US2642814A

US2642814A - Overhead monorail system

Info

Publication number: US2642814A
Application number: US178402A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alphonse F Anjeskey
Original assignee: Cleveland Crane and Engineering Co
Current assignee: Cleveland Crane and Engineering Co
Priority date: 1950-08-09
Filing date: 1950-08-09
Publication date: 1953-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-23

Description

June 23-, 1953 Filed Aug. 9, 1950 A. F. ANJESKEY OVERHEAD MONORAIL SYSTEM 2 Sheets- Sheet l fie. 1

INVENTOR. dzmoussflizwssxy BY Q Arroe/vsys June 1953 A. F. ANJESKEY 2,642,814

OVERHEAD MONORAIL SYSTEM III! W W W "M ALPHWVSEIZYZEIZZZZK fie. 4'

A rramvsys Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE OVERHEAD :MONOR-AIL SYSTEM Alphonse vF. Anjeskey, Cleveland, Ohio, *ass'ignor to The "Cleveland Crane & Engineering Com panyf-Wicklifie, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio enn e us s a seal .NP- 4184 .2

.11 Claims- 1 The present invention relates to material handling, overhead monorail-carrier systems including an overhead transfer bridge or crane havin a carrier rail adapted "to selectivel'y aligned with a carrier rail of one or more stationary tracks, transfer bridges, cranes and, more par.- ticularly, to mechanism for lockin o t o ing the transfer bridge or crane and the stationary track or other bridge or crane together with their respective carrier railsin end-toeend alignment in a vertical plane.

Heretofore transfer bridges and cranes have been locked relative to each other or to stationary tracks with their respectiveoarrierrails inalignment so as to iacilitate the movement of carriers to and from the transfer bridges, etc., with a minimum delay and attention on the part of the operators, by providing {spring-pressed locking member sliolably supported on the carrier bridge and having notches therein adapted to vreceive web members of the other tracks or bridges. Cooperating cam means on-the respective structures is employed for moving :the locking members against the pressure of the springs so that the web members could be engaged within the notches as the bridges-or cranes are moved into alignment with the stationary tracks ,or other bridges etc. The cammingoftherlocking members against the action of the springs is effected by the movement of the bridges .orcranes alon their runaways relative :to "the tracks or bridges, etc., with which itlis towbe aligned. Of necessity the force required to-retract the-locking. members bythe cammingaction referred to is considerable which make it difficult, if not:'impossib1e,:;tobrin the bridges to a gradual zandsmooth stoprwith the respective carrier .rails .:and ,the ilike. -The bridges-must be traveling at aniappreciablerate so that they have sufiicient momentum .to-pro vide the force necessary toactuate the lock members, with the result that'when the webmembers engage in the notches the :bridges are :brought into an abrupt halt which often is detrimental to the loads on the carriers on the-bridges and subjects the variouspartsrofthe system to severe shocks and-undue strains.

Manually-operable control mechanisms are pro vided for releasing' the interlocks and/or moving them to an inoperative L position,v and when the lock members engage over the webmembgersthey impart a sudden movementtowthefcontrol mechanisms, often to theinconvenience and "possible injury of the operators.

The principal object of {the .present invention is the provision eta-"new and improvedoverhead monorail carrier sysham having a transfer bridge or the like and mechanism for'locking the bridge or .the like against movement on its runway with its carrier rail inalignment with another carrier rail or the system, which mechamsm includes a movable lock member, preferably on the bridge, adapted to be automatically moved to interlock with a part associated with 'the' other carrier rail when the carrier .rail of the bridge is ali ned therewith, which automa'ticlmovement is efi ec'ted without appreciable .drag on the travel of the bridge whereby the-bridge may be gradually and smoothly broughtlto stop at the desired point.

.AnQt-her object of the invention is the provision of a new and limprovedoverhead monorail carrier system 'bfthe' character referred .to having a mechanism ,to lock 'thebridgeor the like against movement 'alon'gwit's -runwa'ywith its .carrier rail in alignment with another carrier rail of the system of which the bridge isa partand with respect to avhich the bridge has relative movement, whichjmechanism comprises a lock member, preferably onthe'bridge, adapted .to-

interlock with apart associated with the other carrier rail when the rails are aligned and hold the ;rails in alignment, the lock member being yieldin gly urged .to interlocking .position and reftained ;in a retrac d .or non-kicking positioniby a latch device adapted to be tripped'by' relative movement between the bridge and the other carrierrail to release the lock member when the two carrierrailsgare -aligned." Still another object of the invention .is the provision of a new- -and improved overheadfmon'o} rail carrier system 3 of the .character referred lto havin a a rar a t 1* 4 "traveling bridge or v the like against movement along its runway, etc., and in alignment with another carrier .rail of-the system of which the bridge isa partand with ;respect ;to which the bridge has relative movement, which mechanism includes a lock member, preferably on the bridge} adapted to .be automatically moved to interlo'ck with La part associated with the other oarrier rail when .the carrier r 'ls -are.ali'g ned, and a controllmemberfor ta isedrie t a kin mb r rative or inoperative, which control .member has a lost-motion nnection with the lock member sothat the I ck; m mbermaymovetoits interliia p sit W th u sen in rre n movement of thgcontroldlgember. stunn rese t-ir i e io sth pro Sign o new an im ,.o h a., m ra a i r s s em of th c a acte re r dit lhavm me hanism to o k t d ins :bridge o the like in alignment with another carrier rail of the system of which the bridge is a part and with respect to which the bridge has relative movement, which mechanism includes a lock member, preferably on the traveling bridge, adapted to be set for yielding movement into locking engagement with a member associating with the other rail and to be withdrawn from looking engagement and/or selectively held in an inoperative position by a control member, and a latch operative to restrain the movable lock member in retracted position and from locking movement, which latch is automatically tripped to release the lock member to its locking position when the rails are aligned, the control memher having a lost motion connection with the lock member so that when it is set to render the lock member operative the latter can be released by the latch and move to its locking position independently of the control member.

The invention resides in certain details of constructions and combinations and arrangements of parts and further objects and advantages thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates from the following description of the preferred embodiment described with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts, and in which;

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a material handling overhead monorail carrier system embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the portion of the overhead carrier system shown in Fig. 1 part of which is broken away, and

Figs. 3 and 4 show portions of the carrier system similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but on a larger scale, Fig. 4 being a continuation of Fig. 3, as indicated by line 33.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the invention relates to an overhead monorail carrier system comprising mechanism for selectively securing a carrier rail on a traveling overhead crane or bridge in end-to-end alignment with another carrier rail of the system with respect to which the bridge has relative movement. In the preferred form of the invention shown, the locking mechanism includes a notched lock member carried by the bridge and arranged to be biased into interlocking engagement with a part of the other rail, or the support structure for the other rail, when the rails are brought into alignment. The look member may be retracted from its interlocking position or'set to be biased to its locking position by a control member, preferably carried on the bridge and movable between two positions to move the locking member as described. A latch is provided for restraining the lock member in its retracted or inoperative position and means is provided for automatically releasing or tripping the latch by movement of the bridge when the carrier rails are brought into alignment. The effort required to operate the latch is negligible so that the bridge may be brought to the rail aligning position slowly and smoothly.

Preferably, a lost motion connection is provided between the control member and the lock member so that the latter may move to its looking position without causing corresponding movement of the control member.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a view of a portion of an overhead monorail carrier system showing one end of a hand propelled overhead transfer bridge designated generally at A,

and an end portion of a stationary track support structure B. The transfer bridge A and structure B are shown in side elevation and positioned so that material handling carriers, not shown, can be transferred to and from the bridge from the structure B. The particular system illustrated is a hand propelled or hand powered system; in other words, the carriers and transfer bridge are propelled manually. However, the invention is not limited to this type of powered system and it may be used as well with an electrified system in which the carriers or transfer bridge, or both, are electrically powered.

The transfer bridge A comprises a track assembly including a girder it of T-section, to the lower part of which is welded a carrier rail H of inverted T-section, which rail forms the lower or tension member of the girder. The ends of the girder are suspended from end trucks l2, only one of which appears in the drawings, which trucks comprise wheels I4 rotatably supported by anti-friction bearings and swiveling wheel yokes connected to opposite ends of the load bars of the trucks. The wheels I4 engage opposite sides respectively of inverted T-section rails l5 suspended from an overhead structure in a suitable manner and which form a runway for the transfer bridge A. The particular means by which the runways for the bridge are supported forms no part of the present invention and suffice to say they are preferably flexibly suspended by hanger rods, not shown, to assist in relieving stresses, wheel flange friction, etc.

As is well understood in the art, the transfer bridge A is adapted to move along its runway and receive overhead carriers from an overhead rail and transfer the carriers to areas to pick up or discharge loads or to another overhead rail extending laterally of the bridge runway. The overhead rail or rails extending laterally of the bridge runway may be supported by stationary structures or by another transfer bridge or crane. In the embodiment shown, the structure B is stationary and comprises a T-girder 21 having an inverted T carrier rail 20 welded to the bottom thereof, which rail forms the lower tension member of the girder. As seen in Fig. l, the girder 2| terminates short of the end of rail 2!! and a plate P is welded to the end of the girder and to the top of the rail. The plate P is T-shaped and forms an integral part of the girder 2|. Alternatively, the plate P could be eliminated and the girder and the rail could be coextensive.

The girder 21 is suitably supported so that the outer end of the rail 20 has the same elevation as the adjacent end of the bridge rail H. The support structure for this purpose is not shown as it is not essential to the understanding of the present invention.

The bridge A is adapted to be locked against movement on its runway wlth the rails ll, 20 in end-to-end alignment by a locking member 26 which is adapted to interlock with a portion of the plate P'when the rails are aligned. The member 25 has a flared notch 21 therein which is adapted to receive an edge portion of plate P, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, to interlock the member with the plate. The member 26 is attached to the ends of two

rods

28, 29 and is adapted to be reciprocated between its interlocking and retracted positions, as illustrated in the broken and full lines, respectively, in Fig. 3, by these rods which are located on opposite sides of girder l0 and are each slidingly supported by two spaced

guide bushings

30, 3|. The

bushings

30, 3| have support plates or

flanges

32, 33, which are bolted to the girders by bolts and nuts 31. The rods 2.8, 29 are each biased outwardly, or to the left as shown in Fig. l, by a coil spring 38, only one of which is shown, which springs are carried on the rods and interposed between the bushings 3| and washers 39 which abut pins 40 on the rods. The springs 38 urge the rods outwardly so that the lock member 26 is normally biased to the. position in which it interlocks with plate P.

The member 26 may be. moved and held in its retracted or inoperative position by a. control mechanism, and accordingly the inner ends of the

rods

28, 29 are attached to an operating yoke 42 which is formed of

complementary members

43, 44, attached together atone end by a. threaded rod 45 extending through eyes 'in the ends '01 the members and nuts 4 threadedon 'thero'd, as shown. The outer ends or the 'yoke'memberslii, 4'4 have eyes which receive the rods 28', 29, respectively, and are secured to these rods by nuts 49.

The

rods

28, 29 may be moved 'to'thengnt to retract the lock member 26 by a 'contr'ol' me'chanism which includes a link 51- connected with yoke 42, preferably by a lost-motion connection. To this end rod 46 has a slot formation 53*and the link 5| has a'clevis 54 attached'thereto which straddles the slotted portion of 'the rod and earries a. pin 55 which extends through'the'slot' 53- and moves freely between opposite ends 01'- the slot. ihe control mechanismiurther comprises a bracket Bl bolted to the 'topofthe girder I and which has an upright section on which a shaft 53 is rotatably jonrnalledi -The"shaft-"58 has a crank member 6 0 attached fatone-end, which crank member includes arms' B If, 62 having eyes at the ends thereof and link is attached to the end of arm 6| by a cl'evis and bolt 63-. In the form of construction-shown; the-end o'f crank arm 52 extends over the link '51 and'engages it to limit counterclockwise rotatiorr'of the crank member as viewed in Figs. 1 a'nd' 4; v Intheevent it is desirable to provide an interlock mechanism at the end of bridge A opposite to thatfshown; a link similar in function to link 51' could be connected with arm 62. The shaft Sir-is oscillated to shift the link 5| and consequently-roden 29 and lock member 26 by a leVer-orbea'm 85' attached thereto which has operating chainsor cables '66, 8'5 attached at o ppositeends whichmay be alternately pulled by the operator; Preferably hand grips 68' are .prcvid'edon'the chains 66; t7 and the bridge operator may propel thebrid'ge along its runway by pulling on the'ch'ains:

Alternatively, link 5| could be'shiitedbymeans other than manual means.

The crank arms 61, 62' are'preferably'disposed at less than 180 relative to one'a'nother'so that when lever 65 is tilted to the'position shown in Fig. 4 the bias of thef'yok'effl' to: the leftcreated by springs 38 tends to move. the crank member 66 counterclockwise and holdthe arm against the link- 5!, and, when lever fiiismoved to the position shown in Fig. 1', linkxt'l' is moved'jtoei'i age pin 55 with the left-hand end off-slot 53 which limits the'clockwise'movement':ofthe lever 55 and crank member 601 lhe lock member has a catch on'the-top thereof and is adapted tobe' normally restrained from moving from 'itsretracted position, shown in Fig. 3, to its interlocking position by'a trip latch H pivoted between the flanges32' by a pin 12, and adapted tocooperate with the catch; In

the form shown, the catch 10*comprises1a'bar bolted toithe member. and. having the torward side tapering inwardly and downwardly. The pawl H. is preferably formed of-a plate having a hook formation 15 adapted to engage the tapering. side of bar 10. to latch. the lock member in its retracted position. The pawl is normally urged to: latching: position by a generally U shaped spring 11' having the legs coiled. about the ends of pin 12 and the yoke overlying the pawl 1 l and the ends of the legs secured in pins 18 on the fianges 32 The pawl H is adapted. to be automatically tripped to release the member: 26 as" the rails I l, 20 are. brought into end-to-end alignment, and in the forth of the invention shown, a cam is provided on the structure B whichis adapted to be engaged by ann'ger M on the pawl H to rotate the pawl clockwise and release the hooked portion 15- from the catch 10; The cam Uncomprises a bar 83 attached to a'threaded shank '84 which is threaded in' a borein tne'plates-P. The ends of the bar 83 are'turned to lie atom acute angle relative to the path of travel of the pawl finger 81' to provide 'cammlng surfaces adapted to move the finger gradually clockwise as the bridge A moves rail ll' into alignment with rail 20'.

In a monorail overhead "carrier system having more than one 'r'a'il' with which the bridgeraihl I is adapted to" be aligned, each such rail has a cam like the cam 80' associated therewith. Thus, as the bridge moves rail ll into alignment-with each rail corresponding to rail 20 the pawl "H ismoved to release the member I8"; however, the

o lockmember 26 will not move to its-locking position unless the control lever" G5 is'set in the position shown in Fig; 1.

'When the bridgeis tobeloe'ked on its run"- way" with the rail H in end-'to-en'dalignment with rail 20, the operator'moves' control lever 65from the position shown in Fig. 4' to the position shown in Fig. 1 as the bridge approaches the rail 20, which movement shifts the link SI to. theleft andpintimoves to theleft hand end of'sl'ot 53" of theyoke' rod 46. The lock member 26Iis held in its retracted position by the pawl 11,. until the finger '8}! thereofenga'ges cam 80 and is moved t'o release thecatoh' bar HT, where upon the lock member is snapmovedby'sprlngs 38" to interlockwith'the plate P. 'It 'will'be ap parent that the bridge operator can preset the locking mec'hanismprior to reaching the point of alignment of the rails and-"by reason ofthe insignificant force required to trip thepawl'Tl no appreciable drag is imposed on thebridge and it may bemovedslowly and-"evenly'to-the" point of. alignment.

Preferably, the outer face of the lock'm'ember 26ihas cam surfaces 85, 36" wh-ichsloperearwar'dly and are adapted 'to'co'operate with the outer edge portion of plate P to cam the lock member rearwardly or toward its retracted position should theoperator inadvertently'align thegi'rders i0, I21 with the lock 'member'in its."locking position. Inthis. event one ofthe cam surfaces 85, 86 engages the plate andicams the lock member. toward its retracted. position thereby preventing shock and possible.'injfury to the mechanism.

It will be seen thatthe lock member to.- getherwith rods28, Hand the yokellmoveto the locking :position independently of .link'i'l due to slotian'd pin connection betweenv yoke rod 46 and linklill lso;that ;the1crank 60 andnlever 65" re main unmoved during the automatic locking operation.

To disengage the lock member 26 from the plate P and retain it in its retracted position, lever 65 is rotated counterclockwise and link is drawn to the right and moves the yoke 42 therewith, since pin 55 engages the right-hand end of slot 53, as seen in Fig. 4. As brought out previously, lever 65 is retained in the position shown by the tension of springs 38, and the lock member 26 is thereby rendered inoperative regardless of tripping of the pawl II by the cam 80 until such time as lever 65 is moved by the operator to the position shown in Fig. l which sets the locking memher for operation when the pawl is next tripped. It is to be noted that the length of slot 53 is approximately that of the stroke of member 26 so that lever 65 is set in the position shown in Fig. 1 the member may move freely of pin 55 to its interlocking position.

In the form of the invention shown, pivoted stop members in the form of levers 90, 9| are provided to prevent the carrier wheels from accidentally rolling from the ends of the rails H or 20 and those stop levers are adapted to be automatically raised and lowered by movement of the lock member to its locking and retracted position. The lever 85 is forked and the yoke thereof is pivoted to a depending web on the member 26 by a pin 92 with the legs thereof straddling the girder it and normally resting on the lateral flanges of the rail l l in the path of carrier wheels on the rail, not shown. As member 25 moves forwardly to interlock with plate P, the yoke portion of the forked lever 90 strikes the edge of plate P and swings the lever upwardly about its pivot as shown in Fig. 1. Two stop levers 9| are pivoted to plate P on opposite sides thereof by a pin 94 and these levers each has a lug 95 which is engaged by the member 26 as it moves forwardly, to swing the levers upwardly as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, these stop levers may be omitted, or other suitable stops may be provided.

Preferably plate P is formed independently of the girder 2! which enables it to be conveniently and accurately machined to receive the components of the latching mechanism and an electrical trolley, etc., if desired. The plate is then attached to the girder 2! as by welding, either before or after one or more of the parts carried thereby are assembled thereto. Alternately, the plate P could be eliminated and the parts of the interlock mechanism cai led thereby could be attached to the girder hich of course would then be coextensive with rail 29.

It will be seen that the objects and the advantages enumerated as well as others have been achieved, and that there is provided an overhead monorail system having locking mechanism which requires a negligible amount of force of the traveling bridge to actuate the same so that the bridge may be gradually and smoothly brought into alignment with carrier rail structures and locked in position with a minimum of wear and shock to the loaded carriers and bridge structure, etc. Furthermore, the moving parts of the interlocking mechanism may be automatically actuated without corresponding movement of the control member therefor.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction shown which may be varied within the scope of the invention, and it is the intention to cover hereby all adaptations, modifications and 8 arrangements thereof which come within the practice of those skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one or" said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member associated with said one rail and adapted to be biased to interlock with a part associated with said other rail when the rails are aligned, a latch adapted to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, and means actuated by movement of said one structure to trip said latch to release said lock member.

2. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to and alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member associated with said one rail and adapted to be biased to interlock with a part associated with said other rail when the rails are aligned, a latch adapted to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, and means actuated by movement of said one structure to trip said latch to release said lock member, the last mentioned means including a cam disposed on the other supporting structure.

3. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member associated with said one rail and adapted to be biased to interlock with a part associated with said other rail when the rails are aligned, said lock member having a catch thereon, a latch adapted to cooperate with said catch to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, and means actuated by movement of said one structure for moving said latch to release said lock member.

4. In an overhead carrier system having sup-- porting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member associated with said one rail and adapted to be biased to interlock with a part associated with said other rail when the rails are aligned, said lock member having a catch thereon, a latch adapted to cooperate with said catch to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, and means actuated by movement of said one structure for moving said latch to release said lock member, the last mentioned means including a cam positioned on the other of said supporting structures and adapted to be engagel by said latch.

5. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail; comprising-"in combination, a lock member connected-withsaid one rail, means to bias said lock member to interlock with a memberconnected Withsaid other rail when the rails are aligned, control means to selectively render said biasing means ineffective, latch means to normally hold said lock member from moving to its interlockingposition, and means actuated by movement of said rails into alignment with one another to actuate said latch means to release said lock member. s

6. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails one oij-which rails is adapted to be transportedby one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in-- combination, a lock member connected with said one rail, means to bias said lock member to interlock with a member connected with said other-rail when the rails are aligned, control means to selectively hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, latch-means to normally hold said look member from moving to its interlocking position, and means to actuate said latch means to release said lock member, the last mentioned means adapted to be actuated by movement of said one structure to bring said one rail into alignment with the other rail.

7. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrierrails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member connected with saidone rail, means to move said lock memberto interlock with a member connected with said other rail when the rails are aligned, and a control member movable between two control positions to render the second mentioned means operative and inoperative, said control member having a lost motion connection with said lock member.

8. In an overhead carrier system having supporting structures for carrier rails, one of which rails is adapted to be transported by one of said structures transversely of and into end to end alignment with another of said rails, means for securing said one rail in end to end alignment with said other rail comprising in combination, a lock member connected with said one rail and adapted to be biased to interlock with a member connected with said other rail when the rails are aligned, a latch adapted to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position, means actuated by movement of said one structure to bring said one rail into alignment with another of said rails to trip said latch to release said lock member, and a control member movable between two positions to hold said lock member from movement to its interlocking position and to release said lock member to move to its interlocking position, said control member having a lost motion connection with said lock member.

9. In an overhead carrier system including a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the latter rail transversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail, locking means for securing said rails in end to end alignment com: prising in combination, a lock member on the traveling bridge adapted to interlock with a member fixed relative to the first mentioned rail when said rails are aligned, said lock member adapted to move to locking and releasing positions, means for urging said lock member to its locking position, a latch adapted to restrain movement of said lockmember into locking engagement with the other member, means actuated by movement of said transfer bridge to bring said rails into alignment to trip said latch to release said lock memben and means to selectively restrain movement of said lock member to lockin position independentlyof said latch.

10. Inan overhead carrier system having a supporting structure for a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the'latter rail transversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail,

locking means for'securing said rails in end to endalignment comprising in combination, a lock member on the supporting structure and a lock member on the traveling bridge adapted to interlock with one another-when said rails are aligned,

one of said lock members adapted to move relative to the other to looking and releasing positions, means for urging said one look member to its locking position, a latch adapted to restrain movement of said one member into locking engagement with the other member, means to automatically operate said latch when said rails are substantially aligned to release said one lock member, and means to selectively restrain move ment of said one member to; locking position independently 01' said latch.

o e he r r s s m hav a sup porting structure for a carrier rail and a transfier bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted totransport the latter rail transversely oif and into end to end alignment with the other rail, c n m ans or c r ng sa rails in n o end alignment comprisingin-combination, a lock member on the supporting structure and a lock member on the traveling bridge adapted to interlock with one another when said rails are aligned, one of said lock members adapted to move relative to the other to locking and releasing positions, means for urging said one look member to its locking position, a latch adapted to restrain movement of said one member into locking engagement with the other member, means to automatically operate said latch when said-rails are substantially aligned to release said one look member, and means to selectively restrain movement of said one member to locking position independently of said latch, the last mentioned means including a control member having lost motion connection with said one look member.

12. In an overhead carrier system having a supporting structure for a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the latter rail tramsversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail, locking means for securing said rails in end to end alignment comprising in combination, a lock member on the supporting structure and a lock member on the traveling bridge adapted to interlock with one another when said rails are aligned,

one of said lock members adapted to move relative to the other to locking and releasing positions, means for urging said One lock member to its locking position, a latch adapted to restrain movement of said one member into locking engagement with the other member, means to automatically operate said latch to release said one lock member when said rails are moved into substantial alignment, and means to selectively restrain movement of said one member to locking position independently of said latch, the last mentioned means including a control member movable between two control positions and having lost motion connection with said one lock member to maintain said one lock member in inoperative position when said control member is in one position and to permit movement of said one lock member to its locking position when said control member is in its other position.

13. In an overhead carrier system having a supporting structure for a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the latter rail transversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail, locking means for securing said rails in end to end alignment comprising in combination, a lock member on the supporting structure and a lock member on the traveling bridge adapted to interlock with one another when said rails are aligned, one of said lock members adapted to move relative to the other to locking and releasing positions, means for urging said One lock member to its locking position, a latch adapted to normally restrain movement of said one member into looking engagement with the other member, means actuated by relative movement between said bridge and supporting structure to automatically operate said latch to release said one look member when the rails are in alignment, and means to selectively restrain movement of said one member to locking position independently of said latch.

14. In an overhead carrier system having a supporting structure for a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the latter rail transversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail, locking means for securing said rails in end to end alignment comprising in combination, a web on the supporting structure, a notched member on the traveling bridge adapted to move between two positions to engage and disengage said web to lock the bridge wth the supporting structure when said rails are aligned, means for urging said member to its engaging position with said web, a latch adapted to hold said member in position out of engagement with said web, means to automatically operate said latch to release said member when said transfer bridge is moved to substantially align said rails, and means to selectively move said member to its disengaging position.

15. In an overhead carrier system having a supporting structure for a carrier rail and a transfer bridge or the like having a carrier rail and adapted to transport the latter rail transversely of and into end to end alignment with the other rail, locking means for securing said rails in end to end alignment comprising in combination, a web on the supporting structure, a notched member on the traveling bridge adapted to move between two positions to engage and disengage said web to lock the bridge with the supporting structure when said rails are aligned, means for urging said member to its engaging position with said web, a latch adapted to hold said member in position out of engagement with said web, means to automatically operate said latch to release said member when said transfer bridge is moved to substantially align said rails, and means to selectively move said member to its disengaging position, said latch operating means having a lost motion connection with said member whereby said member may be held in its web disengaging position by said latch when the last-mentioned means is operative to permit movement of said member to its Web engaging position.

ALPHONSE F. ANJESKEY.

No references cited.