US1791844A - Trolley for bucket conveyers - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 10, 1931. H. c. SHELDON 1,791,844

TROLLEY FOR BUCKET GQNVEYERS Filed May 12. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l J J1 fs zd n :NVENToh ATTORNEY H. c. SHELDON 1,791,844

TROLLEY FOR BUCKET CONVEYERS Filed May 12, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1%. .5

Feb. 10, 1-931.

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT o FIcE HENRY C. SHELDON, OF CHICAGO, TLLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T GIFFORD -WOOD COMPANY,

OF HUDSON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW, YORK TROLLEY FOR BUCKET OONVEYERS Application filed May 12,

This invention relates to trolley bucket conveyers, and among other ob ects, aims to prolong the life of the trolley sheaves over,

10, a pit 11, a hopper l2 discharging into the pit through a gate 13 and receiving material dumped from a railroad car (not shown) over track 14, and guides 15 in the pit for carrying the bucket in proper position toward and away from the gate 13. The bucket is hoisted by a line 16 which'is controlled by a hoist engine 17, and is moved along a monorail 18 (Figs. 2 and 3) by a trolley line 19 until it is over a bin or other receptacle (not shown) for receiving the load discharged by the bucket. A plant of this type is well suited for handling coal, sand, cinders, gravel and other heavy, semi-fluent materials, as it combines high handling capacity with low labor cost.

During use of the apparatus, however, certain operating difficulties develop. As described in the application of V. H. Towne filed November 8, 1926 and assigned to the assignee of the present application, it is highly advantageous to obviate the pendulum-like swing of the bucket, which is suspended from the trolley by the hoist line, and because of its weight, oscillates through a con-. siderable arc in the plane of the monorail when the trolley is suddenly started and stopped. Hence a spring buffer construction is suspended from the trolley and engages the bail of the bucket to dampen the oscillations of the bucket. Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings show the spring buffer 20 of the aforesaid Towne application, and said buffer therefore will not be further described. In practice, however, it has been found that the added weight of the spring buifer tends to hold the 1927. Serial No. 190,342.

lower part of the trolley vertical, even when thehoist line leading to the bucket is at an angle, due to the lowering of the bucket into the-pit, which is always to one side of the monorail. This will be understood from Fig. 1, As the trolley sheaves 21 are carried by the swingable part of the trolley and rotate on axes extendingftransversely of the trolley (Figs. 2 and 3), it follows that the hoist line leads of]? at an angle from the two sheaves so'that a strain is put on one side of the sheave bearings, and serious wear takes place as the line. rubs against the flanges of the sheaves. Consequently the sheaves fail and must be replacedbefore the'pl'ant'can be put in'operation again. To cause the hoist line to lead ofi as nearly as possible in the plane of the trolley sheaves, I have devised an improved trolley construction, whereby the excess weight of the buiferis compensated w by a counterweightadjustable on an arm eX- tending from the trolley.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 5, the trolley, which is hinged along a horizontal linev as indicated at 21, has an arm 22 fast thereto and extending outwardly from the middle of the trolley substantially at right angles, and

horizontal when the trolley is vertical. The arm 22 has a counterweight 23 secured as by set-screws, and movable along the arm so as to adapt the standardized trolley to various conditions found in different installations. The counterweight will be set so as to counteract the tendency of the spring buffer to hold the trolley vertical and so asto cause the trolley to swing into a plane which will result in minimum wear on the sheave flanges and bearings. When the bucket is hoisted clear of the guides 15, it will be substantially directly below the track, and its weight will then be effective to cause the trolley to hang vertically, again with minimum wear on the sheave.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereoi herein shown and described.

hat I claim is 1. A trolley for hoist buckets comprising, in combination, a hinged structure adapted to be supported from an elevated track a butler carried on the trolley below the hinge axis for engagement by the bucket to check oscillation thereof; and means to impart a tendency to the trolley to swing in the direction of the bucket as the bucket descends, said means counteracting the tendency of the trolley to hangvertically.

2. A trolley for hoist buckets comprising, in combination, a hinged structure adapted to be supported from anelevated track; sheaves on the trolley below said hinge axis; a" hoistrope for the bucket trained over said sheaves; a butter mechanism interposed between the bucket and trolley and operative on close approach of the same to check oscillations of the bucket; and a counterweight on the trolley below the hinge axis constructed and arranged to move the lower part of the trolley with the sheaves in the direction of '20 the bucket as the bucketdescends, whereby the bucket-supporting rope does not subject the sheaves and bearingsto destructive wear. '3. A trolley for hoist buckets comprising, in combination, a hinged trolley structure adapted to be supported from an elevated track; sheaves on the trolley below the hinge axis; a hoist rope for the bucket trained over said sheaves a buffer mechanism on the lower part of the trolley, below the hinge. axis, for 0 checking oscillations of the bucket when the bucket is hoisted to a point adjacent the trolley; an arm fixed to the lower part of the trolley and extending substantially at right angles to the hinge axis of'the trolley, and being substantially horizontal when the lower part of the trolleyiis plumb; and a weight adjustable on said arm to cause the lower part of the trolley to hang out of'plumb and inclined toward the pointwhere the bucket is loaded, when permitted by a slackening in tensionof the hoist rope.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, Ihave hereto affixed my signature.

HENRY o. SHE DON;

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