Patent GB-190713188-A (GB)
Inventor: CHASE CLARK
Filed: 1907-06-06
Granted: 1908-01-16
Abstract: 13,188. Chase, C. June 6. Loading and unloading; skips etc.; tipping-apparatus; lifting- gear for rope railzvays; disengaging-couplings &c.-Relates to carriers for suspended railways for coaling ships at sea &c., and comprises means whereby a carriage, sustaining a load and being distant from the operator and source or sources of mechanical power, may be moved along its support, locked thereto, and unlocked therefrom as desired, and in which a load-bearing member may be fastened to, unfastened from, and movably secured to a sustained member, by the use of two forces from a distant source. A construction of dumping-bucket with tipping-apparatus is also described. A towline A connects a collier B and a war-ship C, and is made fast to a towing-machine upon either ship. A trolly-wire D passes through blocks upon the masts, one end being fastened to one vessel and the other to a towing-machine on the other ship. A carriage 1 is mounted on the wire D and is operatively connected by ropes 2, 3 with winches 4, 5 one on each ship, the rope passing through blocks 6, 7 on the masts. Grooved wheels 10 support the carriage, and the load-bearing member 8 is removably, secured to the carriage by a bolt 11 having a depending hook 12<x>. The bolt 11 can move horizontally guided by pins 12, 13, 14 on the carriage, and its movement is limited by the pin 14 engaging the slot 15. The forward movement is brought about by a rope 3 fastened to a lever 16, which is fulcrumed on the pin 17 and has its slottedend portion engaging a pin 18 attached to the bolt 11. The backward movement is due to tension on the rope 2, which supports the member 8 and passes over pulleys 19, 20, 21, thence over pulleys 87, 81, 87, 22, and is fastened to the carriage 1. The pulleys 19, 21 are mounted on the carriage, while the pulley 20 is on the bolt 11 and to one side of the pulleys 19, 21. The pulley 22 is carried in a slide 23 which moves vertically up and down between guide-pins 14, 24, 25, 35. Projecting forward from the top of the slide 23 are lugs 26, between which is pivoted an upwardly-extending bar 27 slotted to receive a bar 28 pivoted to the carriage plate, both bars having holes and being pivotally connected by the pin 29. Fixed to the carriage plate is a jaw 30, to which is pivoted a second jaw 31 having a cam-slot 32 engaging a pin 33 in the bar 28, the cam-slot 32 being so designed that a downward or upward movement of the slide 23 will close or open the gripping-jaws. The lower portion of the slide is bifurcated to allow the load-bearing member 8, by means of its crossbar 37, to engage the hook 12<x> ; one part 34 extends downward to be moved in and out of engagement with a pin 35 in the bolt 11, the other part has a pulley 22 over which the rope 2 passes, and also a lever 36 fulcrumed to the carriage 1, pivoted to the slide 23, and lying in the path of the cross-piece 37. As shown in Fig. 5, the carriage is simply resting on the wire D, the lines are loose, and the carriage is free to move. Suppose the torpedo-boat J, which has been made fast to the line A and to the warship, is to be coaled. The windlass 4 on the collier slightly tightens the rope 2, and at the same time, the windlass 5 on the war-ship tightens on the rope 3. The cross-bar 37 then rises out of the hook 12x, the bolt 11 moves forward to its limiting position, the portion 34 of the slide 23 being above the pin 35, and the gripping-jaws being wide open. The rope 2 is next released and the member 8 descends by its own weight pulling down the slide 23, the lower portion 34 of which engages the pin 35 of the bolt 11 and holds it in the unfastening position ; the jaws also grip the rope D. To raise the member 8, the hoisting-rope 2 is hauled upon, and the member 8 rising, the cross-bar 37 engages the lever 36 and raises the slide 23, unlocking the bolt 11 and releasing the gripping - jaws, the hook 12x being forced beneath the cross-bar 37. When the member 8 is hooked on, the rope 2 is slacked, and the carriage is free to move. A modification of the gripping - mechanism is shown in Fig. 11. The jaws 40, 41 are pivoted to a member 42 on the carriage plate, their free ends being connected by links 44 pivoted on a guide - bar 45 movable in a bearing 46 fixed to the carriage. Also pivoted to the guide-bar 45 is a link 46<a> which is connected to the lever 48 by the lever 47 and. rod 49. The rope 3 is attached to a lever 52 and the action is as before, the lever 48 engaging the pin 35. A guide-pulley 53 is shown in Fig. 11 to guide the rope 3 when both winches are on one ship. Another modification of the gripping-device, suitable for a rail support, is shown in Fig..14. A bar 60 extends upwardly from the slide 23 at the back of the carriage. A jaw 61 in the form of a bell-crank lever is pivoted at 62, the other jaw 64 being fastened to the carriage plate. The rear portion 65 of the lever 61 has a cam-slot 66 which engages a pin in a lever 67 pivoted to the back of the carriage and adjustably secured to the bar 60. As shown in Fig. 15, the carriage wheels 75 are suitably arranged for a permanently inclined support.