US3081067A

US3081067A - Winch construction

Info

Publication number: US3081067A
Application number: US854938A
Authority: US
Inventors: William F Hickson
Original assignee: Continental Copper and Steel Industries Inc
Current assignee: Continental Copper and Steel Industries Inc
Priority date: 1959-11-23
Filing date: 1959-11-23
Publication date: 1963-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 1980-03-12

Description

March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKSON 3,

WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR w ILL/n4 F'H N ATTORNEY March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKSON 3,081,067

WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

, INVENTOR WILL/1M4 Ff? ,q

ATTORNEY March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKSON wmcn CONSTRUCTION 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 23, 1959 L- I I 1 INVENTOR ffi kon 5 4 ATTORNEY lvlLLhm March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKSON 3,081,067

WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY March 12, 1963 w. F. 'HICKSON 3,081,067

WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR lulu-mm f C/QM/ ATTORNEY March 12, 1963 w. HICKSON WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR WILLIAM F. I CIcJ'oN ATTO RNEY March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKISON 35 367 WINCH CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV. 25. 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 N Q Q Q 0) Q) INVENTOR WILLIAM E I-HcKSoN ATTORNEY March 12, 1963 w. F. HICKSON wmca CONSTRUCTION 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Nov. 23, 1959 ATTORNEY United States Patent F 3,081,067 WINCH CONSTRUCTION William F. Hickson, Westfield, N.J., assignor to Continental Copper & Steel Industries, Inc. (W clin Davit and Boat Division), New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 854,938 3 Claims. (Cl. 254184) The present invention relates to a winch construction and it particularly relates to a winch construction for use upon ships.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide. a novel light-weight winch construction for use in connection with ship davits in which a smaller lightweight and more compact arrangement has been achieved and which may be readily installed and which will be more reliable in operation.

' Another object is to provide a novel winch construction for use on ships in association with davits thereon in which a superior operation will be obtained with enhanced braking facilities and without likelihood of malfunction due to entrance of extraneous material.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, thatthis more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects, the essential feature of the invention resides in providing a novel winch gear case and associated equipment which will all be made of aluminum and which will be much more compact.

Desirably, an overriding mechanism is employed instead of a ratchet type mechanism, and a centrifugal clutch is utilized in combination with a clutch support housing and with a commercial and improved centrifugal brake being associated with the winch.

The winch is also thoroughly sealed against all extraneous material by the use of seals.

. In the preferred form of the invention, the winch is placed to the side of the davits on the deck, and it is provided with upper and lower drums closely positioned in respect to a brake drum and a centrifugal drum with the actuating motor being positioned above the drums and extending vertically.

One wire rope will extend to one davit head and the other wire rope from the other drum will extend to the other davit head.

'I he payout mechanism will control the movement of the wire rope so that there will not be undue slack.

In the hoisting operation, the overriding mechanism will desirably disengage itself, and there will he provided manual braking means with a manual brake wheel for adjustment,

- On lowering, the brake wheel is engaged through the overriding mechanism to the gear shaft.

On hoisting, on the other hand, the brake wheel will be slackened and the overriding mechanism will disengage 3,081,067 Patented Mar. 12,1953

shafts with associated rope guide driver and idler rollers and with a carriage capable of lateral movement.

In the arrangement of the present application, where an empty boat is lowered, there will be no tendency toward the rope to malfunction. i

Furthermore, the unraveling tendency with a loaded boat or with an empty boat will be eliminated.

In the preferred arrangement, the top gear, is driven and the speed is greater than the speed ofthe wire rope coming oif the drum, so that the wire rope will slide wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is. a. side elevational view showing the winch with the davit heads as mounted upon a boat, with the boat in elevated position and with the davit heads in elevatedposition', on the starboard side.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the davit elevated upon the starboard side.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the which construction showing the motor and arrangement of the wire drums.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view taken from the left of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken upon the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 6-6 of FIG. .4 and upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 7-7 of FIG. 4 and upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 4 showing the drums.

, FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 88 of FIG. 4, showing the payout mechanisms upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 99 of FIG. 3 showing the payout mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 1010 of FIG. 9, and upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 9. 7

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary top perspective view showing the payout shafts as well as the drums for the wire rope. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a ship A having a deck B with the winch W positioned on said deck alongside of the near davit head C and the remote davit head D.

Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the winch has the motor E, the drum housing F, and the handles G and H.

From the drums extend the, wire ropes J and K re-- spectively to the near davit head C and the remote davit head -D. p

The davits will support the lifeboat or motorboat L in elevated position above the deck B.

The davit heads themselves are supported on the lower structure including the trackways M and N;

, As shown in FIG. 2, both wire ropes J and K will pass through the pulley arrangement P before extending to 3 the davits C and D, and they will extend through the wire rope sheaves or guide pulleys Q associated with the davit heads as shown in FIG. 1.

The wire rope will then extend to the block pulleys R which are associated by hooks S to engage or be associated with the falls connected to the lifeboat or motorboat L.

Extending above the davits, are the life lines T (see FIG. 1).

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the winch W is provided with the upper motor E on a vertical axis.

The motor is mounted on top of a centrifugal clutch unit -U.

Below the centrifugal clutch unit U is located the brake and brake drum unit X.

Inside of the drum housing F is the upper drum Y and the lower drum Z.

Below the drum is the payout mechanism AA which is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Referring to FIGS. and 6, the lower part 20 of the motor housing is mounted by bolts 21 to the flange 22 at the top of the housing 23 of the centrifugal clutch unit U (see FIG. 5).

The lower end 24 of the motor shaft will extend into the housing 23 of the centrifugal clutch U and will be mounted in the centrifugal clutch hub 25 (see FIG. 5) which is held in position by the plate 26 and the bolt 27.

The pivot or bolt connections 28 to the centrifugal clutch members 29 will cause said members to move outwardly to contact the drum 30 of the centrifugal clutch.

This centrifugal clutch forms no part of the invention but may be of the Hilliard type.

The nut 31 on the threaded stud 32 will hold the base of the clutch drum 30 upon the shaft 33.

The shaft 33 has a ball bearing 34 and a lower roller conical bearing to take up thrust at 35.

These bearings ride inside of the hub 36 connected to the lower portion 37 of the housing 23 (see FIG. 5).

The bottom 37 of the housing 23 is held by the bolts or screws 38 to the upper 39 part of the casing structure for the main transverse horizontal worm shaft BB.

The lower end of the stud shaft 33 which turns with the centrifugal clutch drum 30 has a conical gear 40 (see FIG. 5) which meshes with and drives the conical gear 41 on the worm shaft BB (see also FIG. 11).

The worm shaft at its

ends

60 and 61 carries the crank handles G and H by means of the connecting

members

62 and 63 which fit into the splines or recesses 64 and 65 in the shaft ends 60 and 61 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The portion 66 of the worm shaft is provided with a centrifugal brake arrangement CC which will. govern the speed of the worm shaft BB.

This centrifugal brake arrangement, which may be conventional and does not form part of the present invention, has a central hub 67 with the pivotal connections 68 to the outwardly swinging brake member 69 which in their outer position will. contact the cylindrical brake member 70 on the. inside of the housing portion 71 of the. housing for the worm shaft BB.

The centrifugal, clutch U and the centrifugal brake CC are shown diagrammatically since their internal structure is not part of the invention.

Different types of centrifugal brakes and clutches may be employed.

The important feature as indicated in FIG. 5, resides in the fact that the axes are at 90 degrees to each other.

Furthermore, the centrifugal clutch U on the vertical downwardly extending motor shaft 24 and the centrifugal brake CC are on one end of the worm shaft BB having an axis at right angles to the axis of the motor shaft 24.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is a conical roller bearing 72 on the worm shaft portion 66 which is separated from the centrifugal brake CC by the grease seal 73.

Inside of the space 74, there will be a pocket of oil to which access is had through the plug 75, and this oil 4 level should be above the lower end of the conical gear 41.

A roller bearing 76 will be positioned between the chamber 74 and the worm 77.

The worm 77 meshes with and drives the worm wheel 78 (see also FIGS. 5, 6 and 11).

Beyond the worm 77, the shaft portion 79 of the worm shaft BB is mounted in the roller bearings 89.

The roller bearings 76 and 80 (see FIG. 5) are held in position by the retaining rings 81 and 82.

The shaft portion 83 (see FIG. 5) will connect to the hub 84 of the manual brake drum arrangement X.

The manual brake drum arrangement X has a roller bearing 85 and a seal 86, and its hub portion 87 contacts the central hub 88 of the manual brake wheel adjustment 89.

The seal 86 will prevent any leakage of grease or oil from the chamber 90.

Encircling the drum 91 of the hand brake arrangement X will be the brake band 92 (see also FIG. 4), and this brake band arrangement is shown diagrammatically since its specific construction forms no part of the present invention.

The brake band as shown in FIG. 3 has

extensions

93 and 94 to the clevis member 95 mounted on the side 96 of the housing F and to the clevis 97 mounted on the arm 98 respectively (see FIG. 3).

The arm 98 has an extension 99 with an adjustable counterweight 160 (see FIG. 3).

The drive from the worm 77 to the worm wheel 78 is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 11 and in enlarged scale in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 11, the worm 77 through the worm wheel 78 will drive the horizontal shaft 131' having the top thrust conical roller bearing in the nipple 126 of the gear case 127.

The shaft 131 at its right end is mounted in the

ball bearings

128 and 129 in the gear case housing portion 130 (see FIG. 6).

The shaft 131 will drive the spur pinion 132 which meshes with and drives the spur gears 133 and 134 (see FIGS. 6, 7 and 11).

The spur gears 133 and 134 are mounted by the

flanges

135 and 136, and the

bolts

137 and 138 to the

end plates

139 and 140 of the upper and lower wire rope drums Y and Z (see FIG. 7).

These

end flanges

139 and 140 have the

hub portions

141 and 142 which are mounted upon and turned on the

enlarged portions

143 and 144 of the upper and lower wire

rope shaft elements

145 and 146.

The drums have the

cylindrical portions

147 and 148 and the right end conical portions 149 and 150 (see FIG. 7).

The drums terminate at the right in the small cylindrical portions 151 and 152 having the flanges 153 and 154.

The right ends of the drums are provided with the inturned nipple portions 155 and 156 which ride on the shaft portions 157 and 158 (see FIG. 7).

The ends 159, 160, 161 and 162 of the

shafts

145 and 146 are mounted on the

end cover plates

163 and 164 by the

nuts

165, 166, 167 and 168 (see FIG. 7).

These end cover plates or

side cover plates

163 and 164 form part of the housing F and at their lower ends, they have the right

angle flange connections

169 and 170 to the portion of the deck located at 171.

The payout AA mechanism to which the present invention is most particularly directed is best shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, and it is shown in small scale in the lower part of FIGS. 3 and 4 below and to the side of the upper and lower wire rope drums Y and Z.

-As shown in FIG. 9, the lower spur gear 134 will drive the gear on the screw shaft 196. The gear 195 in turn meshes with and drives the gear 197 on the longitudinally recessed shaft 198.

The spline shaft 198 has a longitudinally extending recess 199 extending the length thereof (see FIGS. 8 and 9), and the screw shaft has a screw '200extending over the middle portion thereof.

The guide unit EE is designed to be held against rotation by the longitudinally extending recess 199 and to be moved laterally by the screw 200.

This unit EE has the side plates 201 between which are mounted the rope guide grooved driver roller 202 and the rope guide idler roller 203.

The driver roller 202 as shown in FIG. 8 has end ball bearings 204- and it is mounted with its axis on the axis of the longitudinally recessed shaft 198.

The idler roller has the end stud portions 205 which are mounted in the side plate members 206- (see FIG. 8).

The bottom plate 207 will be held onto the side plates 206 by the screws 208.

The structure 209 acts as a separator for the plates 201 (see FIG. 9).

The ends of the longitudinally recessed shaft have bearing structures 210 mounted in the plate portions 211.

The ends of the screw shaft are mounted in the bearing structures 212.

The spline shaft 198 carries the overriding clutch construction 213 which is positioned right alongside of the driving gear 197.

This overriding clutch may be of conventional construction, and the interior construction thereof forms no part of the present invention.

The traveling mechanism which guides the wire ropes is shown in FIG. 10, and it has a plate 207 held in position by the bolts 208 with a spring tension member 227 being mounted on the bolt 228.

The pivot pin or hinge pin 229 carries the upper structure and the spring 227 tends to bias the upper structure between the side plates 201 away from the bottom plate 207.

This will move the idler roller 203 which is carried by the side plate member 206 toward the drive roller 202 to cause the wire cables to be tightly gripped between the driver roller 202 and the idler roller 203. The drive roller 202 is keyed to the shaft 198 and will be driven by the shaft 198.

In operation, the wire rope coming off the drums Y and Z will pass between the grooved driven roller 202 and the grooved idler roller 203- with the spring 227 moving the rollers together to grip the rope and hold it tightly.

These

rollers

202 and 203 in view of the geared connection at 195 and 197 to the spur gears 133 and 134 will turn at the same rate as the drums Y and Z so that there will be no opportunity for the wire rope in the payout becoming loose or unraveling on the drums Y and Z when the boat L is lowered with a relatively light'load.

The screw 200 will keep the unit between the side plates 201 including the idler roller 203- and the driver roller 202 moving back and forth across the face of the drums Y and Z as the rope moves off the drums Y and Z.

As indicated in the diagrammatic showing of FIG. 11, the gearing arrangement is such that the drums Y and Z and the

shafts

196 and 198 will all be driven in a predetermined ratio in respect to one another and the unit in FIG. 10 will be moved laterally. The longitudinally recessed shaft 198 has the recesses 199 extending longitudinally thereof which are in effect off-round so that the guide unit BE on the outer surface thereof, sliding therealong, will not turn with this longitudinally recessed shaft but will slide along said longitudinally recessed shaft.

The payout device in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 will be readily reversed through the

gears

195 and 197.

By means of this arrangement, the wire rope will always be subject to payout at a constant rate, and there will be no tendency for it to run off the drums Y and Z too quickly when the boat is being lowered with a minimum load or without load.

The present invention is particularly directed to this arrangement by means of which the rope is prevented from unraveling or becoming loosely coiled on the drums Y and Z.

However, a further feature of the invention resides in the fact that the winch frame and structure are all aluminum and are quite compact and are relatively lightweight.

Furthermore, the centrifugal clutch U together with the centrifugal brake CC and the overriding clutch 213 will assure smooth, uniform operation without excessive speed.

The casing structure F as well as the other casing elements are desirably aluminum.

As many changes could be made in the above winch construction and many widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

l. A winch construction comprising a vertically mounted motor having a downwardly extending motor shaft with a lower end, a centrifugal clutch means having a clutch shaft, said clutch means operatively engaging said lower end of said motor shaft, a horizontally extending worm shaft having two ends, meshing bevel gears operatively connecting said clutch shaft and said worm shaft, a. centrifugal brake operatively connected to one end of said worm shaft, a worm gear intermediate the ends of said worm shaft, a worm wheel in meshing relationship with said worm gear, a worm wheel shaft having two ends, one end of said worm wheel shaft being fixed to said worm wheel, a spur pinion fixed to the other end of said worm wheel shaft, an upper spur gear and a lower spur gear, each in meshing relationship with said spur pinion, an upper drum fixed to said upper spur gear for rotation therewith, a lower drum fixed to said lower spur gear for rotation therewith, and a payout mechanism for controlling the takeup and payout of an upper and lower wire rope to said upper and lower drums respectively, said payout mechanism comprising a screw shaft having two ends and a screw portion intermediate said ends, a longitudinally recessed shaft having two ends, intermeshing spur gears on one end of each of said screw and longitudinally recessed shafts, one of said spur gears on said screw and longitudinally recessed shafts being in meshing relationship with one of said spur gears on said upper and lower drums, a guide unit having two spaced-apart outside plates, said outside plates having screw means in operative relationship with said screw portion of said screw shaft for moving said guide unit back and forth with respect to said screw shaft, and said outside plates being slidingly mounted on said spline shaft to prevent rotation of said guide unit about said screw shaft, a guide roller rotatably mounted between said outside plates and keyed to said spline shaft for rotation therewith, said guide roller having at least one groove on its surface to guide each of said upper and lower wire ropes, two spaced-apart inside plates, a hinge pin pivotally mounting said inside plates between, and depending from, said outside plates, an idler roller rotatably mounted between said inside plates below said guide roller, said idler roller having at least one groove on its surface to guide each of said upper and lower wire ropes, and spring means normally biasing said idler roller about said hinge pin to maintain said grooves on said idler roller in juxtaposition with said grooves on said guide roller.

2. A winch construction in accordance with claim 1, further comprising an aluminum casing structure enclosing said upper and lower drums and said payout mechanism with an opening in said casing structure for said upper and lower wire ropes to communicate with said guide unit.

3. A winch construction in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a manual brake means operatively connected to the other end of said worm shaft and an overriding clutch means operatively connected adjacent said spur .gear on said longitudinally recessed shaft.

522,429 Otis July 3, 1894 Nason May 28, McLachlan Sept. 23, McLachlan Feb. 8, Beaumont Nov. 15, Schat July 14, Lear July 2, Osgood July 12, Brown Oct, 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Dec. 15,

Claims

1. A WINCH CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A VERTICALLY MOUNTED MOTOR HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING MOTOR SHAFT WITH A LOWER END, A CENTRIFUGAL CLUTCH MEANS HAVING A CLUTCH SHAFT, SAID CLUTCH MEANS OPERATIVELY ENGAGING SAID LOWER END OF SAID MOTOR SHAFT, A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING WORM SHAFT HAVING TWO ENDS, MESHING BEVEL GEARS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID CLUTCH SHAFT AND SAID WORM SHAFT, A CENTRIFUGAL BRAKE OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID WORM SHAFT, A WORM GEAR INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF SAID WORM SHAFT, A WORM WHEEL IN MESHING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID WORM GEAR, A WORM WHEEL SHAFT HAVING TWO ENDS, ONE END OF SAID WORM WHEEL SHAFT BEING FIXED TO SAID WORM WHEEL, A SPUR PINION FIXED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID WORM WHEEL SHAFT, AN UPPER SPUR GEAR AND A LOWER SPUR GEAR, EACH IN MESHING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SPUR PINION, AN UPPER DRUM FIXED TO SAID UPPER SPUR GEAR FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, A LOWER DRUM FIXED TO SAID LOWER SPUR GEAR FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, AND A PAYOUT MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE TAKEUP AND PAYOUT OF AN UPPER AND LOWER WIRE ROPE TO SAID UPPER AND LOWER DRUMS RESPECTIVELY, SAID PAYOUT MECHANISM COMPRISING A SCREW SHAFT HAVING TWO ENDS AND A SCREW PORTION INTERMEDIATE SAID ENDS, A LONGITUDINALLY RECESSED SHAFT HAVING TWO ENDS, INTERMESHING SPUR GEARS ON ONE END OF EACH OF SAID SCREW AND LONGITUDINALLY RECESSED SHAFTS, ONE OF SAID SPUR GEARS ON SAID SCREW AND LONGITUDINALLY RECESSED SHAFTS BEING IN MESHING RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE OF SAID SPUR GEARS ON SAID UPPER AND LOWER DRUMS, A GUIDE UNIT HAVING TWO SPACED-APART OUTSIDE PLATES, SAID OUTSIDE PLATES HAVING SCREW MEANS IN OPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SCREW PORTION OF SAID SCREW SHAFT FOR MOVING SAID GUIDE UNIT BACK AND FORTH WITH RESPECT TO SAID SCREW SHAFT, AND SAID OUTSIDE PLATES BEING SLIDINGLY MOUNTED ON SAID SPLINE SHAFT TO PREVENT ROTATION OF SAID GUIDE UNIT ABOUT SAID SCREW SHAFT, A GUIDE ROLLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID OUTSIDE PLATES AND KEYED TO SAID SPLINE SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, SAID GUIDE ROLLER HAVING AT LEAST ONE GROOVE ON ITS SURFACE TO GUIDE EACH OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER WIRE ROPES, TWO SPACED-APART INSIDE PLATES, A HINGE PIN PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID INSIDE PLATES BETWEEN, AND DEPENDING FROM, SAID OUTSIDE PLATES, AN IDLER ROLLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID INSIDE PLATES BELOW SAID GUIDE ROLLER, SAID IDLER ROLLER HAVING AT LEAST ONE GROOVE ON ITS SURFACE TO GUIDE EACH OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER WIRE ROPES, AND SPRING MEANS NORMALLY BIASING SAID IDLER ROLLER ABOUT SAID HINGE PIN TO MAINTAIN SAID GROOVES ON SAID IDLER ROLLER IN JUXTAPOSITION WITH SAID GROOVES ON SAID GUIDE ROLLER.