US801415A - Truck for handling and carrying logs. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905.

T. A. L. STRANGE. TRUCK FOR HANDLING AND CARRYING LOGS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 801,415. PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905. T. A. L. STRANGE. TRUCK FOR HANDLING AND CARRYING LOGS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Y 6 Witnesses 2 zflmwfl i mgpventor.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTCE.

TRUCK FOR HANDLING AND CARRYING LOGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905 Application filed November 11 1904. Serial No. 232,368-

ject to improve and to simplify the construction of devices of this character.

Logging-trucks as ordinarily constructed are usually provided with very large Wheels, this being considered necessary in order to enable the logs that are to be handled to be suspended from the axle between the wheels. This has been objectionable, for the reason that trucks of this character have to be used in rough and inaccessible localities, and the wheels have heretofore been subjected to a strain which, owing to the great size of said wheels, has caused them to speedily break down. There have been other serious objections to the construction of the large-wheeled trucks heretofore employed. Thus, for in stance, it has been practically impossible to employ other draft-animals than cattle, the use of horses or mules being rendered impracticable, there being no place where doubletrees and other draft appliances might be conveniently attached. Again, in going over rough and hilly places without any load the high-wheel trucks would frequently become upset, causing great inconvenience and loss of time. Some trucks have been constructed with axles that have been slightly arched, but not sufliciently to overcome the objection noted. v

One principal feature of the present invention consists in constructing the truck with an arched axle of a character which will permit a larger proportion of the load to be suspended above the spindles, thus enabling smaller wheels to be used, and thereby greatly increasing the life of the device.

The invention further consists in equipping proved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts, which will behere inafter fully described, and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of embodiment of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that the rightis reserved to any changes, alterations, and modifications to which recourse may be had within the scope of the invention and without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the eificiency of the same.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a truck constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sec tional front elevation. Fig. A isa detail plan view showing the winding-drum for the supportingchain. Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken vertically through the hoisting-drum and the shaft of the same. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail view of the trip mechanism.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by like characters of reference.

The axle of the improved truck is composed of a central arch A, having lateral extensions 1 1, carrying the spindles upon which the wheels 2 and 3 are mounted for rotation. The axle-arch is framed of strong and sound timbers of suitable dimensions, and it is heavily reinforced by means of plates 4:, of iron or mild steel, which are bolted or otherwise secured to the said timber in such a manner as to produce a structure which shall be capable of resisting any strain to which it may be subjected. The arch comprises side pieces 5 5 and a top or cap piece 6, and the corners may, if desired, be reinforced by angle-plates 7 of either cast or wrought metal. It is to be understood that strengthening and reinforcing means may be used freely throughout the entire structure for the purpose of attaining the necessary strength and ability to resist strain and sudden shocks. The wheels are to be made with suitable Wide treads, and the height of the wheels, as well as the dimensions of the arched axle, may be varied to adapt the device to special localities.

Suitably secured near the lower ends of the side members 5 5 of the axle-arch are forwardly extending beams 8 8, constituting hounds which are disposed parallel to each other and the forward ends of which are connected by a cross-beam 9, to which the tongue 10 is suitably attached. The hound-frame is to be constructed of stout material suitably reinforced and fitted to resist hard usage. Said hound-frame may be made of any desired length, which should be sufficient to enable a considerable portion of the load to be suspended in front of the axle and the arch of the axle, as indicated in the drawings, where L represents the lo The uprights 5 of the axle-arch are provided with brackets 11 11, affording bearings for shafts 12 12, which are vertically slidable in said bearings. At the lower ends of the shafts 12 12 are secured bevel'gears 13,meshing with bevel-gears 14: 1 1, which are securely connected with the hub of the wheels 2 3. The shafts 12 are provided at their upper ends with heads 15,between which and the uppermost bearings 11 are interposed springs 16, the tension of which is upward, so that the tendency of said springs will be to lift the shafts 12 and to place the bevel-gears 13 out of engagement with the bevel-gears 14:. The shafts 12 carry drums or reels 17, with which they are slidably connected by means of keys or feathers 18, working in grooves 19 of the shaft, so that the drums will rotate with the latter, while the said shafts are capable of vertical movement independently of the drums. The flanges 20 at the upper ends of the drums are notched to constitute ItltCllGt-WGOQlS, which are engaged by spring-pawls 21, suitably attached to the frame.

Each of the shafts 12 is provided with a fixed collar 22, supporting a loose annularlygrooved collar 23, which is engaged by afork at at the outer end of the horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever B, which is fulcrumed upon the adjacent frame-beam 5 and the upper arm of which, 26, is extended to form a handle 27. Each lever arm 26 engages a springeatch 28, which is bolted to the framebean15 and which is provided on its inner side with a beveled tooth 29 and with a notch 30 for the accommodation of the lever-arm 26. Pivotally connected with the arch of the axle are trip-levers T, having arms 31, which extend under or below the cap-beam of the axlearch and provided at their outer ends with wedges 32, adapted to enter behind the free end of the spring-catches 28.

When the lever-arms 26 are in engagement with the notches 30 of the spring-catches 28, the free ends of the lever-arms 25 will be depressed, causing the collars 23 to exerta clownward pressure against the fixed collars 22 upon the shafts 12, which latterare thus depressed against the tension of the springs 16, thus placing the bevel-gears 13 and 1a in engagement with each other. \Vhcn the arms 31 of the levers T are elevated, the wedges 32 will be forced in behind the free ends of the spring catches 28, which will be forced outwardly,

thus releasing the lever-arms 26 from the l vating the front end of thelog until the latter notches 30 and permitting the springs 16 to force the shafts 12 in an upward direction, thereby throwing the bevel-gears 13 and 1a out of mesh.

33 designates a flexible hoisting member, such as a chain, the ends of which are connected with the drums or reels 17, said chain being guided over guide-sheaves 34:, the blocks or casings of which are hingedly connected with the cap-beam 6 of the axle-arch. Said hoisting member is also guided under a sheave 35, which is connected with the tongs 36.

Suitably connected with one of the side beams 5 of the axle-arch is a drum-carrying shaft 37, having a crank or, handle whereby it may be manipulated. The drum 38 upon said shaft has a ratchet-wheel 39, engaged by a pawl 40 to prevent reverse movement, and wound upon said drum is achain 11, the free end of which has a hook 12, which may be detachably connected with an eyebolt as, connected with the lower end of the opposite beam of the axle-arch.

The shaft 12 at the left-hand side of the truck, which the shaft generally utilized in loading the truck, is provided at its upper end with a crank 4C5, by means of which it maybe manually operated. A similar crank may be connected with the upper end of the shaft 12 at the right-hand side of the truck, or an interchangeable crank may be used, if preferred, in which latter event the upper ends of the shafts will be provided with non-circular portions, as shown at 46, for engagement with the crank-handle.

In handling a log with the improved truck the latter is first driven to a position where it will straddle the log. The loading mechanism may be operated from either side of the truck; but the driver usually stands upon the lefthand side. The near lever B is at this time in its normal position -that is, tilted, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 of drawings, to a position at which the shaft 12 will be elevated by the tension of the springs 16. By temporarily releasing the spring-catch 21 from the ratchet-wheel 20 the chain may then be pulled down from the drum 17 until the tongs 36 may be placed in engagement with the log. hen this has been done, the shaft 12 is rotated manually by means of the crank 15 until the slack has been taken up, and the lever B is then manipulated to move the shaft 12 against the tension of the spring 16 in a downward direction until the bevel-gears 13 and 14L are brought into mesh. The shaft 12 at the opposite side of the truck is also lowered to bring the bevel-gear at its lower end into mesh with the bevel-gear connected with the hub of the adjacent wheel. As soon as the truck moves forward the shafts 12, carrying the drums 17, will be rotated by the intcrmeshing bevel-gears, and the chain 33 will be wound upon the drums, thus lifting or elestrikes the arms 31 of the trip-levers T, which are thus actuated to disengage the springcatches 28 from the lever-arms 26, and thus enabling the springs 16 to force the shafts 12 upwardly, throwing the bevel-gears l3 and 14 out of mesh. The drums 17, upon which the chain 33 is wound, are held against reverse rotation by the pawls 21. The rear end of the log, as is obvious, will drag upon the ground; but owing to the peculiar construction of the truck, as herein described, a considerable portion of the log will be disposed in front of the suspending-point between the hounds of the truck, so that the hind end of the log will drag but lightly upon the ground and may therefore be carried with comparative ease over rough and uneven ground. If the load is sufficiently heavy to make additional supporting means desirable, the chain 41 may now be partially unwound from the drum 38 and connected at its free end with the eyebolt 43, after which the drum-carrying shaft 37 is rotated to wind the chain upon the drum, thus tightening said chain and forming a support for the log, which being thus suspended and supported may be conveniently carried to its destination. If two or more smaller logs are to be handled, they may be bound together with log-chains, and a loghook may be substituted for the tongs 36. When the log or load is to be lowered and disengaged from the truck, it is desirable that this should be done gradually in order to avoid any sudden and injurious shock. In order to perform this operation, the bell-crank lever B at the unloading side is first manipulated to lower the shaft 12 and the pawl 21 is placed out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel 20, manually or otherwise. By means of a lifting-jack J of ordinary construction, which is introduced under one of the ends of the axle at the unloading side, the axle is then slightly jacked up or elevated, thus permitting the shaft 12 to rotate by the descent of the log, which may be controlled by utilizing the near wheel as a brake-wheel. In like manner the transporting-wheel at the loading side may be utilized to rotate the shaft 12 for the purpose of elevating the log by manual power, which may sometimes be found necessary in rough and slippery places.

The lifting-jack, log-chains, tongs, hooks, and the like may be carried as part of the equipment in a tool-box connected with the truck; but this has not been'shown in the drawings, inasmuch as it does not form part of the truck structure.

While it is preferred to construct the improved truck with loading and unloading mechanism at each side thereof, as herein shown and described, this is not always essential, and the entire mechanism may, if preferred, be omitted at one side of the truck, thus materially reducing' the initial cost. IrVhen the loading and unloading mechanism is applied to one side of the truck only, one end of" the chain or hoisting element will be made fast to the cap-beam of the axle, as will be readily understood.

I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not regard myself as limited to any particular dimensions or proportions in the construction of the improved truck, inasmuch as the dimensions and proportions may be profitably varied, according to the circumstances under which and the localitiesin which the device is to be used. It is also to be understood that while as a rule only one of the transporting-wheels is used to effect the preliminary lifting, and when unloading, for the purpose of checking the descent of the load both traction-wheels may be thus used when desired and especially when a heavy load is handled.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. An arched axle, supporting-wheels for the same, a slidable vertically-disposed shaft having a bevel-gear adapted to mesh with a bevel-gear upon the adjacent supportingwheel, spring means for forcing said shaft in an upward direction, means for forcing the shaft downwardly against the tension of the spring, a winding-drum carried and slidably engaged by the shaft, a flexible hoisting element connected with said drum and guided to a point of attachment, and means for holding the winding-drum against reverse rotation.

2. An arched wheel-supported axle, hoisting mechanism connected with said axle and operated by the rotation of one of the wheels,

and automatically-operated trip mechanism for throwing the hoisting mechanism out of gear by contact with the object that is being hoisted when said object reaches a predetermined elevation.

3. In a logging-truck, an arched wheel-supported axle, hoisting mechanism connected with said axle and including a bevel-gear adapted to mesh with a bevel-gear upon one of the supporting-wheels and a shaft carrying said bevel-gear, a winding-drum rotatable with and slidably connected with said shaft, a flexible hoisting element mounted upon said drum and suitably guided to a point of attachment, a bell-crank lever having a forked arm engaging a loose collar upon the shaft, a notched spring-catch engaging the upwardlyextending arm of the bell-crank lever, and a trip lever having a wedge engaging said spring-catch and having its opposite end extended into the path of the log to be hoisted.

4:. In a logging-truck, an arched wheel-supported axle, a pair of winding-drums mounted on upright shafts supported upon the side members of the axle, a flexible hoisting element having its ends connected with said drums, guiding means for said hoisting element, and load-engaging means supported by the latter.

5. In a logging-truck, an arched Wheel-supported axle, a pair of Winding-drums supported by said axle, a flexible hoisting element having its ends connected with said drums, hingedly-supported guiding-sheaves for the hoisting element, and load-engaging means supported by the latter.

6. In a logging-truck, an arched Wheel-supported axle, shafts supported upon the side members of said axle at approximately right angles to the axes of the snpporting-Wheels, a pair of winding-drums upon said shafts, miter-gearing connecting said Winding-drums with the supporting-Wheels, a flexible hoisting element having its ends connected With the drums, guiding means for said hoisting element, and load-engaging means supported upon the latter.

7. In a logging-truck, an arched Wheel-supported axle, hoisting means connected with said axle and operable by a supporting-Wheel,

a Winding-drum connected with one of the side beams of the axle-arch, and a chain Wound upon said drum and adapted to be detachably connected With the opposite side beam of the axle-arch. I

8. In a logging-truck, a Wheel-supported arched axle, hoisting mechanism connected With said axle and operable by one of the supporting-Wheels, spring means for throwing the hoisting mechanism out of gear, lever means for throwing the hoisting mechanism into gear against the tension of the spring, and trip mechanism operable by the load for releasing said lever means.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my oWn I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

THOMAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN STRANGE.

Witnesses:

A. B. GRIFFIN, W. M. CHILERs.

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