US643331A - Towing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

' 2 Sheen-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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Patented Feb. I3, |900. F. METCALF..

TUWING MACHINE.

(Application led July 5, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

/N VEN TOH ExquiwAsHmcrcN u c Unrrnn STATEs V PATENT rtree.

FREDERICK METCALF, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHASE MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TOWlNG-IVIACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,331, dated February 13, 1900.

Application tiled July 5, 1399t Serial No. 722,871. (No model.)

To CLZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK METCALF, a residentof Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Towing Machines and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a towing-machine employing a principle radically different from the principles involved in towing-machines heretofore devised. It is convenient, however, for the purpose of explaining clearly the novel features and operation of my present invention to refer to Letters Patent No. 542,'710, granted July 1G, 1895, for a towing-machine devised by me. In the machine disclosed in the said Letters Patent the drag of the towed vessel is borne by the pressure in engine-cylinders of an ordinary steam-engine and `sud den shocks are avoided by the machine automatically unwinding tow-line, whichit takes up again when the strain is relieved. It is evident that any hoisting steam-engine lof suitable design and strength could be used as a towing-machine, the drag of the barge or vessel being towed being balanced upon the steam-cushion. If the strain of towing was variable, consisting of a successiouot' uniform increases in load,followed alternately by uniform decreases of load,.such as would oocur by the rise and fall of the vessels in an evenly running Seaway, any such engine would alternately pay out and take in towline and relieve the straining of the line due to the shocks upon it. If the sea was not running evenly or other strains came intermitltently upon the tow-line, the engine would alternately pay out and take up line, but probably would not take up the same amount of line that it paid out, and would probably aiter a while unwind all the line on the drum or else pull the barge clear up tothe steamer and would be causing trouble bychanging the length of tow-line. If a man stood by the machine or Went to it frequently and by changing the opening of the steam-admission valve operated the engine to wind up or unwind the'line, a desired length of-towline could be maintained and the shocks upon the line relieved. The machine disclosed in Letters Patent No. 542,710 accomplishes this object by automatically operating a steam-admission valve, letting in more or less steam, as required to Ineet the varying load. In the actual operation of this machine, built as illustrated in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, the engine will invariably come to rest when the piston of one of the engine-cylinders is on a dead-point and the pressure upon the other piston is doing all the holding. By the expression dead-point or deadcenter is understood the location ofthe pisa ton within the cylinder when the piston-rod` and the crank-Wrist engaging the said rod are in line and the cylinder is neither exhausting nor taking live steam. The admission-valve Will be somewhat open and the pressure in the cylinders will rise to nearly equal the pressure available in the admission pipes. The stiffness and friction of the machine will tend to hold the engine-shaft from turning. It' an unusual strain comes upon the tow-line, suflicient to overcome the holding power of the pressure upon one piston in effective operation and the friction of the machine, the ldrumvvill start to revolve and payout line, and the second piston will immediately move front its dead-center position and come into operation by the additionof the pressure upon it to the resistance already established. Owing tothe gearing only a very few inches of line would be paid out and the shock on the line correspondingly slightly lessened. It is evident that as the pressure in the cylindersV at the outset is about equal to that available in the admission-pipes the further opening of the admission-valve cannot increase the pressure above what it was at first. If the strain is strong enough to reverse the engine when the pressure upon both pistons is holding, the tow-line will continue to be unwound from the drum. The freer admission will cause increasing compression at the ends of the stroke and retard the unwinding of the line. If, however, the strain continues excessive or the pressurein the steam-supply pipes has been allowed to get low, the machine will IOO continue to pay out until the entire tow-line has been unw-ound and the barge may break away.

In my present invention I have done away with the automatic valve mechanism entirely. I employ an engine, which, for convenience, I have illustrated as asteam-engine, although it is, evident that an air or any other iiuid engine or motor would be equally suitable in carrying out my invention. I would usually employ a double-cylinder engine, as illustrat-ed, and prefer, for reasons hereinafter eX- plained, to use a trunk-engine and to put the drum directly upon the crank-shaft, although I lnay sometimes vary this construction and do not in any way limit my invention to these details.

The use of a trunk-engine economizes space, which is usually Valuable on ship-board. In towing the machine would come to rest sustaining the normal load by the pressure on the small area of one piston, and the other piston would be on a dead-point. If now an unusual strain comes upon the tow-line, the drum would be dragged backward, and pressure upon the small area of the other piston would come into operation, so that the pres- .sure upon the small areas of both pistons would operate. If the pressure upon the small areas of the two pistons did not hold the load, the engine-shaft would make another quarter-turn, and the pressure upon one of the full piston areas would come into operation, and at another quarter-turn of the shaft the pressure upon two full areas of both pistons would be holding or, perhaps, three times the original holding area. As there is no gearing between the drum and the engineshaft, considerably more tow-line would have been run out than would have been the case under the machine disclosed in the Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to, and the relief to the tow-line would be correspondingly greater. It might happen, however, that even this increase of about three times the normal holding strain might not suffice to hold an unusually severe load and the line might continue to pay out, or it might happen that the resistance offered by the pressure upon the full areas of both pistons might be lessened, and the engine might proceed to wind in more tow -line than was desired. To provide against these contingencies, I have invented an automatically-operated and self-releasing brake or mechanism, hereinafter fully described.

The primary object of my invention is to positively prevent the tow-lin e-engaging drum from paying out or winding up more than a predetermined length of line and to accomplish this object by employing a brake capable of arresting the rotation of the drum in either direction, mechanism for actuating and controlling the operation of the brake, and means operatively connected with a moving part of the machine and arranged to operate the said mechanism.

With this object in View and to the end of 'realizing other advantages already alluded to and hereinafter appearing my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure I is a top plan of a towing-machine embodying my invention. Fig. Il is a left-hand side elevation relative to Fig. I, partly in section, on line II II, Fig. I. Fig. III is a vertical section on line III III, Fig. I, looking in the direction of the arrow, and portions are broken away in this figure to more clearly show the construction. Fig. IV is an elevation, mostly in Vertical section, on the line IV IV, Fig. II, showing the drum-bearing end of the engine-shaft, the brake, and the brake-operating mechanism. Fig. Vis a section on line V V, Fig. IV, looking in the direction of the arrow.

The framework of the machine illustrated comprises two standards or upright vside frames c and a, arranged a suitable distance apart and parallel. Frames or standards d a are located the distance apart required to accommodate the interposition of the drum b longitudinally between them. The drum is keyed or operatively mounted upon the engine-shaft b, that is supported from the frames d ct. The engine-shaft is a crank-shaft having two cranks b2 h2 at opposite ends respectively of the shaft and arranged adjacent and in close proximity to the outer sides of the shaft-supporting frames o'. d, that are consequently arranged between the two cranks of ICO the shaft.' The two cranks correspond, preferably, in construction, and each crank is provided with a wrist b3 that is operatively connected, by means of a pitman or rod b4, with a piston c of a Huid-pressure cylinder c. The machine preferably comprises, therefore, an ordinary double-cylinder engine operated by fluid under pressure and having pistons of the trunk variety. The trunk c2 of each piston extends outwardly through the upper end of the cylinder containing the piston and is open at its outer end, and the rod connecting the said piston with the crankshaft is attached to the piston in the usual manner within the inner end of the trunk.

The passageways and valves for distributing or supplying steam to the cylinders and for causing each cylinder to exhaust at one end While taking steam at its other end are so .well understood that description and illustration thereof are considered unnecessary, and any familiar form of passage-ways and valves that would render the engine capable of being reversed in the direction desired may be employed.

The tow-line Z engages the drum b and is coiled upon or paid out by the drum, according as the latter is rotated in the one or the other direction. The drum o is provided internally of one end thereof with a recess ZJ, that is circular and has its surrounding wall h6 extending circumferentially of the drumsupporting engine-shaft and arranged concentrically of the said shaft. The inner periphery of the said wall bs is turned smooth, and the said wall constitutes an annular friction member operatively connected with the engine-shaft; but in the case illustrated the said friction member is formed integral with 'one end of the drum. An eccentric brake d is arranged within the recess b5 and pivoted, as at d', at one side of the shaft Z2, horizontally and longitudinally of the said shaft to one of the stationary frames a. The opposite end or head of the brake has its external circumferential surface arranged, preferably, eccentric to the friction-surface of the friction-ring h6, and in the brakes central or inoperative position the brake-heads peripheral or friction surface is loose relative to or out of contact with the friction-surface In, It is obvious that the brake d upon swinging it in the one direction or the other will come into frictional engagement with the friction-surface of the drum, and thereby arrest or check the motion of the drum and engine. The swinging motion of the brake d is controlled by a bar e, that extends from the outer side of the centralportion of the head of the brake downwardly and outwardly. Bai-ein its upper end is provided with a slot e', that is engaged by a pin d3, formed upon the outer side of the brake centrally of the latters head. The slot e extends longitudinally of the bar c. Owing to the weight of the brake, the pin d3 would normally rest upon the lower end wall of the slot e.

Zdesignates the hawser, cable, or tow-line -that is coiled upon the drum and leads from the latter in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l. It is obvious that if the bar e was actuated upwardly the brake d would swing upwardly until it came in contact with the friction-surface of the drum, and if the drum was turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. III the brake would be picked up bythe drum and swung somewhat farther in the same or upward direction until the pin cl3 came in contact with the upper end wall of the slot e of the bar e, and the friction between the brake and the drum would be consequently increased. If the drum was then to be rotated in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow, the brake would be swung downwardly and away from the friction-surface of the 4drum and be self-releasing. Similarly, if the bar e be lowered the pin d3 of the brake will follow the slot e of the bar c until the brake comes in contact with the friction-surface of the drum below the latters axis, and the brake will then interpose the frictional resistance against the drum moving in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow, hutnot in opposition to its turning in that direction.

The bar e is operatively mounted at its lower end upon an eccentric g', that is formed upon a stud or shaft g, that is arranged horizon tally and parallel with the drums supporting-shaft. The shaft g is supported from one of the frames a. The shaft g extends through and beyond either side of the said stationary frame, and the eccentric g is formed upon the shaft g at the inner side of the frame, and a spur-gear g2 is operatively mounted upon the said shaft at the outer side of the frame and meshes with a pinion h2, operatively mounted upon a stud or shaft h, supported from the aforesaid frame and extending beyond the outer side of the frame a suitable distance to accommodate the shifting upon it at the outer end of the pinion of a peripherally-notched Wheel h', that is operatively connected with the shaft h by a pin la, removably engaging a hole formed. in the shaft. The wheel h is provided in its periphery with any suitable number of notches or recesses h3, arranged at equal intervals circumferentially of the wheel and adapted to be engaged by a pin or projection bs, secured to or formed upon the periphery of a disk 57, that is operatively mounted upon the shaft b, and is preferably integral with and arranged at the inner side of a crank b2 of the shaft, and the said projection bs successively engages the Arecesses h3 in the Wheel h and actuates the said wheel h one recess at a time during each complete rotation ofthe shaft.

In order that the brake may be kept safely inoperative when the tow-line is being wound or unwound preparatory to towing, the pinion h2' and the wheel h are composed, preferably, of one piece having a hub h5 in common formed centrally between the ends of the piece. The said hub has a transverse hole h6, engaged by a pin 7c, that is adapted to engage the one orv the other of two holes h6 and 7L?, formed in and transversely of the shaft h and arranged a suitable distance apart longitudinally of the shaft. In the operative posit-ion of the said'wheels the pin h engages the inner hole h6, and when the said pinion and ,attached wheel are shifted outwardly upon the shaft after disengaging the pin 7c from the engaging hole 7L in the shaft, so as to disengage the pinion from the engaging gear and so as to remove the wheel h' from the path of the revolving pin or member 58, the pin 7c shall register with and be slid into the outer hole 71,7 of the shaft h and hold the said pinion and attached wheel in their inoperative position. The wheel h' has the peripheral surfaces between its recesses h3 concave, as at h4, circuniferentially of the wheel, and the concavities h4 have their walls arranged to conform to and embrace and extend close to the smooth peripheral surface of the disk 57 when the concavities, during the intermittent rotation of the wheel, come directly opposite the said peripheral surface of the said disk, so that the wheel h when it is in an operative position cannot turn in-I dependently of the disk, and the latter has its peripheral surface recessed or out away, as at b9, at each side of its projecting member bs to accommodate the operation of the said IOO IIO

IZO

member hs in engaging and actuatingl the wheel 71'.

The operation of the machine and the arrangement of the parts are as follows: The tow-line is unwound from the drum to the desired length, so as to separate the vessel being towed the desired distance fromthe vessel that is towing. This distance will of course Vary according to the extent and accommodation of the body of water upon which the vessels are moving. The distance would vary from a hundred feet upon a river to several hundred feet-*usually about twelve hundred feet-on a large sea. Having unwound the tow-line to the length desired preparatory to towing, the vengine is reversed, so as to tend to wind up the line. A portion of the aggregate or total piston area of the engine is continuously under steam-pressure, and the arrangement and construction of parts are such, preferably, that the power of the pressure upon the small area of one piston will equal or slightly exceed the power exerted by a normal strain upon the tow-line. If the power of the pressure upon the said piston area were slightly in excess of the power exerted by the normal strain upon the tow-line, a little line would be wound up until the brake tightened upon the drums friction-surface below the drums axis, and thereby prevent the line from winding up further. An exceptional strain upon the tow-line would then cause the drum to turn in the direction required to back up the pistons, and the brake would be rendered inoperative and offer no resistance to the said reverse rotation of the drum, but successively-increasing piston areas or surfaces would be exposed to stealn-pressure that would oppose the strain upon the towline until the engine-shaft has made a complete rotation. For instance, suppose that Fig. l of the drawings illustrates the engine having its left-hand piston holding the normal strain upon the tow-line and that there is steam-pressure only upon the small area of the left-hand piston, whereas the right-hand piston is in the dead center position, wherein it has neither area exposed to steampressure, and it will be obvious that an exceptional strain upon the tow-line will result in backing up the left-hand piston against the pressure exerted upon the small area of the left-hand piston and back up the righthand piston from its dead-center position and again expose the small area of the right-hand piston to pressure of steam thereupon again entering above the said piston, so that there will be the pressure upon the small areas of both pistons to oppose the strain upon the tow-line, and if the said strain more than equals the pressure upon the small areas of both pistons the engine-shaft will continue its rotation, and the strain upon the tow-line will next be opposed by the pressure upon the small area of one piston and the full or large area of the other piston and then, if the strain continues, by the pressure upon the large areas of both pistons, and, lastly, the strain would be opposed and checked by the brake hereinbefore described. The continuance of excessive strain upon the tow-line after the strain was opposed by the steampressure upon the large areas of both pistons would cause the drum to continue to unwind until the brake is actuated and rendered operative above the drums axis, and thereby arrest or interrupt the rotation of the drum. The brake may, if desired, be faced with slightly-yieldi ng material,(not shown,)and the proportions an d arrangement of the parts composing the brake-operating mechanism should be such that the application of the brake will not be too sudden. The steam-pressure would of course be nearly holding the load in any event. When after the unwinding rotation of the drum has been checked the tow-lineunwinding strain is relieved, the engine is again lnore powerful than the normal strain upon the line, and the brake interposes no obstacle to winding up tow-line until enough tow-line has been wound up to bring the brake into play below the drums axis. It is desirable to accommodate the winding up or unwindingof apredetermined length of tow-line before the brake is rendered operative, and if the length desired were about sixty feet and each coil of tow-line upon the drum measured about six feet then the parts that compose the brake-actuating mechanism would be so proportioned, arranged, and timed as to accommodate the paying out or Winding up of about sixty feet of tow-line before the operation of the brake is effected, so that when upon winding tow-line upon the drum after the release of the brake following the relief of the abnormal strain against which the steam-pressure upon a large area of both pistons was utilized the drum will wind up about sixty feet of line before the brake is again rendered operative. If through carelessness or for any other reason the steampressure fell olf to where it would not sustain the strain upon the tow-line, the barge or vessel being towed would not break adrift, as might have happened with my former patented machine, but would be held on a friction-brake more or less yielding, according to how much steam-pressure remained, and in calm weather the strain of towing may be taken directly on the friction-brake simply by shutting o the steam.

Although this application discloses a brake suitable for interrupting the rotation of the drum in either direction', I would have it understood that the machine in some instances might bc so heavy that the machine could not pay out all of the tow-line and no provision would have to be made for checking or interrupting the paying out of line, and in this instance a brake that was capable of preventing winding up more than a predetermined amount of tow-line, although incapable of limiting the paying out of line, would answer the requirements of the machine and would be within the spirit and purpose of the present invention.

What I claim is-- v l. In a towing-machine, the combination with the tow-line-engaging winding-drum; of mechanism for arresting or interrupting the rotation of the drum in the direction required to wind up tow-line, and means operatively connected with the drum, for operating the said mechanism, which means and the parts of the aforesaid mechanism are so relatively proportioned, arranged and timed as to arrest the rotation of the drum upon the latters winding up a predetermined length of tow-line, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a towing-machine, ythe combination with the tow-line-engaging winding-drum; of a brake .for arresting and interrupting the rotation of the drum in the direction required to wind up tow-line, and mechanism whereby the brake is rendered operative upon the drums winding up a predetermined amount of tow-line, which brake is self releasing upon turning the drum in the .direction opposite to which the drum was rotated in rendering the brake operative.

8. In a towingmachine, the combination with the tow-line-engaging winding-drum; of mechanism for arresting or interrupting the rotation of the drum in either direction, and means for operating the said mechanism and operatively connected with the drum, which means and the parts of the aforesaid mechanism are so relatively proportioned, arranged and timed as to arrest the rotation of the drum upon the latters winding up or paying out a predetermined length of towline, substantially as set forth.

4c. In a towing-machine, t-he combination with the tow-line-engaging winding-drum; of a brake for arresting or interrupting the rotation of the drum in either direction, and mechanism whereby the said brake is rendered operative upon the drums winding up or paying out a predetermined amount of tow-line, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a towing-machine, the combination with the tow-lineengaging winding-drum; of a 'brake for arresting or interrupting the rotation of the drum in either direction, and mechanism whereby the brake is rendered operative upon the drums winding up or paying out a predetermined amount of towline, which brake is self-releasing upon turning the drum in the direction opposite to the direction in which the drum was rotated in rendering the brake operative, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a towingmachine, the combination with an engine and its shaft, and the towline-engagin g winding-drum operatively connected with the engine-shaft; of mechanism capable of. preventing further motion of the engine upon winding up or paying out a predetermined amount of tow-line, and means operatively connected with the aforesaid shaft for operating the said mechanism.

7. In a towingmachine, the combination with an engine and its shaft, and the towline-engaging winding-drum operatively connected with the shaft; of a brake for arresting the rotation of the drum in either direction, mechanism whereby the said brake is rendered operative upon winding up or paying out a predetermined amount of tow-line, and means operatively connected with the shaft for operating the said mechanism.

S. In a towingmachine, the combination with an engine and its shaft, and the towline-engaging winding-drum operatively connected with the shaft; of a friction -brake comprising an annular member operatively connected and rotatable with the engineshaft and a tilting or swinging member supported from a stationary object, mechanism for tilting the said tiltable member into frictional engagement with the annular member, and means that is operatively connected with the shaft and arranged to operate the said mechanism during the rotation of the shaft, substantially as set forth.

9. In a towing-machine, the combination with an engine and its shaft, and the windingdrum operatively connected with the shaft; of an annular member operatively connected and rotatable with the shaft and provided with an internal annular friction-surface, a swinging or tilting member pivoted to a stationary object at one side of the shaft and eX- tending to the opposite side of the shaft and there terminating in a friction-head capable of frictionally engaging the aforesaid annular friction member upon swinging the said head in the one direction or the other, and means or mechanism whereby the said friction-head is rendered operative upon a limited rotation of the drum in either direction, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

IO. In a towing-machine, the combination with an engine and its shaft, and the windingdrum operatively connected with the shaft; of an annular member operatively connected and rotatable with the shaft and provided with an internal annular friction-surface; a swinging or tilting member pivoted to a stationary object at one side of the shaft and eX- tending to the opposite side of the shaft and there terminating in a friction-head capable of frictionally engaging the aforesaid annular friction member upon swinging the said head in the one direction or the other, which head is provided upon one side with a pin; a bar having a slot that engages the said pin and that is arranged longitudinally of the bar, and means or mechanism whereby the said bar is shifted endwise in the one direction or the other simultaneously with the rotation of the drum in the one or the other direction, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a towing-machine, the combination with the engine and its shaft,and the winding- ICO IIO

drum operatively connected with the shaft;

of an annular member operatively connected and rotatable with the shaft and provided with an internal annular friction-surface; a swinging or tilting member pivoted to a stationary object at one side of the shaft and eX- tending to the shafts opposite side where it terminates in a friction-head capable of friotionally engaging the aforesaid annular friction member upon swinging the said head in .the one direction or the other, Which head is provided upon one side with a pin; a bar having a slot that engages the said pin and is arranged longitudinally of the bar; an eccentric operatively engaging the said bar; a pe ripherally-n otched Wh eel intergeared With the said eccentric, and a revolving member operatively connected with the engine and arranged to engage and actuate the said notched Y Wheel once during each revolution of the said brake supported from the stationary object, and mechanism whereby the said brake is actuated into frictiorml engagement with the drums friction-surface upon a limited rotation of the drum in either direction,substau tially as and for the purpose set forth.

13. AtoWing-machine comprisingatowlineengaging winding-drum; a duid-pressure engine comprising two cylinders having trunkpistons operatively connected with the drum, and having its pistons arranged so that the small area of one of the pistons shall sustain the norm al strain upon the towline, and While the said piston is sustaining the load the other piston shall be in its dead-center or inoperative position; a brake for arresting and interrupting rotation of the drum in the direction required to Wind up tow-line, and mechanism whereby the brake is :rendered operative upon the drum Winding up a predetermined amount of tow-line.

Signed by me at Cleveland, Ohio, this 6th day of June, 1899.

FRLDERICK METOALF.

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