shackles to cause them to clear the hooks.

It will be seen from the above description that my cradle is very largely automatic. narrow bodies may be handled indiscriminately, the cradle, when lowered over whichever body is presented to it, automatically engaging the same. Then, after the body has been raised, transported and deposited, the cradle may be readily freed therefrom. If desired, the engagement and release may be reversed,that is, the engagement may be caused manually and the release be automatic upon the deposit of the body.

Wide and ilk) It is desirable that demountable automobile bodies handled interchangeably on highway trucks and railway fiat cars be as large as may be conveniently employed on both installations,

because the larger the body the less in percentage is the waste space not occupied by the load. A maximum width of eight feet has been adopted for highway truck bodies in many States and such width is very convenient on flat cars. On

the other hand, there are in existence many def mountable bodies of a 7-foot width. My cradle, as illustratedin the drawings, can handle either of these bodies equally well, the inner-loops with the shackles being set on a center six inches inside of the center of the outer loops. These dimensions are cited as an illustration of the advantage of my cradle to existing conditions. If conditions should change so that still wider bodies or still narrower bodies are presented, they might be taken care of by additional loops in my multiple shackle on the outside or inner side, or both, of the two loops shown.

I claim:

1. A load lifting cradle comprising a frame, a set of load engaging shackles carried thereby, each shackle comprising a plurality of loops rigidly connected together and depending to different elevations.

2. A cradle of the character described combars adjacent the end bars, each shackle having lid an inner and an outer loop, the outer loop depending lower than the inner loop.

4. A cradle comprising a frame, four depending shackles pivotally carried thereby and comprising inner and outer loops, and guides carried by the cradle adapted to engage body hooks positioned for the inner loops and body hooks positioned for the outer loops.

5. The combination of a rectangular cradle frame, four depending shackles pivoted thereto at the four corners of a rectangle and each comprising a pair of loops side by side and a pair of guides associated with each shackle adapted to engage the top and back of a hook with which the shackle is to cooperate.

6. The combination of a frame, four double shackles pivoted thereto, each providing a pair of loops side by side, and a depending member carried by the frame in line with the space between the two shackles, the outer face of the member being adapted to form a guide for the outer loop and the inner face of the member to form a guide for the inner loop.

'7. The combination of a rectangular frame, four double shackles pivoted thereto, each providing a pair of loops, a lateral guide carried by the frame in line with the space between the two shackles, the lower portion of the guide being bevelled inwardly to an intermediate region.

8. The combination of a cradle frame, four shackles pivoted thereto at the four corners of a rectangle, each shackle comprising a pair of loops side by side and adapted to engage hooks on wide bodies or on narrow bodies respectively, a pair of lateral guides carried by the cradle for each shackle, one of the guides being adapted to engage the inner side of the narrower body hooks and the other guide to engage the outer side of the wider body hooks.

9. A cradle comprising a frame, four depending multiple shackles pivotally carried thereby and comprising inner and outer loops, and multiple lateral and longitudinal guides carried by the cradle adapted to engage body hooks for a narrow body for the inner loopsand body hooks of a wider body for the outer loops.

10. The combination of a cradle frame, means for suspending it, multiple shackles carried by the frame and each comprising a plurality of U-shaped loops side by side with upwardly extending arms, each arm between loops being common to such loops and all of said arms being attached to the frame.

11. The combination of a cradle frame, means for suspending it, bolts carried by the frame, and double shackles, each providing two loops with three upwardly extending arms, all of said arms being mounted on the bolt.

12. The combination of a rectangular frame composed of side bars and end bars secured together, four double shackles arranged adjacent the corners of the frame and each providing two loops with two extreme arms and an intermediate arm, one of the extreme arms and the intermediate arm extending onto opposite sides of a side bar of the frame, and the other extreme arm extending alongside of a frame projection, a bolt mounted in such side bar and projection for pivoting said three arms to the frame, and means for suspending the frame.

13. The combination of a cradle frame comprising parallel side bars and end bars secured to the side barsat right angles thereto, a projection carried by one of said bars substantially at right angles thereto, a double shackle, each having two extreme arms and an intermediate arm connected at the bottom by arcs at different elevations, the intermediate arm lying between the projection and the bar alongside of it, the extreme arms lying on opposite sides of the projection and the last mentioned bar, and means for pivoting the three arms to the projection and the bar alongside of it.

14. The combination of a cradle frame 30mprising side bars and end bars secured thereto to make a rectangle, upwardly extending eyes adjacent the junction of the side bars and end bars, means for attaching lifting mechanism to the eyes, projections carried by the end bars parallel with the side bars, four double shackles each having two extreme arms and an intermediate arm, the intermediate arm lying between the projection and the side bar, the extreme arms lying on opposite sides of the projection and side bar, and a bolt passing through the projection and side bar and the three arms, whereby the double shackle is effectively pivoted to the frame and supported thereby.

15. A load lifting cradle comprising a frame and a set of load engaging shackles pivotally carried thereby, each shackle'comprising two loops rigid with each other and lying in the same plane, one loop depending farther than the other loop.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

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