US660477A

US660477A - Soaking-pit crane.

Info

Publication number: US660477A
Application number: US73088199A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel T Wellman; Charles H Wellman; John W Seaver
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1899-09-18
Filing date: 1899-09-18
Publication date: 1900-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 1917-10-23

Description

No. 660,477. Patented Oct. 23, I900.

s. T..& c. H. WELLMAYN & .1. w. SEA-VER'.

SUAKlNG PIT CRANE.

(Application filed Sept. 18, 1899.)

(No'ModeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

m: wams PETERS cc, vnc'ro-uwa, WIGHMUTON, u. c

No. 660,477. Patgnted Oct. 23, I900. S. T. &. C. HJWELLMAN & J. W. SEAVER.

SUA'KING PIT CRANE.

' (Applic atipp filed Sept. 18, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 S haets$heet 2.

m: scams PKYERS co. PnoTQuri o. \NLSHINQTON, o. c.

Patented Oct. 23, I900.

3 Sheets$heet 3.

8. T. & C. H. WELLMAN & J. W. SEAVER.

SOAKING PIT CRANE.

(Application filed Sept. 18 1899.) am Model.)

m: "cams PsYzns' w, PPOTO-LITMOH WASH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL T. WELLMAN, CHARLES H. WELLMAN, AND JOHN W. SEAVER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SOAKlNG-PIT CRANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,477, dated October 23, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL T. WELLMAN, CHARLES H. WELLMAN,and JOHN W. SEAVER, citizens of the United States, and residents of Cleveland, Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in Soaking-Pit Cranes, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention consists of a crane for carrying ingots to and from a soaking-pit and for depositing them in and withdrawing them from said pit, the main object of our invention being to so construct the crane that a maximum length of stroke or lift is obtained with a minimum amount of head room, further objects being economy in construction and convenience in controlling the motions of the various parts of the crane. These objects we attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved soaking-pit crane. Fig. 2is a transverse section, partly in elevation and on a larger scale, of part of the crane. Fig. 3 is a sectional z 5 plan view on the line a a, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section, on a still larger scale, of the telescopic leg which carries the grippingtongs. Fig. 5 is a side view of the grippingtongs. Fig. 6 is a section on the line b b,

0 Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a section on the line (1 d, Fig. l. Fig. Sis a section of the telescopic leg on the line ff, Fig. 4.. Fig. 9 is a view showing the tongs in the open position, and Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a certain 5 sheave-operating device forming part of the crane.

Referring first to Fig 1, a soaking-pit of any desired construction is represented at 1, while on each side of this soaking-pit are posts or columns 2, each being one of a series or row of such columns, or 2 2 may represent the opposite walls of a structure in which the soaking-pit is located. Mounted upon the columns or walls 2 are girders 3, which constitute runways for the crane and are provided with rails i for the reception of wheels 5 on said crane.

The main structure of the crane consists in the present instance of two parallel boxgirders 6 6, as shown in Fig. 2, these girders being connected at their ends to transverse Application filed September 18, 1899. Serial No. 730,881. (No model.)

girders 7. The girders of which the crane is composed may, however, be of any desired character consistent with the character of the work to be performed and the load which the crane has to bear, the construction of the crane forming no essential part of ourinvention.

One of the girders of the crane carries an electric motor 8, the armature-shaft of which is geared to a shaft 9, which in turn is geared to a shaft 10, extending longitudinally along the girder and carrying a pair of the wheels 5, upon which said girder is mounted. Hence by means of such motor and gearing the crane '65 can be traversed to and fro upon its runways 3. Upon rails 11 on top of the girders 6 are mounted the wheels 12 of a trolley 13, which can be traversed to and fro throughout the length of the crane-girders and which carries 7o mechanism for raising and lowering and opening and closing the tongs for gripping the ingot.

Upon reference to Fig. 4 it will be seen that each lever 14 of the tongs is hung to a head 15, formed upon a rod 16, comprising upper and lower sections connected by a swiveljoint 17, so that the lower section and its head 15 can turn without any corresponding turning movement of the upper section, the swivel-joint havinga ball-bearing 18 to lessen the friction due to such turning movement. The lower arms of the levers 14 of the tongs are provided with spurs or teeth 19 for en gaging the ingot, and the upper arms of said levers are hung to links 20, which are pivoted on opposite sides of a head 21, secured to the inner section 22 of a telescopic leg, whereby the tongs are supported and operated, this telescopic leg comprising in the present instance three sectionsnamely, the inner section 22, already referred to, an intermediate section 23, and anouter section 24=--the inner section 22 being free to slide downwardly in the intermediate section 23 to an extent lim- 5 ited by contact of the

shoulders

25 and 26 and upwardly to an extent limited by contact of a spring-buffer 27 on the head 21 with the lower end of the section 23, and the latter section is free to slide downwardly in the outer section 24 to an extent limited by contact of a shoulder 28 on the section 23 with a IOO spring-buffer 29, carried by the section 24, and upwardly to an extent limited by the lift of the hoisting apparatus described hereinafter. The three sections of the telescopic leg are in the present instance cylindrical and are prevented from turning one within the other by reason of a filling-block 30, carried by the outer section and engaging with a flat? tened portion of the intermediate section, and a filling-block 31, carried by the intermediate section and engaging with a flattened portion of the inner section, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8; but it will be evident that the sections of the leg may have some form of cross-section other than a cylindrical form, in which case no special means of preventing the turning of one independently of the other will be necessary. The outer section 24 of the telescopic leg is free to turn in a bearing 32, secured to a hanger 33, depending from the frame of the trolley 13, and said outer section 24 of the leg has near its upper end a collar 34, which is supported by a ring 35, mounted on transverse girders 36, secured to said hanger, a ball-bearing 37 being interposed between said collar and ring, so as to lessen the friction due to the turning movement.

Rotation of the telescopic leg and of the tongs carried thereby may be readily effected by means of an electric motor suitably located and driving a shaft 38 with worm 39, meshing with a worm-wheel 40 upon the up per projecting end of the outer section 24 of said leg, as shown in Fig. 2.

To the upper end of the inner section 22 of the telescopic leg of the tongs is adapted a plug 41, and passing through this plug is a tubular sleeve 42, with outwardly-projecting flange 43, between which and the under side of the plug 41 is interposed a ball-bearing 44, the lower portion of said sleeve 42 forming a guide and bearing for the upper or non-rotating section of the rod 16.

Mounted so as to be free to turn in suitable hearings on the frame of the trolley 13 is a shaft 45, which carries a drum 46, this shaft being driven by means of an electric motor 47, mounted 011 the trolley 13, or being rotated in any other available manner. The drum 46 is grooved or otherwise formed for the reception of three hoisting chains or ropes 48, 49, and 50, which for convenience will hereinafter simply be alluded to as chains, the outermost of these chains 48 and 49 passing downwardly between guide-sheaves 51 and 52 and being connected to links 53 at the upper end of the sleeve 42, the central chain, however, before passing between the sheaves 51 and 52 passing around a sheave 54, which is carried by the outer end of a rod 55, and the latter is combined with means whereby it may be projected or retracted, as desired, so as to pull upon or slacken the chain independently of any movement imparted thereto by the drum 46. A convenient method of effecting this projection and retraction of the rod 55 is to mount the latter in bearings 56, in which it is free to slide,and to form upon the rod a thread 57, Fig. 10, which is engaged by a nut 58,confined longitudinally between said bearings and secured to or forming part of a spur-wheel 59, which can be rotated in either direction by an electric motor or other available device. The lower end of the chain 50is connected to an eye 61 at the top of the upper section of the rod 16. Hence the raising and lowering of the sections of the telescopic leg and the simultaneousand like raising and lowering of the rod 16 and its head 15 may be effected by turning the drum 46 in one direction or the other; but the provision of the movable sheave 54 for the chain 50 permits of a movement of the rod 16 and head 15 independently of the sections of the telescopic leg by pulling upon or slackening said chain 50. Raising of the rod 16 and its head 15 independently of the telescopic leg causes the opening of the levers of the tongs,as shown in Fig. 9, While lowering of said rod 15 and rod 16 independently of said telescopic leg causes said levers of the tongs to close to an extent permitted by contact of projecting arms 62 on the links 20, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be seen, therefore, that the gripping device comprises, practically, two elementsnamely, the levers 14 and the links 20one of these elements being carried by the section 22 of the telescopic leg and the other by the rod 16 of the same. Hence movement of the gripping device without opening or closing the same will be effected when the parts 22 and 16 move in unison, and the opening of the gripping device will be caused when the part 16 moves independently of the part 22.

Supposing that the telescopic leg of the crane to be contracted to its full extent, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and that the tongs are open, as shown in Fig. 9, the crane is operated so as to bring the tongs above the ingot which is to be handled, and the tongs are then lowered by turning backward the drum 46 until they are in position to grasp the ingot, whereupon the chain 50 is slackened by moving outward the sheave 54, so that the weight of the tongs, the head 15, and the rod 16 causes said tongs to descend, thereby spreading the links 20 and forcing the gripping-jaws of the tongs into contact with the sides of the ingot. The drum 46 is now turned in a direction opposite to that just described, thereby retracting the telescopic leg of the crane and lifting the tongs,with the ingot gripped thereby,there being no tendency of the tongs to open and release the ingot, because the rod 16 and head 15 are being raised at precisely the same rate as the telescopic leg. The crane is then 0perated so as to convey the ingot to its desired position above the soakingpit, and the drum 46 is then again turned so as to unwind the chains 48, 49, and 50 and lower the tongs, with the ingot, into the soaking-pit. When the ingot has been properly deposited, movement of the drum 46 is arrested and the shaft 54 is drawn inward, so as to pull upon the chain 50, raising the head 15 and opening the tongs.

Owing to the use of the telescopic leg of the crane, extended lift and drop of the tongs are permitted with theminimum amount of head room for the crane, while the general construction of the crane is of a simple and compact character, and the various movements of the tongs are under ready control of the operator stationed in a suitable cage 70.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of the gripping-tongs comprising two elements movable in respect to each other to open and close the grippingjaws, a raising and lowering device for the gripping tongs also comprising two elements, one connected to one element of the grippingtongs and the other to the other element of the same, a single drum having chains connected to the different elements of the said raising and lowering device, and means for pulling upon and slackening the chain of one element independently of the movement imparted to the chains by the drum,substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the gripping device with a crane having 3. depending telescopic leg carrying said gripping device, said telescopic leg having sliding sections and springbuffers serving to arrest the movement of the sections of the leg as they are projected or retracted, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the gripping device, a crane having a depending telescopic leg carrying said gripping device, and composed of sections capable of being projected and retracted, means for effecting such projection or retraction of the sections without opening or closing the tongs, and provision for imparting turning movement to the leg and its gripping device independently of the projecting and retracting mechanism, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the gripping device having two elements movable in respect to each other so as to open and close the gripping-jaws, a telescopic leg carrying one of the elements of said gripping device, and a rod mounted in said leg and carrying the other element of the gripping device, said rod being capable of moving with or independently of the other sections of the telescopic leg, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the gripping device having two elements movable in respect to each other so as to open and close the gripping-jaws, a telescopic leg carrying one of said elements and combined with means whereby it may be rotated, and a rod mounted on said telescopic leg and carrying the other element of the gripping device, said rod being composed of sections connected by a swivel-joint, whereby one may be rotated without imparting rotating movement to the other, substantially as specified.

6. The combination of the gripping device, a telescopic leg carrying the same and composed of sections capable of sliding one within another, a crane-trolley having a bearing in which the outer section of the leg is revolubly mounted, and a raising and lowering device having an element upon which the in-- nor section of the leg is also revolubly mounted, substantially as specified.

7. The combination of the gripping device comprising two elements movable in respect to each other so as to open and close the gripping-jaws, a trolley having a depending support comprising two parts each carrying one of said elements of the gripping device, a

single drum on the trolley having chains connected to one part of the depending support whereby the same may be raised and lowered, and another chain connected to the other part of said support, a sheave around which said latter chain passes, and means for projecting and retracting said sheave so as to slacken or tighten said chain, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

C. W. GoMsTooK, S. REsToN SAGUE.