US3756645A

US3756645A - Apparatus for the vertical transport of flat items

Info

Publication number: US3756645A
Application number: US00259030A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Heinemann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-06-05
Filing date: 1972-06-02
Publication date: 1973-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-04

Abstract

Apparatus for vertically carrying flat items including a housing, a pair of levers mounted within the housing and a handle mounted within the housing so that it engages the levers and displaces them into a closed position. The housing includes two halves which when joined define a recess for the insertion of a sheet of metal or the like. The housing is provided with side walls which have an approximate wedge shape in a direction toward the open end of the recess.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 l I l I 3,756,645

Heinemann Sept. 4, 1973 APPARATUS FOR THE VERTICAL 3,318,630 5/1967 Bryant 294/116 TRANSPORT OF FLAT ITEMS [76] Inventor: Helmut Heinemann, Roderberg 14, Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk I-Iagen-l-Iaspe, Germany Assistant Examiner-James L. Rowland [22] Filed: June 2 1972 AttorneyGeorge H. Spencer et al.

[21] Appl. No.: 259,030

[57] ABSTRACT 0 F A l t' [3 1 orelgn pp Ion Pnorny Data Apparatus for vertically carrying flat items including a June 5, Germany G o g, a p o levers un e he s g and a handle mounted within the housing so that it en- [52] :LS. Cll. 294/116, 294/104 gages thC levers and displaces them into a closed posi tion. The o g includes two halves when 1 0 29 l joined define a recess for the insertion of a sheet of 294/86 106 metal or the like. The housing is provided with side walls which have an approximate wedge shape in a di- [56] References C'ted rection toward the open end of the recess.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1930 Prelesnik 294/104 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEUSEP 4191a SHEH 1 [IF 2 APPARATUS FOR THE VERTICAL TRANSPORT OF FLAT ITEMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to transporting apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for transporting flat items, particularly metal sheets and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for transporting flat items, particularly metal sheets and the like.

It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for transporting flat items, the apparatus including a housing forming an intake recess and provided with side walls which are approximately wedge shaped in a direction toward the open end of the intake recess. These and other objects are accomplished by the provision of a structure which includes a housing having two halves which when joined define an intake recess for inserting a metal sheet or the like. Within the housing two levers are pivotally mounted on vertically disposed shafts. The levers are configured to include clamping jaw portions and power arm portions. The power arm portions are provided with wedge surfaces at one end thereof. A handle assembly which is also pivotally mounted within the housing but on a horizontally disposed shaft is formed to include a two armed lever, and is engageable with the wedge surfaces to close the clamping jaw portions. There is also provided within the housing helical pressure springs which are supported under pretension between the power arm portions and the inner wall of the housing to bias the clamping jaw portions open.

In accordance with a novel feature of the invention, thehousing is provided with side walls which have an approximate wedge shape in the direction toward the open end of the intake recess for inserting or removing the metal sheets or the like. As a result of this improvement the apparatus according to the present invention can also be used to lift a metal sheet to be transported and can be attached substantially more easily and comfortably to the edge portions of a metal sheet situated in a stack, for example, than the known devices having a block-shaped housing.

The use of housings of light metal, for example, is of particular advantage if the opening edge portions of the intake recess end include separately fabricated, highly stable ledges fastened on the housing, the ledges preferably being made of steel.

An advantageous and inventive embodiment which is particularly sturdy and simple to manufacture is char acterized in that the ledges are inserted into grooves disposed in the housing. The grooves are configured to conform to the shape of the ledges so that they can be secured thereto in a press fit manner.

An additional advantageous feature of the invention which particularly simplifies use of the device especially when the device is used as a lever is the provision of spring elements which act directly on the handle assembly to bias a load arm portion thereof away from the wedge surfaces. The arrangement of the spring elements is preferably such that a spring clip is supported on both sides of the handle with one arm of each spring clip supported by the handle and the other arm of each spring clip supported by the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially cut away, of a device according to the present invention for carrying flat items, particularly metal sheets.

FIG. 2 is a plan view in cross-section of the device of the present invention taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating a further embodiment of a portion of the housing according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning now to a more detailed description of the various embodiments of the present invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 show that the carrying device 1 comprises two housing halves 2 and 3 which are connected together by

rivets

4, 4. The rivets 4 each support a lever 12 for pivotal movement. The levers 12 each include a clamping jaw portion 5 and a power arm portion 5' which pivot in a horizontal plane. Between the levers l2 and the inner walls 2' and 3' of the housing halves 2 and 3 the rivets 4 have mounted thereon spacer discs 6 which serve to position the levers 12 within the assembled housing halves. The spacer discs 6 are not shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity. The power arm portions 5' are provided with wedge surfaces 11. The housing also contains helical compression springs 13 which act on the power arm portions 5. The springs 13 serve to bias the clamping jaw portions 5 in an open position.

The assembled housing halves 2 and 3 define an intake recess 1' and a handle receiving recess 1". The handle receiving recess 1" is adapted to receive therein a handle assembly 10 in the form of a lever 8 which is pivotally mounted between the housing halves 2 and 3 by a bolt or shank 7. On one end, the lever 8 is provided with wedge-shaped surfaces 9 which engage the wedge surfaces 1 1 of the power arm portions 5' when the lever 8 moves vertically upwardly in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 1, that is, when a metal sheet is being lifted by means of the carrying device, so that the metal sheet can be pressed between the clamping jaw portions 5. i

For better handling of the lever 8, the handle assembly 10 is provided with a sheath 14, for example, of rubber, the underside of which is provided with recesses 15 and whose free end is preferably designed as a knob.

In order to easily lift a metal sheet or any other flat item, for example, from a stack, the housing halves 2 and 3 have

walls

16 and 17 which are approximately wedge shaped in the direction toward the opening of the intake recess 1. The

walls

16 and 17 are provided with leading

edge portions

16 and 17, respectively. When lifting a metal sheet or other flat item from a stack (not shown) the sheet to be lifted is aligned with the recess 1' with the leading edge portions 16' and 17' on either side of the sheet. As the transporting apparatus is advanced to insert the desired sheet into the recess 1, the leading edge portions 16' and 17' are inserted into the spaces between adjacent sheets in the stack so that portions of

inclined walls

16 and 17, shown in FIG. 2, contact sheets adjacent the sheet to be lifted, in the case where the sheets are relatively close together in the stack, and push aside the adjacent sheets. Continued advancement of the transporting apparatus into the stack gradually further separates the adjacent sheets from the desired sheet, while the latter is in turn received within the recess 1'. In this way, the transporting device according to the present invention can be used with stacks having a wide variety of sheet spacing.

A pair of pretensioned spring clips 18 are disposed in the recess 1'' on the bolt 7 to both sides of the handle assembly 10. These spring clips 18 are supported with one arm thereof mounted in the housing half 3 and the other arm thereof engaging the lever 8 so that the latter is biased away from the wedge surfaces 1 l of the power arm portions The clamping jaw portions 5 have clamping jaw inserts 19 of hardened steel with ribbed clamping surfaces on their facing sides. These inserts 19 have a circular cross section and are pressed into corresponding blind bores 5" in the clamping jaw portions 5 and are secured therein with pins 20.

The housing half 2 is provided with a pin 23 which extends outwardly from the inner wall 2 as shown in FIG. 1. The pin 23 serves as a stop against which the power arm portions 5' are biased by the springs 13.

In FIG. 3 an alternate embodiment is illustrated in which grooves 21 are disposed in the housing halves 2 and 3 at the opening end of the recess 1, and has inserted therein in a press fit manner ledges 22 of hardened steel. The ledges 22 serve in a similar capacity to the leading edge portions 16' and 17'. One advantage of using separately fabricated ledges 22 has already been stated above, namely that the housing can be made of a light metal.

It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for vertically carrying flat items, comprising a housing including two halves, means joining the two halves, an intake recess for the insertion of a sheet of metal or the like formed by the joined halves, said housing being provided with side walls which have an approximate wedge shape in a direction toward the open end of the intake recess for the metal sheets or the like, a pair of levers, means for pivotally mounting the levers about vertical axes within the housing, each lever including a clamping jaw portion and a power arm portion, the power arm portions having wedge surfaces at one end thereof, a handle formed as a two armed lever, means for mounting the handle about a horizontal axis within the housing, the wedge surfaces of the power arm portions being engageable with a portion of the handle to close the clamping jaw portions, and helical pressure springs supported within the housing under pretension between the power arm portions and the inner wall of the housing for biasing the clamping jaw portions open.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising separately fabricated ledge means, and wherein the housing walls defining the intake recess each include an edge portion having fastened thereto in a highly stable manner said separately fabricated ledge means.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said ledge means are fabricated of steel.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the edge portions of the housing walls are provided with grooves within which the ledge means are inserted, said grooves being configured to conform to the shape of said ledge means for securing said ledge means therein by a press fit.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising first spring means and wherein the handle includes a load arm portion, and said spring means act directly on the handle so that its load arm portion is biased away from the clamping jaw portions.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising second spring means having a pair of arms, and wherein said second spring means are supported on both sides of the handle by the handle mounting means with one of said arms being supported by the handle and the other of said arms being supported by the housing.

* III