US2163953A - Sanding device for overhead cranes - Google Patents

Description

June 27, 1939. w UNTE'RN SANDING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD CRANES Filed Oct. 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Zjy I) J /7 0 25 3 2 H G l 26 9i I 3 L L I I I *3 v ifigi I as 7 Fig.2

INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. LINTERN BY Q ATTORNEY.

June 27, 1939. w, A. LINTERN SANDING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD CRANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25, 1937 INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. LINTERN\ Fig.5

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 27, 1939 SANDING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD CRANES William A. Lintern, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Lintern Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 23, 1937, Serial No. 170,615

3 Claims. (Cl. 291-46) This invention relates to sanders of the general character described in the copending application of John B. Lintern, Serial No. 108,439, filed October 30, 1936, and in United States Letters Patent No. 1,352,205, issued to William Lintern on September 7, 1920. The present invention is particularly concerned with sanding devices for overhead cranes and the like for use in steel mills and other industrial plants. In steel mills and industrial plants using overhead cranes, the customary practice is to operate the cranes on tracks supported considerably above the working level of the work site. Considerable difficulty has been encountered in sanding the rails for such cranes due to the fact that the sand tends to pile up on the rails to such a depth that it falls from the edges of the rails and also is blown therefrom by wind and drafts. Such sand is very damaging to machinery therebeneath, and further, if it falls on the surface of the newly finished steel sheets and articles, tends to scratch and damage the surfaces thereof.

It is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a sanding device for overhead, rail operated cranes with means for applying the sand discharged therefrom in such relation to the rails and wheels of the crane that the sand is utilized most efficiently and is not displaced from the rail.

A more specific object is to apply the sand on the rail ball close to the wheel of the crane and in a relatively narrow pile extending along the upper surface of the rail ball and of such height and so spaced from the lateral edges of the rail ball that the normal angle of slip of the sand will not cause it to fall off from the edges of the rail ball.

Another object is to provide a means for limiting the amount of sand deposited at any point on the rail when the sanding device is inadvertently operated while the crane is stationary, thus preventing an excessive accumulation of sand with consequent danger of the sand tumbling off the sides of the rail.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification, wherein reference is made to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an overhead crane truck and the supporting rail with the sanding device of the presentinvention installed on the truck;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevation of the sanding device, part thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the discharge nozzle of the sanding device, showing its relation to the truck wheel and supporting rail, and is taken on a plane indicated by the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View of the discharge nozzle taken on a plane indicated by the line 44 in Fig. 3 and part of the rail being shown in. connection therewith; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of the discharge end of the discharge nozzle illustrated in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the crane includes a rail supported truck I, having wheels 2 operable on rails 3. Mounted on the truck I is a sand hopper Ill which has a removable top cover I I for permitting filling of the hopper with sand. The bottom wall 12 of the hopper I is provided with an opening l3 through which sand may pass into a suitable header M which is secured to thehopper l0.

Mounted within the hopper I0 is a solenoid actuated control valve, the solenoid coil thereof being enclosed in a suitable casing I and being rendered operative selectively to open the valve from a suitable manual electric switch, not shown. The valve in turn is moved to a closed position by a suitable return spring I6. The valve includes a head i! which cooperates with an upwardly flaring discharge throat l8 which is coaxial with the opening I3. The header I 4 and the throat l8 are provided with annular flanges l9 and 20, respectively, by which the header and throat are securely clamped to the hopper, preferably by suitable screws 2| which extend through apertures in the flanges I9 and and engage threaded apertures in a plate 22 within. the hopper.

One sanding device is provided for each wheel and the hoppers are preferably arranged directly over the associated wheels. Depending from each hopper and curving slightly to clear and follow closely around the associated wheel is a discharge conduit 25. To the lower end of the conduit 25 is connected a discharge nozzle 26.

The discharge nozzle 26 is comprised of resilient rubber and is receivable over the lower end of the conduit 25 so as to form a tight seal therewith. The lower portion of the nozzle 26 is disposed at an angle to the remainder thereof so as to be positioned with its axis substantially upright. The walls of the lower portion of the nozzle 26 are thickened so as to provide a restricted passage 21 which is elongated slightly fore and aft of the associated truck, that is, in a direction parallel to the rail 3. The walls of the bottom end portion of the nozzle 26 are of less thickness than along the portion defining the passage 21 so as to provide at the discharge end an inverted cup portion 28 which is of greater cross sectional area in a plane parallel to the rail than the passage 21'.

The bottom end of the inverted cup portion 28 terminates in slightly spaced relation to the upper surface of the rail, for instance, about one quarter of an inch thereabove. Further, the cavity in the cup portion 28 is of less width than the ball of the rail, and in fact, of sufiiciently less width so that sand discharged within the limits of the cup and to the height at which the bottom of the cup is disposed above the rail assumes an angle of rest such that the sand does not fall off of the lateral edges of the ball of the rail.

Several advantages are obtained by the construction above described. For example, in normal operation, the sand discharged through the passage 27 does not touch the side walls of the cup, but forms a relatively narrow pile of sand disposed at the transverse mid-portion of the top surface of the rail ball and spaced from the lateral edges of the rail ball. If, however, the sanding device is inadvertently left operating when the truck is stopped, the sand continues to flow and this flow may continue until the conduit 25, passage 21 and cup portion 28 are completely filled with sand. However, the bottom of the cup portion 28 is so arranged with respect to the top of the rail ball that sufficient sand cannot pass onto the rail to pile up and fall over the edges thereof even when the passage 2? and cup portion 28 are full of sand. If, in this condition, the truck is moved, the bottom of the cup portion 28 levels off the pile of sand extending thereinto and distributes the sand which has accumulated in the conduit 25, passage 21, and cup portion 28 as a pile of uniform height or depth and width, substantially the shape shown in Fig. 3. This action continues until all of the sand accumulated in the conduit 25 and nozzle 26 has been uniformly distributed along the rail.

The sand is discharged so closely in advance of the wheel 2 of the truck, as shown in Fig. 1, that it is engaged almost immediately by the wheel and retained on the rail between the flanges 30 of the wheel, as illustrated in Fig. 3. One sanding device is preferably provided for each wheel, and the devices are so operated that those relatively in advance of the wheels at any time in a particular direction in which the truck is operating discharge sand, whereas those in the relatively trailing position with respect to the wheels are stopped. Thus all of the sand discharged is prevented from piling up and falling off of the rail at the lateral edges thereof and almost immediately upon discharge is engaged by the associated Wheels and thus promptly and efficiently utilized.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a rail operated vehicle having a truck and wheels arranged to operate on rails, a sanding device carried on the vehicle and having a conduit leading to a point closely in advance of the wheel, a discharge nozzle on the conduit and in the form of a resilient rubber sleeve, said nozzle having a portion arranged in substantially upright position, the walls of said upright portion being thickened inwardly between the ends of the portion and defining a longitudinal passage in said portion and elongated longitudinally of the rail, the bottom of the nozzle having walls of less thickness than the intermediate portion and defining an inverted cup portion with a cavity of less width than the width of the ball of the rail, the bottom edge of said cup portion terminating in a single plane which extends substantially parallel to the top plane of the rail and spaced sufiiciently closely to the upper surface of the rail so that sand discharged through the cup portion will assume an angle of rest limiting the pile within the lateral limits of the top surface of the rail.

2. A discharge nozzle for a sanding device for a rail operated vehicle having a conduit for supplying sand to the nozzle and comprising a rubber sleeve arranged to embrace the discharge end of the conduit and having a passage of substantially the same size as the conduit, and having a portion arranged substantially upright and having therein a passage elongated in a direction lengthwise of the rail with which the nozzle is to cooperate, and of less cross section than the first passage, an inverted cup portion at the bottom of the nozzle of less width than the width of the ball of the rail and having a cavity open at the bottom which is elongated in cross section longitudinally of the rail.

3. In a combination including an overhead rail, a hoist having a wheel arranged to run on the rail, a sander carried on the hoist with means for supplying sand and a conduit and nozzle to discharge such sand downwardly onto the top face of the rail at a point closely in advance of the wheel; the arrangement of a nozzle device having an outlet in the form of a downwardly facing cup which is materially larger in horizontal cross section internally than the sand passage of the conduit leading to the cup, the bottom edge of the cup being continuous and substantially parallel to the rail face and spaced sufiiciently closely thereto throughout its peripheral extent and having its inside width laterally of the rail sufficiently less than the width of said rail face and so related to the spacing aforesaid that sand discharged through the cup onto the rail will assume a natural angle of repose within lateral limits of said rail face irrespective of the height of sand in the nozzle or its conduit.

WILLIAM A. LINTERN.

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