US2562886A

US2562886A - Cable guide

Info

Publication number: US2562886A
Application number: US774782A
Authority: US
Inventors: William R Beck
Original assignee: Goodman Manufacturing Co LP
Current assignee: Goodman Manufacturing Co LP
Priority date: 1947-09-18
Filing date: 1947-09-18
Publication date: 1951-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-07

Description

W. R. BECK CABLE GUIDE 2 SheetsSheet l l. JNVVENTOR. ma M BY A ma? Arron/SY Aug. 7, 1951 Filed Sept. 18, 1947 W. R. BECK Aug. 7, 1951 CABLE GUIDE /flfromvfy 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed sept. 18. 1947 Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE CABLE GUIDE William R. Beck, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Good` man Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 18, 1947, Serial No. 774,782

8 Claims. (Cl. 242--91) This invention relates to an improved cable guide particularly .adapted to guide an electric cable for supplying electric power to a moving vehicle such as a shuttle car, operable in mines.

Heretofore shuttle cars used for transporting coal from the working place of a mine to a loading station .at the entry, have been propelled by y electric motors which derive their power through an electric cable connected to a source of power such as a junction box and wound on or payed o of a cable reel mounted on the shuttle car.. 1

This reel is usually driven by an electric motor during the winding operation, and the motor is driven by the reel during unwinding and maintains tension on the cable during unwinding and stalling of the vehicle. In order that the cable may not be unduly iong, the junction box to Iwhich its free end is connected, is frequently placed midway between the working face and the discharge station. With this arrangement, the cable is wound on its cable reel during one half of its journey and is payed off this reel during the other half of its journey, being trained from one end of the shuttle car during half of its journey and from the other end of the shuttle car during the remainder of its journey. This has increased the diiculty in training the cable so it will properly be payed ofi from and drawn into the car with the resultant increase in the liability of the car fouling or running over the cable and the resultant breakage of the cable.

The principal object of my invention is to remedy the difliculties encountered in guiding the cable from a shuttle car by providing a novel and improved form of cable guide particularly adapted to hold the cable to conform to the path of travel of the car as the car moves towards and away from its source of power and prevent it from becoming caught on obstructions in the mine or from being fouled or run over by the shuttle car.

This and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following speciiication proceeds and with reference to the ac- Figure 6 is a sectional View taken substantialltr along line 6 6 of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings, a shuttle car IU is shown as having a cable guide constructed in accordance with my invention mounted thereon. Said shuttle car may be of a well known form and comprises generally an'elongated chassis having a pair of vertical, laterally spaced side Walls II, I I extending for the full length of the vehicle and forming the side walls of a coal carrying compartment thereof.

An endless chain and ight conveyor indicated generally at I4 extends along the vehicle for its full length and forms the bottom of the coal carrying compartment thereof and serves to progress coal towards the discharge or front end of the vehicle during loading and to mechanically unload the vehicle from its discharge end, in the usual manner. An operators platform I5 bearing the usual vehicle control devices including a steering wheel I6, is provided at the left-hand forward corner of the vehicle outside of one of the upright side walls II, as shown in Figure 1.

The vehicle has two front rubber tired steering wheels Il, I1 near its front end and two rear rubber tired driving and steering wheels I8, I8 near its rear end and driven from electric motors I9, I9. The drive to said Iwheels from said motors and the supporting and steering mountings for the vehicle frame on said front and rear wheels are no part of my present invention so need not here be shown or described further.

A cable reel indicated generally by reference character 20 is provided at the opposite side of the vehicle from the operators platform I5, between the front and rear wheels I1 and I8. Said cable reel has an electric cable 2 I, which is adapted to be wound thereon or be payed 01T therefrom in the usual manner and to be attached at its free endto a source of power, such as a junction box, for supplying electric power to the vehicle.

IThe cable 2I is trained from the reel 2|] through a spooler carriage indicated generally by reference character 23 for moving the cable back and forth along the reel as it is wound thereon, to assure that the cable be wound on its reel in even layers. From said spooler carriage the cable passes along the inside of a guide sheave 24 mounted on a bracket 25 on a vertical pin 26. Said bracket 25 is secured to an outer side of the side wall II beneath a cover plate for said reel and extends outwardly therefrom. From said sheave said cable passes through a guide sleeve 21 mounted on said bracket in advance of said sheave and in alignment with the groove thereof.

Said cable then passes to and around a guide sheave 29 lwhen it is trained towards the rear of the vehicle. Said guide sheave is of a relatively large diameter and is mounted on the outer end of a horizontally swingabie arm 38 pivotally mounted at its inner end on the outer side of a side wall i l of the shuttle car and extending outwardly therefrom. Said arm Sii is of a bifurcated construction and extends along the top and bottom sides of said sheave `and is pvotally mounted at its inner end on a vertical shaft 3i mounted in

spaced bosses

32, 32 extending outwardly from a bracket t3 secured to and extending outwardly from the side wall i l. Said arm, as herein shown, rests on the tops of said bosses. The sheave 29 is journaled on the outer end of said arm between the urcations thereof, on a pivotal pin 34. Y

A cable guiding arm 35 is pivotally mounted on the upper and lower ends of the pin 34 and serves to Vhold the cable 2l in engagement with the sheave 23 and to move the arm 3i) inwardly towards the side wall l or outwardly therefrom,

depending upon whether said cable extends from diameter of the sheaves 29 in all positions of said arm with respect to said sheave, to maintain the cable 2l in engagement with said sheave when extending laterally or forwardly or rearwardly from the vehicle. An upper portion 4l of said cable guiding arm is mounted on the upper end of said pin and is secured at its outer end to the upper portion of said clamping member by means of a pin 42. l

An angle i3 secured to and projecting upwardly from a top cover i4 extending outwardly from Athe side wall ll, serves as a stop to limit movement of said arm 3S in an outward direction, A stop lli extending forwardly and angularly inwardly from said arm is adapted to engage the cable guiding arm 35 and limit movement of said arm in a counter-clockwise direction into sucha position that the cable will not freely pass through the guide sleeve 39 when trained beyond the forward or discharge endof the vehicle.

l't should here be understood that the junction box to which the end of the cable is connected is usually mounted on the minev wall and is spaced laterally from the path of travel of the vehicle. As the vehicle passes said junction box, and changes from being trained off the rear end of the vehicle to the forward end of the vehicle, the reaction of the cable on the cable guiding arm 35 will pivot said arm in a counterclockwise direction and will swing the arm 3l! to the position shown by broken lines in Figure 3, and when in this position, the guide sleeve 3S will adapt itself to a position substantially in alignment with the guide sleeve 2l' and guide the cable along the inside of the sheave 27S to be payed oi of or wound in directly from thefront of the vehicle. When the vehicle again passes said junction box and changes from being payed ofi of orvwound infrom the front of the vehicle to being` payed on of or wound in from the rear of the vehicle,

lsaid sheave and having the pull of the cable on the sheave 29 held in engagement therewith by the guide sleeve 39, will pivot the arm 39 outwardly until it engages the stop 43, to position the cable to extend along the outer side of the vehicle in a position where it will be free from obstructions on the vehicle.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a simple and efficient form of cable guide vhas been provided for the power cable of a shuttle car, which is readily adaptable to guide and hold said power cable away from the car and the ground in the immediate Vicinity of the car as the car moves towards and from and passes the junction box to which the free end of the cable is connected, as the direction in which the cable extends from the car changes so the cable is trained from the rear instead of forward end of the car, and vice versa, and as the cable extends laterally from the car during this change in direction, and that this guide is so arranged as to avoid fouling of the cable on the car or the ground with the resultant breakage thereof.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting my invention to the specic embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A cable guide particularly adapted to guide an electric cable for supplying power to a moving lvehicle and attached at its end to a source of power at a xed point and payed off or wound on a reel on the vehicle, as the vehicle moves lpast said xed point, a swingable arm mounted on the vehicle for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, a sheave journaled on the end of said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical axis said sheave rotating in a substantially horizontal plane about its own axis, and a cable guiding arm mounted on the first said arm for pivotal movement about the axis of rotation of said cable guided therem for holding said cable in engagement with lsaid sheave when said vehicle is moving towards or from said nxed point, said cable swinging said cable guiding arm and sheave and said first mentioned arm in an outwardly extended position with respect to said vehicle to train said cable around said sheave and for moving said sheave and said first mentioned arm inwardly towards the vehicle and guiding said cable along one side of said sheave depending on the location of the xed point of the said cable with respect to said vehicle and said cable guiding arm holding said cable away from the vehicle in alll positions of said Vehicle with respect to said fixed point.

2. A cable guide particularly adapted to guide an electric cable for supplying power to a moving; vehicle and attached at its end to a fixed point and payed off of or wound on a reel on the vehicle, as the vehicle moves past said fixed point, a swingable arm mounted on the vehicle for pivotal movement' about a vertical axis, a sheave journaled on the end of said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical axis for rotation in a substantially horizontal plane about its own axis, a cable guiding arm mounted on the first mentioned arm for pivotal movement about the axis of rotation of said sheave and having a cable guide on its outer end for holding-said cable in engagement with said sheave `in all positions of saidarm with respect to said sheave, said cable swinging -said cable guiding arm and sheave and first mentioned arm in a horizontal plane to an outwardly extended .position with respect to said vehicle, training said cable around said sheave as the vehicle moves towards said fixed point in one direction and to lInove said sheave and iirst mentionedl arm in- `and said cable guiding arm holding said cable .away fromvthe vehicle in all positions ofisaid vehicle with respect to said fixedpointg 3. A cable guide particularly adapted to guide an electric cable for supplying power vto a moving vehicle and attachedat its end to-aixed point and payed off of or wound on a r el on the vehicle, as the vehicle moves past said fixed point, a swingable arm mounted on the vehicle for pivotal movement about a Verticali'axia-a sheave journaled on .the end of said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical axis and for rotation in a substantially horiozntal plane about its own axis, a cable guiding arm mounted on the first mentioned arm for pivotal movement about the axis of rotation of said sheave and having a cable guiding sleeve on its outer end spaced from and in alignment with said sheave in all positions of said cable guiding arm with respect to said sheave, and adapted to have said cable pass therethrough and hold said cable away from obstructions on the ground and said car and maintain said cable in engagement with said sheave as said cable is trained from the front or the rear of said vehicle, and as. it extends outwardly frorn said vehicle as it passes said fixed point.

4. A cable guide for an electric cable adapted to supply power to a self-propelled vehicle operable in mines and connected at its free end to a source of power at a fixed point in the mine,

comprising in combination a cable reel mounted on the vehicle and having said cable wound thereon, a swingable arm mounted on the vehicle for pivotal movement about a vertical axis including a mounting `bracket positioned near one end of the vehicle, a guide sheave mounted on the outer end of said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical axis and rotation about its own axis, a cable guiding arm pivotally mounted on said first mentioned swingable arm for movement about the axis of said sheave and having a cable guiding member on its outer end for guiding the cable around said sheave when the first mentioned arm is in an outwardly extended position and for guiding the cable along one side of said sheave when said swingable arm is in an inwardly extended position with respect to the vehicle and for holding said cable away from the vehicle in all positions of the vehicle with respect to said xed point.

5. A cable guide for an electric cable adapted to supply power to a self-propelled vehicle operable in mines and connected at its free end to a source of power at a xed point in the mine, comprising in combination a cable reel mounted on the vehicle and having said cable wound thereon, a guide sheave for guiding said cable from said cable reel, a swingable arm spaced from said sheave towards one end of the vehicle, a bracket for mounting the inner end of said l arm on the vehicle for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, a guide sheave mounted on the outer end of said arm for arcuate movement about said vetical axis and rotation about its own axis, a cable guiding arm pivotally mounted on the rst mentioned swingable arm for movement about the axis of said sheave and having a cable guiding sleeve on its outer end positioned so its extended axis is tangent to the mean diameter of said sheave and having said cable extending therethrough, for guiding said cable around said sheave when said rst mentioned arm is in an outwardly extended position and for guiding said cableA along one side of said sheave and moving said rst mentioned swingable arm inwardly `towards the Vvehicle moves in an opposite direction and passes said iixed point for holding said cable away from the vehicle in all positions of vthe vehicle with respect to said fixed point.

6. A cable guide for an electric cable adapted to vsupply power to .a self-propelled vehicle operable in `mines'and connected at. its free end toasource of power at a iixed point in the mine comprising in lcombination a cable reel mounted on the vehicle and having said cable mounted thereon, a swinging arm near one end of the vehicle, attached to the body of said vehicle at its inner end for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis, a guide sheave mounted on said swingable arm for rotational movement about its own axis and for arcuate movement about the axis of said swinging arm, a cable guiding arm mounted on said swinging arm for pivotal movement about the axis of rotation of said sheave and having a cable guiding sleeve on its outer end spaced from and in alignment with said sheave in all positions of said cable guiding arm with respect to said sheave, and adapted to have said cable pass through said sleeve so as to prevent fouling of said cable on said vehicle orv other obstructions, and to maintain said cable in engagement with said sheave as said cable is trained from the front or the rear of said vehicle, a stop mounted on said swinging arm for limiting the pivotal movement of said cable guiding arm as said cable moves the swinging arm, guiding arm, and sheave inwardly toward the vehicle, and an additional stop mounted on the body of said vehicle to limit the forward arcuate movement of said swinging arm as it is moved by the cable to swing said sheave and cable guide arm outwardly from the body of said vehicle.

7. In a mine vehicle adapted to be supplied with power from a relatively xed point and adapted to move with respect to said relatively fixed point, a power cable for supplying power to said mine vehicle, a cable reel for storing cable or paying off cable in accordance with the movement of said mine vehicle, a swingable arm mounted on said vehicle for movement about a vertical axis, a sheave, for guiding said cable, journaled on said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical axis, a cable guiding arm having a guide for said cable mounted at one end thereof for swinging movement with respect to said first arm, said cable swinging said cable guiding arm and the rst said swingable arm in an outwardly extended position with respect to said vehicle to train said cable around said sheave, and said cable swinging said cable guiding arm and the rst said swingable arm inwardly toward the vehicle and guiding said cable along one side of said sheave according to the location of said xed point with respect to said c27 vehicle, and said cable guiding arm holding said cable away from said vehicle in all positions of said vehicle with respect to said fixed point.

8. In a mine vehicle adapted to be supplied with' power from a relatively xed point and adapted to move with respect to said relatively xed point, a power cable for supplying power to said mine Vehicle, a cable reel for storing cable or paying off cable in accordance with the movement of said mine vehicle, a swingable arm mounted on said vehicle for movement about a vertical axis, a sheave for guiding said cable journaled on said arm for arcuate movement about said vertical aXis, a cable guiding arm having a guide for said cable mounted at one' end thereof for swinging movement with respect to said rst arm, said cable swinging said cable guiding arm and the rst said swingable arm in an outwardly extended position with respect to said vehicle to train said cable around said sheave, and said cable swinging said cable guiding arm and the first said swingable arm inwardly toward the vehicle and guiding said cable along one side of said sheave according to the location of said Xed point with respect to said Vehicle, and said cable guiding arm holding said 8 cable away from said vehicle in all positions of said vehicle with respect to said xed point, and a stop mounted on said swinging arm for limiting' the swinging movement of said cable guiding arm as said cable moves said swinging arm and said guiding arm and said sheave inwardly toward the vehicle and. an additional stop mounted on the body of said vehicle to limit forward arcuate movement-of said swinging arm as it is moved by the cable .to swing said sheave and said cable guiding arm outwardly from the body of the vehicle.

WILLIAM R. BECK.

RFRENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,359,123 Krapf Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 154,832 Germany 7,. Sept. 26, 1904 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,562,886 Augst 7, 1951 WILLIAM R. BECK It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column y6, line 16, after Vehicle insert 'when the vehicle;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oice. Signed and sealed this 25th day of December, A. D. 1951.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant 'ommz'ssz'oner of Patents.