US3231112A

US3231112A - Materials distribution

Info

Publication number: US3231112A
Application number: US253171A
Authority: US
Inventors: Addis T Jones
Original assignee: Thomas Hoist Co
Current assignee: Thomas Hoist Co
Priority date: 1963-01-22
Filing date: 1963-01-22
Publication date: 1966-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-25

Description

Jan. 25, 1966 A. 1'. JONES MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 22, 1965 I NVENTOR.

Jan. 25, 1966 A. T. JONES MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN'TOR.

Filed Jan. 22, 1963 Jan. 25, 1966 A. 'r. JONES 3,231,112

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION Filed Jan. 22, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR. M J

1966 A. T. JONES 3,231,112

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION Filed Jan. 22, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1N VENTOR. am J agzmfm 15 United States Patent 3,231,112 MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION Addis T. Jones, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Thomas Hoist Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 253,171 11 Claims. (Cl. 21495) The present invention relates to the distribution or handling of materials, particularly fluent materials. The invention more specifically is concerned with the construction of multiple story buildings from concrete and the handling of distribution of fluent concrete to facilitate construction.

In the construction of multiple story buildings, it has been conventional to utilize extensible towers made up of a plurality of interfitted and crossbraced pipes or tubes, the towers being erected in pace with building construction and conventionally forming at least one elevator shaft within which an elevator is located for carrying construction workers and materials to the level of construction. When erecting buildings of reinforced poured concrete, it is conventional to erect a two-shaft tower, one shaft for the conventional elevator and another for an elevatable concrete supply hopper, whereby fluent concrete may conveniently be supplied to the level of construction.

To distribute the concrete over the construction area, it has been the general practice of the industry to engage a large number of laborers, each with a wheelbarrow to wheel the concrete a barrow at a time from the supply hopper to the area where it is required.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved materials distribution system overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art, meeting the present-day standards of the industry and affording high production rates at low cost with minimum personnel.

It is particularly an object of the invention to provide improved materials distribution apparatus for use in combination with a conventional two-shaft extensible construction tower and comprising an elongate boom mounted at one end on the tower and projecting generally horizontally out over the construction area, the boom being elevatable on the tower in pace with the building construction and at each mounting point being swingable in a horizontal are over the construction area, hoppers on the boom for carrying concrete from the tower out to any location along the length of the boom, and means for filling said hoppers at high speed from the elevatable concrete supply hopper comprising part of the tower.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, to be described hereinafter, the boom is 90 feet long, is swingable in an arc of about 200 degrees and has a load capacity of about 2500 pounds, the complete apparatus having a production rate in excess of 50 cubic yards of concrete per hour. The apparatus is adapted to discharge concrete at any location desired over a generally semicircular area of 90 foot radius; or stated in terms of a rectangle, at any location over an area of about 63 /2 feet wide and about 127 feet long.

To support a boom of the described character on a conventional two-shaft construction tower is a particular accomplishment of the present invention. Such towers are comprised simply of relatively small diameter pipes assembled and bolted together to define six upright legs, three at the front face and three at the rear face of the tower, the uprights being interconnected by bolted in place cross and diagonal braces and the tower being anchored by cables and by bracing into the building as the building is erected. The customary maximum loading exteriorly of the tower is about 33,000 foot pounds, e.g., a boom 22 feet long having maximum load capacity of 1500 pounds. In the preferred embodiment of the pres- 3 ,23 1,1 12 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 ent invention, the boom is feet long and has a load capacity of 2500 pounds thereby producing a loading of 225,000 foot pounds, almost seven times the maximum permissible loading according to the prior art.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for safely loading extensible construction towers to the magnitude above indicated, characterized by boom mounting frame structures effective to distribute the load equally on the three uprights at the front face of the tower.

It is particularly an object of the invention to provide a load-distributing frame from a two-shaft extensible construction tower comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the width of the front face of the tower, means for mounting said outer frame to the three front uprights of the tower at locations on the outer frame aligned respectively with the uprights, an inner frame of about twothirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame and secured thereto at its side margins, and load-supporting means supported centrally on said inner frame, said inner frame distributing the load from said supporting means to said outer frame at such locations on the outer frame that each of the three uprights of the tower carries one-third of the load. Consequently, no upright is required to carry a disproportionate share of the load and the load is spread uniformly over the front of the tower, whereby the tower is capable of sustaining significant loads.

Another object of the invention is to provide on said outer frame three sets of guide assemblies for guiding the frame for vertical movement on the tower and for de-tachably mounting the outer frame to the tower at selected positions thereon.

An additional object of the invention is to provide two of said load-distributing frames on the tower, one immediately above the construction area for pivotally support ing (centrally of its inner frame) the inner end of the boom at the desired elevation, and the other adjacent the top of the tower and having cable or like support means extending from the center of its inner frame to the outer end portions of the boom for supporting the outer end of the boom at the desired elevation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of two load-distributing frames as aforesaid including hoisting mechanism extending between the two frame structunes for elevating the lower frame structure on the tower as construction progresses.

Still further objects of the invention include a tower construction and a frame construction facilitating vertical adjustment of the frame structures on the tower; means minimizing the frequency of adjustment of the frame structures on the tower; means for supplying concrete or other materials at a rapid rate to two delivery means on the boom for substantially continuous supply of materials to the job; means facilitating adjustment of the length of travel of the delivery means along the boom; and an economical and easily operated construction satisfying the demands of the .industry in terms of equipment cost, cost of operation and performance.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following detailed description.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of making and using my improved materials distributing apparatus and process, I shall describe, in connection with the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of my apparatus and the preferred manners of making and using the same.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of materials-distributing apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention, the view showing the apparatus as employed in construction of a multiple story building;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the apparatus showing the inner end of the boom, the boom-supporting frame and the concrete supply means;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus showing particularly the means from which the outer end of the boom is suspended;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the preferred embodiment of the load-distributing frame of the invention, the view being taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the concrete supply means, the view being taken substantially on line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of the boom taken substantially on line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the tower, the lower load distributing frame and the adjustable clamp and guide means for said frame, the View being taken substantially on line 77 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical section of one upright leg of the tower showing my improved construction therefore; and

FIGURE 9 is a schematic diagram of a control for the two delivery hoppers.

Referring to FIGURE 1, I have shown my apparatus in use in the construction of a multiple story building including poured concrete columns, wall sections and floors. The building is shown as constructed to the tenth floor level, and it may in the environment illustrated be extended to a fourteen story building. The apparatus of the invention consists essentially of a knockdown and assemble, extensible construction tower 22 disposed adjacent the center of the long side of the building, a pair of vertically spaced load-supporting

frames

24 and 26 mounted on the front face, i.e., the building side, of the tower, a boom 28 supported at its inner end on the lower frame 24 and having its outer end suspended by a cable sling 30 from the upper frame 26, and a concrete delivery system indicated generally at 32.

The tower 22 is essentially of the conventional construction well-known to any one who has witnessed construction of larger buildings, the same being formed of pipes or tubes suitably bolted together. The tower is of two-shaft construction, comprising six upright legs 34, three at the front face thereof and three at the rear face thereof, each comprised of a plurality of superimposed pipes each of a length equal approximately to the distance between the floors of the building. Aligned pairs of the front and rear uprights 34 are interconnected by criss-crossed pipe or tubular braces 36, as are adjacent pairs of the uprights at the front and rear faces of the tower, whereby to define within the confines of the tower a pair of elevator shafts 38 and 40 (FIGURE 3). The shaft 38 is used for the conventional man and material elevator (not shown) and the shaft 40 contains an elevatable concrete supply hopper to be described hereinafter, both elevators being operated from ground level by the conventional hoist mechanism utilized in the art.

According to the present invention, I provide a spe cial construction for at least the front uprights of the tower, which construction is best shown in FIGURES 7 and 8. Each upright 34 is comprised of a plurality of superimposed pipes 41, each provided at one end thereof with a tubular plug 42 secured within the one pipe and projecting beyond the end thereof. Anchored in the plug internally within the one pipe is a stud 43 which projects rearwardly through the wall of the pipe to provide mounting means at the rear of the front face of the tower for the cross-braces 36. The projecting end of the plug 42 is adapted for telescopic reception thereon of the opposite end of an identical pipe and includes in this portion threaded bosses 44 disposed at right angles to the stud 43 for reception of a fastener 45 for securing to the pipes the fore and aft cross-bracing members 36. This structural arrangement provides a pipe assembly wherein the front and inner side surfaces of the outboard uprights and the front surface of the center upright are unobstructed, whereby said surfaces define slides or guides for the

frames

24 and 26.

The tower may initially be constructed to its desired final height, or it may be constructed in stages during building construction. When the tower is initially erected, one or more (and preferably three) cables 46 are stretched from the top rear of the tower downwardly at a rearward inclination and anchored in an embedmerit 47 thereby to place the rear legs or uprights in compression and prevent forward tilting of the tower. When the building reaches about fifty feet, a first tie-in 48 is made to the building, the tie-in restraining the tower against movement relative to the building. As shown, this tie-in projects rearwardly beyond the tower and forms a guide for the guy cable or cables 46, after which the cables are removed from the embedment and anchored to the tower adjacent its base for purposes of stability. The cable remains in place during the remaining period of use of the tower and the tower is further braced into the building at approximately each additional fifty feet of construction, as indicated by the tie-in 49 in FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURES 4 and 7, the lower load distributing frame 24 is illustrated in its preferred embodiment as comprising a rectangular outer frame 50 having spaced parallel side bars and a plurality of spaced parallel horizontal bars extending between and secured to said side bars, the width of the outer frame 50 being substantially equal to the width of the front face of the tower. At its rearward face, in alignment with the respective tower uprights, the outer frame 50 carries three sets of clamps 51 by which it is secured to the three front uprights of the tower. Centered on the outer frame is an inner frame 52 of essentially the same construction but only twothirds as wide as the outer frame. The inner frame is secured solely at its vertical side bars 53 to the horizontal bars of the outer frame, the bars 53 being rigidly secured to the horizontal bars of the outer frame 50 and being disposed equal distances inwardly from the side bars of the outer frame. The inner frame 52 at its vertical center line provides a mount for a load supporting member 54, in the form preferably of a vertical mast to be described in detail hereinafter.

Due to the frame structure described, a load supported on the member 54 is divided and carried in equal parts laterally outward by the inner frame to the two side bars 53 thereof. Each of these bars in turn transmits onehalf of the load to a point on the outer frame 50 located inwardly from the respective outboard upright 34 of the tower by a distance equal to one-third the spacing between adjacent front uprights of the tower. Consequently, two-thirds of one-half of the load is transmitted by each end portion of the outer frame to the adjacent outboard upright of the tower, and one-third of each onehalf of the load is transmitted by the outer frame to the center upright of the tower, whereby the load is sustained in equal increments (one-third, one-third and one-third) by the three uprights of the tower and distributed uniformly across the front face of the tower.

The clamps 51 for detachably securing the outer frame 50 to the tower are preferably each comprised, as shown in FIGURE 7, of the guide part 55 rigidly secured to the outer frame 50 in alignment with a respective tower upright 34 and a clamp part 56 comprised of a pair of sections hingedly connected together, as indicated at 57, which sections are adapted to be bolted or otherwise connected to the guide part 55 in encircling relation to the respective upright 34 in the spaces between crossbrace connections, thereby securely but detachably to mount the outer frame on the uprights. The guide parts 55 of the outboard clamps each present an arcuate guide surface somewhat in excess of degrees arcuate extent, which surface slidably engages the unobstructed front and inner side surfaces of the respective upright. The center guide part 55 may suitably comprise an arcuate guide surface engaging the unobstructed front surface of the center upright 34, and the same if desired may be mounted on a screw-jack 58 to accommodate retraction of the same when the frame is being elevated. The clamp parts 56 are each of an arcuate extent to complete the circle initiated by said guide surfaces of said guide parts, and the two parts have complementary radial flanges at their ends facilitating the bolting together of the parts.

The-re are preferably six clamps on the outer frame 50, two engaging each of the uprights. When it is desired to elevate the frame on the tower, as will be de scribed in greater detail hereinafter, the clamp parts 56 are removed, and if desired the center guides may be retracted. In this condition, there are at least four guide parts engaging the front and inner side surfaces of the outboard uprights 34 adjacent the four corners of the frame 50, whereby the frame is retained against lateral movement relative to the tower and is guided on said uprights for upward and downward sliding movement relative to the tower.

The upper load supporting frame 26 is constructed on the same principles as the frame 24, but is suitably of considerably less height and mass. To afford economy of construction, the upper frame 26 may consist simply of a beam 60 comprising an outer frame, the beam traversing the front face of the tower and carrying three clamps 61 the same as clamps 51 for securing the beam to the three front uprights of the tower. Projecting forwardly and upwardly from this beam is an inner frame means consisting of a pair of diagonal struts 62 which fixedly engage the beam 60 at locations corresponding to the points of engagement of the inner frame side bars 52 with the outer frame 50. If desired, the struts may also project downwardly and rearwardly .to the outboard front uprights 34. At their apex, the diagonal struts 62 merge to define a load support 64, which may suitably comprise a pin for attachment of the cable sling 30, or a pulley for guidable reception of the boom sling. Further to sustain the sling 30, and thus the outer end of the boom 28, a pair of diagonal struts 65 (an inner frame means) preferably extend from the apex of the struts 62 downwardly and rearwardly to a rear beam 66 (an outer frame means) which is secured to the three rear uprights of the tower, the struts 65 being secured to the beam 66 at the same location relative thereto as described with respect to the inner and outer frame means of the

frame structures

24 and 26.

The frame 26 and the frame structure 65-66 are preferably mounted at the top of the tower, and the frame 24 is adjustably mounted on the intermediate portion of the tower at a level immediately above the construction area. To eifect elevation of the lower frame 24 as construction proceeds, the lower frame carries adjacent its side margins a pair of cable winches 67, the two winches respectively winding thereon a pair of cables 68 each of which extends from the respective winch upwardly over a guide sheave 69 mounted adjacent the respective side margins of the beam 60 and then back downwardly to the lower frame 50. The winches (which are normally locked) and the two cables thus suspend the lower frame from the upper frame when the clamp parts 56 of the clamps 51 are removed. Also, a winch is suitably provided on the tower, or on the upper frame 26, or on the boom 28, to take-up on the cable sling 30 as the frame 24 is being elevated. By simultaneous operation of the described winches, and the guiding influence of the clamp parts 55 of the lower frame on the tower uprights, the lower frame and the boom may conveniently be raised on the tower as construction of the building proceeds.

To minimize the number of elevating movements of the lower frame, I prefer to provide an arrangement whereby the boom may work successively on two floor levels from only one adjusted position of the lower frame.

To this end, the lower frame is of a height equal approximately to two bays of the tower, thus two floors of the building, and carries a load supporting vertical mast of a height somewhat in excess of one floor height. Slidably mounted on the mast is a load support or boom carriage 70 to which the boom is pivotally connected at 71. The carriage comprises a generally cubical framework including adjacent its upper end a support collar 72 slidably mounted on the mast and adjacent its lower end a support pad or collar 73 slidably engaging the mast. To recip rocate the carriage 70 on the mast, an elevator screw 74 is mounted on the mast at the rearward side thereof, the screw being driven by a motor 75 and passing through a follower nut 76 on the carriage whereby to raise and lower the carriage, and thus the boom, on the mast. By mounting the lower frame 24 on the tower with the lower end of the mast slightly above the level to be Worked on, and moving the carriage to adjacent the lower end of the mast, the boom will be appropriately disposed to the work on the one floor. When work on the one floor is completed, the screw 74 and the boom sling winch may be operated to raise the boom to adjacent the upper end of the mast, whereby the mast is disposed to work on the next upward level. Consequently, the frame 24 need be elevated only once for each two levels of construction, the same being elevated two levels upon each adjustment thereof.

In addition to the vertical adjustments described, the boom is intended to be swingable in the horizontal plane so as to distribute materials over the full area of the building. To this end, the mast 54 is rotatable relative to the frame 24, the mast being journalled adjacent its ends in bearings 77 which are supported by brackets on the central area of the inner frame 52 in forwardly spaced relation to the frame. A motor '78 is provided at the lower end of the mast for rotating the mast, the carriage 70. and the boom as a unit about the vertical axis of the mast. Due to forward projection of the mast relative to the frame, the boom is swingable through a horizontal arc of about 200 degrees, thereby to encompass the building, even if it should include projecting wings on the same side of the building as the tower.

The boom 28, which in the present embodiment of the invention is ninety feet long, is shown in FIGURES 2 and 6 as comprising a triangular framework including an upper central beam 80, a pair of lower side beams 81 and truss or brace members extending between the beams. The lower side beams 81 are unobstructed at their upper and outer side surfaces thereby to define a pair of tracks or rails for mounting a pair of traveling delivery hoppers 82. The hoppers 82 are substantially identical and generally of a construction conventional in the art. Each hopper comprises an upwardly open box having an inclined bottom wall. Merging with the bottom wall is a valved discharge spout 83 which is inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the vertical plane of the axis of the boom, whereby both buckets discharge substantially in said plane and thus at the same location for a given setting of bucket travel. Adjacent the outer side thereof, each bucket is equipped with an upwardly extending trolley 84 having wheels 85 engaging the respective track 81, whereby each bucket is suspended below and slidably movable along the full length of a respective track.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 8, the boom 28, as accommodated by its pivot 71, is disposed at a slight downward inclination as it extends outwardly from the tower whereby the two hoppers or buckets 82 tend to gravitate outwardly along the tracks 81. The two hoppers are interconnected by a cable 86 of a length substantially equal to the length of the boom, the cable extending rearwardly from one hopper or bucket 82 to adjacent the inner end of the boom, around a horizontal guide sheave 87 journalled on the inner end portion of the boom, and then outwardly to the other bucket 82. Consequently, when one bucket is at the outer end of the boom the other necessarily is at the inner end of the boom, and the two buckets are compelled to move solely in opposite directions. When one bucket is loaded with concrete, it will gravitate to the outer end of the boom where it will discharge its load of concrete. At this time, the other hopper is at the inner end of the boom receiving a load of concrete, so that when it is full, and the first hopper is empty, the loaded hopper will automatically move outwardly on the boom and the now empty hopper will automatically return to the loading station at the inner end of the boom. Accordingly, the loading on the boom is restricted essentially to one hopper, and a substantially constant flow of concrete is assured.

As compared to a crane or any other single delivery apparatus, the described arrangement provides several times the delivery speed, since horizontal placement by the two buckets is substantially continuous, and horizontal placement is not interrupted by the necessity for vertical travel to bring fresh supply of concrete up to the construction level. Accordingly, for a given rate of pour, the apparatus of the invention need have only a fraction of the load capacity of a single delivery system, thereby permitting a lighter weight structure and one that can more readily be supported on the construction tower 22. Also, the substantially constant delivery of small batches of concrete assures steadier work for the crew, and facilitates the performance of more work by a smaller crew.

The valved discharge spout 83 of each hopper may be operated manually by a control handle 88, and also preferably includes an automatic operator, such as a toggle valve opening assembly indicated generally at 89, which is connected to the cable 86 and actuated automatically at the outer end of bucket travel by virtue of the force exerted on the cable due to the momentum of the bucket. The cable passes over guide sheaves forming part of the toggle mechanism 89 and is anchored on the side of the bucket, preferably on cable storage or shortening means 90.

The means 90 may take a variety of forms, such for example as a two post storage rack about which the cable maye be reaved in a figure eight. While both buckets may be provided with such means, provision of one such means on one bucket is entirely adequate. By virtue of the storage means, bucket or hopper travel may at any time be shortened by locking one bucket at the inner end of the boom, sliding the other (empty) bucket rearwardly on the boom to slack off the cable, and winding the slack cable onto the storage means; or may be lengthened if the travel is less than the full length of the boom, simply by paying cable off the storage means. In either case, both buckets are automatically adjusted to the same length of travel due to their interconnection by and common reliance on a single length of cable. Accordingly, the travel of the buckets may be adjusted at the will of the operator to any length along the boom, i.e., from the inner end of the boom to any point along the length of the boom.

The means for adjusting hopper travel and the point of hopper discharge may be manually operated in accordance with the foregoing, or may be power operated. An arrangement is illustrated in FIGURE 9, which may be utilized not only for controlling or adjusting hopper travel, but also to provide power operating means for the hoppers. As indicated in the schematic diagram, a pair of

cable drums

91 and 92 are provided, each carrying a cable 86a and 86b of a length approximately equal to the length of the boom and connected respectively to the two hoppers 82. The two drums are normally interconnected for conjoint operation by the shaft of one drum, an electric clutch 93, a stub shaft 94, a reversing gear pair 95 and the shaft of the other drum, the arrangement being such that the two drums can rotate co-njointly only in opposite directions, thereby to pay out one cable while reeling in the other so as toaccomplish the same results as the single cable 86 previously described. An electric motor 96 is geared to the drum 91 for driving the same, the motor being controllable for operation in reverse directions by a pair of reversing switches 97 connected in parallel. The clutch 93, and a companion normally released electric brake 98 for the stub shaft 94 and the drum 92, are controlled by a pair of push button switches 99 which are disposed adjacent respective ones of the switches 97 to form therewith a pair of control panels as indicated at 100. One of the panels is preferably disposed adjacent the outer end of the boom for operation by the pouring boss, and the other is disposed at an operators control station adjacent the inner end of the boom, whereby either man can control the apparatus.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 9, the motor, the clutch and the brake are normally energized, the clutch in such case being engaged, the brake released and the motor selectively operable in reverse directions positively to drive the buckets. By utilizing a cable or rope (like cable 86) reaved over a sheave (similar to sheave 87) mounted at the outer end of the boom, the boom can be disposed at either an upward or downward inclination or in horizontal position, and the motor will positively move the buckets 82 alternately in and out on the boom. With the boom inclined downwardly, as is preferred, the motor 76 will haul in the empty bucket and control the rate of outward travel of the loaded bucket or hopper. In either embodiment of the invention, an overspeed governor may be incorporated in the means interconnecting the hoppers 82 to prevent excessive speed of hopper travel.

To adjust the length of hopper travel, and the point of concrete discharge, either the operator at the inner end of the boom or the pouring boss at the outer end of the boom may depress a push button 99 when the cable 86b is wound on the drum 92 and the hopper connected to the cable 86b is at the inner end of the boom. Opening of either push button 99 causes de-energization of the clutch 93 and brake 98, whereby the brake engages to retain the drum 92 and the associated hopper against movement and the clutch releases to accommodate independent rotation of the drum 91. By appropriate manipulation of either reversing switch 97, the effective length of cable 86a may be increased or decreased as desired, whereupon the push button 99 may be released to again cause the two drums to be positively interconnected for conjoint rotation in opposite directions. As will be apparent, the drum 92 will pay out only as much cable as is being wound onto the drum 91, and vice versa, whereby the two drums are properly adjusted at all times so that both discharge material at the selected location.

To facilitate filling of the two hoppers 82 at a speed commensurate with the speed of hopper travel, I provide the improved concrete supply means 32 depicted in FIG- URES l, 2 and 5. As shown, each hopper 82, when at the inner end of the boom, is filled extremely rapidly from a respective one of a pair of bottom dump measuring hoppers 102 mounted on the boom carriage 70 at a location immediately above the inner end position of the respective traveling hopper 82. The two hoppers 102 are substantially identical and are each an open top receptacle of a capacity equal to that of the respective traveling hopper. At its lower end, each measuring hopper 102 has a large valved outlet 103- for rapidly dumping the full contents of the hopper 102 into the hopper 82. The valved outlets 103 are preferably opened by a manual control system comprising levers 104 leading upwardly from the valves 103 to an operators station 105 mounted on the carriage 70 immediately above the inner end of the boom and forwardly of the hoppers 102.

The two measuring hoppers 102 are selectively or alternatively filled via an inclined shuttle funnel 106 which is pivotally mounted on the upper end of the mast 54 for conjoint rotation with the mast and the boom. Additionally, the funnel is rotatable relative to the boom, as by a power drive mechanism 107, alternately to align its outlet vertically above the two hoppers 102. Concrete is supplied to the hoppers 102 via the funnel 106 from a storage or holding hopper 108 which is supported on the inner frame 52 of the lower load distributing frame 24. The hopper 108 has a valved outlet 109 at its lower end which is centered above the mast 54 and thus continuously aligned with the open upper end of the funnel 106. The valve 109, which may suitably be solenoid operated, is under the control of the operator at station 105; the operator observing the measuring hoppers 102 and the emptying and filling thereof, thereby properly to fill and dump each measuring hopper at the proper time.

The holding hopper 108 angles laterally upward from its outlet 109 to define an open upper end or inlet that is aligned with the tower shaft 40. Preferably, a funnel 110, also aligned with the shaft 40, is provided above the inlet of the hopper 108, the funnel being mounted on the frame 24 and having a large inlet disposed closely adjacent but not projecting into the tower so as not to obstruct vertical adjustment of the frame 24 on the tower.

Mounted within the tower shaft 40 is an elevatable supply hopper 112 having a downwardly and forwardly inclined discharge chute 113 which projects adjacent the front face of the tower and is provided with a discharge valve 114. In use, the hopper 112 travels up and down in the shaft 40 to receive supplies of concrete at the base of the tower and to carry the same upwardly to a level slightly above the funnel 110. At this level, the valve 114 may be opened, whereupon concrete is discharged from the hopper, the chute 113 due to its inclination causing the concrete to discharge into the funnel 110 and thence into the holding hopper 108. The

hoppers

108 and 112 are, of course, each of a sufiicient capacity to afford an adequate supply of concrete for the hoppers 82 during the period of time that is required to lower, fill and again raise the hopper 112 to working level.

All of the described concrete loading operations may be carried out by a single operator at the station 105, who may be equipped with suitable controls for power operation of all of the operable components; i.e., the

valves

103, 109 and 114, the shuttle funnel 106, the means 90 for shortening and lengthening the effective length of the cable 86, the mast rotating motor 78, the carriage operating motor 75, the boom sling winch and the frame winches 67. For the convenience of adjusting the point of discharge of the hoppers 82, the pouring boss is provided with two controls at the outer end of the boom, but he is an essential man on any concrete job and thus cannot be deemed an operator of the apparatus of the invention. The only other person involved is the man operating the hoist to raise and lower the supply hopper 112, but he too is a person essential to the job independently of the apparatus of the invention. Thus, the apparatus of the invention for all practical purposes requires only a single operator.

In use of the described embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, in the construction for example of a rectangular building, the building may be as large as 63 feet wide and 127 feet long and fall within the area of swing of the boom 28. Additionally, the building may have bays or wings also falling within said area. For such a builiding, the tower is disposed at the center of the long side of the building so that the boom will extend to the opposite corners of the building. Then by proper manipulation of the boom rotating motor 70 and the cable lengthening and shortening means 90, the buckets or hoppers 82 may be adjusted to dump concrete at any location over the full area of the building. This is equally true for smaller buildings. For larger buildings, the apparatus may be employed in conjunction with conventional practices in the art, or the boom may be disposed at a higher level than normal and an inclined concrete chute may be extended from the outer end of the boom 28 to the area being worked upon, or more than one of my devices may be used. Thus, the present invention provides an extremely practical and eflicient materials distributing system.

In view of the foregoing description, it is submitted that all of the objects and advantages of the invention have been shown herein to be attained in a convenient, economical and practical manner.

While I have shown and described what I regard to be the preferred embodiment of my invention and the preferred manners of making and using the same, it will be appreciated that changes, modifications and alterations may be made therein by persons reasonably skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Materials distributing apparatus for atwo-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a load distributing frame on the tower, said frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights of the tower for mounting said outer frame to the tower, and inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side-margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, a boom mounted at its inner end centrally on said inner frame, a pair of guide tracks on said boom extending from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end thereof, a hopper slidably mounted on each of said tracks for movement from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of said boom, and means interconnecting said hoppers for conjoint movement solely in opposite directions.

2. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a pair of vertically spaced load distributing frames on the tower, each frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights of the tower for mounting said outer frame to the tower, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, a load supporting mast mounted in upright position centrally on the inner frame of the lower one of said load distributing frames, a load supporting member mounted on said mast for vertical and rotary movement relative to the tower, a boom pivotally mounted at its inner end on said load supporting member and projecting outwardly from the tower, a second mast mounted centrally on the inner frame on the upper one of said load distributing frames, a supporting cable extending from said second mast downwardly to said boom for supporting the outer end portions of the boom, said boom including a pair of guide tracks extending from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of the boom, a hopper slidably mounted on each of said tracks for movement from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of said boom, and means interconnecting said hoppers for conjoint movement solely in opposite directions, said interconnecting means including cable of a length approximately equal to the length of said boom to accommodate disposition of one hopper adjacent one end of the boom when the other hopper is adjacent the other end of the boom.

3. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a pair of vertically spaced load distributing frames on the tower, each frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, means on said outer frame slidably guiding the same for vertical adjustment on the tower and for mounting the same to the three uprights of the tower at locations thereon aligned respectively with the uprights, an inner frame of about twothirds of the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, the upper one of said load distributing frames being mounted adjacent the top of the tower and mounting cable guide sheaves adjacent its sides, winch means on the lower one of said load distributing frames, cables extending from said winch means over said guide sheaves and back to the load distributing frame, said winch means being operable to raise and lower said load distributing frame on the tower, a load supporting rotary mast journalled in upright position centrally on the inner frame of the lower load distributing frame, a load supporting member slidably mounted on said mast for vertical and rotary movement relative to the tower, a boom pivotally mounted at its inner end on said load supporting member and projecting outwardly from the tower at a slight downward inclination, a second mast mounted centrally on the inner frame of the upper load distributing frame, a supporting cable extending from said second mast downwardly to said boom for supporting the outer end portions of the boom, means for adjusting the length of said supporting cable to vary the vertical disposition of the outer end portions of the boom, said boom including a pair of guide tracks extending from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of the boom, a hoppe-r slidab1y mounted on each of said tracks for movement from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of said boom, means interconnecting said hoppers for conjoint movement solely in opposite directions, said interconnecting means including cable of a length approximately equal to the length of said boom to accommodate disposition of one hopper adjacent one end of the boom when the other hopper is adjacent the other end of the boom, and means accommodating shortening of the effective length of the latter cable.

4. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a load distributing frame on the tower, said frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame, for attachment respectively to the three uprights of the tower for mounting said outer frame to the tower, an inner frame of about twothirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, a boom adjustably mounted at its inner end centrally on said inner frame and extending outwardly from the tower at a slight downward inclination, a pair of guide tracks on said boom extending from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end thereof, a hopper slidably mounted on each of said tracks for movement from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of said boom, means interconnecting said hoppers for conjoint movement sole- -ly in opposite directions, said hoppers being of about the same capacity and each having a valved outlet, a pair of measuring hoppers of about the same capacity as the hoppers on said boom each having a valved outlet aligned with a respective one of the hoppers on said boom when the latter are disposed adjacent the inner end of the boom, a shuttle funnel pivotally mounted centrally of said inner frame above the inner end of said boom having outlet means selectively alignable with said measuring hoppers, a holding hopper mounted on said inner frame above said shuttle funnel and having a valved outlet aligned with said shuttle funnel for selective discharge of materials into said funnel, said holding hopper extending upwardly and laterally from its said outlet and having an inlet aligned with one shaft of the tower, a second funnel above the inlet of said holding hopper having an inlet aligned with said one shaft of the tower and disposed substantially at said one face of the tower, and an elevatable materials hopper in said one shaft of the tower having outlet means for discharging a supply of materials into said second funnel when elevated thereto.

5. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a pair of vertically spaced load distributing frames on the tower, each frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, means on said outer frame slidably guiding the same for vertical adjustment on the tower and for mounting the same to the three uprights of the tower at locations thereon aligned respectively with the uprights, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, the upper one of said load distributing frames being mounted adjacent the top of the tower and mounting cable guide sheaves adjacent its sides, winch means on the lower one of said load distributing frames, cables extending from said winch means over said guide sheaves and back to the lower load distributing frame, said winch means being operable to raise and lower said lower load distributing frame on the tower, a load supporting rotary mast journalled in upright position centrally on the inner frame of the lower load distributing frame, a load supporting member slidably mounted on said mast for vertical and rotary movement relative to the tower, a boom pivotally mounted at its inner end on said load supporting member and projecting outwardly from the tower at a slight downward inclination, a second mast mounted centrally on the inner frame of the upper load distributing frame, a support ing cable extending from said second mast downwardly to said boom for supporting the outer end portions of the boom, means for adjusting the length of said supporting cable to vary the vertical disposition of the outer end portions of the boom, said boom including a pair of guide tracks extending from adjacent the inner end to adjacent the outer end of the boom, a hopper slidably mounted on each of said tracks for movement from adjacent the inner to adjacent the outer end of said boom, means interconnecting said hopper for conjoint movement solely in opposite directions, said interconnecting means including cable of a length approximately equal to the length of said boom to accommodate disposition of one hopper adjacent one end of the boom when the other hopper is adjacent the other end of the boom, said hoppers being of substantially the same capacity and each having a valved outlet, a pair of measuring hoppers on the inner end of said boom of substantially the same capacity as the hoppers on said boom and each having a valved outlet aligned with a respective one of the hoppers on said boom when the latter are disposed adjacent the inner end of the boom, a shuttle funnel pivotally mounted on the upper end portion of said rotary mast and having outlet means selectively aligna'ble with said measuring hoppers, a holding hopper mounted on said inner frame above said shuttle funnel and having a valved outlet aligned with said shuttle funnel for selective discharge of materials into said funnel, said holding hopper extending upwardly and laterally from its said outlet and having an inlet aligned with one shaft of the tower, at second funnel above the inlet of said holding hopper having an inlet: aligned with said one shaft of the tower and disposed substantially at said one face of the tower, and an elevatable materials hopper in said one shaft of the tower having outlet means for discharging a supply of materials into said second funnel when elevated thereto,

6. A load distributing frame for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights at said one face of the tower for mounting said outer frame to said one face of the tower, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, and load supporting means mounted centrally on said inner frame.

7. A load distributing frame for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to said one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights at said one face of the tower for securing said outer frame to said one face of the tower, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, a load supporting rotary mas-t journalled in upright position centrally on said inner frame, and a load supporting member slidably mounted on said mast for vertical and rotary movement relative to the tower.

8. A load distributing frame for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights at said one face of the tower for mounting said outer frame to said one face of the tower, said mounting means each comprising a guide part secured to said outer frame and a clamp part detachably engageable with said guide part, said guide parts, upon detachment of said clamp parts, being slidably engageable with the respective uprights at said one face of the tower for guiding vertical movement of said outer frame on said tower, said clamp parts being connectable with said guide parts for attaching the guide parts to the uprights, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame, and load supporting means mounted centrally on said inner frame.

9. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a load distributing frame mounted to said one face of the tower, said load distributing frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights at said one face of the tower for mounting said outer frame to said one face of the tower, an inner frame of about twothirds the width of the outer frame centered on the said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, a boom mounted at its inner end centrally on said inner frame, a pair of materials carrying means on said boom, and means for loading materials alternately to aid carrying means.

10. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a pair of vertically spaced load distributing frames mounted on said one face of the tower, at least the lower load distributing frame comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the three uprights at said one face of the tower for mounting said outer frame to said one face of the tower, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, the upper one of said load distributing frames being mounted adjacent the top of the tower, cables extending from one load distributing frame to the other load distributing frame, winch means for adjusting the length of said cables and operable to raise and lower the lower load distributing frame along said one face of the tower, said mounting means including means for slidably guiding the lower load distributing frame on the uprights at said one face of the lower tower during raising and lowering movement of said lower load distributing frame.

11. Materials distributing apparatus for a two-shaft extensible construction tower having three equally spaced uprights at one face thereof, comprising a pair of vertically spaced load distributing frames on said one face of the tower, each of said load distributing frames comprising an outer frame of a width generally equal to the one face of the tower, three sets of mounting means on said outer frame spaced equal distances apart transversely of said outer frame for engagement respectively with the uprights at said one face of the tower for mounting said outer frame to said one face of the tower, an inner frame of about two-thirds the width of the outer frame centered on said outer frame, said inner frame being secured solely at its side margins to said outer frame equal distances inwardly from the sides of the outer frame, an elongate boom mounted at its inner end centrally on the inner frame of the lower load distributing frame, the upper one of said load distributing frames being mounted adjacent the top of the tower, a supporting cable extending from the center of the inner frame of the upper load distributing frame downwardly to said boom for supporting the outer end portions of the boom, cables extending from one load distributing frame to the other load distributing frame, winch means for adjusting the length of said cables to raise and lower the lower load distributing frame and said boom along said one face of the tower, the mounting means on the outer frame of the lower load distributing frame including means for slidably guilding said lower load distributing frame on the uprights at said one face of the tower for vertical adjustment therealong.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 414,516 11/18 89 Gehrke 1872 X 749,198 1/1904 Johnson 21284 1,039,213 9/1912 Taylor. 1,459,123 6/1923 Walther. 1,596,462 8/1926 Seitz 187-2 1,693,107 11/1928 Campbell 18913 1,773,030 8/1930 Connely 18919 2,200,274 5/ 1940 Hayes. 2,461,762 2/1949 ODonnell 189l3 2,587,531 2/1952 Saxe 2142 X 2,857,026 10/1958 Jones 187-2 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, MORRIS TE'MIN, Examiners.

Claims

10. MATERIALS DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR A TWO-SHAFT EXTENSIBLE CONSTRUCTION TOWER HAVING THREE EQUALLY SPACED UPRIGHTS AT ONE FACE THEREOF, COMPRISING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY SPACED LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAMES MOUNTED ON SAID ONE FACE OF THE TOWER, AT LEAST THE LOWER LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAME COMPRISING AN OUTER FRAME OF A WIDTH GENERALLY EQUAL TO THE ONE FACE OF THE TOWER, THREE SETS OF MOUNTING MEANS ON SAID OUTER FRAME SPACED EQUAL DISTANCES APART TRANSVERSELY OF SAID OUTER FRAME FOR ENGAGEMENT RESPECTIVELY WITH THE THREE UPRIGHTS AT SAID ONE FACE OF THE TOWER FOR MOUNTING SAID OUTER FRAME TO SAID ONE FACE OF THE TOWER, AN INNER FRAME OF ABOUT TWO-THIRDS THE WIDTH OF THE OUTER FRAME CENTERED ON SAID OUTER FRAME, SAID INNER FRAME BEING SECURED SOLELY AT ITS SIDE MARGINS TO SAID OUTER FRAME EQUAL DISTANCE INWARDLY FROM THE SIDES OF THE OUTER FRAME, THE UPPER ONE OF SAID LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAMES BEING MOUNTED ADJACENT THE TOP OF THE TOWER, CABLES EXTENDING FROM ONE LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAME TO THE OTHER LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAME, WHICH MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE LENGTH OF SAID CABLES AND OPERABLE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE LOWER LOAD DISTRIBUTING FRAME ALONG SAID ONE