US3661416A

US3661416A - Load-gripping attachment of lifts

Info

Publication number: US3661416A
Application number: US129978A
Authority: US
Inventors: Boris Antonovich Bukarkin; Valery Nikolaevich Kovalev
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-03-31
Filing date: 1971-03-31
Publication date: 1972-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-09

Abstract

A load-gripping attachment for lowering small craft from the mother ship and lifting them back onto the latter ship comprising a body having a longitudinal axis. A liner is installed in the body for movement along the longitudinal axis of the body. Side ports are provided in the liner and swivelling thrust elements are mounted in the liner and located in the side ports of the liner. Side ports are also provided in the body and are intended for receiving the swivelling thrust elements when the liner is moved by the rod head of the small craft. The rod head enters the liner in the process of gripping operation.

Description

0 United States Patent [151 3,661,416

Bukarkin et al. 5] ay 9, 1972 54] LOAD-GRIPPING ATTACHMENT OF 3,081,122 3/1963 Jungersen ....294/83 R LIFTS 2,954,258 9/1960 Cook ..294/l02 [72] Inventors: Boris Antonovich Bultarkin, ulitsa Frunze P i E i C, Bl k Valery NiROhEVIQh Kovalev, ulltsa Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry ay i both of Nlkolaev Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1971 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 129,978

A load-gripping attachment for lowering small craft from the Related US. Application Data mother ship and lifting them back onto the latter ship comprising a body having a longitudinal axis. A liner is installed in the [63] 555311 22 of 783321 [968 body for movement along the longitudinal axis of the body.

Side ports are provided in the liner and swivelling thrust ele- 52 .S. l ..294 8 94 7 mems are mounted in the liner and located in the side pom of E U C l 2 the liner. Side ports are also provided in the body and are in [58] Field of Search 97 862 tended for receiving the swivelling thrust elements when the 294/8651 1. 2 liner is moved by the rod head of the small craft. The rod head i enters the liner in the process of gripping operation. [56] References 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,445,133 5/1969 Reischl ..294/83 R PATENTEDMAY 9 m2 3,661,416

sum 1 [1F 2 LOAD-GRIPPING ATTACHMENT F LIFTS This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 783,221, tiled Dec. 12, l968,now abandoned.

The present invention relates to load-gripping attachments for lifts.

The invention can be used most effectively for slinging and unslinging small sea craft when they are lowered from the mother ship and lifted onto her.

In the known load-gripping attachments for lifts their bodies incorporate pivoted swivelling thrust elements interacting with the gripped device on the load being lifted and resting on the body of the load-gripping attachment.

These attachments fail to ensure reliable slinging of the small craft when the latter are being lowered from the mother ship and lifted onto her in rough weather.

Moreover, these attachments have to be disconnected from the handled load manually.

An object of the present invention consists in providing a load-gripping attachment, which would ensure reliable slinging of the lifted loads, especially while lowering and lifting small sea craft onto the mother ship in rough weather and would allow mechanization of disconnecting the attachment from the load being lifted.

In accordance with this object the invention relates to loadgripping attachment, mainly for lowering and lifting small sea craft onto the mother ship, the body of said attachment being provided with swivelling thrust elements, interacting with the gripped head of the load-carrying rod. According to the invention, the body of the attachment has a liner installed so as to be movable along its longitudinal axis, said liner being provided with side ports for accommodating swivelling thrust elements mounted on it. The body has also side ports intended for sinking in them the swivelling thrust elements when the liner is moved by the head of the load-carrying rod, said head entering the liner in the course of gripping the load.

It is practicable to load the liner with a spring in the direction of its movement for quicker lowering to the initial position.

It is also practicable to install in the body a retainer which would hold the liner when the swivelling thrust elements are sunk into it.

The retainer can be made in the form of a spring-loaded rod one end of which interacts with the liner while the other end carries an eccentric with a handle.

- The load-gripping attachment realized in compliance with the present invention ensures reliability and safety and reduces labor involved in slinging and unslinging the small sea craft.

Given below is a description of an embodiment of this invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a general view of the load-gripping attachment of lifts according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line Ill-III of FIG. 2.

A bracket 1 (FIG. 1) has load pulleys 3 installed on axles 2. Passing around said pulleys are loading ropes 4 which connect the bracket 1 with the lift (omitted in the drawing).

Installed in the lower part of the bracket 1 on axles 5 is a load-gripping attachment 6 interacting with the head of a rod 8 installed on the deck of the craft 7 beinglifted (the drawing shows part of the deck of the craft being lifted). A guide rope 9 is passed through the load-gripping attachment 6 and the bracket 1 and connected manually to the rod 8.

Secured in the bracket 1 are guide rollers 10 and 11 (FIG. 2) for moving the bracket together with the attachment 6 over the guide rope 9 while the craft 7 is being slung and unslung.

The guide rope 9 is connected to an automatic winch (not shown in the drawing) mounted on the mother ship and intended to keep the guide rope 9 constantly taut while the small craft 7 is being lifted and lowered in rough weather.

The load-gripping attachment 6 has a body 12 with three ports 13 in its lower part. A liner 14 is installed inside the body 12 with a provision for movement with relation to its longitudinal axis. The lower part of said liner also has three ports 15. The width of the

ports

13 and 15 are equal. The liner 14 is of a round crosssection, though it can be of any other shape.

Axles 16 are secured in the lower part of the liner 14. These axles carry swivelling thrust elements 17 accommodated both in the ports 15 and ports 13.

The lower sides of the ports 13 serve as guiding and supporting surfaces for the thrust elements 17 in the course of operation of the load-gripping attachment 6.

The liner 14 is held in the body 12 by a collar 18 secured in the lower part of the body 12; said collar also directs the head of the rod 8 into the attachment 6.

A spring 19 installed between the body 12 and the upper part of the liner 14 keeps the latter in the lower position.

When the liner 14 is in the upper position, the thrust elements 17 are turned in the

ports

13 and 15 and do not protrude into the inner space of the liner l4, and the latter is locked by means of stop 20 accommodated in the body 12.

The stop 20 has a spring-loaded rod 21 one end of which is provided with an eccentric 22 with a handle 23 while the other end interacts with the liner 14 which has a special hole 24 receiving the rod 21.

The load-gripping attachment of the lifts operates as follows.

The guide rope 9 is lowered by the automatic winch from the mother ship and connected to the lifting rod 8, fastened to the deck of the craft 7 being lifted.

The guide rope 9 is kept constantly taut while the craft 7 is being lifted or lowered.

When the craft 7 is being lifted, the handle 23 of the retainer 20 is shifted to the upper position, in which the rod 21 is sunk into the body 12.

Then the bracket 1 is lowered on loading ropes 4 over the taut guide rope 9 until the load-gripping attachment 6 comes to bear against the head of the rod 8.

The head of the rod 8 then shifts upwards the spring-loaded liner l4 and forces ofi the swivelling thrust elements 17 sinking them into the ports 13 of the body 12 (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2).

Sinking into the ports 13, the swivelling thrust elements 17 release the head of the rod 8 until it bears against the upper part of the inner surface of the liner 14.

As soon as the head of the rod 8 bears against the liner l4 and the loading ropes 4 become slack, the bracket 1 begins to be lifted.

When the bracket 1 is being lifted, the body 12, also going upwards, moves and turns the swivelling elements 17 thereby locking the head of the rod 8 in the load-gripping attachment 6 While the craft 7 is being lowered on water, the handle 23 of the retainer 20 is shifted to the lower position in which the spring-loaded rod 21 bears against the liner 14.

As soon as the craft 7 touches water, the loading ropes 4 slacken and the bracket 1 with the pulleys 3 and the attachment 6 compress by their weight the spring 19 until the liner 14 comes to a stop in the body 12 in which case the rod 21 will enter the hole 24 in the liner 14, locking it in the upper position. The thrust elements 17, sunk in the ports 13 of the body 12 do not interfere with the rod 8 moving freely from the load-gripping attachment 6.

Here begins the lifting of the bracket 1 by the loading ropes 4 to the upper position. When the bracket 1 is lifted, the guide rope 9 is manually disconnected from the rod 8 and the craft is released from the load-gripping attachment.

The experiments with a pilot specimen of the load-gripping attachment of the lifts realized in compliance with the present invention have proved the efficiency of the attachment in actual sea service while lowering and lifting small fishing craft weighing up to 60 tons in rough weather up to wind force 7.

The experiments with the attachment of the present invention have shown that it is reliable, safe, and saves labor in slinging and unslinging the craft.

In describing the present embodiment of the invention the terms in their narrow sense are used for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not confined to the narrow sense of the terms used and it will be understood that each of said terms embraces all the equivalent elements functioning similarly and employed for the same purpose.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in the description, it will be understood that various modifications and changes within the spirit and scope of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art.

These changes and modifications can be resorted to without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A load-gripping attachment for lifts comprising a hollow body having an axis, a cylindrical liner mounted movably along said axis inside said body and including a top portion, a load-carrying rod including a head adapted to thrust against said top portion of the liner, said top portion having an opening, a guide rope extending through said opening and secured to the head of the rod and providing for a controlled direction of movement of the body with the latter approaching said rod; a spring acting between said liner and said body to urge the liner away from said body, said liner having a plurality of ports; thrust elements pivotably mounted on said liner at said ports for interacting with said head of the rod; said thrust elements having edges defining a prismatic shape thereof for transferring forces from said head of the rod directly to said body through two of said edges whose surfaces correspond to support surfaces of the body and the head of the rod, said body having recesses coinciding with the ports of the liner; said thrust elements being pivotal into said recesses of the body with the liner moving upwards thereon, said liner having an opening adjacent said body, and controllable retainer means attached to said body for entering the latter said opening in said liner to lock the liner to the body.

2. An attachment according to claim 1, in which said controllable retainer means comprises a rod having opposite ends, spring means acting on said rod to urge the same towards said liner, an eccentric on one end of said rod for controlling the axial position of the rod in said body, and a control handle for said eccentric resting upon said body, the other end of said rod entering the opening of the liner when the liner is in an extreme upper position in said body.

3. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein said thrust elements are annularly arranged around said liner.

4. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein said thrust elements are pivoted to said liner at the corners of said thrust elements.

5. An attachment according to claim 4 wherein said thrust elements are quadrangular.

6. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein said support surfaces of said head of the rod and said body face one another and are substantially parallel.

i t I k t

Claims

1. A load-gripping attachment for lifts comprising a hollow body having an axis, a cylindrical liner mounted movably along said axis inside said body and including a top portion, a loadcarrying rod including a head adapted to thrust against said top portion of the liner, said top portion having an opening, a guide rope extending through said opening and secured to the head of the rod and providing for a controlled direction of movement of the body with the latter approaching said rod; a spring acting between said liner and said body to urge the liner away from said body, said liner having a plurality of ports; thrust elements pivotably mounted on said liner at said ports for interacting with said head of the rod; said thrust elements having edges defining a prismatic shape thereof for transferring forces from said head of the rod directly to said body through two of said edges whose surfaces correspond to support surfaces of the body and the head of the rod, said body having recesses coinciding with the ports of the liner; said thrust elements being pivotal into said recesses of the body with the liner moving upwards thereon, said liner having an opening adjacent said body, and controllable retainer means attached to said body for entering the latter said opening in said liner to lock the liner to the body.