US671301A - Store-service apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Apr. '2, lsol.

No. 6mm.

` .6. STAIB,

soms sEnvlcE APPARATUS.

(Application led-June 4I5, 1900,)

A(No Model.)

mllllumwll--no) mi FFICEIW GUSTAV STAIlS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 671,301, dated April 2, 1901.`

Application met June t, 1900.

T0 tZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAV STAIB, a citizen of the United States,residingin New York city, borough of Richmond, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Store-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the class of store-service apparatus in which a carrier is received upon and projected from a movable rail or bar; and one of the objects of my invention is to provide a brake to gradually stop the carrier when it reaches the receiving-station to prevent injury to the parts, and in the arrangements I have shown the carrier will be held stationary upon the receiving-rail as the latter rises until it about reaches the limit of the upward movement, whereupon the carrier will be released to travel to another station.

A further object of my invention is to provide certain improvements in the class of apparatus shown in my Patent No. 645,024, dated March 6, 1900; and to these ends my invention consists in the novel details of improvement,that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a store-serviceapparatusembodyingmyinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the apparatus at one station. Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view looking from the right in Fig. 2, illustrating the brake mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing means for connecting a conveyer wire or rail with the receiving-rail.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters and numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, A B indicate generally stations at the ends of the track or way in a store-service apparatus. 1 is a conveyer wire or rail suspended between said stations, so that a carrier or car may Vtravel on the same, and it may be maintained in a horizontal position, or it may incline from one station to the other. I have illustrated the conveyer wire 1 as adapted to have its direction of inclination changed from either station toward the other, and for these purposes I have shown the fol- Serial No. 19,101. (No model.)

lowing arrangements, viz: At each station is a guide 2, shown in the form of a bracket eX- tended vertically, and I have shown the same connected to asupport in the form of a tube or har 3, depending from the ceiling, the bracket having openings to receive the support, screws 4 serving to hold the bracket in position on the support. The latter may have a detachable cap 5 at the lower end. 6 is a car or traveler shown provided with rollers 6, adapted to travel up and down the inner edge 2a of guide 2. The car or traveler 6 at each station is connected to the corresponding end of conveyer-wire 1, and the arrangement I have shown is substantially that shown in my said Patent No. 645,024, 7 being a yoke pivotally connected to car 6 and connected by wires S with a bridge 9, that is connected to wire 1 hya bar 10, the ba1'10 being alined with wire 1. The car or traveler 6 is provided with a pulley or roller 6b at its upper part, which receives a rope 11 or other iiexible connection, one end of which is secured, as at 11, and it passes from roller 6b over a roller or pulley 12, carried by guide or bracket 2, depends therefrom, and receives in its lower bight a roller 13, connected with a handle 14, from whence the rope 11 passes up over a roller or pulley 15, shown carried by the guide or bracket, from which it depends, and is connected with a carrier-receiving rail or har 16. These devices are similarly arranged at each station A B. It will be understood that by drawing down the handle 14 the corresponding car 6 and rail 16 will be raised.

17 is a rope, wire, or' similar connection which passes overhead between the stations, and its ends are respectively connected with the lower parts of the cars 6 at two stations. At each station the rope or wire 17 passes overan upper pulley or roller 1S, thence down under a lower pulley 19, and up to the car 6. The pulleys 18 and 19 are shown carried by the guide or bracket 2. The arrangement is such that when a car at one station is raised rope 17 will'be pulled, which will draw down the car 6 at the other station, and thus the inclination of conveyer wire or rail 1 from one station toward the other can be changed. The inner edge 2 of guide 2 is shown substantially vertical at 2", from whence it i n IOO vclines upwardly and outwardly at 2C, and near its upper end has a shoulder or abutment 2d, against which the upper roller 6a of car 6 can rest, the. car being raised high enough for this purpose. (See Fig. 2.) The conveyer wire or rail 1 is stretched taut between the cars 6, (which may be done by turnbuckles 89,) and when a roller 6a is above the shoulder 2d the car 6 will be kept from descending spontaneously, and yet can be readily drawn down, the/roller rising over the shoulder.

2O represents braces between the supports 3 and a wall 21 to resist lateral strain on the supports.

The receiving-rails 16 are pivotally connected to the bars 10 and are thus maintained in alinement with the conveyer-wire 1, as in my said patent, and a carrier 22 is adapted to travel along rail 1 to the receivingrail 16, and the free end of the latter is maintained in a normal position by the rope 11 and a stop 23 thereon, that is adapted to engage an abutment 241. As the car 22 travels down an incline its progress should be arrested near the operator, and to accomplish this in a gradual manner, so as to prevent shocks and injury to the parts, I provide a brake arranged as follows, viz: 25 is a rod or bar one end of which is guided in a bracket or eye 26 on the under side of rail 16, rod 25 having a stop 27 (which may be adjustable by means of screw-threads) to abut against the bracket 26, the bracket being nea'i1 the inner or pivotal end of the rail. The rod 25 extends beneath the rail 16 and toward its free end normally at an inclination to the rail, so that the outer or free end of the rod is at a greater distance from the rail than its inner end. At its outer or free end the rod 25 is keptfrom sliding backward by an abutment 28, depending from the rail 16, but in such position that the rod 25 may rise and fall; Rod 25 preferably has a roller 25a to engage said abutment. The rod 25 is normally maintained in the lower position by a lever or arm 29, that is pivotally carried by rail 16and provided with a cam-groove 29a, that receives an extension or pivot 25h, which may be the pivot of roller 25, The lever or arm 29 is connected with rope or connection 11, whereby the rail 16 and its connected parts are normally maintained as in Fig. 1. The lever or arm 29 and its cam-groove 29 are so shaped and positioned that when the parts are hanging from rope 11 the free end of rod 25 will be locked or prevented from rising. When, however,the lever 29 is swung on its pivot,the cam-groove 29a will slide along the extension or pivot 25h, whereby the'free end of rod 25 will be enabled to rise. This position of the parts is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By the arrangements I have shown the lever or arm 29 is moved to unlock the brake-rod 25 when the rail 16 is raised to the position for projecting the carrier 22 along the conveyer-rail 1. For this purpose the roller 18 is so located that the depending rope 11 will raise the rail 16 nearly to the uppermost position without moving the cam-groove 29a, and then as the rail continues to rise the rope 11 will pull the upper end of lever 29 outwardly, moving the cam-groove in a reverse direction, and thus releasing the free end of brake-rod 25, which will rise along abutment l28, thereby reducing the normal distance between rod 25 and rail 16, all as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By preference the lower part of leveror arm 29 is bifurcated to straddle the rail 16 and rod 25, and

its arms are each provided with a cam-groove' 29, alined with each other and adapted to receive the two projecting ends of extension or pivot 25h. (See Fig. 3.) By this means lever 29 acts on rod 25 more evenly than if only one cam-groove 29a were used; but this could be done, if desired.

The action of the brake in con neotion with the carrier 22 is as follows: The rollers 22 of the carrier ride upon the conveyer-rail 1 and receiving-rail16, and from the carrierfrarne depends a hanger 22h, that is provided with a suitable hook or support to sustain a basket or the like 30. The hanger 22b has an abutment 22C, shown in the form of a roller, which is adapted to ride under the rod 25, so as to encounter the same. By preference one side of hanger 22bis open, so that it can be disengaged readily from the rail 1 or 16 sidewise. The distance from the lower edge of receiving-rail 16 to the upper surface of abutment 22c is greater than the distance between the lower surface or rail 16 and rod 25 adjacent to bracket 26, but less than thedistance between rail 16 and rod 25 near the outer or free end thereof. By this means the abutment 22c is free to travel under the inner end of rod 2 5, and as it ad- Vances toward the outer or free end of the latter it will gradually encounter the same, thereby bearing on it with braking effect, and as rod 25 is maintained between'abutments 26 and 28 it will bend upwardly more or less; but as its outer end is held by abutment 28 and lever 29 at a greater distance from rail 16 than abutment 22 the effect will be to gradually jam the carrier and its hanger between rail 16 and rod 25, thereby bringing the carrier to a stop at a distance from abutment 28, as in full lines in Fig. 2, when the carrier will be firmly held until released by the action of lever 29. The carrier will be stopped when rail 16'is about in the position shown in Fig. 1 at station B. As the stopping of the carrier is gradual, injury and shock are prevented. As the carrier is firmly held by the brake, the rail 16 can be raised to about the desired height for projecting the carrier toward an opposite station. without permitting the carrier to advance along the rail, and then at about the end of the upward stroke of the rail the rope 11 will pull sidewise on lever 29 to release rod 25, as before IOO IIO

IZO

ISO

described, and the carrier will then be free to travel down the inclined rail 16 to the conveyer rail or Wire 1.

The relative arrangements of the parts I have illustrated are such that when handle 14 is pulled down (the carrier being held by the brake on rail 16) the rope 11 (at station B) will simultaneously raise car 6 and the corresponding rail 16, and as said car rises it will cause connection 17 to pull down car 6 at the opposite station, thus changing the direction ot inclination of wire 1, so that when car 6 at the sending-station reaches the upper end of guide 2 a continued pull on handle 14 Will complete the upward stroke of its rail 16 and will shift lever 29 to unlock the carrier. The same operation takes place at both stations.

While conveyer-wire 1 may be connected to bar 10 in any suitable manner or as shown in my said Patent No. 645,024, I have shown an arrangement for the purpose, as follows, (see Fig. 4,) viz: At the upper edge bar 10 is provided with a tread 10a narrower than the body portion, so as to receive the groove or roller 22a of carrier 22, and 10b is a threaded bore leading into the upper part of bar 10, the tread 10 at one side thereof being dispensed with and the upper edge 10C being preferably provided with a groove. The threaded end 1a of conveyer-wire 1 is screwed into bore 10b and bent down upon the edge 10c to bring the top of Wire 1 about flush with the top of tread 10a, the edge 10d of the latter being undercut adjacent to wire 1 to overlie the latter. When groove 10c is used, parts 1 and 10 are kept from relative lateral movement. As the receiving-rail 16 is also pivotally connected with bar 10, the former and the conveyer-wire 1 are conveniently connected together in alinement to permit the carrier to freely travel from one to the other.

It will be understood that my improved braking devices are not limited to use in connection with a conveyer wire or rail 1 whose direction of inclination is adapted to be changed; but the brake can be used with rail 16 if a conveyer Wire or track ismaintained at a constant level, the rail 16 being pivotally supported at one end.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A store-service apparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receiving rail pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod attached thereto and normallyinclined relatively to the rail, means for operating the rail, and means for holding the rod in the normal position and for allowing the rod to move toward the rail, substantially as described.

2. A store-service apparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receiving rail pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively to the rail, an abutment to resist endwise movement of the rod, and

means for holding the rod in the braking p0- sition and for allowing the rod to move toward the rail, substantially as described.

3. A store-service apparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receiving rail pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, means to limit endwise movement of the rod, and means for locking the rod in the inclined position and for releasing the same, substantially as described.

4. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, means to limit endwise movement of the rod, and a lever or arm connected with the rail and rod and arranged to lock the rod in theinclined position and to release the same, substantially as described.

5. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, and a lever or arm connected With the rail and rod and having a a cam to lock the rod in the braking position and to release the same, substantially as described. A

6. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, means to limit endwise movement of the rod, a lever or arm pivotally carried by the rail and having a cam connected with the rod to lock the rod in the inclined. position and to allow the rod to move toward the rail, substantially as described.

'7. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, a brake-rod suspended below the rail and normally inclined relatively thereto, an abutment to limit endwise movement of the rod, a lever pivotally carried by the rail and having a cam to lock the rod in the braking position, and means to release the rod by the action of the cam, substantially as described.

8. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a track, a carrier-receiving rail, pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, and means for locking said rod in the braking position and for releasing the same, with a carrier adapted to ride on the rail and having an abutment to pass under the rod and to encounter the same whereby the carrier Will be stopped upon the rail, substantially as described. 9. The combinationof a track or rail, a receiving-rail, a brake-rod. normally inclined thereto, a lever or arm to lock the rod in the braking position, and an operating connection connected with the lever or arm arranged to elevate the rail and operate said lever or arm, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a track or rail, a receiving-rail, a brake-rod hung below the same, a lever or arm havinga cam to control the brake-rod, a rope connected with the lever or arm, and a pulley receiving the rope IOO and located so that when the rail rises the lever or arm will be operated to unlock the brake-rod, substantially as described.

l1. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a conveyer-track, a pair of guides, cars or travelers connected with the track to ride upon the guides, receiving-rails pivotally connected with the track, a connection to operate each car, one end of each connection being connected with a rail and with a support,pulleys over which the connection passes, a handle connected With a bight in the connection, and the connection being connected. with the adjacent car, substantially as described.

12. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a conveyer-'track, a pair of guides, cars or travelers connected with the track to ride upon the guides, a connection connecting two cars together and guided by pulleys, receiving-rails pivotally connected with the track, a rope connected with each rail and having one end secured, each car having a pulley receiving the corresponding rope, pulleys above the car receiving the rope, and a handle connected with a bight in the rope, substantially as described.

13. The combination of a bar having a threaded bore entering the same at an inclination to its edge, With a wire screwed into said bore and bent down parallel to said edge, and a rail pivotally connected with said bar, substantially as described.

14. The combination with a bar having a tread and a threaded bore entering the same at au angle to said tread, and also having a reduced portion at the end opposite the tread, of a conveyer-Wire screwed into said bore and bent down upon said reduced portion, and a rail pivotally connected With the bar, substantially as described.

eUsTAv sTAIB. l

Witnesses:

A. R. ANGUS, T. F. BOURNE.

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