US3024001A

US3024001A - Winch with single point delivery

Info

Publication number: US3024001A
Application number: US27732A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dale S Worden; Alvin J Noker
Original assignee: Sperry Rand Corp
Current assignee: Sperry Corp
Priority date: 1960-05-09
Filing date: 1960-05-09
Publication date: 1962-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1979-03-06

Description

March 6, 1962 5, wo A 3,024,001

WINCH WITH SINGLE POINT DELIVERY Filed May 9. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l START, STOP, DIRECTION 5 AND SPEED CONTROL APPARATUS INVENTORS' DALE S. WORDE/V B{IfLl/IN J; NO/(Ef? ATTONEY I 3 March 6, 1962 D. s. WORDEN ETAL WINCH WITH SINGLE POINT DELIVERY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 9, 1960 INVENTORS DALE 5 WORDEA/ I3LV/N J. NO/(Efi? AT ORNEY 3,024,001 WMCH WITH SWGLE POINT DELIVERY Dale S. Worden, Salt Lake City, and Alvin .l'. Noker, Bountiful, Utah, assignors to Sperry Rand Corporation, Great Neck, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 9, 1960, Ser. No. 27,732 10 Claims. (Cl. 254-186) This invention relates to winches and more particularly to a winch having single-point cable receipt and delivery.

In accordance with the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a hollow cable drum is connected to a rotatable arbor for rotation therewith and axial movement relative thereto by a load carrying bearing means with a cage disposed between the drum and the arbor. The outer surface of the drum is provided with a helical rib defining a helical groove in the drum sur face for receiving the cable as it is wound on the drum. Axial movement of the drum in response to rotation of the drum is provided by a drum guide which bears against the sides of the groove to cam the drum axially to move it with relation to the arbor between cable delivered and fully wound limits. The rotation responsive axial translation of the drum between its travel limits positions the cage of the bearing means axially with relation to the arbor so that the cable delivers at the fixed delivery point with the load between the drum and arbor carried by the bearing cage.

A further feature resides in the axial slot and contacting ball bearings of the cage structure providing the bearing connection between the arbor and drum.

Other features and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in relation to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view partly in section of a hoist employing a winch embodying the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the winch shown in FIG. 1, the section being taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a gear system which may be employed in the speed reducer of the winch of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of detail around one of the six similar sets of longitudinal raceways and associated ball bearings shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the hollow housing or casing 10 of a winch 12 forms the boom of a vertical hoist fixed to a frame 14. The opening at one end of the cylindrical chamber provided by the hollow casing is closed by an end cap 16, while the opening at the other end of the chamber is closed by a motor hanger 18 and a motor 20 suitably secured to the hanger. The motor 20 may be of any suitable type, such as hydraulic, electric, etc., and the power source 19 and control 21 shown in block diagram connected through a line 23 to the motor are appropriate to the type of motor employed.

A hollow cable drum 22 is mounted on and coupled to a rotatable hollow arbor 24 for rotation therewith and axial movement relative thereto through connecting hearing means disposed between the drum and the arbor.

The arbor 24 is driven by a transmission 26, for example a speed reducer, located internally thereof and splined at 27 to the end cap 16. Any suitable gear system may be employed in the transmission 26, for example that shown in FIG. 3. The output 28 of the mtor 20 is coupled through a shaft 29 extending through the hollow arbor 24 to the input 30 of the transmission 26.

The arbor 24 is journaled on end bearings 31 and 32 respectively carried by the end cap 16 and the motor hanger 18. Accordingly, the arbor 24 is supported at the respective spaced end walls of the cylindrical chamber 3,924,001 Patented Mar. 6, 1962 ice in the housing 10 for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the chamber. The cable opening in the housing 10 is between the spaced end walls of the chamber. Supplementary support for the input shaft of the transmission is provided by a bearing 33 interposed between the. arbor 24 and the transmission input shaft 30. The output of the transmission 26 is at the same end as the input and is taken from a hollow output member 34, which encircles the input shaft 30, and is splined to the arbor 24 at 36.

To provide for the bearing means connecting the arbor and drum, the external cylindrical wall of the arbor 24 has six peripherally uniformly spaced axial ridges 37, each having a longitudinal groove 38 therein. Likewise, the drum has on its interior'surface, six axial ridges 39, each with a longitudinal groove 40. Each of the grooves 40 in the drum is aligned with a corresponding groove 38 in the arbor. Thus, there are six pairs of corresponding grooves facing each other, the grooves in the arbor facing radially outward while those in the drum face radially inward. Each pair of corresponding grooves accommodates a plurality of ball bearings 42 held in a slotted bearing cage through which the cable drum 22 is connected to the arbor 24. The grooves function as raceways for the ball bearings, and the latter connect the drum to the arbor for mutual rotation while permitting the drum to move on the ball bearings axially relative to the arbor.

To promote as fully as possible rolling friction between the ball bearings of the bearing means connecting the respective drum and arbor throughout the entire axial travel of the drum between cable delivered and fully wound, a cylindrical cage 44 is disposed in the radial space between the arbor and the drum, and is provided with six circumferentially spaced axial slots 45 of an axial length that substantially corresponds to the axial length of the cage, each aligned with a corresponding pair of raceways. The ball bearings in each of the longitudinal slots of the cage are arranged in contacting relation between its respective ends with enough clearance to prevent binding.

The cage 44 of the provided bearing means is of shorter axial length than the drum and arbor so that its ends do not axially abut any portion of the drum or the arbor except at approximately the limit of the axial drum travel in each direction. In the provided bearing means as the drum moves axially, the balls roll by contact with the drum to move the cage axially, instead of the cage moving the balls. The cage of the bearing means is of sufiicient axial length with relation to the axially longer drum to have the load or payout point straddled by the caged bearings at all times, i.e. there are ball hearings in a direct line with the delivery point of the cable for any axial position of the drum between its travel limits with relation to the arbor. These relations can be understood from the knowledge that for any given distance of axial drum travel, the balls and cage will move half that distance, if the cage is unimpeded axially. In one direction, the cage 44 is limited from moving axially beyond the drum by the ball bearings striking an abutment or expanded retaining ring 46 at the left end of the drum (FIG. 1). Restraint in the other direction is provided by the end of the cage striking an abutment 47 on the right end of the inner surface of the drum (FIG. 1). To minimize friction loss, the clearance between the cage and drum is made less than the clearance between the cage and the arbor. In the improved structure, the ball bearing cage 44 is permitted axial travel between determined limits so that the ball bearings roll rather than make a slide contact with the drum when the cage moves in an axial direction. As the cage moves axially with the drum, the

position of the cage along the arbor axis with relation to the cable delivery point is dependent on the axial position of the drum between its travel limits with relation to the arbor. The cage of the bearing means'is accordingly located with relation to the delivery point so as to carry the cable load between the drum and arbor.

A helical groove 48 formed in the drum 22, and defined by a helical rib 49, receives a cable 50, which is wound on and off the drum through an aperture 51 in the casing 10, and through a cable guide block 52, secured to the casing and having a passageway 54 whose axis is coincident with that of the cable 50 passing through the passageway tangentially with respect to the cable-receiving surface of the drum, i.e. the passageway in the cable guide is oriented to guide the cable at a tangent to the outer surface of the drum. The cable 50 is attached to the drum by means of a ball and socket arrangement wherein a ball 58, attached to the end of the cable, is received in a restraining socket 60 formed in the drum surface.

Axial translation of the drum 22 in response to rotation thereof is efiected by means of screw or worm action provided by cooperative engagement between a relatively fixed drum guide 62 and the sides of the groove 48 which, in response to rotation of the drum, react to impart longitudinal movement to the drum in an axial direction depending upon the direction of drum rotation. The reaction between the helical rib 49 and the drum guide 62 may also be referred to as a camming action, wherein the drum is cammed axially in response to drum rotation. The drum guide 62 passing through an aperture 63 in the casing 10, extends between adjacent convolutions of the helical rib 49 to engage one or the other side of groove 48 depending on direction of drum rotation. The drum guide 62 is attached to the casing 10, and to reduce sliding friction between the guide 62 and the sides of the groove 48, the guide 62 is carried by a spindle 64 journaled for rotation in a bearing 66 secured to the block 52.

In general operation of the apparatus, the start, the speed, the direction, and the stop of the motor 26 are controlled by the motor energizing and

control circuits

19 and 21, which, if desired, may include limit switches responsive to desired limits of cable or drum travel. Whenthe motor is operated in a particular direction, its output through shaft 29 drives the transmission 26. In turn, the transmission output 34 drives the arbor 24 in a direction depending on the motor direction, for example clockwise (FIG. 2), the direction to deliver the cable 50 from the drum 22. As the drum rotates, the delivered cable passes out of the housing through the cable guide, tension being applied to the cable either by a load or the weight of the cable and of the load handling apparatus attached to the end of the cable. As the drum rotates clockwise (FIG. 2), the drum guide 62 engages the left side of the groove 48 (FIG. 1), thereby forcing the drum to move axially to the left as the cable is payed out through the cable guide. The action stops or reverses in response to the respective stop or reversal of the motor. Upon reversal of the motor 2th the drum 22 is driven counterclockwise (FIG. 2) and the cable is wound on the drum through the cable guide, as the drum is forced to move axially to the right (FIG. 1), by the drum guide 62, which now engages the right side of the groove 48. This continues until the motor is stopped or reversed. Thus single-point cable receipt and delivery is provided at the drum by the axial movement of the drum resulting from the reaction of the drum against the drum guide 62 in response to rotation of the drum. In addition to better and precise load control, the single-point delivery makes it easier to seal the apparatus from the surrounding atmosphere. Protection of the ball bearing connection between the arbor and the drum against weather and dust that might enter the casing through the cable guide is provided by seals in the form of axially compressible and expandable bellows-shaped boots 72 and 74 made of resilient materia such as rubber. These boots encircle the arbor 24, their outer ends being fastened to the outer ends of the arbor 24-, while their inner ends are secured to opposite ends of the drum 22.

The depth of the groove 48 and the radial clearance between the inner surface of the casing 16 and the helical rib 49 are dimensioned to prevent cable pinching and groove changing, and to provide a sufficiently large hearing area for the drum guide 62. To prevent groove changing, the clearance between the helical rib and the casing must be less than the diameter of the cable, and to avoid pinching, the clearance must be considerably less than the diameter of the cable. In normal operation the cable lying in the helical groove 48 must clear the casing 10. However, the radial clearance between the casing 10 and the cable as it lies in the groove 48 is small enough to provide self-braking by expansion of the cable coils against the inner surface of the casing in response to back pressure on the cable or to slack due to sudden loss of load.

An extremely compact unit results from the particular arrangement'wherein the motor and the transmission extend into opposite ends of the hollow drum-carrying arbor, and motor and transmission are coupled by a shaft extending through the hollow of the arbor.

Although the invention is described in connection with its use in hoisting apparatus and in a position wherein the cable is emitted horizontally, employing a pulley 76 to change direction, it can be mounted in various planes, employing a direct or indirect cable pull, and is readily adapted to other uses such as pulling, hauling etc.

While the form of the embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A winch of the fixed point of cable delivery type including a housing having a cylindrical chamber with spaced end walls and a fixed delivery opening therein between its end walls, an arbor supported at the respective end walls of the housing for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the chamber, a hollow drum encircling the arbor and concentric to the axis of the chamber having an outer surface on which cable is wound, bearing means connecting the arbor and drum to rotate the drum about the axis of the chamber to wind and deliver cable, permit movement of the drum axially along the axis of the chamber with relation to the arbor between cable delivered and full wound limits, and carry the cable load between the drum and arbor at the fixed delivery opening in the housing including a ball bearing cage disposed between the drum and arbor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots extending parallel to the axis of the chamber with a plurality of ball bearings therein operating in correspondingly located axial raceways in the respective arbor and drum whose position along the longitudinal axis with relation to the delivery opening is dependent on the axial position of the drum between its travel limits with relation to the arbor, means for rotating the connected arbor, cage and drum about the axis of the chamber, and means dependent on the rotation of the drum for moving the drum between its travel limits to position the bearing cage axially with relation to the arbor so that the cable delivers at the fixed delivery opening in the housing with the load between the drum and arbor carried by the cage bearings.

2. A winch of the character claimed in claim 1 including means for limiting the axial travel of the bearing cage with relation to the drum.

3. A winch of the character claimed in claim 1, that includes a collapsible boot for covering the bearing means connecting the arbor and drum having a first part extending between one end of the drum and one end of the arbor and a second part extending between the other end of the drum and the other end of the arbor.

4. A winch of the character claimed in claim 1 in which the disposition of the bearing cage between the arbor and drum is such that its clearance with respect to the drum is less than its clearance with respect to the arbor.

5. In a winch, a housing with a cable chamber therein having spaced end walls and a fixed delivery point for the cable between its end walls, an arbor supported at the respective end walls of the housing for rotation about an axis, a hollow drum encircling and concentric to the axis of the arbor having an outer surface on which cable is wound, bearing means connecting the arbor and drum to rotate the drum to wind and deliver cable, permit axial movement of the drum with relation to the arbor between cable delivered and fully wound limits, and carry the cable load between the drum and arbor at the fixed cable delivery point of the housing including a bearing cage disposed between the drum and arbor of an axial length shorter than that of the drum having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots extending parallel to the axis of the arbor with a plurality of bearings therein operating in correspondingly located axial raceways in the respective arbor and drum whose position along the arbor axis with relation to the delivery point is dependent on the axial position of the drum between its travel limits with relation to the arbor, means for rotating said connected arbor, cage and drum about the axis of the arbor, and means dependent on the rotation of the drum for moving the drum between its travel limits to position the bearing cage axially with relation to arbor so that the cable delivers at the fixed delivery point of the housing with the cable load between the drum and arbor carried by the cage bearings.

6. A winch of the character claimed in claim 5, in which the drum includes respective abutments for limiting the axial travel of the bearing cage with relation thereto.

7. A winch of the character claimed in claim 5, that includes a first collapsible boot encircling the arbor connected at one end to the drum and connected at the other end to the end of the arbor adjacent the one end of the drum, and a second collapsible boot encircling the arbor connected at one end to the other end of the drum and connected at the other end to the end of the arbor adjacent the other end of the drum.

8. A winch of the character claimed in claim 5, in which the disposition of the bearing cage between the arbor and drum is such that its clearance with respect to the arbor is greater than its clearance with respect to the drum.

9. In a winch, a housing with a cable chamber therein having spaced end walls and a fixed delivery point for the cable between its end walls, an arbor supported at the respective end walls of the housing for rotation about an axis, a hollow drum encircling and concentric to the axis of the arbor having an outer surface on which cable is wound, bearing means connecting the arbor and drum to rotate the drum about the axis of the arbor to wind and deliver cable, permit axial movement of the drum with relation to the arbor between cable delivered and fully wound limits, and carry the cable load between the drum and arbor at the fixed delivery point of the housing including a ball bearing cage disposed between the drum and arbor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots extending parallel to the axis of the arbor with a plurality of ball bearings therein operating in correspondingly located axial raceways in the respective arbor and drum whose position along the arbor axis with relation to the delivery point is dependent on the axial posi tion of the drum between its travel limits with relation to the arbor, means for rotating said connected arbor, cage and drum about the axis of the arbor, and means dependent on the rotation of the drum for moving the drum between its travel limits to position the bearing cage axially with relation to the arbor so that the cable delivers at the fixed delivery point of the housing with the cable load between the drum and arbor carried by the cage bearings.

10. A winch of the character claimed in claim 9, in which the axial length of the slots of the cage of the bearing means substantially corresponds to the axial length of the cage, and the ball hearings in the longitudinal slots are arranged in contacting relation between its respective ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,684,988 Homan Sept. 18, 1928 2,562,729 Merwin July 31, 1951 2,594,484 Nixon Apr. 29, 1952 2,868,504 Minty Jan. 13, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 725,687 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1955