US503870A

US503870A - Endless-chain conveyer

Info

Publication number: US503870A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1893-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1910-08-22

Description

no Model.) a s eets-431186: 1. G. W, McGASLIN,

ENDLESS CHAIN GONVEYER.

g gtentediAiig. 22, 1893.

3 Sheets-Sheet G. W MGCASLIN. ENDLESS UHAIN CURVE YER.

No. 503,870. Patented Aug. 22, 1893.

(No Model.)

7 Q\ g Q 3 t e e h S m e e h s 3 N L S A G c M m (No Model.)

' ENDLESS CHAIN GONVEYER.

I Patented Aug. 22, 1893.

I oat/ante)? 6%,; 1% 1 Mil 01 5 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

GEORGE W. MCCASLIN, OF I-IOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

ENDLESS-CHAIN CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,870, dated August 22, 1893.

Application filed April 8, 1393. Serial No. 469,622. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MGCASLIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Endless- Chain Conveyers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of endlesschain conveyers wherein gravity buckets are pivotally hung in a chain which has wheels running on a track; and the object of the in vention is, in the main, to provide the buckets of the conveyer with plates or lips which pro ect out and overlap in such a manner that the lip on one bucket overlaps the lip on that next adjacent, whereby, when the buckets are moving along a horizontal or slightly inclined track at the loading point, the coal, or other material running into the conveyer from a chute, will not fall between the buckets. Means have before been devised and employed to attain this desirable end, but I find it important to confine the means used to the buckets themselves for the sake of economy in construction, in space occupied, and in power; and in order also to increase the durability of the conveyer. But in order that such a conveyer may be adapted for general purposes and not be confined simply for use as an elevator, it is essential that means be provided for turning the empty buckets on their return so that the lips or plates thereon may properly overlap, and my present invention includes such means.

In the accompanying drawings serving to illustrate the invention, Figure l is a somewhat diagrammatic elevation of a conveyor plant embodying my improvements; and Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a part of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 1, illustrating slightly different embodiments of the invention.

My improvements are herein illustrated as applied to a conveyer plant of simple and well known form, wherein there is a lower horizontal track, an upright or ascending track, anjupper horizontal track and a descending track. These tracks are connected or continuous, and the endless elevator chain is mounted on wheels which run on the tracks. Various forms of drivers are employed with this class of conveyors, and as my present invention has nothing to do with the driver, I have omitted this feature from the drawings.

The driver illustrated in my Letters Patent No. 486,789, granted November 22,1892, may be employed, or indeed any other.

I have shown the conveyer arranged to receive coal or other material from the bottoms of bins or pockets around which the endless track extends in a vertical plane, to carry'the coal up to a higher level, and dump it into more elevated pockets or chutes.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, :1; represents the usual endless track on which the wheels, a, of the conveyer run. I), are the links which form the chain, and c, are the buckets. These are pivotally suspended, gravity buckets. The buckets are hung between the pairs of links of the chain, their pivotal journals, (1, forming the axles for the wheels a. The bucket-s are so distanced by the links that a space is left between them when they are on a horizontal track, and each bucket is provided with two lips, 0*, one at each end, which, when the buckets are coupled together on the level, extend out more than half the distance to the next bucket, whereby the lips on the adjacent buckets must, of necessity, overlap and thus jointly cover the space between the buckets. As shown in Fig. 1, the conveyer is adapted to move in the direction of the arrows: that is, they ascend at the left and descend at the right; and the lip 0* at the rear end of one bucket overlaps that on the front end of the next following bucket. This enables the buckets to assume the proper position, by gravity, to retain their loads, when they begin the ascent, as clearly seen at the left lower corner in Fig. 1.

The material from the bins or pockets, 6, is delivered into the moving buckets on the lower horizontal track through suitable chutes, c". There may, of course be one or more of these pockets, arranged in the usual way, and the conveyer plant may be of any length and any height. When the buckets reach the upper track with their loads, they may be dumped at any point by means of a suitably placed dumping cam, as g, placed on the track at the proper point and in position to encounter a dumping lug, c, on the end of the bucket. As this dumping mech- ZOO anism is not broadly new, I have not deemed lt'necessary to minutely illustrate and de-;.

scribe it.

As the lips on the empty buckets would col lide as the buckets start to descend, I provide a cam, it, placed on the upper track near the; point Where the buckets pass onto the descending track. This cam engages the d umping lug c on the bucket, turns its advancing? end down and holds it down until the next bucket ahead has got down on the descending track far enough to permit the tiltedbucket behind it to right itself by gravity without collision.

bucket. This is eifected by means of a cam h on the lower track.

To prevent the buckets from the loading between the overlapping lips 'for the passage of fine coal or other material, I provide agu-ard rail, 2', which extends lengthwise of the track over two or more buckets. c This rail is fixed in position'so that the buckets move unlapping lips c In Fig.- 3 I have shownthe} application of my gravity bucket provided? withia lip c at each end, to a conveyer wherein the bucket is hung from the middles of the} links, the wheel-axles being between the buckfor the reason that the 'lipson "the buckets- Will not pass the wheel-axles, I provide means empty bucket to turn completely-over at thepoint'where it starts to descend to the lower axles are not placed between the buckets,

level. .This isrendered necessary for the reasons before explained. A long cam, h havinga cu-rveconcentricwith that of the track,

is fixed' on the latter at the'point where the buckets start on their descent. The buckets are turned in succession, and after passing down onto thestraightportion of the descendthe position seen at the right in Fig. 3by the lips at the ends of the bucket bearing on or.

bucket in this position.

ing the buckets may'beemployed with the construction seen in Fig. 1, where the wheelthis is represented in Fig.4, in which case-the buckets are held in position in their descent along the descending track by gravity, the overlapping lips on adjacent bucketsybeing pressed in opposite directions and into contact by that force. In this construction of Fig. 4, which is preferred over that-of Fig. 1 for the reason that it obviates the necessity of usingtwo cams, hand h I employ as an auxiliary means for steadying the buckets in theirdescent, aguard rail '5 which extends up along the descending track to prevent the rocking. or displacement of the buckets.

It will be observed that the bucket has tw o symmetrically placed dumping lugs c Plus is mainly for the purpose of enabling the buckets to be turned end for end, ndlft'erently, or run in either direction at wlll. In the construction of Fig. 1, also, both lugs come into play, one at the cam h and the other at the cam Jh I.

.The guard rail iperforms a special function in the construction of Fig. 1. If there were no device for preventing the tilting of the buckets, in case two adjacent buckets were unequally loaded, there would be-a collision at the point where the buckets leave the lower horizontal track and pass "onto the ascending track.

As I have stated, the plant may be ot any length, and the buckets on the upper track may be re-loaded after dumping for carryoscil-lating at point-and thereby forming a-space ing material along between points on the upper track.

One advantage of my device of overlapping lips is that it avoids all special load ng mechanisms, and .enables't he buckets to be loaded at any number of points without add- 1 ing to the cost of construction and without derit, and it is arranged justabove-theoversame length, of course, but it is preferable to make them so.

Having "thus described my invention, I

u 0laim ets. =As in thlscons'tru'ction thebuckets-cannot .make a complete rotation on-their pivots,

1. An endless chain conveyer having a chain, with gravity buckets suspended 1 v otally therein and provided each with a 11p at each end, the lips on adjacent'buckets for turning the buckets which compels eachi overlapping as set tor-th,and means, situated at the point where the buckets approach the descending track, 'for tilting the buckets, the construction andarran-gement of said means being such that the-overlapping of the lips thereon willbechanged, forthe-reasons speci- 2. In an endless'chain conveyeig-t he combination with the track, track-wheels and end less chain, of the gravity buckets suspended ,ing track they leave the cam and are held in at intervals in the'cha'in .and provided with overlapping lips as described, and means substantially as described for preventing the-collision of theloaded buckets'at thepoint'where they pass from the lower track to'the ascending track, as set forth. 1

'3. In an endless-chain conveyenth'e combination with the track, track-wheels and chain, ot the gravity buckets pivotallysuspended at equal intervals in the chain and each having a projecting lip at each end, the lipson adjacent buckets overlapping as described, a bucket-tilting cam on the track near the point where the buckets pass onto the descending track, and a guard frail ex tending'up along the descending track and in positionto prevent the empty buckets from stantially as described for tilting the buckets and shifting the lap of said lips when the buckets move onto the descending track, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE V. MCCASLIN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, HERBERT BLOSSOM.