US2216263A

US2216263A - Fair lead construction

Info

Publication number: US2216263A
Application number: US316134A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerald I Clark
Original assignee: WOOLDRIDGE Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: WOOLDRIDGE Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1940-01-29
Filing date: 1940-01-29
Publication date: 1940-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1957-10-01

Description

0d; 1, 194Q. RK FAIR LEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mm um Q Q Q m s INVENTOR w fiera/o C/a/"k ATTORNEY Oct. ,1,' 1940; a. I. CLARK FAIR LEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 29, "1940 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fiera/c/ C/ar'k ATTORNEY Oct. 1, 1940. s. CLARK I FAIR LEAD CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed .Jan. 29, 1940 INVENTOR Gare/d (la/k BY New m muwrmn ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 1, 1940 r'rem" orrice FAIR LEAD oonsraoorron 1 Gerald 1. Clark, Mountain View, Calif., assignor to Wooldridge Manufacturing Company, Sunnyvale, Calif a corporation of Nevada i Applicationlanuary 29, 1940, Serial No. 316,134

6 Claims. (Cl. 254-190) This invention relates generally to winch units of, the typemaking use of a plurality of parallel drums for winding up or playing out separate ropes or, cables. More particularly, the invention relates toan advantageous multiple fair lead construction for multiple drum. winch units adapted for attachment to present-day tractors for operation of various equipment such as road making machines, hoists, scrapers, earth movers,

and thelike. i

It is an object of the invention to provide a winch unit having an improved fair lead construction for use with ,a pair of adjacent winch drums so, that relative turning movement between the draft and-drawn vehicles and so that the respective cables are maintained sub-stantially in alignment with the respective. fair leads.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fair lead construction of the character referred to whereinthe fair leads are movable withgrelation to the winch. drums in response to relative turning movements between the tractor and the equipment being drawn thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved fair lead construction of the typereferred to wherein'the fair leads for adjacent drums having vertically disposed axes on a draft vehicle are movable together about a pivotal axis located in an optimum position with respect to the axes of the drums to accommodate relative turning movement of the draft and drawn vehicles. W

Other objects-ofthe invention will appear from 3 the following descriptionin connection with a preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure lis aside elevational view illustrating a winch construction incorporating the present invention. v

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view of the winch construction taken in a plane indicated bythe line 2-2 in Figure 1 and illustrating various positions-of the fair lead unit. I

45 Figure 3 is a detailed *elevational view of the fairlead unit, the view being indicated by the line 3-3 in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a rear .elevational view of the winch unit, the view beingtaken as indicated by the 50 line 4+4 inFigurel.

Figure 5 is .a sectional detailed view illustrating the pivotalmounting of the'fair lead unit, the

view being taken in a plane indicated by the line f 5-5 in Figure 4. 55 Figure 6 is a detailed sectional viewof a fair lead sheave, the View being taken as indicated in the line 6-45 in Figure 1.

The winch construction illustrated in the drawings is of the general character disclosed and claimed in Hutchins Patent No. 2,171,792, granted 5 September 5, 1939, and entitled Attachment for tractors and the like, as modified in my copending application Serial No. 305,224, filed November 20, 1939, for Winch construction. The winch unit disclosed in the present application has two 19 drums controlled from a single lever, and in conjunction with such two drums one or more additional drums can be employed for handling supplemental ropes or cables. The cables are all trained around respective fair leads mounted for 15 swinging movement as a unit with respect to the winch unit.

, Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the winch unit'is designated generally at Ill, andis shown applied as an attachment to a tractor The unit it- 20 self includes a housing H. which carries the winch drums A, B, and C. The housing I2 is bolted to an adapter l3 which is suitably mounted on a portion M of the tractor from which a drive shaft it extends. The housing |2 can be made of suitable material such as cast steel and includes a central portion l8 and side extensions l9 in which similar worm gears 2| are mounted to be driven by a suitable worm on shaft I5.

Drum A is mounted upon one of the extensions [9 of the housing and is suitably driven from the associated worm gear 2| by clutch mechanism (not shown) and also having brake mechanism indicated generally at 22. Both the clutch and brake mechanisms are controlled by means ineluding an operating lever 23.

Drums B and C are mounted on the other ex- 'tension H) of the housing and are also driven through suitable respective clutch mechanisms from the worm gear 2| associated therewith and 40 have brake means 24 and 26 associated therewith. The clutches and brakes for the drums B and C may be selectively controlled by means of operating lever 21 through

suitable operating connections

28 and 29. For the purposes of the present invention it is sufficient to understand that by a suitable manipulation of levers 23 and 21 any one of the drums A, B or C may be selectively controlled to either play out or to wind up cable.

As seen in Figures 1 and l, respective drums A, B, and C have respective cables 3|, 32 and 33 wound thereabout. The cables 3|, 32 and 33 for the respective drums are trained over respective fair leads of a fair lead unit generally indicated at 34 in Figures 1 and 3. As will be described later in detail, the fair lead unit is mounted for pivoting movement relative to the winch unit to maintain proper alignment of the cables with the fair lead sheaves during relative turning movement between the tractor and the drawn equipment. As seen in Figure 3 the fair lead unit may comprise a base plate 36 having upstanding U-brackets 31 and 38 secured thereon as by welding to provide journals for the respective fair lead sheaves 4|, 42, and 43. Preferably, the lateral spacing of brackets 37 and 38 is in the order of the shortest distance between the mean wound diameter of the respective adjacent drums A and B. In this way an optimum relation is provided for the average wound condition of the drums. A typical sheave construction is illustrated in Figure 6 wherein sheave M is shown journalled by bearings 44 upon a stub-shaft 48 having its ends secured in bosses GT suitably attached to U-bracket 38 and pinned therein by means of locking pins 48.

As seen in Figure l, the base plate 36 of the fair lead unit may be fabricated and includes a channel-shaped supporting arm 5! having a boss 52 (Figs. 1 and 5) at its forward end which may be pivotally mounted in a supporting bracket 53 suitably secured upon the winch unit. As shown, the bracket 53 is provided at one end with forward upstanding flange 54 which is fastened to the winch unit by means of certain attaching bolts 56 to the adapter I 3. The rearward end of bracket 53 has an upstanding plate 51 forming the cover plate for the central portion iii of the winch unit housing. It will be understood that the method of securing the bracket 53 on the winch unit or upon the tractor is merely illustrative and other means may be employed. At its rearward end the bracket 53 is recessed to receive boss 52 of the supporting arm which is journalled by means of bearings 58 (Fig. 5) on vertically disposed stub-shaft 59 suitably secured in bracket 53 and locked with respect thereto by pin 6!.

The pivoting of the fair lead unit 34 by means of shaft 59 provides an axis of pivotal movement thereof which is located in an optimum position to maintain the cables in proper alignment with the respective fair leads. The desirable axis location lies substantially in a plane perpendicular to and bisecting a plane containing the axes of the winch drums A and B. The axis location is also preferably located rearwardly from the plane of axes of the winch drums at a preferred distance to be substantially in a vertical plane tangent to both mean wound diameters of the drums A and B. Thus, even with extreme turning movements up to and of swinging' movement of the fair lead unit, the cables will maintain their trained relation with respect to the fair lead sheaves as seen most clearly in Figure 2.

In Figure 2 the straight ahead position of fair lead unit 34 is indicated in full lines while two somewhat extreme turning positions thereof are indicated at 34a and 3422 respectively. It is seen that with the axis of pivotal support of the fair lead unit located in the region of the bisecting and tangent planes previously referred to, that the angular displacement of the cables from the central planes of their respective sheaves is slight and well within the limit of angular displacement which would cause disentrainment of a cable from its sheave.

In operation the respective cables 3|, 32 and 33 are attached to their drums A, B and C and trained over the associated fair leads and thence to suitable sheave located on the drawn equipment. As the tractor turns the relative turning movement between the tractor and the drawn equipment will cause swinging of the fair lead unit possibly up to 90 in either direction from its straight ahead position. Because of such swinging movement of the fair lead unit about a pivotal axis in the region of the optimum location specified, the cables are maintained on the fair leads and any misalignment of the cables with respect to the fair leads is insufficient to cause disengagement of the cables therefrom. Usually, in the extreme turning position, the cables are not operated although this can be done if desired.

I claim:

1. A winch construction comprising at least two winch drums, means mounting said drums upon parallel vertical axes, cables on said drums, a fair lead for each of said drums, and common mounting means for said fair leads including an arm pivotally mounted on a vertical axis substantially symmetrically disposed with respect to the respective axes of said drums and spaced rearwardly from a plane containing said drum axes a distance substantially equal to the mean wound radius of said drums.

2. A winch construction comprising a housing and at least two winch drums mounted about parallel vertical axes upon said housing, cables on said drums, fair leads for each of said cables, a supporting bracket for said fair leads mounted on a vertical axis symmetrically disposed with respect to the respective axes of said drums and spaced therefrom in the direction of the outward extending portions of said cables a distance in the order of the mean wound radius of said drums.

3. A winch construction comprising at least two winch drums, means mounting said drums on parallel axes, cables on said drums, a fair lead for each of said cables, and common mounting means for said fair leads including an arm pivotally mounted on a vertical axis, said axis being located in the region of the intersection of a plane parallel to and symmetrically related to said drum axes and the tangent plane to the mean wound circumferences of said drums.

4. A winch construction comprising at least two winch drums, means mounting said drums on parallel axes, cables on said drums, a fair lead unit including two parallel fair leads for the cables of said two drums with their central planes spaced apart a distance in the order of the shortest distance between the mean wound circumferences of said drums, and mean-s mounting said fair lead unit for swinging movement about an axis parallel to said drum axes and symmetrically related thereto, said axis of swinging movement being substantially in a plane tangent to the mean wound circumferences of said drums.

5. A winch construction comprising at least two winch drums, means mounting said drums on parallel axes, cables on said drums, a fair lead unit including a bracket and two parallel fair leads for the cables of said two drums mounted on said bracket with their central planes spaced apart a distance in the order of the shortest distance between the mean wound circumferences of said drums, and a supporting arm for said bracket mounted for swinging movement about an axis parallel to said drum axes and symmetrically rebeing substantially in a plane tangent to the mean wound circumferences of said drums.

6. A winch construction comprising a housing and at least two winch drums mounted about parallel vertical axes upon said housing, cables on said drums, a fair lead unit including fair leads for each of said cables, a supporting bracket for said fair lead unit mounted on said housing about a vertical axis symmetrically disposed with respect to the respective axes of said drums and spaced therefrom in the direction of the outward extending portions of said cables a distance in the 5 order of the mean wound radius of said drums. GERALD I. CLARK.