US2546863A - Governed lowering power winch - Google Patents

Description

H C N I W. R m P G ON M .E m .L D E N R E v o G March 27, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 \NVENTOR GEORGE EMOORE BY \b r 4 Lg.

ATTORNEYS March 27,, 1951 G. E. MOORE GOVERNED LOWERING POWER WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 March 27, 1951 e. E. MOORE GOVERNED LOWE-RING POWER WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 INVENTOR GEORGE E. MOORE %WL8J- ATTORNEYS March 27, 1951 G. E. MOORE GOVERNED LOWERING POWER wmca 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 R O T N E V m GEORGE E. MOORE ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 27, 1951 GOVERNED LOVVERING POWER WINCH George E. Moore, Muskegon Heights, Mich, as-

sign-or to Manning, Maxwell & Moore, Inc., Muskegon Heights, Mich, a corporation of New .i'ersey Application February 12, 1947, Serial No. 727,978

Claims.

.This invention relates to improvements in power winches adapted to power hoisting and gravity lowering.

An important object of this invention is to provide a drum type of winch having a normally on spring loaded brake, a power driving source, and a single control device movable to one position to release the brake and render the power drive active for hoisting, and in the other direction to release the brake to free the drum for gravity lowering.

Another object of the invention is to provide in such a combination a normally on spring loaded brake in combination with a single manual control which normally assumes a neutral position to effect full braking force.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a hoist of this type a centrifugal governor for limiting the speed of rotation of the drum in a lowering direction.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following dis- .closure of the embodiment selected for the purpose of illustrating the inventive features herein disclosed.

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction, arrangement and relative location of parts, all as will be described in detail below.

In the accompanying drawings,

' Figure l is a lefthand side elevational view of the winch of this invention;

Figure 2 is a righthand side elevational View of this winch;

Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof; and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional, vertical, central view taken on the axis of the drum.

As disclosed, the winch includes a base plate in the form of a rolled steel channel member I lying flat with the web uppermost and the flanges projecting downward. Welded to the side flanges at 2e front corners are the short angle pieces 2 and at the other corners are the angle pieces2 which extend above the plane of the web, as is clear in Figures 1 and 2. These short angles provide'feet and are bored to receive bolts for fastening the winch to a foundation when this is desirable. The top extensions of the angle feet .2 have mounted therein a transverse shaft 3 on which is pivotally mounted a top 5 welded to the under surface of a motor bedplate 4. The motor M is bolted onto the plate .4, which is also provided with threaded studs and nuts by means of which the angular position of theplate 4 can be adjusted and maintained by reason of the engagement of the stud 5 with the web of channel I.

Welded to the sides of the base I towards the front or drum end, are a pair of side plates 1 and l, the former being on the left side and the latter on the right side (see Fig. 4),. The upright side plate 5 is shaped to receive a bearing cage 32 which is held on the side plate by means of a cap 8, which engages the bearing cage 32 on the top, and side plate I is shaped to accommodate a fixed planetary gear housing 29. The cap 8 is formed as an upper continuation of the side plate 7 and is clamped in place to mount the bearing cage 32 by means of yokes 9 hinged to the plate a at 8 to clamp the ends of cap 8 on plate I by means of set screws I fl and lock nuts. The planetary gear housing is provided with a peripheral groove into which the complementarily shaped upper edge of the side plate 1 fits. The housing has integral lugs 29 (see Figs. 1 and 2), by means of which the housing is attached. to the side plate i with bolts 30.

The speed reducing drive consists of a V-belt power transmission from the motor M to the drum shaft, and a planetary gear assembly concentric with that shaft for driving the drum.

A simplifying feature of this apparatus is that the power source, which may be an electric motor either of the single or polyphase type, or a gasoline engine which runs continuously in one direction only for all operations of the winch. Therefore, only a simple starting switch is required if electrically driven, or a simple starter if gasoline driven. The prime mover is bolted to the plate l, which being hingedly mounted, can be adjusted to the desired bolted position to establish the proper belt tension, and can be locked in that position.

Single or multiple grooved V-belt pulleys, according to the power requirements, can be used with standard V-belts. Thus the small multiple grooved V-belt pulley II is attached to the extending end of the shaft of motor M, and is connected through V-belts I I to the large driven multiple grooved V-belt pulley 12 which runs loose on the drum shaft I3 on a pair of ball bearings M and I4 (see Fig. 4) The ball bearing I4 takes the radial load only and the ball-bearing it takes a combined radial and thrust load. The outer face of the large V-belt pulley I2 is machined smooth to form the driving half of a plate clutch, of which the driven half is formed by the outer dished plate I5 having a machined annular matching face lined with a ring of suitable friction material lB The plate I5 is'splined to the drum shaft is for axial sliding movement thereon and on the hub of this plate there is fitted a ball thrust block H. A seal i8 between the V-belt pulley i2 and the outer dished plate prevents lubricant from leaking out.

The rope or cable drum i9 is preferably of cast iron in the of a cylinder for coiling the load rope and is provided, as is usual, with some suitable means 253 for anchoring the end of the load rope. This drum is freely rotatable on the drum shaft 13 and rotates on ball bearings 2! and El. One end of the rope drum is provided with an integral brake drum 22, and the other end has a flange 23 provided with projecting pins 25 upon which are mounted two planet gears 25 journaled on intermediate ball bearings 26. These planet gears are driven from a sun pinion 2'5 integral with the drum shaft i3 and mesh with an internal gear 28 formed on the stationary planetary gear housing 29.

The thrust from the ball thrust block 11 is transmitted through the outer dished plate l5 and the large V -belt pulley i2 through the thrust hearing i i to the collars 3G and the inner races of ball bearings Eli and 2! to the enlarged section of the drum shaft and thence through the sun pinion 2? to the ball thrust bearing 33 on the stationary planetary gear housing 29. The collars 36 act merely as seals to prevent the grease in the ball bearings from leaking out and having running clearance with the hubs of the V-belt pulley i2 and the rope drum is and with the bore of the ball bearing cage 32.

The planetary gear housing 2:; has a central web (see Fig. l) with a rim extending to both y sides thereof. It is on the inner face of the lefthand rim that the internal gear teeth are formed. The cylindrical chamber containing the planetary gear train adjacent the flange 23 of the rope drum is fitted with an annular plate 343 having a tight fit with the rim and a clearance at its inside bore where it fits overan annular projection on the drum flange, for the purpose of retaining the grease with which the gears are lubricated against leakage. The centrifugal force result ing from operation tends to crowd the grease to the periphery of this chamber where the joint is tight. The oppositely extending rim is machined on its face 29* (see Fig. 4) to form the internal brake drum of a centrifugal governor consisting of a rotating lever 3% (best seen in Fig. 2) having a central boss keyed to the end of the drum shaft i3 and arms projecting right and left on which brake blocks 38 are pivoted on pins 3%. The brake blocks 38 are substantially hemispherical in form and/the outlines thereof are best seen in Figure 2. These brake blocks have friction covers 56 on the outer circular faces and twin circular springs ii in the recesses 38 to hold these brake blocks away from the internal drum surface 28 against centrifugal force at a predetermined minimum speed while allowing them to move into contact therewith when that speed minimum is exceeded, thus limiting the maximum rotative speed of the load drum in a lowering direction.

A brake band 42 with a suite. le friction lining embraces the periphery of the brake drum 22 and has one end anchored on a bearing block secured to the base I (see Fig. l) by means of a single bolt Q5 which engages through a bar iil welded to the brake band. This facilitates easy removal of the brake band at this end. The other end of the brake band has attached there" to an internally threaded fitting 26 which engages a threaded eye bolt 67, which is pivotally connected to a lever is mounted on the transverse shaft 39. This shaft is carried in the bushing 59 on the side plate 7 (see Fig. 4) and in the hub of spring adjuster 55 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) on the upright side plate l. The side plates l and I are bored to receive the bushing 50 and the hub of the adjuster 5|.

The operating lever system cooperates in a novel manner with the clutch, the brake and the planetary gear drive to effect full control of the winch by manipulation thereof from a normal neutral or central position to either side thereof.

The transverse shaft 49 with the brake band lever 58 actuates the load holding brake on the rope drum keeping the brak normally on by means of a torsion spring 52 surrounding the transverse shaft i6 with one end of the coil bearing against the spring adjuster 55. The lever 48 and the adjuster 5! are provided with helical projections on their surface to match the ends of thespring 52. The loading of the torsion spring can be adjusted by means of the spring adjuster 56. The rotation of the adjuster 5| under the action of the spring in a counterclockwise direction being limited by a bolt 53 pivoted on El and bearing by means of its nut on the angle bracket 5 welded on the outside of the base plate (see Fig. 2). The initial loading of the torsion spring 5?. can be adjusted by inserting a rod in the bored end of the arm 5! and suitably adjusting the nut on the link 53.

The brake band lever 48 is keyed to the trans verse shaft is. which after passing through the spring adjuster 5| which forms its bearing on the upright side plate 1, projects beyond it and has a downwardly projecting lever 55 keyed to it. The lever 55 is provided at its lower end with a pin 55 upon which is fulcrumed the vertical hand lever 5i (see Fig. 2). Higher up on the vertical hand lever is the projecting pin 58 upon which is fulcrumed one end of a connecting link 5i} whose other end is slotted and engages the turned end of a bell crank lever Ell which is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 60 mounted in a block 5| bolted to the side plate 7'. The other end of the bell crank lever (see Fig. 3) is pressed by means of a spring 82 through which passes a bolt 62 bearing on the side plate i to normally hold clutch plate :5 out of contact with drive sheave l2. This same arm of the bell crank has a hole through which the reduced end of the clutch operating member 53 passes. This reduced end is provided with a nut, as shown. The clutch operating member 63 actuates the friction clutch at the opposite side of the winch.

This member 63 consists of a square rod which rests on the upper face of the horizontal web of the channel base member 5 and on a projecting angle 64 (see Fig. 4) welded to the lefthand flange of the base channel. The member 63 passes through openings in the side plates i and i and at the left hand end is provided with a vertical leg 63 on the upper end of which the ball'thrust block ll is secured.

The vertical hand lever 57 extends downwardly beyond the pivot pin 56 and is provided with an inwardly projecting pin on which a roller 65 is mounted. The roller 65 bears against the face of an angle bracket 56 welded to the base I (see Figs. 2 and 4) Details of operation of this mechanism follow. Assuming that the motor M is running and the vertical hand lever 57 is in the neutral position shown, the large V-belt pulley i2 is rotating freely on its ball bearings M and M on the axis of the drum shaft :3; When the vertical hand lever is moved forward or to the left towards drum end (Fig. 2) it first turns on the pivot pin '58 tending to move the higher pivot pin 58 forward and with it the slotted link 59. The slotted end of this --l-inl; bears on the end of the bell crank lever to tending to move it forward-or in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3). This causes the clutch operating member 83 to slide to the right (Fig. 4) against the resistance ofspr-ing 62, =thereby causing the thrust bearin block l? to move to the right through the agency of the vertical extension 63', with the final result that the dished disc i5 moves to contact the adjacent face of "the V-belt pulley i2 through the fr'ictiondisc 1'5. This movement continues until the clutch members are in opera-ting engagement. At this :point the fulcrum of the vertical hand lever 51 is trans ferred from the lower pivot pin =56 to the higher pivot pin 58 so that the thrust applied by the vertical hand lever reacts on the slotted link 59 causing the fulcrum pin 56 to move in=a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2). Since this pin 56 engages the lever 55 the transverse shaft 49 is similarly rotated against the resistance of the torsion spring 52. The lever Q8 also attached to the shaft :39 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) releasing the brake band 42.

.By reason of these movements Of the various parts the thrust of the torsion spring 52 which was first solely acting to hold the brake band tight on the drum of the load brake, is gradually transferred to the clutch, causing the large V-belt pulley to drive the planetary gearing. This results because power is transmitted through the friction clutch to the plate [5, to shaft I3, and and from there to sun pinion 21 and planet gears 25 which roll on the internal gear 23. It will be recalled that the planet gears 25 are rotatably mounted on the flange 23 of the rope drum, with the result that the rope drum is rotated in a hoisting direction at the proper speed. There will be a brief intermediate stage when the force of the spring 52 is equally divided between the brake 22- 22 and the clutch |2-l5, when some slipping will occur on both, which provides the operator with a graduated control of the hoisting speed sufficient to avoid sudden application of the power to the load.

When the hand lever 51 is released the torsion spring 52 will return the parts to normal position where lever 57 is in neutral position, the load brake is fully applied, and the clutch is released. Spring 62 will act to disengage the clutch !2-l5.

For purposes of lowering the load the vertical hand lever is moved rearwardly, that is to the right (Fig. 2) towards the motor end of the machine. At this time the roller 55 at its lower end bearing on the angle plate 56 will become the fulcrum of lever 57, with the result that lever 55 is rotated in counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) causing a rotation of the transverse shaft 49 and the attached lever #53 in the same direction. This releases the brake band s2 and therefore the rope drum. Assuming that the load rope is sufficiently loaded it will cause the drum to rotate in a lowering direction. If not sufilciently loaded the rope drum is freely rotatable on its ball bearing mountings 2| and 2|, so that the rope can be easily lowered by hand at a speed greater than the hoisting speed. In the event that the rope drum is rotated in a lowering direction at a speed exceeding the predetermined rate, the centrifugal governor will interpose a resistance to further speed increase. The centrifugal governor is so proportioned that under normal hois-ting'speeds the-centrifugal force generated is suflicient to defleet the springs ii sufficiently to cause the brake blocks 38 to contact the braking surface 29 At a speedabout 50% greater than normal hoisting speed the "brake blocks 38 fly outwardly :to engage the internal braking surface 2 of the stationary housing 25 with sufficient force to prevent excessive lowering; speed. Rotation of the brake blocks 38 during lowering is efiected since the planetary gear train is driven by the brake drum, with result that the drum shaft E3 Whichis free (the clutch being released) is included in this gear train and lBVfir 3 on which the governor blocks 33 are mounted is keyed to theshaft L13.

From the above description it will be seen that a relatively simplified winch structure is .provided to permit the use of :asimple, continuously running prime mover. The entire mechanism is controlled for all of its functions by means of a single manually controlled lever and safety is .insured in hoisting because the brake is released only as the hoisting power is applied, as-well as in lowering because the centrifugal governor pro vents excessive lowering speeds the brake is released.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter of this invention can be embodied in other physical .forms, and I do not, therefore, desire limitation by disclosure but ratherlby claims.

What is claimed ,is:

in a power driven winch, the combination comprising .a rotatable rope drum, :a "prime mover, a planetary gear drive forsaid drum, a clutch comprising a pair of cooperating members for connecting said prime mover with said drive, a brake for said drum, means including a spring for normally holding said brake in on position, means including a single lever for engaging said clutch members and then releasing said brake, said lever first reacting on said spring to engage said clutch, and later directly acting on said clutch to release said brake against the resistance of said spring, and a centrifugal brake driven by said gearing in a lowering direction to limit speed of rotation of said drum in a lower ing direction.

2. In a winch of the type described the combination including a rotatably supported cable drum, a brake for said drum, means including a spring for normally holding said brake in on position, a clutch, a planetary gear train interconnecting said clutch with said drum, said clutch including a member rotatable on the axis of said drum and supported for axial sliding movement, and a single manual lever reacting on said spring to engage said clutch and then acting on said spring to release said brake, to enect rotation of said cable drum in hoisting direction, a rotatable shaft upon which said cable drum is rotatable, said clutch including a movable clutch member slidably mounted on said shaft and means interconnected with said manual lever for causing an increase in the force of engagement of said clutch as said brake is released.

3. In a winch of the type described the combination including a rotatably supported cable drum, a brake for said drum, means including a spring for normally holding said brake in on position, a clutch, a planetary gear train interconnecting said clutch with said drum, said clutch including a member rotatable on the axis of said drum and supported for axial sliding movement, and a single manual lever reacting on said spring to engage said clutch and then acting on said spring to release said brake,- to efiect rotation of said cable drum in hoisting direction, a rotatable shaft upon which said cable drum is rotatable, said clutch including a movable clutch member slidably mounted on said shaft and means including a, linkage system connected to said manual lever for causing sliding movement of said clutch member to increase the force of engagement of said clutch as said brake is released.

4. In a winch of the type described, the com bination comprising a rotatably supported cable drum, a, brake for said drum including a spring for normally holding the brake in on position, a prime mover, a clutch having a pair of cooperating elements one of which is driven by said prime mover, a planetary gear train for driving said cable drum driven by the other element of said clutch, a, single operating lever, means for pivotally connecting said lever with said spring, and means for pivotally connecting said lever with said second clutch element,

movement of said lever in one direction gradually transferring the force of said spring from said brake and applying it to said clutch to engage it, said lever pivoting on the means for c0nnecting it to said spring, whereby the clutch is engaged before the brake is released, and means for causing said lever to pivot on its end upon movement in the opposite direction to nullify the force of said spring on said brake, whereby said drum becomes freely rotatable.

5 In a Winch of the type described, the commovement of said lever in one direction gradually transferring the force of said spring from said brake and applying it to said clutch to engage it, said lever pivoting on the means for connecting it to said spring, whereby the clutch is engaged before the brake is released, means for causing said lever topivot on its end upon movement in the opposite direction to nullify the force of said spring on said brake, whereby said drum becomes freely rotatable, and a centrifugal brake driven by said drum for limiting its maximum speed of free rotation.

GEORGE E. MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,402,756 Lawler June 25, 1946 2,412,412 Meili Dec. 10, 1946

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